Episode 105: Burning Curve

It's another day, and another training session for Ash and Brenda. Ash uses Dashilisk while Brenda uses Wispirit. Off in the distance, Brock is cooking a meal near their tents.

Brenda orders, "Wispirit, use Flame Burst!" The fiery ghost Pokémon attacks with sizzling flames.

Ash counters, "Put it out with Scald!" Dashilisk spits water at the incoming fire and extinguishes it.

It looks like our heroes are right back to training, because you can never train too much!

Brenda declares, "Okay Wispirit, it's time for a combination! Use Flame Burst again!"

Ash grins. "Come on Brenda, we're just going to do the same thing as before! Put it out!" Dashilisk attacks with scalding water again.

Brenda grins back. "I did say this was a combo, didn't I? Pyromancy!" Wispirit's eyes glow red, and suddenly the sizzling balls of fire separate from one another and fly around the water. They then make another sudden turn, and converge on Dashilisk. Once they make contact, the fire balls explode.

Ash congratulates, "Good one, Brenda. You and Wispirit are really starting to work well together."

Brenda nods. "Yeah, all this training has been great for us. Right, Wispirit?" She looks to where Wispirit was floating just moments ago, but it's not there. "Wispirit?"

Abruptly, Wispirit appears behind Brenda and shouts, "Wisp!"

Brenda freezes up as the shock runs through her body. She shouts, "Ahh!"

Wispirit laughs. "Wisp wisp wisp wisp wisp!"

Brenda calms down and sighs. "Okay, we still have some things we've got to work on."

A woman's voice calls, "That was some excellent battling. Would I be correct in assuming you're a Pokémon coordinator?"

Ash and Brenda look over to see a woman approaching them. She has fiery red hair with a matching blazer. She also wears a professional-length orange skirt. Brenda answers, "Yeah, I'm a coordinator."

The woman smiles. "That's great. My name is Blaise, and I'd love a chance for a contest battle with a coordinator."

Ash asks, "Are you a coordinator?"

Blaise shakes her head. "I'm afraid not officially. My life is much too busy to take it on as any more than a hobby. Still, I always enjoy a good contest battle when I get the chance."

Brenda says, "That sounds great. It will help Wispirit and I train more, right Wispirit?"

"Wisp!"

Blaise grins. She pulls out a Pokéball and tosses it into the air. "To my side, Infearno!"

The Pokémon that appears seems to primarily consist of a floating ornate metal lantern. Inside of the lantern burns a white-blue flame with a face on it. This flame looks similar to Wispirit, except more sinister. From the side of this fireball, an arm of flame reaches out, up, and around in order to grab the lantern's handle. As the Pokémon floats, the lantern slowly swings from side to side, as if being swung by someone holding it.

Ash immediately reaches for his Pokédex. "Infearno, the Will-O-The-Wisp Pokémon and a Fire and Ghost Combo-Type. It is said that if you follow the light of this Pokémon, it will lead you to your doom. Evolves from Wispirit with a Fire Stone."

Ash looks to Brenda and Wispirit and says, "So, if you gave a Fire Stone to Wispirit, it would evolve into that."

Brenda shudders. "I don't know if I could handle the idea of Wispirit becoming even scarier…"

Wispirit, on the other hand, seems to thoroughly enjoy this idea. "Wisp…"

Brenda and Blaise take positions for a battle. Blaise offers, "Brenda, I want you to start things off."

Brenda obliges. "Wispirit, use Flame Burst!" Wispirit attacks with sizzling balls of fire.

Blaise quickly shouts, "Deflect it with Pyromancy!" Infearno's eyes glow purple, and Wispirit's fire attack comes to a complete stop. "Now, let's spread it out and push!" At Infearno's command, the balls of fire a stretched into a wall of searing flames and is pushed back at the source.

Brenda shouts, "Block it with your own Pyromancy!" Wispirit's eyes also glow as it attempts to catch the fire wall, but it seems to have little effect, and the wall of fire knocks Wispirit away.

Unrelenting, Blaise orders, "Now use Shadow Ball with a curve!" Infearno spins it body as it hurls a purple orb of shadows.

Brenda can do nothing but order, "Dodge!" Wispirit attempts to float to the side to dodge, but at the last minute, the trajectory of the Shadow Ball curves, and hits Wispirit despite its dodge.

