Chapter 11 – Mystery At The Lighthouse
Several days have passed and it was nearly sundown as Ash and his friends were walking through a dense forest.
"The road's got to be somewhere!" Ash whined.
"Everything's somewhere," Brock quipped.
"Ash, have you gotten us lost again?" Misty growled petulantly at Ash.
"So how long have you kids been traveling with those trainers anyway?" Marni asked.
"It feels like it's been ages," Rhonda sighed deeply. "We met Ash when he first left Pallet Town with his very first Pokemon Pikachu, and we also met Brock in Pewter City and Misty in Cerulean City. We're also supposed to go to Vermilion City where the next Pokemon Gym is, but we're nowhere near it yet."
"We've barely had any real food or water," Luthor groaned while rubbing his belly sorely. "We've been scrounging on wild berries and whatever else we could find just to survive, although Brock's been real nice enough to provide us with some real food in the meantime."
"And I can't even remember the last time that I slept on a warm, comfy bed," Jasmine whimpered with a loud sniffle.
"That's awful," Avis gasped in horror while gazing at the kids sympathetically.
"I can't believe that you kids have been roughing it out in the wilderness for so long," Agent Forsythe replied in an incredulous and astounded voice.
"Well, I don't think we would have made it out here without Mitchell and especially without Brock and Misty. In case you haven't noticed already, Ash is clearly way too stupid to live," Shirley remarked briskly.
"Yeah, it was his brilliant idea to throw a rock at a damned Spearow that caused the whole flock to attack us in the first place," Jasmine retorted sardonically.
"Not to mention that he thought it was a great idea to use a freaking Caterpie to battle a Pidgeotto," Shirley quipped.
"And he also had this pretty insane and far out idea of trying to give Pikachu more electric power by using a water powered machine so that he could increase his chances of beating Brock," Yuki added.
"And he's been bragging nonstop about having two Gym badges so far, even though he only got them out of pity… although if you ask me, he probably would've had a decent chance of beating Misty anyway if Team Rocket had not barged in with their vacuum machine when they did," Rhonda interjected while rubbing the back of her head absentmindedly.
"And apparently that made him think that he was hot shit, so imagine his surprise when some trainer named A.J. whooped his ass with a Sandshrew," Luthor laughed derisively with his arms crossed and an arrogant smile. "Imagine… a freaking Sandshrew…"
"At least we got our Gym badges fair and square," Rhonda quipped. "Although to be fair Luthor and Katie had a much easier time with Brock than I did. I knew that I had no choice but to go the distance with my Charmander because I knew that my Pidgey was at a severe disadvantage against Brock's Graveler and Onix."
"Yeah, but you still did a great job anyway," Katie replied with an encouraging smile.
"You're always putting me down. But I'll show you!" Ash's voice bellowed as everyone soon turned around to see what he and his friends were up to. "I'm going to prove to you that I can do it. I'm going to be a Pokemon Master!"
He then turned around to face the gang with a determined smirk while holding his Poke Ball.
"Stand back and watch me work."
He then turned tail and ran off as he disappeared deeper into the forest.
"Here we go again," Katie sighed deeply while hanging her head.
"Same old Ash," Shirley retorted with a shake of her head.
TLSTLSTLSTLS
Meanwhile, Ash was racing out of the forest as he soon found himself at a desolate and empty beach.
"Wow…" Ash breathed softly as his eyes scanned the faded orange rays of the sun glimmering in the ocean water.
However, as he took a good look around the area, he soon realized that there didn't seem to be any Pokemon around.
"I don't want to watch the sunset. I want more Pokemon," he grumbled while hanging his head.
Just then, he noticed a Krabby emerging out of the water as it crawled over to him.
"Hey, wait. Stay here. Don't go. Come back," Ash pleaded as he bent upside down while peeking through his legs as he watched the Krabby scamper away.
"It's a Pokemon," he said as he straightened up and then took out his Pokedex in order to get a reading on the new Pokemon.
"Krabby. Lives near the shore. Its average height is about 16 inches."
"A Pokemon's a Pokemon, I guess," Ash sighed as he stared wistfully at Krabby while squatting slightly. "But this Krabby sure is shrimpy."
