Episode Thirty-Three
Previously, Amanda and Michelle participated in a princess festival, a special event where girls are treated like royalty. Both of them also competed in a special tournament to try and win a doll set. The championship match between Amanda and Michelle was intense, but in the end, Amanda emerged as the winner. Now, our heroes find themselves in a new town ready for a new adventure.
As today's episode begins, Amanda is knee deep in a conversation with her mother on the Pokemon Center's video phone.
"Did you see the set of dolls that I won, Mama?" she asked.
"Kangaskhan." Said Kangaskhan, which meant 'I sure did. The package arrived two days ago.'
"I bet you were surprised, weren't you?" Amanda asked.
"Kangaskhan." Kangaskhan answered, which meant 'I was very surprised. I put them all away on the spare shelf in your room.'
"Thanks, Mama." Said Amanda. "I'll talk to you later." Right as she hung up, Michelle tapped her shoulder.
"Take a look at this new advertisement." She said. A smartly dressed male and female appeared on the screen.
"Come one and all to our brand new Pokemon day care center!" the female cried.
"Your Pokemon will get all the love and care they need, and some may evolve." Said the male.
"In just a short span of two days, we'll have your Pokemon looking like new." Said the female. "Don't delay. Check out our day care center today!"
"I know they have day care centers for very young kids, but I've never heard of one for Pokemon before." Said Mark.
"Neither have we." Said Amanda. "Come on, let's go check it out." The three of them headed down the street towards the day care center when they spotted someone that they knew. The girl was wearing the same sleeveless green dress that she had worn for her birthday before. Amanda, Michelle and Mark knew immediately who it was and ran up to her.
"Hey there, Rachael!" cried Amanda.
"Well, I certainly didn't expect to find the three of you here." Said Rachael. "How have the three of you been doing?"
"We've been fine." Michelle answered.
"We were just on our way to the new Pokemon day care center." Said Mark.
"Pokemon day care?" Rachael wondered. "I've never heard of that. Where is it?"
"Come with us and we'll show you." Said Amanda. Rachael followed the trio down the street, and fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the center.
"It looks like there's already a big crowd of people here." Said Michelle.
"There's no need to rush. Leave the Pokemon care to us." Said the female worker.
"You know, maybe we should give this place a chance and see how it is." Said Amanda. "Are there any Pokemon that you want to leave here, Rachael?"
"I don't think so." Said Rachael. "My Raticate, Machoke and Sandslash are all in perfect shape, so they don't need any of the special care that this place is advertising."
"Fearow could use a lesson in obedience." Said Amanda.
"It's fully evolved, though." Said Mark. "I don't think they'll take it."
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it has to be in its first stage or something." Said Michelle. Suddenly, she got an idea. She fumbled for a certain Poke Ball.
"What are you doing?" Amanda asked.
"Looking for Psyduck." Said Michelle.
"You mean you're going to leave one here?" asked Mark. Michelle nodded.
"It would be interesting to give this a try." She said. She then grabbed the ball she was looking for and opened it up. A familiar yellow duck appeared, and the female worker took instant notice of it.
"Well, which little cutie do we have here?" she asked.
"That's my Psyduck." Said Michelle. "It may look cute, but it's brainpower needs a bit of work.
"Don't you worry, young lady. Just leave your Psyduck with us, and you'll have it back in two days looking smarter than ever." Said the female.
"Okay, if you're sure." Said Michelle. "Psyduck, go with this nice lady."
"Psy?" asked Psyduck, which meant 'What if they treat me badly?'
"Everything will be fine." Said Michelle. "I'll see you in a couple of days." The lady took Psyduck inside, and the four kids went back the street in the other direction.
"Psyduck will know for sure if that place is good or not." Said Michelle.
"I bet you'll probably just leave Psyduck there for good and never go back for it." Said Rachael.
"Absolutely not." Said Michelle. "Psyduck can be a pain sometimes, but I would never go so far as to just flat out abandon it." The four of them came across a restaurant that was offering free food and drinks.
"What's the point of running a restaurant if you don't charge any money?" Rachael wondered.
"Yeah, something doesn't seem right about that." Said Mark.
"There has to be some sort of catch." Said Amanda. The head chef then came outside.
"There most certainly is a catch, young lady." Said the chef. "You only get the free food if you're able to show me my favourite Pokemon."
"I knew it." Said Amanda. She grabbed four of her Poke Balls and threw them. Wartortle, Venonat, Weepinbell and Arcanine all appeared in a blaze of light. The chef looked at the four Pokemon, and Amanda gave a hopeful smile, only for the hope to fade when the chef shook his head.
"None of those." He said.