Ash says to Pikachu, "Wow, Blaise is really good at controlling her Pokémon moves."

Pikachu agrees, "Pika."

Once Wispirit has recovered, Brenda yells, "Let's see if they can hit us when they can't see us! Use Illusory Flames!" Wispirit conjures a wall of purple-blue flames that surrounds Infearno.

Blaise counters, "Show them what a real Illusory Flames looks like!" Another wall of flames is summoned around Wispirit, but this one twists and turns on itself as it weaves into a spire of flames.

Brenda gasps. She urges, "Wispirit, get out of there!" Wispirit attempts to pass through the flames, but it too afraid to do so.

Blaise shouts, "Now finish this! Rain of Terror!"

Wispirit looks upwards to see a shadowy vortex open up. From it, globs of shadowy energy begin to pour down. With nowhere to flee, Wispirit does its best to avoid the downpour, but eventually succumbs to the attacks and faints. The wall of flames lowers, revealing the Pokémon's fate to all.

Ash gasps. "No way, Wispirit didn't even land one hit…"

Brenda is silent as she recalls Wispirit.

Blaise also recalls Infearno and walks over to Brenda. "Thank you, I've been needing a battle like that. Perfect for unwinding."

At this point, Brock is walking over. He calls, "Okay everyone, lunch is ready!" He stops when he sees Blaise. "Wait a second… I know you…" He suddenly exclaims, "You're Blaise of the Elite Four!"

Ash asks, "Elite Four!? Are you sure, Brock?"

Brock nods. "Absolutely. I would never misidentify such a famous beauty."

Blaise chuckles. "Guilty as charged."

Brenda says to herself, "No way… I just lost to an Elite Four…?"

Brock suggests, "Blaise, if I may be so bold, you are welcome to eat lunch with us. We have more than enough food."

Blaise nods. "I'd like that."

Brock leaps high up in joy and declares, "It's a date!" But he's smacked back down to the ground by the suddenly appearing Meteorfight.

Blaise bites into a rice ball and exclaims, "Wow, these taste so good!"

Brenda agrees, "Brock is an amazing cook."

Brock modestly responds, "Oh, it's nothing special."

Ash insists, "Doesn't mean they don't taste great."

Blaise comments, "You kids have it pretty great. You get to do what you want, when you want, and eat some great food while doing it."

Ash queries, "But you're a member of the Elite Four, you must have a pretty great life too, right?"

Blaise takes a moment to contemplate and responds, "It's not that I don't like the life, but it keeps me busy. You see, not only am I a member of the Elite Four, but I'm also the head of TPL, the Tenno Propulsion Lab."

Brock asks, "So that means you're a rocket scientist?"

Blaise nods. "Exactly. Tenno launches over fifty rockets into space a year, and I'm the one in charge of designing all of their engines."

Brenda jokes, "I bet that means you get to joke that it really is rocket science a lot."

Blaise chuckles. "I can't say I do." After a pause she continues, "Between my duties at TPL and as an Elite Four, I have little spare time to pursue hobbies, such as Pokémon Contests."

Ash asks, "But don't you only become a member of the Elite Four after proving yourself as a Pokémon trainer? Why are you interested in being a coordinator now?"

"You see, it wasn't until after I was inducted into the Elite Four that I discovered my fondness for contest battles. I'm not going to say that I regret the path I took in life, I love both of my jobs, but it would also be nice to pursue something new."

Brenda remarks, "With coordinator skills like the ones I just saw, you could be a Top Coordinator for sure."

"You're too kind. Maybe I'm good, but that's only because of my passive study of the art. I am but an amateur. However, I do like to apply some contest-inspired tactics into my official league battles. I've found it can be quite helpful."

Ash recalls, "In the Sinnoh Region, Brock and I met a trainer name Nando. He competed in both contests and gym battles and thought that both sides could learn from the other."

Blaise nods. "Precisely my thoughts. And, of course, it works both ways. Trainers can learn from coordinators, and coordinators can learn from trainers." Blaise turns to Brenda and asks, "This may be sudden, but tell me Brenda, what is your reason for being a Pokémon coordinator?"

The question catches Brenda off-guard. "My reason…?"

Blaise nods. "Yes, why is it that you could chose to do anything, and you chose to be a coordinator?"

Brenda isn't sure how to answer. "Well, I don't know… I just kind of saw a contest on the holovision, and thought it looked fun… That's it… I guess…"

Blaise shakes her head. "Sorry to sound blunt, but that's not it."

