Chapter 37: How the Other Side Lives
An open field atop a hill overlooking a small village would normally be a very peaceful setting. However, the peace was soon interrupted by the arrival of Team Rocket. After another failure to steal Ash and Nikki's Pokémon they were sent off on one of their painful blast offs which ended in a crash landing in the field.
"Ow… those get more painful each time," Meowth groaned. Once the initial pain subsided the three of them got to their feet and dusted themselves off.
"So what went wrong this time?" Jessie wondered.
"You got me. I was sure this plan was foolproof," Meowth stated.
"There's no such thing as a foolproof plan when it comes to the twerps," James groaned.
"James has a point," Meowth sighed.
"Well I refuse to believe that! There's no way I'll admit defeat when it comes to those twerps!" Jessie declared.
"Oh my… is everyone okay?" Looking up the trio saw a young auburn-haired girl approaching them, her green eyes filled with concern. In her arms was a basket filled with berries.
"And just who are you?" Jessie inquired.
"Oh, forgive me. My name is Meredith. I live in a small village not far from here. I was out gathering berries when I saw you fall from the sky," the girl explained.
"Well that explains how she knew we were out here," Meowth commented. At that moment Meredith gasped and brought her hands to her mouth.
"Your Meowth… he speaks human language! How is that possible?!" she questioned.
"What can I say? I'm one of a kind," Meowth replied.
"Y-Yes… yes, you are," she agreed. At that moment Team Rocket's stomachs simultaneously growled.
"Oh boy, that last one really took it out of us," James groaned.
"Yeah. I'm so hungry I could out eat a Snorlax," Jessie added.
"There's plenty of food back at my village. I could prepare a meal for you if you'd like," Meredith offered. The promise of food was enough to convince the trio to follow the girl back to her village. As they walked Meredith tried to learn more about them.
"Where are you from?" she inquired.
"Kanto," James answered.
"Kanto? That's quite a ways from here. What brings you out to Legenda?" she wondered.
"We're here on business," Jessie said.
"I see. I hope your ordeal earlier didn't have a negative impact," Meredith said.
"That happens to us all the time. It comes with the job," James explained.
"You must have a very dangerous line of work with hazards like that," Meredith commented.
"You don't know the half of it," Meowth said under his breath.
"Oh! We've arrived," Meredith announced. Looking ahead of them they saw the village Meredith was talking about. It wasn't that large, only consisting of a small number of houses situated along a dirt path. Both people and Pokémon were busily going about their daily business. Each house had a small garden with a variety of crops growing, each one being tended to by a Pokémon. Nearby a stream flowed by, providing the village with their water.
"It's not much, but it's home," Meredith said.
"It certainly has a homely feel to it," Jessie commented. As they continued to approach the village Jessie, James and Meowth took notice of something.
"There wouldn't happen to be anywhere we can get our Pokémon healed around here, would there?" James inquired.
"Well, we don't have a Pokémon Center like some of the big towns and cities do, but we do have people and Pokémon that specialize in healing," Meredith explained. "If your Pokémon need healing I can take you…" Before she could finish her sentence the sound of engines filled the air. Immediately the people and Pokémon fled into any nearby house they could find.
"What's that?" Meowth wondered.
"Oh no! They're early this time!" Meredith panicked.
"Who's early?" James asked. Rather than answer Meredith headed for the closest house, motioning for Team Rocket to follow her. As confused as they were all three decided to do as she asked and followed her inside. Once they were inside she closed the door, locking it behind them.
"What's going on?" James asked.
"Every so often a gang comes here and demands that we give them an offering of food or else they'll destroy our village," Meredith explained. As soon as she was finished with her explanation a group of six motorcycles rode in on the dirt path, kicking up a thick dust cloud. The bikes came to a stop in the center of the village.
"Hey! Where's our offering?!" one of them yelled. Team Rocket presumed he was the leader of the gang. Shortly after his outburst an elderly man approached him. Immediately Meredith tensed up.
"Father, no!" she gasped.
"Who's that?" Meowth asked.
