Episode Thirty-Seven
Today, our heroes are finally setting off towards Cinnabar Island. However, they'll have to hurry if they want to make it onto the ferry that's supposed to take them there.
"Don't leave without us!" Amanda cried.
"Hold on there! We're coming!" Michelle cried.
"Pika!" Pikachu cried, which meant 'I hope the boat doesn't take off before we get there.'
"I hope they wait too, buddy." Said Amanda. Our three friends, plus Pikachu and Eevee, ran as fast as they could to get to the dock in time. Unfortunately, they weren't quite fast enough, and by the time they got to the departure point, the boat had just started to set sail.
"We missed it." Said Amanda dejectedly. Pikachu let out a sigh.
"Hopefully there'll be another boat later." Said Mark. Amanda checked the sign and her mouth dropped open in shock.
"What!? Five hours until the next ferry to Cinnabar?!" she cried.
"I don't think I can wait that long." Said Michelle.
"Eevee." Eevee squealed, which meant 'What are we going to do now?'
"I honestly don't know, Eevee." Said Michelle.
"I have an idea." Said Mark. "Why wait for another boat when we can get there another way."
"What are you talking about?" Amanda asked.
"I'll show you." Said Mark. He threw a Poke Ball into the air, and Lapras appeared in the water.
"My Lapras can get us to Cinnabar." He said.
"That's a great idea." Said Michelle. "This way we won't have to wait here forever."
"Not only that, but we'll also get to Cinnabar faster." Said Amanda.
"Exactly." Said Mark. All of them climbed onto Lapras' back.
"Okay, Lapras, full speed ahead towards Cinnabar Island as fast as you can." Said Mark. Lapras nodded and began to sail down the water. The conditions were absolutely perfect.
"Such a great day today, Pikachu." Said Amanda. "Sunny skies, no clouds, and a gentle breeze."
"You certainly can't go wrong with that." Said Michelle. The three of them continued to sail peacefully through the ocean via Lapras, and with everyone in such a good mood, they figured that nothing could go wrong. About an hour later, however, they ran into some unexpected trouble, which made Lapras gave a loud cry.
"This better not be Team Rocket again." Said Amanda.
"I don't think it is." Said Michelle. "As far as I know, Conrad and Sally aren't even anywhere near here." Amanda and Pikachu breathed a sigh of relief.
"If it's not Team Rocket, then what did we just run into?" Amanda asked. A loud roar from right in front of them was heard.
"I think that answers your question." Said Mark. "Get your Pokedex out quickly and find out what those are." Amanda gulped at the sight of seeing something so intimidating, but she pulled her Pokedex out and pointed it at the beast.
"Gyrados, the atrocious Pokemon. Gyrados is known for its fierce temper and violent nature. Its fangs can crush stones and its scales are harder than steel. Gyrados are very wild, so approach with extreme caution."
"My dad used to tell me stories about Gyrados." Said Michelle. "In those stories, he mentioned how it's one of the most dangerous Pokemon out there. Just the thought of seeing one makes me nervous."
"You're not really afraid of something like Gyrados, are you?" Mark asked. Just then, Gyrados let out a huge roar, causing Michelle to let out a scream. She and Eevee quickly hid behind Amanda.
"You have to do something about those right now!" Michelle cried.
"Don't worry, I'm on it." Said Amanda. "Pikachu, let's go!"
"Pika!" Pikachu cried and stared angrily at Gyrados.
"Be careful with that, Amanda." Said Mark.
"I'll try my best." Said Amanda. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt attack now!" Pikachu unleashed a big, bright yellow lightning bolt, scoring a direct hit on Gyrados and sending it into the water in a defeated state.
"Poke Ball, go!" Amanda cried. She threw an empty Poke Ball at the huge Pokemon, and it got sucked inside. The ball shook and wiggled a bit longer than usual, but the moment the ding was heard for a successful catch, Michelle came out of hiding.
"Well, that one's gone." Said Amanda.
"Thank goodness." Said Michelle. The ball disappeared into thin air so that it could be teleported to Professor Oak. Just then, the remaining Gyrados gave out a louder roar, making Michelle scream again.
"What's wrong now?" Amanda wondered.
