Episode Six

(Before I get into this, I want to say that reviews would be encouraged, as they go a long way toward determining the direction of this story and also help me decide what changes to make. Further, this chapter/episode is dedicated to Rachael Lewis, who was recently diagnosed with cancer. You all remember Rachael as the English voice of Misty and several other characters in the Pokemon anime. She is very important to Pokemon fans everywhere, so let's hope she pulls through)

In our previous episode, Amanda and Michelle arrived at Mount Moon, and had quite the adventure, getting themselves lost and also getting engaged in a supposed treasure hunt. Unfortunately, the hunt turned out to be a trap set by the same Team Rocket member that the girls had come across before in Pewter City. But thanks to Clefairy's Metronome, as well as some powerful attacks from their Pokemon, the girls defeated Team Rocket, and Pidgey evolved into Pidgeotto. Now, our heroes find themselves heading toward Cerulean City, and Amanda's next gym battle.

"Look, Amanda! There's Cerulean City just ahead!" cried Michelle.

"I can't wait to have my gym battle." Said Amanda. "I wonder who the leader here is." They rushed over to the gym but when they tried to open the doors, they found that it was locked.

"That's just great. It's closed." Said Michelle.

"Why would the gym be closed when it's the middle of the day?" Amanda wondered. Michelle then saw a sign near the door.

"Maybe this is why." She said. "This isn't just a gym. It's also a theater for performing water ballet shows. And it looks like there's one going on right now."

"That would explain why it's closed." Said Amanda. "Oh well, I guess we'll have to come back later."

"Let's go the Pokemon Center for now." Said Michelle. "We both need to get our Pokemon healed and you need to call your mother so that you can let her know that we arrived in a new city."

"Thanks for reminding me about that." Said Amanda, and they headed for the center. Upon their arrival, they were greeted by the kind smile of the building's Nurse Joy.

"Welcome to the Pokemon Center." She said. "Is this your first time in Cerulean City?"

"It is indeed." Said Michelle.

"Well then, may I suggest checking out some of the sights of the city?" Joy said. "There's a bike shop here, along with a lighthouse, as well as various stores to suit your shopping needs."

"We'll definitely keep that in mind." Said Michelle. Amanda handed her Pokemon over to get checked and went over to the phones.

"I hope Mama's home." She said as she dialed the number. Sure enough, Kangaskhan picked up after three rings.

"Hi, Mama." Said Amanda. "Michelle and I are in Cerulean City now."

"Very good, dear." Said Kangaskhan. "Have you checked out the gym yet?"

"We did go there first, but it was closed." Said Amanda.

"That's too bad." Said Kangaskhan.

"On the plus side, though, that gives us a chance to see the city a little bit." Said Michelle.

"See? There's always a plus side for everything." Said Kangaskhan. "Now, you both have fun and be careful."

"We will, Mrs. Kangaskhan." Said Michelle. Kangaskhan smiled and hung up the phone. Next, Amanda dialed Professor Oak's number. Oak was doing some observation work on her Butterfree when he heard his phone ring.

"I'll be right back, Butterfree." He said and picked up the phone.

"Hello, Professor!" Amanda cried excitedly.

"Hello, Amanda." Said Oak. "Have you made it to Cerulean City yet?"

"I sure have, Professor. I'm calling from the Pokemon Center there." Said Amanda.

"Excellent." Said Oak. "I'm glad that you made it there safely. You know, I was thinking to myself 'Has Amanda caught anymore new Pokemon since leaving Pewter?'"

"You're in luck, Professor, because I did catch a Zubat in Mount Moon." Said Amanda. "Would you like to see it?"

"I certainly would." Said Oak. Amanda took Zubat's Poke Ball off of the waist of her dress and put it in the transporter. A beam of light absorbed it, and just seconds later, it arrived in Professor Oak's lab.

"Okay, let's open this up and take a look at your Zubat." He opened up the ball, and the Zubat appeared in a blaze of light. However, this Zubat wasn't its normal blue and pink color pattern. Instead, it had a green and yellow pattern.

"Well, this is certainly interesting." Said Oak. "Amanda, it appears that this Zubat of yours is a shiny Pokemon."

"Oh wow. I didn't even notice that when I caught it." Said Amanda. "Michelle and I got ganged up on by some Zubat in Mount Moon, and so I didn't really have a chance to get a better look at it."

