Episode 416: The Grass Menagerie
We open up to Sora, Chimchar, Staravia, and Croagunk doing some last minute training before the actual battle. Things have been going smoothly as silk.
"Great job, you guys," Sora said.
"Pika," Pikachu said.
"Keep this up and we'll have that second Gym Badge," Sora said.
"Sora, you gotta see this!" Ash said. Sora went with his best friend as Rhonda is doing a live show on Sinnoh Now. Sora wondered it was serious.
"Hello, I'm Rhonda from Sinnoh Now and we apologize for interrupting our regular scheduled program, but we bring you this urgent news bulletin. The ruthless Pokémon Hunter known as J has escaped from prison yesterday afternoon. How she has escaped remains a mystery. We go to the Jubelife City police building for this cocerage," Rhonda said. The whole group gasped when they hear J had escaped from prison. The screen switches to the police commissioner of the Jubelife City police.
"There have been no signs of force entry, and there is no surveillance footage of her ever leaving the facility, but we cannot deny nor confirm that she had help in the escape. So, we are advicing every police precinct to rearrest her and her crew on sight, and for Trainers to keep Pokémon contained inside their Pokéballs and out of reach at all costs. People of Sinnoh, I promise you, the police force of Sinnoh will not rest until this woman is back behind bars again!" The police commissioner announced.
"I can't believe this! How did she even get out?" Chase asked.
"I think I know how. Someone who can get in and out without someone noticing. And the only one who fits with that is Loki," Kairi said.
"Loki? You mean that guy who pretended to be with Team Rocket when you two were sealing the Keyholes in different worlds?" Dawn asked.
"That's him. And Kairi's right. Loki is the only one we know whose magical abilities can get him to do just about anything. And I do mean anything," Sora said.
"We haven't seen that guy since the Mulberry City Contest when he tried to turn Harley into a Heartless," Chase said.
"You don't think he could try to pull that off again, do you?" Elaine asked.
"That scenario is very likely. And we're gonna have to destroy J if that ever happened," Wes said.
"Wes is right. Even though J doesn't have a conscience, but not even she deserves to be a Heartless. We're gonna have to be ready for her when she does make herself known," Sora said.
Everyone agreed with Sora, knowing running into her is inevitable.
"I don't know about you, but we should head for the Eterna City Gym. Tai and then others are already waiting for us," Lucas said.
"Right," the rest of the group agreed.
With that said, the group headed for the Eterna City Gym and saw green it looked.
"Is that it?" Amy asked.
"It's gotta be. I mean, with all those leaves, it is a Grass-type Gym," Izzy said.
"Well, Gardenia is waiting inside," Sora said.
The group entered inside and they saw Gardenia waiting inside for them.
"Sora, glad you could make it," Gardenia said.
"Well, I had to get some training done before we have our official battle," Sora said.
"Great. We can get started as soon as the referee gets here," Gardenia said.
"And that'll be me," a girl's voice said. She wore a jumpsuit with a white shirt underneath. She has her black hair tied in pigtails and wore glasses. With her is a Nuzelaf. "My name is Yoko and I'm Gardenia's assistant."
"Nice to meet you," Xion said.
"I think I know you. You're that same Nuzleaf from before," Roxas said.
"Nuzleaf," Nuzleaf said.
"Yoko, the young man with the brown spiky hair is here to challenge me to a battle, so we're ready to begin whenever you are," Gardenia said.
"Sure. Won't the rest of you follow me before we do?" Yoko asked.
"Sure," Kairi said.
"Vee," Angel said.
With that said, Kairi, Roxas, Xion, Ash, Leaf, Ethan, Kris, Lyra, Brendan, May, Chase, Elaine, Lucas, Dawn, Chase, Elaine, Wes, Rui, the DigiDestined, and the Pokémon sat in the bleachers as the official Gym battle was about to begin. Sora and Gardenia took their positions on the battlefield as Yoko and her Nuzleaf took their positions as referee.
"The battle between the Eterna City Gym Leader Gardenia and Sora from Pallet Town is about to begin! Both Trainers will be using three Pokémon each! The battle will be over if either of the Gym Leader's or the challenger's Pokémon are unable to continue battling! In addition, only the challenger is allowed to substitute Pokémon anytime! Sora, Gardenia, choose your first Pokémon and begin the battle!" Yoko said.
"Nuzleaf!" Nuzleaf added. Both Sora and Gardenia picked their Pokéballs and threw them.
"You're going in first, Cherrim!" Gardenia called out as Cherrim came out to battle.
