Episode Twenty-Two
In the last episode, Amanda finally had her battle against Celadon City gym leader, Erika. The battle was tough, and it even resulted in Nidoran getting hit by Gloom's bad stench. In the end, however, Amanda emerged victorious from an exciting match and earned herself a Rainbow Badge. Also, Team Rocket had tried to steal a perfume from the gym but were unsuccessful. Now, our heroes are heading off into their next adventure, so let's see what awaits them today.
"That gym battle with Erika was sure exciting, wasn't it?" Amanda asked.
"It was one of the best battles you've had." Said Michelle.
"Pikachu." Pikachu said, which meant 'You were awesome, Amanda.'
"Thanks, Pikachu." Said Amanda. "Hey, maybe that should be my new nickname." As they continued to walk along the pathway, they came across someone who was just a little older than both Michelle and Amanda.
"Where are you three headed?" the girl asked.
"Fuchsia City, so I can hopefully earn my next badge." Said Amanda.
"I just came from there." Said the girl. "It's got some nice stores to check out, and the Safari Zone is there too."
"I know about the Safari Zone because I'm from that part of Fuchsia." Said Amanda. "In fact, that's where I first met Pikachu here." Pikachu smiled upon seeing the new girl.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Pikachu." Said the girl. "My name's Jessie."
"I'm Amanda, and my other friends here are Michelle and Mark." Said Amanda.
"By any chance, you're not the Jessie from Team Rocket, are you?" Mark asked curiously. Jessie chuckled a bit.
"Don't worry, I'm not that Jessie. Besides, I don't even know who Team Rocket is."
"They're a group of evil people that like to steal Pokemon from other trainers and use them for their plans." Said Mark.
"We've even run into them several times." Said Michelle. "They keep trying to steal our Pikachu and Eevee, but we make sure that they don't succeed."
"Still doesn't ring a bell." Said Jessie. She then had a look at Michelle's Eevee.
"Oh, that thing is so cute." Said Jessie. Eevee smiled at the compliment.
"Eevee and I have been together for a long time." Said Michelle. "The two of us are practically glued together." Jessie chuckled again.
"If that's the case, you must love Eevee a lot." Said Jessie. "I'll actually tell you both something. Eevee is my most favorite Pokemon in the whole world. I love its soft fur, and that cute bushy tail it has. And its eyes are some of the most adorable that I've ever seen.
"Eevee certainly has some charming characteristics, doesn't it?" Mark asked.
"It sure does." Said Jessie. "I know. Amanda, how about you and I have a battle."
"I'll be more than happy to battle you." Said Amanda. "By any chance, do you have any Eevee yourself?"
"No, but I have something even better." Said Jessie. "I have all three of the Eevee evolutions. What do you think about battling all three of them?"
"You're on." Said Amanda. Jessie threw her first ball.
"Flareon, you're up first." Said Jessie. Eevee's fire type evolution appeared in a blaze of light.
"Squirtle, go!" cried Amanda. She threw a ball and the little blue turtle appeared.
"Squirtle looks cute too, but cuteness alone doesn't win battles." Said Jessie. "Flareon, start with a Swift attack." Flareon shot yellow stars from its body, doing some damage to Squirtle.
"It's okay, Squirtle, you've got this." Said Amanda. "Water Gun!" Squirtle fired the stream of water at Flareon, but Jessie called for an Agility, and the fire type was able to avoid the attack no matter which direction Squirtle aimed. Squirtle growled angrily.
"I know you're frustrated, but you have to stay focused." Said Amanda. "Skull Bash, now!" Squirtle lowered its head and lay a blow on Flareon, sending it back slightly.
"There you go, Squirtle." Said Amanda.
"Not so fast there, friend." Said Jessie. "Flareon, use Flamethrower!" Flareon fired a large line of fire at Squirtle.
"Quick, use Withdraw to avoid it!" Amanda yelled. Squirtle ducked into his shell just in time to avoid the Flamethrower. Squirtle then popped back out with a smile on his face.
"Bubblebeam attack!" Amanda commanded. Squirtle fired a line of big bubbles at Flareon, but it once again used Agility to avoid being hit.