"You're quite lucky to encounter a shiny Pokemon." Said Oak.

"Um, Professor, what exactly is a shiny Pokemon?" asked Amanda.

"They're Pokemon that have different coloring, and some of their other colors are also different too." Said Oak. "These kinds of Pokemon have just been newly discovered, so the chances of finding one are extremely low. The fact that you were able to find one makes you quite the lucky girl indeed." Amanda just smiled.

"Well, I don't know if I would consider myself that lucky, Professor." She said.

"Nonsense. Catching one of these is an honor, and I think you might be the first one to do it considering how new the concept is." Said Oak. "If you don't mind, Amanda, I'd like to study this shiny Zubat of yours."

"I don't mind at all, Professor." Said Amanda. "You be good for Professor Oak, Zubat." Zubat gave an affirmative nod, Oak and Amanda said their goodbyes and hung up. After Amanda got her Pokemon back from the desk, she and Michelle left to explore the city a little bit.

"What should we do since we can't go to the gym right now?" Michelle asked.

"I think I might have an idea." Said Amanda. "I did notice some pictures of a couple or raindrops on the gym's roof when we went by there earlier, which is an indication of the Pokemon type that the gym is going to use. While Pikachu's electric attacks would work out very well here, I do want to get a grass type as a backup option."

"Good thinking." Said Michelle. "I think there might be some in the grassy area just north of here." While they walked to the spot Michelle had pointed out, Amanda saw a store that sold a variety of different items, including clothes, food, potions and Poke Balls.

I could use some more clothes." Said Amanda.

"Same here, but that's not our focus right now." Said Michelle. They continued along, and thirty minutes later, they reached the bridge that would lead them to where they wanted to go. They were almost across the bridge when a trainer approached Amanda to challenge her. It was a simple one on one match with the trainer using a Cubone and Amanda using Squirtle. The match was intense, but Squirtle came out on top thanks to a strong Bubble attack. Once the battle was done, and they had made it across the bridge, they made a left turn into the grass patch.

"I wonder what kind of Pokemon live here." Said Amanda. She whipped out her Pokedex and looked up their current location on it. The Pokedex then spoke.

"Common Pokemon finds in this portion of the city include the gentle grass types of Oddish and Bellsprout. However, there's also a small chance of an Abra appearing." It said. Amanda then put the Pokedex away.

"An Abra would be pretty cool." She said. "It's not what I'm looking for right now, but it would be cool if I did stumble upon one."

"If you do see one, I would suggest trying to catch it right away because they can teleport instantly." Said Michelle.

"Noted." Said Amanda. Pikachu, who had been nestled on Amanda's shoulder, used its ears to listen for any wild Pokemon. After fifteen minutes of searching, Pikachu's ears suddenly perked up and it pointed.

"Pikachu pi pika!" it cried, which meant 'There's something right in front of you!' That something turned out to be a Pokemon with a stem like brown body. It had green leaves for arms, a yellow head, small black eyes and a wide open pink mouth. This was certainly the Pokemon Amanda was looking for, and she took out her Pokedex for more information.

"Bellsprout, the flower Pokemon. Even though this Pokemon's body is extremely skinny, it can move super fast to capture and eat bugs. The roots are used as feet for walking around."

"This one may be small, but it can be very useful." Said Amanda and she put the Pokedex away. "Okay, Pidgeotto, you're on!" She threw a ball and her trusty bird instantly appeared.

"Let's start off with a Gust attack." Pidgeotto flapped its wings hard to form a powerful gust of wind, which sent Bellsprout flying backwards a few feet. It stood its ground, though, and fired small leaves from its' arms.

"That's Razor Leaf!" Michelle called. Pidgeotto brushed the leaves away like it was nothing.

"That's the way, Pidgeotto." Said Amanda. "Now, Wing Attack." Pidgeotto spread its' wings out and hit Bellsprout hard with the powerful attack. Bellsprout wouldn't give up, though, and shot out green vines to form Vine Whip. Although Pidgeotto was fast, it couldn't quite avoid the vines and got hit a little harder than normal. Pidgeotto screamed.

"Oh no!" cried Amanda. "Are you okay, Pidgeotto?" Pidgeotto nodded. It was so determined to show Bellsprout who was boss that it flew full speed to use Quick Attack before Amanda had a chance to order it. Bellsprout didn't see the attack coming, and was knocked out on the ground, having fainted completely. Amanda threw an empty ball at the Bellsprout, and three shakes later, the ball dinged to signify a successful capture.