"I think all of those Gyrados are a bit upset with you." Said Mark.
"Why, though?" Amanda wondered. "I think that was one of my best captures."
"True, but I think the one you caught was the leader of their herd." Said Michelle. Sure enough, the Gyrados all let out another angry roar.
"Maybe if I talk to them, they'll calm down a bit." Said Amanda.
"I don't know if that'll work, but I guess it's worth a shot." Said Mark. Amanda looked at each of the Gyrados and started to plead her case.
"Listen, I can see that you're upset." Said Amanda. "As a trainer, though, I have to catch as many Pokemon as I can. That's why I had to capture one of you. From what I hear, the specific one that I caught was the leader of your group. Is that right?" The Gyrados all nodded their heads.
"Again, I'm very sorry about that." Said Amanda. "I just want to be able to get to my next destination as soon as I can, but that's only possible if you let my friends and I through. Will you let us pass?" The Gyrados thought for a moment before shaking their heads.
"No? Why not?" Amanda wondered.
"They seem to think of us as a threat." Said Mark.
"I only caught one Gyrados out of that whole herd. I hardly think that would make us threats to their territory." Said Amanda.
"They don't know that." Said Michelle.
"Come on, Gyrados." Said Amanda. "Just let my friends and I go and I promise that we won't bother you anymore." The Gyrados thought it over again, and this time, they nodded.
"Thank you." Said Amanda. The Gyrados cleared the path they had blocked so that the trio could continue sailing along.
"That was a close call with the Gyrados back there, but it all worked out anyway." Said Michelle.
"Well, I am pretty convincing." Said Amanda.
"You've got that right." Said Mark. They continued to enjoy the ride, but after another hour, they hit something else.
"Don't tell me it's more Gyrados." Said Michelle.
"No, that's not it this time. I think we hit a whirlpool." Said Mark. "Lapras, try to get around it." Lapras started to change direction, but the whirlpool wouldn't go away, and as a result, everyone got caught in it. The whirlpool sent them sailing into the air, with everybody grabbing onto each other for dear life.
"Michelle, Mark, Pikachu, Eevee, Lapras, whatever happens, don't let go!" Amanda cried. The whirlpool then got stronger, sending everyone higher into the air. There was no telling when or where they would land. When they finally did land, they found themselves in front of a cave on a smaller island.
"Where are we?" Amanda asked. Mark looked around and couldn't believe what he saw.
"Looks like that whirlpool sent us off course." He said. "We're on Seafoam Island."
"But, we're supposed to be going to Cinnabar." Said Michelle. "I didn't want to end up here."
"Neither did I, but since we're here now, we may as well explore around inside." Said Amanda.
"Good point." Said Mark. "Lapras, return." He recalled his water type and the three of them made their way into the cave.
"I hear that the legendary Pokemon Articuno lives here." Said Michelle.
"Do you think we'll get to see it?" Amanda asked.
"It's possible." Said Mark. "We'll just have to see what happens." They explored the first floor carefully to make sure that they didn't miss anything important.
"I wonder if we'll see any water Pokemon in here." Said Amanda.
"That's always a possibility too." Said Michelle. The group continued to explore, but they were unsuccessful in finding anything. Right as they were about to move to another floor, however, a Pokemon with a spiky blue and violet shell and a long red tongue popped out from behind one of the rocks. Amanda took out her Pokedex to find out more information.
"Shellder, the bivalve Pokemon. It is much faster than most people expect and likes to swim backwards by opening and closing both of its shells."
"So it's a speedy swimmer, huh?" Amanda wondered. "Let's just see how good of a battler it is." She was about to send Pikachu into battle when Michelle intervened.
"Wait a second. This little guy is one of the cutest things I've ever seen." She said. Shellder smiled at the compliment that he had been given. He hopped over to Michelle and gently nudged her leg.
"You like me, don't you?" Michelle asked. Shellder nodded. "You know what, I like you too. Would you like to battle me for a chance to become my Pokemon?" Shellder nodded.
"That's not fair, Michelle. I'm the one who saw it first." Said Amanda.
"I haven't caught as many Pokemon as you have, though." Said Michelle. "Let me have this one."
