Episode 96: The Lightweight Division

Night has fallen over Opti City as Ash and Pikachu excitedly run up the hill to Astrid's observatory/gym. Brock and Brenda lag behind. Ash exclaims, "I don't know why she wanted to wait until night for our battle, but the time is finally here!"

You heard that right! Ash's sixth Tenno gym battle is here! If Astrid's knowledge of battling is even a fraction of her knowledge of stars, then we're in for a real treat!

Ash bursts through the doors and enters Astrid's battlefield. The field is made of some sort of black metal, while all the field lines are made up of luminescent strips. Astrid stands ready for battle at her end of the field. She grins. "I've been waiting for you. After our little adventure last night, I am thrilled at the prospect of getting the chance to battle with you. Let's light up the night and make this room shine like a star!" She snaps her fingers and the entire room begins to rumble. Slowly, the roof above their heads splits down the middle and parts. Within seconds, the full glory of the night sky is revealed.

Brenda says with awe, "Wow, a battle beneath the starry night sky. Amazing."

Brock agrees, "The perfect setting for what promises to be a great battle."

Ash takes several moments to take in the sky, and then look back to Astrid. He takes his place on the field and declares, "Let's get this battle going!"

The referee, a female astronomer from Astrid's observatory, declares, "This will be an official league battle, with official league rules. That's a three-on-three battle. The winner will be the one to defeat all three of his or her opponent's Pokémon. In addition, only the challenger may substitute Pokémon. Battlers, chose your first Pokémon!"

Astrid tosses a Pokéball. "Shine like a star, Yang-Xing!" The Pokémon that appears is canid in appearance with pristine white fur, so bright that it appears to glow. It has a large, fluffy tail that spirals around a black pearl-like gemstone. Its eyes are also pitch black, and it has some small black trims across its body.

This prompts Ash to pull out the Pokédex. "Yang-Xing, the Bright Pokémon and a Light-Type. The Pokémon Yang-Xing and Yin-Xing are always born as twins. Yang-Xing is said to embody all that is light in the world. Evolves into Yin-Yang-Xing by merging with a Yin-Xing."

Ash nods and says to himself, "I knew she would use a Light-Type." He then pulls out his own Pokéball. "Let's go, Heala!"

Heala appears from its Pokéball, ready and anxious for battle. "Heala, heala!"

Brenda asks with some concern, "Brock, do you think Heala is ready for this? A gym battle, I mean. It's only been in a few battles, and it's still working on getting over it nerve issues."

Brock responds, "I couldn't tell you. Ash is taking a risk here, but he knows Heala better than any of us. If he thinks it's ready, then it must be ready."

The referee declares, "Battle begin!"

Ash seizes the first move. "Heala, keep a careful distance and use Venoshock!" Heala leaps straight up, and then spews a poisonous liquid from its mouth.

Astrid wastes no time ordering, "Light Screen, now!"

"Yaaaang!" Yang-Xing crouches close to the ground, and then raises a barrier of golden light around itself. This barrier blocks most of Heala's liquid, and rest is easily shaken off.

Astrid declares, "You'll have to think of something more clever than that if you want to damage Yang-Xing."

Meanwhile, just outside the gym, Team Rocket lurks in the shadows of night. Jessie complains, "Remind me what we're doing out here."

Meowth and James immediately shush her. James then whispers, "Come on Jessie, we just went over this."

Meowth whispers, "We're here to rob the observatory, remember?"

Jessie says loudly, "Okay, but-"

James and Meowth shush her again.

She groans, and then whispers, "Okay, but why are we robbing a dumb observatory?"

Meowth explains, "Observatories use top notch, high grade equipment. That equipment costs money, and lots of it. We're going to make lots of dough by selling that equipment."

Jessie shouts, "Say no more, you had me at lots of money!"

Meowth and James shush her once more.

Before anyone says anything else, they can hear Ash shout, "Okay Heala, if that's not going to work, let's try going in close for a Dragon Claw!"

Jessie instinctively tries to shush the yelling Ash. Moments later, all three of them realize what they just heard. Jessie asks, "What's this? Is that the shrill and grating voice of a twerp I hear?"

James nods, "It speaks to me, loud and clear."