"We've got ourselves a Bellsprout!" Amanda cried and she high fived Michelle.

"Way to go, Amanda." Michelle said.

"Thanks." Said Amanda. She recalled Pidgeotto, grabbed the ball containing her new Bellsprout off the ground and put it back on her waist. Then, they set off back towards the city. They were almost back at the bridge when an Abra appeared out of nowhere and started hovering around the girls.

"Well hello there." Amanda said in a friendly tone. "Let's see what my Pokedex has to say about you." She took it out and pointed it at the Pokemon.

"Abra, the Psi Pokemon. It can use radar to sense when it's in danger. It can even teleport itself while sleeping." Amanda put her Pokedex away and had a closer look at Abra.

"You look like you're a bit lonely." Said Amanda. Abra floated over to Pikachu and gave a curious look.

"That's my partner." Said Amanda. "Pikachu, say hello to Abra."

"Pika pika." Said Pikachu, which meant 'Nice to meet you.'

"Hi, Abra. I'm Michelle. I want you to meet my own partner, Eevee." Said Michelle. Abra hovered over to Eevee, who gave a small squeal, but Michelle reassured her.

"It's okay, Eevee." She said. "This Abra just wants to be our friend. I'm sorry, Abra. Eevee thought you were a Gyrados or something." Abra was confused by that but shrugged it off since it couldn't speak. Then, it pointed to one of the Poke Ball on Amanda's waist.

"You're probably curious about that, aren't you?" Amanda asked. Abra nodded its head. Amanda grabbed an empty ball that hadn't been used yet and showed the psychic type.

"This is what I use to capture any Pokemon that I find." She said. "Most of the Pokemon stay in these until we need them, but Pikachu and Eevee like being out here with us, don't you, guys?" Pikachu and Eevee both gave an agreeing thumbs up. Abra looked at the ball curiously before pressing a button to make it a bit bigger. Abra thought that the ball was a toy and pressed the button again. However, the ball started to suck the Pokemon inside.

"Wait, don't do that!" Amanda cried, but it was too late. The ball dinged for another successful catch.

"Looks like you ended up with an Abra after all." Said Michelle.

"Which is cool and all, but if it wanted to play with my Poke Ball, it should've asked me first." Said Amanda. The ball containing Abra then suddenly disappeared into a flash of white light.

"I hope I didn't hurt the little guy's feelings." Said Amanda.

"I don't think you did." Said Michelle. "That Abra took you over your party limit, which means that it's going to Oak's lab." Amanda breathed a sigh of relief and they continued on. They got back across the bridge, and after another thirty minutes, found themselves back at the store they had passed earlier.

"Guess it's time for a shopping spree." Said Amanda. Michelle agreed and they made their way inside the store.

"What should we get first?" Michelle asked.

"I did say earlier that we needed some new clothes." Said Amanda, so they went over to the clothing section. They found some bright colored shirts, jeans and sneakers, which both of them liked, as well as some nice dresses, but then Michelle spotted something that she really liked.

"Look at these cute boots, Amanda." She said. The boots she was looking at were a bright orange color, and were filled with stickers of various Pokemon, including Jigglypuff, Horsea and Pikachu.

"You like these boots, Pikachu?" Amanda asked.

"Pi pika Pikachu." Pikachu said, which meant 'They're very cute.'

"I think I might want to buy these." Said Michelle. She grabbed the boots and placed them into the shopping bag that the clerk had provided the girls upon entering. She also put the other clothes they had picked out into the bag and continued walking through the store. In the food and potions area, they grabbed some snacks for themselves as well as Pokémon food for Pikachu and Eevee. They also made sure to get some antidotes as well as other medicine that would cure their Pokémon in the event that they got hit with status conditions. They also got some backpacks in the outdoor section so that they could store their things much easier. Finally, they grabbed some more Poke Balls. They then went back to the front entrance when they realized that they had a problem.

"How are we going to pay for all of this?" asked Amanda. "I don't have any money on me."

"No problem." Said Michelle. She brought out a wallet with a Seel sticker on it and took her debit card out.