Krabby then hissed angrily with foam bubbling right out of its mouth.
"Uh, I didn't mean to insult you, Krabby," Ash stammered nervously as he then reached to touch Krabby's pincher claw. "You're a cute little…"
Ash then let out a sharp cry of pain as Krabby clamped down hard on his index finger with its claw. Moments later, he leapt into the air with a blood-curling scream as Krabby let go of his finger and clacked its claws at him menacingly.
Ash then stared down the Krabby intensely as Krabby continued to glare at him while clacking its claw threateningly, as if preparing to attack.
"Showdown time," Ash smirked defiantly. "Tiny or not, you are a Pokemon and I'll show Misty and Brock that I can catch you."
Ash then picked up a small stick and lunged at Krabby with it as Krabby sliced it into tiny little pieces with its claw.
"Poke Ball, go!" Ash yelled as he then tossed the Poke Ball right at Krabby.
Krabby then disappeared right into the Poke Ball as it landed right on the sand, shaking furiously with a red light glowing on the button. Ash then stared at it for several minutes as it kept on shaking and quivering with the red light continuing to glow brightly. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the Poke Ball finally stopped shaking as the red light faded away, signaling that it was caught.
Ash then chuckled with a triumphant smile as he picked up the Poke Ball in his hand.
"Now, I really caught one," he said as he clutched the Poke Ball in his hand. "Good try, Krabby, but not good enough."
Just then he heard a loud whirling sound as a surge of electricity surrounded the Poke Ball and a ring of white light illuminated the Poke Ball before it suddenly vanished in a blast of white light.
"What happened? Where'd my new Krabby go? Aah!" Ash gawked in a terrified panic as he soon realized that his new Pokemon was gone. "I don't see it anywhere! Where'd it go?"
"Didn't you know that a trainer can only keep six Pokemon?" Misty quipped as she and the gang approached Ash.
"Huh?" Ash quipped as he stared at Misty quizzically.
"Trainers can only have six Pokemon, and the rest are transported," Misty explained.
"Yeah, but you can switch one Pokemon for another by pressing the white button inside your Pokedex," Brock added.
"Uh… you mean this button?" Ash asked as he opened up his Pokedex and pointed at a right white rectangular button on the device.
"Right," Brock replied. "It sends a signal to activate the system that makes the exchange."
"But I don't want to exchange my Pokemon," Ash pouted tersely.
"Then shut your Pokedex and quit whining," Misty scolded him sternly.
"I wasn't whining. I just wanted to know where my Krabby went," Ash shot back argumentatively.
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that," Misty reassured him with a smile. "Your Krabby got transported to a place for safekeeping."
"Where does it get transported to?" Ash inquired curiously.
"Your Pokemon gets transported to wherever you got your Pokedex from," Brock answered pithily.
"Then that means Krabby must be with…" Ash muttered to himself as he stared at his Pokdex wistfully.
He then suddenly got a flash of memory of the day he first met Pikachu in Professor Oak's lab.
"It's with Professor Oak," Ash concluded.
"That's right. Krabby just got transported automatically to Professor Oak's Pokemon laboratory, so don't worry about it."
"So Krabby's with Professor Oak, huh?" Ash muttered to himself while rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
He then suddenly had a thought of Professor Oak opening up a bag of food while preparing to cook a meal.
"Oh, now, I'm doubly worried," Ash groaned while glancing down at the ground. "Isn't there any way I can make sure it's okay?"
"We could call Professor Oak to check on it," Brock suggested. "But we haven't passed a phone all day and this beach is pretty far out of the way."
"There's got to be a phone around here someplace," Ash whined. "I've got to check on Krabby."
"I'm more worried about having to camp out again tonight," Misty chimed in. "I'm sick of sleeping in sleeping bags."
"I'm just worried about finding a way to find out if poor little Krabby's okay," Ash stammered nervously while tapping on his fingers repeatedly.
"Pika! Pika!" Pikachu chirped as he started jumping up and down in the air while pointing at something.
"What's that?" Ash asked as his eyes fell on a local lighthouse.
"It's a lighthouse," Misty answered.
