Hey readers - here we are with not only the next new chapter, but also the final part of this particular episode : )
I have to say, it feels a little strange to be done with this one, considering I personally think it's one of the more iconic episodes of the early anime. Still, at the same time it's nice to be able to wrap it up, so that next time we can move on to a different episode, another one which just so happens to be a favourite of mine : )
But enough about that. Instead, let's discuss the result of the latest voting topic. I truly am beyond thrilled to announce that the winner of the latest encounter vote was... Kangaskhan! I couldn't be happier about this one you guys. I actually came exceedingly close to getting a Kangaskhan in the previous Nuzlocke. As some of you might remember, I ended up getting a Tauros, but in that particular area of the Safari Zone, I had managed to narrow my two eligible encounters down to Tauros and Kangaskhan through the Duplicate Clause. Not that I was unhappy about getting a Tauros, but I was still a little disappointed not to get a Kangaskhan then, so I'm ecstatic that I'm getting to add one to Nolan's team now XD
Outside of that however, I just want to say an ENORMOUS thank you to everyone that has reviewed, favourited, and followed this story. The support that has been shown to the story is amazing, and it means so much to me, so thank you : )
Please remember that Pokemon is not mine, only my OC's are : )
I hope you enjoy this chapter : )
The Waterflowers of Cerulean City - Part 6
A hushed silence fell over the battle arena of the Cerulean City gym, as everybody struggled to absorb the magnitude of what it was that they had just witnessed. Nobody dared speak right away. Nobody dared blink. Nobody even dared breathe as they all looked on with baited breath, waiting for someone, anyone, else, to react first.
Fortunately for all the other people and Pokemon in the room, they weren't kept waiting very long.
"YYYEEESSS!" the Water Type Pokemon Specialist screamed so loudly in celebration, it was almost like she was trying to shake the heavens in the sky themselves, "YOU DID IT STARYU! YOU DID IT! THAT WAS AN AWESOME FIRST BATTLE!"
"Staryu!" the strange creature of the Water Type Element cheered as well, and the jewel at the centre of its body briefly illuminated. The others could only surmise that that was the Star Shape Pokemon's way of expressing its happiness.
Other in the stands, Nolan couldn't help but swallow hard. That awkward feeling was quickly coming back to him, having temporarily been forgotten in his excitement at watching the match unfolding before him. Now he felt slightly bad again. Because as happy as he was for Misty at the victory she had achieved, he also couldn't help but feel sympathy for Ash's defeat. He quickly found himself hoping that he would not be placed in this awkward situation again for a very, very long time.
"Misty's totally awesome!" a nearby voice suddenly caught the golden haired boy's attention, pulling him out of his somewhat morose thoughts. Glancing over, Nolan saw that Daisy was the one who had spoken, and the surprise was evident in her tone.
"Well..." Lily drawled in a light mocking tone, unaware that Nolan was listening to the three of them, "We three got the good looks in the family, so I guess she had to get some talent!"
Nolan couldn't help but scowl in annoyance. He didn't like the way that Misty's sisters constantly seemed to be trying to put her down. Still, family relationships were always complicated, and Nolan simply didn't know enough about the situation to be able to say anything in his friend's defence. It was for those reasons alone that he bit his tongue and kept quiet on the subject. He still didn't look very happy about it though.
Meanwhile, back on the watery battlefield, across the surface of the swimming pool from where Misty and Staryu were both still celebrating, Ash couldn't help but sigh forlornly. With a dejected expression on his face, the raven haired Pokemon trainer quickly unclipped Butterfree's pokeball from his belt, and pointed it in the direction of where his unconscious friend lay floating on top of the water.
"Return Butterfree!" he said, and once his beloved Bug Type type Pokemon was safely back inside the pokeball's confines, Ash whispered gently, "You tried your hardest, and I'm proud of you for that. Thank you".
Clipping the pokeball back on to his belt, Ash was left wondering what tactic he should try next in order to turn this battle around and hopefully secure himself a victory. In truth though, the raven haired boy knew that his options were somewhat limited right now. With Butterfree down for the count, and Pikachu refusing to battle against one of their dearest friends, that left Ash with only one Pokemon he could use to try and win this fight. So with a deep sigh, and hoping that Pidgeotto could somehow manage to pull this off, Ash gently unclipped her pokeball from his belt, and tossed it high into the air.
"Pidgeotto!" the raven haired boy called as the red and white sphere arched through the air, "I choose you!"
The capsule device snapped open, and in a haze of crimson coloured light, Pidgeotto materialised into existence in the air above Ash's head. The large avian creature ruffled her tail feathers as she quickly assessed the situation around her.
"Geotto!" she shrieked menacingly. Ash couldn't help but smirk the Flying Type Pokemon's obvious enthusiasm. He could always count on Pidgeotto to be up for a battle after all.
"Pidgeotto! Don't let your guard down!" Ash quickly warned her, not wanting her to underestimate their opponent and end up in the same pitiful condition that poor Butterfree had, "It took down Butterfree, so stay focused!"
"Pidgeotto!" the large avian creature nodded her understanding. She quickly narrowed her eyes in the direction of Staryu, who easily stood its ground upon its floating platform.
"Alright go!" Ash commanded with a fierce thrust of his finger, wanting to seize the first move of this round before Misty could do any more damage to his chances of earning that coveted Cascade Badge, "Use your Whirlwind and blow it away!"
