Icy Sets Off

by Chichiri

  This is the story of Icy, a psychic pokémon trainer from Saffron City. He is 12 years old and is ready to set out on his pokémon journey. He received an Abra for his 10th birthday from his parents and attends classes at the Saffron City Gym. He has been working on training his Abra for 2 years now but doesn’t want it to evolve yet. Sabrina, the gym leader in Saffron, told Icy that he should meet a pokémon expert by the name of Professor Oak in Pallet Town. Icy decides the best way to get to Pallet would be through Digletts’ Cave in Vermilion City. Icy waves good-bye to his loving parents and sets off on his journey.

  “Well Abra, let’s go!”
  “Aaaabraaaa...,” replies Abra in a sleepy tone. Icy recalls Abra to its pokéball and decides to pick up some supplies at the Pokémart. He picks up a few pokéballs, some potions, and various healers. After paying for the supplies, Icy departs south from Saffron City.

by Abramaster

  “So this is what non-city stuff looks like,” proclaims Icy as he looks at the beautiful countryside. His psychic senses alert him to a nearby pokémon. “All right! I sense my first catch is near!” Just then, a Pidgey popped its head up out of the grass. “Let’s go Abra!” he says as he releases Abra from its pokéball. “Abra, teleport now!” Abra teleports behind the Pidgey. “Alright Abra, hit it with your confusion attack!” Abra lets out a psionic wave which makes the Pidgey start stumbling around in a dizzy manner. “Pidgey, you’ll be my first catch! Pokéball GO!” Icy throws the pokéball at the confused Pidgey. Pidgey is sucked into the pokéball as Icy watches patiently. The ball wobbles for a second but then becomes still.
  “YES! I caught my very first pokémon. I wonder if my new Pidgey can ever learn any psychic attacks. Abra, come back.” Abra returns to his pokéball and Icy decides to take a rest while he enjoys the scenery. “We’ll rest here, then set out across this grassland for Vermilion tomorrow.” Icy’s pokémon agree and take a nap. Icy thinks about all the new pokémon he will see when he gets to Vermilion City. He decides to set up camp since the sun has already begun to set. As Icy watches the extraordinary view, he thinks about his parents and friends back in Saffron City.

Icy's First Battle

  Last time, Icy and his pokémon set up camp just outside of Saffron City. He caught his very first pokémon, a Pidgey, with his Abra. Now, Icy continues on his hike toward Vermilion City.

  “Ahh, fresh air and sun shine. What a perfect morning...” His words are interrupted by the voice of a younger trainer.
  “C’mon Rattata... Yes! Good work... Huh...” The boy looks up and sees Icy approaching. “Hey, you’re a pokémon trainer, right?”
  “Yes,” replies Icy. Icy wonders for a second what the boy is getting at.
  “You wanna battle. How many pokémon do you have? I’ve got a Rattata and a Pidgey. Oh... My name’s Mike. What’s yours?”
  “Icy. Pleased to meet you. I’ve got two pokémon also, a Pidgey and an Abra.”
  “Wow! An Abra! Really! How did you get that? Ahh, never mind. C’mon, wanna battle? Pleeeasssse...”
  “Hmmmm... Sure.”
  The two trainers select their starting pokémon for the match. Icy starts out with his new Pidgey while Mike releases Rattata.
  “Rattata! Use your hyper fang to crème that Pidgey!” Rattata lunges for the Pidgey.
  “Pidgey. Fly high to evade and counter with a gust attack.” Pidgey evades the attack and blows Rattata into a tree. “Hehehe, nice job Pidgey, now finish it off with your Wing Attack!”
  Mike is worried now. “Rattata, use your quick attack!” Mike 's Rattata successfully evades Pidgey’s wings and smashes it to the ground. Now it’s Icy who is worried. “Tackle it Rattata!” Rattata pounds the Pidgey into the tree knocking it out.
  “Oh no, Pidgey... Uh... Return!” The beam from the pokéball takes Pidgey back. “All right, I’ll show you. Go Abra!”
  “Aaaabraaa...”
  “Abra! Confusion attack!” Abra uses its confusion attack to confuse Rattata and it accidentally knocks itself out as it lunges into a tree.
  “Huh... Errrr... Rattata return. Pidgey GO! Blow that Abra sky high!” The Pidgey tries to blow the Abra away with its Gust attack but Icy uses telepathy to have Abra use Confusion to send the attack back at Pidgey. “What... Hey, how did you do that? You didn’t order Abra to use that attack...” Mike seems to be the one who is confused now.
  “I can control my psychic pokémon using telepathy,” replies Icy proudly. “Well, I guess that makes my Abra the winner!”
  “Ah, you just got lucky. So, where are you headed?”
  “Vermilion City. Then through Digletts’ Cave to Pallet Town.” Icy’s facial expression changes from determined to joyful in the hopefulness of friendship.
  “Vermilion City? Cool! That’s where I live. I could go with you and show you around.”
  “OK. That would be wonderful.” Icy feels overjoyed that he has made a new friend. It seems that Mike doesn’t mind Icy’s psychic abilities, which makes Icy feel even better. As the two trainers head for Vermilion City together, they both realize that their destinies are somehow linked.