"Swift again, Flareon!" yelled Jessie. Flareon shot another round of yellow stars at Squirtle, hitting it and sending it back. Squirtle groaned a bit, but it still wanted to fight.
"Way to show some resilience, Squirtle." Said Amanda. "Now, remember that new move you learned a few days ago?" Squirtle nodded.
"I think this is the time for it. Hydro Pump!" Amanda commanded. Squirtle went into the shell, jumped up and sprayed loads of water onto Flareon. By the time the barrage was done, the fire type had fainted.
"Flareon, return now." Said Jessie. She recalled the fire type and got another ball out from her bag.
"Nice work, but let's see how you deal with this one." Said Jessie. She threw the ball, and out came a bright yellow Pokemon with large spikes on its body. Amanda got out her Pokedex to find out more.
"Jolteon, the lightning Pokemon. Jolteon can create electricity using an organ in its lungs. It is capable of unleashing ten thousand volt lightning bolts."
"We'll have to be careful with this one." Said Amanda. "Squirtle, can you keep going?"
"Squirtle squirt." The Pokemon answered, which meant 'I've got this.'
"All right then." Said Amanda. "Water Gun." Squirtle fired another stream of water, but Jolteon jumped out of the way to avoid it.
"Woah, that Jolteon is fast." Michelle observed.
"Pikachu?" Pikachu wondered, which meant 'Even faster than me?'
"I think you and Jolteon might be even in terms of speed." Said Mark.
"Use your Pin Missile attack." Said Jessie. Jolteon launched sharp yellow projectiles at Squirtle, causing it to cry in pain.
"Thunderbolt to finish it off." Said Jessie. Jolteon fired a powerful shot of lightning at Squirtle, who wasn't quite fast enough to dodge, and it fainted.
"Squirtle, return." Said Amanda. She recalled Squirtle to his ball and took another one off her waist.
"Flareon, go!" she yelled. Her new team member appeared in a blaze of light.
"Let's do this, Flareon." Said Amanda. "Flamethrower!" Flareon launched a big stream of fire at Jolteon, hitting the electric type and leaving a flame mark on its body.
"That burn's going to take a toll on Jolteon." Said Michelle.
"Try a Quick Attack, Jolteon." Said Jessie. Jolteon charged at Flareon, knocking the fire type back, but the burn took away the remaining energy Jolteon had left, causing it to faint.
"Jolteon, return." Said Jessie. She recalled Jolteon and threw another ball.
"Vaporeon, it's your turn now." Said Jessie. A Pokemon with a light blue body and dark blue marking around its head appeared, prompting Amanda to pull out her Pokedex again.
"Vaporeon, the bubble jet Pokemon. Vaporeon likes freshwater lakes and shores, and its gills help it become a champion swimmer."
"Okay Flareon, Swift attack!" Amanda called. Flareon shot yellow stars from its body, which hit the water type Eevee evolution and did a bit of damage.
"Time for Bubblebeam." Said Jessie. Vaporeon launched a pack of bubbles at Flareon, which did enough damage to knock it out.
"Good job, Flareon." Said Amanda, and she recalled the fire type to its ball.
"Pikachu, it's your turn." Said Amanda. Pikachu happily ran onto the field and took its position.
"Start with Quick Attack." Said Amanda. Pikachu fan full speed at Vaporeon and knocked the water type backwards slightly.
"Don't give up, Vaporeon." Said Jessie. "Use your Water Gun." Vaporeon shot a line of water at the electric type, but Pikachu used Agility to avoid the attack.
"Try something else, Vaporeon." Said Jessie. Vaporeon tried using Bubble, but Pikachu once again avoided it with Agility.
"This Pikachu is much better than I thought it would be." Said Jessie. "Okay Vaporeon, use your Swift attack." Vaporeon launched rainbow stars, and Pikachu finally got hit.
"You've got this, buddy!" cried Amanda. "Thunderbolt!" Pikachu unleashed its powerful electric attack, and Vaporeon tried to move out of the way, but it jumped right into the attack and fainted.