"His name is Duncan," Meredith answered. "He's our village elder… and my father."
"The elder, huh. Then why is he cowering in front of that biker thug?" Meowth questioned. The biker in question was a large muscular one with green mohawk haircut.
"Because that's the leader of their gang, Slater. He's about as mean as you can get," Meredith replied. The four of them kept watching as Slater got off his bike and stood in front of Duncan.
"You were supposed to have our offering ready for us by now. Where is it?!" the biker demanded.
"F-Forgive us, Slater, but we were not expecting you to arrive this soon," Duncan apologized. "If you'll give us more time we can…"
"I don't want to hear your pathetic excuses!" Slater roared, interrupting Duncan. "You're one job is to make sure to have our offering from this village, and you can't even do that!" The village elder covered up, hoping it would somehow protect him from the biker's verbal onslaught.
"You have 24 hours to have our offering ready for us," Slater announced. Duncan immediately looked up.
"T-There's no way we can prepare a suitable offering on such short notice," he protested.
"Well you had better find a way… or else." After handing out his warning Slater got back on his bike and led the gang out of the village. Once the bikers were gone the tension went away, only to be replaced by fear.
"How are we going to prepare their offering in 24 hours?" Duncan worried.
"Father!" Duncan looked up and saw his daughter approaching him, followed closely by Jessie, James and Meowth.
"Are you alright?" Meredith asked.
"I'm fine, my child. Just a little shaken up," he answered. Right then he noticed Team Rocket standing behind Meredith.
"I see you brought company with you," Duncan observed.
"Yes, Father. This is Jessie, James and Meowth. I found them on the hill near the village," she explained. With three visitors standing before him Duncan composed himself and welcomed them to the village.
"I apologize for the earlier incident, but you are more than welcome in our village," he said. "Come, Meredith. We must prepare a meal for our guests."
"Yes, and I shall have someone heal your Pokémon," Meredith added.
"Hold on. Are you sure you have time for that? That Slater guy did give you a 24 hour deadline," Jessie questioned.
"It will be impossible to prepare their offering in such a short time. No, I feel this time is better spent making your stay here as pleasant as we can," Duncan responded. As the father and daughter left Team Rocket looked at each other. Normally they wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of a situation like this, but for some reason they couldn't bring themselves to feel good about this.
That evening Duncan and Meredith offered to let Team Rocket spend the night. Though the trio tried to refuse their offer Duncan and Meredith persisted. Eventually they agreed to spend the night in the village. On her father's request Meredith led them to a small house near where she and her father stayed.
"Call if you need anything," Meredith said. She was just about to leave when James called out to her.
"What are you going to do about Slater and his gang?" he asked. Meredith hung her head.
"I… I don't know yet. The village is meeting to discuss that soon. Hopefully we'll have a solution," she explained.
"Why don't you use your Pokémon to drive them off?" Jessie wondered.
"That's not possible. Our Pokémon aren't trained for battle. If we try to use them to battle Slater's gang they'll get hurt for sure," Meredith replied.
"What about hiring someone to deal with the problem," Meowth suggested.
"We wouldn't have much to offer," Meredith replied. "Unless… I know it's wrong of me to ask this now, but would you be willing to help us?" The trio was torn. They wanted to assist the villagers, but at the same time they had their orders from Giovanni.
"We'd love to help, but…"
"We're currently in the middle of an important mission," Jessie said, finishing James's statement. "In fact we'll need to be gone early in the morning so we don't lose too much time." Meredith hung her head upon hearing that.
"Oh… I see…" They could tell Meredith was depressed when she heard the news, but they had no idea she would take it as hard as she did.
"I… I hope there aren't any hard feelings," James said.
"Oh, of course not. I understand. You have your mission to focus on," she replied. "At the very least you can rest here for your departure in the morning." She bid them good evening and left to attend the village meeting. Once they were alone the trio looked to each other.
"She seemed pretty depressed," Meowth commented.
"Would you if you knew your home was more than likely going to be wrecked by a gang of biker thugs?" James questioned.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Meowth agreed. "Too bad we can't do anything to help them."
