Episode Thirty-One
In our last episode, Amanda came down sick right after battling a trainer, so Mark and Michelle had to take care of her. However, Sally of Team Rocket also came down sick, resulting in her partner Conrad working with our heroes to get their respective friends well again. Thankfully, both Amanda and Sally got better and now our heroes have set out on adventure once again.
As our heroes continue on with their journey, they find themselves approaching a building that got all of them very curious. Even Pikachu and Eevee were curious too.
"Pikachu?" asked Pikachu, which meant 'What's this place?'
"That's what we're trying to figure out, Pikachu." Said Amanda. Mark and Michelle took a close look at the roof.
"I see a bell up there." Said Michelle.
"And if we look around the front here, there's a set of swings, some monkey bars, a slide and other things that make up a playground." Said Mark.
"Then that must mean we're at a school." Said Amanda.
"That's exactly right." Said Michelle. "I remember my school days very well, especially the kindergarten days. We would play all day long with great toys, but we also had to take naps. I didn't like that part at all."
"Did you ever go to school, Amanda?" Mark asked.
"Not public school." Said Amanda. "With how big the Safari Zone is, my mama decided that it would be best to home school me. I never questioned her reasoning, though."
"Well, this will be a good chance for you to see what public school is like." Said Mark. The three of them heard the front door open and a smartly dressed young woman ran up to the three of them with a worried look on her face.
"Is there something wrong, miss?" Amanda asked.
"Three guest trainers were supposed to visit my kindergarten class and let the kids play with their Pokémon, but they had to cancel at the last minute." The woman answered.
"I'm sorry to hear that." Said Michelle.
"That's why I need your help " Said the woman. "I promised them that we'd have special guests today, and I don't want to have to look at them and tell them that the guests won't be able to come. Otherwise, I'd be breaking my promise."
"We certainly can't let that happen." Said Amanda. "Right, guys?"
"Right!" cried Michelle and Mark in unison.
"Will the three of you be the guests for today?" the woman asked. "The kids will be disappointed otherwise."
"We'll be happy to do it." Said Amanda. "Won't we, Pikachu?"
"Pikachu!" Amanda's partner happily exclaimed, which meant 'Of course!'
"Thank you so much." The teacher said. "The children will be so excited now. Follow me." The three of them went with the teacher into the building, but what they didn't know was that Conrad and Sally had been watching them from a nearby tree.
"Looks like the twerps want to educate themselves with some learning." Said Conrad.
"In other words, going to school." Said Sally. "Just the sight of the school building there reminds me of my days as a student. I learned a lot of things, and then after I got older, I went to another school to learn to be a Team Rocket member."
"That was the best kind of school." Said Conrad. "Although, the courses were pretty difficult. I didn't like that part."
"Neither did I, but we both had to go through with it." Said Sally. "We both spent months in that place learning how to steal things and even pull off master schemes. It was hard work, but then came probably everybody's favorite day when it comes to school."
"Graduation Day!" they both shouted together.
"I remember both of us standing proudly on that stage together. It's a shame those days are over now." Said Conrad.
"True, but that doesn't mean we can't do our usual trickery." Said Sally. While the two Team Rocket members went to make their plan, the teacher led the three heroes into her classroom. The children there were happily playing and engaging in other activities.
"Wow, this definitely takes me back." Said Michelle.
"Those kids are so adorable." Said Amanda. She spotted a small girl in a red dress playing with some Pokemon shaped blocks. Amanda went up to the girl and watched her.
"Are these your favorite toys in here?" she asked. The girl nodded her head.
"I also like playing with some of the balls." The girl answered. "Here, let me show you my favorite." She reached into the toy box and pulled out a bright yellow ball that had Pikachu's face on it.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed happily, which meant 'I love that one.'
"It certainly is special, isn't it?" Amanda asked.
"I play with this ball practically every day." Said the girl. "I also love Pikachu a lot, and it happens to be my favorite color."
"That would be yellow, right?" Amanda asked.
"That's right." Said the girl. "My name's Lucy. What's yours?"
"I'm Amanda. It's very nice meeting you, Lucy." The two girls shook hands, and then the teacher came over to them.
"All right, Lucy, it's time to put the toys away so we can pay attention to our special guest speakers." She said. "That goes for everyone else too." Amanda went back to her friends and the kids made sure to clean up. Once everything had been put away, the teacher cleared her throat.
"Class, today I have the pleasure of introducing three special guests to all of you. All of our guests are Pokemon trainers, and they're going to teach you everything you need to know about Pokemon, so make sure you pay attention." The teacher stepped back and Amanda took over the talking.