"A lighthouse!" Ash exclaimed in amazement and excitement. "Every lighthouse has to have a keeper, and he'll have a phone! And I'm going to use it to call Professor Oak."
"And there'll probably be some extra beds," Misty sighed while cradling her hands against her face. "A sleeping bag is no way for me to get my beauty sleep."
"Yeah, and there'll be somebody there to tell us where we are," Brock added.
"Let's go!" Ash cheered as he and the gang then raced off in the direction of the lighthouse.
TLSTLSTLSTLS
Several hours later, night fell as Ash and his friends made it on top of the cliff and were now walking towards the lighthouse.
"Whew. That was farther than it looked," Ash exhaled sharply in a fatigued voice.
"This lighthouse looks weird," Brock grumbled as he saw light beams spinning out of the lighthouse horizontally.
The heroes then walked over to the door and saw that it had etched markings of various Pokemon.
"Guess we better ring the bell," Misty said.
"I got it," Ash volunteered as he then pushed the red button on the wall.
A loud ringing sound echoed in the air as everyone drew back and shivered in fear and trepidation. Then as they were flattening themselves against the door, they heard a voice call out from the intercom.
"Who's there?"
"Uh, excuse us, sir, but we're travelers, and we're lost," Brock explained.
"We've got a small emergency here, and we need to use your telephone, please, sir," Ash begged.
"We've been camping out for quite a while, and I'd sure appreciate a nice, comfy bed," Misty quickly added while shoving Ash out of the way.
"And I wonder if I can use your kitchen to make some bacon double cheeseburgers for our group," Brock also added. "And I'd be more than happy to make something for you."
"That's great. Can you cook without using tofu?" the voice in the intercom asked.
"Oh, sure. I can cook lots of things without using any tofu," Brock answered confidentially.
"That's good," the male voice in the intercom replied. "I've been eating nothing but tofu since my cook went on vacation. Come on in."
The doors then slowly swung open as everyone went inside. Upon entering, the heroes noticed that the entire building looked very dark and dreary with a very eerie and unsettling vibe.
"This looks very creepy," Katie shivered as she surveyed her new surroundings apprehensively.
"Yeah," Rhonda nodded.
"Would you mind if I borrow your phone?" Ash bellowed.
"There's a phone right near you," the male voice said.
"Huh?" Ash quipped as he and the others turned around to see that there was a small computer monitor with a Bellsprout-designed phone.
"Hey, it's a videophone. Oh, that's cool," Misty mused.
"I'll call Professor Oak now, and see if he has my Pokemon," Ash said as he walked over to the phone.
"I'm sure Krabby's in great shape," Brock reassured him calmly.
"The professor won't mind if I call him collect," Ash replied as he picked up the phone and began to dial a number before holding it up to his ear.
Moments later, the computer monitor flickered on as an image of Professor Oak appeared. Ash gulped in fear as he saw that Professor Oak was eating something with his chopsticks.
"Well, hi, Ash. You caught me cooking dinner. My cook is on vacation, and I've got to fend for myself till she returns," Professor Oak greeted him while scooping up some food with his chopsticks.
"What is up with these people? Are they away on some cooking conference or something?" Shirley yelled while throwing up her arms incredulously.
"Wait a minute, professor. You're not eating my Krabby, are you?" Ash retorted in a panicked and frantic voice while putting his hand on the computer monitor.
"Don't worry. I'm taking good care of your Krabby. It's right here," Professor Oak reassured him calmly as he gestured over to his Krabby, which was sitting on a table right behind him while in a plastic bowl.
"Anyway, that Krabby of yours is too small to make a very hearty meal," Professor Oak explained as he took out a piece of tofu from a boiling pot and placed it into a small bowl. "On the other hand, the Krabby that Gary caught would make an excellent dinner. Much better than tofu."
"Wait, do people in this universe actually eat Pokemon? Like actually eat them as food?" Luthor stuttered in disbelief and horror as Katie gawked with a repulsed and appalled face.
"I don't think Krabby are particularly appetizing," Shirley groaned with an uncomfortable grimace.
"Man, I like seafood, but this is a bridge too far for me," Rhonda shuddered in disgust while recoiling.
"What? You mean Gary caught a Krabby too?!" Ash gawked in disbelief.
