Episode Two

Last time, were introduced to Amanda, a young girl from the Safari Zone. She had been living there with a Kangaskhan and met all kinds of Pokemon during her childhood years. She became very good friends with all of them, including a Pikachu that she got to keep for her very own. But now that she's turned ten, she was able to pick a starter Pokemon from Professor Oak. Amanda chose Squirtle, and with her longtime partner Pikachu by her side along with her new Squirtle, Amanda has now set out to become the best trainer possible. What kinds of Pokemon will she encounter? Let's find out as her journey continues.

The morning that Amanda was starting her journey was nice and sunny out. She had left the lab with her brand new Squirtle and was happily skipping along route one. This was the route that would be taking her to Viridian City, and according to her Pokedex, Pidgey and Rattata were commonly found here. She definitely hoped to catch at least one of them, or even possibly both.

"We're already off to a great start, aren't we Pikachu?" she asked.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'It's an excellent start.'

"I'm glad you agree." Said Amanda. Fifteen minutes later, a small bird flew above her.

"What's that?" she wondered. She got as close as she could without scaring it away and pointed her Pokedex at it.

"Pidgey, the tiny bird Pokémon." Said the Pokedex. "It is very gentle in nature, which makes it a perfect target for beginning trainers."

"It'll also make a great addition to our team if I can catch it." Said Amanda. "All right Pikachu, start off with a Quick Attack." Pikachu nodded and ran at the Pidgey. It was fast, however, and flew out of the way right as Pikachu was about to strike.

"That looks like a pretty powerful Pidgey." Said Amanda. Pidgey started flapping its wings together to use a Gust attack. Pikachu was knocked back a bit, but unfazed.

"Try another Quick Attack!" Amanda commanded, but once again, the Pidgey dodged it. Then, Pidgey hurled some sand right at Pikachu and hit it just above its eyes.

"Pikachu, come back." Called Amanda. Pikachu rushed over and Amanda got all the sand off.

"You're trying your best, but this Pidgey seems determined to beat you. We're not going to let that happen, though, are we?"

"Pika!" exclaimed Pikachu, which meant 'I'm going to show that bird who the real powerhouse is.'

"That's the spirit." Said Amanda. "Try a Thunderbolt." Pikachu released a strong yellow line of thunder from its' cheeks, and this time, it hit the Pidgey directly.

"Electric attacks are strong against flying types, so this should be a quick win." Said Amanda. Pikachu's attack sent Pidgey to the ground, but it held firm.

"No way! It can still battle after taking that much damage?" Amanda asked in a surprising tone. Pidgey ran full speed at Pikachu and used its' Peck attack to poke it with its' beak. Pikachu tried to dodge with its' Agility attack, but one of the pecks hit the little mouse a bit harder than normal.

"Pikachu!" cried Amanda, and she ran over to it to see if he was okay. Pikachu gave the thumbs up and got back on its' feet.

"It may be down, but it's certainly not out yet. Okay Pikachu, full force Thunderbolt!" Pikachu shot its' most powerful beam of electricity at Pidgey and finally knocked it out.

"Great work, buddy." Said Amanda. She grabbed an empty Poke Ball and threw it at Pidgey. The bird disappeared into the ball, but was clearly too weak from the battle to resist. As a result, the ball dinged instantly to signify a successful capture.

"Welcome to the team, Pidgey." Said Amanda. She put the ball containing her new capture on her waist, and then she and Pikachu continued onward.

"You did a really good job against the Pidgey." Said Amanda.

"Pika Pika." Said Pikachu, which meant 'Thanks, but that battle tired me out a little bit.'

"I'll let you rest for now." Said Amanda. She let Pikachu have a nap, and she brought out Pidgey and Squirtle so that they could introduce themselves to each other. The two Pokemon really hit it off, and soon enough, they became very good friends, which pleased Amanda as she sat on the ground and watched the two of them. An hour and a half later, Pikachu woke up and climbed back onto Amanda's shoulder.

"I guess it's time to head out." She said. She recalled Pidgey and Squirtle and began to skip down the route again. She was very happy with her new capture and hoped that she would find some more new Pokemon. Twenty minutes later, she came across a small rat with purple fur and a cream colored face. This was the Pokemon known as Rattata.

"Let's see what the Pokedex has to say about this one." Said Amanda. She got her device out and pointed it at Rattata.

"Rattata. This rat Pokemon likes to bite at anything when it attacks. It also likes to steal food from passing travelers."