"It's a good thing I always carry this around with me whenever I travel." She Said, and used the card to pay for all of their items. Then they headed back to the Pokemon Center so that they could have dinner. The menu that evening was grilled salmon with sautéed vegetables, two things that both girls liked a lot. After dinner, they went into the room the center had provided them and turned the TV on. Michelle flipped through the channels until she came across a program that intrigued her.

"Look at this, Amanda." She said. "It's a new game show called Name That Pokémon."

"This certainly does look interesting." Said Amanda. "I wonder how you play."

"Let's watch and find out." Said Michelle. The contestants on screen were shown a silhouette of a Pokémon and they had to identify it based on the clues given. The amount of points that was earned was dependent on how many clues it took to make a correct guess. The fewer guesses that were required, the more points the player scored. The more guesses that were needed, however, the less points that were scored. The game in this particular episode got very intense, and all three players were very close in score going into the final round. For the final, everyone bet a certain amount of their score based on what they knew about the Pokémon. If they guessed right, they won their wager. If they guessed wrong, however, they lost their wager. The player left with the most points at the end would be the winner. The player in the middle position bet all of their points and got it right. The other two bet a chunk of their scores, but got it wrong, resulting in the middle player winning the game.

"That was certainly exciting." Said Amanda.

"You did pretty good with your guessing." Said Michelle.

"I think I like that show." Said Amanda. "I hope we get to see it again sometime."

"I'm sure we will." Said Michelle. She changed the channel to a station that was showing a replay of a battle from the previous year's Indigo League tournament.

"Now this is more like it." Said Amanda. The station showed the battles for the next two hours, and then the girls went to sleep. Meanwhile, in the main part of the city, all of the stores had closed for the night. Unfortunately, a certain Team Rocket grunt that the girls had run into issues with twice already, didn't get the memo and had snuck into one of the stores through the vent on its roof. This was the exact same store the girls had been shopping in earlier that day. He made sure the coast was clear before proceeding.

"I wonder if they have anything valuable in here." He said. He scanned all the sections slowly and carefully before finding one of the biggest vacuum cleaners ever to exist. He looked at the price tag and shook his head.

"Way too expensive." He said. "Then again, that's what the five finger discount is for." Because of how expensive the vacuum was, it was tied together with metal chains. The grunt managed to break the chains and remove the vacuum from its spot. He then left with his new prize, making sure not to activate the alarm in the process. The next morning, after the girls had woken up and gotten dressed, they turned on the television and found a newscast in progress. A national story report was finishing up before the anchor moved on.

"In local news, a valuable vacuum was stolen from one of Cerulean City's largest stores last night." She said. "It happened around ten thirty last night. The suspect was last seen wearing a blue shirt and lime green pants. Officer Jenny and the rest of the city's police force are currently investigating." Michelle turned the TV off.

"Wow, a robbery." She Said.

"We were just at that store yesterday, too." Said Amanda. "That's pretty crazy if you ask me."

"We'll need to go there so we can tell Officer Jenny anything we might know." Said Michelle. Both of their stomachs rumbled loudly. "But first, we should feed ourselves some breakfast." They went to the cafeteria and found the standard breakfast items available. They both had a toasted bagel, some yogurt and a small carton of milk. After they finished eating, they made their way over to the store, the entrance of which was blocked off by police tape. Officer Jenny was taking notes in her notebook as her fellow officers were talking to the owner, who looked very distraught.

"You've just got to get that vacuum back, Officer Jenny." He said. "It's one of a kind and can't be replaced."

"We're doing everything we can." Jenny assured him. "Maybe these two kids know something." She turned to Amanda and Michelle.

"Were you two here yesterday?" Jenny asked.

"Yes." They both answered.

"Where were both of you at ten thirty last night?" she asked.

"We were both asleep at the Pokémon Center." Said Amanda.

"So neither of you were here when the vacuum was stolen then." Said Jenny.

"No, we weren't anywhere near the store at that time." Said Michelle. The store owner vouched for them.

"They're telling the truth, Jenny." He said. "Even though I did see them come in yesterday to shop around, they bought their items fair and square. They definitely don't look like thieves to me."

"I don't think so either, but I still had to interrogate them since it's part of the investigation process." Said Jenny. "You two are free to go. We'll handle things from here." Jenny sent the girls on their way, and the two of them started walking back the other direction.

"I know she didn't ask us who did take the vacuum, but I already have an idea as to who did take it." Said Amanda. "If it's who I think it is, he's going to pay."

