Episode 30: Make it Double
"It looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" shouts Jessie, James, and Meowth as they fly through the sky. With them is Haking, Repiv, and Wobbuffet, and they all appear singed from a recent electric attack. They arc upwards, and then start to fall. They land in the branches of a tree, getting tangled up in the process. All at once they sigh. James asks, "Did we really just fail to catch Pikachu again?"
Nobody answers except for Wobbuffet who nods. "Wobba."
Jessie then says with despair, "We've failed more times than I can count."
Wobbuffet nods again. "Wobba."
Meowth next complains, "We really fail at this, don't we?"
Wobbuffet nods once more. "Wobba."
Jessie pulls out her Pokéball and says angrily, "No one asked you!" She returns it to its Pokéball. Once it's gone, she instantly returns to pitying herself, and all three sigh at once.
The tree branch they're all caught on suddenly snaps, and they fall to the floor. Jessie and James recall their Pokémon. They just sit there on the floor for several more moments. They all sigh again.
Ash and Pikachu are standing in a ready stance, seemingly having just finished a battle. Ash relaxes and says, "Good job Pikachu, you showed Team Rocket that they can't steal you."
Brenda comes up from behind and laughs, "Again."
Having made it through another encounter with the ever-present Team Rocket, our heroes now continue on their way to the Starstreak Mountains. Of course, if their track record is anything to judge by, it won't be long until they meet up with Team Rocket again!
Brock now comes up and states, "I wonder if they'll ever learn that they can't steal Pikachu."
Ash laughs. "Nah, it wouldn't be the same journey if we didn't have Team Rocket to battle at every corner."
Brock, Brenda, and Pikachu laugh too. Brenda, while still laughing, says, "Yeah, you're probably right."
Ash beckons forward. "Come on, now that we've got our daily dose of Team Rocket, we should be able to move unhindered. Let's get going." They do as he says.
After walking for a little bit, they come across a sign posted to a tree. Ash says, "Hey, look at this!"
Brock walks up to it. It shows a picture of an Aggron and a Charizard. Brock reads, "Attention Pokémon trainers, do you think you have an especially powerful Pokémon? If you do, then come to the Power Pokémon Contest! It's your chance to show off your Pokémon's unique strength and abilities to your peers and rivals."
Brenda exclaims, "That sounds fun."
Ash looks to Pikachu, "What do you think buddy? Want to show off your strength?"
Pikachu nods happily. "Pik."
Brock says, "It's going on now, and looks like it's only a little ahead. Let's go."
Team Rocket is walking with little energy or motivation. James asks, "Now what should we do?"
Jessie suggests, "We could have another go at Pikachu."
Meowth shakes his head. "I've had my share of failure for today, thank you."
Wobbuffet appears. "Wobbuffet!" Jessie doesn't respond. Neither does James or Meowth. They just keep on walking past Wobbuffet. This confuses Wobbuffet. "Wobba?" It frantically and awkwardly runs to catch up. Once ahead of them again, it declares, "Wobbuffet!" Still no response. This saddens Wobbuffet. "Wobba…" It looks around and notices something posted to a tree trunk. Wobbuffet runs up to it. It's a sign for the same contest that was seen earlier. Wobbuffet quickly snags it off the tree and runs it over to Jessie, pointing frantically at it. "Wobba wobba!"
Jessie continues on her way, not paying any attention.
Wobbuffet seems angered. Wobbuffet catches up again and shoves the paper in Jessie's face. It asserts, "Wobba!"
Jessie groans in frustration. She snaps, "What is it!?" as she snatches the paper out of Wobbuffet's hands. She reads it over.
James asks, "Jess, what's that?"
Jessie shows it to him and Meowth. "Apparently there's a contest being held for Pokémon to show off their power."
Meowth, seeming to regain some optimism, says, "Hey, I bet a contest like that will possess piles of pilferable, power-packed primo Pokémon."
James, also perking up, adds, "And something with that many P's has Team Rocket written all over it." He looks to Jessie. "You're a genius Jessie!"
Jessie smiles. "I am, aren't I?"
Wobbuffet shakes its head and grumbles, "Wobbuffet…"
Team Rocket arrives at a large tent pitched on the side of the road. Judging by the signs, it's the place they're looking for. James states, "Here we are. What's the plan?"