"Well then, how about my Pikachu?" Amanda asked. She held up her electric type partner and gave another smile. Pikachu smiled too.
"Sorry, but that's not my favorite." Said the chef. Michelle stepped forward and sent her Pokemon out.
"Maybe your favorite is Electabuzz, Ponyta, Doduo or Charmander." She said. Or maybe, just maybe, it could be Eevee." She held up the small brown fox Pokemon and gave another smile.
"I'm afraid not." Said the chef. Mark took his turn.
"How about Bulbasaur, Diglett, Gastly, Nidorino, or Lapras?" he asked.
"No sale." Said the chef. Rachael was the last hope.
"Maybe you like Sandslash, Machoke or Raticate as your favourite." She said. The chef frowned.
"None of those are my favourite." He said.
"Which one could it possibly be, then?" asked Michelle.
"Maybe it's a Pokemon that the three of you don't have." Said Rachael. The chef showed them a picture of what his favourite Pokemon was.
"My favourite is this one right here." He said. Michelle couldn't believe her eyes. There was Psyduck, happily chilling in the photo.
"Psyduck?!" they all cried at once.
"You're a Psyduck lover?" Michelle asked. The chef nodded.
"Psyduck has always been my favourite Pokemon ever since I was a kid." He said. "I just love the cute smile he always has. That's why I allow any customer that brings a Psyduck here to eat for free."
"Mister, if we come back within an hour, will you still be here?" asked Rachael.
"Of course." Said the chef. "I have to wait for some key ingredients for today's menu to arrive before I can start my work."
"All right!" Michelle cried. "We'll be back as soon as we can!" The four of them recalled their Pokemon and ran off, with Pikachu and Eevee in tow.
"That's typical. The one time I need Psyduck for something and it's not here." Said Michelle.
"If I recall, it was your decision to drop Psyduck off at the center." Said Amanda.
"She's right, you know." Said Rachael. Michelle didn't answer to that comment. Instead, she just kept running ahead, with the other three close behind. They got back to the day care in no time at all, only to find the doors completely locked.
"No way! It can't be closed for the day already!" Michelle cried.
"I guess we'll just have to come back tomorrow." Said Rachael.
"Which means we won't get any free food today." Said Mark. Michelle wasn't happy about this and shook her head.
"No! I'm getting Psyduck and going back to that restaurant right now! They might not have the food I want tomorrow!" she cried. "Let's see if there's a back way inside." All four of them went around to the back of the building and found a door.
"Perfect." Said Michelle. She started knocking on the door.
"Hello? Anybody there?" she asked. "I need to pick up the Pokemon that I dropped off here earlier!" They waited for someone to answer the door, but nobody came.
"This definitely seems suspicious." Said Amanda. "There's no way a place like this suddenly closes for the day way before a normal place closes."
"Yeah, that does seem kind of odd." Said Rachael. She tried opening the door, and it opened up slightly.
"Good, it's unlocked." Said Mark. The four of them made their way inside, but they made sure to go through the hall slowly so that they wouldn't be spotted. In another room, the two workers were checking on all the Pokemon through a video camera monitor.
"Look at all of these Pokemon that we've collected for the boss." Said the female.
"He's going to be very happy with the report that we have for him." Said the male. "Come on, let's call him." He grabbed the video phone and dialed a number. Giovanni's image immediately appeared on the screen.
"I was wondering when both of you would call." He said. "Do you have good news for me?"
"We certainly do." Said the female. "We've got a whole bunch of Pokemon for you that we think you'll love."
"Those suckers of trainers don't even realize that they're never getting their Pokemon back because we're taking them." Said the male.
"What kind of Pokemon were you able to get?" asked Giovanni.
"We have some of the more common ones like Spearow and Pidgey, but we were also able to get some rare ones too." Said the female. The four kids were slowly walking past the room when they heard the conversation that was going on. Amanda peeked her head inside to take a listen, hoping that she would go unnoticed. Fortunately, the two workers were too busy on their phone call.
"We're planning to ship them out to you at some point tomorrow." Said the male.
"Excellent." Said the boss. "Gordon, Maria, I'm very proud of both of you. I knew the two of you were the right ones to handle this assignment from the start."
"I fail to see how you're able to tolerate Sally and her partner Conrad." Said Gordon.
"Those two are complete idiots." Said Giovanni. "I'm glad I didn't tell them about this. They would've found a way to ruin it. That's why I'm counting on the two of you instead."
"We won't let you down, sir." Said Gordon.
"Very good. Carry on, then." Said Giovanni, and he hung up the phone. Amanda gasped and turned back to face her friends.
"What did you find out?" Michelle whispered.