"Well done, Pikachu!" Amanda cried. Jessie recalled her Vaporeon and shook hands with Amanda.
"Great match, Amanda." Said Jessie.
"Thanks, although neither of us made it easy on each other." Said Amanda.
"That's what makes a battle so great." Said Jessie. Pikachu agreed, but then fell over and collapsed.
"Pikachu!" Amanda cried. She felt her partner's forehead.
"You're burning up with a high fever!" she cried. Eevee ran over to check on its friend, but before it could say anything, it also collapsed onto the ground.
"Eevee!" Michelle cried. She ran over and knelt down beside the small fox Pokemon.
"Are you okay, Eevee?" she asked. Eevee let out a weak squeal, which meant 'No.' Michelle felt her partner's body but pulled her hand away quickly.
"You have a fever too." She Said.
"Both of them were fine a minute ago." Said Mark. "How did they suddenly get sick?"
"I don't know, but we've got to get both Pikachu and Eevee to a Pokemon Center quickly." Said Amanda.
"I'll go with you." Said Jessie. Michelle and Amanda carefully scooped up their partners and clutched them in their arms as the four of them ran off.
"You'll be okay, guys." Amanda promised.
"Pikachu." Pikachu said weakly, which meant 'Please hurry.'
"We're going as fast as we can." Said Mark. "Nurse Joy will fix the two of you right up." The four of them kept running; meanwhile, Nurse Joy was doing a routine check up on another trainer's Pokemon. She checked each of them carefully and was pleased with the results. She placed the Pokemon back into their balls and gave them back to the trainer.
"Here you go, they're all in excellent condition." She said.
"Thanks, Nurse Joy." Said the trainer.
"No problem at all." Said Joy. The trainer left the center, but right as he went through the door, he heard the sounds of Amanda's Pikachu and Michelle's Eevee crying in pain. Their trainers burst through the door and ran up to the counter.
"Not my problem." The trainer said, and he went on his way.
"Nurse Joy, you need to help us." Said Michelle. "My Eevee and Amanda's Pikachu are very sick." Both Pokemon gave weak waves to Joy.
"Chansey, get these two Pokémon on a stretcher and rush them to emergency care." Joy ordered. Chansey obeyed, and once the Pokemon assistant was out of view, Joy turned her attention to Michelle and Amanda.
"What happened that caused those two to get into that condition?" she asked.
"Amanda was in the middle of a battle, which she won, but right after that, Pikachu fell over and started to not feel well."
"The same thing happened to her Eevee." Said Amanda.
"We're thinking that they didn't get sick on their own." Said Mark.
"I believe you, and don't worry, we'll do everything we can to make Pikachu and Eevee better." Said Joy, and she disappeared behind the doors to treat them. Mark, Michelle, Amanda and Jessie all sat down in the waiting room.
"Okay, so now we have something else to try and solve." Said Michelle. "One, how come the other Pokemon besides Pikachu that were used in that battle didn't get sick?"
"Maybe it's only certain Pokemon that were affected." Said Mark.
"You have a valid point." Said Jessie.
"None of us got sick either." Said Amanda.
"I don't think whatever happened was trying to affect humans." Said Michelle.
"That only leaves one other possibility." Said Amanda. "I think that Pikachu and Eevee were specifically targeted and that's why they got sick."
"That actually sounds the most logical to me." Said Jessie.
"I just hope that both Pikachu and Eevee will be okay." Said Michelle.
"Relax, Nurse Joy is taking good care of them." Said Mark. They sat and waited for any news on the condition of the two Pokemon. A couple of hours later, Joy emerged from the treatment room.
"Well, I've done all I can." Said Joy. "They just need to rest, and then they should be fine after that."
"That's a relief." Said Michelle.
"May we go in and see them?" Michelle asked.
"You can, but you have to be as quiet as possible." Said Joy. The four of them went into the room where Pikachu and Eevee were sleeping, and Amanda waved to them.
"Hi, guys." She whispered. "Are you feeling any better?" Pikachu gave a weak whimper, which meant 'Not much.'
"Aw, those poor things." Said Jessie.