"We need to stay focused on our current task," Jessie said. "Obtaining the twerps' Pokémon is our top priority." James and Meowth reluctantly agreed with her, but that didn't shake the bad feeling the trio had. They felt they had to do something for Meredith and the villagers for the hospitality they were shown. Only thing is… they didn't know what.
Meredith arrived at the location of the meeting just as it was starting. The meeting was to be held at her and her father's home. The entire village, which admittedly wasn't that many people, was present to discuss what they should do about Slater and his gang.
"There's no way we can gather enough food to satisfy them this time," one of the villagers said.
"Well we have to do something. They'll be here tomorrow," another voiced.
"But what? We can't take them on ourselves. Our Pokémon aren't trained for battle," a third stated.
"What about hiring someone to do that for us?" the first suggested.
"Like who?" the third questioned.
"How about those two with the Meowth," the second one said, referring to Team Rocket. "They seem like the kind who can drive off Slater and his gang."
"I already asked them, but they're already on an important mission," Meredith reported.
"Then all is lost," the first villager groaned. His feelings of hopelessness and despair soon spread to the rest of the villagers.
"Do not give up hope. Something will happen, I am sure of it," Meredith stated.
"All we can see happening is the destruction of our village," a villager said. As much as Meredith tried to keep the hopes of everyone up she had to admit he was right. At the current moment there wasn't much they could do but wait for the deadline to arrive… and prepare for what was to come.
Morning came fast, much too fast in the villagers' opinions. With the deadline fast approaching Meredith went to check on Team Rocket. As she approached the house she noticed it seemed rather quiet. She found out why once she opened the door, for it revealed an empty building.
"They must have left already," she assumed. "It's just as well. There was no need for them to be involved in our disputes." She closed the door and prepared to head back home when the sound of motorcycle engines filled the air.
"Already?! But the deadline hasn't arrived yet!" Meredith gasped. She ran to the village center where the rest of the villagers were gathered, looking on in fear as Slater and his gang rode in.
"What is the meaning of this, Slater?! The deadline is yet to pass!" Duncan demanded.
"Eh, we figured you wouldn't be able to get an offering prepared in time so there was no need to wait," Slater explained. "Looks like we were right."
"And how would you know we wouldn't have an offering in time?!" Duncan challenged. Rather than answer him Slater smirked. Right then it became clear why.
"You never intended to let our village be, did you," Meredith questioned.
"Bingo! Give the lady a prize!" Slater mocked.
"But why?! Why torment us so?! We never did anything to you!" Meredith protested.
"Why? Because we can!" Slater replied. He then grabbed a Poké Ball and threw it, calling on his Breloom.
"What are you doing with that Pokémon?!" Duncan asked.
"I'm through talking! Breloom! Use Focus Punch on that house!" Slater ordered, pointing towards a house on his left. The Mushroom Pokémon drew a fist back and charged towards the house. As he approached his fist took on a whitish glow.
"No! Don't!" Meredith protested.
"Like I'm going to call him back just because you said so!" Slater scoffed. "Just face it! There isn't anyone among you strong enough to stop us!"
"That's where you're wrong! Smokescreen!" From out of nowhere a Weezing descended in front of the Breloom and spew a Smokescreen cloud, blanketing the area around the Mushroom Pokémon.
"Hey! What's going on?!" Slater yelled.
"Poison Tail!" While his Breloom was trying to find his bearings a bladed tail shot out of the smoke cloud, striking the Breloom and sending him crashing to the ground next to Slater's bike. One look at the downed Mushroom Pokémon revealed he was knocked out.
"Who did that?!" Slater demanded.
"I'm glad you asked." Moments later a Tropius and Yanmega descended and blew away the Smokescreen, revealing the identities of the attackers.
"Out of the sky, falling with grace.
A spark in the eye, arriving with haste.
Ready and willing to put you creeps in your place.
Jessie!
James!
Meowth's the name!
Team Rocket, burning a trail!
Blazing a path!
Kickin' some tail!
Wobbu Wobbuffet!
Mime Mime Mime Mime!"