Meowth leaps in and suggests, "Let's check it out."

The three of them climb up the wall of the gym and peer through a window. Looking down, they see the gym battle in progress. Heala is in the process of leaping in to attack Yang-Xing with claws shrouded in green energy.

Astrid orders, "Yang-Xing, attack back with Photonic Impact!" Yang-Xing surrounds itself in an intense golden light and leaps straight at the incoming Heala.

James whispers with pride, "Look, our dear little Heala is battling."

Jessie adds, "And in a gym battle, too."

Meowth states, "They grow up so fast."

They all watch with great intensity as Yang-Xing and its move approach Heala and its attack. They all repeat under their breath, "Stand your ground, Heala. Stand your ground, Heala"

Back inside, Brenda and Brock watch with anticipation. Brenda asks, "Can Heala do it?"

Ash notices the quickest glimmer of hesitation in Heala's eyes. Thinking fast to keep control of the situation, Ash proclaims, "Heala, flee upwards into the air, and keep up your attack!"

"Heala!" Heala slams its tail into the ground, propelling itself upwards. It's too late for Yang-Xing to change the direction of its attack, and it sails underneath Heala. Heala then twists its body around in the air and lets itself fall down on to Yang-Xing, as it slashes with its claws. The attack lands.

Team Rocket all cheer loudly, "Way to go, Heala!" They immediately turn to each other in order to shush one another.

Astrid complements, "That was a skillful dodge, but can you dodge this? Yang-Xing, now use Swift!" Yang-Xing leaps around, and then flings a barrage of golden stars made of light at Heala.

Brock says, "Oh no, this is bad."

Brenda realizes what Brock means. "You're right! It's impossible to dodge a Swift attack!"

Team Rocket don't like the looks of this either. Jessie asks, "If our little Heala can't dodge, what is it going to do?"

James laments, "This battle might be over already."

Meowth refuses to agree. "No, we put our hearts and souls into making sure that Heala could withstand attacks. I have faith in it! You can do it, Heala!"

As the Swift homes in on Heala, it's eyes widen in fear. It spends a moment determining whether or not it wants to flee from the battle.

Ash encourages, "Heala, I know you want nothing more than to battle! If you leave the field, then you won't be allowed to battle anymore! You'll be disqualified! You have to stand your ground!"

Heala hears this, and suddenly determination comes to its face. It plants its feet in the ground, and lets the Swift make contact. Several of the stars hit the floor around Heala's feet, kicking up a large cloud of dirt.

Without any prior warning, Ash shouts, "Now do it!" From the dust cloud, Heala leaps out, it claws glowing purple. This catches Astrid and Yang-Xing unaware, and Heala lands a powerful Cross Poison attack.

Brock cheers, "This is great! A major step forward for Heala!"

Brenda adds, "Alright!"

Team Rocket all whisper-cheer, "Heala! Heala! Heala!"

To make things more interesting, Yang-Xing suddenly loses its footing, and a purplish tone covers its face.

Astrid asks with concern, "Yang-Xing, are you alright?"

Yang-Xing regains its composure, and grunts, "Yang."

Brenda asks, "What just happened to Yang-Xing?"

Brock explains, "Heala's Cross-Poison must have poisoned it! This gives Ash a major upper hand!"

Ash grins. "Great job Heala, now let's use Venoshock!" Heala attacks with its poisonous liquid once more, but the previously erected Light Screen reappears to minimize the damage.

Brock shakes his head. "Too bad, the Light Screen's still up."

Brenda realizes, "Yeah, I forgot, Venoshock does a whole lot of extra damage then opponent is already poisoned. That is too bad."

Astrid, now ready for a counterattack, shouts, "Swift, once more!"

James whisper-shouts, "No fair! You can't use that move again!"

Seeing the once again nervous Heala, Ash is suddenly hit by inspiration. "Alright Heala, we're not going to let that attack hit this time! Spin and use Venoshock!"

"Heala!" Heala twists its body around as it spews more of the purple substance. This action creates a wall of the stuff around it, which stays in the air just long enough to block the stars.

"Now use Ice Fang!" Heala charges at Yang-Xing.