"Yes, it's quite a catch," Professor Oak said. "Take a look for yourself."
He then adjusted and turned the screen slightly so that Ash could see another Krabby that was clearly more than twice the size of his own Krabby. The Krabbys were chittering softly in their plastic bowls with foam bubbling in their mouths.
Ash groaned in dismay as he was taken aback by the other Krabby's massive and impressive size.
"Awesome," Brock said.
"I want you to know that my grandson Gary has already caught 45 Pokemon," Professor Oak added.
"Forty-five Pokemon?!" Ash whimpered in dismay and horror at Gary Oak's words.
"By the way, Ash, just where are you calling me from anyway?" Professor Oak asked while continuing to munch on his food.
"We're at an old lighthouse way up on top of a cliff," Ash explained.
"Oh, that must be Bill's lighthouse," Professor Oak mused. "He's a young Pokemon researcher who knows even more than me. See what you can learn from him. He could teach you just about everything about Pokemon, and then some."
"How could there be someone out there who knows even more than you, especially an ordinary Pokemon researcher?" Jasmine scoffed disdainfully.
"This is Bill, Professor Oak. Good to hear from you," the male voice said.
"Hello, Bill. Please give my friends a crash course in Pokemon," Professor Oak instructed the mysterious voice.
He then turned his attention back to his food as he held up a piece of tofu with his chopsticks.
"Uh-oh. Tofu's done," he said as he blew on it.
Moments later, the image faded away as the computer monitor shut off.
"Well, there's no way I can ignore a request from the great Professor Oak," the male voice declared as the lights suddenly came on. "I am Bill of the lighthouse."
The heroes then whipped around to see a man in a Kabuto costume standing on the top of small steps while clicking and clashing his pinchers. This astounding sight caused all of them to gasp in shock.
TLSTLSTLSTLS
Meanwhile, Team Rocket was looking out at the lighthouse with binoculars while standing on top of a desolate cliff in the dead of night.
"According to the phone book, that lighthouse belongs to Bill, the famous Pokemon researcher," Jessie said.
"Then I guess we've come to the right place, huh?" James retorted while putting down his binoculars.
"There must be zillions of rare Pokemon stored inside that lighthouse," Jessie mused.
"Then there's only one thing for us to do," Meowth declared with a beaming, confident smile.
"Right. Sneak in and take everything we can grab," James informed everyone.
"How shall we sneak in?" Jessie asked while taking another peek at the lighthouse with her binoculars. "We could take the road, or risk our lives by climbing up the cliffs."
"Well, we certainly can't take the road," James pointed out.
"We have to climb up those cliffs," Jessie concluded.
"Because we're the bad guys and the bad guys always got to sneak in," Meowth declared audaciously while pouncing on Jessie's head with a chuckle.
"It's time for us to rain on someone's parade again. James!" Jessie yelled while dressed in a traditional black kimono dress and wielding a large umbrella in her hand.
"Jessie…" James growled.
"We're back to back, so prepare for trouble," the duo chorused while standing against each other back to back while facing in opposite directions. "Watch your step or we'll make it double."
"To protect the world from devastation."
"To unite all peoples within our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
"Jessie!" Jessie laughed while performing a tumble in the air before landing on the ground.
"James!" James exclaimed as he also did the same.
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light…"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight…"
"Meowth! That's right!" Meowth chimed as he landed on both of their shoulders.
"To be truly great criminals, we have to do things the hard way," Jessie declared solemnly.
"And then we'll become hardened criminals," James quipped with a mysterious side glance.
"But it will be tough to reach the top," Jessie added while pointing at the lighthouse.
Jessie and James maintained their poses for a few moments as they remained silent before they both embraced each other fearfully.
"Because we're both afraid of heights!"
"Do they honestly have to go into their long, boring drivel every single time?" Scar groaned dully with an eye roll.
"Apparently so," Zira growled with an annoyed shake of her head.
"That lighthouse looks really scary, Mother," a scrawny looking gray cub with red eyes and a small black hair tuft on his head stammered anxiously.
"Shut up, Nuka," Zira growled sharply with narrowed eyes as she turned around to leave. "Come on, let's go."