"You… You came back!" Meredith exclaimed as Team Rocket made their entrance, being flanked by Weezing, Seviper, Tropius and Yanmega.
"After what you did for us yesterday it was the least we could do," Jessie responded.
"We appreciate it, but what about your mission?" Meredith questioned.
"It can wait," James answered. "Besides, we can take care of these clowns in no time." That one comment sent a wave of anger through Slater.
"Why you… Just who do you think you are?!" he roared.
"Simple… your worst nightmare," Meowth replied.
"Oh yeah? We'll see about that," Slater said. "Get 'em, boys!" The rest of the gang called on their Pokémon to attack Team Rocket. All in all they faced down a Rhyhorn, a Hypno, a Heracross, a Mightyena and a Purugly. Yet despite the opposition they were facing Team Rocket appeared confident.
"Shall we show them what happens to those who mess with Team Rocket?" James inquired.
"Let's," Jessie agreed. "Seviper, use Haze!"
"Smokescreen, Weezing!" James called. Both Pokémon spewed thick clouds from their mouths, Seviper a Haze cloud and Weezing a Smokescreen. The charging Pokémon all stopped in their tracks, unsure of what to do.
"Don't stop! Keep going!" Slater ordered.
"Magical Leaf!"
"Silver Wind!" Before the gangs' Pokémon could get back into action Jessie and James had their own Pokémon go on the attack. From within the smoke cloud Tropius attacked with Magical Leaf, striking the Rhyhorn while Yanmega hit the Hypno with a Silver Wind. Both attacks were strong enough to incapacitate their two targets, leaving the biker gang with three battle-ready Pokémon. The smoke cloud then cleared, revealing a confident Team Rocket.
"Amazing. They don't even look like they're trying," a villager commented. The rest of the villagers echoed his statement, each of them in awe of the skill Team Rocket was showing against Slater's gang.
"What are you doing?! Get them!" Slater demanded. The rest of the gang responded, mostly out of fear of what would happen should they disappoint their boss.
"Heracross, Megahorn!"
"Mightyena, Crunch!"
"Purugly, Body Slam!" The remaining three Pokémon shook off the initial shock and resumed their attack, charging towards Team Rocket.
"Let's take care of these losers!" Jessie declared. "Silver Wind!" With a furious flap of her wings Yanmega created a Silver Wind blast that easily took out the Mightyena.
"Weezing, Sludge Bomb!" James called. Weezing spat out a glop of sludge that exploded in the Purugly's face, stunning the Tiger Cat Pokémon to the point where Jessie could continue their attack.
"Poison Tail!" she called. Seviper lashed out with his bladed tail, slashing the Purugly and knocking her out of the battle. That left the Heracross as the lone Pokémon the bikers had left.
"You won't beat us that easily!" the Heracross's trainer declared. "Hyper Beam!" The villagers gasped as the Heracross began building up the energy needed for the attack.
"Alright! Let them have it!" Within seconds the Hyper Beam was fired at Team Rocket.
"Watch out!" Meredith screamed.
"Wobbuffet, Mirror Coat!" Jessie shouted. She threw out Wobbuffet's Poké Ball, calling on the Patient Pokémon. As the Hyper Beam neared his body took on a pinkish glow. When the Hyper Beam hit instead of exploding it was reflected back at the Heracross. The Single Horn Pokémon watched in fear as his own attack was turned on him. Team Rocket smirked as they watched the Hyper Beam exploded, eliminating the Heracross from the battle and leaving Slater's gang with no remaining Pokémon to battle with.
"No way! They beat us?!" Slater exclaimed.
"And that's why you don't mess with Team Rocket," Jessie declared. As Slater watched his gang recall their defeated Pokémon he stared daggers at Team Rocket. He was supposed to have the baddest gang in the area, and yet here were a couple of nobodies making fools of them. Well he wasn't going to stand for that.
"I will NOT be made a fool of!" he roared. He then grabbed a Poké Ball and threw it out. When the Ball opened a hiss of anger escaped Meowth's mouth.
