Episode Thirty-Four
Last time, our heroes reunited with Rachael, the girl they met at her birthday party several episodes ago. Upon hearing about a new Pokemon day care center, the foursome went to check it out, but it turned out to be a scam. Although Michelle, Mark and Rachael were all caught and arrested, Michelle was able to gather video evidence to show Officer Jenny, resulting in her friends being released. With the day care runners Gordon and Maria being arrested and all the Pokemon they had stolen now safely back with their original owners, our heroes can continue their journey, eager to see what new adventures unfold.
Amanda, Michelle and Mark were calmly walking down the pathway that would lead them toward their next destination when their stomachs rumbled.
"When was the last time we ate?" asked Amanda.
"During breakfast, which was five hours ago." Michelle answered.
"Five hours?!" Amanda cried.
"Fortunately, we're not too far off from the next town." Said Mark. "We can stock up on supplies there, and even get some refills on our water."
"Great, because I'm thirsty too." Said Amanda.
"I think we all are." Said Michelle. "We've been walking non stop for a while and my feet are killing me."
"I guess we can all use a break." Said Mark. Once they arrived at the town, they headed right for the Pokemon Center.
"Would your name be Amanda Cooper by any chance?" Nurse Joy asked.
"It sure is." Said Amanda.
"Professor Oak just called for you right before you and your friends got here." Said Joy. "He hasn't heard from you in a little bit and I'm sure he'd love to hear from you." Amanda, Mark and Michelle headed right for the phone so that Amanda could place the call. The professor answered on the second ring.
"Greetings, Professor!" cried Amanda.
"Hello there, Amanda." Said Oak. "I heard about that whole day care scam on the news. Are the three of you okay?"
"We're fine." Said Michelle. "It was just a simple misunderstanding, that's all."
"I'm glad to hear that." Said Oak. "Now then, Amanda, I'm guessing things went well for you in your last gym match?"
"They sure did." Said Amanda. "I have six badges now, which means I only have to get two more."
"That's very good." Said Oak. "Now, the reason I called you is because I have exciting news for you. Over the past week, some new Pokemon discoveries have been made."
"That's awesome, Professor!" cried Amanda. "Where can I find them?"
"I'm afraid you won't be able to see them just yet." Oak answered. "The reason is because the new ones that have been found are exclusive to the Johto region."
"I don't think we've been there yet." Said Amanda. "I'd love to visit that region, though.
"I'm not surprised one bit by your reaction." Said Oak. "I have a fellow colleague there, and I'm sure he'd love to meet you." Right at that moment, Oak's doorbell rang.
"Gotta go, Amanda. The Pokedexes that I ordered for the new set of trainers that start tomorrow have arrived and I need to get those set up. Talk to you soon." He ended the call and hurried off.
"You know, I'd love to meet some of those new Pokemon for myself." Said Michelle.
"I think we'd all like to meet them." Said Mark.
"Wouldn't you love to meet some new Pokemon, Pikachu?" Amanda asked.
"Pika!" Pikachu cried, which meant 'I sure would!' His stomach growled at that point.
"I think right now, we need to meet some food." Said Michelle. The three of them made their way to the nearest store to get supplies, only to find almost all the shelves completely empty.
"How can there be no food?" Amanda wondered. "I always thought grocery stores were supposed to carry food at all times."
"Maybe this is a bad season or something." Said Michelle. "Let's try somewhere else." They went to another store nearby, but there wasn't anything there either.
"Just what is going on here?" Mark asked. The owner of the store approached them.
"I have an explanation for that." He said. "We did have food earlier this morning, but it all got taken very quickly."
"Busy crowd of shoppers, I'm assuming." Said Michelle.
"Or maybe Sally and Conrad of Team Rocket broke in and stole all the food." Said Amanda. "Those two are always up to no good."
"Both very good theories, but both incorrect ones." Said the owner. "All of our food was eaten up by a Pokemon." All three members of the trio were shocked.
"No way. I didn't think it was possible for a single Pokemon to eat so much." Said Amanda.