Meowth responds, "I say we hijack this tournament. We sneak in to the control room and take out the organizers. Once we take control of this here operation, we can see for ourselves how powerful the Pokémon are, and we'll have our pick of the crop."
Jessie replies, "That's exactly what we should do. Let's go."
They rush in. Once inside, they see trainers filling up the ten. Among them is Ash with Pikachu, Brock with Blissey, and Brenda with Glitterfly. James points, "Hey look, it's the twerps."
Meowth whispers, "Like a Mothim to the flame."
Jessie says, "We'll save them for last." They all nod slyly and then continue to sneak their way through the tent. They climb some stairs and enter into a control room.
Sitting in the control room, looking out a window towards the crowd, is a man and a woman. The man has short green hair, and the woman has two long segments of blond-brown hair.
Meowth declares, "We're taking over this here contest."
Without turning, the girl asks, "And who might you be?"
Jessie begins, "Prepare for trouble!"
James picks up, "Make it double!"
"To protect…" Jessie trails off as the man and woman turn around.
It's Butch and Cassidy. Cassidy says, "Well, well, well. If it isn't Jessie and James. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised."
Jessie exclaims, "It's Cassidy!"
James adds, "And Biff!"
Butch shouts angrily, "Are we still doing that!? It's Butch you numbskull! Butch!"
Jessie demands, "What are you second-rates doing here!? The Boss said that we were the only Team Rocket operatives in Tenno!"
Cassidy explains, "And you were, but you can't really expect Mr. Giovanni to keep it like that. He figured that if you two could make it into Tenno, so could a pair of actual Team Rocket operatives. Now we're here scouting out Team Planetary and stealing Tenno Pokémon."
James asserts, "Well, I'll have you know that The Boss recently gave us a promotion. We're Second Class Grunts now, meaning we outrank you."
Meowth adds, "Yeah, and we order you to clear out of here immediately!"
Butch shakes his head. "No can do, Giovanni promoted us in anticipation of our mission. Now we are Second Class Grunts as well. You can't order us to do anything."
Jessie asks, "And just what are you planning to do here?"
Cassidy answers, "What do you think we're doing? We have attracted trainers from all over, all of which think that they have the most powerful Pokémon. Once we find out which is the strongest, we can take it and give it to Mr. Giovanni as a present from the Tenno Region, certainly the first of many."
James stomps angrily to the window and points to Ash and Pikachu. "You see that Twerp there? His Pikachu is easily the most powerful Pokémon in this joint, and we have claim to it. You better not touch it."
Butch looks out the window. "Oh yeah, I remember the Twerp."
Cassidy states, "And we'll be the judge of how powerful that Pikachu is." She steps over to a control panel and says over a loudspeaker, "Would contestant number 63 and his Pikachu please give their demonstration on the center stage now."
Ash excitedly runs up to a raised platform. Several targets raise out of the ground. Ash shouts something and Pikachu leaps into the air, unleashing a Thunderbolt upon the targets, completely destroying them. Out of a wall, several disks are launched towards Pikachu. Ash quickly responds, and Pikachu manages to knock them all away with its Iron Tail. One final target, a giant boulder raises out of the ground. After another quick command, Pikachu Volt Tackles it, crushing it into rubble. Ash and Pikachu take a bow.
Butch and Cassidy are in awe. Cassidy marvels, "Wow, that Pikachu really is powerful. Easily the strongest Pokémon we've seen so far today."
Jessie shouts, "And that's why it's ours! We've been chasing that Pikachu for as long as we can remember! It's as good as ours!"
Cassidy laughs. "Unless we get it first."
This gives Meowth an idea. He smile deviously. "How about this? We make it contest. Whoever can steal that Pikachu first wins. Loser has to leave Tenno."
Butch laughs. "Hah, we have no reason to accept your-"
He is cut off by Cassidy declaring, "We accept!"
Butch looks over to Cassidy with surprise. "What!?"
Cassidy explains, "There's no way we could lose to a couple of losers like them. Let's take the bet, and then we'll never have to worry about them again."
Butch chuckles slyly. "Good point, let's do it."
Cassidy asks, "So what are the rules?"