Immediately following through with the young boy's order, Pidgeotto began beating her powerful wings together as hard as she could. It started off slow at first, with just a couple of ripples appearing on the surface of the swimming pool beneath the growing breeze. Then the winds started to really pick up through, and those ripples turned into waves. In a matter of moments, Staryu's platform was being jolted around all over the place, and the Star Shape Pokemon struggled to remain aboard it.
"Staryu!" the brown Water Type Pokemon cried out in alarm.
Having seen the damage that Staryu had taken from Butterfree's Gust attack earlier in their battle, Misty had no intention whatsoever of finding out just how much of an effect a Whirlwind would have against her beloved Pokemon. To the effect, the orange haired girl hastily issued her next instruction.
"Quick Staryu!" Misty's voice began to take on a nervous tremor as the makeshift storm that Pidgeotto had created continued to grow stronger and stronger in intensity, "Wait out the Whirlwind beneath the water!"
"Staryu!"
Once again, the Star Shape Pokemon dropped down into the water with a tiny splash, successfully dodging the worst of the miniature storm that Pidgeotto had managed to summon up. The next few moments were a little tense as everybody waited to see what would happen next, but sadly it ended up being rather underwhelming. The Whirlwind attack gradually faded until it fizzled out altogether, and it quickly became apparent that Staryu had taken absolutely no damage whatsoever from the air-based attack.
Needless to say, it came as quite a large disappointment to young Ash.
"Pidgeotto!" the raven haired boy exclaimed urgently as he quickly figured out that this was a repeat of the tactic that had been used against Butterfree, "Fly up higher! Staryu's about to come up from beneath the water!"
Unfortunately for Ash however, the words had not soon left his lips, before more were passing by Misty's.
"Rapid Spin!" the orange haired girl commanded with an air of confidence. It was obvious that she knew that she had Ash on the ropes now, and was determined to see this battle through to the end, "Full power Staryu!"
"STARYU!"
With another of those unearthly shrieks that Ash was quickly coming to associate with the bizarre star-shaped creature, Misty's beloved Water Type Pokemon suddenly came crashing through the top of the swimming pool, spraying water droplets in every direction, as it once again repelled itself through the air like a deadly Catherine wheel. And just like it happened before with Butterfree, Pidgeotto just wasn't quite able to dodge the incoming attack in time.
"GEOTTO!"
The Bird Pokemon squawked in what must have being considerable pain as she suddenly found herself being repeatedly slashed and sliced at by the jagged points that made up Staryu's body, almost like the creature was some kind of bizarre spinning top. From his floating platform down below, Ash looked on with a dark grimace. This was not good. Misty had this battle turning out in almost an identical fashion to the prior one. The raven haired boy knew that if he allowed this to continue, then he could kiss his chances of winning the Cascade Badge that day goodbye. So with pure and unadulterated determination coursing through every bone in his body, Ash hastened called out for Pidgeotto to use an attack of her own.
"Strike back with your Wing Attack!" the raven haired boy urged his Pokemon desperately.
Immediately picking up on the barely disguised plea in her trainer's tone, Pidgeotto grimaced, but fought through the pain that Staryu's Rapid Spin attack had inflicted on her. In one graceful manoeuvre that would put even the Sensational Sisters down below to shame, Pidgeotto smashed one of her large powerful wings into her enemy, scoring a direct hit against the scarlet coloured jewel that made up the core of its body.
SPLASH!
"Yu! Staryu!" Staryu groaned as it hit the water at a breakneck speed, the force of Pidgeotto's Wing Attack having been enough to propel it back down to Earth. Forcing itself to ignore the pain which was currently riddling its body, Staryu quickly swam back up to the surface, spraying water everywhere as it suddenly re-emerged. It didn't take a genius to see that it was clearly beginning to tire.
Tiredness which Ash fully intended to exploit.
"You're almost there Pidgeotto! Keep it up!" Ash called encouragingly to his own Pokemon, who was currently soaring through the air up over his head, as she shrugged off the last of the pain she had felt from the earlier Rapid Spin attack, "Now try using your Gust attack! Blow Staryu straight out of the water!"
"Pidgeotto!"
Not wanting to risk feeling something like that Rapid Spin attack again, Pidgeotto quickly followed through with the order, not wanting to give her enemy the chance to strike back. The Bird Pokemon immediately began beating her large powerful wings together as quickly as she could. Soon enough, she had managed to summon up a small but powerful vortex of swirling wind, and without so much as a single moment's hesitation, Pidgeotto quickly launched it in the direction of her enemy in the pool down below.
"Star!"
Try though it might to withstand the intense Gust attack being sent its way, the winds generated by Pidgeotto were simply much too strong, and Staryu - having been caught somewhat off-guard by the rapid secession of attacks - quickly found itself being all-but scooped out of the swimming pool. That was a tense couple of seconds as everybody watched on with baited breath, as the Star Shape Pokemon appeared to be suspended in mid-air for a moment. Then...
CRASH!
Moments later, everybody was quickly put out of their misery, as the fallout of Pidgeotto's Gust attack made itself known to them.