"Go right in, Croagunk!" Sora called out as Croagunk makes his entrance as he thrusts fingered punches in the air.
"Croagunk!" Croagunk said, making his entrance.
"Your Cherubi evolved. I'm going to guess it was from all that training you did," Sora guessed.
"You guessed right, Sora. I told you I was doing some training for this," Gardenia said. The sunlight beamed down to Cherrim and transformed into its Sunshine Form.
"Cherubi had evolved into a Cherrim. How will Sora 2 manage this?" Cody asked.
"Croagunk will get the job done since he's a Poison-type Pokémon too," Kari said.
"Kari is right. Croagunk does have the advantage over Cherrim, but don't count her out. She managed to give Sora 2 a real run for his money when they first met. And he managed to win over her." Izzy explained.
"Cherrim! Begin with your Solar Beam!" Gardenia ordered. Cherrim fires Solar Beam right at Croagunk. Sora knew it was the result of the sunlight that Cherrim had fired Solar Beam with ease.
"Dodge it and use Poison Sting!" Sora ordered. Croagunk avoids Solar Beam and fires poisonous needles at Cherrim landing a hit. "Now Poison Jab!" Croagunk's hands glowed with poison at Cherrim and landed another hit onto the Blossom Pokémon.
"Cherrim! Use Magical Leaf!" Gardenia ordered. Cherrim fires Magical Leaf right at Croagunk and lands a hit onto him.
"Croagunk! Brick Break!" Sora ordered. Croagunk heads right towards Cherrim to land a punch onto the Blossom Pokémon.
"Dodge and use Solar Beam!" Cherrim fired Solar Beam and it struck Croagunk on the mark. "Now use Magical Leaf!" Cherrim fires Magical Leaf right at the Toxic Mouth Pokémon. Knowing Magical Leaf can't be dodged, he calls Croagunk back very quickly.
"That was close," Sora said.
"Sora, calling Croagunk back into its Pokéball was a wise move since Magical Leaf can't be dodged," Gardenia said.
"That was close," Joe said.
"Magical Leaf hits its mark much like Feint Attack, Swift, and Shadow Punch. By switching Pokémon, Croagunk was able to avoid it." Ken said.
"Take to the sky, Staravia!" Sora called out as Staravia came out to battle.
"Just because you send out another Pokémon that's a good matchup doesn't mean it's going to win! Cherrim! Use Solar Beam!" Gardenia ordered. Cherrim fires Solar Beam to strike the Starling Pokémon.
"Dodge and use Wing Attack!" Sora ordered. Staravia avoids Solar Beam and heads towards Cherrim.
"Dodge it!" Gardenia called out and Cherrim avoided Staravia's attack. "Now, use Solar Beam!" Cherrim prepares to fire Solar Beam, but changes back to the form Cherrim was before. "Oh no! The sun!"
"Why did Cherrim change back?" Sora T asked.
"I think I know why," Joe said. Everyone all looked right at the sky and saw clouds going by.
"Those clouds are blocking the sun, canceling out Cherrim's Sunshine Form," Rui said.
"And that means, Solar Beam will take time to charge up," Roxas said.
"That's good news for Sora 2," TK said.
"As long as those clouds are blocking the sun, it might as well be," Izzy said.
"Well, you can't trust the weather, right?" Gardenia asked. "Cherrim, switch to Magical Leaf!" Cherrim fires Magical Leaf right at Staravia. Sora remembered using Swift against Misty during his first journey, so he figured he could pull it off again. "Staravia, make the leaves chase right at you!" Staravia does exactly that.
"What is he trying to do?" Davis asked.
"He knows Magical Leaf can't be avoided, so what is he trying to pull?" Matt asked.
"Just wait and see," Kairi said. Staravia kept flying around and around, knowing the leaves will keep following Staravia where he went. Staravia flies right in front of Cherrim, much to Gardenia's surprise. Sora waited until the leaves were close enough.
"Now!" Sora called out. Staravia flies up and Cherrim gets hit by its own attack.
"He used Magical Leaf against me!" Gardenia exclaimed in shock.
"Wing Attack!" Sora ordered. Staravia lands a Wing Attack onto Cherrim. "Now use Quick Attack!" Staravia lands Quick Attack onto Cherrim. Now for the finishing touch. "Wrap it up with Acrobatics!" Staravia finishes Cherrim off with Acrobatics. Cherrim had been taken down.
"Cherrim is unable to battle! Staravia wins!" Yoko announced.
"Nuzleaf!" Nuzleaf added.
