Pokemon: Rise of Heroes chapter 8 part 2

Anna gritted her teeth and nodded at that, knowing that the Acid attack had the possible after-effect of lowering the target's Special Defense. She had to wrap this battle up soon, or Beedrill could have been in real trouble.

Annoyed by Beedrill's sudden comeback, Anna's opponent decided to keep up with the pressure. "Nicely done, I have to admit… but you won't get a second chance! Attack with Razor Leaf, Oddish!"

The Grass / Poison type shook the dizziness out of him before making a huge swipe with the leaves on top of his head. Several of them detached and flew like darts towards Beedrill, who was too slow to dodge and could barely put up his stinger-arms to defend himself. The razor-sharp leaves bounced against the Bug / Poison's defense, doing little damage but managing to slow him down.

"Be careful, Beedrill!" Anna exclaimed. "A Razor Leaf attack? I never knew an Oddish could learn that…"

"So you don't know everything, after all…" the Lass said sarcastically.  "Well, an Oddish can't learn Razor Leaf in fact, but he can use it as an Egg Move!" Anna and Beedrill looked at each other in confusion, having never heard of that before. "An Egg Move?" Anna asked. "I know some Pokémon are born from eggs, but what does that have to do with…"

"Egg Moves are moves a Pokémon is born with, on the condition that his or her father knows them." The Lass explained. "You should know that Pokémon can breed even with different species, if they belong to compatible Egg groups."

Anna nodded. "Hmm, I see. In other words, they are moves than can be inherited. Thanks for the explanation…" Anna answered, before smiling cunningly at her opponent. "And thanks for giving my Beedrill the time he needed to regain his bearings! Beedrill, use Fury Attack!"

‘Right away!’ the hornet-like Pokémon exclaimed. With a sudden burst of power, Beedrill dashed at his opponent and began striking Oddish with a series of thrusts from his stingers, both on his arms and on his abdomen! The Lass gasped as she realized her mistake – by explaining to Anna how the Egg Move system worked, she had given her Beedrill ample time to make a comeback!

A series of blows from Beedrill's stinger-arms left Oddish dazed… and the giant hornet ended the battle by slamming his shoulder against Oddish's frail body, sending it to the ground with spirals in his eyes. The Lass widened her eyes for a while, before sighing and admitting defeat.

"Don't worry about that, Oddish… you did a great job anyway!" the Lass thanked her Pokémon as she recalled him in his Pokéball. Then, she sighed and turned to Anna. "I must say, you are skilled. It's not every day you meet such a good trainer around here… I think you can actually beat the Nugget Bridge challenge!"

"Thanks… I just try to do my best!" Anna answered with a wink, as she got close to her Beedrill, who was panting from the lingering effects of Stun Spore. She took a small bottle of green liquid from her backpack, and gave it to Beedrill, and the giant wasp quickly swallowed the Paralyze Heal, feeling better already after a gulp. "Here, Beedrill… thank you for your help, you did a great job there!" Anna thanked her Pokémon. "And Nidoran as well! I'm really proud of you!"

‘Thank you, Anna!’ the giant wasp answered, spreading his wings as he took to the air once again. ‘I feel ready to take on all comers!’

Anna giggled. "Me too, but try not to overdo it, okay?" she answered, before turning back to the Lass. "By the way, do you happen to know anything about the other challengers?"

"Not really…" the Lass answered with a sigh.  "Though I've seen a strange guy dressed in black, with a capital R drawn on his chest, who was running to the other side of the bridge. He looked like he was trying to hide something…"

"Hmmm, I see…" Anna concluded, knowing that it was obviously the Team Rocket agent who had stolen that TM from that house in Cerulean City. "Thanks for the heads-up! I'm going to complete the challenge now… and better luck next time!"

"Thanks! Good luck to you too!" the Lass answered with a light smile on her face. "My name is Ali by the way and I hope we see each other again sometime." added as Anna and Beedrill walked away for the next battle…

‘Hmm… that Oddish sure was something…’ Anna thought to herself

"Phew… and that does it for the last contestant!" Ash sighed, wiping his forehead as he recalled his worn-out Rattata in his Pokéball. The battles had been rather hard, even with him and Anna taking turns, and now pretty much all of their Pokémon were tired, except for Pikachu and Clefairy. Still, they had managed to get to the other side of the bridge, and the two siblings were now greeting each other. "Hey Anna, how did it go?"

