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Episode 35: Reduced to Double

Ash, Brock, and Brenda continue on their way. Brock is reading something on his Pokéssistant. He seems intrigued. "Hey guys, listen to this. According to the news, only hours ago there was a major incident in Kanaveral City. Apparently some sort of vortex opened up inside of a building and swallowed the entire building before firing a massive beam of energy into the sky and disappearing. Now all that's left where the building stood is a massive crater."

Ash comments, "That's odd."

Brenda asks, "How does something like that happen?"

Brock continues reading. "Some Team Planetary official known as Commander Cygnus went on the record saying that it was an accident caused by experimental technology."

Ash shakes his head. "Of course it's related to Team Planetary. They were probably trying to build some sort of superweapon."

Brenda sighs. "I hope not."

Today we find our heroes back on the road, and for once it would seem like they weren't the center of the action when it came to Team Planetary's actions. How bizarre.

They walk on. They suddenly stop when Brenda points to the sky and says, "Hey, look over there! What's that?" Up in the sky, in the indicated direction, what seems to be a giant chunk of ice has been flung into the sky. It hangs there for a moment, and then as it begins to fall, it is hit by a beam of light. Upon being hit by the light, the ice refracts it, sending multicolored light in several different directions. Brenda says with wonder, "Wow, it's so beautiful. We have to see what's causing it."

Ash shrugs. "I don't see why not. Let's go." They change their direction to head towards the source of the ice and light. They travel through some trees.

After traveling through the trees, they find themselves in a clearing. In the center of that clearing is the Pokémon coordinator Will. In front of him is his Cryogonal and a Helioptile. Perched on his shoulders is his Ravenoir. Will says, "Alright, good job. Cryogonal, switch out with Ravenoir." Both Pokémon nod. Cryogonal floats back, and Ravenoir flies forward. "Now Ravenoir, you use Dark Pulse, and Helioptile, you use Razor Wind!" Ravenoir hurls a sphere composed of shadowy rings into the air. Helioptile then sends several sharp waves of wind at the Dark Pulse. The Razor Wind cuts through the Dark Pulse, causing it to break apart into many different shadowy pieces, all which falls to the ground in a fascinating sight.

Brenda shouts, "Wow Will, that was amazing! What was that?"

Will turns around with surprise. "Oh, Brenda. What a pleasant surprise. I wasn't expecting to come across anyone this far out. That was me practicing for my double performance."

Brenda tilts her head. "Double performance?"

"Have you not heard the news yet? The next Pokémon Contest is going to be held at Starside City, and it will be a double performance contest."

Brenda nods. "That's great…but what's a double performance?"

"I guess I just assumed that everyone knew what that was, my mistake. A double performance is actually a method used at the Grand Festival. In a double performance, you use two Pokémon instead of just one, and that's for both the Appeal Stage and the Battle Stage. Because you have two different Pokémon to work with, there are many more options aviable. However, it also takes a great deal more concentration and coordination."

Brenda exclaims, "Wow, that sounds fun!" She then turns to look at his Pokémon. "Hey, that's a new Pokémon." She pulls out her Pokédex.

It says, "Helioptile, the Generator Pokémon, and an Electric and Light Combo-Type. The frills on this Pokémon's head act similarly to solar panels, allowing it absorb all of the energy it needs to function from the sun. Evolves into Helioptile with use of a Sun Stone."

Ash and Brock walk up as well. Ash asks, "So Brenda, are you going to compete in that double performance contest?"

Brock adds, "Starside City is actually right next to Starcore City, hence the name."

Brenda smiles and grins. "You bet I will." She turns to Will and asks, "So can you tell me more about these double performances?"

He thinks for a moment. "There's not much more I can tell you."

Brenda sags her head. "Oh…"

"Instead I'll have to show you." Brenda perks up.

Meanwhile, spying on them from up in a nearby tree, is Team Rocket. Meowth asks, "Did you hear that Jess? The next Pokémon Contest will be a double performance."

Jessie nods, pleased. "Yes, and it is primed for me to win it all."

James asks, "Why's that?"

Jessie grins. "Because I'll be using your Haking and having it teamed up with my Repiv. Think of how many times those two have been in battle together. They'll work together like bread and butter!"

James nods. "That is pretty clever. It could work."

Jessie thinks for a moment. "Now I just need another pair of Pokémon for my appeal performance…and I know just where to get them…"

Back out in the clearing, Will is ready to give Brenda a demonstration. In front of him are Helioptile and Ravenoir. "Alright, for this move I'm working on, I decided to focus on combining the opposite aspects of the Light and Dark-Types." He looks to his Pokémon. "Helioptile, use Solar Force!" Helioptile spreads its frills and absorbs solar energy. Then it releases a directed flash of light straight up. "Good, now Ravenoir use Nightstorm!" Ravenoir flaps its wings and releases waves of shadows. These shadows wrap around the focused light of the Solar Force, enshrouding it completely in the black and purple shadows. For a few moments, the attacks don't react in any special way, but then, out of nowhere, the light begins to shine through the shadows, creating a brilliant purple light. The attacks then explode and create a sparkling shower of light and shadows.

