Episode 423: A Stand Up Sit Down
A whole day has passed since leaving Alamos Town, Sora, Kairi, Arthur, Lucas, Dawn, Pikachu, Angel, and Piplup walked down a road, still heading for Hearthome City. Along the way, they have come across a group of Nobodies, which consists of Dusks, Creepers, Fighters, Vikings, Knights, Assassins, and Reapers.
They fought off the Nobodies with their Keyblades as Pikachu, Angel, and Piplup used their Pokémon attacks. Sora and Kairi tapped into their Valor and Love Forms as Sora is now holding two new Keyblades.
One Keyblade is made up of a sword from Kirby's Sword ability, and the Warp Star serves as the teeth. The token is a miniature Kirby. This shall be known as the Star Warrior.
The other Keyblade has its blade, hilt, and guard of Keyblade is made up of Galaxia, but it has Meta Knight's mask on top of the hilt, and a flame serves as the teeth. The token is a miniature Meta Knight. This Keyblade shall be known as the Meta Warrior.
Kairi held her Destiny's Embrace and a new Keyblade in her hand as well. The blade of the Keyblade is white based off of Palutena's dress with a red jewel at the edge and gold accessories on the blade. The handle and guard are based from the designs of Palutena's staff, and the orb that floats on the top of her staff serves as the teeth. This Keyblade shall he known as the Goddess of Light.
The Nobodies came at them with great great ferocity. Dawn struck down some of the Creepers that came at her, but had a hard time taking care of the Knights, Assassins, and Reapers. Lucas was holding his own against them as well. Piplup came to Dawn's rescue when he unleashed a Whirlpool, wiping out the Nobodies. Sora swings his two Keyblades to slash the Nobodies that came his way. Arthur does the same thing as he lunges his Rising Calibur forward, stabbing the Nobodies.
"Thanks for the save, Piplup," Dawn said.
"Piplup!" Piplup said.
The Nobodies kept on coming at them as Kairi casts a flower spell and Sora came swinging in, a Fighter with the Star Warrior and a Reaper with his Meta Warrior destroying them. Rui clashed her Plus and Minus Keyblade against the axe of a Viking before she struck it down. Wes slashed a Knight with his two Keyblades as Lucas casts a fire spell. Dawn unleashed a blast of water magic, blowing up the Nobodies. Once the last of them were destroyed, Sora and Kairi revert back to normal.
"Well, that takes care of those Nobodies," Sora said.
"They were definitely different from the Heartless. And harder to take down, too," Dawn said.
"Piplup," Piplup said.
"That's what we thought when we first dealt with them," Kairi said.
"Eevee, vee," Angel said.
"It's been a while since we've dealt with them. Things should be okay as long as Organization XIII stays out of the picture," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"That won't stop us from having that race to Hearthome City, and I'm going to have that Gym battle before you," Lucas said, reminding Sora of their wager.
"I haven't forgotten," Sora said. He looked at the rest of the group. "But we should train a bit." Everyone agreed as they got started on their training. As they were training, Kairi's Torchic and Combee had evolved into a Combusken and Vespiquen.
"That was amazing. I never expected you to evolve when you did. Let's keep going," Kairi said.
"Eevee!" Angel said.
Combusken and Vespiquen agreed as they continued on with the training. During the training, Kairi's Bulbasaur has become an Ivysaur, giving off a sweet-smelling aroma from the flower. As for Dawn was doing her own training for the Hearthome City Pokémon Contest.
Meanwhile, a Galmeow and Misdreavus are in the forest, searching for someone to help out.
"Find anybody, Misdreavus?" - Glameow subtitle.
"Sorry, no. I looked very hard!" - Misdreavus subtitle.
"We gotta keep looking." - Glameow subtitle.
"That was great!" A familiar voice said. Glameow and Misdreavus turned to see it was Dawn who said it. "You used that move perfectly!"
"Pip!" Piplup said.
"Let's do it just once more just like that!" Dawn said. Glameow and Misdreavus smiled, knowing they found the right ones. They came running up to Dawn. "Huh? Glameow, Misdreavus?" The rest of the group noticed.
"Hey, are these Zoey's Glameow and Misdreavus?" Sora asked.
"I think so," Kairi said.
"Zoey?" Arthur asked.
"She's a Pokémon Coordinator we met in Jubelife City during a Contest there," Sora said.
"Pika," Pikachu said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
Glameow and Misdreavus spoke to them in their Pokémon language about the situtation, telling them to follow them.
"They want us to follow them," Lucas said.
"Lead the way, you two," Kairi said.
