Episode 122: Double Back

Behind the Ort City Pokémon Center, Brenda and Lupine are training on a wooden battle platform built over the swamp, while Ash and Brock watch. Brenda states, "Okay Lupine, the Pokédex says you should be able to use Energy Ball. Let's try it out!"

"Lup lup lup!" Lupine yips excitedly. It then jumps up and creates a ball of green energy in front of its mouth. "Luuuuuuup!" Lupine launches the orb, which explodes mid-air.

Now that they've chased off the ghost plaguing Ort City, the Ort City Pokémon Contest is back on, which is good news for Brenda and her newly hatched partner, Lupine.

Brenda cheers, "Great job, Lupine! You'll do great tomorrow!"

Ash asks, "Brock, do you think it's a good idea to use Lupine in a Pokémon Contest so soon after it hatched?"

"Impossible to really know for sure. We haven't really seen much of how Lupine responds to its environment yet. What Brenda has going for her is that the Ort City Pokémon Contest traditionally doesn't attract that large of an audience, due to the remote location, so maybe it's a good chance to get Lupine used to performing on the stage."

Ash ponders Brock's point. "That sounds true."

Brenda exclaims, "Okay, now let's-"

But she's interrupted by someone clapping. She swivels around to see Will approaching her. On Will's shoulder sits not Ravenoir, but a new Pokémon. It's still a black bird-like Pokémon, though much less of a literal bird in its shape, instead being taller and somewhat more humanoid in form. Its wings drape down almost like a black cloth. When it sits perched and has its wings at rest, they wrap around it like a cloak or robes. Its most notable characteristic is its face, which looks more like a bone-white mask with lifeless black eyes. The beak is also a part of this mask. It's long and curved and features a blade edge along the bottom, lending it the appearance of a scythe.

Will smiles at Brenda and says, "Looks like someone's been training."

Brenda stumbles around in surprise and embarrassment. She blushes slightly. "Will! I- I wasn't expecting to see you…"

Will chuckles. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Brenda nods. "Yeah, I haven't seen you since the Horizoport Tag Contest. How are you doing?"

"I've been fine. I came here to watch the Ort City Contest in-person."

Brenda is surprised. "Wait, watch? You're not competing?"

Will chuckles and holds out his ribbon case as an answer. In it are five ribbons.

Brenda gasps. "No way! You got all five ribbons!"

Will smiles at her. "Hey, it sounds like you're not that much worse off. If I'm correct, you've got four ribbons yourself."

Brenda is surprised and embarrassed. "Oh… how did you know…?"

"I've been watching your contests on holovision. You've put on some great performances."

She looks down bashfully. "Oh… wow… okay…" She looks back up at him. "I'm sorry I haven't been watching yours."

"It's nothing to apologize about."

At this point, Ash and Brock have approached. Ash greets, "Will, good to see you again."

"Hello Ash, Brock."

Ash looks to the Pokémon on Will's shoulder and takes out his Pokédex. It says, "Necrow, the Reaper Pokémon, and a Ghost and Flying Combo-Type. It moves silently through the night. This Pokémon will use its scythe-like beak to sap the souls of its victims. It is known as the harbinger of demise. Evolves from Ravenoir with use of a Dusk Stone."

Will returns his attention to Brenda. "I'm going to admit, I'm surprised to see you here."

Brenda is confused. "Why's that?"

"To tell the truth, part of me thought that you'd be too nervous to enter another double performance."

Brenda's eyes widen in shock. "This contest is a double performance…?" The look of shock slowly turns to one of horror as she remembers her last double performance.

Seeming to not notice her distraught appearance, Will continues, "But I suppose you being here is all the proof I need that you really have come a long way since the Starside Contest and its double performance."

Brenda suddenly says, "I… I just remembered there's something I have to do." She runs off frantically. Leaving even Lupine behind.

Will realizes, "Hmm… Maybe I was wrong…"

Ash and Brock look to each other but are unsure of what to do. Lupine just looks concerned.


Brenda has found a secluded spot in the swamp outside of town to sit and cry in. She sobs into her hands. "A double performance? I can't… I just can't…"

She falls into a flashback. It's the first battle round of the Starside Contest double performance. She's battling with Kappaqua and Glitterfly against Jessie, as Jessileia, with Repiv and Haking.

Jessie orders, "Repiv, use Poison Sting on Glitterfly! Haking, use Sludge Bomb on Kappaqua!"