"No. It only went to you because of how you praised it." Said Amanda. "Besides, you know I want to try to catch a lot of Pokemon."
"I understand that, but you have plenty already." Said Michelle. Amanda was about to say something else when Mark interjected and picked up the Shellder.
"Girls, there's another way to settle your little argument." He said. "How about letting Shellder decide who he wants to battle." He put Shellder down in between the two girls.
"Good idea." Said Amanda. She clapped her hands and started talking to the Pokemon.
"Well, Shellder, who's it going to be? Me or her?" asked Amanda. Shellder looked at both girls curiously before deciding on Michelle. He hopped over to her again and gave her a playful lick.
"Well, that's settled." Said Mark. Amanda sighed, but Shellder's mind was made up. Michelle grabbed a Poke Ball and tossed it.
"Let's go, Electabuzz!" she cried. Her electric type appeared in a blaze of white light.
"Start off with a Thunder Punch." Michelle ordered. Electabuzz fired a yellow colored ball with its fist at Shellder, but the small Pokemon jumped out of the way. It then sprayed Electabuzz with a Water Gun attack.
"Don't let your guard down, Electabuzz. Try a Swift attack." Said Michelle. Electabuzz fired rainbow shaped stars at Shellder. The small Pokemon cried out in slight pain, but it was determined to not give up the fight. Shellder then tried to use its Aurora Beam, but Michelle ordered Electabuzz to use its Thunderbolt attack. Electabuzz unleashed a powerful lightning bolt and both attacks collided with each other. The Thunderbolt had more power, though, and pushed the Aurora Beam out of the way, doing a lot of damage to Shellder. Despite taking a huge hit, Shellder refused to back down.
"How can it still fight after getting hit by that attack?" Michelle wondered.
"Shellder certainly has a lot of spunk for such a small Pokemon." Mark observed. Amanda agreed with him. Shellder used its Clamp attack to grab onto the back of Electabuzz, but this only angered the electric type.
"Electabuzz, get that Pokemon off of you." Said Michelle. Electabuzz tried to push Shellder away but it refused to let go.
"Why won't Shellder back off?" Michelle asked.
"Maybe it thinks that your Electabuzz is a Slowpoke." Said Amanda.
"But Slowpoke is an entirely different Pokemon." Said Michelle.
"Try telling that to Shellder." Said Mark. The small Pokemon was still clinging to Electabuzz refusing to let go. Electabuzz got mad and fired another Thunderbolt attack at Shellder, hitting it and finally forcing it off. Now it was Shellder's turn to get angry and used Supersonic to confuse Electabuzz. The electric Pokemon suddenly started running around the room launching attacks in different directions.
"Uh oh, that Supersonic attack caused Electabuzz to get confused." Said Michelle. "Electabuzz, try to shake it off!" Electabuzz kept running, however, and crashed into a rock, knocking itself out. Michelle gasped and recalled Electabuzz.
"It's your turn now, Eevee." Said Michelle. Eevee nodded and sprang herself into action. Shellder then began feeling a little woozy.
"Looks like Shellder's weak." Said Amanda.
"One attack should do it, then." Said mark.
"Eevee, use your Skull Bash." Michelle called. Eevee nodded and lowered its head. She ran right into Shellder and sent it into the air. Once the small Pokemon landed back on the ground, it was knocked out. Michelle grabbed an empty Poke Ball.
"Shellder, you're mine." Said Michelle and she threw the ball. Shellder got sucked inside, and the ball wiggled a few times before clicking shut.
"We did it, Eevee! We got Shellder!" cried Michelle. She and her partner high fived each other.
"Great catch, Michelle." Said Mark.
"Thanks." Said Michelle. "And I especially thank you, Amanda, for letting me catch it.
"Whatever." Amanda muttered. Shellder's Poke Ball disappeared in a blaze of white light, and Michelle knew instantly where it was headed. The group moved to another floor of the cave where they found a group of Slowpoke. Amanda wanted to catch one, but right as she was about to grab a ball, most of the Slowpoke yawned and closed their eyes.
"It must be their nap time." Said Michelle. "It would be best to not disturb them." They were about to head on their way when the one Slowpoke that was awake started turning his head like he was looking for something.
