Pokemon: Friends to the End
Chapter 64: Sleight of Sand!
Ash, Dawn, Denise and Brock were walking through a desert on the way to Veilstone City.
"Awesome, it looks like a desert."Dawn remarked.
"It's giant."Brock commented.
"And pretty hot."Denise admitted.
"All right, here we go!"Ash said happily.
The Pallet Town Trainer happily jumped down a hill.
"Hey, come on out!"He suggested.
Ash releases his Pokémon so they can play in the sand.
"We can't leave them."Dawn admitted.
"Right!"Brock and Denise answered in unison.
Dawn, Denise and Brock join Ash and let out their Pokémon to play in the sand as well.
Denise smiled seeing Kirlia building a sandcastle with Happiny, Sudowoodo and Buneary before noticing Grotle and Luxio relaxing in the sand with their eyes closed.
"Aren't you two gonna play?"She asked.
"Grotle."Grotle responded.
"Lux."Luxio replied.
"Of course, how can I forget you two love snoozing in warm areas."Denise chuckled.
As the pokemon were playing, the sand rumbles up and a Hippowdon emerges from under the ground and lifts Pachirisu up on his back.
"Whoa, what's that?"Ash asked.
"That's a Hippowdon."Brock answered.
"It sure is huge."Denise commented.
Dawn looks Hippowdon up on her Pokédex.
"Hippowdon, the Heavyweight Pokémon."Dawn's Pokedex said. "It creates an enormous tornado of sand by blowing sand out of the holes in its body, and its mouth is over 6 feet in diameter."
Pachirisu happily climbs up to Hippowdon's head.
"Pachirisu, look out!"Dawn protested.
Hippowdon yawned and Pachirisu fell into his mouth.
"Pachirisu!"Dawn shouted.
Hippowdon uses Dig to go back underground with Pachirisu still inside his mouth.
"His getting away!"Denise said.
"Oh no, you don't!"Ash admitted.
The four heroes quickly run after Hippowdon, but he was gone.
"Pachirisu!"Dawn called out.
Ash, Denise and Brock try digging in the sand but then Pikachu pointed out a huge cloud of sand in the distance.
"Over there!"Ash said and took out his pokeballs. "Everyone return!"
Pikachu, Piplup and Eevee run toward the big cloud of sand while Ash and his friends recall their Pokémon into their Poké Balls.
Pachirisu appeared out of one of Hippowdon's holes on his left side and was happy to see Pikachu, Piplup and Eevee.
"Pachirisu, get out of there right now!"Dawn called out.
Pachirisu tries to wiggle free, but it finds out it's stuck and Hippowdon again digs underground taking the electric type.
"Come back here!"Ash demanded.
The group then saw Hippowdon coming up from not far from where they were standing and went after it.
"Hippowdon, wait!"Denise protested.
"Pachirisu, Discharge!"Dawn ordered.
Pachirisu tried to use Discharge but nothing happens.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt, let's go!"Ash ordered.
Pikachu uses Thunderbolt and again nothing happens to Hippowdon.
"Thunderbolt, didn't do nothing either."Ash said.
"Hippowdon is a ground type pokemon."Brock stated.
"Of course so that means electric type moves won't have an effect on it."Denise commented.
Hippowdon once again digs underground taking Pachirisu with him once again.
"No!"Ash shouted. "Not again!"
"Pachirisu!"Dawn called out.
"Come on, this way!"Denise suggested.
The four heroes rushed to the last part of the desert where Hippowdon was, but it was no where to be seen.
"Aw man, where did Hippowdon go?"Ash said.
Then a Hippopotas appeared from under the ground.
"Hippo hippo."Hippopotas greeted.
"It's a Hippopotas."Ash said with a smile.
The Hippopotas walked up to Pikachu and started snuggling the Mouse Pokemon causing him to chuckle happily.
The Ground Type then snuggled Ash's leg.
"No...do you think..."Ash started.
"Could this be the Hippopotas, we met and who got separated from its herd?"Dawn said.
"Of course, at least now its back in its home."Denise remarked.
"I would if it got lost again?"Brock suggested.
The four then saw something emerge from the sand and saw Hippowdon not far from where they were standing.
"It's Hippowdon!"Ash stated.
Hippopotas happily walked toward him.
"Hippo!"It said happily.
Hippowdon roared in response while Pachirisu appeared from its nose.
"Pachirisu!"Dawn called out.
Hippowdon then escaped to the underground once more.
The heroes and Hippopotas run towards Hippowdon.
"Gone again!"Ash complained.
"I guess Hippowdon doesn't like seeing people."Denise commented.