"Of all the Pokémon for him to have…" the Scratch Cat Pokémon seethed. Standing across from them was the one Pokémon he despised more than anything…
A Persian.
"You may as well give up now. The Pokémon you've faced so far were mere kittens compared to my Persian," Slater boasted.
"Is that so? This should be fun then," Jessie commented. She was about to send out one of her Pokémon when Meowth stopped her.
"He's mine," he stated. Normally Jessie wouldn't like being stopped like that, but given Meowth's history with Persian she let this one slide.
"He's all yours," she said. She and James then recalled their Pokémon to make sure the battle would remain one-on-one. Slater's Persian sneered as Meowth stepped forward.
"(You think you can beat me?)" he questioned.
"No… I KNOW I can beat you," Meowth corrected.
"You sound pretty confident now, but let's see you stay confident after this! Slash!" On Slater's command his Persian lunged at Meowth, his claws bared and ready to strike.
"Child's play," Meowth scoffed as he easily moved to the side, avoiding the Persian's attack.
"You'll have to do better than that to hit Meowth," James stated.
"Alright, use Slash again!" Slater ordered. His Persian once again tried to strike with Slash, and once again Meowth easily ducked to the side.
"Let me show you how it's done!" Meowth yelled. Before the Persian could react Meowth attacked using Scratch, catching the Persian in the side. The attack didn't hurt that much, but it did annoy him. He glared at Meowth, earning a smirk from the Scratch Cat Pokémon.
"What's wrong? Am I moving too fast for you?" Meowth taunted.
"Okay then, let's try you 'special' Slash," Slater said. His Persian got his meaning and once again lunged at Meowth.
"It didn't work the first two times, so why keep trying?" Meowth questioned as he moved to the side. The lunge, however, was a ruse. As soon as he landed the Persian slapped Meowth down with his tail. With his opponent down it was much easier for him to make solid contact with Slash. Meowth groaned as the attack did critical damage.
"I guess I forgot to mention that we don't really like to play fair," Slater announced. As Meowth shook off the attack he looked at the Persian.
"Now, end this with Slash," Slater ordered. His Persian went to lunge for Meowth again, this time intent on ending the battle. The Scratch Cat Pokémon, however, appeared calm.
"Well I guess it's time to let you in on a little something," he stated.
"And what would that be?" Slater wondered.
"I don't like playing fair either!" As soon as the Persian was close enough Meowth grabbed a paw-full of dirt and threw it in the Persian's face, blinding the Classy Cat Pokémon.
"Time for me to go to work!" Meowth announced, and that's just what he did. With the Persian unable to see he attacked with Fury Swipes, repeatedly slashing at the Persian. The Classy Cat Pokémon tried in vain to defend against the attack, but without his sight that was proving to be impossible.
"And now for the finishing touches!" Meowth shouted. He ended his Fury Swipes and drew his paws back, his claws fully extended. He then slashed at him in an X-pattern, the Scratch attack leaving six crossing slashes across the Persian's face. With his attack done Meowth stepped back and watched as the Persian swayed back and forth a few times before falling to the ground.
"Amateurs," he spat.
"N-No… way… That's… impossible…" Slater stuttered. This was not what was supposed to happen. Persian was Slater's ace-in-the-hole, and now he was at his feet… defeated. The villagers, who had been watching silently up to this point, erupted with cheers once Slater's Persian was defeated.
"They did it! They won!" one cheered.
"Slater's gang has been taken down!" a second added.
"You see that, Slater?! Even your gang can be made to fall!" Duncan declared. "Meredith. Contact Officer Jenny. Tell her we have some criminals that need to be apprehended."
"Hah! We'll be long gone by the time the cops get here!" Slater boasted.
"That's what you think! Arbok, stop them with Glare!" Jessie shouted. Before Slater and his gang could attempt an escape they found themselves staring into the eyes of Jessie's Arbok.
"(Freeze!)" the Cobra Pokémon hissed. His eyes shone a bright yellow, putting Slater and his gang under the paralyzing power of his Glare.
