Episode 90: Breaking Training

Ash, Brock, and Brenda have come to a full stop and look with surprise, wonder, and awe at a sight ahead of them. Ash breathlessly mutters, "No…way…"

Ahead of them is the city-wide amusement park, Cosm City. It is awash with neon lights, and attractions such a Ferris wheel, free-fall tower, and numerous roller coasters can be seen sticking out from the city.

Ash shouts, "I want to ride the bumper cars!"

Brenda declares excitedly, "I'm going on the Ferris wheel!"

Brock proclaims, "I can't wait for those roller coasters!"

They all break out running for the city.

Our heroes have finally made it to Cosm City, the amusement park that's a city and the city that's an amusement park, as well as the site of Brenda's next Pokémon Contest. Fun times are certainly ahead!

In a montage of their time enjoying Cosm City, Ash, Brock, and Brenda are first seen at the bumper cars. Brenda's and Ash's cars collide head-on with each other, causing Pikachu to fly up into the air, off of Ash's shoulders. It lands again and Brenda and Ash laugh. Brock then rams into both of them, and all three laugh.

Next, it's the Ferris wheel. Ash, Brock, and Brenda sit in a car and look over the edge from the top of the wheel. They are all dazzled by the view of the city-wide theme park. It's quite the spectacle.

On the roller coaster, they are shot straight upwards, into a loop. From there, the coaster never lets up, sending them up, and down, and all around. Ash, Brenda, and Pikachu look to be having a great time, but Brock, despite his earlier excitement for the roller coaster, looks absolutely terrified.

After all that, they end up playing the carnival game where you throw baseballs at bottles to knock them over. Brenda prepares to throw a ball and declares, "Here we go!" She throws it and completely misses. She pouts. "This is hard…"

Ash grabs a ball and says confidently, "Let me show you how it's done." He prepares to throw and shouts dramatically, "Go!" The ball sails forward at high speeds and blows through the stack of bottles, knocking them all over.

The person running the stand shouts, "We have a winner!" She hands Ash his prize, an over-sized Pikachu plushie. Ash happily takes it.

Pikachu looks at the plushie, which is at least three times larger than itself, and tilts its head in curiosity. "Pika?" It cautiously pokes the stuffed Pokémon, not sure what to make of it.

Brenda exclaims, "Wow, Ash! How'd you get so good at this?"

Ash looks to her and grins. "It's easy, you just have to imagine you're throwing a Pokéball."

Brenda shakes her head. "Figures."

From behind them, someone says, "Brenda, I should have figured I'd find you slacking off instead of training for tomorrow's contest."

Brenda turns around to see Michelle approaching from behind. Brenda instinctively smiles. "Michelle! Great to see you!"

Michelle grimaces. "I wish I could say the same."

Brenda suddenly has flashback to her last encounter with her friend. It was just after Brenda defeated Michelle at Professor Pine's Astro Camp. Brenda walks across the battlefield to Michelle and offers her a handshake. "That was a great battle, Michelle. I really thought you and Cleffa were going to win there for a bit. I guess I must have just gotten lucky with Minior losing its shell."

Michelle suddenly snaps into anger. She smacks Brenda's hand away and shouts, "Yeah! You got lucky! That's it! Just like you always do! You put in none of the work, and get all the luck! I train more in one week than you ever have in your life, and yet you always manage to win by some fluke or another! I've had enough of it! I'm done with you, Brenda!" She turns around and stomps off angrily. She thrusts Cleffa's Pokéball into Professor Pine's hands and says, "I'm sorry Professor, but I have to go now. Thanks for the experience." She storms away.

Brenda is hurt and shocked. "Michelle…?"

The flashback ends, and Brenda looks just as devastated as she did in that moment, "Michelle…I…" She's at a loss for words.

Michelle shakes her head. "Don't even try, Brenda. We're through being friends, and there's nothing you can say to me that I have to hear. Finding you here wasting time only confirms everything I need to know about you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back training, as some of us actually need to work hard to succeed in life." She walks off, leaving before Brenda can say anything.