Meowth answers, "First you've got to call off this contest, so that we start on equal footing. After that, anything goes. Pokémon, schemes, robots, use whatever you want to steal the Pikachu. The time limit is by sunset tonight."
Cassidy nods. "We accept your terms." She turns around speaks back in the loudspeaker, "We're sorry, but the Power Pokémon Contest has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. We apologize for the inconvenience and hope to see you again next time." The trainers, most of whom seem upset, file their way out.
Butch declares, "After we beat you here, you'll never forget my name again!"
James shouts back, "Oh yeah!? Well there's no way we're losing to a guy named Boot!"
"Boot!? Do I look like a shoe to you!?" He angrily stomps out. "Come on Cassidy, we'll show them."
She runs after him calling, "Coming Boot!" Butch grumbles angrily.
As soon as they leave the room, James suddenly asks with despair, "How are we supposed to beat them?"
Jessie says, "Yeah, in case you've forgotten, our track record with catching Pikachu isn't the best."
Meowth responds, "And in case you've forgotten, we're the ones with all the experience catching Pikachu. I'm betting they'll make some sort of amateur mistake, like forgetting to electric-proof their equipment. We've got this in the bag."
Jessie nods slowly. "When you put it that way…"
All three shout at once, "Let's go!"
Who's that Pokémon!?
This Pokémon lets loose positive and negative electrical charges from its two antennas to make its prey faint. This Pokémon flashes its electric lights to exchange signals with others.
Ash, Brock, and Brenda are back on the road. Brenda states, "Too bad the contest was cancelled."
Brock nods. "Yeah, it could have been fun."
Ash jokes, "I'll bet that they saw Pikachu and me and decided that we were so much stronger than everyone else that it was no contest, so they cancelled it." Everyone laughs.
Suddenly the ground begins to rumble. Brenda shouts, "What's that!?"
A massive humanoid robot marches in. On its front is the Team Rocket R. Ash points to the R and shouts, "It's Team Rocket!"
Two silhouettes appear on top of the robot's head. One says, "Prepare for trouble!"
The other says, "Make it double!"
Brenda sighs. "Not again…"
Cassidy appears and declares, "To infect the world with devastation!"
Butch appears next. "To blight all people in every nation!"
"To denounce the goodness of truth and love!"
"To extend our wrath to the stars above!"
"Cassidy!"
"And Butch of course!"
"We're Team Rocket, circling Earth all day and night!"
"Surrender to us now or you will surely lose the fight!"
Their Raticate appears and declares, "Rat, raticate!"
Brenda is confused. "Wait…who…?"
Ash shouts, "It's Bill and Cassidy!"
Butch shouts angrily, "It may have been awhile, but I expect you to remember my name is Butch!"
Brenda asks, "Who are they?"
Brock explains, "They're sort of like the 'other' Team Rocket. We encounter them from time to time."
Cassidy shouts, "I'll have you know that we're far superior to the losers you're use to facing! How dare you call us the "'others!?'"
Butch adds, "And we'll prove it by taking your Pikachu!"
Ash sighs. "Not more of this." He reluctantly turns to Pikachu and asks, "Would you mind giving them a Thunderbolt?"
Pikachu sighs with slight annoyance and then jumps off Ash's shoulders. "Pikaaaaaaaa chuuuuuuuu!" The robot is reaching out to grab Pikachu, but the Thunderbolt hits it, electrocuting it.
In pain, Cassidy shouts, "How could we have forgotten electric-proofing!?"
Butch shouts, "Maybe the same way everyone forgets my name!"
The robot blows up, sending them flying into the air. Butch and Cassidy shout at once, "Wait, this isn't right! We're blasting off like those losers!" They disappear in a sparkle.
Nearby, Jessie, James, and Meowth watch the events as they transpire. Meowth laughs. "Hah! Told you they'd forget to electric-proof their machine."
James nods. "You were right. We are going to win this bet!"
Jessie asks, "Are you ready to show the Twerps our Pika-proofed machine?"
James and Meowth nod and both say, "Let's do it."
Ash, Brock, and Brenda are just starting to move again. Brenda points out, "Well, they're really redefining what it means to 'make it double.'"