Nuka continued to stare at the dark shadowy lighthouse with fear and trepidation in his eyes while gulping loudly and folding his ears against his head.
TLSTLSTLSTLS
Meanwhile, the heroes continued to stare at the strange insect-like creature with both curiosity and bewilderment as they all wondered who exactly this "Bill" person was.
"It can't be," Brock murmured in disbelief and awe. "That's a Kabuto, an extinct Pokemon. I wonder what it's doing here."
"No, I'm not a Kabuto," the strange creature insisted. "I'm Bill, the Pokemon researcher."
"Wait, are you a human being or a Pokemon?" Ash asked quizzically.
"This is a costume," Bill explained. "I'm stuck inside it."
"Do you need help getting out?" Ash inquired.
"Yes, step up here," Bill urged while gesturing to his Kabuto costume.
"Tell me what to do," Ash said as he raced up the steps.
"Push that button," Bill replied as Ash walked over to him and knelt down before reaching out to push a white button on the costume.
"This one here?" Ash asked while pointing at the white button.
"Yes. These arms are too short. I tried to get out, but I couldn't reach the button," Bill explained.
Then as soon as Ash pushed the button, a white glittery aura surrounded the Kabuto costume as it then gradually came apart, revealing a young man with short green hair and wearing a formal outfit.
"Thanks for helping me get out," Bill replied with a grateful smile. "I've been stuck in that costume for hours."
"Why were you in a costume anyway?" Katie inquired curiously as she and the others raced up to Bill.
"Did you come from a costume party?" Misty asked.
"No, it's not for a party," Bill answered. "This is a special costume that I use in my research. Getting inside its skin helps me get inside its head."
"What do you mean?" Ash quipped, not understanding what he was getting at.
Bill then turned to look at a golden mural nearby of many of the extinct Pokemon etched on it.
"There are many kinds of extinct Pokemon, and I want to understand how they lived. Putting on a costume is one way of trying to figure out what they were like."
"You can understand what a Pokemon was like from wearing a costume?" Ash quipped in an incredulous and puzzled voice.
"Yes, indeed. Or I'm beginning to," Bill replied as he then walked over to the steps and sat down on the top one. "This planet was created 4.6 billion years ago. During that time, all kinds of Pokemon existed. They had many ways of living."
As Bill continued to talk, unbeknownst to everyone, Nuka was secretly creeping behind the shadows and trailing behind the gang as he listened intently to every word he said. It was at that moment the building plunged into darkness again as a large projection of a galaxy was projected onto the ceiling as everyone's figures were silhouetted against the pitch black darkness.
"All kinds of Pokemon? How many?" Ash quipped curiously.
"On this planet, there are more than 150 known species of Pokemon," Bill explained.
"Over 150?" Ash marveled in awe as the projection then changed to a vast and comprehensive digital database of hundreds of thousands of Pokemon.
"You're lucky to be Pokemon trainers," Bill replied with a proud smile. "Your goal is to catch all of these different kinds of Pokemon. That's a great task."
"I thought our goal was to defeat the Pokemon League and become Pokemon Masters," Luthor hissed softly to Shirley.
"Yeah, but so far I've only gotten seven," Ash replied sadly while adjusting his hat slightly with his finger.
He then glanced up at the digital database while studying it intently.
"There sure are a lot of…"
"Of course, these are just the Pokemon we know about," Bill suddenly interjected. "There are still many Pokemon that have never been discovered, so we need to keep searching."
Jasmine's eyes then narrowed pensively as she suddenly thought of Nicholas's Grovyle.
I'll bet that Grovyle is one of those Pokemon that hasn't even been officially discovered yet.
"How many could there be?" Ash muttered to himself.
"No one knows exactly," Bill answered wryly. "The search goes on. There's always something new to look for in our lives and in ourselves."
"Something to look for?" Ash questioned him with a puzzled and bemused look on his face.
"Yes, there's a lot for us to look for, inside and outside ourselves. There's meaning for every creature, a meaning for all the Pokemon, and a meaning for all us humans too," Bill continued to explain while walking down the steps and strolling through the corridor.
"A meaning for all," Ash whispered softly as he gazed up at the digital database wistfully, deep in thought.