"It was tough but we managed to win our battles" said the brunette, glad that they were both able to reach the end of the bridge. "How did you guys do?"

"We did pretty well, plus it's great that the two of us managed to get to the end of the challenge… though right now all of my Pokémon except for Pikachu are exhausted."

"I know how that feels…" she told him with a frown.  "The only Pokémon that I have that isn't worn-out from the battles is my Clefairy."

Ash frowned at this and was about to say something when they heard clapping not too far from where they stood. "Well I must say it is a surprising turn of events to see two trainers having defeated our five contest trainers" began a mysterious trainer with a grin on his face. "Never the less, you have won and as such here is your fabulous prize!"

Ash and Anna were surprised when they were each given a rare gold nugget from the mysterious trainer though for some reason they had a bad feeling about him as well but they couldn't figure out why. "Thanks… I guess…" said Anna, accepting the prize she and her brother received. "Anyway, there is something we need to ask you…"

"Ask away…" grinned the mysterious trainer then examined both younger trainers in front of him.  "By the way, would you like to join Team Rocket? We could use strong trainers like you to help us."

This caught the two off guard. "Wait, you're part of Team Rocket?" exclaimed Ash, not wanting to believe this. "We're looking for a member that stole a TM from a house at Cerulean City!"

"Is that so?"

"That's right!" snapped Anna with a darkened expression on her face as she spoke. "My brother and I are looking for him so we can take back the stolen TM, we know he couldn't have gone too far."

"Well you've already found him!" he grinned again, taking off his disguise and revealing who he really is. "A shame really, had you simply accepted my offer you two would have become high ranking members of Team Rocket though I may reconsider what I'm about to do if you change your mind."

"No way!" yelled Ash, scowling at the thief in front of him and Anna nodded, not liking the idea of joining a group of criminals.

"Very well, then you leave me no choice… It's time for me to make an offer you can't refuse, let's go!" he released his Ekans and his Zubat into battle.

Ash remained silent at this for a moment and turned his attention towards his Pikachu then said. "Alright buddy, you ready to go?"

‘You bet I am!’ replied Pikachu, jumping to the field.

"You too Clefairy." smiled Anna. "It's time we teach him a lesson about stealing things that don't belong to him." The Normal-Type nodded and joined Pikachu's side for the fight that is about to take place.

"I admire your courage but unfortunately I am not like those weak trainers that you defeated earlier" frowned the Team Rocket member, not amusing by their determination by any means. "Zubat use Supersonic on them and Ekans, use Poison Sting on that little rat!"

They remained silent and proceeded with their attacks, though Pikachu wasn't happy with being called a rat. "Dodge now!" ordered both Ketchums and watched their respective Pokémon quickly avoiding the Supersonic and Poison Sting attacks. "Pikachu, use Thundershock on Zubat!" commanded Ash.

"Clefairy, try a Doubleslap on Ekans!" shouted Anna. While Pikachu did a powerful jolt of Electricity onto the Flying/Poison-Type's body, Clefairy jumped at the Snake Pokémon straight ahead and proceeded in slapping him across the face.

"You think you those attacks are gonna knock us down?" challenged the Rocket Grunt.

"Zubat, use Air Cutter and then fly out of reach."

"Not so fast," countered Anna. "Clefairy, use Gravity!"

"Crap, not Gravity!" exclaimed Rocket Grunt, gritting his teeth as he watched in horror as his Zubat fall to the ground.

"Alright Pikachu use Quick Attack on Zubat," Ash ordered his companion.

'Got it,' replied Pikachu as he rapidly charged at the helpless Zubat.

Clefairy, Doubleslap on Ekans again," Anna ordered her Clefairy.

'I'm on it,' said Clefairy as she went in behind Pikachu unleashed a hard Doubleslap on Ekans again.

"Pikachu trade with Clefairy and use Iron Tail on Ekans," Ash ordered his trusty Pokémon.

'Got it,' acknowledged Pikachu as his tail became hard as iron and swung it at Ekans, effectively him out while Clefairy then used Doubleslap to finish off the already weakened Zubat.