Ash, Brock, and Brenda clap. Brenda exclaims, "Wow, you're so good at this! I've never seen something like that before." She suddenly leaps up. "I'm ready to try it!"

Will questions, "Are you sure you want to just jump right into it? You might want to give it some thought first."

Brenda shakes her head. "Nah, I want to try it right now." She pulls out two Pokéballs and tosses them. "Kappaqua, Rabbolt, center stage!" Kappaqua and Rabbolt appear. Breda kneels down and tells them, "Alright you two, we're going to try our hands at a combination attack for a double performance. Just do what I say, alright?" They both nod in affirmation. "Great!" She takes a few steps back, and then takes a deep breath. "Alright, Kappaqua, you use your Water Gun, and fire it straight up! Rabbolt, you use Shockwave on the stream of water!" They both do as they're told. Rabbolt's Shockwave travels up the pillar of water created by Kappaqua.

Will nods. "It's a good start, but there isn't much spectacle to it."

Brenda shakes her head. "Wait, I'm not done yet. Kappaqua, stop the Water Gun, but Rabbolt keep on using Shockwave." Without a constant source of water, the pillar begins to arc and fall, dragging the electricity with it. "Great, now Kappaqua, let's give Will that spectacle he wanted with Aqua Bomb!" Kappaqua sends an orb of water up towards the falling electrified water. The two collide, the Aqua Bomb explodes, creating a shower of fine mist. At first, it seems like nothing more than this, but then suddenly a web of electricity is created between all the mist, with the remainder of Rabbolt's Shockwave leaping from droplet to droplet. The heat from this electricity causes the mist to evaporate out of sight, leaving only the electricity for a moment, then it fizzles out without anything to conduct it. Brenda takes a bow, her Pokémon do as well.

Ash and Brock clap. Will is absolutely stunned. After a moment of being speechless, he asks, "You came up with that on the spot, just now?"

Brenda nods. "Pretty much."

Will shakes his head in disbelief. "Alright then, it seems like you already have this down then." He thinks for a moment. Then he says, "You may have the appeal aspect down, but there's also the battling aspect. Why don't you and I have a double contest battle? It could be good training for both of us."

Brenda nods. "That's a great idea."

Who's that Pokémon!?

This Pokémon frightens people with a creepy, sobbing cry. The Pokémon apparently uses its red spheres to absorb the fearful feelings of foes and turn them into nutrition.

Brenda and Will have taken positions for a battle. In front of Brenda is Kappaqua and Rabbolt, and in front of Will is Cryogonal and Helioptile. Will says, "These two have never practiced in battle before, so this should be interesting."

Brenda says, "Then we're on equal ground. I've never had these two battle together either."

Brock, who stands midfield as a referee declares, "Alright, this will be a two-on-two Contest Battle, no time limit. In addition, this battle will go on until both of one side's Pokémon are unable to battle. Despite this, remember that it is in both side's best interests to make your performance as entertaining as possible. Are both sides in agreement?" Brenda and Will both nod. "Then battle begin!"

Brenda jumps on the first move. "Rabbolt, use Shockwave! Kappaqua, use your Confusion to guide the attack at both opponents!" Rabbolt releases a wave of electricity in all directions, but Kappaqua catches it with its psychic powers, and then condenses it into two separate streams of electricity, each aimed for a different Pokémon.

Will causally orders, "Dodge." Both Pokémon leap to the side, out of the way. "Now for a counterattack. Helioptile, use Razor Wind, and Cryogonal, freeze it with Deep Freeze!" Helioptile launches several sharp blades of wind, and then Cryogonal releases a breath of super cold air from its mouth. The cold air instantly creates a sheath of ice around the Razor Wind, creating several blades of ice. However, something else happens. The cold air spreads more than intended, and also freezes Helioptile. Everyone gasps. Being distracted by this sight, Rabbolt and Kappaqua are nearly hit by the attack, but they dodge last second.

Ash asks, "What just happened Brock?"

Brock answers, "The move Cryogonal used, Deep Freeze, it's a potent Ice-Type move that instantly freezes anything it touches. My guess is that Will only recently taught that move to Cryogonal, and Cryogonal isn't used to having to keep the move focused on only one target."

Will grunts and nods, but doesn't lose his composure. "You're right." He looks at Cryogonal. "You've got to be careful when you're using that attack." Cryogonal nods regretfully. "Now come on Helioptile, get out of there with Solar Force!" The frozen Helioptile begins to glow within the ice as it gathers solar energy. It then releases a flash of intense light that melts away the ice.