"All right, everybody, I'd like to start by teaching you about type matchups." She said. "If you have a Pokemon on you that's one type, and your opponent uses a type that's weak to you, there's a higher chance that you'll win. For example, my Pikachu here is an electric type. If I were to send it into battle against a water type such as Poliwhirl or Staryu, then the odds of Pikachu winning that matchup is extremely high."
"You also have to keep in mind that some Pokemon may have more than one type." Said Michelle. "As my friend mentioned, Staryu is a water type; however, it's also part Psychic." A boy in a blue shirt raised his hand to ask a question, and Amanda promptly called on him.
"How does double typing affect the attacks that can be used?" he asked.
"That's a very good question." Said Amanda. "In the example of Staryu being water and psychic, it can use attacks that it otherwise wouldn't be able to. That means it can possibly use something like Psybeam. Also, dual typing comes in handy for coverage against different Pokemon. Are there any other questions?" Lucy immediately shot her hand up.
"Yes, Lucy." Said Mark.
"Can we play with the Pokemon that you have?" Lucy asked. Mark was about to say yes, but Amanda interjected.
"If you mean inside the classroom, then that's probably not a good idea." She said. "There's no telling what could happen." Right on cue, one of Michelle's Poke Balls burst open and Psyduck appeared.
"Psyduck, I didn't tell you to come out!" Michelle cried. The bright yellow duck Pokemon started running around the room and dug up some sand from the sandbox. However, it landed on the floor.
"You better clean that up!" Michelle cried out, but Psyduck continued his shenanigans. He ran right past the block shaped tower that had been built, knocking everything down in the process.
"No! My tower!" Lucy cried.
"It's okay, you can make another one." Mark assured her. Finally, Psyduck's eyes glowed blue, and Lucy was sent flying right into the bookshelf, causing all the books to fly onto the floor.
"Lucy!" Amanda screamed. She immediately ran over to her to make sure she wasn't hurt.
"Are you okay?" Amanda asked.
"I think so." Lucy answered.
"This is why we didn't want to let out our Pokemon in here." Said Michelle. Psyduck happily ran back to Michelle and gave a smile. Michelle was less than impressed, however, and held out Psyduck's ball.
"I think you've caused enough trouble for today." She said and she recalled her Pokemon. The teacher turned to Amanda.
"I want you and your friends to take them outside while I clean up in here." She said.
"No problem." Said Amanda. "All right everyone, follow us out to the playground." The kids followed the trio out the door and the teacher began to tidy up everything that Psyduck had knocked over.
"Now that I've explained how types work, we're going to put your understanding to the test in a practice battle between me and Michelle." Said Mark. "I choose you, Bulbasaur!" He threw the grass type's ball and Bulbasaur appeared instantly. He was very happy to be part of the demonstration and showed a lot more energy than usual.
"As you can all see here, Bulbasaur is a grass type. That means I have to counter with a Pokemon that's strong against grass types." Said Michelle. She grabbed one of her other Poke Balls and threw it.
"Charmander, I choose you!" she cried. The small fire lizard appeared in an instant.
"You kids watch carefully, because now you get to see our Pokemon's attacks in action." Said Mark. "Bulbasaur, go for Vine Whip!" Bulbasaur shot out its strong vines and directed them at Charmander. The attack hit, but it didn't do very much damage.
"Since grass is weak to fire, a grass type attack like what you just saw won't have too much of an effect on Charmander." Michelle explained. "Charmander, Flamethrower now!"
"Charmander!" cried the fire lizard. He unleashed his fire attack, but Bulbasaur jumped up to avoid the flames.
"Bulbasaur just demonstrated another important point." Said Mark. "Not all attacks are guaranteed to hit every time they're used. If it has the speed and the right attacks, it can dodge your attack."
"That's very clever." Said another small boy.
"If you thought that was interesting, wait until you see two attacks collide with each other." Said Mark. "Bulbasaur, Tackle attack!"
"Charmander, use Skull Bash!" Michelle cried. Both Pokemon charged at each other, but the force of the attacks sent both Pokemon backwards a bit. Thankfully, both of them were all right.
"How do you win a fight?" asked Lucy.
"Very good question, Lucy." Said Amanda. "If you knock out your opponent's Pokemon first, you win. If you're the one who gets knocked out first, though, the other trainer wins."