Brenda can only ask, "It's not…?"

"Brock explained to me the story about your troubles adapting to be a coordinator, and how you nearly gave it all up after all of your notions were shattered."

Brenda looks slightly embarrassed. "Yeah… what about it?"

"You know perfectly well. If you competed in contests purely because they're 'fun,' then you would have given them up then. No Brenda, something drives you. There's a reason you stuck to it through thick and thin."

Brenda is speechless.

Ash questions, "What are you trying to get at? Why are you asking this?"

Blaise looks slightly embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry like that. We only just met, too. You see, purpose is a major question for me, and I think that finding a purpose is a truly important factor in one's journey. And, you see, there's something else that comes from knowing one's purpose. Your purpose determines your style. Once you determine what your purpose is, the sense of identity it gives you allows you to develop a style all your own." She looks straight at Brenda. "Brenda, when I battled you, I got the sense that you have yet to decide on your style."

Brenda, still reeling from all this, questions, "Style…?"

Blaise continues, "For example, my purpose in practicing with contest battles is to better myself and make me a more powerful Elite Four. This is reflected in my contest battle style. This could be seen in the way Infearno and I used the move Rain of Terror. Rain of Terror is a move that can be used in many different ways. I used it to overwhelm your defenses. It's a basic, yet different use for the move, which normally attacks over a much larger area."

Brenda remains contemplative over several moments more, then suddenly stands up and declares, "I will figure out my purpose, and I will craft my own style."

Blaise cheers, "That's the spirit."

Brenda looks back to her and asks, "You keep talking about how busy you are, but is there any way you could find the time to do a favor for me?"

Blaise smiles. "I still have some time left before I have to return."

Brenda nods. "Perfect. I want you to teach Wispirit and I how to use Rain of Terror. Using that move, we will craft our style."

Blaise slowly nods, and she contemplates this. "I like the gusto. Let's do it." With this, Brenda runs off to prepare for training.

Meanwhile, prying eyes have been spying on the group this entire time. It's Team Rocket hiding in a nearby tree. Jessie exclaims, "That woman is a contest genius! She gives amazing advice!"

James says, "I hope you were keeping notes."

Jessie shakes her head. "That won't be necessary."

Meowth questions, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that she's our next target."

James objects, "Surely you mean her Pokémon?"

Jessie shakes her head. "Nope. We're going to steal her and all her advice. Just think about it, Princess Jessileia is hard at training, needing a breakthrough." A fantasy begins to play out. A cartoon of Jessie in her Jessileia costume paces the room. Jessie continues to narrate, "She's beyond baffled that gorgeous looks and unprecedented talent can't seem to win her any ribbons. That's when we come in with miss Elite Four over there." Cartoon James, Meowth, and even Jessie come carrying a tied-up Blaise. They remove the gag from her mouth. "With all her teachings, Jessileia will be a shoo-in to win not only a ribbon, but all the ribbons." Jessileia is now covered by a massive pile of contest ribbons. "And that's when she'll say, 'Thanks to Jessie and friends, I have truly achieved what has been owed to me along. And now that I'm rich and famous, it only makes sense for me to make them rich and famous as well.'" The fantasy ends.

James and Meowth are extremely confused. Meowth musters up the courage to point out, "Um… Jessie… you do realize that you are Jessileia, right?"

Jessie doesn't see the problem. "Yeah. So what? Do you have a problem with there being more than one of me?"

James mutters quietly, "That would be a nightmare."

Jessie demands, "What was that?"

James, not technically lying, says nervously, "I said that that would be something from a dream…"

Jessie nods in agreement. "Yes, it would, wouldn't it?"

Who's That Pokémon!?

It waves its hands wildly in intimidation and warning. Life is over for anyone who doesn't run away as fast as possible.

Blaise and Infearno stand opposite of Brenda and Wispirit. Ash and Brock sit on a log and watch. Blaise explains, "Rain of Terror is an interesting move. A Pokémon using it will literally rain down terror onto the opponent. It doesn't sound like a move a coordinator would use, but to turn fright into awe is truly a grand spectacle."

Brenda nods. "I understand."

"Am I correct in assuming that your Wispirit enjoys scaring people?"