After a moment of standing, unsure of what to do, Brenda begins to sob and runs off.

Ash begins to move after her, but Brock puts a hand on his shoulder and shakes his head. "Give her some time first. I know you want to help, but she's going through a lot. Give her a bit to gather her thoughts, and then go."

Ash watches as she runs away, and sighs. "Yeah."

Brenda has collapsed on a bench in a relatively quiet area of the park and cries to herself. She thinks in despair, Michelle…you were my best friend… What happened…? She sighs. I happened… I ruined everything. Just like I always do. I mess up everything I touch.

From their Pokéballs, Kappaqueous and Frostcicle appear. Frostcicle, true to its nature, begins to do everything it can to cheer up Brenda. "Frost frost!"

Brenda looks up to it and shakes her head. "Not now, Frostcicle. I'm not in the mood."

Frostcicle looks at her with worry, and then turns to Kappaqueous. "Frost, frost frostcicle."

Kappaqueous nods in agreement. It creates an Aqua Bomb and throws it straight up. Frostcicle uses Icy Wind to freeze the orb of water, turning it to a ball of ice. Kappaqueous catches it, throws it back into the air, and then creates another Aqua Bomb. Frostcicle freezes this one as well. This cycle continues, and Kappaqueous ends up juggling several balls of ice. At one point, with all the balls in the air, Kappaqueous grabs Frostcicle and begins to juggle it along with the balls.

Frostcicle shouts in surprise, "Frost!"

Seeing this, Brenda can't help but give a small giggle.

Kappaqueous and Frostcicle see that they're making an impact. Kappaqueous tosses Frostcicle to the side, and then throws all the balls up, creates another Aqua Bomb, and throws it up as well. It explodes upon contact with the balls, causing sparkling ice dust to scatter and fall all around.

Brenda cracks a small smile. "You two always have my back. Thank you."

"Kappa appa!"

"Frost!"

Ash now runs, apparently thinking he's given her enough time. He somberly asks, "Brenda, how are you doing?"

Brenda sighs. "I don't know…"

Ash sits next to her on the bench. "Hey, I know you're going through a lot right now, but hey, it's not all bad. You still have me." He looks over to Kappaqueous and Frostcicle. "And you've still got your Pokémon, too."

"But, Michelle…"

"Michelle is wrong. She thinks you don't do anything in the way of hard work, and win purely out of luck. You and I both know she's wrong."

"But…we were best friends…she knows me better than anyone. What if she is right? What if I'm just fooling myself into thinking I'm putting in work, but in reality, I'm just not doing anything substantial?"

Ash shakes his head. "Michelle may have known you well back before you became a Pokémon Coordinator, but you've changed a lot since then, and you know what? Nobody knows that better than me, so how about you trust me on that?"

Brenda looks up to Ash. "Do you really think that?"

Ash asserts, "I don't think that, I know that."

Brenda grins slightly. "Thanks, Ash."

Ash suddenly gets up. "You know how you can feel better? Let's do some training and prove Michelle wrong!"

Brenda nods. "Alright, let's do it." Confidence seems to have returned to her, if only slightly.

She and Ash run off, with Kappaqueous and Frostcicle following behind, both of them appearing extremely happy that Brenda is feeling better.

Who's that Pokémon!?

Its heart-shaped body is a symbol of love and romance. It is said that any couple meeting this Pokémon is promised a loving relationship that never ends.

Jessie, dressed as Princess Jessileia, James, and Meowth, both dressed as her agents, step into Cosm City. Jessie declares, "Peasants, you are in the presence of royalty! Princess Jessileia has arrived!"

A couple of bystanders take a glance at her, but then lose interest and return to their business.

Jessie stomps her feet in anger. "How dare they! I am royalty! My presence must be honored!"

Meowth attempts to placate her by saying, "And it is. They honor you by remaining silent. For to be loud would disrespect your royal status."

