Chapter 7 – The School Of Hard Knocks
Several more weeks had passed and Ash and his friends were now continuing to walk through the wilderness with a massive fog settling over the land.
"I'm not letting you out of my sight, Ash Ketchum, until you pay for my broken bike!" Misty yelled at Ash.
"Would you shut the hell up about that goddamn bike already?! God!" Rhonda groaned with a frustrated sigh while clenching her teeth tightly and letting out a slightly muffled exhale.
"'My bike! My bike!' That's all I ever hear from you!" Ash snapped irately.
"Right! And my name may be Misty, but I'm perfectly clear about what you owe me and you're not going to get away without paying," Misty insisted stubbornly.
"Maybe if you two had spent less time arguing and paid more attention to where we're going, we'd already be in Vermilion City by now," Brock chided them sternly. "Come on, we're already late. We've got to start the show."
"And we're not even halfway through this bloody godforsaken story, so let's get a move on, yeah?!" Rhonda yelled at the screen shrilly.
"Charmeleon!" Blaze chimed in with an affirmative nod.
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"I think we all need a little break," Brock suggested as he was sitting down on his backpack while quickly unpacking things from his bag. "Why don't I throw a little something together?"
"I'll say," Katie exhaled sharply while sitting down on the ground in pure exhaustion. "I don't really know how much further I can walk to be honest with you."
Misty and Ash looked on at Brock with astonished and amazed faces as they saw that Brock was quickly assembling a table together.
"Ah! There's nothing as satisfying as a cup of 100% Cerulean coffee," Brock declared as he turned around to face Ash and Misty. "You kids are too young for this stuff but it's really quite good."
"I'll have some," Shirley volunteered as she walked over to Brock.
"Since when do you even have coffee?!" Katie gawked in surprise and astonishment.
"Grandma Lena sometimes lets me have coffee with breakfast in the morning," Shirley explained.
"Lena offers me coffee too whenever I go visit her and Poppa Gregory, but I don't really care for it," Rhonda added with a shrug.
"How about some prune juice?" Brock offered as he then took out a jar of prune juice.
"I think I'll pass," Ash replied while staring at the jar of prune juice uncertainly.
"How about some herbal tea?" Misty proposed.
"You must be kidding," Ash groaned while shooting a dismayed and repulsed glance at her.
"Not so fast, Ash," Brock declared while wagging his finger. "I brought my official Pokemon tea set."
He then whipped out his own tea set, which contained etched designs of various Pokemon.
"Now, of course, the key to good tea and coffee is good water…" he explained before he put the tea set down and then dug into his backpack in search of more items.
"And I just happen to have a generous supply of sparkling, delicious, Mt. Moon pure spring water…" he added while trying to pull and yank something out of his backpack before whipping out a bottle of fresh water.
"And for the special snack, I have for you some French crepes."
"Wow, that actually sounds delicious," Katie marveled as Rhonda licked her lips in anticipation while rubbing her belly.
"They taste even better with chocolate syrup and whipped cream."
Misty then gasped in awe as her eyes sparkled with wonder and delight.
"I love French things. They're so romantic, aren't they?"
"Since when does a Japanese person like her even like anything French?" Rhonda retorted acerbically with an incredulous eye roll.
"Uh, I'm Japanese and I'm into French stuff. So is my sister," Yuki retorted empathetically while shooting her a dirty, pointed look.
"Oh… right!" Rhonda flashed a sheepish and embarrassed smile at Yuki as she then gave a quick, nervous laugh. "Silly me!"
Just then, Misty was awakened out of her reverie as she heard some loud slurping and crunching noises from Ash, who was enjoying a delicious snack of his own. He then suddenly received a swift blow to the head as he let out a sharp, painful cry.
"All that crunching and slurping is ruining my romantic daydreams," Misty growled threateningly while holding a big log in her hands and Ash quickly shielded his head with his hand and recoiled fearfully as if expecting another hit.
"Ah, by the way," Brock interjected as Misty and Ash whipped around to face him.
"Huh?"
"I can't cook crepes and I can't boil water if I don't have a fire," Brock announced as he was holding a ceramic bowl and a whisk in his hand.
Ash and Misty both gulped hard as they both straightened up while Brock stared them down intently.
"One of you is going to have to go into the forest and carry back some firewood," Brock informed them.
"That's an excellent idea, Brock, and I'm willing to sacrifice the excitement of searching for firewood to stay here and keep you company," Misty beamed widely.
"Well, I guess that means that…" Brock declared.