Helioptile turns Cryogonal and shouts angrily, "Op heliop!"

Cryogonal first tries to say, "Cryo…" as if it where apologizing.

Helioptile doesn't accept it. "Tile op tile!"

Will firmly commands, "Stop that right now Helioptile, it was an accident."

Helioptile doesn't seem to care. "Tiiiiiiiiiile!" It launches an electric attack at Cryogonal. This angers Cryogonal, which then attacks back with an Icy Wind. Helioptile leaps out of the way and attacks with Razor Wind.

Brenda asks, "What's going on Will?"

"I only just caught Helioptile a day ago, not too far from here. I've been training with it heavily, but it's still a little unpredictable." He pulls out a Pokéball. "Helioptile, return!" Helioptile leaps out of the Pokéball's beam and then turns around and runs into the forest. "Helioptile!" He sighs. "I guess I'd better go after it."

Brenda recalls her Pokémon and says, "I'll help."

Ash and Brock both say, "So will we."

Will nods in appreciation. He recalls Cryogonal and they all run into the forest.

It's Misdreavus!

Ash, Brock, Brenda, and Will are walking through the forest. Will calls out, "Helioptile, where are you!?"

Brenda says, "It couldn't have gotten far. It must be around here somewhere."

Brock seems to be thinking about something. "Hmm…"

Ash asks, "What is it Brock?"

"All of Helioptile's energy is derived from solar energy that it absorbs. That means that if it has downtime, it will spend it basking. This forest is heavily shaded, so it's not an optimal place for a Helioptile. We need to find a sunny patch, that's where Helioptile will be."

Will nods. "That sounds like a good idea, but how do we find this patch?"

Brock realizes, "We'll use Ash's Turcell! Like Helioptile, Turcell consume solar energy, and have a talent for finding the best places to bask."

Ash nods. "That's a great idea." He tosses a Pokéball. "Come on out Turcell."

Once Turcell is out, it looks around curiously. "Tur?"

Ash asks it, "Turcell, would you help us out by finding a nearby patch of sun in this forest?"

Turcell nods. "Cell." It looks around and sniffs the air. After a moment of gathering its bearings, it turns to the right and walks off. Everyone follows. After walking for a while, Turcell leads them right into a small clearing. As soon as it walks into the clearing, Turcell lies down onto the ground, and begins to take in sunlight. It happily declares, "Turcell!"

Everyone looks around, Brenda points to a boulder off to the side. "Hey, look there!" On top of the rock, Helioptile is basking with its frills extended.

Will says, "Helioptile, there you are!"

Helioptile looks up and sees them. It quickly turns away. "Optile."

Will says, "Helioptile, I'm sorry about what happened, but that's why we train. By training, we find mistakes like that, and make sure that they don't happen again, especially in an actual performance." He pulls out a Pokéball. "And I'm not the only one who's sorry." He tosses it, releasing Cryogonal. "Cryogonal is sorry too. It didn't mean to freeze you."

Cryogonal floats over to Helioptile and apologizes, "Cryog…"

Helioptile slowly turns around, and then slowly nods. It reluctantly says, "Helio…" accepting the apology.

Then, out of nowhere, a glass capsule of some kind drops from the sky and captures Helioptile and Cryogonal. Will gasps, "Helioptile, Cryogonal! What happened!?"

Team Rocket's balloon lowers from sky. Jessie declares, "Prepare for double trouble!"

James continues, "Make it a double-double!"

"To protect the world from double the devastation!"

"To unite all people within double the nation!"

"To double the evils of truth and love!"

"To double our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at double the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare for a double fight!"

Meowth leaps up. "Meowth, that's double right!"

"Wobbuffet!"

"Mime mime!"

Will demands, "Who are these people!?"

Brenda answers, "They're Team Rocket, a group of villains who steal other people's Pokémon." Will gasps.

Ash demands, "Release those Pokémon right now Team Rocket, they aren't yours!"

Jessie shakes her head. "Not happening. I need a tag team of Pokémon, and this Cryogonal and Helioptile will serve me just fine."

James adds, "So it would be best if you twerps just head on your way and pretend like this never happened, because what Jessie wants, Jessie gets."

Meowth nods. "You'll never get these Pokémon back."

Jessie then says, "And just to make sure, go Repiv!" she sends out her Pokémon.

James throws his Pokéball. "Go Haking!"

Both Ash and Will step forward to battle Team Rocket, but then Brenda says, "Wait, let me try first. Let's see if I can handle two-on-two battling." She throws two Pokéballs. "Kappaqua, Rabbolt, center stage!" Ash and Will both nod and step back.