"Zubat, no!" exclaimed the Rocket Grunt.

"Pathetic," said the Rocket Grunt's partner. "I knew that I couldn't count on you. You're weak. Guess I have to clean up your mess." A twinkle was shown to his partner as if it were some sign.

The Rocket's partner produced a disc that had been stolen from Cerulean City.

'That's the stolen TM!' exclaimed Clefairy. Ash and Anna were shocked to see the Rocket's partner had the stolen TM. However as the two were focused on the Rocket's partner, they were unaware that the Rocket Grunt had wormed his way behind the young trainers and pick-pocketed their Pokédexes.

Watching from a considerable distance, the shadowy figure that sabotaged a vacuum machine in Cerulean City saw the Rocket Grunt stealing the Pokédexes.

"Looks like those two will need a Pokédex each," she said to her shiny Hoenn Psychic-type Pokémon, Gardevoir.

'It appears that way,' agreed the Psychic Pokémon as she watched with her trainer.

"That's the TM you have stolen from that house in Cerulean!" Anna exclaimed, glaring fiercely at the Rocket grunt. "Give it back! Or else, we'll force you to give it back!"

However, her order went unheard, and the Rocket grunt laughed it off. "Hehehee… you sure can talk the talk, little girl!" he answered. "But let's see if you can back it up with your skills! Come out… Machop and Drowzee!"

Two Pokémon appeared in front of Pikachu and Clefairy – one of them was a squat yet well-built Pokémon with a pale blue skin, a small crest on his head, and powerful muscles all over his body, as well as a somewhat frog-like face, who clasped his fists together and stood ready for the battle. The other looked like a tapir with tired-looking eyes, short arms with three-fingered hands, and the upper half of his body was yellow, while the lower half was brown, with a wave separating the two halves.

"Those two Pokémon are… a Machop and a Drowzee!" Ash stated in slight surprise, before reaching for his Pokédex in order to scan them… but his hands grabbed nothing but thin air! "Huh? What? Where… where did my Pokédex go?" he exclaimed, with a mounting feeling of dread as he lowered his gaze… and saw that his Pokédex was in fact gone! And not just his own… he could see that even Anna didn't have her own Pokédex anymore! "What? Our Pokédex! Where are they?"

"I... I can't find my Pokédex anywhere!" Anna exclaimed, while Pikachu and Clefairy turned to the two siblings in worry. Thinking that his partner had done a decent job after all, the Rocket grunt smirked and sent his Pokémon to attack before his opponents were ready!

"Well… that's too bad for you, kids! Ready or not, here I come!" he exclaimed. "Machop, use Karate Chop on Clefairy!"

‘With pleasure!’ the Fighting-type Pokémon answered, before launching himself at the surprised Clefairy with a hand raised! Pikachu managed to place himself between Clefairy and his opponent, and got hit with a powerful chop in the side, squeaking in pain before being thrown to the ground!

"Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed, sighing in relief when his Electric-type starter climbed to his feet again. However, his relief was short-lived as the Rocket grunt gave another order, this time to his Drowzee!

"Well, if that's how you want it…" he said.  "Drowzee… use Hypnosis on that stupid little fairy!"

‘Okay…’ Drowzee exclaimed in a sleepy voice. His eyes lit up with a strange blue light, and Clefairy widened her eyes in surprise as her limbs became stiff… and she soon fell asleep, entranced by the Psychic Pokémon's eldritch powers.

"Oh, no… Clefairy! This is bad…" Anna exclaimed, knowing that her brother's Pikachu was the only available Pokémon left. "Ash, I'm afraid I won't be able to help until my Clefairy wakes up! Can your Pikachu fight those two?"

"I'm not sure he can, Anna…" Ash answered… but Pikachu was not going to give up that easily, and he quickly brought his guard up again, ready to face the two enemies!

‘Don't worry, Ash! I'm not going down that easily!’ he answered, causing Machop to chuckle softly. He, Drowzee and their trainer were certain that he alone was not going to do much against them….

"Hehehee… let's see how you manage to do this!" the Rocket grunt said. "Drowzee, use Disable on that Pikachu!"

"Quick, Pikachu, attack them with Thundershock!" Ash answered. Pikachu complied, causing his cheeks to crackle with power… but just then, Drowzee took on a meditating stance, and the electricity on Pikachu's cheeks fizzled out harmlessly!