Astrid shouts, "And you use Photonic Impact!"

Now the two Pokémon are running at each other, neither flinching in the slightest. As they come close, Yang-Xing rams into Heala, while Heala bites down on Yang-Xing.

Ash attempts to order, "Heala, now switch into Dragon Claw!"

However, Astrid also orders, "Yang-Xing, Dazzling Gleam!" Before Heala can manage its attack, Yang-Xing creates an intense pulse of dazzling light, which knocks Heala away and out of attack range. Astrid then follows up with, "Photonic Impact, again!" Once more, Yang-Xing runs in order to ram itself into Heala.

Ash orders, "Repel it with Venoshock!" Heala leaps up and squirts its attack once more, and yet again it is nearly entirely absorbed by the Light Screen. Yang-Xing is undeterred.

Brock shakes his head. "It's no use. That Light Screen is still up."

That's when an idea comes to Ash. He shouts, "Change aim slightly downwards!"

Heala, who's still attacking, redirects the stream of liquid downwards, towards Yang-Xing's feet. This promptly causes Yang-Xing to lose traction. Immediately, it loses its footing and trips over itself. As it crashes on the floor, the Light Screen re-appears, and then shatters from the impact.

Ash shouts, "Bingo! Now for real, Venoshock!"

"Heala la!" Heala reinitiates its attack, once again aiming for Yang-Xing. The liquid makes contact, with nothing to block it. Upon touching the poisoned Yang-Xing, the liquid reacts and explodes.

Astrid shouts with worry, "Yang-Xing!"

The explosion clears, revealing that Yang-Xing has fainted. The referee declares, "That's it! Yang-Xing is unable to battle!"

Brock cheers, "That was amazing!"

Brenda agrees, "Using Venoshock to make Yang-Xing slip! I never would have thought about that myself!"

Team Rocket are silently celebrating. Meowth proclaims in a loud whisper, "Way to go Heala! You've made me so proud!"

James adds, "To think, that's our little Heala."

Jessie states, "They grow up so fast."


Who's that Pokémon!?

Most of this Pokémon's body is made from liquid metal, and its shape is very fluid. It can use its liquid arms and legs to corrode metal and absorb it into its own body.


Astrid recalls Yang-Xing. "That was stellar, Ash. What an exhilarating battle. But, I wonder, can you keep on battling like that?"

Ash looks to her and promises, "I know I can."

"I'll be the judge of that." She pulls out another Pokéball. "Your turn to shine, Gigastar!" To replace her fallen Yang-Xing, Astrid calls upon the same Pokémon she used the previous night.

It cries, "Gigaaaaaastar!"

Ash nods. "In that case, Heala, return!" He recalls Heala to its ball.

Jessie shouts, "No fair! That's a foul! Heala wasn't done yet!"

Ash, Astrid, Brock, and Brenda all look up towards the window Team Rocket is peering through.

James and Meowth grab Jessie, pull her down as they duck, and then both shush her. Meowth lectures in a whisper, "We can't let the twerps know we care! It might make them think we care!"

Back inside, everyone seems to have stopped caring about what they heard. Ash has now pulled out his next Pokéball. He throws, "Turtsol, I chose you!"

"Turtsooool!"

Brock approves. "Great choice, Ash! Steel-Types like Turtsol are resistant to Light-Type attacks and deal them extra damage!"

Ash looks over to Brock. "Oh, really? I didn't know that. Go figure."

Brenda shakes her head in disbelief. "Oh, that Ash."

Ash looks back to Turtsol, "Well, if that's true, then this battle should be easy."

Turtsol agrees, "Turt sol!"

Astrid wastes no further time. "Alright Gigastar, let's use a Photon Beam!" Gigastar quickly draws light from its body and concentrates it in its hand. Moments later, it attacks with a beam of shimmering gold light.

Ash quickly orders, "Turtsol, Withdraw!" Turtsol pulls its head and legs into its shell to defend itself. Then something unexpected happens. Instead of simply impacting the shell, the light attack seems to have its path somewhat altered, and then is practically sucked right into Turtsol's solar panel. This surprises Ash. "What!?"