TLSTLSTLSTLS
Meanwhile, Team Rocket was scaling up a mountain precariously as the ocean waves crashed against the rock wall and they were trying desperately to reach the top.
"Sometimes, I wonder what the meaning of it all is," Jessie grumbled as she kept on climbing. Why do I go to all this trouble just to be bad?"
"It's so we can get other people's Pokemon," James retorted briskly.
"I'm all for it, just as long as there's something in it for Meowth," Meowth added.
TLSTLSTLSTLS
Meanwhile, Bill and the gang were now standing in the corridors as the lights were on again.
"Keep looking for new Pokemon to catch. It's something that's very important for Pokemon research. It's as vital to me as it is to you," Bill said as he then turned around to face them.
"Right now, though, there's only one Pokemon I'm searching for."
"What kind of Pokemon?" Ash asked curiously.
A few minutes later, the gang was standing out on the balcony of the lighthouse as they were all looking out at the ocean.
"It's probably the biggest Pokemon ever. Bigger than all of the rest. And no one has ever seen it," Bill explained. "It's been wandering the world for years and years, looking for friends."
"But doesn't that Pokemon have any friends or family?" Misty inquired quizzically.
"The Pokemon wanders because it's alone," Bill answered. "It's the only Pokemon of its species, one of a kind. One night, I heard this very strange sound coming across the ocean."
He then took out a small remote control device and pushed on a button. Moments later, an eerie melodic wailing could be heard ringing in the air.
"I want… I want to meet you… That's what it said to me."
Pikachu then hung his ears nervously while gazing at Bill uncertainly.
"Some time ago, I recorded a similar sound, and played it from the lighthouse towards the ocean," Bill continued as the recording of the eerie melodic wailing continued to play. "Let's be friends. I want to meet you."
He then stared out into the distant foggy horizon as he continued speaking.
"One day, I heard the same voice calling back to me from over the ocean. I want to meet you too. I want to be friends. It was answering me back. Some foggy night, that Pokemon might come here to meet a friend it's been seeking for a very long time. I would be so happy to meet that Pokemon."
"But will you try to capture the Pokemon?" Ash inquired anxiously.
"Why do I need to capture it?" Bill asked as he spun around to meet Ash's gaze. "Meeting it would be enough for me. Just a chance to study it would make my long wait worthwhile."
"Yeah, that's what they all say," Jasmine hissed sarcastically while whispering to Katie from the right side of her mouth.
Just then a loud, plaintive wailing could be heard as Bill gasped in surprise and quickly swerved around to see a mysterious large Pokemon approaching the lighthouse.
"It's here. The signal," Bill said while holding up the remote control device in his hand and pushing a button.
Moments later, the lights began changing color rapidly while still spinning and rotating around in a horizontal motion in response to the strange Pokemon's cries. The Pokemon then continued to wail and hum softly as the lights continued to change colors in a seemingly random sequence.
"It sounds like it's singing," Misty sighed softly while closing her eyes and clasping her hands together.
"Would you care to dance?" Brock offered while turning to face Misty.
"Oh, thank you," Misty smiled while bowing to Brock.
Even Pikachu began to sing softly to himself while listening to the strange, ethereal song.
Everyone else also began to dance and sway happily with joyful and blissful expressions on their faces.
"This really is some kind of strange and bizarre phenomenon that would get human beings this enraptured," Scar growled drolly while he and Zira were listening to the distant song calling from the horizon.
"It's really nothing special, although I'm sure Nuka would enjoy this trite nonsense," Zira retorted as she turned to look at Nuka, whom she had assumed was sitting right next to her enjoying the show.
However, her face was suddenly filled with fear and panic upon realizing that Nuka was not with her.
"Nuka? Nuka? Where the hell are you?" Zira growled angrily as she anxiously looked around for any sign of her son. "Where's that damned little brat?"
"The boy must have wandered off," Scar mused dryly while licking his paw without any care in the world. "You really should be keeping a better eye on him."
"He's your son and your heir!" Zira snapped back furiously, her eyes burning with rage. "He's next in line for the throne, so he should be your upmost priority!"