Before anyone can laugh, Jessie can be heard declaring, "Prepare for trouble, the originals are back!"
James shouts, "Make it double, in case it's Team Rocket you lack!"
Ash, Brock, and Brenda all look to each other and sigh. Team rocket comes into sight. They are riding on top of another humanoid robot, very similar in design to Butch and Cassidy's.
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all people within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
Ash sighs again. "Pikachu, could you manage another Thunderbolt?"
Pikachu, slightly less energetic than before, gets off of Ash's shoulder and attacks. "Pikaaaaaa chuuuuuuu!" The Thunderbolt hits, but does nothing.
"We're electric-proofed, or my name's not Jessie!"
"And we'll catch Pikachu, or my name's not James!"
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth, that's right!"
"Wobbuffet!"
"Mime mime!"
Ash says, "Look, we've had enough of Team Rocket today, do you think this could wait until another day?"
James shakes his head. "No way! Besides, if you want to see less Team Rocket, then you should let us take Pikachu!"
Jessie adds, "Not only would we leave you alone, but those knock offs you just saw would leave Tenno for good!"
Meowth declares, "So hand it over!"
Ash shouts, "You'll never get Pikachu!"
Meowth asks, "How do you plan on fighting us off when our robot is encased in a Pika-proof lining!"
Ash grins. "Only a lining you say?" He pulls out a Pokéball and throws it. "Turcell, I chose you!"
"Turcell!
"Turcell, use Molten Slag!"
"Cell!" Turcell launches a globule of molten material that lands on the robot's chest. The globule begins to eat its way through the metal skin, leaving a hole.
"Now Pikachu, let's try Thunderbolt again!"
"Pikaaaaaa chuuuuuu!" Pikachu launches another attack, this one aimed at the hole.
Meowth shouts, "Wait, no! Not there!" The robot explodes, sending Team Rocket flying into the sky.
They all shout, "Team Rocket's blasting off again again!"
Ash sighs. Brock states, "Let's hope that's the last we see of them for a while."
It's Chinchou!
A montage of scenes follows. First Butch and Cassidy can be seen using a Raticate mech in an attempt to take Pikachu. It's beaten by Ash combining Pikachu's electricity with Dashilisk's water. Butch and Cassidy are heard shouting, "We're blasting off again!"
Next, Jessie, James, and Meowth use a Meowth mech to take Pikachu. It's defeated by a powerful Volt Tackle. They also shout, "We're blasting off again!"
Then Butch and Cassidy attempt to take Pikachu by force, using their Hitmontop and Houndoom. They are beaten in a double battle by Pikachu and Kappaqua. They shout, "We're blasting off again!"
Jessie, James, and Meowth try a similar tactic, going in with Repiv and Haking. They are beaten by Pikachu and Meteorfight. "We're blasting off again!"
Butch and Cassidy are dressed up as traveling salespeople, selling some sort of Pokémon-related product. Ash hands Butch Pikachu so he may inspect it. Pikachu shocks him and Cassidy with Thunderbolt. "We're blasting off again!"
Jessie, James, and Meowth disguise themselves as Pokémon scientists, and seem to ask to study Pikachu for a moment. Ash and Pikachu aren't fooled, and Pikachu launches them with another Thunderbolt. "We're blasting off again!"
At this point, the montage turns into clips of both teams alternating blasts offs.
Ash, Brock, and Brenda are continuing on their journey. It's nearing sunset. Pikachu is panting on Ash's shoulder. Ash says to it, "I'm sorry you've had to work so hard Pikachu. Who would have ever thought that Team Rocket would attack so many times in one day?"
Brock shrugs. "I sure wouldn't."
Brenda adds, "This has to be some sort of record."
Ash nods. "And of course there being two Team Rockets doesn't really help things either."
On one side of the road, Jessie can be heard declaring, "Prepare for trouble!"
Ash, Brock, Brenda, and Pikachu sigh.
From the other side of the road, Butch declares, "Make it double!"
Jessie, James, and Meowth march out angrily. Jessie asserts, "To protect the world from devastation!"
Butch and Cassidy march out just as much rage. Butch shouts angrily, "To blight all people in every nation!"
Jessie returns, "To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
Butch counters, "To extend our wrath to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"And Butch of course!"