Brock surmises, "An attack like Photon Beam consists purely of light, and Turtsol's solar panels' entire purpose is to absorb light and turn it into energy for Turtsol. It must work on light-based attacks too!"

Brenda is interested by this explanation. "Wow, Pokémon never cease to surprise me!"

Conversely, Jessie yawns and complains, "Boring."

James agrees, "I'd rather watch paint dry."

Meowth suggests, "There's some grass down there. We could watch it grow."

Ash now declares, "Okay then, let's put that energy to good use! Let's use Flamethrower!"

Turtsol emerges from its shell and blasts Gigastar with a blustering breath of fire. "Sooool!" Despite its power, this attack seems to do little to Gigastar.

Astrid says, "Come on Ash, do you really think a Fire-Type attack is going to do much damage against my Gigastar? It's made of plasma that burns hotter than any fire you could send our way!"

Brenda suddenly realizes something. "Hey Brock."

"Yeah?"

"I just realized, Steel may be super effective against Light, but Turtsol doesn't know any Steel-Type moves!"

Brock gasps. "You're right! And if all Ash and Turtsol can do is Fire-Type moves, then they may not be in as good standing as we thought!"

Ash proclaims, "Then we'll just have to something other than fire attacks for now! Turtsol, use Rapid Spin!" Turtsol pulls into its shell once more and spins furiously in place. Then it flings itself at the opponent.

Astrid shouts, "That's not going to do you any good! Gigastar, use Solar Flare!" Gigastar attacks with a stream of glowing yellow plasma. The force of the attack knocks Turtsol off course, causing it to crash into the wall. However, some of the light from the attack is absorbed into Turtsol's solar panel in the process. Astrid taunts, "I sure hope that isn't all you've got Ash."

Ash takes note of something. Then he says, "You'll find that Turtsol and I are full of surprises."

Turtsol gets back up and agrees, "Turt!"

Pikachu also agrees, "Pi pika!"

Astrid grins, accepting the challenge. "In that case, Gigastar, use Crimson Glow!"

"Giiiiiiigastar!" Gigastar's face turns to an expression of anger, and it begins to glow an intense red.

Ash asks, "What's going on?

Astrid explains, "The move Crimson Glow channels my Pokémon's anger, brightening its light and increasing its attack power by large amounts. Now we'll do some real damage! Use Photon Beam!"

Ash is quick to order, "Withdraw!" However, Turtsol cannot defend itself fast enough, and ends up taking most of the brunt of the attack. Apparently in its enraged state, Gigastar was able to pull the move off faster. Ash doesn't know how to respond, so he suggests, "Turtsol, just stay in your shell for now!"

Astrid grins. "Trying to play it safe? That's not what I've come to expect from you Ash. Well, we'll just have to take advantage of that! Gigastar, zoom in and use Fire Punch! Quick succession!" Gigastar floats in close to the withdrawn Turtsol and begins to pound away with its two fiery fists.

Ash grimaces.

Brock shakes his head. "Even with its shell protecting it, there's no way Turtsol can withstand a direct pounding like that for long."

Brenda shouts, "Don't just stand there, Ash! Do something!"

In an attempt to get Turtsol away, Ash commands, "Get out of there with Rapid Spin!" Turtsol hurls its body away. "Now turn it around back into Gigastar!" Turtsol arcs itself back into Gigastar.

Just as before, Astrid counters, "Repel it!" Gigastar uses Solar Flare once again to push Turtsol off course, while also being absorbed slightly by Turtsol's panel.

Now a plan fully forms in Ash's mind. Ash advises, "Turtsol, increase your spin speed!" Turtsol rotates even faster just before it's about to hit a wall. This increase in speed causes Turtsol to bounce instead of crash. It is now once more heading for Gigastar.

Astrid is caught off-guard by this, but quickly orders, "Just like before!" Once again, Gigastar repels Turtsol with Solar Flare, which is once again partially absorbed by Turtsol.

"Increase spin speed again!" The cycle repeats anew. And actually keeps on going several more times.

Astrid questions, What is Ash planning? Surely he knows he's getting nowhere? Gigastar may not be fast enough to dodge a Rapid Spin, but it has enough power to repel it indefinitely. Is he just hoping to get lucky? No. He's got to have something planned.