Staryu, being totally helpless to do anything about it, was launched through the air above the swimming pool at full pelt. Unable to control its fall, the Star Shape Pokemon was then slammed into the back wall of the battle arena at such an impressive force, it was a wonder that all five points of its body didn't break away instantly. Misty couldn't help but wince in sympathy for her beloved Water Type Pokemon as it weakly slumped down to the ground with a low moan. She knew that the chances of it getting up from an attack like that soon were slim to none at best.
"Yu!" the poor Star Shape Pokemon gasped in what could only be described as agonising pain. From where it lay crumpled on the ground, half propped up against the wall, everybody focused on the jewel at its core as it ominously began to flash. Rather than with the seven colours of the rainbow however, it looked more like a light bulb about to fizzle out. It didn't take long for everyone to figure out what that meant.
It meant that Staryu was on the brink of unconsciousness.
"Oh, no!" Misty gasped in dismay, looking horrified at just how quickly and easily Ash and Pidgeotto had been able to turn the battle in their favour, "Staryu's energy is just about to run out!"
At the opposite end of their watery battlefield, Ash was practically euphoric.
"Good job Pidgeotto!" the raven haired boy praised his beloved Flying Type Pokemon for all the hard work she was putting in, "You managed to bring us to a tie for moment! You'll need to keep it up though if we want to be in with a chance of earning that Cascade Badge!"
"Geotto!" Pidgeotto cawed back in a voice which Ash could only interpret as her promising to do her best.
Meanwhile, from his position over in the stands, Nolan couldn't help but heave a great sigh of relief. He immediately felt bad for doing so however. He hadn't wanted Staryu to be knocked out anymore than he wanted Pidgeotto to be. Still, if there was any consolation to be had by the end of this battle, at least both trainers would be able to walk away knowing that they had secured at least one victory each. That would hopefully be enough to negate any bickering over the whole affair at any rate.
Back down upon the surface of the swimming pool, it was Misty that was heaving a sigh of disappointment this time around. With a heavy heart, the orange haired girl dejectedly produced a pokeball, and pointed it in the direction of her collapsed Pokemon.
"Return Staryu!" she called, and a moment later, the Star Shape Pokemon was absorbed back into the device's confines in a hazed of red light, "You've earned a nice long rest. Feel better soon".
She stroked the cold metal surface of the pokeball fondly for a moment, before she quickly put it away in her backpack. The Water Type Pokemon Specialist was just debating which of her final two Pokemon, her Starmie or her Goldeen, she ought to use in the final round of the match, when...
BBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!
When everything went to hell.
"Holy Articuno!" Nolan bellowed in shock from the stands, where the force of... whatever had just happened almost jolted him out of his seat, "What on Earth was that?!"
Unfortunately, nobody was able to provide him with an answer.
Ash, Misty, and all three of the Sensational Sisters were as equally stunned as Nolan himself was. To their collective amazement and abject horror, the entire gym appeared to be shaking. It was all Nolan could do to cling onto Meadow and Welkin as the building trembled around them. Falling out of his seat, Nolan took cover and curled his body up protectively. The tremors seemed to last for hours, but after a few minutes but not a moment too soon, the shaking subsided, and the commotion seemed to die down. Realising that it was safe to look, Nolan cautiously picked himself up and glance around. His icy blue eyes quickly sweeping across the length of the battle arena, it didn't take the golden haired boy long to pinpoint the exact source of the disturbance. When he did, his jaw dropped wide open in astonishment. He was thoroughly gobsmacked.
The back wall... was gone.
Literally where a solid brick wall had firmly stood less than a minute earlier, was now a large gaping hole. Broken bricks and chunks of shattered concrete were raining down, and a huge thick dust cloud had been kicked up by the disturbance. It was so dense and dirty that it obscured most of the far side of the gym from view. Nolan couldn't help but wonder what could possibly have caused the wall to collapse though. Was it the result of a gas explosion? A cave-in due to a weakness in the structural integrity of the building? Something even worse?
And then, to the collective amazement of everybody present in the half-destroyed battle arena, a large indistinctive shadow appeared in the middle of the dust cloud, and a voice began to speak out.
"Prepare for trouble!" a painfully familiar voice echoed from within the depths of the smoggy dust cloud.
"Make it double!" another voice, also one which the younger trainers had regrettably become acquainted with, picked up the recited.
From the spot where he had taken cover from the falling debris, Nolan couldn't help but grimace darkly, as he realised exactly what was going on, and exactly who was behind of all this. Ash and Misty, both of whom had abandoned their battle in favour of getting back to solid ground when the ceiling had started to collapse, both scowled in frustration as well. Ironically, Nolan now found himself wishing that this abrupt and unexpected turn of events actually was something as simple as a gas explosion or a cave in. This was much, much worse after all, and as he began sprinting down the rickety staircase of the stands in order to join his friends down on the lower level by the pool, Nolan couldn't help but grown out of sheer irritation as Team Rocket continued performing the rest of their so-called 'motto'.
"To protect the world from devastation!" Jessie's voice picked up where her male counterpart's had left off.
"To unite all peoples within our nation!" James' voice soon followed up with, his tone practically oozing with smugness.
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!" Jessie cried as some of the thick heavy dust began to clear from the air.
"To extend our reach to the stars above!" James added as the steady fall of collapsing concrete finally seemed to lessen.
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!" Jessie announced proudly as they started to come into focus.
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!" James declared boldly, as the shadow in the dissipating cloud soon sharpened into clarity.