"Don't forget, though, that their entire health points have to be at zero in order for the knockout to count." Said Michelle. "Now, time to finish this little demonstration. Charmander, use Fire Spin!" Charmander shot a wheel of fire at Bulbasaur, trapping the grass type right where it was. The wheel got closer and closer until it scorched Bulbasaur, knocking it out entirely.
"And just like that, Charmander wins the round." Said Michelle. She and Mark returned their Pokémon and faced the kids.
"Well, what did you all think of that little demonstration?" Amanda asked.
"I thought it was awesome." Said a boy in a green shirt.
"Both of those Pokemon were cool!" cried a girl in a yellow sweater.
"I'm glad you two enjoyed it." Said Mark. "How about the rest of you?" Before anyone else could answer, a clapping sound was heard from a short distance away.
"We thought it was very inspirational." Said a female voice.
"It was also very educational." Said a male voice. Both of them appeared in front of the class with a stage set up.
"There's just one more thing that's important in battles, and that's magic." Said the female.
"How would you know about magic?" asked Lucy.
"We've performed Pokemon magic shows for years, that's how." Said the male voice.
"Speaking of magic, we have a trick for you that we think you'll all enjoy." Said the female. "We'll need a bright yellow Pikachu and a nice brown Eevee for this trick. Would Pikachu and Eevee please report to the stage?"
"Pika." Said Pikachu, which meant 'I don't know. Something seems off to me.'
"Eevee." Eevee squealed nervously, which meant 'These two look very familiar.'
"There's no need to be shy. Please step right up." Said the female. Both Pokemon ran up to the stage and into a cleverly placed open box. Lucy had her own doubts, though, and started to follow them.
"Lucy, wait. That could be a trap!" Amanda cried, but Lucy ran right past them and into the box just as the two "magicians" covered it up with a cloth.
"Pika?" Pikachu wondered, which meant 'What are you doing here?'
'I'm trying to protect both of you.' Lucy whispered.
"Prepare to be amazed as I spin this box around." Said the male voice. "Once it's been spun a certain number of times, both Pokemon will disappear." He began to spin the box, going slowly at first. After a few spins, the box began to spin faster. Pikachu and Eevee bounced off the box's walls like pinball, and then Pikachu noticed a small gap in the bottom of the box.
"Pika!" he yelled, which meant 'Quick, down here!' Pikachu and Eevee slid down the gap, but before Lucy could follow, the box spun at its fastest speed. Finally, after ten more spins, the box stopped. The female opened the lid to find what she thought was an empty container.
"There you have it, our disappearing act is complete." She said. "Well, that's our show for today, but thank you all for coming." The two of them quickly packed up their stage, which was really a getaway van, and drove off.
"I have to be honest, I've seen better tricks than that." Said Mark.
"Yeah, that was a bit lame if you ask me." Said Amanda. Just then, a worried look struck her face. "Oh no, where are Pikachu and Eevee?"
"I bet those magicians took off with them." Said Michelle. Pikachu and Eevee popped out from behind the bush they had landed beside.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu cried, which meant 'No they didn't. We're right here!' Amanda and Michelle breathed a sigh of relief as the two Pokemon ran up to them.
"Thank goodness." Said Michelle. At that moment, the teacher came out.
"Okay kids, the mess is cleaned up in the classroom, which means you can come back in now." She Said.
"Hold on, let me do a head count to make sure we have everyone." Said Amanda.
"Good idea." Said Michelle. She went up to the class and counted everyone. The class was supposed to consist of twenty kids, but Michelle only came up with nineteen heads.
"That's funny, someone seems to be missing." She said.
"Maybe you counted wrong, Michelle. Let me try." Said Amanda. She counted everyone in a different order, but only came up with nineteen herself.
"You were right after all, Michelle. We do have someone unaccounted for." Said Amanda. She then realized who the missing child was. "Where's Lucy?"
"Those two magicians must've taken her." Said Mark.
"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed, which meant 'I don't think those were magicians at all. I think it was really Team Rocket!'
"Uh oh." Said Michelle. "That means Lucy's with Conrad and Sally, and that's not good at all."
"We need to find them, and fast!" Mark cried.
"I could send Fearow out for a situation like this." Said Amanda.
"Bad idea." Said Michelle. "Fearow never does anything that it's told to do."
"Yeah, using Fearow here probably wouldn't work." Said Mark.
"Good point." Said Amanda. "Luckily, I have another one on hand that I can use." She grabbed a Poke Ball from her waist and threw it.
"Venonat, I choose you!" she cried. The bug type instantly appeared in a blaze of light and cried happily.