"He's no son of mine and he's your responsibility," Scar retorted coldly as he got up and walked away from her, heading in the direction of the woods. "You go and look for him if you want, but it is of no concern to me whether he lives or dies."
Zira just continued to stare back at him with a livid and indignant scowl on her lips as she continued to watch him leave.
"What beautiful music," Jessie whispered in awe.
"It's very haunting. Yet so sweet," James beamed widely.
"Look! It's coming from that thing!" Meowth hollered as he pointed right behind them.
The villains were shocked and taken aback to see a massive Pokemon with glowing yellow eyes advancing right towards them.
"That's a big Pokemon," Jessie stammered.
"So size does matter," James mused.
"Something so rare and unusual," Jessie smirked deviously while pointing up in the air. "You know what that means. Let's grab it for ourselves."
"Quite right. I'll attack it at once," James declared as he held up a bazooka and prepared to aim it at the strange creature. "But it seems a shame to aim at such a sweet creature."
"Of course it's a shame," Jessie purred demurely. "We built our fame on shame."
"Go on! Fire! It's all the shame to me!" Meowth cheered while outstretching his paw.
James then fired the bazooka as the missile slammed right into the creature's abdomen. The Pokemon then let out a sharp, agonized cry of pain as it charged right for the lighthouse and smashed the top away furiously with its hand. Ash and Bill gasped in horror and panic as they ran for their lives, with Misty and the others quickly racing down the stairs in a desperate attempt to flee the lighthouse.
However, as the resulting debris began to rain down on everyone, one of the boulders fell right on Nuka's tail, stopping him right in his tracks.
"Help! Somebody help!" Nuka wailed as he tugged furiously on his tail to no avail. "I'm stuck!"
"Hey, there's a lion cub here that's trapped!" Katie bellowed as she and Rhonda raced over to Nuka and Rhonda lifted the boulder right off his tail before Katie grabbed him and scooped him up in her arms as the two girls kept on running frantically.
The Pokemon then let out another loud roar as another blast from the bazooka struck it right in the chest.
"Please don't go, Pokemon!" Bill pleaded as he and Ash made it out of the lighthouse. "Please stay with us! I've waited so long for a chance to see you here."
The Pokemon growled softly while shaking its head.
"Pokemon, wait!" Bill cried in a pleading voice.
Jessie then fired off yet another shot from her bazooka as she and Team Rocket kept on attacking the strange giant Pokemon.
"Do we always have to mess up everyone's plans?" James asked himself as he kept on firing. "Even I think this is rotten."
"Quit complaining," Jessie scoffed as she also fired off another bazooka missile. "We could score big with this Pokemon."
"Why are they hurting him?!" Nuka whimpered as he glanced up fearfully yet sorrowfully at the giant Pokemon. "Why can't they just leave him alone?! All he wants is someone to be his friend!"
Then to everyone's surprise, he suddenly leaped out of Katie's arms as he marched over to face the giant Pokemon with a brave and determined face.
"Hey, you! Who do you think you are, you big bully? I am Nuka, Crown Prince of the Pridelands, and I am not afraid of you!" Nuka yelled at the top of his lungs as he got into a fighting stance and stared down the towering menace.
The Pokemon then let out a soft, vibrating hum as it turned its bright, glowing yellow eyes on the young hapless cub.
"Come and face me!" Nuka snarled, his blood red eyes flashing with determined fury.
Just then the giant Pokemon summoned a large, thick and grey cable as it swung up from the water and smacked Team Rocket right into the air.
"We're blasting off again!"
"Nuka! There you are!" a female voice bellowed as Nuka turned around to see Zira dashing over to him. "I've been worried sick about you. Where the hell have you been?"
"I just wanted to see what the old lighthouse was like, Mother," Nuka protested with a petulant scowl.
"We're leaving right this instant," Zira demanded irately, causing Nuka to recoil apprehensively. "I'm getting you out of here before we run into even more trouble."
Just then, the large, thick grey cable came swinging back as it scooped Zira up off the ground and flung her right into the water. Zira then tumbled into the ocean with a petrified and blood-curling scream before she disappeared right into the water with a loud crash.
"Mother!" Nuka exclaimed in horror and worry as he looked out into the ocean desperately in search of his mother.