"Luckily for me, I don't have any food on me right now." Said Amanda. "Pikachu, are you up to battling this one, or should I use someone else?"

"Pika pika pika." Said Pikachu, which meant 'It's your choice, but if I were you, I'd let Squirtle battle so it can get some experience.'

"That's exactly what I'll do, then.' Said Amanda. She grabbed Squirtle's ball and threw it. "Let's go, Squirtle!" The small turtle appeared on the field ready to receive orders.

"All right Squirtle, give it everything you've got." Said Amanda. "Use Water Gun." Squirtle sent a stream of water at Rattata, and even though it scored a direct hit, Rattata wasn't fazed too much. It ran at Squirtle and tried to use Bite on it.

"Quick Squirtle, use Withdraw to hide in your shell!" Amanda called. Squirtle obeyed and disappeared into the shell, resulting in Rattata only hitting the shell with its' bite. Squirtle then popped out.

"That's the way to do it." Said Amanda. "Now then, use your Tackle attack." Squirtle charged at Rattata and gave it a hard tackle. Rattata countered with a Quick Attack, which knocked Squirtle back a bit, but it wasn't enough to knock it out.

"Way to tough it out." Said Amanda. "Water Gun one more time." Squirtle fired another line of water, but this time, it was more powerful and the Rattata got knocked out. Amanda threw an empty ball, and the Rattata did show some resistance upon entering, but it wasn't strong enough to escape. Rattata was successfully caught.

"Great job, Squirtle." Said Amanda. She placed the newly captured Rattata's Poke Ball on her waist and recalled Squirtle. They then continued on, and thirty minutes later, they came across a shallow stream. They decided to take a small break, and Amanda watched the water to see if any water Pokemon would appear. After ten more minutes had passed, a fish Pokemon with red and orange scales popped out of the water.

"I think I know what that is. That's a Magikarp." Said Amanda. She took out her Pokedex to get more information.

"Magikarp. Although this fish Pokemon can be seen in many lakes and rivers, it is not a strong battler. It's only move is Splash."

"That doesn't seem very powerful to me." Said Amanda. "Hi, Magikarp. It's nice to meet you."

"Karp karp." Said Magikarp, which meant 'Likewise'.

"You must like swimming a lot." Said Amanda. Magikarp nodded and showed off its' swimming abilities. After talking for a little bit, Amanda had a proposal for the Magikarp.

"Usually I would want to get my Pokemon by catching them, but in your case, I'll just flat out ask. Would you like to join me on my journey?" Magikarp happily nodded its' head.

"Okay then." Said Amanda. She tossed a ball at Magikarp, and the little fish went right in. The ball then flew back to Amanda and dinged, signifying a successful catch.

"That makes three Pokemon that I've already caught today." Said Amanda. "Mama and Professor Oak will be very happy."

"Pika pika!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'I'm sure they will'. They left the stream and continued on their way. They hadn't gotten too much further when they saw a flock of Spearow overhead.

"Wow, those ones look tough." Said Amanda. She took out her Pokedex to get more information.

"Spearow. This flying type Pokemon is more aggressive than the gentle and kind Pidgey. If you come across this Pokemon, approach with extreme caution."

"We're not afraid of any stupid Spearow, right Pikachu?" said Amanda.

"Pikachu!" which meant 'That's right!'. Unfortunately, the Spearow didn't take too kindly to being called stupid, and one of them flew right toward Amanda and pecked her right arm.

"Ow! Hey, stop that!" Amanda cried. But the Spearow refused to stop.

"Okay, I'm sorry. You're not stupid." Said Amanda. The Spearow stopped pecking her and nodded at her, which meant 'That's better.'

"All right Spearow, you may not like me, but I want to be your friend. I know that wasn't the best of starts, but I want to test my current strength in a battle with you." The Spearow pondered Amanda's words before nodding.

"Then let's not waste any time. Pikachu, start off with a Thunderbolt." Pikachu shot a line of thunder at the Spearow, but it dodged.

"This Spearow looks tough too." Said Amanda. "Don't let your guard down, Pikachu." Spearow tried to peck away, but Pikachu was able to dodge with Agility. Pikachu then ran at Spearow with Quick Attack and hit the Spearow head on. Spearow wasn't out just yet and fired back with a Fury Attack. Pikachu did get hit a bit by it, but it stood firm.