Icy and Mike Arrive in Vermilion City

  Last time, Icy met a young pokémon trainer named Mike. The two had a small battle in which Icy won but his Pidgey was badly injured. The two became friends and together they arrive in Vermilion City. It has been a while since Mewtwo had wreaked havoc on the beautiful harbor city. All of Vermilion has been rebuilt so Icy has no idea of what had happened.

  “This is a nice place you’ve got here,” says Icy.
  “Yeah. But last week, a giant white pokémon destroyed a lot of the city. They had to bring in the army! I didn’t get to see it because my parents told me to hide in our house.”
  “Oh my. That’s terrible! What did they do with the evil pokémon?”
  “I heard they took it to a special lab on Cinnabar Island.” He and Icy continue walking down the road leading to the pokécenter. “Just ahead is a pokécenter. We can heal our pokémon there.”
  They finally reach the pokécenter and each give their pokémon to Nurse Joy to be healed.
  “How long have you been training Icy?”
  “For about two years, but I left home only a few days ago.”
  “I just started. It’s not an easy task. After our pokémon are healed, let’s go to my house. I want you to meet my family.” Just then, Nurse Joy came out and called Icy and Mike to the front desk.
  “Your pokémon are all healed. Please come back any time.” She smiles then helps another trainer.
  “Let’s go Icy. I’ll show you the way to my house.” Icy and Mike head for his house. After walking for about five minutes, they are standing outside a white, medium sized home with a lovely garden in front.
  “Nice house,” says Icy. He is very impressed.
  “We were lucky that the giant pokémon was captured so soon, otherwise it may have destroyed it. Well, let’s go in. I want to introduce you.” They go inside where Mike’s mom is busy preparing dinner.
  “Well, your father and I have been wondering when you’d be coming home. Did you find any new pokémon?” asks Mike’s mother. She suddenly sees Icy and asks Mike, “Is this a new friend of yours?”
  “Uh huh. His name is Icy and he is a pokémon trainer too! He can also use psychic powers to control his pokémon!”
  “Wow! You’re quite a guy aren’t you,” she replies smiling at Icy. “Dinner will be ready in a few minutes, would you like to join us?”
  “That would be wonderful. Thank you very much,” Icy answers. They all sat down to a huge seafood meal. Seafood is a specialty in Vermilion City because it’s on the water. After dinner, Icy thanks Mike and his mom for their hospitality but tells them he must get going. They say their good-byes and Icy returns to the pokécenter to stay the night.
  “Tomorrow, we’ll head for Digletts’ Cave.” He yawns and quickly falls asleep. Icy dreams of all the new people he will see on his journey, not to mention all the interesting pokémon he’ll catch.

The Walking Grass

  Last time, Icy met his friend Mike’s parents in Vermilion City. After sleeping overnight at the pokécenter, he decides it would be a good idea to catch a grass pokémon before heading for Digletts’ Cave. And now…

  Icy heads back to Route 6 in search of a grass type pokémon. “From what I heard in Vermilion City, the Pewter City gym leader, Brock, is a push-over. But if I can capture an Oddish, I can really make him look like a fool!” Icy chuckles to himself as he walks through the dense grasses. “Ooooddddish! Ooooddddish!” he cries out. No response. “Go Abra. Use your psychic powers to find some Oddishes.” Abra sleepily points in a northerly direction toward a spring. “Abra, that’s a spring. Why would an Oddish hang out by a spring?” Icy is doubtful of Abra’s sense of location but then notices some grass swaying back and forth. He licks his finger and puts it in the air. “Hmm.. No wind...” He slowly approaches the grass near the spring and suddenly, about 20 Oddishes jump out of grass. “Aghh!!! Abra, confusion attack NOW!!!” Abra fires a psyonic wave at a few of the Oddishes confusing them. They begin attacking each other while Icy and Abra, well Abra just sits there with his eyes shut, just watch the different colors of the powders and spores the Oddishes were using on each other. One Oddish, slightly larger than the rest of them, seems to be unaffected by the other Oddishes attacks. “That one’s mine! Go pokéball!” he says as he throws the well-aimed pokéball at it. It captures the Oddish and floats back into Icy’s hands.
  “Yeeesssss! Boy is that Brock in for a surprise. He he he...” he laughs. Then he notices all the Oddishes crying in pain. “Oh no, they attacked each other so much that they all got hurt bad.” He snaps his fingers as an idea comes to him. “I know! Abra, teleport the Oddishes into the spring to wash the poisons off.”