"Yeah, I'm going. Uh!" Ash groaned with an annoyed scowl as he stormed off.
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Meanwhile, Ash, Pikachu, Rhonda, Katie, Luthor, Jasmine, Yuki, Shirley and Mitchell were wandering through the forest in search of some firewood as the fog continued to settle heavily over the area.
"Here, firewood. Here, firewood," Ash bellowed as he scanned the area in search of some firewood.
"Um, I don't think that's how it works, Ash," Rhonda quipped.
"Yeah, what on earth do you think is even going to happen? You honestly think that it's just going to magically pop out of thin air?" Jasmine retorted with a disdainful scoff while waving her hands mockingly.
"No firewood here, Pikachu," Ash sighed as he wrapped his arms behind his head. "Why do I have to do all the dirty…?"
Pikachu then suddenly chirped and pointed as the heroes soon turned their attention to a hazy, yellow glow right before them.
"Hey, looks like a fire," Ash said.
Meanwhile, one of the boys was running on a small treadmill while panting heavily as another boy who appeared to be much older was holding a deck of cards in hand.
"All right, what's the name on this one?" the older boy asked as he showed a card of Pidgey.
"Is it a Zubat?" the boy asked.
"Listen, just because it's foggy out here doesn't mean that your brain has to be in a fog," another boy with fluffy green hair retorted.
The boy then paused for a moment before answering again.
"It's a Pidgey."
"Nice guess; you just got lucky," the boy with short and spiky red hair who was holding the card growled.
"Okay, now tell us what its special attack is," the green-haired boy demanded.
"Pidgey's attack is Gust," the boy answered while still panting heavily as he kept on running on the treadmill. "At level 5, Sand Attack. At level 12…"
"Everybody knows that," the spiky red headed kid smirked. "Now can you just tell me at which level Pidgey evolves and what's the name of Pidgey's advanced stage?"
"Um…" the young boy hesitated as he tried to think of the right answer.
"You better come up with answers quick or you'll have to run faster," the green-haired boy ordered with a diabolical, malicious smirk.
The boy then kept on running as fast as he could as he continued to rack up his brain for an answer, but nothing came to him. The other boys then continued to stare at him while holding candles as they waited for him to say something. But then, the boy could no longer maintain his pace and he quickly lost his balance before falling off the machine and landing on the ground on his knees.
"I'm sorry… I forgot…" the boy groaned, still standing on his hands and knees.
The boys then sighed exasperatedly as the spiky redheaded boy walked over to him.
"You forgot," he growled coldly. "Huh, and you call yourself a Pokemon Tech student. "Well, we don't want to study with the likes of you."
"I'm sorry," the younger boy apologized, hanging his head in shame.
"Hey, leave that kid alone. What's going on here?" Ash hollered as he charged right for the group of boys in a terrible fit of rage, with Rhonda and her friends racing alongside him.
Ash and his friends then stopped as Ash went on to confront the boys.
"There's nothing going on here," the spiky red headed boy insisted. "Mind your own business. This is a private training session."
"There's no room in our Pokemon school for losers who don't even know Pidgey's evolved stage," then green-haired boy replied. "We have to maintain standards."
"You don't maintain your standards by pushing people around whenever you feel like it!" Katie snarled with a pointed glare.
"I don't know anything about this school of yours, but if it's turning out students like you, I'd have to say that the standards are pretty low," Ash shot back as he helped the younger boy get up to his feet.
"That's right, Ash; you tell them," Misty declared as she suddenly showed up.
"Misty?!" Ash exclaimed in surprise as he whipped around to face the older redheaded girl.
"You better stop bullying that kid or you'll have to answer to us, right, Ash?" Misty retorted determinedly with an akimbo.
"Misty, you stay out of this. Leave it to me," Ash protested.
"You're right, Ash. There's no reason for both of us to get into a fight," Misty quipped with a wry smirk on her face. "It's very brave of you to take on all five by yourself."
Ash then chuckled nervously as he looked on at the group of boys with fear and trepidation in his eyes.
"I'll be here on the sidelines, cheering you on, waiting to drag your carcass away at the end," Misty added. "Show them that you're a man, Ash!"
"Oh, don't worry, Misty," Rhonda smirked haughtily as she popped her knuckles and cracked her neck while tilting her head to the side before getting into a fighting stance. "We're going to show these punks what it really means to mess with Team Legacy. We're going to teach them a lesson that they won't soon forget!"
She then pointed in the direction of the boys.
"Blaze, sic them!"