"That's the way, Pikachu!" cried Amanda. "Use Thunderbolt again." Pikachu launched another line of thunder at the Spearow, directly hitting it. The Spearow fell to the ground with its' eyes crossed out. It had fainted. Amanda took out a ball and threw it at the Spearow. Once Spearow got sucked in, it tried hard to escape. But after three shakes, the ball dinged.

"Another successful capture." Said Amanda. "She picked up Spearow's ball and put it on her waist, and they continued on their way.

"Well Pikachu, it looks like we have a full team." Said Amanda. Pikachu was happy for Amanda, and right as they were close to Viridian City, a large, majestic bird flew by.

"I wonder what Pokemon that is." Said Amanda. Unfortunately, her Pokedex couldn't identify it.

"Pokemon unknown. There are many Pokemon yet to be discovered." Amanda shrugged her shoulders and made her way into the city.

"I guess the first thing I should do is find the Pokemon Center." She said. She started walking around trying to find it when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"What is it, Pikachu?" asked Amanda. She turned around and saw Officer Jenny standing before her.

"Excuse me young lady, but why is that Pikachu on your shoulder and not in a Poke Ball?" asked Jenny. "You didn't steal it, did you?"

"Of course not." Said Amanda. "This Pikachu belongs to me, and it's on my shoulder because it doesn't like being in a Poke Ball." Pikachu nodded in agreement. She took out her Pokedex and showed it to the officer.

"I am a Pokedex belonging to trainer Amanda of Fuchsia City. If lost or stolen, I cannot be replaced."

"Well, that checks out." Said Officer Jenny. "All right kid, you can go." Amanda walked up and down the streets trying to find the Pokemon Center, and eventually, she saw a building with a red letter P on it.

"That must be it." Said Amanda, and she made her way inside.

"Welcome to the Pokemon Center." Said Nurse Joy.

"Can you heal my Pokemon please?" asked Amanda.

"Certainly." Said Nurse Joy. She took Pikachu and Amanda's other Poke Balls and placed them on a tray. She then headed to the waiting room and dialed Professor Oak.

"Guess what, Professor. I've already caught a few Pokemon since leaving Pallet Town earlier." Said Amanda.

"That's very good." Said Oak. "Which ones did you catch?"

"I got a Magikarp, a Spearow, a Pidgey, and a Rattata." Said Amanda. "Those four, plus Pikachu and Squirtle give me a total of six Pokemon already."

"That's very good." Said Professor Oak.

"However, I also saw a Pokemon that my dex couldn't identify." Said Amanda. "Do you know which Pokemon it is?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't." said Oak. "Nobody has ever seen that particular one before."

"I see." Said Amanda. "Thanks anyway, Professor." She hung up with him and dialed her house. After four rings, Kangaskhan answered.

"Hello there, dear." She said. "How's the start of the journey going?"

"It's going great." Said Amanda. "I have a full team of Pokemon already."

"That's great, dear." Said Kangaskhan. They talked for an hour before ending the call. Amanda then heard a sound which indicated that her Pokemon were fully healed.

"Here you are, Amanda." Said Joy.

"Thanks." Said Amanda.

"By the way, have you considered trying out the gym challenge?" asked Joy.

"No, I haven't." said Amanda. "What's that?"

"It's where starting trainers test their skills against the region's best trainers. Once you have eight badges, you can compete in the Pokemon League tournament." Said Joy.

"There should be a gym here, shouldn't there?" asked Amanda.

"There is, but that one might be too advanced for you right now since you're just starting. I'd suggest starting with the gym in Pewter City." Said Joy.

"That's what I'll do." Said Amanda. She then went to the store to buy some supplies, including more Poke Balls for some new catches. She then spent the rest of the day and all night in the room that had been provided for her at the Center.

"I guess we can head toward Pewter City tomorrow." Said Amanda. Pikachu agreed with that, and they happily fell asleep at bedtime. When they woke up in the morning, they started heading toward their next destination when they saw three people heading the other way.

"It feels great to be here again." Said Ash.

"And when we get to the gym, there's an Earth Badge with your name on it waiting for you." Said a teenage boy whose eyes were closed. The boy, of course, was Brock. Amanda started to get curious and followed them to the gym. As the three of them were waiting for the gym to open, another boy that was roughly Amanda's age came out of a bright red car.

"Still playing with your little Poke pals?" he asked mockingly. "I thought you would've given up already, but no, you're still at it. Why are you here, anyway?"

"So I can get my eighth badge." Ash answered in a rather angry tone.