"Meowth, that's right!" Meowth cried, thankfully spelling the end of the criminal organisation's latest 'performance'.
Grinding his teeth and clenching his fists in sheer frustration, and scarcely able to believe the unimaginable gall of these three, Nolan stomped down the rest of the steps and made it to the edge of the swimming pool unhindered. With a scowl lining his handsome face, the golden haired boy went over to join his friends, both of whom were also sporting similar looks of angry disbelief, as they all got their first proper look at the scheme that Team Rocket had come up with this time.
Nolan had to admit, he was taken off guard by what he saw.
It hadn't exactly being clear before - what with the dark cloud shrouding the criminal organisation from view, not to mention the fact that half of the ceiling had been caving in - but now that the dust had settled and Nolan could see them clearly, he realised that the three criminals hadn't actually invaded the Cerulean City gym on foot. Rather, the three of them had arrived on one of the most bizarre contractions that Nolan had ever seen in his entire life. It appeared to be some sort of massive industrial vacuum cleaner, attached to an giant hose. What possible purpose the machine could serve the infamous trio, Nolan had no clue, but there no doubt in his mind whatsoever that it would be something diabolical. And unfortunately for the golden haired boy, he wouldn't have to wait very long until everything came to ahead.
"Check out that hair!" a voice cut in, using a rather rude and obnoxious tone.
Glancing over his shoulder, Nolan realised that the three Sensational Sisters all must have followed him down the stairs. Daisy had released her Seel from his pokeball, clearly as a precaution, though the Sea Lion Pokemon still looked very tire from his last battle. They were all coming over to join Nolan, Ash and Misty, all the whilst staring at Team Rocket in bewilderment. Violet had been the one who had spoken, indicating towards Jessie's outlandish hairstyle.
"Like, who invited the party crashers?" Daisy wanted to know. Seel was curled up near her feet, looking protective as he guarded her.
"Sorry to break in on you ladies!" Jessie sneered down from the contraction she was standing on condescendingly. The mocking smile on her face made it pretty clear that she was including Ash and Nolan when using that word.
"Team Rocket!" Ash yelled in annoyance, angry that these pests would dare to get in the way of his big gym battle, "What are you three doing here?!"
Meowth was only too happy to answer that inquiry. The Scratch Cat Pokemon sneered nastily and raised his claws in an attempt at intimidation.
"We've come to do a little fishing! Meowth!" the furry white Pokemon exclaimed gleefully, "Everybody knows dat Cerulean City gym has lots of Water Pokemon.. "
"Water Type Pokemon that will be of a great benefit to Team Rocket" James chuckled darkly, leering down at the humans standing by the pool, "Which is why we'll be taking them off your hands now!"
Nolan, Ash and especially Misty all glared daggers up at them.
"Oh no you won't James!" the orange haired girl was seething. Already she was rummaging around in her backpack, and a moment later she pulled out a pokeball, which she quickly threw into the air, "We won't let you! Right Starmie?!"
In a haze of crimson coloured light, Misty's beloved partner Pokemon materialised on the edge of the swimming pool at her feet. The large purple Pokemon quickly looked around, and was soon caught up to speed with the unravelling situation.
"Starmie!" it shrieked in an angry tone of voice as it dropped down into the pool with a small splash, but Team Rocket were far from being intimidated by the Water Type Pokemon though. In fact, they seemed more amused than anything else.
"Ha!" Jessie sneered at the fuming Misty, who face practically aglow with nasty condescension, "Water Type Pokemon might have the advantage in the water, little girl, but if we steal that water away..."
"Then they'll all be ours for the taking!" James picked up where his partner had trailed off in her mocking.
"And Meowth knows just how to do it!" the Scratch Cat Pokemon added gleefully, his tail wagging happily in obvious excitement.
Sadly, Nolan nor anybody else had a chance to react to the criminal trio's rather bold declarations. Before any of them could so much as blink, let alone intervene, the Scratch Cat Pokemon had produced a device which looked a lot like a large remote control. The talking Pokemon then jabbed at a button on it, and the weird contraption that Team Rocket were all standing on suddenly whirred into life.
"Like... what are they trying to prove?" Lily demanded to know, clearly not getting the fact that this was an attempted robbery, and that all of the Pokemon in the Cerulean City gym were currently in grave danger.
To the collective surprise of all of the young Pokemon trainers watching this spectacle unfold, it quickly became apparent what Team Rocket's plan was. Upon Meowth pressing the button, the giant hose suddenly coiled around and the mouth of it ended up being dipped into the swimming pool. Two clicks on the remote control later, and the engine inside the vacuum cleaner roared into life. The water within the Cerulean City gym's swimming pool instantly began being drained away.
All three of the Sensational Sisters gasped in alarm and surprise, whilst Misty and Nolan both looked on furiously. Ash meanwhile looked shrewdly the machinery Team Rocket were using to do all of this.
"A massive vacuum and a giant hose..." the raven haired boy muttered slowly under his breath to himself, before his russet coloured eyes widened as he realised exactly where he had heard those self-same words before, "Ah! Team Rocket were the robbers who broke into that store back there!"
Upon hearing his best friend's realisation, Nolan couldn't help but slap a hand against his own forehead in disbelief.