They called back their Pokémon and followed Glameow and Misdreavus through the forest, leading them to Zoey is clinching her ankle. She has a West Sea Shellos.
"Zoey?" Dawn asked.
"Hey Dawn," Zoey said.
"I figured these two were yours," Sora said.
"Well, if you're gonna send out for help, it might as well be Keyblade wielders," Zoey said.
"Well, that's a fine way to greet a friend," Dawn said. Zoey noticed a new face in the bunch.
"Sorry, but who is that?" Zoey asked.
"Right, you hadn't met me. My name's Arthur," Arthur introduced himself.
"Arthur is Sora's older cousin," Lucas said.
"Before we get off track, tell us what happened," Wes said.
"I was doing some training and I tripped. It's no big deal," Zoey said.
"No big deal? You're hurt," Dawn said. She then gets an idea. "Kairi, can you use your healing magic on Zoey?"
"I did think of that, but I don't think I have magic energy to pull it off. My mana must have been drained when I was using my Drive Form when those Nobodies attacked us," Kairi said. Dawn groaned. "But we shouldn't be relying on magic to fix all our problems. I do have some medical supplies with me for such an emergency. It was a good thing Joe handed me some for such an occasion."
"Good old reliable Joe," Sora said.
Zoey took off her shoe and she rolled her sock halfway as Kairi sprays the bruise with a potion and placed a band aid on it.
"There you go, Zoey," Kairi said.
"Thanks, Kairi," Zoey said.
"Can you stand?" Lucas asked.
"I don't know, but I'll try," Zoey said, standing up. She tried to stand, but she fell back down.
"You must have given yourself a bad sprain," Rui said.
"You gotta rest your foot," Dawn said.
"The Pokémon Center is way up ahead," Lucas said.
"I'm camping near here. If I could just get back," Zoey said.
"Don't worry. We'll help you get there," Kairi said.
"Leave it all to us," Lucas said.
With the directions Zoey had given them, they arrived to Zoey's camp and placed her on a nearby chair.
"There you go," Kairi said.
"Thanks, guys," Zoey said.
"Now, you can take it easy," Sora said.
"Where are Ash, Roxas, and all of the others?" Zoey asked.
"Well, we separated for a while, so we agreed to meet them in Hearthome City," Sora said.
"Pikchu," Pikachu said.
"Think of it as a race to see who faces against Fantina before she takes off," Lucas said.
"I see," Zoey said, chuckling.
"Anyway, we've noticed you have a new addition to your team," Rui said.
"Right. I caught this Shellos in the same river where Kairi caught hers, and where Dawn, Sora, and Roxas caught their Buizel," Zoey said. Shellos crawls up to Zoey with concern. "Don't worry, Shellos, I'm fine." Shellos gets on Zoey's lap and nuzzles her. Lucas decided to be polite and leads forward to the West Sea Shellos with a smile.
"Hi there, Shellos," Lucas greeted. Shellos was scared of Lucas.
"My Shellos is a bit shy around strangers," Zoey said.
"Sounds like someone's been babying Shellos," Dawn said, earning some chuckles.
"Well, Shellos is a bit of a baby, but I'm sure she'll come around," Kairi said.
"You know Shellos is a girl?" Zoey asked.
"Sure I can," Kairi said.
"Just like you did with those Buizel. Speaking of which, how's your Buizel doing, Dawn?" Zoey asked.
"My Buizel's great," Dawn said. She took out her Buizel's Pokéball and opened it. "Buizel, come on out." The Sea Weasel Pokémon emerged from inside. "You remember Zoey, don't you?"
"Bui? Buizel asked, looking at Zoey.
"Buizel, it's been a while," Zoey said.
"Shellos," Zoey's Shellos said. Buizel got close to Shellos, scaring the Sea Slug Pokémon. Angel, Piplup, Glameow, and Misdreavus all frowned at that.
"Buizel, why did you do that for?" Dawn asked in a stern expression. Piplup and Buizel then get into a heated argument over how Buizel greeted Shellos. "Stop it, the both of you!" Piplup frowned as Buizel just huffed.
"I honestly don't know how you can pull off a double performance with this going on," Zoey said. Kairi and Dawn looked at Zoey, puzzled.
"Double Performance?" Kairi and Dawn asked.
"I take it that you didn't know about it, did you?" Zoey asked.
"It's a new one for me, Zoey. Can you explain it?" Kairi asked.