"Don't you two worry, we'll get to the bottom of all of this." Mark whispered. Pikachu tried to get up but collapsed right back onto the pillow.
"No, Pikachu, you shouldn't try to wake up yet." Amanda whispered. "Just rest right now. That's the only way you'll get better." The four of them left the recovery room and went outside for a walk to try and clear their minds a little. Meanwhile, Conrad and Sally were having a nice picnic lunch in a grassy spot a short distance away from the Pokemon Center.
"A perfect day for a picnic." Said Conrad.
"Nothing can possibly ruin this good mood that we're both in." said Sally. They were about to bite into their sandwiches when they heard a buzzing sound.
"What's that?" Conrad wondered. He looked around behind him and saw a Beedrill looking at his lunch.
"I suppose you want us to share with you, don't you?" Sally asked. The Beedrill nodded.
"We're Team Rocket. We don't share our food with Pokemon." Said Conrad. "Now, buzz off!" The Beedrill got angry and started stealing their food.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Sally demanded. "You give those sandwiches back right now!" The Beedrill ignored her and continued to help itself. It then called in its friends, and they appeared instantly to help munch on the rest of the food.
"Those aren't yours!" Sally exclaimed.
"Drop that food right now, or else you'll be sorry!" Conrad cried out. Once again, the Beedrill swarm ignored them and ate until there was almost nothing left. The two Team Rocket agents sighed.
"There's nothing left save for a few cookies." Said Sally.
"Well, it's better than nothing." Said Conrad. They both reached for a cookie, only for a Rattata to run by and swipe it.
"You've got to be kidding." Said Conrad.
"Those Pokemon are messing with the wrong crowd." Said Sally. They got up from their picnic spot and started chasing after the Rattata.
"Come back here with our snack!" Sally yelled. However, the Rattata picked up speed and ran far away completely out of sight. They let out another sigh and went back to their picnic spot.
"Now we only have one cookie left." Said Conrad.
"Which one of us is going to have it?" asked Sally.
"You have it." Said Conrad.
"If you insist." Said Sally. She was about to reach for the cookie when she saw four angry faces staring at both her and Conrad.
"Oh, uh, hi there." Said Sally.
"Where's your precious Pikachu and Eevee?" asked Conrad.
"They're sick." Amanda said angrily. "You two better not have had anything to do with that."
"Uh, we don't know anything about two Pokemon getting sick." Conrad said.
"Are you sure about that?" asked Jessie.
"Absolutely positively sure." Said Sally.
"You two better not be lying to us." Said Michelle, and the foursome walked away.
"I'll just be taking that cookie too while I'm at it." Said Jessie. Once the foursome was out of earshot, Conrad and Sally snickered.
"They'll find out sooner or later." whispered Sally.
"Conrad and Sally were sure acting a bit strange." Said Mark.
"Just the way they denied having anything to do with your Pokemon getting sick leads me to believe that they did do it, but they don't want to say anything." Said Jessie.
"That's usually how criminals get caught in the first place." Said Michelle.
"Exactly." Said Amanda. "Whatever the cause is, though, at least we know that Pikachu and Eevee are going to be okay."
"Which is definitely a good thing." Said Jessie.
"I wonder if Professor oak knows anything about this weird illness." Said Mark.
"We can always ask him." Said Michelle. The four of them went back to the Pokemon Center and got on the phone.
"Professor, you wouldn't happen to know anything about some sort of virus going around, would you?" asked Amanda.
"You'll have to explain in a little more detail." Said Oak.
"Okay, so I was having a battle earlier, and right after it finished, my Pikachu unexpectedly got sick." Said Amanda.
"The exact same thing happened to my Eevee." Said Michelle.
"That is definitely very odd." Said Oak. "Unfortunately, I don't know anything about that, so I can't really help you. Sorry, girls."
"That's okay, Professor." Said Amanda. "Thanks, anyway." She hung up the phone and sighed.
"Well, I guess we'll have to figure this out on our own." Said Michelle. The four of them went into the lobby and continued to rack their brains together.