"What is it, fella?" Mark asked. "What are you trying to find?" Slowpoke started to draw a picture of a shell in the ground.
"I think I get it." Said Amanda. "He's looking for a Shellder so that it can evolve into a Slowbro."
"is that right, Slowpoke?" asked Michelle. Slowpoke slowly nodded its head.
"If I recall, you just caught a Shellder a minute ago, didn't you?" asked Mark.
"I did, but it got sent to Professor Oak's lab since I have six Pokemon on me right now." Michelle answered.
"Looks like there's no Shellder anywhere." Said Amanda. Slowpoke drooped its head in sadness, but just then, another Shellder appeared from out of nowhere. It hopped over to the Slowpoke and clamped onto its tail. A glow of white light appeared and Slowpoke began evolving.
"Wow, this is cool, isn't it Pikachu?" Amanda asked.
"Pika." Pikachu answered, which meant 'It's the best thing I've ever seen.'
"I've never seen a Slowpoke evolve in person before." Said Michelle.
"Neither have we." Said Amanda. When the glow stopped, a Slowbro was standing tall. Amanda then realized that she hadn't gotten any info on either Slowbro or Slowpoke, so she took out her Pokedex.
"Slowpoke, the Dopey Pokemon. It is notorious for having a dim intellect and more often than not, it forgets what it's doing.
"Slowbro, the hermit crab Pokemon. Although this Pokemon can use powerful psychic attacks, it is usually rather peaceful and prefers not to fight."
"If it doesn't like fighting, then there's no point in me trying to catch it." Said Amanda. The group said their goodbyes to the Slowbro and Slowpoke and made their way into the next room. This one had a bit of water that was flowing down.
"Looks like navigating this place is going to be a bit trickier going forward." Said Michelle.
"How so?" asked Amanda.
"We need to use a water Pokemon to glide down the river." Said Michelle.
"I do have Wartortle, but that doesn't really do us any good." Said Amanda.
"Lapras would help." Said Mark. They walked over to the water area and right as mark was about to send Lapras out, a light blue Pokemon similar to a seahorse jumped out of the water and smiled at them.
"You're another cutie." Said Amanda. She took out her Pokedex again and aimed it at Horsea.
"Horsea, the dragon Pokemon. Horsea is very adept in the water and can use its dorsal fin to swim in any direction. It will spray black ink at possible attackers if it senses that it's in danger."
"Not only is it a good swimmer, but it also protects itself well too." Said Michelle. She went to pet Horsea, only to be sprayed by black ink.
"My shirt!" Michelle cried. "It's ruined!"
"You can always get a new shirt when we get to Cinnabar Island." Said Mark.
"You don't understand." Said Michelle. "This shirt was a gift from my dad, and now it's covered in ink."
"Horsea, that wasn't very nice." Said Amanda. "Michelle wasn't trying to attack you. She was just trying to be friends with you. Apologize to her right now!" Horsea swam over to Michelle and gave an apologetic look.
"It's all right, Horsea. I know you didn't mean to do that." Said Michelle. Horsea smiled.
"Horsea!" it cried and splashed up and down.
"Aw, Horsea's happy again." Said Amanda. "Hey Horsea, would you like to be my Pokemon?" Horsea happily nodded its head.
"All right, but I think it's only fair that I battle you first." Said Amanda. "Pikachu, you're on.
"Pika!" Pikachu cried and jumped into action ready to take on the water horse.
"Pikachu, start with your Thunderbolt!" Amanda ordered. Pikachu unleashed its powerful attack and did a lot of damage to Horsea. The tiny little seahorse wouldn't give up, though, and used its Sludge attack to spray black ink towards Pikachu. However, Pikachu used its Agility to avoid being splatted.
"Nice work, Pikachu." Said Amanda. "Now, go for Quick Attack." Pikachu sped towards Horsea and drilled its body with the hit. Horsea shook it off and tried using its Bubblebeam attack. Pikachu did get hit by some of the bubbles, but the attack didn't doo very much and the electric mouse shook off the bubbles.
"Very good!" Amanda cried. "Unleash your Thunder attack on it!" Pikachu let out an extremely powerful clap of thunder which Horsea tried to avoid, but unfortunately, it jumped right into the attack and landed in the water floating upside down. The Thunder had knocked it out.