"Of course. You see, the Hearthome City Pokémon Contest is going to be a double performance Pokémon Contest. Each Coordinator uses two Pokémon on stage at the same time, giving off a unique combination, same as you were using a single Pokémon. When you make it passed the first round, then you move on to the second round, which happens to be double battles," Zoey explained.
"The double battle part makes sense to me since it's the same deal at the Grand Festival," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu agreed.
"Well, each region has its own set of rules. I guess it makes sense for us to come across double performances," Wes said.
"I guess we were just training one at a time, we should have been trying to go at a double performance training," Kairi said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"Maybe, you can get into it when you do some training for a double performance," Rui said.
"I agree with her. It wouldn't hurt to practice a bit. But before we get to that, how about I give you a demonstration just so you can get the idea," Zoey said. She looked at Glameow and Shellos. "Okay, Glameow, Shellos, you ready?" Her two Pokémon nodded. "Okay! Let's go!" Glameow and Shellos got into postion for the demonstration. "Okay, Shellos! Mud Shot!" Shellos extends her neck and fires Mud Shot right into the air. "Okay, Glameow! Shock Wave!" Glameow sends out a Shock Wave, hitting the balls of mud, creating an electrified net, much to everyone's amazement.
"Wow, I never thought I would see an Electric-type move mix so well with a Ground-type move," Wes said.
"It works so well because they're battling each other. And it is because of that it works so well," Zoey explained. "Shellos! Use Hidden Power, now!" Shellos jumped and unleashed a Hidden Power and sends it toward the Mud Shot and Shock Wave combo, creating a multicolored flash of fireworks. Shellos lands on Glameow's strpongy tail.
"Wow! That's gotta be worth a lot of points," Lucas said.
"You can say that again," Sora said.
"Pika," Pikachu said.
"It's gorgeous," Dawn said.
"It was incredible! I can see you used the intensity of your whole performance of your whole performance to highlight Glameow's beauty," Kairi said.
"Right, Kairi. That way, I can make y Pokémon truly shine," Zoey said.
"So points come in the end?" Dawn asked.
"It's more than that. There's move balancing between two Pok and which order you present them in. Do you show them one at a time, or both together? And what's the best pose after they completed their moves? Not to mention, which capsules has the most effective sticker," Zoey said.
"Oh, man. It's a lot harder than I thought it was gonna be," Dawn said.
"A double performance is a lot more difficult than you think it is," Zoey said.
"It's tough enough to think about how to make just one Pokémon look good," Dawn said.
"Despite how well you pulled that off, you still have some practicing to do, don't you?" Kairi asked.
"It's a long way to go," Zoey said.
"Huh? Why?" Dawn asked.
"Glameow and Shellos should be able to shine much more, but I still haven't come up with how to really bring that out just yet," Zoey said.
"Everything you just said makes sense, Zoey. It's pretty much the same way as Gym battles," Sora said.
"How so, Sora?" Lucas asked.
"Well, you can train your Pokémon as hard as you can and bring out their full potential. But you shouldn't forget that the Gym Leaders won't make it easy for you, so they train their Pokémon just as hard, making them shine just as they were in a Pokémon Contest," Sora said.
"That's exactly right, Sora," Zoey said.
"Well, I figured May's dad in Petalburg City understood that fact, and the same for Dawn's mom," Sora said.
"She did tell me about that when I won my first Ribbon," Dawn said.
"Your mom and May's dad?" Zoey asked.
"Well, you don't know this, but May's dad is the Gym Leader of the Petalburg City Gym in the Hoenn region as Dawn's mom is a former Top Coordinator," Kairi said.
"Eevee," Angel nodded.
"Wow, I never would have expected that," Zoey said.
"I have to admit, it's a little challenging at times, but I can try to be me, not my mom. And right now, being me means working hard at working hard at your double performance skills," Dawn said.
"If May was with us right now, she would definitely agree with you," Rui said.
"We can get started on making a list of moves your Pokémon knows, and which ones are going to be in which stage," Lucas said.
"I was thinking of Piplup and Pachirisu in the first stage, while Buneary and Buizel are in the second stage," Dawn said.
"The second stage is perfect for Buizel," Wes said.
"What do you think of my doubles?" Dawn asked.
"Sounds pretty good to me," Zoey seconded Dawn's notion.
"I guess it means you, me, and Arthur could act as judges, oui?" Rui asked in a French accent. Wes actually chuckled at that. "Wes, are you laughing at my imitation of Fantina?"
"Sorry, Rui, I was only laughing because it sounds very cute," Wes said. Rui smiled as she giggled.
"I forgive you since you said it's cute," Rui said. Wes managed to sigh to himself since he managed to dodge a bullet.