"We should have guessed right from the off that it was them!" the golden haired boy frowned and shook his head, as he watched the water level in the pool quickly become lower and lower. He wasn't the only person in the room to be doing so either.
"Our swimming pool!" Violet gasped in horror, relieved that they had had the foresight to remove all of the performance Pokemon from the depths before the battles had began. It could have been a disaster otherwise.
"They're sucking it dry!" Misty was grinding her teeth together so hard, it was a miracle that they hadn't already crumbled into nothingness.
"That's our water!" Daisy yelled over the cacophony at the gang of thieves, her tone and expression both very indignant.
Rather then be fazed by the blonde haired Sensational Sister's words however, all three members of Team Rocket who laughed at her menacingly. Meowth took a small step forwards on the humongous vacuum cleaner, and held up his remote control gleefully.
"Right" the Scratch Cat Pokemon drawled in a manner that practically oozed with sarcasm, "I should give it back!"
And with a couple of presses against various buttons, that's precisely what he did.
In a manoeuvre that stunned Nolan and all of the others, the gigantic hose suddenly flipped itself out of the water, and reared up in a manner that was eerily reminiscent of a Gyarados about to go on a rampage. Meowth then pressed another button, and then...
WHOOSH!
And then Nolan got blasted with water.
"Waaah!" the golden haired boy cried out in alarm as he was suddenly knocked clean off his feet. Gasping for air, Nolan quickly pieced together what had happened, as he clung on to Meadow and Welkin for dear life. Meowth must have turned the vacuum cleaner into reverse, because instead of draining away the swimming pool's water as it had been a second ago, the hose was now spraying out the crystal clear liquid, almost like a jet wash. The force of the makeshift tidal wave had been enough to dunk everybody else into the swimming pool as well, and soon they were all bobbing about in the pool as they fought against the underwater torrents that their attackers were creating.
"We've got to protect the Pokemon!" Misty yelled frantically over the rushing water. The girl was clinging on to her Starmie, unwilling to let her beloved partner Pokemon out of her sight with all this going on.
Violet, who was floating in the pool closest to her, huffed indignantly.
"Like, what about my hair?" she shrieked angrily, trying desperately to keep her head above the water so that her hair and make up wouldn't be ruined by the makeshift whirlpool they were all being dragged down into.
Cackling gleefully from his position at the top of the huge vacuum cleaner, Meowth decided that he had toyed with his prey for long enough.
"All right!" the Scratch Cat Pokemon exclaimed excitedly, before he started fiddling with his remote control again, "Now's da time to suck dem up! Meowth!"
Barely even a split-second later, that's exactly what started happening.
"Waaah!" Nolan cried out in alarm as he felt his whole body being pulled closer to the hose, which was now back in the water and was sucking it up again, pulling all of the helpless Pokemon and their trainers along with it, "Meadow! Welkin! Hold on to me! I won't let Team Rocket get you!"
"Bulba!"
"Pidgey!"
It was clear that both of Nolan's Pokemon were very frightened by the events that were quickly spiralling out of control, but they were also both very determined to escape this horrible fate. To that effect, Meadow suddenly reached out with her Vine Whips, and managed to snag a hold on one of the larger pieces of broken concrete that littered the edge of the swimming pool. It was a struggle to keep her grip against all the rushing water, but by some miracle, the little Bulbasaur was able to reel all three of them back to dry land.
"G-Good job... M-Meadow!" Nolan managed to splutter out as he coughed up great lungful's of water. Welkin also thanked his teammate for the quick thinking which had saved them.
"Bulbasaur" Meadow modestly shrugged off their praise.
Knowing that they didn't have long to rest on their laurels however, Nolan and his two Pokemon quickly turned their attention back to the matter at hand. Glancing around at the once pristine battle arena, which was now thoroughly drenched and dishevelled, Nolan was relieved to see that Ash, Misty and all three of the Sensational Sisters had managed to pull themselves to safety as well, for how they had managed that feat was totally beyond him. Sadly, their relative safety came as a small consolation in the long run.
"SSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLL!"
Everybody heard the feeble moan coming from the lips of Daisy's signature Pokemon, and looking out over the rough waters, Nolan was utterly horrified to see that the cute Sea Lion Pokemon was still struggling against the waves, being sucked down and down and close to the hose which would spell its doom.
"Ah!" Daisy screamed in fear, utterly distraught at the idea of losing her beloved Water Type Pokemon, "Come back, Seel!"
It was no use though.
The adorable fluffy white Pokemon was helpless to do anything as he was dragged closer and closer towards the grasp of Team Rocket. He quickly slipped beneath the surface of the water, and vanished from sight entirely. And unfortunately for all of them, Seel quickly became only the first in a growing line of the criminal organisation's victims.
"PIKA!"
Whipping around upon hearing that familiar voice; Nolan, Ash and Misty were all petrified when they realised that Ash's beloved partner Pokemon was also about to suffer a similar fate.
"Pikachu!" Ash yelled in panic, having never felt more helpless in his entire life as he watched the small yellow creature being dragged further and further away from him.
"We have to do something!" Misty gasped in terror, looking sick at this frightening turn of events, "We can't let them just take Seel and Pikachu!"
Ash rounded on her, a look of indescribable desperation blazing in his russet coloured eyes.
"But what can we do?!" the raven haired boy asked frantically, all-but begging her to have the answer.