"Great work, Pikachu!" cried Amanda. She grabbed an empty Poke Ball and aimed it at Horsea.
"Poke Ball, go!" she cried. Horsea got sucked inside in a blaze of red light and didn't even bother trying to move due to how much the battle had weakened it. Three simple shakes, followed by a click and a ding signified a successful catch.
"I just caught a Horsea!" Amanda cried. She held up the ball containing her new Pokemon proudly before it vanished into thin air. It was headed for Professor Oak's lab.
"Well, not only do you have a new Pokemon, but a new friend too." Said Michelle. The group continued walking on, but didn't get very far before Mark spotted something.
"Guys, we might have a little bit of an issue." He said.
"What do you mean?" asked Amanda.
"See for yourself." Said Michelle. Amanda turned around and saw an angry looking Pokemon that was slightly bigger than Horsea. Amanda got her Pokedex out again.
"Seadra, the dragon Pokemon. It can spin its body to make big whirlpools. It can also swallow its prey by using its long snout." Seadra looked at Amanda specifically and cried out in anger.
"Uh oh." Said Michelle. "I think I might know why this Seadra's angry with you."
"I think I might know myself but go ahead." Said Mark.
"It seems that the Horsea that Amanda just caught is the child of this Seadra." Said Michelle. Amanda gasped in horror. She had never intended to break the two of them apart.
"Oh my gosh. Seadra, I am so sorry." Said Amanda. "I didn't know that the Horsea was your child. My friends and I were just looking for Pokemon to catch in here and I thought it was a regular Horsea. I didn't expect to find out that it was your kid. Will you please forgive me?" Seadra looked intently at Amanda and could tell that she was being sincere, so she took off the angry face and smiled. It then gave its cry and pointed to one of Amanda's Poke Balls.
"Seadra says it'll forgive you on one condition." Said Michelle. "Its condition is that you have to reunite it with its child."
"Doo!" Seadra cried, which meant 'Where is my kid right now?'
"That's easy. Horsea's at Professor Oak's." said Amanda. Seadra was a bit confused.
"I don't think Seadra knows who Professor Oak is." Mark whispered.
"Professor Oak is a famous researcher who lives in Pallet Town." Amanda explained to Seadra. "He helped me get started on my journey months ago. I have a lot of Pokemon there, including Horsea. If you want to see your kid again, I can capture you in a Poke Ball right now without a battle. Since I currently have six Pokemon on me, you'd be going right to the lab and you'll be able to see your child. What do you say?" Seadra thought for a bit before letting out a smile and agreeing to Amanda's terms.
"Okay then." Said Amanda. She grabbed another empty Poke Ball and threw it at Seadra. The Pokemon happily jumped into the ball, which clicked and dinged immediately. The ball then vanished and teleported to the lab.
"Well, I'm glad that issue's solved." Said Michelle. The trio continued onwards until they got to the edge of the water.
"This is where Lapras comes in." said Mark. He sent his ride Pokemon out and the trio climbed aboard. Lapras guided them out of the room and into the next area, which was also surrounded by water. The last room that they went into ended with a small island just a few feet away from them. They got onto the ground and Mark recalled Lapras. The trio slowly made their way up the staircase to the island where they found a large Pokemon with sky blue plumage and wings made of ice. Three dark blue rhombus shaped feathers sat on its forehead.
"There it is." Said Amanda. "The legendary Articuno." She took out her Pokedex once again.
"Articuno, the freeze Pokemon. Articuno has the power to control ice at will. When Articuno flaps its wings, it can chill the moisture in the air around it."
"It looks so pretty." Said Michelle.
"It's also quite rare." Said Mark.
"That's why I want to catch it." Said Amanda.
"Hold on a second." Said Michelle. "This isn't just your run of the mill average Pokemon here. Articuno is legendary, which means trying to defeat it in a battle won't be easy."
"We'll just see about that." Said Amanda and she tossed a Poke Ball. "Let's do this, Arcanine!" The big fire dog appeared in a blaze of light.