"I didn't think so either until I saw it with my own eyes." Said the owner. All three kids left the store, but they were still very confused.
"I don't get it. How can one Pokemon eat so much?" Amanda asked.
"More importantly, what specific Pokemon can eat so much at once?" asked Michelle.
"I guess that's what we'll need to find out." Said Mark. They walked into a small forest area in search of the Pokemon the owner was talking about. The river that they were walking beside was usually flowing with plenty of water, but today, there was barely a drop.
"It looks like whichever Pokemon ate all the food also drank up most of the river's water too." Said Michelle.
"I guess we won't be able to get any drinks for a while either." Said Mark. They kept walking along down the riverbank, and a short time later, they found a huge, bipedal, dark blue-green mammalian Pokémon with a cream-colored face, belly, and feet. The Pokemon was happily snoozing away beside a tree.
"So that's the one the store owner said ate up all the food in the store." Said Michelle.
"Let's find out which Pokemon it is." Said Amanda. She grabbed her Pokedex and scanned it at the large Pokemon.
"Snorlax, the sleeping Pokemon. Snorlax spends a majority of its time sleeping, only waking up to eat upwards of nine hundred pounds per day before going back to sleep."
"Nine hundred pounds?!" Michelle cried with a shocked expression on her face.
"No wonder all the food disappeared." Said Amanda. "Snorlax ate it all."
"We've got to wake it up and get it out of here somehow." Said Mark.
"How do we do that, though?" asked Michelle. "It probably won't wake up for a while considering that it ate a few hours ago."
"We still have to try." Said Amanda.
"Good point." Said Mark. They tied an alarm clock to the hooking line of a fishing road and placed it just in front of Snorlax.
"The alarm on this clock is pretty loud, so when Snorlax hears it, that should get it to wake up." Said Amanda.
"Let's see what happens." Said Michelle. They waited for the alarm clock to go off, and five minutes later, the alarm went off. It was so loud that everyone had to cover their ears to block the noise.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu cried, which meant 'Turn it off!'
"I don't think we can!" Mark yelled.
"Eevee!" Eevee squealed, which meant 'The alarm is too loud!'
"We can't do anything about that, Eevee. The alarm is set that way automatically!" Michelle cried. Just then, the alarm stopped and everyone took their hands off of their ears.
"Thank goodness." Said Amanda. They looked at Snorlax, but he was still snoozing away peacefully.
"Looks like the clock didn't work." Said Mark.
"We'll have to try something else." Said Michelle.
"Maybe our Pokemon can battle and weaken it so that we can capture it in a Poke Ball." Said Amanda.
"That's not a bad idea." Said Mark. Since Amanda was the one who had come up with the idea, she decided that she would battle Snorlax first.
"Pikachu, go!" she cried. Pikachu happily ran towards Snorlax and readied himself for battle mode.
"Thunderbolt, now!" she ordered. Pikachu let its electricity loose and gave Snorlax a powerful zap, but the bulky Pokemon didn't seem to be fazed at all.
"That must be a powerful Snorlax if it can withstand electric attacks." Said Mark. Pikachu got ready to attempt another Thunderbolt when Amanda stopped him.
"Electricity won't work, Pikachu." She said. "We have to go with a different approach. Try using your Quick Attack." Pikachu ran at full speed and lunged himself right onto Snorlax's huge belly. However, the big Pokemon didn't budge.
"Not only is Snorlax powerful, he's also very bulky." Said Michelle.
"Pikachu?" Pikachu asked, which meant 'Should I try something else?'
"Don't bother, Pikachu." Said Amanda. "It's not going to move no matter what attack you use."
"Maybe one of my Pokemon can give it a shot." Said Mark. He grabbed one of his Poke Balls and threw it.
"Bulbasaur, I choose you!" he cried. The grass starter instantly appeared and sprang into action.
"Bulba!" it cried.
"Use your Razor Leaf." Mark ordered. Bulbasaur shot several leaves from its bulb, but they deflected off of Snorlax and fell onto the ground.