Jessie ponders this. "Hmm…" She suddenly gushes, "I suppose you're right!" She calls out to everyone around her, "Thank you all! You're too kind! It must be hard to restrain yourself in the presence of such greatness!"

Some people look at her, shrug, and go back about their business, completely indifferent.

Jessie beckons Meowth and James forward. "Come, contest registration awaits us."

They begin to walk, but James suddenly comes to a dead halt when he sees something ahead of him. He completely freezes up. "It…can't…be…"

Jessie and Meowth turn to see James. Jessie walks up to him and waves a hand in front of his face. "Hello? Earth to James. Come in James."

Meowth groans. "That's it. He's lost it."

James shakes his head. Still sounding shocked and awed, he says, "No, I've found it…" With sudden excitement, he shouts, "I've finally found it!" Appearing extremely giddy, he runs up to a carnival game stand and begins to dance about with glee.

Jessie and Meowth look to each other and groan. Meowth says, "Dare I ask what it is?"

James points to one of the prizes hanging on the wall in the back of the stand. Hanging above all the other prizes is an over-sized stuffed Chimecho. "That, is it."

Jessie is confused. "A Chimecho doll? I don't get it. What's so important about a Chimecho doll?"

James shakes his head. He proclaims with the utmost gravity, "No, not a doll, it's a Chimecho plushie, and not just any Chimecho plushie, an over-sized Chimecho plushie with realistic chiming." James begins to cry tears of joy.

Jessie says, "I still don't get it. What's so special about a toy?"

James looks at her with fierce anger. "What's so special!? Did you not hear what I just said!? This is no mere toy! This is my Holy Grail!"

A flashback begins. James explains, "It all goes back to when I was a wee lad." Young James prances through a carnival. He seems to be truly enjoying himself. "I was young and innocent, and had no idea that my life was about to change forever." Young James stops suddenly when he sees something ahead of him. It's a carnival game stand, and hanging there is the exact same Chimecho plushie. "One look at that plushie, and I knew it was fate. I had to have it. So, I stepped up to the stand and pulled that week's hard-earned allowance." Young James pulls out a giant stack of cash. "But just as I was about to start the game, Papa appeared and said that it was time to leave." James' father appears and lectures young James. James gets down on his knees and begs. "I begged Papa to give me the chance to win that Chimecho plushie, but he said there was no time. He offered the man at the stand to buy the Chimecho plushie, but the man said that that would be against carnival policy. Papa promised me that we would go back to the carnival some other day to get that prize, but when we did, they no longer had it." The flashback ends with young James crying as he looks at the carnival booth without the Chimecho plush.

"It was the one thing money couldn't buy, and ever since that day, I have searched high and low for that plushie, and now I've found it." James holds a fist into the air and declares, "And today I will get it!" He marches up to the stand and throws money down.

Meowth groans. "My wallet has a very bad feeling about this."

Jessie nods. "Mine too…"

Wobbuffet appears and moans, "Wobbuffet…"

It's Luvdisc!

Ash and Brenda are inside a fun house, in the hall of mirrors. Ash declares, "Alright Brenda, this here house of mirrors was designed to be a battlefield, so let's go all-out. The bizarre surroundings make for the perfect training spot!"

Brenda, now looking encouraged and determined, nods. "Right, let's do this!"

Pikachu leaps off of Ash's shoulders, ready for a training match.

Brenda looks to Kappaqueous. "Kappaqueous, there's something I want to try. You inspired me to try this."

Kappaqueous nods, and then steps forward. "Kappapapapa!"

Ash encourages, "Go on Brenda, show me what you have up your sleeves!"

Brenda nods. "Alright then, Kappaqueous, juggle your Aqua Bombs! Just like before, but use your Confusion to keep them intact!"

Just as it did to cheer up Brenda, Kappaqueous begins to create orbs of water and throw them into the air. Unlike before, instead of freezing them, Kappaqueous uses Confusion to contain the orbs with its psychic powers.

Ash smiles at this sight. "That's a good one, Brenda!"