‘Ugh… sorry, I wasn't fast enough…’ Pikachu murmured.

"And now… Machop, wrap this up with a nice Low Kick!" the Rocket grunt ordered with a dispassionate look on his face. Machop raced at Pikachu and throw a kick at his shins… but this time, Ash and the electric mouse were not going to take this laying down!

"Not so fast, pal!" the young trainer exclaimed. "Pikachu… strike back with Mega Kick!"

"Sure!" Pikachu exclaimed, launching himself at Machop as well. "Just because I can't use my electric attacks, doesn't mean I'm helpless! Let me show you!"

"Tough words, mouse!" Machop exclaimed. Both Pokémon executed a turnabout kick, aiming at each other's chest… and struck at the same time! There was a deafening crash, and both Pikachu and Machop were thrown backwards and knocked down, to the point where the Fighting-type rolled on the ground and back to his trainer!

"Well, I must say you aren't all that helpless, after all." The Rocket agent smirked. "But don't think it can last much longer! Soon, your Pikachu will tire out and…"

Machop suddenly grunted in pain and stiffened, feeling a slight shock running through his body… and the Rocket grunt halted and gritted his teeth, understanding too late that Pikachu's Static ability, capable of paralyzing any Pokémon that came in contact with him, had kicked in.

‘Ha! Joke's on you!’ Pikachu smirked as he picked himself up. While Machop staggered backwards in an attempt to reorganize himself, Drowzee turned to Pikachu in anger and used a Confusion attack, lifting the yellow mouse off the ground, and hurling him to the other side of the battlefield, where he landed with a squeak. Pikachu stood up again, but this time, he was feeling dizzy, and he was not sure whether he could keep up with all the attacks…

"Pikachu, don't give up! You're the only one who can help right now!" Ash cheered his on. The yellow mouse nodded, taking a look at Clefairy who was still sleeping… and steeled his resolve, launching himself at Drowzee in an unexpected display of power and speed! The Psychic Pokémon was surprised and tried to back away… but Ash and Pikachu were faster than he and the Rocket grunt thought, and they were unprepared for Ash's next order! "That's it, Pikachu! And now… attack with Iron Tail!"

‘Here I go!’ Pikachu squeaked, doing a quick pirouette and smacking Drowzee in the face with it! The hypnotic Pokémon fell to the ground, and the Rocket grit his teeth in anger as he tried to get his Machop to move!

"Dammit… come on, Machop, get up! Move!" he ordered. "Do it now, before…"

‘Before… I wake up, you mean?’ Clefairy exclaimed as she slowly stood up and rubbed her eyes. ‘Sorry for the delay… I'm not going to fall for the same trick anymore!’

"Clefairy!" Anna cheered. "That's good… now, let's give those guys the what-for! Are you in, bro?"

"You bet, sis!" Ash answered. "Pikachu… use Quick Attack on Machop and take him down!"

"Clefairy! Attack Drowzee with Doubleslap!" Anna ordered. The two Pokémon dashed towards their respecive opponents, and the Rocket grunt widened his eyes in horror as he tried to get his Pokémon to strike back!

"This is bad… Machop, use Karate Chop again! And you, Drowzee… use Hypnosis!" he exclaimed in a desperate attempt to fight. Machop tried to defend himself, in spite of his paralysis, and Drowzee picked himself up from the ground…

‘I will… try…’ Machop said, raising his hand… but both he and Drowzee were too slow, and they were hit at the same time! Pikachu punched Machop in the face, almost too fast for the eye to see, while Clefairy grabbed Drowzee and started slapping him silly, putting more and more power with each hit! As soon as they were done, both Machop and Drowzee were on the ground, stunned and unconscious.

"Ugh… damn kids…" the Rocket grunt said before Pikachu performed a Thunder Wave .attack to stop the thief in his tracks before he can escape "Arrgh! Gloat about this victory all you want… my partner still has your Pokédexes! We've still won this round…"

Ash and Anna remembered how they were missing their electronic devices and grit their teeth in anger, while Pikachu and Clefairy got ready to attack the Rocket grunt and shock or slap the answer out of him… but a dull thud from their left drew their attention, and the two Ketchum twins and their Pokémon turned that way. Just in time to see the first grunt, spirals in his eyes and a stunned expression on his face, lying down on the ground, a beautiful fox-like Pokémon standing on top of him in a nonchalant expression. It was a huge fox with a shining white fur, a tuft of hair on top of her head, and beautiful, bewitching eyes, not to mention nine long and luscious tails upon which a small blue flame was flickering!