Misty's shoulders slumped hopelessly, making it quite evident that she did not. Fortunately for Ash and Pikachu however, and by proxy Seel as well, his best friend did. The golden haired boy in question was quickly scanning the swimming pool with his icy blue eyes, before he nodded confidently to himself.
"Ash! Everyone on our side is safely out of the water!" Nolan bellowed over the cacophony at his best friend, who just stared at him in confusion, "But that machine and Team Rocket are all getting soaked by it!"
Ash just threw him a look that spoke of his perplexed state of mind. Nolan growled in frustration as he had to spell it out to him.
"Water conducts electricity!" the golden haired boy exclaimed, frantically gesturing towards the swimming pool and to where Pikachu was just barely managing to keep his head above the surface, "Let's use that fact to our advantage!"
Ash gasped as he finally cottoned-on to what his best friend was trying to tell him, before he glanced over towards his struggling partner Pokemon with a look of pure determination.
"Pikachu!" Ash roared over all the noise being caused by the rushing, crashing water, "Use your Thunder Shock!"
By some miracle, the small Electric Type Pokemon managed to hear him over the deafening din echoing around the room, and as he rushed ever closer to the hose which was drawing him in, Pikachu's whole body began to glow with a shockingly bright light.
"PIKA... CHU!"
Knowing that there was precious little time to waste, Pikachu immediately let loose his powerful Thunder Shock attack, and in a matter of moments the entire swimming pool was crackling with electricity. Lightning seemed to jump across the surface of the water in great arches. Fortunately, Nolan and his friends, as well as all of the Sensational Sisters managed to successfully dodge being caught up in the high-powered attack.
Team Rocket on the other hand... weren't quite so lucky.
"Aaaaaahhh!" the trio of criminals all screamed and shrieked and wailed as Pikachu's intense electricity tore through their bodies, frying every nerve and causing all three of them to suffer through something akin to unimaginable agony.
"It's times like these that make me want to go straight" James managed to hiss through clenched teeth as the attack ended, whilst Jessie and Meowth both just groaned.
Unable to control their flailing limbs; Jessie, James and Meowth all toppled off of their huge contraption, their rigid bodies tumbling down into the swirling waters below.
Then it was their turn to be sucked through the whirlpool.
"Ah..." James sighed, unable to move his body so much as an inch as the paralysis began to set in, "Now I know how it feels to be all washed up!"
Jessie, who was equally as stiff as a board, just huffed in irritation at the bad pun.
"We'll never come clean!" she promised darkly.
Before anybody could say anything else however, all three members of the criminal organisation were then sucked beneath the water, and disappeared out of sight. A moment later, a visible bulge appeared in the hose, so it quickly became apparent what had happened to them. Team Rocket, just like Seel presumably had before them, must have become trapped within the vacuum cleaner and were now unable to escape. And whilst that in itself was good as it meant that they couldn't cause any more trouble, it also came with a rather massive downside.
And that Pikachu was still being drawn towards it as way.
"Pikachu!" Ash yelled in panic, frantically looking around for anything that he could use, desperate for a way to save his beloved partner Pokemon.
"Quick Ash!" Nolan called out, watching as Pikachu was rapidly losing the fight to keep his head above the water's surface, "Flip it into reverse! Just like Meowth did!"
Gasping as he realised what the other boy was talking about, Ash nodded his head in understanding, before he set off running around the edge of the swimming pool, practically becoming the very definition of the word 'determined'. He couldn't lose Pikachu after all. He just couldn't. So crossing the room at such a speed that his legs burned in protest from the effort, Ash made it over to the contraption that Team Rocket had the stolen in record-breaking time, and lunging towards the remote control that Meowth had dropped, he frantically began pushing buttons on it.
Moments later, he apparently hit the right one.
With an almighty clatter that was probably loud enough to wake the dead, the vacuum cleaner roared loudly its primary function was abruptly changed. Almost immediately, the swimming pool began to fill up again as the drained water was returned to it, just milliseconds before Pikachu would have been sucked into the hose. Ash heaved a sigh of relief when he realised that he had made it in time. Across the pool from him, Nolan and Misty both did much the same.
"Seel!"
When a joyous voice could suddenly be heard, everybody looked down towards the rapidly filling swimming pool. To their immense delight and utter relief, they saw that Daisy's Seel was now swimming through the water, clearly having been freed from the confines of the machine when Ash had thrown it into reverse. And that wasn't the only good news.
It took a couple of moments for anybody to notice it over the noise of the rushing water, but soon enough Nolan and the others all began to hear what sounded like muffled shouting. Realising that it was coming from within the giant hose, they all quickly realised that it must be Team Rocket. It appeared that the gang of awful criminal were all stuck inside the long rubbery appendage, and they clearly were very unhappy about it.
Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your point of view, they weren't going to be stuck for very long.
Straining under the impressive force that the blockage was causing to build within it, it wasn't long before the hose reared up and began snaking about, completely out of control. It was by sheer coincidence when the gigantic hose flipped over by itself, so that its open end was pointing towards the hole in the wall that Team Rocket had made with their rather rude intrusion. It was still aimed in that direction when the water finally pushed them all free.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
Jessie, James and Meowth all screeched in fear and alarm as the pressure finally built too high and sent them flying through the air, like a cork being released from its bottle. All three of them whizzed through the hole in the wall created at a breakneck pace.