"That was no good. Try a Vine Whip!" Mark commanded. Bulbasaur shot out its vines and smacked them across Snorlax's stomach, but once again, nothing happened.
"How can one Pokemon withstand so many attacks?" Mark wondered.
"Beats me." Said Amanda.
"Looks like it's my turn to try." Said Michelle. She grabbed one of her Poke Balls, but before she could throw it, Psyduck popped out.
"This isn't going to end well." Said Mark.
"You don't know that yet." Said Amanda.
"What are you doing out, Psyduck?" Michelle asked. "I wanted Charmander out here." Psyduck just shrugged his arms sheepishly.
"Well, I suppose I'm going to have to let you battle it now since you're out here." Said Michelle. "Go for a Water Gun." Psyduck opened his mouth, and while a water line did appear, it was a very small one and ended up going onto the ground instead of Snorlax.
"Psyduck." The yellow duck Pokemon happily replied.
"I don't think you understand how Water Gun is supposed to work." Said Michelle. "I'll have to teach that to you at some point, but for now, try using your Scratch attack." Psyduck ran up to Snorlax and scratched it with its claws, but the heavy Pokemon didn't feel any pain.
"Just what is this Snorlax's problem?" Michelle asked. "No matter what we do or what attacks we use, nothing seems to work."
"We haven't tried catching it yet." Said Amanda.
"I kind of almost forgot about that." Said Michelle. Amanda took out an empty Poke Ball and aimed it at Snorlax.
"Poke Ball, go!" she cried. She threw the ball, but it simply deflected off of Snorlax's big stomach and flew back to Amanda.
"I guess catching it didn't work either. Said Mark.
"What else can we possibly do, though?" Michelle asked. A short gentleman who had heard all the commotion approached the trio and gave a chuckle.
"Don't you children know that the only way to wake up a sleeping Snorlax is to play a Poke Flute?" he asked.
"Poke Flute?" Amanda wondered.
"What's that?" Mark asked.
"It's a special flute that plays a soothing sounding melody." Said the gentleman. "Without it, Snorlax won't do anything."
"Sir, where can we find this flute?" Michelle asked.
"A shop in town might have one." Said the gentleman.
"Well, I guess we know where we're going next." Said Mark. "Back to town, guys." The trio started walking back in the other direction, unaware that Conrad and Sally had heard everything.
"Do my ears deceive me, or did I hear something about a Poke Flute?" Conrad asked.
"No, you heard correctly." Said Sally. "Come on, we have to get our hands on it before the twerps do."
"I have a better idea." Said Conrad. "How about, instead of stealing the flute, we steal Snorlax instead?"
"Oh, now that's an idea that I can agree with." Said Sally. Meanwhile, the trio were walking back toward the town when Amanda tripped over something and fell.
"Are you all right?" Michelle asked.
"Yeah, I'm just fine." Said Amanda. She quickly got up and dusted herself off. "I don't think this rock was here before, though." The rock suddenly popped out of the ground and spread its arms out wide.
"That's no rock. That's a Geodude." Said Mark.
"I remember seeing that before." Said Michelle. "When I battled for my Boulder Badge back in Pewter City, the gym leader had a Geodude that looked exactly like this. I know just how to handle it." She threw one of her Poke Balls and Wartortle appeared in a blaze of light.
"Wartortle, use your Water Gun now!" Amanda ordered. Wartortle sprayed Geodude with its water stream and the rock Pokemon was defeated.
"Good work." Said Amanda. She recalled Wartortle and the three of them continued on their way. They found the music store in the center of the town and went right inside.
"Let's see here. Guitars, violins, clarinets…" Said Amanda. She scanned the shelves carefully but she didn't see any flutes.
"Maybe they don't have what we're looking for." Said Mark.
"Let's not rush to conclusions yet." Said Michelle. "Maybe it's hidden in a back area or something."
"Let's ask somebody." Said Amanda. "That's probably the better way to approach this." They went up to the counter where they saw a young woman reading a book that she had brought with her.
"May I help you?" the woman asked.
"We're looking for a flute." Said Michelle.
"Ah, so you've decided to take up lessons." Said the woman.