"I can't take credit, it was all Kappaqueous and Frostcicle's idea. Now Kappaqueous, let's throw those bombs!"

Seeing that Brenda is ready to attack, Ash commands, "Pikachu, to the right, now!"

Pikachu dashes off towards the right of the room, and suddenly gets lost in a swarm of reflections of itself.

This surprises Brenda. Kappaqueous throws its first projectile at what it thinks is Pikachu, but it turns out to just be a reflection. Brenda shouts, "Kappaqueous, full spread!" Kappaqueous hurls its bombs in all different directions, in an attempt to hit the actual Pikachu, but each time it ends up hitting another mirror. "What!?"

Ash grins. "You never know what your opponent is going to do to distract you! You've got to find a way to either see past the distractions, or break through them!"

Brenda nods, ready to give it all she can.

James is frantically tossing rings at a bottle, attempting to get one to land around the bottleneck. Mime Jr. is standing on the counter next to him and mimicking every toss. James quickly exhausts his supply of rings, slams more money down on the counter, grabs a new bucket of rings, and resumes throwing.

Jessie and Meowth watch with their jaws hanging. Jessie says, "Certainly he'll land one eventually, right?"

Meowth responds, "You would think."

James has once again depleted his ring supply. He reaches into his pocket, but finds no money. He turns towards Jessie and Meowth, with a look of obsession on his face. He holds out a hand. "Money, now."

Meowth nervously attempts to talk him down, "Now Jimbo, don't you think that you've put enough money into this silly game?"

Jessie adds, "And I really don't have any cash to spare."

James terrifyingly shouts, "I said, money, now!"

Mortified by his sudden mood swing, Jessie and Meowth dig into their pockets, yes, Meowth has pockets, and pull out all the money they have.

James nods, and turns back to the counter to continue his ring toss.

Jessie and Meowth collectively sigh.

Michelle opens the doors to the hall of mirrors, but stops when she sees Brenda and Ash in the middle of their training. Michelle scoffs with disbelief, "No way."

Brock steps up behind her. "Are you here to train too?"

Michelle turns around with surprise. "Oh, Brock. I was just leaving." She begins to walk away.

Brock says, "You know, she's not doing this to prove you wrong."

Michelle stops. "What?"

"Well, maybe she is in part, but that's not the full reason. Brenda really has changed. The days of her relying on her innate talent alone is gone. She's gotten quite good at training."

Michelle scoffs at this notion. "Please. No one changes like that. Brenda may be training today, but that's just to make herself feel better. Tomorrow she'll be right back to her old self. She'll be putting in none of the effort and getting all of the rewards, purely because of dumb luck. It only makes things worse when she tricks herself into thinking she's earned what she wins. Trust me, I've known her for all my life."

Brock shakes his head. "Maybe you're not entirely wrong. Maybe there is some part of Brenda that still resembles the old Brenda, a part of her that holds her back from fully embracing the hard work and training it takes to be a Pokémon Coordinator, but she really is trying. She is putting in an honest attempt to change, so can you really be upset with her?"

"As long as she remains so ignorant and selfish, I can and will." She glances towards Brenda and Ash.

Pikachu is still hiding in the menagerie of mirrors and reflections. Brenda has switched from Kappaqueous to Glitterfly. Brenda shouts, "Alright Glitterfly, use Sparkling Flare on the mirror in front of you!" Glitterfly attacks with a sparkling burst of light, which reflects off of the mirror in front of it, immediately beginning a chain reaction of reflections. Sparkling light is bouncing back and forth across all the mirrors, and the light begins to amplify itself. Then, Pikachu, in its hidden corner, is blasted by the attack.

Ash smiles. "That was a great idea Brenda! You flushed out Pikachu, no problem!"

Michelle shakes her head. "See, dumb luck. She didn't know that was going to happen. Things just go her way every single time."

Brock suggests, "Isn't the point of training so that you can try out those crazy situations, so that you can later apply them in an actual battle with a refined version?"

Michelle shakes her head. "I'm out of here. I've seen enough." She walks away.