"I can't explain here." Said Amanda. "Let's find somewhere else in this building." They carefully navigated their way toward the room where all the Pokemon were being kept. Neither of them looked very happy.
"This whole set up is a Team Rocket scam." Amanda whispered.
"I knew there had to be a reason why they closed unexpectedly." Said Michelle.
"When we first saw this place advertised on TV in the Pokemon Center, it said that it was supposed to be kind of like a Pokemon day care." Said Mark.
"This doesn't resemble a day care to me." Said Rachael.
"Not to mention that there's two other Team Rocket members running this place instead of the two usual suspects." Said Amanda. Mark walked slowly over to one of the cages and pointed at it.
"Hey, Michelle, here's your Psyduck." He said. Michelle ran over and had a look.
"I have to say, it already looks a little smarter now than it did when I dropped it off." She said.
"Take a closer look at it." Said Mark. "Its eyes are being held together with tape."
"What?! That's terrible!" Michelle cried. "Here, let's get these off of you right now." She removed the tape and Psyduck's eyes went back to where they were supposed to be.
"Psy." Psyduck said, which meant 'I didn't like having that tape on at all.'
"I know, but it's okay now." Said Michelle. "Come on, let's get you out of here." She tried opening the cage but was unsuccessful.
"First the front door was locked, and now this cage is locked too." Said Michelle.
"Just forget about it for now." Said Amanda.
"You must be crazy if you think I'm just going to let Psyduck continue to stay here in this terrible place." Said Michelle. She continued to rattle the cage, which drew the attention of Gordon and Maria.
"What's going on?" Maria asked.
"I don't know, but I'm going to check it out." Said Gordon. He got up from his chair and started walking toward the room the kids were in. Once they heard the footsteps, Michelle and Amanda panicked.
"Eevee, go and hide somewhere quickly." Said Michelle.
"Pikachu, you go with Eevee." Said Amanda. Both Pokemon nodded and slipped their way into an empty cage just as Gordon opened the door. The kids hid behind another cage out of sight so that they wouldn't be seen. Gordon looked but couldn't find any noise except for the sound of Pikachu's Thunderbolt.
"Ah, so it was just a Pikachu making the noise." He said. He breathed a sigh of relief and went back to the other room. The kids came out of hiding, and Pikachu and Eevee ran back over to them.
"Good work, you two." Amanda whispered.
"Now that we know what's really going on, we have to find Officer Jenny and make her aware of all of this." Said Rachael.
"Agreed." Said Mark, Michelle and Amanda in unison. They were about to sneak out when they heard commotion from outside.
"What's going on now?" Amanda wondered. After some rattling around, the window opened and Conrad and Sally slid in.
"Be quiet as a mouse." Sally ordered in a whispered tone.
"Mouse or Meowth?" Conrad wondered.
"Ugh." Sally answered. Conrad looked at all the Pokemon that were there.
"This is so exciting!" he cried. Sally quickly covered his mouth.
"Keep quiet, James Bond!" she ordered quietly. "You don't want us to get caught, do you?"
"Hey!" Amanda cried. Conrad and Sally turned around and saw the kids staring at them.
"What are you guys doing here?" Michelle asked.
"I should ask you the very same question." Said Sally.
"Don't tell me you all decided to become bad guys like us." Said Conrad.
"Wait a second, I've seen you guys before." Said Rachael. "You two were the ones who crashed my birthday party."
"Oh yeah, I remember that." Said Amanda.
"Getting back to the topic at hand, there's no way we would ever consider joining up with you to become members of Team Rocket." Said Mark.
"If that's the case, then why are the four of you here?" Conrad asked.
"You better not be trying to steal these Pokemon for yourselves." Said Sally.
"We're not stealing them. We're trying to save these Pokemon from major trouble." Said Michelle.
"Somehow, I don't believe you one bit." Said Sally.
"If you want proof that we're not thieves, then I'll gladly show you." Said Michelle. "Take a look at that Oddish over there for example." They looked at another cage containing a small Pokemon resembling a weed with three green leaves on top.
"Oddish." it whimpered sadly.
"See what I mean?" Said Michelle. Sally and Conrad looked at Oddish themselves.
"You do have a fair point there, young lady." Said Sally.
"I never thought I'd see the day where a Team Rocket member actually agrees with us on something." Said Amanda.
"Pikachu." Said Pikachu, which meant 'I never thought I'd see that either.'
"Regardless, Michelle is a hundred percent correct." Said Mark. "We have to get all of these Pokemon out of here as fast as possible or else they'll be in real trouble." Michelle ran back over to Psyduck's cage and tried to open it again.
"They locked this one up really tight." She said. "I just can't leave Psyduck here, though." The light in the room suddenly turned on and Maria entered the room. Gordon followed behind her.