"Oh no, it's not for us to learn." Said Amanda. "We need one for something else."
"What would that something else be?" the woman asked.
"The three of us saw a Snorlax earlier, and we tried to wake it up, but we were told that we needed a certain flute." Mark explained.
"I think I understand now." Said the woman. "You need the Poke Flute."
"Do you have that?" asked Michelle.
"I should have it in the back somewhere." Said the woman. "Just wait right here and I'll go look for it." She disappeared into the stock room, leaving the trio on their own.
"I really hope she has the flute." Said Amanda.
"So do I." said Michelle. "Otherwise, I don't know how else we'd wake Snorlax up." The woman returned to the floor ten minutes later.
"It took a bit because of how much stuff was back there, but I found what you're looking for." She said. The flute had three small holes on the top like a normal flute, and a regular Poke Ball sat engraved near the bottom.
"That's it! That's the flute we need!" Amanda cried.
"We'll take it." Said Michelle. The woman handed over the flute, and the trio began to leave when they were stopped.
"I forgot to mention that you have to pay for that." Said the woman.
"How much do we owe?" asked Mark.
"My normal flutes are usually a hundred dollars, but since this is a one of a kind flute, it gets a special price." Said the woman. "Three hundred dollars, please."
"Three hundred dollars?!" they all cried at once.
"Good thing I won all of that prize money in that princess festival tournament not too long ago." Said Amanda. She handed over the money and the woman allowed them to leave.
"Now that we have this flute, we can finally get Snorlax up and moving." Said Michelle. They walked back over to the area where Snorlax was, only to find Conrad and Sally attaching a bunch of cables to his huge belly.
"Hey!" Amanda cried out.
"Uh oh!" cried Conrad. He tried to take the cables off, but they were stuck fast. The trio quickly ran up to them.
"Just what do you two think you're doing with that Snorlax?" Michelle demanded.
"Oh, nothing." Sally said nonchalantly.
"That doesn't look like nothing to me." Said Mark. "Looking at how these cables are placed, I think you're trying to steal this Snorlax for yourselves!"
"What Snorlax?" said Conrad.
"There's no Snorlax here." Said Sally. "All of you run off and have a nice day." Michelle wasn't fooled, though.
"Don't play dumb with us!" she yelled. "It's obvious that you're both trying to take Snorlax away despite its gigantic amount of weight!"
"You must be mistaken, little girl." Said Sally. "We're not stealing Snorlax. We're merely taking it for a walk."
"With all of those cable lines attached to it? Yeah, sure." Said Amanda in a sarcastic tone.
"Quick, pull harder." Said Conrad. They pulled as hard as they could, but the big Snorlax still wouldn't move.
"This is pathetic." Said Mark.
"Pika." Said Pikachu, which meant 'Agreed.' Conrad and Sally kept pulling on the cables until they finally gave up and unhooked them.
"Does this mean we're just going to leave this big lug here?" asked Conrad.
"No. We're taking the cables off because we're moving to plan B." said Sally. She started to lower a mechanical arm straight down onto Snorlax's belly when she felt a tap on her shoulder.
"I have a better idea." Said Amanda. She pulled out the Poke Flute and showed it to the two Team Rocket members.
"Where in the world did you get that?" Sally asked.
"We're not telling you that!" Michelle exclaimed. "We already know what's going to happen if we do."
"Looks like we have no choice." Said Conrad. The two of them started to walk away as if they were going to give up. Suddenly, they turned and ran toward Amanda. Sally clamped her hands on the flute and started to grab it away from her.
"Give it here!" she demanded.
"No way!" Amanda cried. The two of them kept trying to keep the flute away from the other, with Michelle and Mark looking on.
"This is like a game of Tug of War." Michelle observed.
"Except that it's one on one." Said Mark. Amanda and Sally kept pulling the flute from the other person until the gentleman from earlier came up to them and snatched the flute away.
"Hey!" both Amanda and Sally cried.
"What did you do that for?" Amanda asked. The gentleman didn't answer. Instead, he started playing the flute, which gave a soothing melody.