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender to us now or you will surely lose the fight!"
"Meowth that's right!"
Raticate kicks Meowth out of the way. "Rat raticate!"
Wobbuffet appears on top of Raticate, weighing it down. "Wobbuffet!"
Mime Jr. then appears on Wobbuffet's head. "Mime mime!"
Cassidy demands, "All right, what are you doing here? We're trying to take Pikachu now."
James shouts back, "Tough luck, we were here first you claim jumpers!"
They continue to argue. Ash, Brock, and Brenda watch as they banter back and forth. Ash whispers, "Hey, maybe we can just sneak out while they're distracted."
Brock and Brenda nod. Brock whispers back, "Good idea." They quietly and slowly tiptoe out of sight.
Jessie shouts, "Pikachu catching is our thing, and there's no way you can out do us!"
Butch shouts back, "If you haven't caught that Pikachu yet, you never will!"
Meowth shouts, "We will and we'll prove it!"
Cassidy asks, "Oh yeah, how about we battle over it!"
Jessie and James nod. They both say, "Let's do it." They pull out their Pokéballs.
Butch and Cassidy do the same. They say, "Great, let's fight!"
Jessie and James send out Haking and Repiv. Butch and Cassidy send out an Aggron and Charizard. This shocks Jessie and James. James says with disbelief, "That's…my Aggron…"
Jessie, equally as surprised, says, "And that's…my Charizard…"
Butch and Cassidy laugh. Cassidy asks, "Do you like them? Professor Namba told us that the silly Delibird delivered these two to you by accident while you were back in Kanto."
Butch laughs some more. "Why losers such as yourselves think that these Pokémon could ever be meant for you is beyond me."
Meowth shouts, "Enough talking, just get to battling!"
Jessie commands, "Repiv, Poison Fang on Charizard!"
James shouts, "Haking, Tackle on Aggron!"
Cassidy counters, "Charizard, Flamethrower!"
Butch responds with, "Aggron, Mega Punch!"
Repiv lunges at Charizard, but Charizard keeps it back with its fire attack. Haking rams itself at Aggron, put Aggron punches it out of the way.
Jessie quickly shouts, "Switch to Wrap!" Repiv wraps around Charizard. "Now Poison Sting!" It then unleashes its Poison Sting directly at Charizard.
James then commands, "Smokescreen Haking!" Haking clouds the field with smoke. "Tackle again!" Haking can be heard attacking, and Aggron can be heard getting hit.
Butch shouts, "Wash it away with Water Pulse!"
Cassidy shouts, "Get it off you with Seismic Toss!"
Aggron launches its Water Pulse. The splashing water from it rids the air of the Smokescreen. At the same time, Charizard grabs Repiv, rips it off, flies straight up, and throws it down.
Jessie and James both shout, "Pikachu will be ours!"
Jessie then shouts, "Poison Sting!"
James shouts, "Sludge Bomb!"
Butch and Cassidy both shout, "We'll never lose to you!"
Butch commands, "Hyper Beam!"
Cassidy commands, "Flamethrower!"
The four moves all collide at the same point midfield. All four members of Team Rocket shout, "Keep the attack up!" The Pokémon continue to attack. The colliding attacks begin to react in the center, creating a large orb of energy. That orb grows larger and larger.
Meowth says to no one in particular, "There's no way this is going to end well."
The orb of colliding attacks explodes. The resulting shockwave sends both groups of Team Rocket flying into the air with their Pokémon in two different directions. They can all be heard shouting at once, "It looks like Team Rocket's…" they suddenly trail off and then continue, "who cares…?"
Brenda points up into the night sky. "Hey look, two shooting stars!" Two points of light streak across the sky in opposite directions, disappearing in two twinkles of light. "Make a wish."
Ash looks up and says, "I wish that Team Rocket wouldn't bother us anymore."
Pikachu adds, "Pika."
Brenda laughs. "Waste of a wish Ash, that's never going to happen, no matter how hard you wish."
Ash shrugs. "Hey, I can try."
Our heroes may be sick of Team Rocket, but one can assume that our villains will never tire of trying to steal Pikachu. In fact, there's just about one certainty, Team Rocket will be back, when the journey continues.
To Be Continued…