Brenda nods. "It sure does, right Wispirit?" She turns to look at Wispirit, to find it missing. Knowing what to expect, Brenda quickly turns around and exclaims, "Got you!" But finds nothing.

Then Wispirit reappears where it floated just before. "Wisp!"

Despite her best efforts, this startles Brenda. "Eep!" While Wispirit laughs at her, she sighs and says, "See?"

Blaise nods. "Clearly. In that case, this move should be perfectly up its alley. I'll be teaching you two how to use the move in its most basic form. It will be up to you to refine it and find your own style."

Brenda nods. "Yes, of course."

"Just remember, knowing this move will not make your purpose any more apparent. It is simply a blank canvas for you to experiment with. Just as I must make sure a rocket is perfectly balanced before launching it, it is up to you find your own balance in this move."

"We're ready."

"Then let us begin. Infearno, let's show them how it's done!"

"Fearno!" Infearno's eyes glow a dark purple.

"The first step is to have your Pokémon build up its desire to scare others. Let those feelings build up until they manifest as energy." At about this point, Infearno's entire body begins to glow with a dark purple aura. "Once this energy manifests, it can be focused into an attack. It just has to be projected into the sky and released in a torrent." With this, a shadowy vortex opens up above them. Moments later, it suddenly opens wider as globs of shadowy energy begin to pour out. These globs land in a wide spread across the ground and explode on impact. Wispirit has watched this all in awe.

Ash muses, "Wow, that's a lot of power."

Brock explains, "Rain of Terror is one of the most powerful Ghost-Type moves there is, you can bet that it packs a punch."

Blaise asks, "Do you think you two can handle that?"

Brenda asks, "What do you think, Wispirit?"

Wispirit happily nods. "Wisp!"

"Okay then, let's do it! You heard what she said, gather up all your desire to frighten others, let it manifest itself into energy you can use to attack with!"

Wispirit focuses and begins to gather energy. Its eyes begin to glow just like Infearno's.

Brenda cheers, "That's it! Keep it up! Once you've gathered enough, release all that energy into your attack!" Wispirit begins to glow. "Now! Do it now!"

"Wiiiiiisp!" Wispirit releases its energy and a vortex begins to open. Anticlimactically, the vortex quickly fizzles away.

Blaise nods. "A good first attempt. It would appear that the energy balance wasn't right. Too much energy, and the vortex will explode before the attacks completes. But too little, and it will dissipate, like what just happened."

Brenda nods. "I see." She looks to Wispirit and asks, "You get that Wispirit? We need to work on balancing your energy output."

Wispirit nods, ready to try again. "Spirit."

"Then let's try again!"

It's Bewear!

Sometime later, Brenda shouts, "Now!"

"Wiiiiiiiisp!" Another vortex opens up and the drops of shadow begin to pour out. But before the attack proceeds any further, everything explodes in the air, halting the attack.

Brenda exclaims, "Shoot!"

Blaise comments, "That was close. That was very close. Your dedication to this training is serving you well."

Brock says, "Sometimes I still can't believe how far Brenda has come."

Ash nods. "Yeah, back when she started, if she didn't get this on the first try, she wouldn't have bothered any further."

Brock adds, "Her dedication to training has grown so much. She's practically become a whole new person."

Brenda proclaims with absolute determination, "Okay Wispirit, let's try again! We can do this! We will master this move! We will discover our purpose! We will forge a style all our own! Go!"

But before Wispirit can try again, their training is interrupted. A mechanical arm launches in from out of sight and grabs Blaise and Infearno.

Everyone gasps and looks to the source of the arm. It's a large mechanical monstrosity. It appears to be extremely sturdy in its build, appearing almost tank-like with its low center of gravity and treads for locomotion. It's covered in dark green armor plating as well. The arm drops Blaise and Infearno into a holding tank on the back of the machine and retracts into it.

Blaise shouts, "What on Earth is going on here!?"

Atop the machine, Jessie appears to announce, "Prepare for trouble from beyond the Earth!"

James adds, "Make it double and check out this tank's girth!"

"To protect the world of devastation!"

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

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

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

"Wobbuffet!"

"Mime mime!"

Brenda demands, "Team Rocket, what are you doing!?"

James mocks, "What does it look like we're doing?"

Ash shouts, "It looks like you're kidnapping a person and a Pokémon, instead of just a Pokémon!"

Jessie retorts, "So what? The Twerpette is trying something new, why can't we?"