by Abramaster

  Abra focuses his teleportation powers on the group of Oddishes and in an instant, they vanish. Seconds later, they reappear about 7 inches above the spring and plunge into the water below. { SPLASH!!!! } Icy watches hopefully as the Oddishes regain their strength and start to play in the water.
  “Well Abra, you may not be a great conversationalist, but at least you’ve got a great sense of humor! Let’s get going, it’ll be dark soon.” He waves goodbye to the group of soaked Oddishes and heads back toward Vermilion City. Abra returns to his pokéball and Icy decides the stop by the pokécenter to heal his new Oddish.
  While waiting for his Oddish to be healed, he thinks about why he didn’t want to evolve Abra. Icy had been lonely as a child and up until he met Mike, Abra was his only true friend. But now, Abra was getting quite boring and Icy could really use a friend he could talk to. “Mister, hello... Wake up... HEY!!!” Nurse Joy’s voice startles Icy as he remembers why he was waiting there in the first place. “Your Oddish is as good as new! It’s getting pretty late, you’re welcome to stay the night.” Icy nods and Joy returns to her desk. Icy remains sitting on the bench still trying to decide what to do with his Abra. He slowly drifts off and falls asleep as the sun sets over the water beyond the horizon. Tomorrow, he’ll be ready to set off for Digletts’ Cave.

In the Hall of the Dugtrio King

  Last time, Icy found a crowd of Oddishes and managed to capture one. After healing it at the pokécenter, he began thinking about what to do with Abra. And now…

  The sun rose in a spectacular display on the Vermilion Harbor. Icy woke up, had breakfast at the local diner, then set out for the cave. “I hope I get a chance to capture a Diglett or Dugtrio,” Icy said with confidence.
  He entered the caves. It was slightly dark but someone had placed small lights every 25 meters throughout the cave. Icy looked around but didn’t see any pokémon. Then, right under him, a Diglett zipped by. It was followed by another Diglett. Then, Icy felt the cave rumbling. He ducked into a side cavern as hundreds of Digletts rushed by. “Let’s follow them!” he said to Abra. They followed the Digletts through some winding tunnels until they came to a large open cavern. There, in the middle of all the Digletts, was a large Dugtrio. It was much larger than any of the other Digletts.
  “Wow, would you look at that. They look like they’re praising the Dugtrio.” Icy really wanted to capture a Diglett or two, and that Dugtrio was very tempting. He decided to have Abra use its confusion attack on the Digletts the same way he did with the Oddishes. He hadn’t taken more than two steps when he suddenly heard two voices ring out.
  “Prepare for trouble!” “Make that double!” It was two members of Team Rocket. “These Digletts belong to us!”
  “No, you guys can’t have them!”
  “Why not. They’re open to the public.”
  “As far as I’m concerned, thieves don’t belong in the public.”
  “That’s it squirt! We don’t have time to listen to your stupid remarks. We’re taking these pokémon back to the boss and there’s nothing you can do to stop us. Bwa ha ha ha!” they laughed. Icy reaches for Abra’s pokéball.
  “Oh yeah, I challenge you. If you want those Digletts, you gotta get through me first!” he shouts.
  “Whatever boy, it’s your funeral! Go Grimer! Sludge attack now!” Grimer jumps out of his pokéball and fires a massive ball of sludge in Icy’s direction.
  “Go Abra! Use reflect then counter with a confusion attack!” Abra reflects the sludge at Grimer then uses confusion. The Grimer tries to use another sludge attack on Abra but it backfires, blinding it.
  “Drat, Grimer return! Your turn!” he says to his female teammate.
  “I won’t fail! Kid, prepare for the beating of a lifetime! Go Machop!” She throws the pokéball releasing Machop.
  “Ha! What a fool. Now I know why no one is afraid of Team Rocket. Abra, confusion!” Abra uses its confusion attack on the Machop and it knocks itself out with one swing. (@_@)
  “CRAP. All right kid, you win this time. You’ll be sorry!” She recalls Machop and the two flee.
  “Whatever Team Rocket,” he shouts watching them run. The Digletts crowd around him and start chanting, “Dig..diglett..dig.” “Abra, what did they say?” Then, the big Dugtrio moves toward Icy.
  “Trio..Dug..Triodug..dug..dugtrio..trio”
  “Abra, what did HE say?” he asked Abra again.
  “Aaabraaa..aaa..bbb..rrr..aaa…”
  Somehow, it makes sense to Icy. The Dugtrio, in honor of Icy protecting all the Digletts from Team Rocket, wishes to join Icy on his quest. Icy joyfully accepts and had Dugtrio go into one of his pokéballs. Abra returns to its pokéball as well and Icy continues through the cave.
  Finally, he sees the light at the end of the cave. As he exits, he can see the dense Viridian Forest. Icy suddenly remembers that the Viridian Forest is home to many Caterpie (Icy has an unusual affection towards these cute, little bugs). But he and his pokémon are very tired from their hike and he hurries to the pokécenter.
  “Nurse Joy!”
  “Yes, I’m Nurse Joy. Can I help you with something…”
  “Wait a sec, weren’t you just in Vermilion City?” Icy, just like any other new trainer, is confused by the Joy twins.
  “Oh, that’s my sister-in-law. We all look alike!”
  “Wow, that’s really neat…Mmmmmm…Can you heal my pokémon?”
  “Certainly!” She takes Icy’s pokémon and he sits on a bench to wait. A few minutes later, she returns with his pokémon. “You should be careful, I just got word from the police that Team Rocket is nearby.”
  “I just beat the crap out of two of them. They’re push-overs. But thanks for the warning.” He leaves south. His destination, Pallet Town.