Jessie laughs. "You think you can take both all by yourself Twerpette?"

James laughs too. "You don't stand a chance. Haking, use Sludge Bomb!" Haking attacks with several shots of poison goo.

Jessie adds, "Reinforce its attack with Poison Sting Repiv!" Repiv fires its pins of poison, which fly alongside the Sludge Bomb.

Brenda commands, "Kappaqua, stop the attacks with Confusion, then Rabbolt electrify them with Shockwave!" Kappaqua uses Confusion to catch the attacks, and then Rabbolt sends pulses of electricity into them. "Great, now send them back!" Still using its Confusion, Kappaqua hurls the now electrified attacks back at the senders.

The attacks make contact, which angers Jessie. She shouts, "You won't get away with that!" Repiv, use Dig!" Repiv burrows underground.

James orders, "Cover it with Smokescreen Haking!" Haking covers the field with smoke, so that Brenda and her Pokémon can't see where Repiv is going to attack from.

Brenda grunts, but is unsure of what to do. She can see her own Pokémon, but barely. Both are looking around, attempting to anticipate the dig attack.

Jessie shouts, "Poison Fang now!" Repiv suddenly leaps out of the ground and bites down Rabbolt.

"Kappaqua, get it off of Rabbolt with Aqua Bomb!" The force of the Aqua Bomb knocks Repiv off Rabbolt.

Jessie says, "That worked well, let's do it again!" Repiv digs back underground.

James says, "You do the same thing too Haking." Haking releases another cloud of smoke, obscuring the battlefield once more.

Brenda says to herself, "I can't let Repiv get another Poison Fang in. I need to find a way to stop it before it comes out of the ground. I need to come up with something…wait a second, I know a combination that might work! Kappaqua, use Aqua Bomb all around the field and soak it!" Kappaqua does as it's told, and begins to soak the ground. "Great now, Rabbolt use Shockwave on the ground! Kappaqua, make sure to jump up onto a tree before it does!" Kappaqua grabs a hold of a nearby tree trunk, and then Rabbolt attacks with Shockwave. The soaked ground carries the current across the entire battlefield.

Repiv can be heard shouting in pain, "Repivvvvvv!" It then bursts out of the ground cries in pain for a moment, and then faints.

Brenda, not missing a beat, declares, "Great, now let's give Haking an electrified Aqua Bomb!" Kappaqua lands back on the ground and creates an Aqua Bomb. Rabbolt then electrifies it with shockwave, and Kappaqua sends the attack at Haking. It hits dead on, knocking out Haking. Brenda cheers, "Yeah, we did it! We won our first Double Battle!"

Kappaqua and Rabbolt also cheer, "Kappapapapaqua!" and "Rab rabbolt!"

Ash steps forward. "Great job Brenda. Pikachu and I will handle it from here." Pikachu jumps onto the ground in front of Team Rocket, ready to attack. "Alright Pikachu, you know what to do!"

Pikachu charges for a Thunderbolt, and then unleashes it. "Pikaaaaaaaa chuuuuuuuu!" Team Rocket is electrocuted and sent flying into the air.

As they're flying, Jessie cries in despair, "All I wanted were two new Pokémon for my appeal performance!"

Meowth says, "Hey, look at the bright side, that was some good practice for your double battle performance."

Jessie nods. "I guess you're right." She then declares, "From this point on, we're going to spend as much time training as possible! I will win that contest!"

James cheers, "That's a great can-do attitude Jess! But first…"

They all shout, "We're blasting off again!"

Back on the ground, Will compliments, "Wow Brenda, you did great. By watching, I never would have guessed that that was your first complete double battle."

Brenda grins. "Thanks Will."

Will walks across the clearing, to the capsule with Helioptile and Cryogonal. He finds a control panel, presses a couple of buttons, and the capsule opens. Helioptile and Cryogonal jump out happily. Will says to them, "I promise you both that we'll continue to practice until we get to the point where another accident like that will never happen." Both Pokémon nod happily.

They have all returned to Will's original clearing. Will says to Brenda, "I'm sorry, but we'll have to put our battle on hold. It's getting late."

Brenda nods. "Yeah, we should probably begin looking for a place to camp for the night. But we'll battle later, right?"

Will nods. "Count on it. If not before the Starside Contest, I can almost assure you that we will there. I hope you prepare yourself properly."

Brenda nods. "I'm looking forward to the battle, and seeing what your Cryogonal and Helioptile learn to do together."

She turns to leave, heading over to Ash and Brock who have already began to leave. They all turn to wave goodbye to Will. Will waves back.

Now that Brenda not only knows the location of her next Pokémon Contest, but also that it will be a Double Performance, the future seems more exciting than ever for our heroes. The excitement grows, as the journey continues!

To Be Continued…