"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" all three of the criminals screamed as they were sent hurtling out of the gym, and into the sky outside. They quickly became nothing more than a mere speck on the horizon, and that could only mean one thing.
The danger had passed.
Nolan and his friends were safe once more.
After the unexpected but thankfully very brief confrontation with Team Rocket, it didn't take very long before the situation was entirely under control. Whilst Violet had carefully been inspecting the damaged wall to ensure that the roof wouldn't suddenly come crashing down around them, and Lily had been busy taking a count of the gym's Pokemon to make sure that none of them were missing, Daisy had made a call to the police department to report what had happened. Officer Jenny had come by shortly afterwards and collected statements from all of them, whilst also overseeing the operation of removing the stolen machinery from the gym's battle arena. She apparently was very keen to make sure that the objects in question were returned to their rightful owner. Now, the six young Pokemon trainers - with the addition of Meadow, Pikachu and Daisy's Seel - were all gathered in the reception area of the Cerulean City gym as things finally began to wind down.
"You know something Ash..." Misty was saying as she gave the raven haired boy in question a somewhat playful look, "I just realised that we never got to finish our match!"
Ash looked at her in surprise. With all the excitement, he had actually forgotten all about that as well.
"Yeah..." the raven haired boy nodded his head sadly, realising that all of that hard work had now amounted to nothing, thanks to the untimely intervention, "And me and Pidgeotto had just managed to start turning it around too!"
Misty smiled at the reminder, but chose not to comment. Nolan on the other hand, opened his mouth to reply.
"Perhaps from the perspective of your friendship, its better this way" the golden haired boy said wisely, and when his two friends turned to look at him in confusion, he quickly elaborated, "What I'm saying is that you both managed to defeat one of the others' Pokemon, so both of you can walk away with your heads held high".
"True enough" Misty nodded in agreement.
"Perhaps..." Ash sighed in obvious disappointment whilst his shoulders slumped dejectedly, "But I wanted to win outright though, not draw. I guess this means that I'm not going to get that Cascade Badge after all".
As if to prove him wrong however, Misty stepped closer to the raven haired boy she was grateful to call a friend. Behind her, all three of her older sisters shared knowing smiles.
"Wrong again Ash" the orange haired girl giggled teasingly, and when Ash glanced up at her, he was surprised to see that she was holding out something for him to take, "Me and my sisters have all talked it over, and we've decided that we want you to have this".
A Cascade Badge.
To Ash's utter astonishment, Misty was holding out a Cascade Badge for him to take.
The raven haired boy just barely managed to pull his gaze away from the glistening blue trinket in her palm to stare at her in bewilderment. He was surprised even further when she giggled at his perplexed expression.
"But... but I didn't beat you!" Ash reminded her, his tone practically riddled with confusion, "What about all that stuff you said before? About your family's honour? And, you know, about how a gym can't just give out a badge for no reason?"
Misty smiled, but patiently shook her head at him.
"That's true. I did say all that, and I still stand by it" the orange head girl confirmed, before she quickly continued so that Ash wouldn't have a chance to interrupt her, "But I also said that you had to earn it. And for the first time in a very long time, all four of us agree on something".
She gestured over her shoulder towards where her sisters were standing. All three of them were nodding their heads in agreement.
"We all agree that its mainly down to you and Pikachu that all of the Pokemon in the Cerulean City gym are now safe again" Misty continued, and Ash stared at her with wide eyes, "And being awarded a badge for special services to the gym is a perfectly legitimate and honourable way of earning one. So please take this Cascade Badge Ash. You truly do deserve it".
Misty said the words with such genuine conviction that Ash honestly just couldn't argue of her. So reaching out with trembling fingers, he reached out and took the priceless object from one of his nearest and dearest friends.
"I..." Ash seemed to be struggling to speak, he was so overcome with emotion. In the end, he settled for just a simple "Thank you Misty"
The orange haired Water Type Pokemon Specialist just smiled and nodded at him.
Off to the side, Nolan couldn't help but beam at his two closest human friends, but chose not to comment. He didn't want to interrupt this heart-warming moment between the two of them after all. Still, as he cuddled Meadow closer to his chest, he couldn't help but think that this was probably the best way this whole situation could have ended. He watched as Ash and Misty began animatedly discussing their match, with the occasional input from the Sensational Sisters as well.
Yes, Nolan silently thought to himself. This was the perfect ending indeed.
It wasn't long before it was time for Nolan and his friends to hit the road again. Despite the fact that Misty had left things on a much better note with her sisters this time around, the poor girl still felt rather tense, and was eager to get moving again as soon as possible. As such, the group were now all standing outside of the Cerulean City gym, saying the last of their goodbyes. Most of what was said was spoken with genuine sincerity and true pleasantness. One member of the group however apparently just couldn't see Misty on her way without one final word of teasing.
"Misty, you just go right on trying to be a Pokemon trainer" Lily said, and for a moment it seemed as well she would just leave it there. Naturally however, she playfully added, "You might as well be good at something, because you'll never be stars like us!"
The orange haired girl in question, who had begun smiling at what she thought would be a compliment, immediately scowled and turned an unpleasant shared of red.
"You keep that up, and you'll be seeing stars!" Misty angrily retorted to the older girl's teasing.