"I had a hunch that something was going on back here." She said. "Looks like my suspicions were right. Rats have snuck in."
"What should we do with them?" Gordon asked.
"We'll exterminate them." Said Maria. "Once they get put in their proper place, they'll think twice before trying to sneak in again."
"Hold on a moment." Said Amanda. "We're not rats at all. We're just regular Pokemon trainers."
"Is that so?" asked Maria. "Tell me something, miss, if you're trainers, then why are you trying to steal our Pokemon?"
"We're not stealing them. We're trying to save them." Said Michelle.
"Also, they're not even yours at all!" cried Rachael. "You stole them first."
"Yeah, right, likely story." Said Gordon. He and Maria turned their attention over to Conrad and Sally.
"Well, Sally, it's been a while since we've seen each other." Said Maria.
"A little too long in my opinion." Said Sally.
"You mean you know this girl?" asked Conrad.
"She and I were rivals during the training courses years ago." Said Sally. "She's just jealous because I have more brainpower than she does."
"I have to disagree." Said Maria. "If anything, you're the dumb one."
"I can see you're still just as annoying as you were way back then." Said Sally. Maria scoffed, and then Gordon spoke.
"So, Conrad, nice mustache that you've grown." He said.
"I don't remember having one." He said.
"I do." Said Gordon. "You first started growing one during training and you still have it now."
"Will you two knock it off?" Said Sally. "This day care plan was supposed to be for Conrad and I and you know that!"
"You're right, it was given to you originally." Said Maria. "However, after seeing the, shall we say, less than stellar track record you two have, he changed his mind at gave it to us instead." Said Maria. "What do you think that proves?"
"It proves that you're still just as selfish as you used to be." Said Sally.
"Yeah, Pokemon theft is supposed to be our specialty." Said Conrad.
"Save those arguments for the boss when he finds out that you're trying to steal all these Pokemon that we stole for him." Said Gordon. Conrad and Sally gulped.
"I think we're both in trouble." Said Sally.
"You two are certainly in trouble all right." Said Maria. "The boss hasn't heard from any of you in a long time, and he's very angry and upset about that."
"I know, but we can't call him until we actually do something right for once." Said Conrad.
"We were tasked with this assignment because he found the two of you untrustworthy." Said Gordon. "I can't wait to see how he'll react when he finds out that you managed to ruin it anyway."
"What do you think he'll do to us?" Sally asked.
"I don't know exactly what he'll do, but I guess kicking you out of Team Rocket would be a good start." Said Maria.
"We'll be grateful to you if you can forget about this whole incident." Said Conrad.
"What's it worth to you?" said Maria.
"Come on, let's try and get out of here." Amanda whispered. She, Michelle, Mark and Rachael tried to slip out of the room, but they were caught right as they reached the door.
"Not so fast, you four." Said Maria. Amanda gulped nervously.
"Now that you all know about the little secret that's been going on here, we can't allow you to leave." Amanda, Rachael, Michelle, Mark, Pikachu and Eevee all started running down the hall.
"What secrets?" Amanda asked, trying to deny the fact.
"All we were trying to do was get free food at a restaurant." Said Mark. Maria chuckled.
"You kids can't get away from us." She said. "Gordon and I aren't pushovers, unlike Conrad and Sally." Speaking of Conrad and Sally, the two of them were trying to escape as well.
"We have to get out of here right now!" Sally cried. Conrad was in no rush, however, and stopped to scan the cages.
"What's wrong?" Sally asked.
"I just remembered that I dropped off my Zubat here yesterday." Said Conrad. He somehow managed to get Zubat's cage open and saw that it had gotten bigger. Its wings were larger than before, and its teeth were sharper.
"Look at that! It evolved into Golbat!" Conrad cried excitedly. "Isn't that just wonderful?" Golbat chomped on Conrad with its teeth, resulting in him screaming in pain. Sally sighed as she started to drag Conrad and Golbat away.
"I just wish your brain would evolve a little bit." She said quietly. A large cage started to descend from the ceiling.
"Ah!" They both cried as the cage came down around the two Team Rocket members and trapped them. Amanda, Rachael, Michelle, Mark, Pikachu and Eevee were still running when Amanda spotted the back door.
"There's the exit!" she cried. Unfortunately, another cage came down around them. Michelle, Pikachu and Eevee managed to dodge the trap, but Amanda, Mark and Rachael all got captured.
"Oh no!" cried Amanda. She gripped the cage bars tightly.
"I think we've been caught." Said Rachael.
"What do we do now?" asked Mark.
"Michelle, you go find a place to hide." Said Amanda. "Also, take Pikachu and Eevee with you."