"Charmeleon!" Blaze hissed loudly as he then lunged at one of the boys before shooting a huge spurt of flames at him, setting him on fire.
"Agh, it burns!" the boy yelped as he frantically ran around in circles with flames flickering on his behind.
"Waldo, use Rapid Spin!" Katie ordered as Waldo spun in the air before slamming straight into another boy, knocking him from behind.
"Yeowch!" he yelled.
Another boy was also being slammed repeatedly to the ground from side to side by Bubba as Bubba had his vines wrapped tightly around his legs.
"Bubba, Bubba, Bubba!" Bubba growled furiously.
Spearow was also pursuing another boy aggressively while summoning powerful gusts of wind, sweeping him right off the ground as he soon became lost in the twister.
"Mommy!" he wailed in fear.
"Let's get out of here!" the spiky redheaded boy yelled as he and his friends dispersed and ran for their lives.
"I don't want to stick around to get my butt handed to me again!" another boy hollered at the top of his lungs.
"Wow, you really showed them," the young boy whispered with great admiration in his voice. "Thanks."
"What's your name anyway?" Rhonda asked as she approached him.
"My name's Joe," the young boy answered. "What about you?"
"The name's Rhonda and we're Team Legacy," Rhonda introduced herself as she gestured over to her friends. "And this is Katie, Luthor, Jasmine, Yuki, Shirley and Mitchell."
"So those are the infamous Tech students," Brock muttered while still stirring in his bowl with the whisk.
"Tech students?" Ash inquired curiously.
"Pokemon Tech. I think it's short for Pokemon Technical, a school for Pokemon trainers," Misty replied.
"I didn't even know that there was a school for Pokemon trainers," Rhonda marveled in surprise and astonishment. "I thought that everyone traveled from city to city getting Gym badges in order to compete in the Pokemon League."
"I know I had a flier in here somewhere," Misty added as she then dug into her pants pocket for a moment before whipping out a flyer. "Yeah, here it is."
"A Pokemon school in the middle of nowhere?" Ash wondered as Misty opened up the crumbled flyer and studied it carefully, only for Brock to quickly snatch it out of her hands.
"Hmm, let's see what it says here about the place," he said. "Pokemon Technical Institute. A boarding school for serious Pokemon trainer preparation. All students guaranteed to enter the Pokemon League upon graduation. Pokemon Technical is the educational facility for exceptional students who want to become Pokemon trainers in a very short time without having to travel on difficult badge-collecting journeys."
As he says this, Pikachu had gotten curious about the treadmill and was messing around with the buttons on the console, only to accidentally activate the machine as he was now running on the treadmill. However, Brock accidentally pushed a button that increased the speed and Pikachu tried desperately to keep up with the increased pace but to no avail as he soon lost his balance and fell off the machine.
"Oh, so that's the story," Brock mused.
"Getting into the Pokemon League without badges is too easy," Ash scoffed incredulously.
"Wait, there's more," Brock added as he glanced over at the flyer again. "Student entrance fees and tuition are in keeping with the highest standards set by Pokemon Technical."
"You know what that means, don't you?" Misty inquired as she exchanged knowing glances with Ash. "It's one of those snobby private schools only millionaires' kids can go to."
"You know, I was actually offered the chance to go to a private boarding school for rich kids when I was much younger, but my mum decided to put me in a public school because she felt that it was best for me to interact with all kinds of kids from many different walks of life," Jasmine chimed.
"Oh, that really makes me mad," Ash growled with a huge scowl on his face. "Where is this place, anyway?!"
"It's right over there," Joe said as he pointed right in front of him.
"Huh?" Ash gawked as he soon noticed a large school campus within the misty fog.
"Today's special class, fog battle techniques, is now ended," a female voice announced as the fog soon faded away. "Tomorrow's lesson will be snow competition secrets."
Joe then sighed sadly while sagging his shoulders.
"Oh, well. I guess tomorrow they'll make me into a snowman again."
"Do they treat you like this all the time?" Ash asked with a questioning expression.
"My friends are just trying to help me," Joe replied in a soft and quiet voice.
"You call them friends?" Ash gawked at him in utter disbelief and amazement.
"With friends like that, who needs enemies?" Brock scoffed as he walked over to the group.
"But they helped me to learn that Pidgey evolves into Pidgeotto at level 18, it learns Whirlwind at level 21, Wing Attack at level 31, and that as its level rises, it learns various tricks. After evolving into Pidgeot, it can fly at 1200 meters and speeds of up to Mach 2," Joe explained.