Hippopotas sighed sadly. "Hippo..."
"Did you hear that?"Brock asked.
"Yeah."Ash replied with a nod.
"If Hippopotas feels sad maybe because it misses hanging out with that Hippowdon."Brock explained.
"Hippopotas is that true?"Ash asked.
"Hippo hippo."Hippopotas responded with a sad look.
"Hey, we'll help you out."Ash admitted kindly. "We need to find Hippowdon just like you."
The Pallet Town Trainer lifts Hippopotas onto his shoulders.
The group then heard Hippowdon shouting causing them to go to the other side to investigate.
When they arrived they saw Team Rocket trying to steal Hippowdon, who was trapped in a net.
"Team Rocket!"Ash said angrily.
"It's the goody twerp shoes!"Meowth scowled.
"You creeps leave Hippowdon alone!"Denise retorted.
"Listen is that a voice of a no brainer, I hear?"Jessie questioned. "Can we save this treat from another time? We are over booked."
"We need to do that stuff too, so save it!"Ash demanded.
"Yeah!"Dawn agreed. "My poor Pachirisu is still trapped in that Hippowdon."
"Aw, I just love getting pokemon surprises inside!"Jessie remarked with a smile.
Suddenly a Rhyhorn robot appeared from underground with a big Team Rocket "R" symbol on it.
"What in the world?!"Denise admitted.
"Is that yours?"Ash asked.
"No."Jessie replied.
Out of the robot, Butch and Cassidy jump out and do their motto with a Shuckle.
"A shrieking whine! A blast from the past!"
"Spinning like a Gyro Ball and moving fast!"
"To the moon..."
"...And beyond..."
"...What a blast!"
"Administering justice with lightning speed!"
"Bashing the bad guys, should we feel the need."
"So here's a newsflash from across the wire..."
"The real Team Rocket is now on fire!"
"Cassidy!"
"And it's Butch!"
"Shuck-uckle!"
"Teaching the losers a thing or two..."
"...The true Team Rocket..."
"Us! Not you!"
"Cassidy?!"Ash and Jessie said in unison.
"And Beth?!"Brock and James added.
"I told you its not Beth, it's Butch!"Butch snapped. "James, you are as bad as your twerps!"
"Great, another Team Rocket..."Denise muttered with a hint of annoyance.
"I thought one Team Rocket was bad enough."Dawn commented.
"So what are you doing here, messing up the landscapes, Jessie?"Cassidy questioned with a frown.
"Stop stealing all of my lines!"Jessie retorted. "What are you doing here?!"
"Ask Professor Mumba."Cassidy replied.
She then answered the phone that was ringing.
"Hello there?"Cassidy asked.
Then an angry voice shouted at her.
"It's Namba!"
"We're here from orders of Namba."Cassidy replied. "He wants to study the sand that Hippowdon spreads out and he send us to capture one."
"You tell Professor Fan Boy-"Jessie started.
Then the phone rang again and Cassidy handed it to Jessie.
"It's for you."Cassidy said.
Jessie answered the phone.
"Hello?"She asked.
"It's still Namba!"
"Alright, why didn't that loud mouth give us the orders instead of you?"Jessie demanded. "Let's not forget the Sinnoh Region is our term!"
She threw the phone back to Cassidy.
"Well that's not what I hear."Cassidy answered. "Namba told us personally we're his two and only sinnoh region wrecks."
Jessie, James and Meowth gasped in shock.
"But we've been hitting the dusty sinnoh trails since way back!"James admitted.
"Perhaps you all forgotten, how forgettable you fools can be."Butch retorted with a smirk.
"True."Cassidy agreed.
Butch and Cassidy laughed evilly.
"Where did you get that bucket of bolds?!"Jessie demanded with a glare.
"It's just a present from Professor Kimba."Butch replied.
Then the phone rang and he answered it.
"It's Namba!"
"It's one of Professor Namba's inventions."Butch answered.
"But we build our own machines!"James retorted. "It's not fair that you Beth get all the gold!"
"I told you, my name is Butch not Beth!"Butch snapped.
"Now Turtwig use Razor Leaf, let's go!"Ash stated. "Help out, Hippowdon!"
Turtwig comes out and uses Razor Leaf to cut the net to free Hippowdon.
"We don't need twerp interference!"Cassidy said angrily.
Hippowdon escapes underground again as Butch and Cassidy go after him in their robot.
"Okay guys, the only way we're going to save Pachirisu is to get to Hippowdon before they do, right?"Ash asked.
"Right."Dawn replied with a nod.
"Let's hurry."Denise suggested.
The four heroes began to run to go after Hippowdon.