"Just let the police take care of it." Said Michelle. "Where should we go now?"

"Since I don't think the gym is open quite yet, I can try to get in a quick training session first before going over there." Said Amanda. They went just east of the city to an open clearing for the session. Since Bellsprout was just newly captured, Amanda spent the hour and a half session focused on mastering its' attacks. The first few attempts didn't go well for Bellsprout, but it slowly improved, and once the session was over, Amanda was very proud of the work that her new grass type had put in.

"Great job, Bellsprout." She said. She recalled her Pokemon, and then the girls headed to the gym. When they arrived inside, they found a huge pool that contained various water types such as Golduck, Poliwhirl and Tentracruel.

"This is a big place." Said Amanda. "I hope I don't have to go into the pool for my battle. I'm not wearing a bathing suit."

"I don't think you'll need to worry about that." Said a voice from in front of her. The voice belonged to Daisy, one part of the trio known as the Sensational Sisters.

"Hey Violet, looks like we have our first two challengers of the day!" she called out.

"Oh, I'm not challenging." Said Michelle, and she pointed to Amanda. "But my friend here is." Violet appeared alongside Daisy, and Lily followed a moment later.

"First off, welcome to the Cerulean City gym." Said Daisy.

"Thanks, but I kind of thought that there'd be someone else here as the gym leader." Said Amanda.

"If you mean Misty, she's out traveling with Ash right now." Said Violet.

"Speaking of which, the two of them were actually here not too long ago to help us out with one of our underwater shows." Said Lily.

"As you probably figured out, we also do shows here and not just gym battles." Said Daisy.

"Yeah, I noticed that for myself when we first came here yesterday and found the gym completely closed." Said Amanda.

"We were booked with shows all day yesterday and couldn't take any challengers, which is why we were closed." Said Lily.

"There's no performances scheduled for today, though, which means we can battle you." Said Violet.

"Oh, so you're not going to just hand over a badge to Amanda and send us away?" asked Michelle.

"We were told by Nurse Joy that we can't do that anymore or else the gym gets shut down." Said Daisy. "That means you'll have a proper battle. Come with us." The girls followed Daisy, Lily and Violet over to the main battle area, which was a smaller sized pool. Michelle went over to the stands to watch, while Amanda took her spot in the challenger's podium.

"How many badges do you have right now?" Daisy asked.

"Just one." Amanda answered. This'll be my second badge if I win."

"Then we shouldn't be that hard on you." Said Daisy. "So, here's how this is going to work. You'll battle us one at a time in separate one on one matches. If you get to two wins first, you win the badge. Also, there will be no time limits. Do you have any further questions?"

"No." said Amanda.

"Then let's begin." Said Daisy, and she threw her Poke Ball. "Horsea, take the stage!" A light blue Pokemon resembling a small seahorse appeared and dove into the pool. Amanda took her Pokedex out.

"Horsea, the dragon Pokemon. It feeds on insects and moss gathered from rocks. If it's in danger, it will spray black ink at the attacker." Amanda nodded and threw her first ball.

"Let's go, Dratini!" she cried. The small dragon Pokemon appeared in a blaze of light and joined Horsea in the pool.

"I must say, that's quite the interesting Pokemon choice for round one." Said Daisy. "Horsea, Bubble attack. Horsea squealed its name and sprayed bubbles at the small dragon. Dratini took the hit, but the bubbles did minimal damage.

"Give it a Body Slam, Dratini!" Amanda called. Dratini jumped up and got ready to slam its body into Horsea, but the small horse dove into the pool at just the right time, which made the attack miss.

"Okay Horsea, Agility time." Said Daisy. Horsea swam back and forth and its full speed, readying itself for any attack that Dratini tried.

"See if you can slow it down with Leer." Said Amanda. Dratini's eyes glowed, but no matter which way it pointed the attack, Horsea dodged every time with the Agility move. Needless to say, Amanda and Dratini were getting quite frustrated.

"Come on, Dratini, do something to slow it down!" Amanda called. "Try a Thunder Wave." A beam of yellow light shot out of its' horn, but Horsea was still in Agility and dodged easily.

"That's the way, Horsea." Said Daisy. "Go for Swift!" Stars shot out of Horsea's body, hitting Dratini. Then, Daisy called for a Blizzard attack. Dratini tried to avoid the snowflakes, and although it was successful at first, it eventually ran into a wall of them, and the small dragon was knocked out.