"Wow, that's really impressive," Shirley marveled with her eyes wide with astonishment.
"I don't know if I can even remember all of that stuff!" Rhonda exclaimed in dismay.
"I don't get it. If you know everything about Pidgey, why didn't you just answer them before?"
"Sometimes I make believe that I don't know all the answers, because if I do, they make the questions that much harder. But I have to stay here at Pokemon Tech. My mother and father worked hard and saved money, so they could pay to send me to school here. You see that guy over there?"
He then glanced over to see a much older nerdy-looking man with glasses sitting by himself while reading a book underneath a tree.
"He's an upperclassman. The classes are so hard here, some students are held back for many years. Everybody's too ashamed to go home without a diploma. That guy, he's in the beginners' class with me."
"You're a beginner?" Ash quipped.
"Beginners have the same qualifications as someone with two badges; the intermediate class has the qualifications of four and advanced students have the same as six. If you graduate, you can enter the Pokemon League without traveling around to collect badges," Joe continued. "That guy's a beginner, but he's so much older than everybody in the class, the kids don't bother to help him like they help me."
"That's horrible," Katie gasped with a mortified look on her face.
"What do the teachers say about that kind of help?" Misty asked.
"They don't even know about it, or if they do, they pretend not to," Joe replied.
"Well, I for one think this is a violation of students' rights that must stop immediately, if not sooner," Ash growled with his arms folded across his chest. "I want to meet the student in charge of this system and I'll see that it stops!"
"Mm, here's a picture," Joe said as he reached into his suit jacket and whipped out a picture of a pretty teenage girl with long brown hair and brown eyes.
"It's a girl?" Misty murmured.
"Oh, yeah, you're right about that," Ash mumbled while blushing brightly.
"Damn, she so fine," Luthor smiled widely with hearts in his eyes.
"I don't really see what the fuss is about; she's just an ordinary looking girl," Jasmine scoffed with narrowed eyes.
"I don't really see what the big deal is either," Rhonda shrugged nonchalantly.
"She can violate my rights if…" Brock added with a besotted look on his face.
"Hey! If she's making your life so miserable, how come you're carrying her picture around?" Misty demanded irately.
"I hate the way she treats us, but I like the way she looks," Joe replied earnestly.
"Oh brother," Rhonda grumbled with a face-palm.
"Typical," Yuki retorted with an eye roll and a deep sigh.
"Yeah, not like some other girls who treat you bad and look even worse," Ash mumbled in a dreamy and absentminded voice, his face still blushing bright red.
Misty then growled softly as she then unleashed her rage at Ash and Brock.
"While you two are slobbering over that dopey picture, I'm going to find this little witch and straighten her out!"
She then started marching over to the Pokemon Tech building with loud, galumphing stomps with a deep scowl and her fists clenched with fury.
"Miss top student. What's so great about her?"
"What's her problem?" Luthor laughed disdainfully. "She's just mad that she's not nearly as hot as that other white girl in the picture."
"Hey, Misty, wait!" Ash called out as he continued to watch Misty stomp furiously towards the building.
Meanwhile, Team Rocket was once again hiding in the trees as they were eyeing the Pokemon Tech Institute.
"That place brings back memories, James," Jessie frowned sadly.
"It certainly does, Jessie, and all of them are awful," James concurred.
"Tell me your tale of failure again," Meowth purred softly while putting down his binoculars.
"We studied for the big test," Jessie explained.
"So sure we would beat all the rest," James sighed while hanging his head sadly.
"And here's the part I like the best," Meowth piped in with a smug expression.
"We frolicked that night, for our future seemed bright," Jessie continued on reminiscing about that fateful night.
"But things weren't right," James countered.
"We got the lowest scores in the history of the school!" James and Jessie both wailed while holding hands together with stricken and heartbroken expressions.
"You should look on the bright side," Meowth quipped.
"What's the bright side?" James and Jessie questioned Meowth with both eyes welling up with tears.
"At least you guys were the top of the bottom," Meowth declared proudly.
"You're the tops, Meowth. Such a kind little Pokemon!" James and Jessie cheered as they both rushed over to embrace and nuzzle Meowth tightly.
These two are worse off than I thought. I liked it better when they were nasty… Meowth groaned to himself.
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"Giselle always practices here by herself," Joe explained as he and the gang stepped out of an elevator and entered the computer room. "Even if you beat her in a fight, it won't matter to her. At the Tech, it's your skill as a Pokemon trainer that counts more than winning in any one battle."