"There's another possibility I just thought of." Said Mark. "What if somehow, somebody snuck some bad food into our campsite last night while we were asleep? It's possible Pikachu and Eevee might've woken up for a bit of a snack and ended up eating the food and that was what got them sick."
"That's a very possible reason." Said Michelle. "Let's go and check." They headed out to the area where their camp was set up, with Jessie following closely behind. They looked all around the tent and found something near where Pikachu and Eevee had been sleeping the previous evening.
"Check this out, Amanda." Said Michelle. Amanda had a close up look at what Michelle was holding.
"It's just a regular mushroom." Said Amanda. "There's nothing really harmless about that."
"Look again." Said Michelle. Amanda moved a little forward and saw exactly what Michelle meant.
"Why is this mushroom purple?" Amanda asked. "I thought mushrooms were supposed to be a grey color."
"That's what I assumed too." Said Mark.
"It looks to me like someone sprayed some poison on the mushroom to make it turn purple." Said Jessie. "I also see that some bites have been taken out of it."
"That means whoever made it purple wanted both Pikachu and Eevee to get sick." Said Michelle.
"Who would try and turn a mushroom purple, though?" asked Mark.
"Someone that's been after both Pokemon for a while." Said Michelle. At that point, they figured out the solution to the problem.
"Team Rocket!" Amanda and Michelle cried together.
"Those goofballs lied to us after all." Said Amanda.
"We're going to have a talking to with them when we see them again." Said Michelle. She put the purple mushroom into a plastic bag and kept it for evidence. Meanwhile, Conrad and Sally were walking down the path toward the Pokemon Center with their stomachs growling loudly.
"I could use a big meal right about now." Said Conrad.
"We wouldn't have had this problem if those pesky Beedrill hadn't stolen our food to begin with." Said Sally. "I worked hard making those sandwiches."
"I'm sure they would've tasted good if we'd been able to eat them." Said Conrad.
"The cafeteria in the Pokemon Center better have something good." Said Sally. Their stomachs growled again, but a short while later, they reached the Pokemon Center. As they were about to go in, however, they found an angry foursome waiting for them.
"And what brings you four back here?" Conrad asked. Michelle angrily held up the plastic bag she had been carrying.
"Does what's in here look familiar to you two?" she asked.
"Uh, maybe?" Conrad said sheepishly.
"Team Rocket, what have you done to Pikachu and Eevee this time?" Amanda demanded.
"Oh nothing, nothing at all." Said Sally cheerfully.
"Well, this bag says otherwise." Said Mark. Conrad and Sally gasped.
"Oh yeah, that." Said Conrad.
"All right Team Rocket, start spilling." Said Jessie. "What in the world did you do?"
"We already told you that we didn't do anything." Said Conrad.
"Nice try, but we know you're lying." Said Amanda. She unhooked Fearow's Poke Ball and threw it and the intimidating bird popped out.
"Now then, are you going to tell the truth, or does my Fearow have to play dirty?" asked Amanda. Conrad and Sally just stood there with blank expressions on their faces.
"No answer, huh?" Amanda asked. "All right, playing dirty it is, then. Fearow, peck them." Fearow poked hard and the two Team Rocket grunts, resulting in them crying in pain.
"Ouch! Ow! Ouch!" They both cried.
"Are you going to talk, or does my Fearow have to keep pecking you?" Amanda asked. Conrad and Sally relented.
"All right, we'll talk. Just get that bird away from us." Said Sally.
"That's what I thought." Said Amanda, and she recalled Fearow.
"You both have some serious explaining to do!" Michelle cried.
"Okay, fine. Here's what happened." Said Sally. "It all happened last night while you kids were sleeping away peacefully."
Flashback
Amanda, Mark, Michelle, Pikachu and Eevee were all sound asleep, but Team Rocket was wide awake scrounging around for a late night snack.
"I wonder if there's any good pizza places open." Said Conrad.
"We just had pizza last night." Said Sally. "Besides, everything's probably already closed for the night anyway." They kept looking around, and then they saw some mushrooms from a nearby bush.
"There's something." Said Conrad. He picked up two mushrooms and was about to bite into them when Sally stopped him.