But when they stopped running, they notice there was no sign of the ground type.
Ash looked at Hippopotas.
"Don't worry."He assured. "We're going to find Hippowdon soon."
Then the group heard Hippowdon's roar.
"That sounds like Hippowdon's call"Brock said.
Hippopotas then pointed at a direction.
"That way!"Ash commented.
Ash and his friends run to find Hippowdon being followed by Butch and Cassidy in their giant robot.
A claw reaches out of the robot toward Hippowdon but Pikachu uses Thunderbolt to stop the claw.
"Oh please!"Cassidy scoffed.
"Your not getting Hippowdon!"Ash stated firmly.
Pachirisu appeared from one of the holes of Hippowdon.
"Pachirisu!"Dawn said in relief.
"Okay Pikachu, Thunderbolt, let's go!"Ash ordered.
Pikachu uses Thunderbolt to hit the robot, but it has no effect.
"Just like sitting in a pair of rubber gloves."Cassidy remarked.
"Nice imagery."Butch commented.
Brock looked at Ash.
"We gotta get moving."He stated.
"Hippopotas, tell Hippowdon to follow us!"Ash admitted.
Hippopotas told Hippowdon to follow them and the Heavyweight Pokemon immediately agreed.
"No you don't!"Butch commented.
The heroes and Hippowdon quickly run from the robot.
"We gotta find away to destroy that robot!"Denise stated.
The group suddenly fall into a very big hole in the sand.
"What the?!"Ash said. "Where does this come from?"
Jessie, James and Meowth then appear above them in their balloon and they do their motto.
"Listen, is that a voice I hear?"
"It's speaking to me loud and clear."
"On the Wind!"
"The Stars!"
"In your Ear!"
"Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace!"
"Dashing hope, putting fear in its place!"
"A rose by any other name is just as sweet!"
"When everything's worse, our work is complete!"
"Jessie!"
"And its James!"
"And Meowth, now that's a name!"
"Putting the do-gooders in their place..."
"...we're Team Rocket..."
"...in your face!"
"It's rather twice as nice in this hand don't you think?"Jessie asked. "First we dig and then you sink!"
Butch and Cassidy glared angrily at the trio.
"But leaving Hippowdon trapped down there wouldn't work!"Jessie remarked.
Jessie and James fire some sort of a plunger on a rope that captured Hippowdon and started pulling him up into the air.
"So large load up!"Jessie giggled.
"Here we go!"James commented.
"Hippowdon!"Ash shouted.
"Oh no, you don't!"Denise retorted.
Pachirisu called out to its trainer.
"Pachirisu, I'm coming there too!"Dawn stated.
The heroes grab onto Hippowdon as they were lifted off the sand.
Butch and Cassidy fire a horn from the robot into the balloon and it pierces right through it, sending Jessie, James and Meowth flying away into the sky.
The group and Hippowdon fall to the ground.
Denise caught Eevee in her arms as she landed in the sand with her companions.
Ash and Hippopotas came out of the sand.
"Can't breath down there."Ash muttered.
Then the Rhyhorn Robot rose from the sand.
"Try all you can, but you twerps can't avoid technology!"Cassidy remarked.
"Your not beating us with that stupid machine, okay?!"Ash replied.
"That requires to the bait."Butch responded.
Butch and Cassidy again try to use a big claw from their robot to grab a hold of Hippowdon but Jessie, James and Meowth appear in a big Slowbro robot and break the claw.
"It's huge and its pink!"Cassidy said.
"And we paid in 12 months to get it for free!"Jessie remarked.
Cassidy smirked. "Wanna fight?"
"Let's rumble!"Jessie replied with a evil smile.
The two Team Rocket groups quickly begin to battle with their robots.
"Now's our chance!"Ash admitted.
"Yeah!"Denise agreed.
Ash and his friends start running away with Hippowdon again.
"That's no more, miss nice girl!"Jessie retorted.
She fires Slowbro's tail as a rocket into Butch and Cassidy's robot, but it has no effect.
Team Rocket gasped in shock.
"Not a single scratch?!"Jessie said.
Cassidy giggled evilly. "That so matches the pathetic little pink robot, here's a scratch you can't itch, fire horn rocket!"
Butch and Cassidy fire a horn rocket into the Slowbro robot and it drills though the robot before it explodes.
The blast sends the heroes and Hippowdon flying into the air.
As Hippowdon fell onto the ground, Pachirisu fall out of his mouth and gets reunited with Dawn and Piplup.
"Oh Pachirisu, your alright!"Dawn said happily.
Pachirisu hugged its trainer while Piplup giggled in joy.