"I will never understand anyone that would be so infatuated with someone that treats them so horribly," Rhonda hissed to Katie in a low voice, with Katie nodding in agreement.
"That's what I'm hoping because I've got two badges," Ash declared boldly as he reached into his vest pocket and took out his badges.
"But Giselle is the top beginner here at the Tech. That's better than even having three badges," Joe shrugged. "Even though I'm at the bottom of my class, I'm still more powerful than someone with two badges."
"Argh! Hold on a second here," Misty snapped as she shoved Ash aside roughly. "I learned how to be a Pokemon trainer at the Cerulean City Gym. Are you saying that you can beat me?"
"Oh, Cerulean City. Water Pokemon," Joe said as he then walked over to an arcade machine and began playing a simulation game.
"How'd you know?" Misty scoffed.
"I always beat them on the simulator. See?" Joe answered as Weepingbell proceeded to take out Starmie with a single K.O. hit on the screen.
"What is this?" Misty yelled shrilly as she then took out her Poke Ball. "A simulation's one thing but this is real life! Let's battle."
"You'll be sorry," Joe retorted with a wry smile.
Meanwhile, Team Rocket were climbing onto another tree near a window and peeking inside with binoculars to get a closer look.
"What do you two have to battle for?" Ash demanded.
"Butt off, Ash!" Misty snapped sharply as she and Joe faced each other down. "I have the Cerulean City Gym's reputation to defend and I'm going to defend it!"
She then tossed out her Poke Ball as she summoned Starmie.
"Misty calls Starmie!"
"Too bad your water Pokemon won't be able to defeat my plant," Joe retorted with a confident smirk as he then tossed out his Poke Ball. "All right, Weepingbell, let's go!"
Weepingbell then emerged from the Poke Ball.
"Bell," it bellowed softly.
"I'll teach him about Pokemon," Misty growled. "Starmie, go!"
Starmie then shot out a huge burst out water at Weepingbell as it knocked it straight into the air, sending it flying across the room.
"Oh, but Weepingbell is strong against water Pokemon," Joe stammered in shock.
"True, but there's one thing you didn't know," a female voice addressed him as everyone turned to see who it was. "Your opponent is from the Cerulean City Gym. Her Pokemon has much more experience battling. You should've known that. You're an embarrassment to the whole school."
"But Giselle…" Joe protested.
"She's really pretty, isn't she?" Ash gushed with his cheeks burning brightly.
"Yeah, just like a movie star," Brock concurred.
"They like stars, do they?" Misty seethed to herself with her eyebrow twitching. "I'll be glad to show them some stars."
"I'm the top student in the beginning class of the most exclusive school in the world, Pokemon Tech," Giselle beamed with a confident yet haughty smile. "It's sad that others aren't blessed with my beauty, my talent, my humble attitude…"
"Humble…" Rhonda pretended to cough into her right shoulder at the last part of Giselle's statement.
"She sure sounds a lot like someone I know back home," Jasmine muttered softly to herself with narrowed eyes.
"People call me a star but I'm just Giselle," Giselle added, her confident and bright smile widening.
"I think she's even more conceited than we are," Jessie whispered to James.
"Yes, but she's awfully cute, isn't she?" James replied with his eyes shining with deep admiration and affection.
"Not as cute as Meowth," Meowth purred as he suddenly popped in, earning annoyed and exasperated looks from both Jessie and James.
"Oh, you're in the way!"
"Stop bothering us!"
Jessie and James both tossed Meowth out of the tree as he soon catapulted into the sky.
"MEOOOOWTH!"
"I want to continue to help my classmates be the very best they can be," Giselle said as she walked up to Joe. "To teach each other, respect each other, and insure the Pokemon of tomorrow. But you're a weakling."
"Uh…" James stammered, taken aback by what Giselle said.
"You'd better get stronger fast or before you know it, your fellow students will turn their backs on you for good," Giselle informed him with a cold and icy glare.
Joe just stood back in horror and disbelief as he watched Giselle turn around and walk away from him.
"Not so fast," Misty interjected. "A true friend wouldn't walk away from someone who needs their help. You may look beautiful but you remind me of an old saying about how beauty's only skin deep."
"Heh, jealousy's not very pretty either, is it?" Giselle scoffed while shooting a contemptuous glare at her.
"I better do something," Ash urged Brock.
"Wise Pokemon trainers never get involved in a catfight," Brock whispered softly in Ash's ear.
"Huh?" Ash gawked at him in confusion, not understanding what he was saying.