"Venonat, I need you to use your radar function to track down Conrad and Sally." Said Amanda. "Can you do that for me?" Venonat nodded and concentrated hard on zoning in possible locations for Team Rocket and Lucy. After a minute went by, an image of a cabin appeared in Venonat's eyes.
"Venonat!" it cried, which meant 'I think I found them!'
"Great job, Venonat." Said Amanda.
"I'll take the kids inside while the three of you go to find Lucy." Said the teacher.
"Good idea." Said Amanda. "Venonat, return!" She recalled her Pokemon and looked at both of her friends. "Come on guys, let's hurry!" Amanda, Michelle and Mark started running off, while the rest of the kids went back into their classroom.
"Eevee?" Eevee squealed worriedly, which meant 'Is Lucy going to be okay?'
"I hope so, Eevee." Said Michelle. Conrad and Sally had parked their van beside a cabin and brought the box for their trick inside.
"I can't believe it! We actually succeeded in getting the twerps' Pokemon this time!" Sally cried.
"We can finally give the boss a successful report." Said Conrad.
"Before we do that, let's have a little fun with these Pokemon." Said Sally.
"Good idea." Said Conrad. They both opened the box together, only to find Lucy inside, and she was feeling a bit frightened.
"Huh? What's going on? Where am I?" she wondered. She then looked around her and saw that she was definitely not where she was supposed to be.
"Where are all my friends?" she said. She then looked up and saw Conrad and Sally looking right at her.
"Our new Pokemon even talk, that's so adorable." Said Conrad excitedly. Of course, Sally knew better.
"That's not a Pokemon, you pea brain. That's a kid." She said. Lucy gulped nervously, as she hadn't expected to be in this type of situation.
"Any chance either of you could take me back to my school?" she asked. "My friends are probably looking for me and wondering where I am."
"The only place you're going is to headquarters with us." Said Conrad.
"Our boss would just love meeting somebody as cute and adorable as you." Said Sally.
"I appreciate the compliment about being cute, but I'd rather get back to my school." Said Lucy.
"No way." Said Conrad. "You're coming with us, and that's final!" Just then, both of their stomachs growled.
"Maybe it would help if we eat something first." Said Sally.
"What do we do with the kid in the meantime?" asked Conrad.
"Put her in the basement for now." Sally ordered. Conrad picked Lucy up and carried her downstairs.
"Let me go!" Lucy cried, but Conrad had a tight grip on her. He placed Lucy onto a chair, placed her hands together behind the back of the chair and tied her up with rope.
"You're going to stay here until we're ready for you." He said, and went back upstairs to join Sally.
"Michelle, Amanda, Mark, the three of you had better come and find me fast." She thought. Meanwhile, our heroes were still running down the path in the direction of the cabin.
"You don't suppose Team Rocket is going to want Lucy to join them, do you?" Amanda asked.
"I sure hope not." Said Michelle. "She's too young for that kind of thing."
"Knowing Conrad and Sally, though, there's no telling what they could possibly do to her." Said Mark.
"He's right." Said Michelle. She then started panting heavily and slowed down a bit.
"How long have we even been running?" Mark asked.
"I'm not sure, but we've definitely been at it for a good while." Said Amanda. Even Pikachu and Eevee were getting tired out.
"Pika!" Pikachu cried, which meant 'I think we need a break.'
"I think so too, buddy." Said Amanda. They stopped running and sat on the ground for a bit to catch their breath. In the cabin, Conrad and Sally were gloating as they ate their lunch.
"Nothing says success like a delicious hamburger and salad." She said.
"What's even better was that those kids didn't even try to stop us this time." Said Conrad. While they were enjoying their lunch, Lucy was struggling to get out of the ropes that were holding her together.
"It's no good. He did these way too tight." She said. "If only I had a Pokemon of my own that could help me out of this place." She let out a sigh, knowing that a rescue of that kind was unlikely.
"I hope I don't have to stay here forever." She thought. Mark, Amanda and Michelle finished their break and started running again.
"If Conrad and Sally end up brainwashing her to make her forget about us, she's in big trouble." Said Amanda.
"That's why we have to get to her quickly." Said Michelle. They found the cabin ten minutes away from where they were and took a quick peek through the window. Conrad and Sally were starting to get things together to take with them in their balloon.
"Now's our chance to strike." Said Amanda. "Pikachu, strike the front door down with your Thunderbolt." Pikachu unleashed its attack, but the door didn't move.
"It must be shockproof." Said Michelle.
"We'll have to try a different method." Said Amanda. "Pikachu, try kicking the door down." Pikachu jumped up in the air and landed a strong kick on the door but it still didn't move.