"Good job, Staravia!" Sora said. Gardenia calls Cherrim back.
"Thanks. Take a long rest," Gardenia said. "Good job, Sora. I can tell you did a good job in your training."
"Thanks. You did a good job, too," Sora said. "Also, you said it before. Can't trust the weather. It can be unpredictable."
"How right you are, Sora," Gardenia agreed. She took out another Pokéball and threw it. "Turtwig! You're up next!" Her Turtwig came out to battle.
"I thought she was going to send her Turtwig out next," Xion said.
"Yeah. That Turtwig has given Sora's Chimchar a real hard time," Tai said.
"You think she's going to use Leech Seed like the last time?" Yolei asked.
"Most likely. Gardenia's Turtwig also has some other attacks to use," Lyra said.
"Marill," Marill said.
"Pika," Pikachu said.
"Staravia! Wing Attack!" Sora ordered. Staravia flew right at Turtwig to land a hit.
"Turtwig! Dodge!" Gardenia called out. Turtwig avoids Staravia just by stepping on the side.
"Another Wing Attack!" Sora ordered. Staravia flew right at Turtwig to land a hit on him.
"Dodge it again!" Gardenia called out. Turtwig kept dodging Staravia's Wing Attack again and again. Sora saw the tree behind Turtwig and that gave him an idea.
"Keep using Wing Attack!" Sora ordered. Staravia kept up the Wing Attack. Gardenia was starting to get bored.
"This is starting to get old," Gardenia said. She's struck with realization as she realizes that Turtwig is unknowingly going into a trap.
"Look out, Turtwig! It's a trap!" Gardenia warned Turtwig. It was too late, because Turtwig has been caught in the tree behind him. He was definitely trapped.
"So that's what was going through his head!" Mimi said.
"Turtwig's good and stuck now!" Kris said.
"Pika!" Pikachu praised his Trainer.
"Now, Aerial Ace!" Sora ordered. Staravia flew right at Turtwig and landed a direct hit onto Turtwig, destroying the tree in the process. Turtwig tumbles backwards.
"A straight hit!" Brendan said.
"And super powerful too!" Kari agreed.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu agreed.
"Wrap it up with Wing Attack!" Sora ordered. Staravia comes flying towards Turtwig with hopes of finishing Turtwig off with one more blow.
"Turtwig! Leech Seed!" Gardenia ordered. Turtwig plants a seed onto Staravia. The seed sprouts vines out of it and wraps around the Starling Pokémon, draining Staravia's stamina and Turtwig was absorbing it to heal his injuries. "Use Tackle!" Turtwig lands a Tackle onto Staravia, sending him backwards against another tree, earning a knockout.
"Staravia is unable to battle! Turtwig wins!" Yoko announced.
"Nuz!" Nuzleaf added.
"Awesome, Turtwig! That was very great!" Gardenia praised her Turtwig. Sora knew Gardenia's Turtwig is so much stronger than the last time. He also knew Leech Seed is going to be problematic for him if Turtwig fires it again. Sora calls Staravia back to rest up. He took out Croagunk's Pokéball and threw it.
"Okay, Croagunk! Back to action!" Sora called out. Croagunk comes back out to battle Turtwig.
"I knew you were going to send your Croagunk back out. Turtwig isn't afraid of a little poison," Gardenia said.
"I said I'm ready for anything you throw at me. So, gimme everything you've got!" Sora said.
"Be careful of what you ask for, because you're going to get in trouble whether you want it or not!" Gardenia said.
"Croagunk! Poison Sting!" Sora ordered. Croagunk fires its attack right at Turtwig.
"Dodge it and use Leaf Storm!" Gardenia ordered. Turtwig avoided Croagunk's Poison Sting, but his speed still went up. Turtwig fires Leaf Storm at the frog-like Pokémon, but Croagunk barely dodges the attack, Leaf Storm has missed, much to Gardenia's frustration.
"Poison Sting again!" Sora ordered. Croagunk lands a hit onto Turtwig. "Now, use Poison Jab!" Croagunk poison jabs Turtwig while poisoning the Tiny Leaf Pokémon. "One more Poison Jab!"
"Leech Seed!" Gardenia ordered. Turtwig fires Leech Seed right at Croagunk, but he dodges the attack.
"Nice try. I just knew you were going to try that again with Croagunk," Sora said. Croagunk stares right at Turtwig; he inflated his mouth and fired a purple liquid from his mouth causing great damage to Turtwig.
"That was Venoshock!" Wes said, recognizing the move.