"Against your water Pokemon, I'll choose…" Giselle announced as she took out a Poke Ball from a shelf and then threw it into the air. "Graveler, go!"
Graveler then emerged from the Poke Ball.
"Groh…" Graveler growled softly while holding up its fists in the air.
"Graveler? But rock Pokemon are weak against water Pokemon," Brock retorted in a baffled and puzzled voice.
"But my Pokemon are at such an advanced level, they can beat water Pokemon," Giselle bragged.
Graveler then jumped into the air as it lunged straight for Starmie, only for Starmie to dodge it at the last moment by leaping out of the way and landing on the other side. Starmie then shot out a quick burst of water but somehow Graveler managed to deflect the funnel of water as it spun through it and then smashed right into Starmie's core. The force of the hit was so devastating and powerful that it sent Starmie flying right out of the window and into the pool.
Misty just stood there with a stunned and astounded look on her face as she stared at the broken hole in the window that Starmie crashed through.
"I can't believe it."
"No way! That's totally unbelievable!" Luthor protested angrily.
"How could Giselle really be that strong?" Yuki muttered in an incredulous and amazed voice. "This really should've been a no brainer for Misty there."
"Now we're by the pool, your Pokemon's specialty," Giselle declared with a triumphant and arrogant voice as Misty was cradling her injured and brutalized Starmie in her arms. "You can use a different water Pokemon if you want."
"Oh, and I'm sure you'll choose another Pokemon that's weak against water," Misty sneered as she shot a withering glare at Giselle.
"Pokemon are only as strong as the trainer who raises them," Giselle replied smugly. "A Pokemon that's weaker but better-trained can still win. It depends on the trainer. I hope you're learning from this, Joe."
"Who you calling Misty weak, you goddamn bitch?!" Shirley snarled angrily.
"Would you like to volunteer next, little one?" Giselle retorted with the smug smirk still plastered on her face.
Shirley then seethed furiously as her body shivered and trembled with rage.
"A Pokemon's level of training is just as important of a factor as a Pokemon's type in deciding a match. A first class Pokemon trainer can calculate that."
"Wait a minute! There's more to Pokemon training than calculating levels!" Ash protested indignantly.
"Who are you?" Giselle asked.
"I'm Ash from Pallet Town," Ash replied. "And I've already got two badges."
"And we're Team Legacy," Rhonda answered.
"Heh, in other words, you're a beginner," Giselle snickered at Ash's words as she nearly broke out into laughter. "And how long have you been trying to become a Pokemon trainer?"
"Um, about two months, I guess," Ash answered while glancing to the side briefly.
"Two whole months and you let your Pikachu walk free?!" Giselle gasped in astonishment. "You haven't even been able to tame it yet? Maybe your Pokemon are taming you!"
"I don't want to train Pikachu. Pikachu's my friend, and so are Butterfree and Pidgeotto!" Ash shot back fiercely.
"Is that all you have?" Giselle inquired in a quizzical and incredulous voice.
"Huh?" Ash gawked in a baffled voice.
"That's funny because even new Pokemon trainers usually have at least six Pokemon and you got two badges with only three," Giselle replied with an akimbo. "He sure was lucky, wasn't he?"
"Every one of mine has the power of two," Ash insisted while swinging his fist in determination.
"I wonder, with two months of Pokemon experience, your Pikachu should be at least at level 25, but it's probably not there yet, is it?" Giselle mused coolly. "I suppose you didn't know very much about Pokemon if you picked a Pikachu as your first one. Pikachu tend to be hard to handle. It says so in any beginning Pokemon manual."
Giselle then gasped in shock and amazement upon realizing that Ash really had no idea.
"You really didn't know? And you still got two badges? How funny! A Pikachu evolves into an electric Pokemon called a Raichu. It gets to be about 2 feet 7 inches tall. Pikachu can shock you, but otherwise, it's pretty cute, don't you think? So if you don't let them evolve, they make great pets, especially for little girls, but I'm sure you knew that, didn't you?"
"God, doesn't she ever shut up?!" Rhonda groaned while clutching her head tightly and letting out a sharp exhale.
"Wow, when she opens her mouth, she's just another stupid, nasty, dumbass hoe, isn't she?" Luthor scoffed with a disapproving shake of his head. "Man, what a waste."
"Knock it off!" Ash yelled angrily.
"All right, time to shut your trap!" Katie cried as she summoned Waldo out of her Poke Ball. "Waldo, let's go!"
"Wow, what a cute little Squirtle! It looks so adorable!" Giselle gushed brightly.