Nolan just shared a secretive smile with Ash. The two boys were slowly starting to understand the Sensational Sisters' sense of humour, even if Misty herself had yet to grasp it. The two of them remained quiet however as the four young female trainers continued saying their farewells, or at least, their family's version of farewells.
"Chill out Misty, be careful" Daisy playfully scolded the youngest of her siblings, before she continued in a much more genuine tone, "You know we love you".
The words were said with such undeniable sincerity that even Misty couldn't argue with them.
"Yeah" the orange haired girl in question humbly nodded her head, obviously pacified by the statement, "I love all three of you too. Even when you do wind me up something rotten".
Daisy, Violet and Lily all just laughed at their little sister's brutally blunt remark. Before any of the three beautiful women had a chance to reply to it though, no doubt with something else that was teasing, the sound of footsteps crunching against the gravel drive met their ears. Looking up, all six of the young Pokemon trainers saw somebody else approaching them, but only three members of the party recognised the person.
"Ash. Nolan. Misty" none other than Brock greeted them warmly as he drew closer to the group, "Hey you guys".
"Yo, Brocko!" Ash welcomed him in turn, whilst Nolan and Misty settled for just silently smiling and nodding their heads at him in acknowledgement.
"How'd the battles go?" the aspiring Pokemon breeder asked them curiously. Ash chuckled happily, and opened his jacket to reveal the Cascade Badge he was proud to carry.
"See for yourself" the raven haired boy beamed. Brock took notice of the glistening blue trinket, and smiled approvingly.
"Cool" he said by means of congratulations, before he shifted his attention over to Nolan, and raised an inquisitive eyebrow, "And what about you Nolan? How did you do?"
Again, Nolan didn't feel the need to verbalise his thoughts, and instead just gestured proudly towards the blue teardrop-shaped badge he proudly had pinned to the front of his hoodie
"Awesome! Congratulations to both of you!" the aspiring Pokemon breeder praised them both, and the two younger boys both beamed again, "But if you guys are still set on leaving today, then we should probably get going right now. It won't be too long before it gets dark after all, and we'll need to set up a camp for the night if we're not going to stay in the city"
Having no further reason to stick around at this point, the other three youngsters all nodded in agreement. Bidding Misty's sisters one last final farewell, the quartet of travelling trainers all began to walk away down the driveway.
"Have a safe journey Misty!" Daisy, Violet and Lily all called out after her retreating figure, "And come back for a visit soon!"
And just like that, everything was wrapped up, and Nolan and his friends were on their way again. As they set off down the road which would eventually take them outside the borders of Cerulean City, the golden haired boy tuned out the idle conversation between all of the others, in which Ash and Misty were both happily recounting their battle to Brock, as well as informing him of the confrontation between themselves and Team Rocket. Instead, Nolan's thoughts happily turned back to the brand new gym badge that he had pinned to his chest. He fondly ran his fingers along its sooth surface, and wistful dreamed of earning his next one. Only one thing was a certainty for the boy in that moment however.
Despite all of the excitement and unexpected surprises, he certainly didn't regret his visit to the Floral Lagoon City.
And that marks the end of 'The Waterflowers of Cerulean City' : )
Yay! Ash and Misty ended this episode on a much friendlier note than they did in the canonical episode. That was something I was very keen to include in my version of events, especially considering they have a much better relationship earlier on in their travels together then they did in the anime. I also wanted Misty to leave on a slightly better note with her sisters too, even if there is still a little bit of family tension to be resolved later down the line : )
But I think that's enough about this chapter's content for now. Let's instead move on to this week's voting topic, and I'm very pleased to say that it's once again another new encounter vote. You guys know that those happen to be my favourite after all, and this particular vote happens to be especially unique. Never before have I done this, but all of the available Pokemon happen to share the same type this time. This happened because the game is set in an island archipelago, and so naturally, it includes more Water Type Pokemon than any others. That was the reason I was so thrown when you guys voted for Goldeen before, because I really didn't expect that to happen. I even considered breaking this group up since allowing Nolan to have three Water Types in such a small team seemed like a bad idea, but I stuck to my guns since I had already divided the groups of encounters up, and I didn't want to go back on that. Anyway, here are this week's options.
Pokemon Options: -
Kinnow Island: - Psyduck - Male - Brave Nature - Cloud Nine Ability
Golden Island: - Seel - Female - Serious Nature - Thick Fat Ability
Pummelo Island: - Shellder - Male - Jolly Nature - Shell Armor Ability
Shamouti Island: - Krabby - Male - Lonely Nature - Hyper Cutter Ability
Ascorbia Island: - Squirtle - Male - Lonely Nature - Torrent Ability
Yep, you can actually catch the three Kanto Starter Pokemon in the wild in this game, although they are incredibly rare. In fact, the only reason I was able to get a Squirtle as my encounter was because the only other Pokemon available by surfing in the water at Ascorbia Island were Tentacool. I had to spend almost half-an-hour searching before I found him. Duplicate Clause at it's finest XD Still, the decision isn't mine to make though, so please go and leave your vote in a review to decide which Water Type Pokemon will be the next Pokemon added to Nolan's ever expanding team : )
And I think that's just about everything from me for this time, so thank you so much for reading this chapter and my story in general. I hope you are enjoying it all so far, and please consider leaving a review because I'd love to hear your comments and feedback : )
Until the next time, keep on reading : )