"Dratini is unable to battle." Said Daisy. "Horsea is the winner." Amanda was feeling quite nervous, but she was also anxious at the same time. Not only had Dratini lost, but it also didn't even land a single hit. Amanda recalled Dratini and thought about her next choice carefully. Daisy recalled Horsea, and Violet stepped forward.

"Your Dratini gave it a good try." She said. "Now let's see how you deal with this next one." She threw a ball and out came a Vaporeon.

"Oh, that thing is so cute." Said Michelle. "Look Eevee, it's one of your evolution forms." Eevee squealed in delight upon seeing the water type. Amanda took her Pokedex out again.

"Vaporeon, the bubble jet Pokemon. It likes living in freshwater lakes and also has the ability to become invisible while in the water."

"I think I know just the Pokemon for this." Said Amanda. "Bellsprout, I need you." The grass Pokemon appeared and stood just outside the pool.

"We'll have to attack from a distance since you don't know how to swim." Said Amanda. "Bellsprout, Razor Leaf attack!" Bellsprout shot a barrage of leaves at Vaporeon, and although the attack did super effective damage, the water Pokemon wasn't going to be knocked out easily.

"Go for Take Down, Vaporeon." Said Violet. Vaporeon swam hard and rammed into the Bellsprout, only to take some more damage.

"Take Down causes recoil damage to the Pokemon that uses it." Said Michelle.

"I think she's right." Said Violet.

"Good work, Bellsprout. Now go for Stun Spore." Said Amanda. Bellsprout sprayed gold dust all over Vaporeon, but right when it hit, Vaporeon dove into the water to wash it off. It popped out a few seconds later acting like the attack had done nothing, which was because it hadn't done anything.

"Nice try, but Stun Spore doesn't work when you wash it off with water." Said Violet. "Aurora Beam!" Vaporeon fired a rainbow colored beam, and that made Amanda gasp.

"If I don't do something here, this match will be over and I'll lose." She said. "Bellsprout, dodge it quick!" Bellsprout moved only slightly, but enough for the attack to miss.

"Yes!" cried Amanda. "Now, Vine Whip!" Bellsprout shot out its vines and tangled Vaporeon up in them. He then threw Vaporeon hard at the wall and released the vines. Vaporeon was down and knocked out.

"Vaporeon is unable to battle. Bellsprout wins." Said Daisy, who was now acting as the referee for the rest of the match. Violet and Amanda recalled their Pokemon, and Lily stepped forward.

"It all comes down to this." She said and threw her ball. "Starmie, the spotlight's on you!" A blue Pokemon with a red jewel in the center appeared, and Amanda took her Pokedex out one more time.

"Starmie. This Pokemon's central core glows together with the seven colors of the rainbow. The core is valued by some people as a type of gem."

"All right, little buddy, it's your turn." Said Amanda. Pikachu jumped down and onto the same spot where Bellsprout had been standing.

"We can do this, Pikachu." Said Amanda. "Thunderbolt!" Pikachu fired its' electric bolt at Starmie. As the Pokemon was part psychic type, however, it didn't do as much damage as it should have.

"Tackle it." Lily called. Starmie spun over to Pikachu and gave it a hard tackle. Pikachu was still okay, though.

"Okay, Quick Attack now!" Amanda called. Pikachu ran full speed and sent Starmie almost to the wall.

"Way to go!" Amanda called.

"Not so fast." Said Lily, wagging her finger. "Recover." Starmie shook off the pain from the attacks and looked like a completely different Pokemon.

"Bubblebeam time." Starmie launched large bubbles from its' center, but Pikachu managed to dodge all of them with its' Agility.

"Try another Thunderbolt!" Amanda called. Pikachu launched another powerful line of yellow energy at Starmie, and this time, it did a lot more damage. Not only that, but Starmie was completely paralyzed.

"Uh oh, this isn't good." Said Lily.

"Time for the Double Kick!" Amanda called. Pikachu gave Starmie, who was unable to really do anything now, some swift hard kicks, the last of which slammed Starmie into the wall. When it got up, the core started flashing repeatedly. Daisy immediately called the match.

"Starmie is unable to battle." She said. "Pikachu wins the round, and the winner of the match is the challenger!"