"For your information, it's already at a level 15 and is about ready to evolve," Katie retorted with a haughty smirk on her lips.
"Hmmm… let's see if it can match my Pokemon," Giselle chuckled softly as she then tossed her Poke Ball into the air.
"Cubone, go!"
Cubone then emerged from the Poke Ball.
"Cubone, Cubone, Bone, Bone, Bone… Cubone, Cubone, Cubone…" Cubone growled softly.
"Waldo, use Water Pulse!" Katie ordered as Waldo fired a burst of water at Cubone, only for Cubone to repel it by spinning its bone rapidly in front of it.
The heroes then balked in shock and astonishment at this turn of events.
"What the hell…?" Shirley sputtered.
"How is that possible?" Rhonda demanded in amazement.
"Cubone, use Boomerang!" Giselle ordered as Cubone flung its bone right at Waldo.
"Waldo, use Withdraw!" Katie yelled as Waldo then retreated into his shell and the bone actually bounced off the shell before hurtling right back towards Cubone.
Cubone then let out a sharp, terrified yell as it quickly jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding getting hit by its own bone.
"Wow, how resourceful. That's actually very clever," Giselle mused with pursued lips.
"Waldo, now use Rapid Spin!" Katie yelled as Waldo emerged from his shell again and then jumped into the air while spinning rapidly towards Cubone.
However, Cubone was able to beat him back by spinning its bone rapidly and knocking him away. Waldo then quickly flew back with a dazed and stunned face as he collapsed onto the ground.
"Waldo, no!" Katie cried as she rushed over to her Pokemon's side and cradled him gingerly. "No…"
"Pikachu, let's battle!" Ash declared as Pikachu then jumped into the fray.
"Pikachu!"
"Pikachu, use Shock Attack!" Ash commanded as Pikachu then charged up his electricity in his cheek pouches.
"Pow!" he shrieked as he then released a spark of electricity at Cubone, only for Cubone to deflect its electric attack.
"What?!" Ash gawked.
"Pikachu can't shock it," Giselle replied. "Cubone, start things off with your Leer Attack."
Cubone then used its Leer Attack as it managed to stun Pikachu right in its tracks.
"Pikachu!" Ash cried as Pikachu was swaying and rocking on his feet unsteadily from the attack.
"Pikachu, stare it down. Like this!" Ash instructed him by pulling down his cheeks and making a funny face.
Pikachu then copied Ash as it then tried to intimidate Cubone by making a funny face while the two Pokemon faced each other off.
"Cubone, Bone Club now!" Giselle ordered as Cubone clubbed Pikachu right in the head with its bone, causing Pikachu to back away in pain.
"Hey, that's not fair," Ash whined.
"I'm not playing around; this isn't a staring contest," Giselle rebuked him with a pointed glare. "This is a contest of power and skill between Pokemon. Cubone, it's time for the Boomerang now."
Cubone then tossed the bone into the air like a boomerang as it hurtled straight at him and knocked him straight in the head.
"Pikachu!" Ash cried as he rushed over to assess Pikachu's condition. "Throwing that bone is a cheap way to win!"
"Well, that's Cubone's special attack," Giselle explained. "It's authorized by the Pokemon League and it's perfectly legal."
"It's still a cheap trick," Ash growled irately.
Just then, Katie was surprised to see that Waldo was stirring in her arms and opening up his eyes.
"Waldo?" Katie whispered as Waldo then jumped up to his feet and got into a fighting stance.
"Squirtle, Squirtle!"
"Wow, your Squirtle doesn't know when to quit, does it?" Giselle retorted with a curious eyebrow.
Waldo then stared Cubone down with a determined and intense gaze as he prepared to strike.
"Cubone, use Boomerang!" Giselle commanded as Cubone flung its bone right at Waldo again.
"Waldo, use Rapid Spin!" Katie shrieked as Waldo then somersaulted into the air and began flying right at Cubone while spinning in his shell.
The heroes then held their breaths in anticipation as they watched Waldo about to collide with the bone.
"Oh no…" Yuki whispered.
"I can't watch," Rhonda whimpered softly while covering her eyes while secretly peeking through her fingers apprehensively.
But then to everyone's surprise, Waldo then slammed right into the bone as he knocked it away and it hurtled right into Cubone's head.
"Cubone!"
"Oh, snap!" Luthor laughed triumphantly as he saw that Waldo got a solid hit.
"Way to go, Katie!" Shirley cheered.
Cubone then sat on the ground sobbing hysterically as Giselle then knelt on the ground with her Poke Ball in hand.