"Come on, you two." Said Michelle. She, Pikachu and Eevee carefully slipped out the door, while Gordon and Maria confronted the others.
"Looks like our little trap worked." Said Maria gleefully.
"You crooks better let us out of here right now!" Rachael demanded.
"No way, no how, forget it." Said Gordon. "Oh, and when Officer Jenny finds out about your little crime, she's going to lock you up for life." Amanda gasped at the sound of that.
"You can't do that!" cried Mark.
"I'm in charge here for now, and I say that we can do that." Said Maria.
"That means we're being framed for a crime that isn't even our fault." Said Amanda.
"The twerp's catching on, I see." Said Maria.
"This whole thing was your doing." Said Amanda. "We had no involvement, so you're going to release us this instant!"
"Sorry, but you don't get to tell us what to do." Said Gordon. Amanda, Mark and Rachael growled angrily at the two of them. It took until nighttime before Officer Jenny finally arrived at the scene.
"There were burglars here and everything." Maria said in a sobbing voice. "I'm still shaken up. Thank goodness you got here when you did."
"Don't worry. Our town is much safer now thanks to your call." Said Jenny. A large cage containing Amanda, Mark, Rachael, Conrad, Sally and Golbat started being wheeled out.
"You're all arresting the wrong guys! We're innocent!" Amanda protested.
"The evidence is literally right there!" Rachael cried.
"Maybe coming here was a bad idea." Said Sally.
"You're one to talk. We both agreed together." Said Conrad.
"Why do I even bother agreeing to do anything with you?" Sally asked. She got no response, however.
"Look inside the center! You'll see that we're not involved!" Mark cried. All of their pleas fell on death ears, however.
"Save your stories for the station!" Jenny fumed and she chucked the cage into the large police truck.
"We've officially sunk to a new low." Said Conrad.
"Getting turned in not by the twerpette and her crew, but by our own teammates." Said Sally.
"And now, all of us are going to jail." Amanda muttered. Once the police vehicles and sirens were clear out of sight, Michelle came out of her hiding spot. She had seen everything.
"Oh no!" she cried. "We now have to somehow convince Jenny that Amanda, Mark and Rachael are all innocent." She sighed and started to walk down the street back to the Pokemon Center. Although Michelle did eat some dinner in the center's cafeteria, she was still upset that her friends had been falsely accused of Pokemon theft. Nurse Joy approached her.
"Care to have some brownies for dessert?" Joy asked.
"No thanks." Said Michelle. She, Pikachu and Eevee got up from the table and left the cafeteria.
"Something is definitely bothering that girl." Said Joy. Chansey nodded in agreement. Back in the room that Michelle and her friends were checked into, she had a meeting with Pikachu and Eevee.
"As you both know, Amanda, Mark and Rachael were all arrested tonight, and for a crime that I know for a fact they didn't commit." Said Michelle.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu cried, which meant 'That means we have to find some evidence!'
"You're exactly right, Pikachu." Said Michelle. "The way Amanda and the others are being treated right now isn't fair."
"Pikachu." Said Pikachu, which meant 'Amanda's definitely no crook. She's a very kind person that would never do harm to any Pokemon at all.'
"I've known Amanda long enough to know that she wouldn't do that, so I agree with your statement there, Pikachu." Said Michelle.
"Eevee?" Eevee squealed, which meant 'What kind of evidence can we possibly get that would clear her name?'
"That's what we're trying to figure out, Eevee." Said Michelle. "Plus, I'm pretty sure Pikachu doesn't want to see his best friend end up in the slammer."
"Pikachu Pika!" Pikachu cried, which meant 'Definitely not!' The three of them sat on the bed and thought for a while. Then, an idea came to mind in Michelle's head.
"I think I've figured it out." She said. "From what I remember, there were video monitors in that room where Maria and Gordon were watching all of the Pokemon that they took. That means there has to be some videotapes somewhere in there. All we have to do is grab a hold of them and show them to Jenny." When the three of them went to bed later that night, Pikachu and Eevee slept comfortably, but Michelle kept tossing and turning.
"Don't worry, Amanda, I'll get you out of jail." She thought. The next morning, after Michelle, Pikachu and Eevee had all eaten breakfast, the three of them consulted together on how to put their plan into action.
"Since the chef said yesterday that he loves Psyduck, I can use this opportunity to try and sneak him out of that day care." Michelle said. Pikachu pointed to her clothes.
"Pika!" he cried, which meant 'Good idea, but you'll give yourself away if you show up there in your dress.'