Blaise knocks on the glass and shouts, "Let me out of here right now!"

Wanting to get things over with, Ash orders, "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu leaps up to attack. "Pikaaaaaaa chuuuuuuuu!"

Team Rocket quickly lower into the tank's cockpit. When the Thunderbolt hits the tank, it harmlessly bounces off.

Team Rocket laughs and Meowth exclaims, "Tough luck! The armor on our Invincible Mecha-Tank is strong enough to ward off an attack to any single point. Good luck breaking through it!"

James adds, "This machine is truly one tough cookie."

Jessie agrees, "And this cookie isn't going to be crumbling."

Brenda says, "Wait, did he say an attack to any single point?"

Blaise, having realized the same thing, shouts, "You can do it, Brenda!"

Brenda steps in front of Ash and declares, "We'll handle this. Wispirit, let's do it! Rain of Terror!"

Jessie breaks out in laughter. "Come on! You've been failing to use that move for how long now? What's it supposed to do!?"

James agrees, "We might as well just sit here!"

But Meowth realizes with fear, "Um… guys…"

Wispirit has opened a vortex of shadows above the tank. It looks perfectly stable. Seeing this, Jessie and James both shout, "Retreat!"

Meowth declares, "Let's kick things into high gear!" The tank begins to retreat at a breakneck speed of five miles per hour. Meowth realizes, "Hmm… all that heavy armor must be-"

Before anything else can be said, a cascade of shadowy energy begins to pelt the tank. At first the tank holds up, but as the downpour continues, it begins to be ripped apart. Jessie, James, and Meowth hug each other in fright. Wobbuffet also appears and shouts, "Wobbuffet!"

The tank holding Blaise and Infearno shatters, allowing for them to escape. Blaise runs over to Brenda's side. She says, "Perfect! Absolutely perfect! I knew you two could do it!"

Meanwhile, Team Rocket now lie atop the ruins of their machine. Fires burn at various parts of the wreckage. Meowth sighs. "I guess that that's the way the cookie crumbles after all…"

Blaise steps forward and shouts, "Tell me, do you know how much force it would take to lift three criminals into orbit?"

Jessie rolls her eyes. "We're Team Rocket, not Team Rocket Scientists."

Blaise grins mischievously and glances at Brenda. "Come on, it's not rocket science. Oh wait, it is! It's time for liftoff, Brenda!"

Brenda nods. "Let's do it. Wispirit!"

"Infearno!"

Together they shout, "Pyromancy!" The fire burning on the wreckage of the tank suddenly comes to life and amplifies several times. The fire swoops in towards Team Rocket and explodes on impact. As expected, they're sent flying upwards.

Before they disappear, they shout, "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!"

Ash and Brock approach Brenda and Blaise. Ash exclaims excitedly, "That was great, Brenda! You and Wispirit can use Rain of Terror now!"

Brock adds, "You used it perfectly, too! That's sure to be a help in your next contest!"

Brenda, however, doesn't seem too excited. "Yes, we can use the move, but we haven't perfected it yet. To do that, I first need to discover my purpose. And once I discover my purpose, I can develop my style. Then, and only then, will we be able to perfect the move."

Blaise comments, "And I have no doubt that you will find what you're looking for. Brenda, I wish you best of luck. I hope that we battle again, and when we do, you can show me everything that you've learned."

Brenda asks, "Wait, that sounds like a goodbye."

Blaise nods. "Unfortunately, it is. Not that it wasn't worth it, but I have spent much too much time out here. I must get back to work."

"In that case, thank you so much for helping me train."

Blaise shakes her head. "No, thank you for letting me focus on my hobby, even if for only a few hours. I see great potential in you Brenda. Don't let it go to waste."

Brenda shakes her head. "I won't. Absolutely not."

Ash chimes in, "And if we ever meet again, I want a turn to battle you."

Blaise nods. "Yes, of course. I'd love to battle you as well. Goodbye to you all."

Ash, Brock, and Brenda all say, "Bye!" as Blaise and Infearno go on their way.

Brenda says to herself, "A purpose that fuels my goal… A new style, all my own…"

Meeting one of the famous Elite Four has begun a new era for Brenda. The next phase in her journey to the Grand Festival and ultimate goal of becoming a Top Coordinator is underway. And with the contest at Starnight City coming soon, things are sure to get interesting. Stay tuned!

To Be Continued…