"Do you think his mother is going to be okay?" Katie asked Rhonda.
"I don't know," Rhonda replied uncertainly.
"Pokemon!" Bill cried as the Pokemon then turned around and started heading back out towards the ocean before disappearing completely from sight.
TLSTLSTLSTLS
It wasn't long before morning came as Bill and the gang were standing outside what remained of the ruined lighthouse.
"What kind of Pokemon was that anyway?" Ash asked.
"Who knows?" Bill quipped as he stared out into the ocean hopefully. "Pokemon live in more ways and places than humans may ever learn."
Meanwhile, Zira had washed up on a desolate, empty beach as she was crawling weakly onto the sand while gasping and choking deeply.
"Zira! Zira! Oh honey, are you all right?" Mother Gothel gasped as she, Ursula and Yzma rushed over to the skinny brown lioness and tried to help her up.
Zira then staggered weakly on the beach as she continued to gasp and cough loudly before taking in deep breaths.
"Those sons of bitches took my Nuka and I'm going to get him back by any means necessary!" Zira snarled angrily with her body shaking violently and her fur completely drenched and soaked from the cold, salty water.
"Of course, angelfish. Whatever you need," Ursula smiled sweetly.
"Just say the word and we'll do everything to make it happen!" Yzma cheered while swinging her fist in the air determinedly.
"That lousy, good for nothing, useless bastard…" Zira hissed sharply as she gradually got up to her feet and she shot a withering, pointed look at the three female villains as they all stared at her with wondering yet concerned faces.
"What the hell are you staring at?! Piss off!" Zira snarled as she stormed off before heading back in the direction of the woods.
"Ugh, talk about ungrateful," Mother Gothel scoffed with a disdainful eye roll as Yzma and Ursula nodded in agreement.
TLSTLSTLSTLS
"What in the world was that?" James asked as he, Jessie and Meowth also found themselves stranded on another part of the beach.
"One of the rarest Pokemon around," Jessie replied. "It's exactly the type we've been trying to capture."
"We missed our chance, but we can keep dreaming," James vowed.
"When our Pokemon dreams come true, it's going to be somebody's nightmare," Jessie replied with a conniving smirk.
"After all, tomorrow is another day," Meowth declared while popping in between James and Jessie.
Team Rocket then broke out into evil laughter as they began working on concocting yet another diabolical scheme.
TLSTLSTLSTLS
"I think looking for and catching Pokemon should help bring all of us together," Ash said.
"Learning to raise Pokemon is another way of understanding how to live with them," Brock replied.
"And Pokemon are always lots of fun to play with," Misty added with a beaming, joyful smile.
"Meanwhile, I'll stand watch for the giant Pokemon to appear at my lighthouse again," Bill declared in a resolute voice.
"Do you think we'll ever find out what that Pokemon was?" Yuki inquired curiously.
"I highly doubt it," Rhonda shrugged. "Besides, like Bill says, there are plenty of other mysteries for us to explore and discover."
"Bill, do you think we'll ever find all the Pokemon there are?" Ash asked.
"No, Ash, there are probably as many as we can imagine. Maybe many, many more," Bill answered. "Maybe there's no limit to the Pokemon we can actually find on this planet."
He then turned around to face Ash with an even more determined yet enthusiastic smile.
"Ash, you're a Pokemon trainer. I'm a Pokemon researcher, seeking out all kinds of life on this planet. Even if our paths are different, I think our goals are the same."
Ash then nodded understandingly at his words.
"So what's going to happen to me now, miss?" Nuka asked nervously.
"You can stick with us in the meantime and we'll be able to look after you," Rebecca replied with a reassuring smile. "Maybe we'll even find your mom on the way to Vermilion City."
"Cool! I'd love to join you guys on your amazing adventures! I'll bet that would be a lotta fun!" Nuka cheered while wagging his tail excitedly to and fro with his ears perked up in anticipation.
"Well, I got questions for you if you don't mind," Rhonda informed Nuka while bending down to his eye level.
"Sure; ask away," Nuka answered while looking right at her.
"Who are you anyway?" Rhonda asked curiously.
"You can call me Nuka," Nuka declared with a bright, enthusiastic grin.