"W-What the?! I… c-can't move!" Slater griped. The rest of his gang also voiced their displeasure at not being able to move.
"I don't think they'll be going anywhere, at least not until Officer Jenny arrives," James declared. Now that Slater's gang was completely defeated the villagers once again burst into cheer. Meredith once again left to contact Officer Jenny, all the while three individuals silently slipped away unnoticed.
Within minutes Officer Jenny arrived with a police van to load Slater's gang into, as well as a flatbed truck to transport their motorcycles. She was busy getting statements from all the villagers while the rest of the officers loaded Slater and his gang into the police van.
"So these guys stepped in and took on this gang all by themselves, and defeated them?" Officer Jenny asked as she took a statement from Meredith.
"Yes. Oh, you should have seen them. They made Slater and his gang look rather foolish," Meredith said.
"I wish I would have so I could thank them," Officer Jenny replied. "Did they say who they were?" Meredith thought for a bit.
"Umm… I think they said they were Team Rocket or something like that," she answered. Officer Jenny froze when she heard the name Meredith spoke of.
"Did you say Team Rocket?" she questioned.
"I believe so," Meredith replied. She noticed Officer Jenny had a look of concern on her face.
"Is something wrong?" she inquired.
"I had no idea Team Rocket had begun operations here in Legenda," Officer Jenny responded. "This is not good, not good at all."
"Why isn't that good?" Meredith wondered.
"Listen, I don't know what they did to earn your trust, but you shouldn't get yourself involved with them. Team Rocket is a criminal organization based out of Kanto whose sole purpose is to obtain powerful Pokémon through any means they find necessary," Officer Jenny explained.
"W-What?! But that… that can't be true! They risked so much to help us," Meredith argued.
"I don't know what their reasons were for helping you, but they only look out for themselves, not others. My advice… be wary around them," Officer Jenny advised. By then Slater's gang had been loaded and secured in the police van. Officer Jenny headed back to her motorcycle and left the village along with the van and truck. Meredith just watched, trying to process what she had just been told.
"No… She can't be right. There's no way those three were criminals. There's just no way." While she thought Duncan approached her, a note in his hand.
"What's that?" she asked.
"Don't know. It's addressed to you," Duncan replied. Meredith had no idea who would leave her a note. Rather than stand there and wonder she took the note and looked at it.
"It's from Jessie, James and Meowth!" she exclaimed. She quickly opened the note and began to read:
By now I'm sure Officer Jenny has come to pick up that creep and his gang, and I'm also sure you've told her who we are. She probably responded by saying we, or at least or organization, is nothing but a bunch of criminals. Well I'm going to set the record straight…
She's right.
Our organization, Team Rocket, is filled with nothing but criminals. We are as corrupt as they come, but that doesn't mean we don't have hearts. While we are criminals we couldn't leave without helping you solve your problem with that gang. Though we will never see each other again know that we were glad to have known you, your father and the people of your village, and hope you can live in peace from now on.
JJM
Meredith didn't know what to say as she stood there clutching the note. It pained her to know that Officer Jenny was right about them being criminals, but it gave her peace of mind to know that, despite that, they could be persuaded to do good.
"I'm glad to have met you too," she whispered.
High in she skies over Legenda Team Rocket floated along in their Meowth balloon. Their recent activities were out of character for them, but they felt good about it.
"You think that'll be the last time they have to deal with that creep and his gang?" James wondered.
"After what we did to them I doubt if they'll want to look to make trouble again," Jessie replied.
"Yeah, we did put them in their place but good," Meowth added. "I have to admit, being good felt good."
"Yeah, but being bad feels even better," Jessie added. Her comrades agreed with her.
"Now, back to our mission… the conquest of Legenda!" Jessie declared. A chorus of cheers followed as they continued on their way.
"I wonder what the twerps have been up to?" Meowth wondered.
"Watch out, Totodile!" Ash's warning came too late for Totodile to dodge the incoming attack. For a while Ash and Totodile had been engaged in a difficult battle against a wild Magmar. What should have been an easy battle was proving to me more of a challenge than Ash thought because of the diverse moves possessed by the Magmar.