"I lost. Good try, Cubone," she said with a sympathetic smile as she summoned Cubone back into the ball. "Come on back; don't cry."
"I got to admit, that was quite a gamble you took, kid," Giselle added as she turned her attention towards the gang.
"Well, I wasn't really sure if it was actually going to work," Katie shrugged with a laugh.
"Well, I'll be the first to admit that you did a really great job," Giselle replied as she walked over to Katie and held out her hand.
"Um… thanks," Katie hesitated shyly for a moment before she grabbed her hand and shook it.
"Keep up the good work, kid. You and your Squirtle might actually be going places," Giselle complimented her with great admiration in her eyes.
"Thank you, Giselle," Katie nodded as she and Giselle continued to shake hands.
"It was a once in a lifetime battle, wasn't it?" Joe marveled in awe.
"There's another way to win that's not in the textbooks too, isn't there James?" Jessie asked as she and James were peering through a chain-linked fence.
"Let's show them," James beamed excitedly.
"I can't believe I lost a match," Giselle sighed as she then opened her eyes and noticed that there was smoke billowing in the pool area.
"Oh no, it's not…" Ash groaned.
"Allow us to reintroduce ourselves," James and Jessie chorused as they both emerged from the shadows as the smoke slowly dissipated away.
"To protect the world from devastation."
"To unite all peoples within our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
"Jessie," Jessie smiled.
"James," James smirked.
"Team Rocket, blasting off at the speed of light," Jessie declared.
"Surrender now or prepare to fight," James added.
"Ugh, not those knuckleheads again," Yuki groaned as she exchanged incredulous glances with her friends.
"MEOWTH!" Meowth yelled as he then plummeted from the sky and plunged straight into the water, only to somersault right in between James and Jessie.
"I love a splashy entrance!" he exclaimed proudly.
"I've heard of Team Rocket," Giselle mused. "You're the one who got the worst grades ever on the entrance exam."
She then took out her Poke Ball as she stared them down with a confident smirk.
"How about your team versus our team?"
The boys also smirked widely while showing off their Poke Balls.
"The two of us against all of them?" Jessie froze in fear.
"But the rules say one on one," James yelped in terror.
"Bad guys don't play by the rules. Get them!" Giselle declared as she and the other students began pelting Team Rocket with Poke Balls.
Team Rocket then let out terrified and panicked screams as they raced out of the school grounds with the students still flinging Poke Balls right at them.
"Too many Poke Balls!"
"From now on, we play by the rules!"
"At least for a little while!"
"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!"
TLSTLSTLSTLS
A few hours later, the sun was now setting as Giselle was looking out into the sky.
"There are some things you just can't learn in school and that's a good lesson," she said.
"I'm going back home to start from scratch with my first Pokemon, just like Ash did," Joe declared as he walked over to Giselle. "Hey, Giselle, maybe we'll meet someday in the Pokemon League."
"I hope so," Giselle sighed. "I'll try my hardest to be a worthy opponent if we do."
"All right, if I keep your picture with me?" Joe asked.
"Sure. I have pictures of my friends too," Giselle replied.
"Huh? Do you have mine?" Joe quipped as he turned to look at Giselle quizzically.
"We're friends now, aren't we?" Giselle inquired as she got up to her feet and gazed tenderly at Joe before holding out her hand.
"Good luck, Joe."
"You too, Giselle," Joe replied as they both shook hands.
"See, why can't you and I be like that, Misty?" Ash retorted with a pointed glare at Misty.
"Huh? I'll tell you exactly why. Because he doesn't owe her a bike," Misty retorted with a haughty sneer.
Ash then chuckled softly while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"So maybe we'll battle each other someday," Giselle proposed as she walked over to Ash and her friends.
"I sure hope so," Misty replied.
"Me too," Ash added.
"Huh?" Katie whipped her head around as she soon noticed that a bright white light was enveloping Waldo. "Waldo?"
It was then that Waldo's form began changing and morphing quickly and after a few moments, the light faded away as he soon reappeared in a brand new form.
"Wow! Your Pokemon evolved too, Katie!" Rhonda marveled with a bright smile.
"Yeah, he really did," Katie smiled with a nod.
"I guess I'm the odd one out now," Luthor sighed while hanging his head sadly.
"Don't worry, Luthor. I'm sure that your Bulbasaur will be evolving too before you know it," Shirley reassured him with a smile as the gang was now walking away from the Poke Tech school.
"I sure hope so," Luthor groaned.