"Remarkable," Arthur said, doing an imitation of Suziko.
"Okay, let's work on our double performance training first. Piplup and Pachirisu take your places," Dawn said. Piplup and Pachirisu does so
"Now, don't forget to use moves that bring out the beauty and the pose of your Pokémon. That'll show everybody how well you raised them both," Zoey said.
"I got it. Now, Pachirisu! Let's start with Sweet Kiss!" Dawn ordered. Pachirisu gave a kiss, blowing out pink hearts. The hearts swirls around and around.
"Those hearts are beautiful," Zoey said.
"Piplup! Whirlpool! Go!" Dawn ordered. Piplup forms a whirlpool and sends it straight up, but they washed the hearts away.
"Okay, something tells me that wasn't supposed to happen," Lucas said.
"No kidding," Arthur said.
"Uh-oh! Use Discharge on the Whirlpool!" Dawn ordered. Pachirisu sends out a Discharge and sends it up to the Whirlpool. Knowing what was about to happen, Dawn rushes over to Piplup, but both Trainer and Pokémon end up being shocked. The EleSquirrel Pokémon stopped and saw what she did.
"Well, it was unique," Sora said.
"It was, I'll give ya that," Zoey said.
"It's okay, Dawn. You can do it. Just try again," Lucas said.
"He's right. Just try something else," Sora said. A few moments later, Dawn cleaned herself up and started to make her second attempt at a double performance.
"Now, this time we'll get it for sure! Pachirisu! Discharge! Piplup! Whirlpool!" Dawn ordered. Pachirisu unleashes Discharge as Piplup unleashed Whirlpool, but it evaporated when it made contact with Pachirisu's Discharge, turning it into steam. "They can't see a thing in there."
"Well, that didn't work either," Rui said.
"That Discharge was just too powerful for that Whirlpool," Wes said.
"It's a good thing to balance out the power of your moves," Zoey said.
"You're right, nothing's working," Dawn sighed.
"I think it'll be a good idea if you try on Contest battling for a change," Arthur suggested.
"Yeah? You think so?" Dawn asked.
"That's a great idea, Arthur. You might come up with some good combinations in the process," Wes said.
"Yeah, and that can help with your double performance as well," Zoey said.
"Right. Okay, I'll give it a try," Dawn said.
"Then, I'll be your opponent for this one, Dawn. What do you say?" Sora asked.
"Sure!" Dawn said. Sora and Dawn got into position as Dawn is using Buneary and Buizel while Sora is using Pikachu and Turtwig.
"Pikachu, Turtwig, you ready to battle?" Sora asked.
"Pika," Pikachu said.
"Twig," Turtwig said.
"Buizel, Buneary, let's do this right," Dawn said.
"Bui!" Buizel said.
"Buneary," Buneary said in a flirting tone. Buneary winked at Pikachu, making the Mouse Pokémon nervous as Angel glared at Buneary with a hint of jealousy. Dawn bends down to Buneary's level.
"No, Buneary, this is an appeal battle, not date," Dawn said. Buneary realized Dawn was right and she had to stay focus in battle, no matter sho's she's up against.
"I'll start things up. Turtwig! Razor Leaf!" Sora ordered. Turtwig sends out a Razor Leaf in a swirling manner. "Okay, Pikachu, jump into Turtwig's Razor Leaf and use Quick Attack!" Pikachu jumped right in Turtwig's Razor Leaf and made the leaves follow the Mouse Pokémon.
"That's an interesting combination," Wes commented.
"Uh-huh," Zoey agreed.
"Sora left Turtwig wide opened! Okay, dodge them both!" Dawn called out. Buneary and Buizel dodged the Quick Attack and Razor Leaf combo. "Use Aqua Jet on Turtwig, Buizel!" Water surrounds the Sea Weasel Pokémon and heads right for Turtwig.
"Here he comes," Sora said.
"Alright, Buneary! Use Ice Beam!" Dawn ordered. Buneary fired an Ice Beam right at Buizel, freezing him inside, much to everyone's shock.
"What is that about?" Sora asked. The ice shattered and Buizel plowed right into Turtwig before he could dodge it. They fell right in the river. "You alright, Turtwig?"
"Turtwig, twig," Turtwig said.
"Looks like we've done it again," Dawn said.
"Dawn, don't take your eye off the ball! We still have a battle going on!" Sora said to Dawn. She realized Sora was right.
"Right! Buizel! Sonic Boom!" Dawn ordered. Buizel sends out a Sonic Boom, hitting Turtwig on the spot.