Denise sighed in relief. "At least now that problem is solved."
"Eevee."Eevee replied.
The Rhyhron Robot went up to Hippowdon.
"Hey big boy, give your big self up already!"Cassidy retorted with a smirk.
Hippowdon got angry and fired a Hyper Beam at the Rhyhorn Robot, making it completely fall apart.
"Wow that was Hippowdon's Hyper Beam!"Brock remarked.
"Awesome!"Ash commented.
"That will teach those creeps a lesson or two!"Denise chuckled.
"No one, mangles our machine!"Cassidy said angrily and took out a pokeball. "If it's a pokemon battle you want buster, you'll get one, Granbull, let's go!"
"Shuckle, you too!"Butch stated.
Granbull and Shuckle appeared out of their pokeballs.
"Granbull!"
"Shuckle!"
"Protect Hippowdon!"Ash suggested.
"Just a Hippowdon heisting minute!"Jessie responded. "Cassidy, I've still got a bone or two to pick with you, go Seviper!"
Seviper came out and bashed into Granbull.
"I trust you can handle Hippowdon?"Jessie asked.
"With the plum!"James answered. "Carnivine, go!"
Carnivine came out and bit James on the head.
"Ugh...chomp those chumps!"James muttered.
"Granbull, Fire Fang, let's go!"Cassidy ordered.
Granbull charged towards Seviper while preparing to use Fire Fang.
"Seviper, wrap around Granbull!"Jessie ordered.
Seviper wrap itself around Granbull, thus stopping its attack.
"Granbull, unwrap and use Bite!"Cassidy ordered.
Granbull bit Seviper with its fangs.
"Use Bite too!"Jessie ordered.
Seviper bit Granbull as well.
"Now Carnivine, Bullet Seed, pronto!"James ordered.
Carnivine uses Bullet Seed on Shuckle and it gets hits.
"Shuckle use Sludge Bomb!"Butch ordered.
Shuckle uses Sludge Bomb but Carnivine ends up dodging and it hits Hippowdon.
"Oh no, Hippowdon!"Ash called out. "Pikachu use Thunderbolt, quick!"
Pikachu uses Thunderbolt and it hits Shuckle.
"Piplup use Bubblebeam!"Dawn ordered.
"Eevee use Shadow Ball!"Denise ordered.
Piplup fired Bubblebeam and Eevee fired Shadow Ball causing the attacks to hit Carnivine.
Hippowdon became more angery and it charges at Team Rocket hitting Shuckle and Carnivine with Double-Edge sending both Pokémon at their respectful owners.
"Wow that was Hippowdon's Double Edge!"Brock remarked.
"Amazing power!"Dawn admitted kindly.
Hippopotas uses Yawn which makes Team Rocket, Butch, Cassidy and their Pokémon fall asleep.
It follows it up by using Sandstorm which blows all Team Rocket members and their Pokémon into a group next to each other.
The heroes smiled at the sight.
"Check out, Hippopotas Sandstorm!"Ash suggested with a smile.
"That's so cool!"Denise commented proudly.
Hippowdon uses Hyper Beam to make Team Rocket blast off.
"We're blasting off, nighty-night."Team Rocket mumbled.
"Those dummies put us up every week."Butch muttered.
"Go to sleep."Cassidy replied.
Then the two Team Rockets disappeared in the sky.
Later that Evening...
Hippowdon and Hippopotas reunite with each other.
"Hippowdon is everything okay?"Ash asked.
Hippowdon nodded in response.
"I think Pachirisu took Hippowdon a bit by surprise."Brock chuckled.
"Sorry about that Hippowdon."Dawn apologized.
Pachirisu chirped with a smile.
Hippowdon and Hippopotas snuggle each other.
"Aw...would you look at that."Denise giggled sweetly.
"You stay put."Brock commented.
Hippowdon places Hippopotas on the top of its head.
"That's great, what a team."Ash admitted.
"Hippo hippo."Hippopotas responded with a smile.
Next the Group arrive in Veilstone City...
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter
Feel free to review of what you think so far:)
Denise's Team:
Grotle (Male): Solar Beam, Heavy Slam, Razor Leaf and Bite
Eevee (Female): Water Gun, Shadow Ball, Attract and Thunder
Luxio (Male): Spark, Night Slash, Wild Charge and Ice Fang
Kirlia (Female): Psychic, Double Team, Magical Leaf and Confusion
Hoothoot (Male): Silver Wind, Reflect, Aerial Ace and Supersonic
Drifloon (Female): Ominous Wind, Thunderbolt, Will-O-Wisp and Astonish