"We did it, Pikachu!" Amanda called. She got down from the diving board and bounced over to where Pikachu was. The two of them high fived each other, but then they heard a rumbling sound.

"What's going on?" wondered Violet as everyone ran for the gym entrance. One of the walls blasted down, and a vacuum was now standing in place of the wall. Controlling the device was none other than the Team Rocket grunt.

"Like, who invited the party crasher?" asked Daisy.

"I certainly didn't." said Lily. The Team Rocket grunt gave an evil laugh.

"Thanks to some modifications, I've made this thing stronger than it needs to be." He said and started sucking up all the Pokemon in the pool.

"He's going to take all the Pokemon!" cried Daisy.

"Oh no he won't." said Michelle.

"Wait a minute, that's the vacuum they mentioned on the news this morning." Said Amanda, and she looked directly at the grunt. "You stole this thing from that store, didn't you?!"

"So what if I did?" he asked. "There's no way any of your tiny Pokemon are taking down a big thing like this."

"Try me!" exclaimed Amanda. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Pikachu aimed its' attack at the vacuum and hit it, only to find that the attack did nothing.

"Don't tell me that thing's shockproof." Said Michelle.

"Very good observation." Said the grunt, and he continued sucking up everything in the pool.

"We've got to stop him and save all the Pokemon!" cried Lily.

"We're trying." Said Amanda. She grabbed a ball off of the waist of her dress and threw it. "Clefairy, get out here and use Metronome!" The cute pink Pokemon appeared and started wagging its fingers.

"I hope this works." Said Daisy. Clefairy's fingers stopped wagging after fifteen seconds, and a bright yellow beam shot itself into the pool and toward the vacuum. The attack hit the vacuum so hard that it broke apart, spitting out the Pokemon it had absorbed and releasing them back into the pool.

"No, it can't be!" the grunt exclaimed.

"Oh yes it can." Said Amanda, and she threw another ball. "Finish it off, Dratini!" Dratini came out, swung back, and slammed its body into what was left of the vacuum, sending the grunt flying into the air in the process.

"You measly kids." He growled. "I'll remember this!" DING!

"We did it, guys!" Amanda cried. Pikachu, Clefairy and Dratini all cheered, as did the three co leaders. Back outside, Daisy held out something in her palm for Amanda.

"You not only gave us a great battle, but you also saved our Pokemon from that Team Rocket guy." She said. "This Cascade Badge is yours."

"Thanks, Daisy." Said Amanda, and she held her new badge up high. "We got a Cascade Badge!" Pikachu struck a victory pose.

"Way to go, Amanda." Said Michelle.

"Thanks." Said Amanda.

"You really are an amazing trainer, Amanda." Said Daisy. "I wish you the best of luck in the rest of your gym matches."

"And if you see Misty, tell her we say hi." Said Violet.

"We will." Said Amanda. She and Michelle said their goodbyes to the three leaders and went on their way. Amanda's Cerulean City venture has certainly been something. She added two new Pokemon, stopped another Team Rocket plan, and more importantly, got her Cascade Badge. More excitement and battles await her as the journey continues, so stay tuned and see what happens next.

TO BE CONTINUED

Amanda's Current Party:

Pikachu (Thunderbolt, Agility, Quick Attack, Double Kick)

Pidgeotto (Peck, Gust, Sand Attack, Quick Attack, Wing Attack)

Squirtle (Water Gun, Bubble, Withdraw, Bite)

Dratini (Leer, Wrap, Body Slam, Thunder Wave)

Clefairy (Metronome, Mega Punch, Sing, Pound, Double Slap)

Bellsprout (Stun Spore, Razor Leaf, Vine Whip)

At Lab:

Rattata (Bite, Tackle, Tail Whip, Quick Attack)

Spearow (Peck, Fury Attack)

Magikarp (Splash, Tackle)

Butterfree (Sleep Powder, Wing Attack, Stun Spore, Confusion)

Zubat (Supersonic, Wing Attack)

Abra (Teleport)

Michelle's Current Party:

Eevee (Quick Attack, Swift, Tackle)

Electabuzz (Thunderbolt, Swift)

Doduo (Tri Attack, Take Down, Double Edge)

Poliwag (Water Gun, Hypnosis, Bubble)

Ponyta (Ember, Stomp, Take Down, Fire Spin)