"That move makes twice the damage against the poisoned opponents." Brendan said.
"I wasn't expecting this to happen. Your Croagunk learned Venoshock just after dodging Leech Seed. But it still won't save you," Gardenia said. "Leaf Storm!" Turtwig sends out Leaf Storm right at Croagunk. Sora saw that coming.
"Croagunk! Poison Sting!" Sora ordered. Croagunk avoided Leaf Storm and used Poison Sting hitting Turtwig. "Now use Venoshock!"
"Dodge it!" Gardenia called out. Turtwig tries to avoid Croagunk's attack, but the Toxic Mouth Pokémon's attack came too fast for Turtwig to dodge, so he successfully lands a hit onto Turtwig. Turtwig manages to stand back up, panting. Croagunk was exhausted from the battling and dodging he was doing. Turtwig fell out of fatigue.
"Turtwig is unable to battle! Croagunk wins!" Yoko announced.
"Nuzleaf!" Nuzleaf added.
"Now Gardenia has one left to use," May said.
"I'm quite curious to see what she has in store for him," Ash said. Gardenia calls Turtwig back and smiles.
"You're better than I remember, Sora. Your special training has paid off no doubt. But we'll see if it's going to see if it pays off against my third Pokémon," Gardenia said, taking out her next Pokéball and threw it. "Go! Roserade!" Her Roserade comes out and ready to battle against Sora's Croagunk.
"Okay, Croagunk! Poison Jab!" Sora ordered. Croagunk ran to give Roserade a poisonous jab.
"Grass Knot!" Gardenia ordered. Roserade manipulates the grass and Croagunk trips over the grass. "Now, use Weather Ball!" With the sun no longer blocked by the clouds, Weather Ball came out as a Fire-type attack and hurled it right at Croagunk, earning a knockout.
"Croagunk is unable to battle! Roserade wins!" Yoko announced.
"Now both have one Pokémon left to use," Amy said.
"And it could go either way," Kairi said. She knew Sora is going to pull through no matter how hopeless it seems. Sora calls Croagunk into his Pokéball and took out another one.
"Go! Chimchar!" Sora called out. He threw it and his Chimchar came right out to battle.
"So, you saved a Fire-type for last. Just like many challengers that came my way. But it won't be enough," Gardenia said.
"Dig!" Sora ordered. Chimchar dug into the ground to avoid Grass Knot.
"Why did Sora tell Chimchar to use Dig instead of Flame Wheel or Flamethrower?" Lucas asked.
"Sora must have known Grass Knot would hit Chimchar if he came in from the front, so he just went around it, or should I say under it," Kairi said.
"Chimchar is going to come on up at any moment. Be ready for it when it does," Gardenia said. Chimchar pops out from behind.
"Right behind you!" Gardenia warned.
"Flamethrower!" Sora ordered. Chimchar fires Flamethrower right at Roserade and lands a heavy hit.
"Roserade! use Magical Leaf!" Gardenia ordered. Roserae fires Magical Leaf and it struck Chimchar hard. "Now use Rain Dance!" Roserade spreads its bouquets out and causes the whole place to rain.
"Rain Dance?" Wes asked.
"That's not good," Leaf said.
"How's that not good?" Dawn asked.
"Because of Weather Ball. Depending on the weather, Weather Ball is the type matching the weather. In this case, Weather Ball can turn out to be a Water-type attack," Kairi said.
"With Weather Ball being a Fire-type attack during the sunlight is used against Ice-types and with Weather Ball being a Water-type attack, it's be used against Fire-types," Izzy explained.
"Yes, that's exactly right, Izzy," Yolei said.
"Also, since Rain Dance is in effect, Fire-type attacks are weakened in the rain," Brendan said.
"Now, use Weather Ball!" Gardenia ordered. Roserade readies Weather Ball and hurls it right at Chimchar.
"Dodge it!" Sora called out. Chimchar avoids Weather Ball and climbed up the trees.
"Great! With those trees, Chimchar won't be easy to hit," Ethan said.
"That's one of the advantages of being a monkey Pokémon," TK said.
"Aim Weather Ball in the trees!" Gardenia ordered. Roserade fires Weather Ball right at the trees.
"Dodge it!" Sora called out. Chimchar avoids the attack as Chimchar jumps from tree to tree. Roserade kept firing Weather Ball, but managed to land a single hit onto him. Chimchar eventually slipped up when he got struck by Weather Ball. Chimchar wasn't going to call it quits just yet.