"Those aren't for us." Sally reminded him. "They're for the twerps' Pikachu and Eevee. If they eat these and then get sick, it'll be easier for us to steal them later." A wild male Nidoran that was still up overheard the conversation and ran up to them curiously.
"Nidoran." It whimpered, which meant 'Please don't steal me.'
"Actually, we need you to do a little job for us." Said Conrad, and he held the mushrooms in front of the Nidoran. It squealed happily and tried to bite into them, but Sally held up a finger.
"Sorry, but these aren't for you." She said. "We want you to spray some poison on here." Nidoran wasn't sure about taking orders from Team Rocket.
"Just do this one thing for us and then we'll leave you alone." Said Conrad. Nidoran sighed but did what it was told and sprayed the poison on the mushrooms.
"Very good." Said Sally. "You may go now." Nidoran scampered off, and Conrad quietly snuck up to the group's tent and placed the mushrooms right next to where the two partner Pokemon were sleeping. The Team Rocket agents then yawned and fell asleep under a nearby tree. Pikachu woke up and gave Eevee a gentle shake.
"Pikachu?" it wondered, which meant 'Did you hear something?' Eevee woke up itself.
"Eevee." It squealed, which meant 'I didn't really hear anything.' Then, they saw the mushrooms in front of their beds.
"Pikachu." Pikachu said, which meant 'I wonder who left these here.'
"Eevee." Eevee squealed quietly, which meant 'Who cares, it's free food.' They both ate the mushrooms, not knowing that they were poisoned, and then fell back asleep.
End Flashback
"So, it was you that made Pikachu and Eevee sick!" Mark cried.
"You're lucky that they didn't suffer more serious damage to their health!" Amanda shouted.
"There's only one fair way to deal with that." Michelle said, and she sent out her Electabuzz.
"Electabuzz, Thunder Punch them." Michelle ordered. Electabuzz aimed, and punched Team Rocket hard with its electric attack, sending both of them flying into the air.
"We're blasting off again!" they cried. DING!
"Great job, Electabuzz." Said Michelle, and she recalled her Pokemon to its ball. They headed back to the Pokemon Center to check on Pikachu and Eevee. Both of them were still sound asleep.
"Good news, buddy." Amanda whispered. "We found out who poisoned you and Eevee."
"Chu?" Pikachu asked weakly, which meant 'Who did it?'
"It was Team Rocket." Said Michelle. "Electabuzz and I took care of them for you, though." Eevee gave a weak smile, and then went back to sleep.
"You two continue to rest." Said Amanda, and they left the room.
"Well, it seems like you guys have everything taken care of, so I'll be on my way." Said Jessie, and she left the center. That night, as the three of them were sleeping, the two girls worried about their partners just a little bit.
"I hope they both feel better in the morning." Amanda thought. The next day, Pikachu and Eevee felt a little bit better, but they still didn't have all of their strength back, so they continued to rest. The trio made sure that both Pokemon were well taken care of. The day after that, however, both Pokemon were feeling much better.
"It seems like both Pikachu and Eevee have made very successful recoveries." Said Nurse Joy.
"Thanks a lot for helping them, Nurse Joy." Said Amanda.
"No problem." Said Joy. The trio left the center with a smiling pair of partner Pokemon accompanying them. Well, things definitely didn't look good for Pikachu and Eevee for a while, but with both Pokemon now back to full strength, it's off toward another adventure. An hour into the trio's walking, however, they unexpectedly ran into someone that they hadn't planned on seeing.
"Hello there, Michelle." Said the girl. "It's been a while since I saw you last." Who is this mystery girl? Come back next time to find out!
TO BE CONTINUED
Amanda's Party: Pikachu, Fearow, Squirtle, Weepinbell, Flareon, Nidoran Male
Michelle's Party: Eevee, Electabuzz, Doduo, Poliwag, Ponyta, Nidoran Female
Mark's Party: Bulbasaur, Charmander, Diglett, Gastly, Lapras
Amanda's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Rattata, Haunter, Magikarp, Butterfree, Zubat, Abra, Tentacruel, Pidgeotto, Dratini, Clefairy
Michelle's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Gengar, Sandshrew