"That was a good example of how you can get power from water," Zoey said.
"Nice work, Buizel," Dawn said.
"Bui, Bui!" Buizel said.
"That was great, Dawn, but let's kick it up a notch! Turtwig! Bite! Pikachu! Thunderbolt on the ground!" Sora ordered. Pikachu uses Thunderbolt on the ground as Turtwig charges in with Bite. From Pikachu's Thunderbolt, Buneary and Buizel are pelted by the rocks coming at them.
"Buizel and Buneary, stay strong," Dawn said.
"I think I see what's going on. By coming in with Bite, Dawn's side is vulnerable," Kairi said.
"Quick, Buneary! Intercept with Ice Beam!" Dawn ordered. Buneary fired Ice Beam at Turtwig, but die to the rocks blocking Ice Beam's path, Turtwog was still coming in, so the Tiny Leaf Pokémon lands a heavy bite on the Rabbit Pokémon, resulting in a knock out. "Buneary! Oh no!"
"Okay, Pikachu! Volt Tackle!" Sora ordered. Pikachu charges right at the Sea Weasel Pokémon with a Volt Tackle.
"Quick, Buizel! Use Aqua Jet!" Dawn ordered. Buizel is surrounded by water and came right at Pikachu once again. Both Pokémon collide against each other and took heavy damage from one another. Pikachu and Buizel stare at each other, panting when Buizel fell to the ground, beaten.
"And that's enough. Sora wins this," Zoey said. Dawn sighed to herself.
"Oh, man. How am I going to fix this?" Dawn asked. A little while later, Buizel is standing by the river, thinking about his loss against Pikachu.
"Okay, what were you trying to pull off? Aqua Jet and Ice Beam?" Zoey asked.
"I was wondering about that, too, Dawn. What was that about?" Sora asked.
"I guess I thought Buizel would look really good in his ice armor, but I guess I thought wrong," Dawn said.
"No, you thought right, Dawn," Lucas said.
"Making an Ice Aqua Jet was a great idea," Kairi said.
"I agree. It shows creativity," Arthur said.
"It'll be amazing if you could just perfect it," Zoey said.
"I still don't think it was that great," Dawn said.
"Don't say that, Dawn. It takes a lot of practice. And you'll eventually get it," Lucas said. Dawn felt better, knowing Lucas believed in her.
"You really mean it, Lucas?" Dawn asked, blushing.
"I wouldn't say if if I didn't mean it. You got what it takes to be a Top Coordinator just like your mom, Dawn. I mean, you didn't her just to get it right off the bat if she didn't practice for it, right?" Lucas asked.
"You shouldn't be too quick to give up, Dawn. Your mom didn't give up, and none of us gave up, so I don't see any reason why you should," Wes said. Piplup, Buneary, Pachirisu, and Buizel backed her up.
"Your Pokémon all have faith in you, so you should have faith in yourself," Kairi said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
Zoey nodded in agreement. Dawn looked right at her Pokémon and then right at her friends. She knew Riku and Naminé would say the same thing if they were still around. It was the same for Ash, Leaf, Ethan, Kris, Lyra, Brendan, May, Chase, Elaine, Michael, Roxas, Xion, and Rei.
"Thanks, you guys," Dawn said.
"That's what friends are for. We stick up for each other," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"What about you, Kairi? Aren't you going to do some practicing of your own?" Rui asked.
"Yeah, but I think I'll do that later. I think it'll be better if I surprise everyone for later," Kairi said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
A little while later, Sora, Kairi, Arthur, Lucas, Dawn, Wes, Rui, Pikachu, Angel, and Pipkup helped Zoey pack up her camp and head for the Pokémon Center for Zoey to rest.
"Your foot is still swollen, but I think you should stay off that foot for one more day," Kairi advised.
"I think I'll take your word for it. And thanks for bringing me here," Zoey said.
"Sora, I think Dawn and I are going to be sticking around with Zoey just so Dawn get some practice done. So, I'm going to give you a head's start," Lucas said.
"We'll meet you over at Hearthome City, so just don't stay too far behind," Sora said.
"Oh, I'll catch up. I plan on seeing you show up," Lucas said.
"Right," Sora said.
Sora, Kairi, Arthur, Wes, Rui, Pikachu, and Angel said their goodbyes to Lucas, Dawn, and Zoey for now as they continue on their way to Hearthome City. Now the knowledge of the double performance and double battle is established, Kairi knew it was going to get much harder from there, and she has to work even harder than she had did in order to make it far in the Contest. So, stay tuned if you want to see more adventure.