"Arcanine, use your Flamethrower!" Amanda commanded. Arcanine shot a giant flame at the ice type, but Articuno countered by flying upwards. It then shot an Ice Beam attack.
"Arcanine, go for Agility!" Amanda cried. Arcanine used its speed to dodge any Ice Beam that Articuno threw at it.
"Try a Fire Blast attack!" cried Amanda. Arcanine shot a large fire star in Articuno's direction, but the legendary Pokemon just flew all around it dodging the attack. Amanda started to get visibly frustrated.
"I told you this wasn't going to be easy." Said Michelle.
"I'm not going to give up, though." Said Amanda. "Arcanine, return." She recalled her fire type and looked at her partner.
"Pikachu, go!" she cried. Pikachu happily sprang into action. It was very excited about getting a chance to battle a legendary Pokemon.
"Swift attack!" Amanda called out. Pikachu shot rainbow stars, which hit Articuno but did little damage. It then used its own Swift attack on Pikachu. The attack hit the little mouse, but it didn't give up. Articuno then flew back down and fell asleep.
"What was that?" Amanda asked.
"Rest. When a Pokemon uses that, it goes to sleep right away." Said Michelle.
"It won't be able to attack for a while, then." Said Amanda. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Pikachu unleashed its yellow bolt of lightning, hitting Articuno, who was still asleep.
"It definitely can't dodge now." Said Amanda. "Thunderbolt again!" Pikachu unleashed another powerful bolt, which did a lot of damage. However, that was when Articuno woke up and flew at Pikachu for a Take Down. Pikachu got knocked back a bit but it didn't suffer too much damage and was determined to keep going.
"That's the spirit, Pikachu." Said Amanda. Both Pikachu and Articuno got ready for another attack when suddenly, a giant net started descending from the ceiling.
"Where did that come from?" Amanda wondered. The net scooped up both of the Pokemon, causing them to cry out together.
"Pikachu! Articuno!" Amanda cried.
"Who's there?" Mark demanded. They then heard laughter from a familiar duo.
"Oh great." Amanda muttered.
"Team Rocket! What are you two doing here?" Michelle demanded.
"We heard that Articuno lives here so we wanted to grab a hold of it for the boss." Said Sally.
"And while we're at it, we'll take a Pikachu on the side." Said Conrad.
"Give those Pokemon back right now!" Amanda cried.
"So sorry twerp, but both of these Pokemon belong to Team Rocket permanently now." Said Sally.
"So you can kiss these two goodbye." Said Conrad. They started to ascend upwards, with Amanda gritting her teeth.
"Don't worry, they won't get too far." Said Michelle. True to her prediction, Articuno popped a hole in the net with its beak, resulting in both Pokemon flying back downwards. Articuno landed in its usual spot, while Pikachu landed safely in Amanda's arms.
"I'm glad you're okay, buddy." She said. "Articuno, you know what to do." Articuno nodded and fired a Hyper Beam at Team Rocket, sending them both upwards into the air.
"We're both blasting off again!" they cried. DING!
"Great work, Articuno." Said Amanda. She wanted to finish the battle, but Articuno let out a yawn and fell asleep again.
"After almost being captured by Team Rocket, no wonder it wants to sleep." Said Mark. The trio had no choice but to leave Articuno and make their way out of the cave.
"It's too bad I didn't get to finish battling Articuno." Said Amanda. "Owning a legendary Pokemon would've been really cool."
"In all fairness, Articuno belongs right here." Said Michelle.
"I suppose you're right." Said Amanda. "I'm just glad I got to see one, though. That's definitely something I want to tell my mama about." And so, our heroes leave Articuno in peace. Now, it's back on course to Cinnabar Island. Will Amanda be able to get her next badge? Find out as the journey continues.
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, Jolteon, Gastly, Lapras, Nidorino
Amanda's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Rattata, Gengar, Magikarp, Butterfree, Zubat, Abra, Tentacruel, Pidgeotto, Dratini, Clefairy, Scyther, Flareon, Nidoran Male, Rhyhorn, Goldeen, Dragonair, Snorlax, Machamp, Horsea, Seadra
Michelle's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Gengar, Sandshrew, Nidoran Female, Poliwhirl, Tangela, Chansey, Shellder