"Come on, Ash! You can do it!" Nikki cheered.
"(Don't give up, Totodile!)" Pikachu added.
"Use Water Gun!" Ash instructed. Totodile inhaled and spewed a powerful stream of water at the Magmar, but the Spitfire Pokémon blocked it with Protect before fighting back with Focus Blast.
"Dodge it!" Ash shouted. Totodile jumped to the side and avoided a direct hit, but the ensuing explosion was powerful enough to throw him even further to the side.
"(This isn't good. That Magmar is just too strong,)" Buneary commented.
"(Yeah, but that's just to make Ash and Totodile that much more determined to win,)" Pikachu replied. True to his words the looks on the faces of Ash and Totodile were those of pure determination.
"He's strong, but we're even stronger," Ash declared. "Let's show him what we're made of, Totodile!"
"(You got it!)" the Big Jaw Pokémon replied. As he got to his feet his body took on a white glow.
"T-Totodile!" Ash gasped.
"He's evolving!" Nikki exclaimed. His body grew larger, becoming more bulky than before. When the light faded Totodile's evolution into Croconaw was complete.
"Alright!" Ash cheered. He took out his Pokécomm and scanned his new Pokémon:
Name: Croconaw
Species: The Big Jaw Pokémon
Pokécomm Entry: Once it bites down, it won't let go until it loses its fangs. New fangs quickly grow into place.
"That's awesome!" Ash exclaimed. As he continued to check out his new Pokémon he noticed there was another surprise for him.
"Hey! It looks like you learned a new move too," he commented. "Okay, Croconaw. You ready?"
"(You bet I am!)" the Big Jaw Pokémon replied.
"Okay then! Use Bite!" Ash instructed. Croconaw charged forward, his gaping maw wide open. The Magmar responded by spewing forth a Flamethrower.
"Dodge and stay on course!" Ash shouted. Croconaw did as he was asked and avoided the attack, never deviating from his set course. He quickly reached his target and bit down on Magmar's arm. The Spitfire Pokémon grunted in pain and tried to shake Croconaw off, but the Big Jaw Pokémon refused to let go. In one last attempt he struck Croconaw on the end of his snout with a Fire Punch. The sudden attack was enough to make Croconaw let go, but by then the damage had been done. Croconaw's new-found power was quickly weakening the Magmar, meaning the battle would soon be over.
"Okay, it's time to use your new move, Croconaw! Hydro Pump!" Croconaw spewed forth a stream of water, but unlike with Water Gun this one was much more powerful. Magmar had no time to protect himself from the super-effective attack. The stream of water blasted him off his feet, leaving him barely able to stand.
"Okay! Let's go, Poké Ball!" Ash hurled the red-and-white sphere at the downed Magmar, watching as it made contact and pulled him inside. Now it was time for the waiting game.
"Come on, stay in," Ash said. The ball shook one time… two times… three times… and then the resulting 'ping' signaled a successful capture.
"Alright! I caught a Magmar!" Ash cheered. Shortly after the successful capture the Poké Ball vanished, being transported back to Professor Oak's lab in Pallet Town.
"I'll call to check on him at the next Pokémon Center," Ash said.
"I'm sure he'll be just fine," Nikki commented. "But man that was a tough battle. You and Toto… I mean Croconaw really had to work for that one."
"Yeah, but it was worth it in the end," Ash said. "Right, Croconaw?" The Big Jaw Pokémon was too busy with his usual dance, hopping from one foot to the other.
"(I guess that's one thing that'll never change, even if he does,)" Pikachu sighed.
"I wouldn't want it any other way," Ash said. As Croconaw continued to dance Ash's thoughts went to his new Pokémon, and what it could possibly mean for his upcoming Area Boss battle.
Jessie, James and Meowth have gotten a taste of the hero's life by protecting a defenseless village from a motorcycle gang, while Ash adds new Pokémon to his roster in the form of a newly-caught Magmar and a newly-evolved Croconaw. What effect will these events have in the future? Find out in the next chapter of Search for Power!
Please review