"That's a good point, Pikachu." Said Michelle. "I'll definitely need to disguise myself. I wonder how I go about that, though." The three of them thought again, and then Michelle got an idea. "I know! I'll just borrow some of Mark's clothes. I'm sure he won't mind, as long as we give them back to him afterward of course." She opened up the drawer, grabbed the clothes she needed and went into the bathroom to change. When she came out, she was sporting a red shirt, dark blue jean shorts and green running shoes.
"There. That looks a lot better." She said. "What do you think, guys?" Pikachu and Eevee gave an approving thumbs up.
"I'm glad you both agree." She said. "Now, let's get a move on." The three of them left the Pokemon Center and walked down the street back toward the day care center.
"I hope nobody sees me dressed like this." Said Michelle nervously. She got about halfway to where she was headed when a smartly dressed young woman noticed her.
"Well, aren't you the cutest little boy I've ever seen." She said.
"Hey Mommy, that boy has a Pikachu with him. Can I go see?" the woman's kid asked.
"I suppose it wouldn't do any harm." Said the woman. The boy ran up to Pikachu and gave him a playful pet, which the little mouse enjoyed.
"Excuse me, miss, but I think you have me confused with someone else. I'm not a boy." Said Michelle.
"Don't be silly, darling." Said the woman. "You're wearing boy's clothes, aren't you?"
"Well, yes I am, but…." Michelle stammered.
"But nothing. You are clearly a cute little boy." Said the woman. "You know, my son here has an older brother, but he's off on a Pokemon journey of his own and could use some company. Why don't you come with me to our house and you can join our family."
"That's very nice of you, but I'm kind of in a hurry." Said Michelle. "You see….."
"Nonsense, dear, your business can wait." Said the woman. "Oh, son, meet your new brother, Michael." The boy ran up to Michelle and gave her a hug.
"You're going to be my new favourite brother, sir." He said. Michelle's face started glowing bright red with anger.
"Look, lady, I don't know what's going on inside that little head of yours, but I am not a boy!" she fumed. "I'm a girl who's on a mission, and a very important mission at that." She then turned her attention to the boy, who was no older than six. "And you, it's very impolite to call a girl sir. Don't ever call me that again! You got that?!" The boy nodded his head.
"Come on, Pikachu. Come on, Eevee. Let's get out of here." Said Michelle, and the three of them walked away. The woman just shook her head.
"That boy is certainly a weird one." She said.
"I heard that!" Michelle cried. She walked a little further, but then stopped.
"Pikachu?" Pikachu wondered, which meant 'Are you okay, Michelle?'
"I'm okay, Pikachu." Said Michelle. "I just don't understand what made that woman and her kid think that I'm a boy."
"Eevee." Eevee squealed, which meant 'It's probably because of how you're dressed.'
"You're probably right, Eevee, but I had to dress like this to avoid any suspicions." Said Michelle. "Although, now I'm worried that Gordon and Maria will be suspicious. That's not going to stop us from completing our objective, though." The three of them continued on their way and reached the day care right as it was opening for the day.
"Well, here goes nothing." Said Michelle. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Maria promptly answered and glanced over at Michelle.
"You look a little different compared to yesterday." She said.
"It never hurts to change looks every once in a while." Michelle said sheepishly. Pikachu nudged her leg.
"Pika!" he cried, which meant 'Focus, Michelle.'
"Oh, right." Michelle whispered and turned back to face Maria. "I need to pick up a Pokemon that I dropped off here yesterday."
"Sorry, but our rules state that trainers must leave their Pokemon here for a minimum of two full days before they can be picked up." Said Maria. Michelle scrambled to come up with an excuse, but luckily, she decided on one that she felt would be the most believable.
"I understand that, but this is an emergency." She said. "You see, I have family members coming in for a reunion later today and they all want to see Psyduck, so I really need to take it with me."
"I see." Said Maria. "Just wait right here, and I'll get Psyduck for you." She disappeared into the back room, and once the coast was clear, Michelle snuck down the hall towards the video surveillance room.
"Here we go." She said. Pikachu and Eevee studied the monitors and saw a videocassette player attached to each one.
"We just need a couple of tapes, Pikachu." Said Michelle. She looked at the screens that had the most evidence on them and nodded her head.
"We've got them now." She said. She ejected the tapes from the machines and placed them carefully into her backpack. She then started to sneak back to the front entrance in the hopes that nobody would see her. Fortunately, she made it without being noticed.
"Once we show these to Jenny, it'll prove that Amanda and the others are innocent." Said Michelle. "Well, not quite all the others. Conrad and Sally can stay in jail for all I care." Maria came back a minute later with Psyduck in her hands.
"Excuse me miss." She said.
"Yes?" Michelle responded.
"We didn't have a chance to give your Psyduck any proper care, so there hasn't been much of a change." Said Maria.