"Use Magical Leaf!' Gardenia ordered. Roserade fires Magical Leaf right at the fire monkey Pokémon to land a hit.
"Flamethrower!" Sora ordered. Chimchar fires Flamethrower however the attack was less powerful due the rain and Magical Leaf hits Chimchar. "Oh no!" Sora gasped.
"Now use Weather Ball!" Gardenia ordered and Roserade fired another Water-type Weather Ball, hitting Chimchar.
"Chimchar, hold on!" Sora called and then Chimchar got up with a fiery aura surrounding him.
"No way!" Gardenia gasped.
"That's Blaze, just like my Chimchar!" Lucas said.
"Alright, Chimchar, now use Flame Wheel!" Sora ordered. Chimchar rolls into a ball of fire and rolls right towards Roserade and lands a heavy hit which was more powerful than before.
"Weather Ball again!" Gardenia ordered. Roserade hurls Weather Ball trying to hit Chimchar.
"Dig!" Sora ordered. Chimchar dug into the ground again.
"Weather Ball into that hole!" Gardenia ordered. Roserade went to get close to the hole, but it was a trap. Sora grinned, knowing that she had walked right into it.
"Chimchar! Use Flamethrower!" Sora ordered. Just as the rain disappeared, Chimchar fires a very powerful Flamethrower from out of the ground and struck Roserade hard and goes flying in the air. Roserade fell on its back. Chimchar came right out and panted as he used so much energy. Roserade panted as it got back up. Roserade and Chimchar kept on panting until Roserade fell backwards, succumbing to its injuries.
"Roserade is unable to battle! Chimchar wins! The winner is Sora, the challenger!" Yoko announced.
"Nuzleaf!" Nuzleaf said.
"He did it!" Meiko said.
"Meowth!" Little Mei said.
"Of course he did! He's awesome!" Davis said.
"Great job, Chimchar! I knew you'd do it!" Sora said as he and Chimchar hi-five each other. Gardenia approached Sora with a smile on her face.
"Congratulations, Sora. You trained hard sine our last battle. And this time, you have truly earned it," Gardenia said, taking out a badge that is shaped like three trees of a forest, with the trunks whited out. "And here it is, the Forest Badge." Sora accepted his second Gym Badge and he smiled.
"Two down down and six to go," Sora said. He placed the Forest Badge next to the Coal Badge. "Say, where would my next Gym battle be?"
"Glad you asked. The next Gym is in Hearthome City. And that's where a Pokémon Contest taking place," Gardenia said.
"That's works out for the both of us. Sora can have his Gym battle and I can take part of my Contest!" Kairi said.
"It sure does," Sora said.
"Say, since you won your second badge, how about I treat you all to dinner? I know a good ramen place in town. The best in Eterna City," Gardenia offered.
"That's a kind offer," Xion said.
"I like the sound of that," Davis said with a grin.
With that said, Gardenia took the group with her to the local ramen place she told them about. And since Gardenia was the Gym Leader, it was on the house. As they ate, Izzy has been in a lot of thought.
"Sora 2, there's something that's on my mind from your battle with Gardenia that I noticed," Izzy said.
"Okay, Izzy. What do wanna know?" Sora asked.
"Well, we know that Chimchar used to belong to Paul, so I'm quite curious about if you managed to find out anything about his past," Izzy said.
"Okay, so far we had discovered when Chimchar was scared from Zangoose and now with the Blaze ability being activated, somehow Paul discovered that Chimchar was being surrounded and beaten by the pack of Zangoose before unleashing Blaze and use his Fire-type attacks against them and then that was how Paul caught and also explains why he wanted to do the same in my battle against Turtwig, however he lost against me and then abandoned Chimchar before I caught him." Sora deduced and explained to the DigiDestined.
"That jerk!" Davis hissed. Davis really wanted to knock his teeth out.
"That explains everything," Davis said.
"From what I can understand, it's a theory that Paul was attempting to recreate that exact moment with just about any opponent, but because he was disappointed by the results, he decided to cut all ties with Chimchar and release him," Izzy said.
"And that does explain a lot," Sora T said.
"Well, how about we don't think about that anymore, because Roxas and I have a Gym battle to get to before we head for Hearthome City," Lucas said.
"I agree. Which one of you will be battling first?" Sora asked.
"Guess we're gonna have to flip a coin," Roxas said.
Now that Sora has earned his second Gym Badge, the next destination is Hearthome City, the sight of the next Gym and Pokémon Contest. Will it be Roxas or Lucas who will have their shot against Gardenia? Find out when we continue on.