And the cycle continues. Turtsol attacks Gigastar, Gigastar repels Turtsol, Turtsol absorbs light, and Turtsol attacks again. Finally, after absorbing another attack, an orange glow begins to emerge from within Turtsol's shell.

Ash grins. "That's it! Turtsol, Flamethrower! Give it everything you've got!" Turtsol leaps out of its shell, and into the air, preparing to attack.

Brenda questions, "What is Ash doing? What's changed?"

The answer is immediately apparent. Turtsol unleashes an absolutely massive breath of fire. "Tuuuuuuurtsooooooooooool!" This massive Flamethrower razes Gigastar, leaving it instantly knocked out, despite its resistance to fire.

The referee declares, "Gigastar is unable to battle! Turtsol is the winner!"

Brock exclaims, "What an ingenious move!"

Brenda asks, "What just happened? I have no idea."

"You see, Ash realized that Gigastar didn't have the speed it would need to dodge Rapid Spin, that's why Astrid had no choice but to repel it with Solar Flare. Solar Flare, being half-Fire, half-Light move, would be partially absorbed Turtsol each time it hit. It would do some damage, but it would also power up Turtsol. Ash forced Astrid to do so many times over, that Turtol become super-charged. Powerful enough that its fire could hurt even Gigastar."

Brenda simply replies, "Wow."

Outside, Team Rocket has left their window perch and are now sitting around a patch of grass. They all cheer, "Grow, grass, grow!"


It's Meltan!


Astrid says to Ash, "So, you now lead this fight by a considerable amount. I've lost two Pokémon, and you've lost none. Impressive, most impressive."

Ash grins and modestly responds, "You know, we're just doing the best we can."

"And your best is very good. But, I wonder, is it good enough to defeat my most luminous star?" She pulls out another Pokéball. "Cycloptic, time to shine!"

Cycloptic appears with its arms crossed, and its body hunched over. It then suddenly stretches out its arms and straightens up, as it shouts, "Cloptic!"

Ash grins in anticipation. "I've been waiting for this fight."

Brenda states, "There's no way Ash could lose this battle, he's on fire!"

Brock says, "I don't know about that, Cycloptic is a pretty powerful Pokémon. It could single-handedly turn this battle around."

Ash looks to Turtsol. "Alright, Cycloptic's a Steel-Type, so your Fire-Type moves should be perfect. You good to keep battling?"

Turtsol affirms, "Turt."

"Okay then, use Flamethrower!"

"Tuuuuurtsoool!" Turtsol may have used most of its stored light energy for that last Flamethrower, but the one it uses now still seems slightly more powerful than normal.

Astrid wastes no time countering, "Use Protect!" Cycloptic erects a barrier of blue light around it, which blocks the incoming attack. "And attack back with Hyper Beam!" The moment the barrier lowers, Cycloptic attacks with a massive beam of orange energy from its telescope-eye.

"Out of the way, Turtsol!" Turtsol attempts to dodge, but can't manage it. It gets caught in the beam and takes massive damage. Turtsol attempts to withstand it, but it quickly proves to be too much for it to handle, and Turtsol faints.

The referee declares, "Turtsol is unable to battle!"

Brenda pouts, "So much for a perfect match. But Ash is still ahead."

Ash looks to Pikachu. "Let's go, Pikachu."

Pikachu leaps on to the field. "Chuuuu!"

Ash advises, "Alright, we've got to be careful about that Hyper Beam. If it could knock out Turtsol like that, then it's a big danger."

Pikachu nods. "Pi."

"Okay then, let's start things off with Thunderbolt!"

"Pikaaaa chuuuuuu!"

Astrid orders, "Cycloptic, use Laser Vision!" Cycloptic raises its arm with the laser finder scope, aims it at Pikachu, and attacks with a laser beam from it. The laser knocks Pikachu from the air while it's in mid-attack. However, Pikachu did manage to begin its attack, so Cycloptic is hit by a brief bolt of electricity. Both Pokémon stumble back from the damage they took.

Ash follows up, "Pikachu, use Volt Tackle!"

Pikachu begins to run at Cycloptic. "Pika, pika, pika, pika, pika…!"