"What?" the second grunt shouted in disbelief, while unable to move, he muttered a curse as he looked at the fox-like Pokémon in fear, and the beautiful Pokémon quickly turned her eyes to him, as if ordering him to stand down and return what he had stolen. "Who… who's this Pokémon? Who dares to…?”

"I do, if you don't mind." A strong male voice was heard, and a powerful-looking trainer made his appearance alongside the nine-tailed white fox, who turned to him and nodded her head proudly. The newcomer, under Ash and Anna's surprised gaze, stroke his Pokémon's head and retrieved something from the pocket of his vest, as the two children carefully eyed him.

"Who… who are you, mister…" Ash murmured, looking at the man from head to toe. He looked very mysterious indeed, wearing a red-and-black cape that covered his whole body, as well as a fox-like mask on his face and a pair of black gloves on his hands, eventually he recognized the man in front of him. "Wait a minute… I remember you; you're the powerful trainer we encountered back at Mt. Moon!" As he took out a couple of new-model Pokédexes and a small CD-like object from his vest, Ash and his sister could almost feel like he was smiling gently at them.

"I'm sorry you got your Pokédexes stolen, kids… but don't worry, my Ninetales has taken care of this guy, as you can plainly see!" he stated, pointing at his Pokémon, who raised her tails in the air as if she were a peacock.

‘It was nothing really, master.’ The beautiful Pokémon, now revealed as Ninetales, stated. ‘This guy couldn't scare a Caterpie if he tried.’

The mysterious man chuckled at his Pokémon's comment, before handing Ash and Anna the new-model Pokédexes… and the TM he was holding! "Well, just make sure these two scoundrels don't escape. As for you, kids… this is a little present for you! These new Pokédex models come from the faraway continent of Unova, and they've got all the features present in your old Pokédexes, and a lot more! Plus… there's this new TM a friend of mine would like you to have!"

‘Wow… new Pokédex models from a faraway continent? That's pretty neat!’ Clefairy stated, as Ash and Anna received their new gift from the mysterious man and looked at them. They were black, compact, with a very clear screen and a Pokéball symbol drawn upon their surfaces, and they looked very comfortable and easy to use.

"Yeah… wow, this is awesome! Thank you very much…" Ash stated, looking at his new Pokédex in disbelief. "But… why is it that you want to give us these things?"

"Yeah…" Anna said, adjusting her hat as she looked at the Unova Pokédex, seemingly entranced by it.

The man chuckled nicely. "Well, kids… let's just say a friend of mine has taken a bit of an interest in you, and would love to see just how far you can go. She… feels there's great potential in both of you, and I think that's the case as well, seeing how well you trained that Pikachu and that Clefairy!"

‘Oh well…’ Pikachu said, rubbing his head in modesty. ‘We just try to do our best! And our Pokémon friends are doing that as well!’

"I know, little one…" the man answered with a nod.  "Still, we were both pretty impressed by your skills, and thought we could as well give you a helping hand."

"That's… really nice of you…" Anna said, flattered. "And… what about this TM you're giving us? What does it contain?"

"Oh, that?" the fox-masked man said. "That's a pretty nice move for Flying-type Pokémon… and other kinds as well! Why don't you take a look at the content?"

"Content? What content…?" Ash began to ask, before his eyes fell on a note that had been sent together with the TM. He quickly picked it up and began reading it. "Hmm… this TM contains Aerial Ace. A Flying-type move than never misses its intended target."

"That's a move you could easily teach Pidgeotto, Ash!" Anna said with a smile.

"Well, it seems you kids already got the hang of it!" the man stated, nodding to Anna. "We will be watching you during your journey, and we'll meet again when the time is right! Do your best, kids… I know you can go far!"