Brenda declares, "Both of you, dodge now!" Both Pokémon listen and dodge, the only problem is that they move towards each other and crash. They bump off of each other and back into the range of the attacks. They are both hit. Brenda is shocked. "What…?"

The judges are not amused. They shake their heads and a large chunk of points is subtracted from Brenda's total.

Jessie laughs. "Ha, you call yourself a Pokémon coordinator? Your Pokémon have no coordination whatsoever! Repiv, capture Kappaqua with Wrap, then Haking, blind Glitterfly with Smokescreen!"

Brenda shakes off the surprise of what just happened and commands, "Kappaqua, stop Repiv with Confusion! Glitterfly, blow away the Smokescreen with Gust!"

Kappaqua uses its confusion to catch Repiv as it lunges towards it. Haking does cover Glitterfly with smoke, but Glitterfly blows it away easily with Gust. However, Glitterfly's gust also causes Kappaqua to lose it concentration, freeing Repiv. Repiv manages to get ahold of Kappaqua and squeezes it tight. Further points are deducted from Brenda's total.

Jessie laughs. "I've been waiting for a moment like this for a long time! This is great! Repiv, let's use a Poison Fang on Kappaqua!"

Brenda is still stunned by what's happening, but she manages to order, "Glitterfly, help Kappaqua out! Use Signal Beam on Repiv!" Glitterfly attacks with a beam of rainbow light.

Jessie orders, "Out of the way Repiv!" Repiv releases its grip on Kappaqua and quickly slithers away.

Brenda watches in horror as Glitterfly's Signal Beam hits Kappaqua. The judges are looking annoyed at this point. A significant amount of points is taken from Brenda.

Having been hit by Glitterfly's attack, Kappaqua is angered. It shouts at Glitterfly, "Kappapapaqa!" Without being told to do anything, it then sends an Aqua Bomb at Glitterfly.

Glitterfly dodges out of the way and shouts angrily back, "Glittererererfly!" Then it attacks Kappaqua with another Signal Beam, this time on purpose.

Nurse Joy stands up and declares, "Enough! This battle is over!" The other judges nod in agreement. They reduce Brenda's points to nothing. Nurse Joy scolds, "If your Pokémon can't work together as a team, then you are disqualified."

As the flashback ends, Brenda sobs all the harder. "And then there's what Will said…"

Another flashback, now after Brenda has lost the contest. Will is angrily scolding her. "It was an insult to us other Coordinators who spent countless hours training. You took the spot of someone else who deserved to make it to the Battle Rounds much more than you did! When I first met you, and you told me that you had only first heard of Contests days before entering your first, I thought that was ridiculous and, to be frank, slightly insulting that you think you would just enter a contest while knowing almost nothing about them. But then I saw your performance and your raw talent. I decided to give you chance. I thought that if you trained right, you could become a great Coordinator. Now I know my original assumption was correct. You don't deserve to call yourself a Pokémon Coordinator, and until you get more serious about this, you shouldn't be." He turns around and begins to leave the room. He stops at the door. Without turning to face Brenda, he adds, "You have lost any respect I had for you, natural talent or not." He leaves.

The flashback ends and Brenda continues to sob. "I've worked so hard since then, but I'm just not ready to face that again. I just can't…"

As if called by Brenda's misery, Frostcicle releases itself from its Pokéball. It's eyes widen when it sees Brenda crying. "Frost frost!?" It floats in front of Brenda and gets her attention by blowing a cold wind into her face. Once Brenda looks up, it begins to dance and twirl around in the air. "Frost frost, frost frost, frost!"

Brenda can't help but crack a small smile. "Oh, Frostcicle. I always forget how much you hate to me sad. I'm sorry…" She looks down. "Disappointing people seems to be what I'm best at…"

Frostcicle asserts, "Frostcicle!"

Brenda tries, but just can't stop herself from crying. "I'm sorry Frostcicle, I just can't…"

Then someone says, "I hope I'm not intruding, but I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help."

Brenda looks up. A woman is approaching her. She wears a long white dress and has her purple hair tied back. Brenda forces herself to stop crying. "I'm sorry, did you hear me?"

The woman nods. "Sorry, but I did. It sounds like you're pretty depressed."

Brenda sighs. "To say the least…"

The woman sits down next to her. "Are you a Pokémon coordinator?"

Brenda asks, "How did you know?"

"When you've been a coordinator as long as I have, you're able to tell."

Brenda looks down to the ground. "Well, it's up for debate whether I really should be one or not."

The woman objects, "Nonsense! If you want to be a coordinator, then that's all it takes to be one."