Brock watches her for a moment, and then steps into the hall of mirrors.

Brenda asks, "Hey Brock, is something up?"

Brock shakes his head. "No, I was just having a chat with someone. Nothing you need to concern yourself with. I saw that last move though, very clever."

Brenda smiles. "Thanks." She looks back to Ash. "Alright, I'm getting into this. Don't stop now, let's keep on going."

Ash nods in agreement.

James has one ring left. He holds it tightly in his hand. He proclaims with the utmost gravity, "This is it. The last ring. The last chance. Once I throw this ring, it could very well be years until I get another chance again. I must do this. Everything banks on this one last throw."

Jessie whispers to Meowth, "If James is going to waste all of our money on this ridiculous toy, he'd better make this, for his own good."

Meowth nods. "Agreed."

James falters. "What if I'm not good enough? What if I miss this throw? Am I even worthy of winning this ultimate prize? Maybe I'm not…"

Mime Jr. tugs on James' sleeve.

James looks down. "Mime Jr.? What is it?"

Mime Jr. says encouragingly, "Mime mime, mime, mime mime!"

James nods with newfound determination. "You're right. I can do this. If you have faith in me, then I know I can!" He turns to the bottle and holds up the ring. He takes a deep breath to gather his focus, and then tosses the ring.

Everything begins to move in slow motion. The ring sails through the air, spinning on its axis. James and Mime Jr. watch with bated breath. Jessie and Meowth also watch intensely, with the fate of their money on the line. After flying a little further, the edge of the ring hits the top of the bottle and begins to tumble upwards. James' eyes go wide with horror, and Mime Jr. mimics his look. Jessie and Meowth look to each other, knowing that it's all over. But then Meowth notices something, and points to the bottle. James looks back and sees the ring falling back down. It lands perfectly around the bottleneck.

Time returns to normal. James is too utterly shocked to react. He says under his breath, "I did it…"

Jessie and Meowth both say with surprise, "He did it!"

James then leaps for joy. "I did it!" He and Mime Jr. jump up and down, celebrating James' victory.

The carnival game attendant pulls one of the over-sized Chimecho plushies from the wall and hands it to James. James' eyes go wide with child-like wonder. As he slowly takes hold of it, he is much too giddy with excitement to say anything, so random excited babbling comes out of his mouth instead. He hugs the plushies close to his body, and as he moves it, a sound like a windchime can be heard coming from the stuffed Pokémon. As he sobs tears of joy, he says, "It's mine…it's finally mine."

Michelle has left the hall of mirrors and instead decided to go to a public battlefield. She throws a Pokéball. "Go, Poliwrath!"

Michelle's Poliwhirl seems to have evolved into a Poliwrath. After it appears, it declares, "Poliwrath!"

Michelle tells it, "Alright Poliwrath, tomorrow's the big day. Tomorrow's the day we're going to beat Brenda and show her how strong our training has made us."

Poliwrath nods. "Poli."

The scene cuts to Brenda. She switches out Glitterfly for Kappaqueous again. She says to it, "Alright Kappaqueous, tomorrow's the big day. Tomorrow's the day we're going to prove to Michelle that we've changed, and how strong our training has made us."

Kappaqueous nods. "Kappa."

Back to Michelle. She declares, "Poliwrath, use Water Gun!"

At the same time, Brenda orders, "Kappaqueous, use Water Gun!"

Both Pokémon, in a side-by-side view, launch their attacks simultaneously.

Then, both Brenda and Michelle shout, "Now, attack the water!"

Poliwrath uses Mud Shot, while Kappaqueous uses Aqua Bomb. The two attacks catch up with the water gun and explode on impact, creating a shower of water across the field.

"We're going to beat Michelle."

"We're going to beat Brenda."

Sometimes, the best of friends can make the worst of enemies. Nobody likes it when a friend ceases to be such, but sometimes it can be just the push one needs to become the best version of themselves. And with the coming clash between Brenda and Michelle, you have to stay tuned.

To Be Continued…