Astrid commands, "Cycloptic, use Flash Cannon!" An explosion of silver light comes from Cycloptic's telescope, aimed right at Pikachu.

Pikachu keeps on running, right through the attack, taking damage in the process, but not slowing down. "…pika, pika, pika, pika, chu!" Pikachu rams into Cycloptic.

As Cycloptic is hurled backwards, Astrid shouts, "Cycloptic, use Hyper Beam!" Cycloptic unleashes its devastating attack once more.

Ash's eyes widen as he shouts, "You've got to dodge, Pikachu!"

"Pika!" Pikachu just barely manages to leap up and over the attack. The lower part of Pikachu's tail remains in the path of the beam, causing Pikachu to take some damage.

"Great, now Iron Tail from above!" Pikachu performs a mid-air somersault as orients itself for the attack.

"Chu, pika!" Pikachu slams its tail down atop Cycloptic's head. Cycloptic dug its three feet into the ground and braced itself just before Pikachu's attack landed. It takes the attack without flinching.

As Piakchu leaps away, Astrid says, "If you're ready for another attack, use Flash Cannon now!" Cycloptic angles its telescope-eye upwards, aims at Pikachu, who is bouncing upwards after the attack, and attacks with Flash Cannon again.

Pikachu is unable to dodge, and the force of the attack causes it to slam back against a wall.

Once it falls to the ground, Astrid declares, "We're not going to leave this next attack to chance! Use Lock-On!"

"Cloptic!" Cycloptic rotates its torso on its hip pivot and lowers its telescope-eye so that it's aimed at the now fallen Pikachu and extends its telescope further. A red reticle appears over Pikachu, which then shrinks down.

Brock says, "Uh oh. That Lock-On attack means that whatever Cycloptic's next attack is, it will hit no matter what."

Brenda realizes, "But that means Pikachu won't be able to dodge the next Hyper Beam!"

Just as predicted, Astrid now orders, "Hyper Beam!"

Ash urges, "Pikachu, you have to do what you can dodge it!" Pikachu runs away, and then Hyper Beam suddenly arcs to follow it. Pikachu runs every which way across the field, but the Hyper Beam follows it at each and every turn. It quickly dawns on Ash that he has no other choice. "Pikachu, stop running and use Hallowed Lighting!"

Pikachu is surprised by this suggestion at first, but quickly understands Ash. It immediately begins to charge energy for its attack. "Pika, pika, chuuuuuuuu-!" Just as Pikachu hurls a large orb of electricity, it becomes enveloped by the Hyper Beam. It cries out in pain, "Chuuuuuuu!" as it falls.

Meanwhile, Cycloptic is completely immobile due to Hyper Beam, and can't do anything to dodge Pikachu's last attack. The orb of electricity hits it, and then a massive bolt of lightning strikes from above. "Cyyyyy!"

The referee declares, "Pikachu is unable to battle!"

Brenda can't believe. "No way! Just like that, Ash's lead is gone. This is crazy."

Ash walks out on to the field and recovers Pikachu himself. Once back to his spot, he carefully lies Pikachu on the ground next to him. "You did a great job, Pikachu. Don't worry, we'll pull this off."

He pulls Heala's Pokéball back out. "Alright, Heala. Let's finish what we started!" He throws the Pokéball to let back out.

Outside, Team Rocket is still captivated by the growing grass. James says with excitement, "Look, I think that blade just grew a millimeter!"

Wobbuffet emerges from its Pokéball on the ledge up above and looks into the window. It calls down, "Wobbuffet!"

Team Rocket all perk up and ask at once, "Heala!?" They all scurry and climb over each other as they attempt get back to the window to see the battle. Jessie knocks Wobbuffet down to make room. Once on the ground, Wobbuffet scurries to make it back up.

Back inside, Ash orders, "Get in there and use Dragon Claw!" Heala leaps at Cycloptic to attack.

Astrid orders, "Protect, then Laser Vision!" Cycloptic raises its barrier once more, causing Heala to bounce off. It then lowers the barrier and attacks back with a precision laser attack.

Heala shouts in pain, "Heala!"

Team Rocket shout together, "Oh no! Heala!"