"That's one strong door." Said Mark.
"Pikachu, try again." Amanda ordered. Pikachu gave a stronger kick, but the door just wouldn't budge.
"Maybe we should try something else." Michelle suggested.
"Hold on." Said Amanda. "Let's give the door one last shot. Pikachu, give it your strongest kick!" Pikachu kicked with all of his might, and finally managed to knock the door off its hinges and send it to the ground.
"Hold it right there, Team Rocket!" Amanda cried.
"The twerps!" Sally and Conrad cried together.
"You better give Lucy back to us right now!" Michelle demanded.
"Speaking of which, where is she?" asked Mark.
"I'm afraid your little friend is a bit tied up at the moment." Said Sally. Just then, they heard a familiar voice from the basement.
"Help!" cried the voice. "Somebody, please help me!"
"Lucy!" cried Amanda. The trio ran towards the basement door, only to be stopped by the two Team Rocket crooks.
"Nice try, children, but if you want your friend back, you'll have to defeat us in a battle." Said Conrad.
"Fine with me." Said Amanda. Conrad and Sally sent out Ekans and Zubat, and Amanda quickly reached for a ball herself.
"Venonat, go!" She cried. She threw the ball and the dual bug and poison type instantly appeared.
"Need a hand?" Michelle asked.
"You know it." Said Amanda.
"Eevee, go!" cried Michelle. Before Eevee could jump into action, however, Psyduck popped out of his ball and went in himself.
"Nice try, Psyduck, but you're still on time out after your antics earlier." Said Michelle.
"Psy?" Psyduck asked, clearly not knowing what time out meant.
"Oh great, Psyduck has the mentality of a five year old." Said Michelle, and she let out a sigh.
"Let him battle, Michelle." Said Mark. "Besides, I'm sure he's learned his lesson."
"I certainly hope so." Said Michelle. "Okay Psyduck, start with Water Gun." Psyduck sprayed the water at Ekans, but the power was only about half strength. Conrad and Sally laughed at the weakness of the move.
"How pathetic." She said. Michelle was starting to get mad.
"Oh yeah? You're the pathetic one if you ask me." She said. "Psyduck, use your Confusion attack!" Psyduck's eyes started to glow bright blue and he uses the power of the attack to bounce Conrad, Sally, Ekans and Zubat around like ping pong balls.
"That's what you get for insulting my Pokemon!" Michelle cried.
"My turn now." Said Amanda. "Venonat, use your Psybeam!" Venonat launched a purple psychic beam right at the two Team Rocket grunts, sending them through the ceiling and into the sky.
"We're blasting off again!" they cried.
"Team Rocket can try all they want, but they'll never beat us." Said Amanda. "Right, Michelle?"
"Right, Amanda." Said Michelle. The two girls high fived each other and recalled their Pokémon.
"Someone help me right now!" cried Lucy's voice from the basement.
"Come on, let's go rescue our friend." Said Amanda. The three of them rushed downstairs and untied Lucy.
"What happened to you?" Mark asked.
"I wanted to see the disappearing trick up close, and I somehow ended up here." Said Lucy.
"This is why you always make sure to tell someone where you're going first." Said Michelle. Once the four of them were out of the cabin and had arrived back at the school, the teacher breathed a sigh of relief.
"There you are, Lucy." She said. "We were all very worried about you." Lucy took a deep breath and gave a longer version of what had happened to her.
"I didn't mean to make you worry like that." She said. "I'm sorry."
"It's all right. Just make sure to tell us where you're going next time." The teacher said.
"That's the exact same thing that I told her." Said Michelle. The teacher thanked Amanda and her friends for coming in to be special guests.
"It was our pleasure." Said Mark. They waved goodbye to all of their new friends and set out on their way to continue their journey.
TO BE CONTINUED
Amanda's Party: Pikachu, Fearow, Wartortle, Weepinbell, Arcanine, Venonat
Michelle's Party: Eevee, Electabuzz, Doduo, Psyduck, Ponyta, Charmander
Mark's Party: Bulbasaur, Charmander, Diglett, Gastly, Lapras, Nidorino
Amanda's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Rattata, Haunter, Magikarp, Butterfree, Zubat, Abra, Tentacruel, Pidgeotto, Dratini, Clefairy, Scyther, Flareon, Nidoran Male, Rhyhorn, Goldeen, Dragonair
Michelle's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Gengar, Sandshrew, Nidoran Female, Poliwag, Tangela, Chansey