Brenda sighs. "I used to think that was true… But then someone… someone who's opinion means a lot to me… told me otherwise…"

The woman looks shocked. "If this person told you that, then their opinion shouldn't matter to you."

Brenda sulks, "But it does. Since then he's taken it back, but I'm not sure I can let go of what he said."

The woman nods. "I see." She gets back up and also pulls Brenda to her feet. She looks Brenda in the eyes and emphasizes, "Only you can decide whether or not you can be coordinator. No one else. I don't know what it is that has you in this funk, but it's up to you to get out of it. Don't let the past drag you down. The future is all that matters. And the future is bright and beautiful, if you choose to make it so."

Brenda stares at the woman for several moments, unable to figure out what to say.

The woman gets an idea. "How about you prove to me here and now that you do deserve to be a coordinator? Show me a combination."

Brenda hesitates. "You want me to show you a combination…? I… I don't know…"

Then Kappaqueous and Glitterfly let themselves out as well. Kappaqueous puts a hand on Brenda's back and encourages, "Kappapapapa."

Glitterfly adds reassuringly, "Glitterererfly."

Brenda has a brief flashback to her last double performance again, recalling how poorly Kappaqua and Glitterfly were able to work as a team at the time. She asks, "Kappaqueous, Glitterfly, are you sure? You really want to do this? Even after how last time ended?"

Both Pokémon nod emphatically.

Brenda takes a deep breath and slowly nods. "Okay then… I suppose we can give this a go."

The woman says encouragingly, "That's the spirit!"

Kappaqueous and Glitterfly both take up positions in front of Brenda. Brenda sighs. "Alright, here goes nothing…" She tries to make a command, but freezes up.

Kappaqueous and Glitterfly look to each other, then nod in wordless agreement. Without having to be told, Kappaqueous throws an Aqua Bomb upwards into the air, but then catches it with Confusion to suspend it in midair. Brenda gasps.

Glitterfly then aims a low intensity Signal Beam at the floating orb of water. The beam of multicolored light refracts outwards in all directions, creating a brilliant rainbow glow. Once this effect has been achieved, Glitterfly pumps up the intensity, which causes a very brief flash of refracted light, followed by the Aqua Bomb exploding in a shower of sparkling mist and rainbow light.

Brenda watches the display in speechless awe.

The woman claps. "Bravo. Your Pokémon are very well trained. Very well trained indeed."

Brenda runs up to her Pokémon and asks, "Have you two been working on this combination by yourselves? Have you been training for double performances without me?"

Both Pokémon nod. Kappaqueous says, "Kappapapa aqueous."

Brenda can't believe it. "Wow… All I've wanted to do is to ignore double performances completely. Pretend like they don't even exist. But you two have been doing what I should have been doing all along, preparing for them. I can't believe it…"

The woman chuckles. "To have instilled such dedication and passion into your Pokémon that they provide you with a gift such as this, that is a true sign that you by all means deserve to be a coordinator. I wish you luck in tomorrow's contest." She turns to leave, satisfied that her work is done.

Brenda asks, "Are you competing in this contest?"

The woman chuckles. "No, I'm afraid not. I've already gathered my ribbons. I'm simply here to scout out my competition for the Grand Festival." She pauses, then adds, "I can already tell that you'll be a tough one to beat." She leaves without another word.


Who's that Pokémon!?

It loves the gases given off by rotted kitchen garbage. This Pokémon will find a dirty, unkempt house and make it its home. At night, when the people in the house are asleep, it will go through the trash.


Jessie, dressed as Jessileia, marches proudly out from Ort City's contest hall. She announces to James and Meowth, "I sense my fifth and final ribbon coming my way."

James says, "Wow, Jessie, you sure sound confident."

Jessie looks back to him and smiles, "How could I not be? I was the undisputed master of my last double performance contest. Don't forget I not only won the Starside Contest, but I beat that obnoxious twerpette and her pretty-boy twerp friend while doing it. I have nothing to fear from this contest."

Meowth agrees, "Repiv and Haking do make a pretty good team. Will you use them again?"

Jessie laughs. "Naturally."

James doesn't look excited by the prospect of Jessie using Haking again, but he doesn't make any objections, not wanting to incur the wrath of Jessie. Instead he asks, "So are you going to go do some training now, Jessie?"

Jessie cackles. "Me? Train? Did we not just establish that I am the undisputed master of double performances? What reason could I possibly have to train?" She laughs some more. "No, what we're going to do is work on my entrance."

Meowth and James question, "You entrance…?"