"That music is so beautiful." Said Michelle.
"Pikachu." Pikachu agreed, which meant 'It's the best music I've ever heard.' Once the tune finished, Snorlax woke up and let out an angry roar. He fixed his gaze on Conrad and Sally and sent them blasting off with a Mega Punch attack.
"Great job there, Snorlax." Amanda said. The heavy Pokémon gave her a hug before pointing to one of her Poke Balls.
"What is it?" Amanda asked.
"Snorlax." The heavy Pokémon growled.
"I think this big guy is saying that it would like to go with you." Said the gentleman.
"Is that true, Snorlax?" Michelle asked. Snorlax nodded and pointed to Pikachu.
"Maybe I should re-phrase my words a bit." Said the gentleman. "It'll go with you on the condition that you battle it first."
"Okay Snorlax, if you want a battle, you'll get one." Said Amanda. "Pikachu, do you think you can take down this behemoth?"
"Pika!" Pikachu happily cried, which meant 'I'll see what I can do.' He ran slightly ahead of Amanda and stared Snorlax down.
"Okay Pikachu, start off with Quick Attack!" Amanda shouted. Pikachu ran quickly at the huge Pokemon, only to bounce off of its' leg. Snorlax then readied its fist and used Mega Punch to send Pikachu backwards a little bit.
"Wow, that was quite the punch." Said Michelle.
"It's a good thing Pikachu's strong enough to withstand that." Said Mark.
"Don't give up, Pikachu." Said Amanda. "Use your Thunderbolt!" Pikachu unleashed its yellow energy bolt and scored a direct hit on Snorlax.
"There you go!" said Amanda. Snorlax was built like a tank, however, and wouldn't go down easily. In fact, both Pokemon went at it for a good ten minutes before both of them started to get worn down.
"Looks like Snorlax is tired." Said Michelle. "Here's your chance, Amanda."
"Pikachu, finish it off with another Thunderbolt." Said Amanda. Pikachu let out another energy bolt, but with less strength due to being fatigued. It was enough to knock Snorlax out, however.
"Good work." Said Amanda. She got out the same Poke Ball she had tried using earlier and threw it at Snorlax.
"Poke Ball, go!" she shouted. Snorlax got sucked inside the ball, and after a few wiggles, the ball clicked for a successful capture.
"All right, we got a Snorlax!" Amanda cried. Pikachu struck his victory pose, but then he fainted. Amanda ran over to him.
"I'm very proud of the way you battled Snorlax. You deserve to have a rest." She said. Pikachu smiled and fell asleep. Snorlax's Poke Ball disappeared from sight and was teleported to Professor Oak's lab.
"Come to think of it, I think all of us could use a nap." Said Amanda. She let out a yawn, and all three friends fell asleep on the ground. After a couple of hours had passed, everyone was refreshed and ready to continue with their journey.
"I still can't believe you managed to take down that Snorlax." Said Michelle. "That thing is probably the most powerful Pokemon that we've seen so far."
"As powerful as a legendary Pokemon?" Amanda asked.
"A little more than that, I think." Said Mark.
"That might be a handy Pokemon to have once I get to the League." Said Amanda. They were almost back to the town when Amanda tripped on an oval shaped object and fell down.
"Are you all right?" Mark asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Said Amanda. "Look what I found, though." The object Amanda had tripped over was an egg that was colored yellow with brown and red spots on it.
"Guys, I think this is a Pokemon egg that I found." Said Amanda.
"That certainly does look like an egg." Said Michelle.
"I wonder what kind of Pokemon will come out of it." Said Mark.
"I'm wondering the same thing myself." Said Amanda. She stared at the egg with a curious look on her face.
"Pikachu." Said Pikachu, which meant 'This is certainly an exciting find.' You're certainly right about that, Pikachu. Discoveries like this one are quite exciting indeed. Which Pokemon do you think will hatch out of that egg?
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, Snorlax
Michelle's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Gengar, Sandshrew, Nidoran Female, Poliwhirl, Tangela, Chansey