"Psyduck!" Psyduck shouted and ran up to Michelle.
"I'm glad you're okay, Psyduck." Michelle whispered.
"I thought you had to leave." Said Maria.
"I'm not really in that much of a hurry." Said Michelle. "I mean, the reunion isn't until this afternoon." Eevee gave Michelle a slight nudge to indicate that they should go.
"On second thought, I have to run." Said Michelle. "Bye!" She took off with Psyduck in her arms and Pikachu and Eevee running behind her. Maria looked at her curiously.
"What a strange kid." She said to herself. Michelle ran to an intersection before stopping to catch her breath.
"That was a close call." Said Michelle and she recalled Psyduck to his Poke Ball. "On the plus side, though, we have the evidence that we need to bust Maria and Gordon. Come on, let's go save our friends!" They ran off towards the jailhouse where Amanda, Mark, Rachael, Conrad and Sally were being kept.
"Let us out! We're not the criminals!" Amanda shouted.
"Those two at the day care are the real crooks, not us!" protested Mark.
"That's right!" cried Rachael.
"Just go down there and take a look for yourself!" fumed Amanda.
"The less time we have to spend in here, the better." Said Rachel. She then pointed over to the corner of the cell where Conrad and Sally were sitting. "Especially with those two cuckoo birds over there." Sally didn't care about Rachael's remark enough to respond to it, so she remained quiet. Conrad, on the other hand, was admiring his new Pokemon.
"What a handsome Golbat you are." He said. "You're so strong and healthy, and very friendly too." Golbat proceeded to chomp on Conrad's head with its teeth again, causing him to scream. Sally let out a frustrating sigh.
"Oh brother." She muttered.
"If you're trying to win me over with sympathy, it's not going to work." Said Jenny. "The judge is going to throw the book at you Pokemon snatchers in court." Everyone in the cell let out a loud groan.
"Mark, what does it mean to have the book thrown at us?" Amanda asked.
"It means getting sent to jail for however long the judge decides." Mark answered.
"Wait a minute. Wouldn't that also mean we wouldn't be allowed to be Pokemon trainers anymore?" Rachael asked.
"Yes, it would mean that too." Said Mark. Neither of them liked that possibility. Suddenly, the door of the room burst open and Michelle came barging in.
"You're making a huge mistake, Officer Jenny!" she cried. A smile lit up on Amanda, Rachael and Mark's faces upon seeing their friend.
"Michelle, Pikachu, Eevee!" Amanda cried. "Thank goodness."
"You got here just in time." Said Rachael.
"Officer, these three have been telling the truth the whole time, and I have video evidence to back that up." Said Michelle.
"Let's see that evidence." Said Jenny. Michelle handed her a tape to put in the machine, and when Jenny saw the footage, she was horrified.
"That's awful!" she cried.
"That place isn't a real day care." Michelle pointed out. "They just steal all of the best Pokemon that are brought there. It's all one big set up."
"They stuff all of the Pokemon into cages." Said Mark.
"Pikachu Pika!" Pikachu yelled, which meant 'What Michelle's saying is all true!'
"That's why they told you we were the criminals, because we were the ones who found out about their whole scheme.
"That means they not only tricked me, but they also lied to me too?" Jenny asked. Michelle nodded her head.
"After we heard was those two were cooking up, we went to stop them ourselves." Said Sally. Conrad got Golbat off of him so that he could chime in as well.
"It's all true, honest." He said. "We're good guys for once." Michelle wasn't impressed with that statement at all and folded her arms angrily.
"Give me a break." She muttered. "You two only snuck in there so that you could steal all of the Pokemon for yourselves." Conrad and Sally groaned loudly as they realized that Michelle was right.
"Michelle, I'm very glad you brought in that tape." Said Jenny. She unlocked the door of the cell so she could let Amanda, Mark and Rachael out.
"Come on, kids, let's go bust some crooks!" she cried. Michelle, Amanda, Mark and Rachael all followed Jenny out the door and out of the building, leaving both Conrad and Sally behind.
"What are the chances we're getting out of jail?" Conrad asked.
"Not very high." Sally answered. Jenny placed the kids in her police car and sped off toward the day care. Maria and Gordon were about to start shipping the Pokemon out when Jenny, Michelle, Mark, Amanda and Rachael burst into the room.
"So, you thought you could frame these innocent kids when it turns out that you're the ones who were stealing Pokemon!" Jenny fumed. "You're both under arrest!"
"We're not…." Maria stammered, but Jenny cut her off.
"No excuses! I already know everything!" she yelled. Maria quickly grabbed a Poke Ball and threw it.