Now that Heala's on the ground, Astrid says, "And now it's time! Lock-On!"

Ash was waiting for this moment. Wasting no time at all, he shouts, "Heala, wide spray Venoshock!" Heala twists its head as it spews the poison liquid. The reticle, instead of locking on to Heala, appears on the wall of liquid instead. It then falls apart as the liquid loses cohesion.

Brock exclaims, "Wow, Lock-On only works on something in line-of-sight! By obscuring Cycloptic's vision, Heala blocked the Lock-On!"

Astrid nods as she too realizes what Ash did. "Well, well. Very clever. I guess my Lock-On strategy won't be as sure-fire as it normally is. Let's use Flash Cannon instead then!"

As Cycloptic attacks, Ash shouts, "Dodge and use Dragon Claw!" Heala manages to slide underneath the beam of light, and then slash its claws at Cycloptic's feet. As a reaction, one of Cycloptic's feet kicks Heala away.

Ash suggests, "Hey Heala! I want you to climb up the wall behind you!"

Heala turns around and scurries up the wall right behind it. It stops just below the window through which Team Rocket is watching. They get excited to see Heala coming so close to them.

Astrid shouts, "It's all or nothing! Lock-On then Hyper Beam!" Cycloptic attempts to lock on once more.

Ash shouts, "Same as before, Heala!" Heala manages to obscure Cycloptic's vision and block the Lock-On again.

Not giving Heala a chance to dodge, Cycloptic immediately attacks with Hyper Beam.

"Leap, Heala!" Heala leaps off the wall and soars toward Cycloptic.

The attack might have missed Heala, but it does break through the window behind where Heala stood, leaving Team Rocket with no time to get out of the way. They are sent flying into the air, shouting, "We're blasting off again!"

Back in the battle, Heala is flying towards the immobilized Cycloptic. Ash shouts, "Great dodge! Now let's finish this off with Dragon Claw!"

"Heala!" Heala claws at the top of Cycloptic and then lands on the floor.

Then Ash says, "More!" Heala leaps back up, and claws some more. It does this again and again, and Cycloptic can do nothing to stop it. After a few attacks like this, Cycloptic falls.

The referee declares, "Cycloptic is unable to battle! That means that Ash, the challenger, is the winner!"

"We did it, Heala!"

"Heala!"

Pikachu has managed to regain enough strength to cheer, "Pika pi!"

Brenda cheers, "Way to go, Ash!"

Brock adds, "That was a great battle!"

Astrid grins. "Stellar."


Everyone has reconvened outside the gym. Astrid offers a hand for Ash to shake. "Ash, you truly shined greater than any star in our battle tonight. Time after time, you showed an outstanding ability to think on the fly and come up with extremely creative solutions to any problem you faced. Because of that, I am beyond proud to present you with this, a Celestial Badge." She hands to Ash a badge shaped like an eight-pointed star of light, with four larger points up, down, left, and right, and smaller points between them.

Ash happily takes it, holds it into the air, and proclaims, "Yeah! I just got a Celestial Badge!"

"Heala la!"

"Turtol!"

"Pik pikachu!"

Astrid asks Ash, "Tell me Ash, do you plan on leaving tomorrow morning to travel to your next gym battle?"

Ash nods. "You bet I do."

"And do you know where you're traveling?"

Ash thinks about it. "Well…no, not yet. But I'm sure we'll figure out what's closest."

"In that case, if you don't mind. I have a request to make."

"What is it?"

"Could you please travel to the gym in Penum City next?"

"Penum City? How come?"

Astrid plays it off like it's nothing. "There's someone there who I'd like to meet you. So, what do you say?"

Brock has consulted his Pokéssistant and says, "Penum City isn't too far from here. We could make it."

Ash grins. "In that case, let's do it!"

Astrid grins. "That makes me very happy to hear. I look forward to hearing all about your gym battle there. So long, Ash"

"Thanks Astrid, good night!" They all wave to her as they head back to the Pokémon Center.

With another Tenno League gym badge under his belt, Ash and his Pokémon now head off for a well-deserved night's sleep. And once they wake up tomorrow, they'll be off for their next adventure. Stay tuned!

To Be Continued…