"Thanks a lot…" Ash began to say… before realizing that he didn't even know the guy's name! "Er… mister…'"

"Oh, right… where are my manners?" the mysterious man said in embarrassment, as he recalled his beautiful Ninetales to his side. The Rocket grunts, too afraid of him to try anything, simply laid low and didn't try anything funny as the man bowed like a gentleman and introduced himself to Ash and Anna. "You can call me… Crimson Fox. My best wishes for the rest of your journey, kids."

‘From me as well.’ Ninetales stated. Ash smiled and nodded at Pikachu, before trying out his new Pokédex by pointing it at Ninetales.

"Ninetales, the Fox Pokémon. The evolved form of Vulpix. It has nine tails and a shining golden fleece. Ninetales are said to live very long lives." The electronic encyclopaedia said. "Each of its tails contains a different mystical power, but grabbing one of its many tails could result in a 1000-year curse."

"Wow…" Ash answered. "Now this is a cool Pokémon…" He soon turned his attention towards the defeated Rocket member and pointed the new Pokédex at Drowzee while Anna did the same towards Machop.

Drowzee, the Hypnosis Pokémon. If you sleep by it all the time, it will sometimes show you dreams it has eaten in the past.

Machop, the Superpower Pokémon. It is very powerful in spite of its small size. Machop's Mastery of many martial arts makes it very tough.

Ash turned his attention back to the Crimson Fox and said "well, Mr. Crimson Fox, it was a pleasure to meet you, and we thank you for your help…" he didn't finish what he was going to say as much to the two siblings' surprise as well as their Pokémon's, the man and his Ninetales were already gone…

"Seriously… you two are so reckless!" Misty was saying, rubbing her forehead as she and Brock reunited with Ash and Anna, who were back in Cerulean City after getting the TM back from the Rockt grunts. "Charging in with no plan, and just with your Pokémon… you're lucky you're good trainers, or things might have gotten messy!"

"Eeh… we know, Misty, but we just couldn't let those thieves get away with this, right?" Anna answered. Now, the team had walked back to the house that had been visited by Team Rocket, and they were approaching the owner in order to hand the TM back to him. "Anyway… everything ended up well, and we got he TM back to boot! Mister, we have the TM they've stolen from you right here! We managed to defeat those Rocket jerks, and we got it back to you!"

However, much to the young girl's surprise, the owner of the TM didn't take it back – he just shrugged and waved his hand gently, telling the two trainers they could keep it. "It's okay, my young friend. You and your brother already did much for me, and it's only fair that I pay you back! And I guess what's lost is lost, anyway. I'll try teaching my Diglett how to use Dig without a TM." He said, before reaching into his pocket, and handing Ash a TM as well. "Here… I was keeping this other Dig TM just in case, but now I want you to keep it! I'm sure it will be more useful to you!"

"Er… well… what can I say, sir, we're grateful for that…" Ash answered, before turning his glance to the Officer Jenny who was on the scene. "But still, there's the problem of Team Rocket. They've started to be more active around here, as of late. First Mt. Moon, and now this…"

"Yes, we are worried about this as well." Officer Jenny answered with a small nod. "Those two grunts you defeated earlier on, we've already taken them in custody, and we will question them as appropriate. We'll try to investigate this problem, and try to put a stop to these act of Pokémon theft."

"That's good to know…" Brock answered with a nod. "Anyway, now that we've settled things here… where do you think we should go next?"

"Well, since I'm going to be traveling with you… I can give you a few pointers!" Misty stated with a wink. As Brock and the Ketchum siblings turned to her, the redhead pointed to a direction, the same direction where Nugget Bridge was, and continued. "A friend of mine lives near here, and he's a computer genius whose favorite hobby is inventing all kinds of programs and hi-tech gizmos! I'm sure he could give us a few pointers of where to look next!"

"Really? You're friends with a computer genius?" Anna asked in wonder. "That's cool! And… can we ask who this person is?"

Misty smiled cunningly at that. "Of course!" she said, winking. "His name is Bill, and he's the one who invented the Pokémon Storage System!"

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's get going!" With that said, Ash and co began making their way to see the infamous Pokémaniac Bill. While this was happening, the mysterious Crimson Fox and his Ninetales watched from afar, knowing that danger is going to take place now that they have officially become enemies of Team Rocket much like how he himself is the primary enemy of the criminal organization.