"Primeape, go!" she cried. A beige colored fighting type with black bands around its wrists appeared in a blaze of light. Amanda took the opportunity to scan it with her Pokedex.
"Primeape, the pig monkey Pokemon. Primeape chases after anyone that makes it angry and will not stop chasing until it catches up to its opponent. Primeape's strongest attack is Rage."
"Go, Pikachu!" Amanda cried. Pikachu ran forward and looked Primeape right in the eye.
"Primeape, use your Fury Swipes!" Maria ordered. Primeape got his hands out to swipe at Pikachu.
"Agility now!" Amanda ordered. Pikachu used its quick speed to dodge the swipes.
"Great work." Said Amanda. "Now, Thunderbolt it!" Pikachu zapped the fighting type with the powerful attack, sending it to the floor in a defeated state.
"Primeape got fried!" cried Maria.
"Tough break." Said Gordon. They tried to run for it, but Mark was ready.
"Bulbasaur, go!" he cried. The grass starter instantly appeared in a blaze of light.
"Vine Whip time!" Mark commanded. Bulbasaur shot its vines out and trapped the two crooks, preventing them from moving. Jenny came up to them and nodded.
"I think that's the end of the road for these two." She said. Once the vines had been released, Jenny led everyone outside and handcuffed Maria and Gordon. Two of Jenny's fellow officers put them in the back of the car and drove away.
"Pikachu, Eevee and I all had the idea to sneak into the center and get the videotapes to show Jenny." Said Michelle.
"You guys are the best!" Amanda cried and she gave Michelle a big hug.
"You all did a terrific job." Said Jenny. "My crew is now in the process of getting all of the stolen Pokemon back to their respective trainers."
"That's great to hear, Jenny." Said Mark.
"Now, is anybody hungry?" Jenny asked.
"I am." Said Rachael.
"So am I." said Amanda.
"I'm also hungry." Said Mark.
"I know just where we can go." Said Jenny. She took the foursome down the street to a familiar restaurant.
"We were just here yesterday." Said Michelle. She pressed a button on one of her Poke Balls and Psyduck came out.
"Once the chef sees this, we'll get all the free food we want." Said Michelle. They made their way into the restaurant where they were served by the chef they had seen already.
"Oh, look at that cute Psyduck." He Said. "I'm going to treat you guys to the whole works." He brought out a buffet table filled with pizza, meat, salad, sandwiches and drinks. Everyone chowed the food down in no time, and once Michelle was done, she yelled "I want some ice cream now, please!"
"Hey there, settle down a bit, Michelle." Said Rachael.
"Yeah, leave some for the rest of the customers." Said Mark. Jenny just chuckled.
"Don't worry, Michelle, there's plenty of ice cream to go around." She said.
"All of it is free because you brought your cute little Psyduck to visit my restaurant." The chef said. He fed Psyduck a scoop of chocolate ice cream, which he happily devoured.
"You guys all have good taste." Said Michelle. Her friends smiled as they watched her eat. Meanwhile, Conrad and Sally were digging their way out of the jail cell.
"I don't like it in there." Said Sally. "Not only is there no television but the smell is awful too."
"I flat out refuse to wear those tight prison uniforms." Said Conrad.
"The food is even worse than the smell." Said Conrad.
"We never should've tried to steal from your friend, Sally." Said Conrad.
"Some friend." Sally muttered. "I'll show her one of these days." Amanda, Rachael, Mark and Michelle all left the town together.
"I'm guessing that you're all heading to Cinnabar Island, right?" Rachael wondered.
"That's right." Amanda answered.
"I suppose this is where we say goodbye to you, again." Said Michelle.
"I guess so." Said Rachael.
"It was really nice to see you again, though, Rachael." Said Mark.
"I enjoyed seeing the three of you again myself." Said Rachael. "I hope we can meet up with each other again real soon."
"We'll just have to see what happens." Said Amanda. Rachael waved to the trio as she watched the three of them walk away together.
"By the way, Michelle, why are you wearing my clothes?" Mark asked. Michelle gulped, realizing that she had forgotten to give them back.
"I don't think you want to know." Said Amanda. And so, with the aid of a couple of videos, getting out of jail was a breeze for our heroes. Now, the trio continues making their way towards Cinnabar Island so that Amanda can earn a Volcano Badge. Who knows what adventures wait for them on the road ahead. Down below them, Conrad and Sally were continuing with their digging.
"Conrad, watch where you're throwing all that dirt!" she cried.
"Watch?! I can barely see a foot in front of my face." Saud Conrad.
"If you don't quit your complaining right now, I'll show you a foot in front of your face. My own!" Sally yelled.
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, Poliwhirl, Tangela, Chansey