Jessie grins smugly. "If this is going to be my fifth and final ribbon in the Tenno Region, my last ribbon before I win the Grand Festival and move to become a world-wide phenomenon, then I want it to be memorable. I want an entrance into this contest that all the documentaries made about me in the future can look at and say, 'It was in this moment that a star was born.'"

James and Meowth sigh at the prospect. James murmurs, "And let me guess, Meowth and I will be the backbone behind this 'grand entrance.'"

Jessie grins. "The pleasure is yours, I'm sure."

Wobbuffet appears to add, "Wobbuffet!"

Meowth groans. "That's one way to put it…"


It's Weezing!


Brenda runs through the streets of Ort City, and spots Ash, Brock, and Will ahead of her.

Ash shouts in surprise, "Brenda! We've been looking all over for you!"

Brock asks, "Are you alright?"

Lupine lunges at her and yips happily, "Lup lup!" It leaps into her arms.

Brenda catches Lupine and strokes its head. She answers Brock, "I am now. Sorry I ran out on you like that. I let my emotions get the best of me." She looks to Will and hangs her head in shame. "You must be thinking the worst about me."

Will shakes his head. "Not at all. I know you must be undergoing stress, after what happened at the last double performance." He sighs. "And I know I was not helpful at all back then."

Brenda sighs, too. "It's fine." She looks up. "But you know what? I'm over it now. I want to compete in this double performance and prove to myself that you were wrong back then. I've changed a whole lot since then, and it's time to show it."

Ash cheers, "That's great, Brenda!"

Brenda continues, "Will, could you do me favor?"

Will is taken by surprise. "Oh? What is it?"

"Battle me in a double performance contest battle. Help me overcome my fear, help me train."

Will is surprised by the request. "I suppose it's the least I owe you. Okay, let's do it."


Brenda and Will have taken up positions on either side the Pokémon Center's training field. Brenda already has Kappaqueous and Glitterfly in front of her.

Will questions, "Brenda, are you sure about using those two Pokémon?"

Brenda nods. "Absolutely. If my failing before was not training with these two, then I want to make sure that I don't make the same mistake twice."

"I understand." He beckons for Necrow to enter battle. It flies off his shoulder and lands on the field. He also throws a Pokéball, sending out a Heliolisk.

This prompts Brenda to pull out her Pokédex. "It looks like Helioptile evolved too."

"Heliolisk, the Generator Pokémon, and an Electric and Light Combo-Type. Heliolisk absorbs energy from the Sun through its frills. The larger its frills, the more energy it can absorb. Evolves from Helioptile with a Sun Stone and into Heliophosaur by leveling up while knowing the move Photovoltaic Charge."

Brenda announces confidently, "Okay, we're going first."

Will nods in agreement.

Brenda prepares to make her first command, but suddenly freezes up. All her feelings of self-doubt and worry flashes across her face over the course of a second. But one glance at the determined look on her Pokémon's faces and all that worry disappears and her confidence returns. "Kappaqueous, use Aqua Bomb, midrange between them!"

Will quickly responds with, "Dodge to the side!"

Expecting this, Brenda promptly shouts, "Glitterfly, give it a powerful Flash!" Glitterfly floods the field with light, stunning Will's Pokémon. This disrupts their ability to dodge, and allows Kappaqueous to land its attack. The Aqua Bomb impacts the ground between Will's Pokémon and explodes, the shockwave damaging both Pokémon.

Will smiles. "Your Pokémon are able to work together. I must admit, I am surprised. So now, let's show you what we can do. Necrow, use Reaper Slash!"

Necrow takes off in flight as its beak glows a dark crimson. It aims itself at Kappaqueous.

Brenda commands, "Glitterfly, help Kappaqueous out! Use Signal Beam!"

Glitterfly aims a super-effective Signal Beam attack at the approaching Pokémon, but Will seems to be prepared. "Heliolisk, block it!"

Heliolisk leaps in-between Necrow and Glitterfly. It quickly extends its frills and captures the light from Glitterfly's attack, absorbing it into itself.

Necrow then flies up and over Glitterfly and slashes its beak down on Kappaqueous.

Brock comments, "That was great use of Helioptile's ability, Photo Absorption, which allows it to absorb Light-Type moves and heal itself with the energy. Then Reaper Slash allows Necrow to absorb its opponent's energy to heal itself as well. Both Necrow and Helioptile have healed the damage that Brenda managed to inflict with her initial attack."