"You have a lot of catching up to do." Said the boy, and he pulled out his badge case. "As you can see, I already have ten badges, more than enough for the League. I just stopped here to see if the leader wants to challenge a real trainer, not some scrub." Ash got angrier, but Amanda looked right at the boy.

"Hey, I think I know who you are." She said. "By any chance, are you the famous Gary Oak?"

"The one and only." Said Gary. "How did you know?"

"Your grandpa told me a bit about you when I was starting my journey yesterday." Said Amanda. "He warned me about your attitude, and if you ask me, I don't think the way you're treating that young boy over there is very nice at all." Ash was surprised that a kid he didn't even know yet was defending him.

"I hate to break it to you, but your opinion doesn't matter." Said Gary. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a battle to win." He got out of the car and approached the door. "I'm Gary Oak and I request a battle with the leader of this gym."

"Request granted." Said the guards, and they let Gary in.

"We're going in too, Pikachu." Said Ash. Unfortunately, he was stopped.

"Only one trainer allowed in at a time." Said the first guard.

"You don't understand. I'm trying to win a badge. You have to let me in!" Ash's protest fell on death ears, however.

"That's the rules." The guards replied and closed the doors.

"If I don't do something fast, Gary will get way ahead of me." Said Ash.

"Reality check, Ash. Gary's been ahead of you from the start." Said a young girl with red hair.

"I don't think that's the kind of thing Ash needs to hear right now." Said Brock.

"I agree." Said Amanda. "So what if Ash isn't up to Gary's level? The fact that he's here trying to win the last badge he needs shows me that he's a pretty good trainer."

"Uh, excuse me miss, but who are you?" asked the red haired girl.

"Oh, sorry, I guess I should introduce myself. My name's Amanda. I'm a new trainer that just started my journey yesterday."

"Did you hear that, Pikachu?" asked Ash. "A new friend for us." Ash shook Amanda's hand.

"I'm Ash, and this is my Pikachu." He said.

"I have a Pikachu too." Said Amanda. "I've had him for years now, ever since I met him in the Safari Zone."

"We've made a stop there already." Said Brock.

"That's where a lot of wild Pokemon live." Said Ash.

"That's also where I live." Said Amanda.

"That's amazing." Said the red haired girl. "My name's Misty, by the way."

"Say, who's that cute Pokemon you're holding?" asked Amanda.

"This is Togepi." Said Misty. "It's just a baby right now, but it's very cute." Amanda used her Pokedex to get information.

"Togepi. This egg Pokemon is newly discovered, and as such, no other information is currently available."

"My Pikachu and Misty's Togepi are already good friends with each other." Said Ash.

"Let's find somewhere to eat while Gary has his battle, and our new friend can tell us about what life is like living in the safari Zone." Said Brock. They found a café on a street not too far away from the gym and they had some small snacks.

"Living in the safari Zone has been great." Said Amanda. "I've gotten to meet all sorts of Pokemon and until my journey, I was living with a Kangaskhan."

"That's certainly very interesting." Said Misty. Amanda continued talking, and after half an hour had passed, the four of them decided that they should head back. When they returned to the gym, they found the guards completely knocked out.

"I wonder what happened here." Said Ash. Then he remembered that Gary had been the last trainer to enter the gym, so they quickly rushed in to see what had happened.

"Gary! What went on in here?" Ash asked.

"A Pokemon that we've never seen before did all of this." Said Gary weekly. "This Pokemon wasn't just powerful, it's evil."

"There's no such thing as an evil Pokemon." Said Misty.

"This one is." Said Gary. "It completely wiped out both my Nidoking and Arcanine."

"Something doesn't seem right about that, though." Said Brock. "It had to have been controlled by someone."

"But who, though?" wondered Ash. They then heard the laugh of a familiar trio.

"It's them again!" cried Ash.

"Prepare for trouble!" said Jessie.

"Make it double!" cried James. Before they could continue, however, Amanda intervened.

"Hey, I remember you three!" she exclaimed.

"Hey kid, don't you know it's rude to interrupt someone when they're talking?" Meowth hissed.

"We already know what you're going to say." Said Amanda.

"Yeah, and it's never any different." Said Ash.

"Ah, but today is very different." Said Jessie. "For you see, you're looking at the new leaders of this gym."

"You three are the leaders?" Amanda questioned. "I thought it was somebody else who normally runs this gym."

"Our boss normally leads, but he got called away unexpectedly and put us in charge." Said James.

"Amanda, did you say you remember these guys?" asked Brock. Amanda nodded.

"I already encountered them in the Safari Zone and they tried to steal my Pikachu." She said.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one they've been after." Said Ash.

"What's past is past, but now, it's battle time." Said Meowth. "If you want your Earth Badge, you'll have to beat us."

"That's just what I'm going to do." Said Ash.

"Then step into the ring that we've prepared just for you." Said Jessie.

"Don't do it, Ash. It's a trap." Said Misty.

"If you run away now, you won't get that Earth Badge." James taunted.

"I'm not running anywhere." Said Ash and went into the special ring. Jessie sent out Machamp and Ash sent out Squirtle. Unfortunately, he quickly saw that the gym's Pokemon were much stronger, and once Ash's Squirtle got hit by an attack, he got shocked.

"What's with the shocks?" demanded Brock.

"That's a custom feature here in this gym." Said Jessie. "Whatever pain the Pokemon feels, the trainer feels as well."

"Ash, call back your Squirtle." Said Gary. "Machamp's too powerful for it."

"Gary's right." Said Ash and recalled Squirtle. "Bulbasaur, I choose you!" Bulbasaur appeared on the field, and Jessie countered with Kingler. Bulbasaur tried using Vine Whip, but Kingler dodged by using Harden.

"Ash, you can't beat these Pokemon. They're too strong." Gary insisted.

"I can't give up." Said Ash. "We've come too far." He sent out his Pidgeotto, which somehow managed to land a hit, shocking Jessie.

"Ouch!" she cried. "James, why did you set this to give shocks on both sides?!"

"I didn't think it would matter." Said James. "It never occurred to me that we could possibly lose."

"Fortunately, I came up with this little beauty in case we did lose." Said Meowth, who held up a remote control. "All I have to do is hit this button and goodbye competition."

"Oh no you don't!" yelled Amanda and charged at Meowth, fully tackling him, and knocking the remote from his hand. Jessie and James refused to quit, however, and sent out Arbok and Weezing respectively.

"They must've evolved since the last time I saw them." Said Amanda.

"Hey, you can't use new Pokemon now. That's against the rules!" cried Misty.

"I make up the rules for this gym." Said Jessie.

"If those are the rules, then let's go Pikachu!" cried Ash. Pikachu leapt off his shoulders and gave Arbok, Weezing, Machamp, Kingler and Rhydon a dose of Thunderbolt. All five Pokemon ran out of the gym crying.

"Follow the leader." Said jessie as she spun around and collapsed.

"We did it!" cried Ash. "We won the match!"

"Jessie, can you hear me?" wondered James.

"Can you move?" asked Meowth. Jessie shot up and glared at James and Meowth angrily.

"I'm lucky I can breathe after what you two did to me! Why did I get the shocks?!" The argument was broken up by the sound of Ash's voice.

"I won fair and square, so now I want that Earth Badge!" he called out.

"Well you're not getting it." Said Jessie and stuck her tongue out.

"Hey, that's cheating!"

"So I'm a cheater." Togepi approached the remote control and put his hand over one of the buttons.

"No, stop! Don't hit that thing!" Meowth cried. Naturally, Togepi hit the button anyway, and the explosion sent Team Rocket flying.

"Looks like we're blasting off again!" They cried, and the Earth Badge fell out of Jessie's hand. Ash held it up proudly.

"I got my Earth Badge!" he proudly proclaimed. The gym then started falling apart.

"Let's get out of here!" cried Amanda. Ash, Brock, Misty, Gary and Amanda all hurried out of the gym as fast as they could and watched as it fell to the ground as a pile of rubble.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing that wasn't going to be my first gym." Said Amanda. "Although, I guess it'll take time for them to rebuild it. So, where are the three of you headed?"

"We're going to head to Pallet Town so that Professor Oak can fill us in on the Pokemon League." Said Brock. "What about you?"

"I'm heading through the Viridian Forest so I can get to my first gym in Pewter." Said Amanda.

"Best of luck." Said Brock.

"And if you can, try to stay away from the bug Pokemon."

"Misty!" exclaimed Ash. Amanda and her Pikachu just let out a laugh. "I hope we meet up again soon, Ash." She said.

"I hope so too." Said Ash, and they went their separate ways. Well, Amanda has already had quite the start. She's caught some new Pokemon and made new friends. But what awaits her in the Viridian Forest? Find out as the journey continues.

TO BE CONTINUED