Brenda tries not to show annoyance at that fact. "Kappaqueous, use Confusion!" Kappaqueous uses its psychic powers to grab ahold of the still close by Pokémon. "And Glitterfly, use Sparkling Flare!" Glitterfly flashes an intense burst of sparkling light as an attack.

Will orders, "Heliolisk, again!" Heliolisk moves in to block the attack again.

Brenda is ready this time. "Kappaqueous, Confusion on it too!" Before Heliolisk can get into position, Kappaqueous releases Necrow and immobilizes Heliolisk instead. This allows for Glitterfly's attack to hit its mark.

Will commands, "Heliolisk, use Parabolic Charge!" From its position suspended in the air, Heliolisk spreads its frills and uses them as a source of electricity. From them, tendrils of lightning lash out in all directions, striking both Glitterfly and Kappaqueous simultaneously. This forces Kappaqueous to drop Heliolisk.

While the electric attack continues, Will follows up, "Now Necrow, use Wing Attack!"

While both of Brenda's Pokémon are trapped in Heliolisk's attack, Necrow dives down, aiming right between them with a Wing Attack on each side.

Brenda urges, "Kappaqueous, you have to knock it away!"

In an unexpected move, Kappaqueous acts and punches at the bird Pokémon, its fist becoming cloaked in a glowing white aura. The punch knocks Necrow back into Heliolisk, creating some ice where it struck. Necrow crashing into Heliolisk causes Heliolisk to stop its attack.

Brenda asks with surprise, "What was that!?"

Brock exclaims, "That move was Ice Punch!"

Ash cheers, "Way to go! Kappaqueous learned Ice Punch!"

Brenda smiles. "That's wonderful! Great job, Kappaqueous!"

Kappaqueous looks back to her and smiles. "Kappa appa!"

Brenda gets an idea. "Okay then, time for a combination! Glitterfly, use String Shot, straight up!"

Glitterfly looks up and produces a strand of sticky thread. Once gravity takes it effect on the string, it begins to bunch up in the air.

Brenda then adds, "Now Kappaqueous, use Ice Punch from above!"

Kappaqueous leaps up above the bunch of sticky string, and punches it with Ice Punch. This flash freezes the ball and sends it hurtling towards the still collapsed Necrow and Heliolisk. The ball shatters on impact, releasing the not yet frozen insides, which splatters across the two Pokémon, trapping them in a wide spread of the thread.

Will chuckles with amusement. "Even with all your training, you still manage pull off in-the-moment improvisations that work stunningly."

Brenda shrugs. "I had to win that first ribbon somehow." She and Will share a quick laugh. Once the laugh is over, Brenda now orders, "Okay, now Kappaqueous, use Aqua Bomb while they're downed!"

Will isn't willing to take this sitting down. "Heliolisk, use Razor Wind!" Heliolisk whips up bursts of sharp wind that slice right through the String Shot thread. The Razor Wind goes on to detonate the Aqua Bomb prematurely and to strike both Kappaqueous and Glitterfly. Will nods. "Brenda, you amaze as always, but it's time for this battle to end. Heliolisk, step up the Razor Wind!"

"Helioooooo!" The razor-sharp wind begins to move quicker and with more energy.

"And Necrow, add your Ominous Wind!"

"Neeeeeeecrow!" Necrow flaps its wings and whips up a burst of eerie purple winds.

The two winds combine together into one, creating a ghostly purple version of Razor Wind. For Kappaqueous and Glitterfly, there's no escape. One by one, the blades of wind slice into their targets. Brenda's Pokémon attempt to avoid the blades, but it's simply no use. Within moments, both Pokémon succumb to the attack and fall.

Brenda hangs her head. "I guess that's that…"

Will recalls Heliolisk and approaches Brenda. He steps right in front of her and stresses, "You may have lost this battle, but it was a good loss. This loss was in no way because of your own faults, which makes it the polar opposite of how you lost the Starside Contest. Brenda, I think you are ready for another double performance contest. Tomorrow is your chance to redeem yourself and remove any doubt as to your validity as a coordinator."

Brenda takes a deep breath. "No. I'm not ready. Not yet…"

Ash says, "Come on Brenda, don't be like that."

Brenda shakes her head. "That's not what I meant." She looks to Will. "What I mean is that I still need to train. I won't be ready until I've worked much harder."

Will nods. "I see."

Brenda hesitates, "So Will… what do you say to helping me train?"

Will grins. "I would be happy to. We'll get you ready for tomorrow. For sure."

Brenda smiles back. "Thank you."

Is Brenda really ready for another shot at a double performance? It's time to find out, next time, when the journey continues!

To Be Continued…