Pallet Town at Last

  Last time, Icy was traveling through Digletts’ Cave. He defeated two members of Team Rocket and the lead Dugtrio decided to join him on his journey. And now ...

  Icy leaves south from Viridian City for Pallet Town. As he traveled through Route 1, he saw some other types of pokémon but didn’t have time to capture any. He was determined to make it to Pallet Town by noon and after a few hours of hiking he finally reached it. “This is where Prof. Oak lives, it’s not even a large town.” Icy looked down at his Abra. “Oh well, let’s find Oak.” Abra now walked freely outside its pokéball. Icy decided that he would wait to evolve Abra, but he still needed someone for company. He found a rather large house atop a hill. Reading the sign posted outside the house, he knew he had finally reached his destination. Icy ran up the path to the door and eagerly rang the bell. An older gentleman, still looking somewhat young, answered the door.
  “Yes, hello. I wasn’t expecting any visitors at this hour. What is your name young man?” he asked Icy.
  “I am Icy, a psychic pokémon trainer from Saffron City. I’ve come here to receive my pokédex and official trainer qualifications from you.”
  “Oh. Well then Icy, you must have had quite a trip. Have you captured any pokémon before getting here?”
  “Yes. I caught a Pidgey, an Oddish, and a Dugtrio.”
  “That’s very impressive! Here you go,” he says as he gives Icy a pokédex and a small pokéball.
  “What’s this for?” Icy asked.
  “It’s an extra pokémon I had. Some trainer was going to get it, but sadly some....” he stopped in the middle of his sentence. “Never mind. It’s a Bulbasaur. I’m sorry it isn’t a psychic pokémon but judging from the pokémon you’ve already captured, you seem able to handle multiple types. You’ve got a lot of potential!”
  “Thanks professor. Is it ok if I spend the night here?”
  “Of course. By the way, your pokédex can tell you all about the pokémon you’ve captured or ones you see in the wild. You should head for Pewter City to get your first badge. You need all eight trainer badges in order to compete in the Pokémon Leagues. I believe the gym leader in Pewter is Brock. He specializes in...”
  “... Rock pokémon, I know,” Icy interrupted. “I’ve got a special surprise for him. But I’m headed for the Viridian Forest next. I want the capture some Caterpie.” Icy’s face brightens upon saying the word Caterpie. { He has an affection for them because they are sooooooooo cute! }
  “Caterpie??? Why would you want so many of them?”
  “BECAUSE, CATERPIE ARE THE CUTEST POKÉMON IN THE ENTIRE WORLD!!! I LOVE CATERPIE!!!” Icy shouted.
  Professor Oak is stunned for a second but then regathers his thoughts. “Whatever. They are kinda cute as far as bugs go. They will evolve into Butterfree and can learn psychic attacks later.”
  “Great. Oh, look at the time...”
  “I’ll treat you to dinner. I hope you like pineapple pizza!” Icy just moans to himself. First thing tomorrow morning he’d be heading for Viridian Forest.

Meanwhile…
  The sun comes up and Insanellama and Lonewolf pack up their beds.
  “Well I wonder where the herd’ll be a movin to today...”
  “We’re headin southwest,”(in pikaspeak but amazingly Insanellama understands it).
  “Pi pi Ka chu chu?” (Insanellama can now speak the language too, strange... in this message he said, “about how far.” Further pikaspeak messages said in this to and by him will be in English but with a ^PI^ after them).
  “What, do you actually understand them Insane?”
  “Well, I reckon I do, guess spendin the night with ‘em kinda taught it to me.... hrm..”
  “AMAZING!”
  “We’d better hurry up and go to Pallet Town to check on Oak. Can you like 20 of you come with us in case we see Team Rocket?”^Pi^
  “PI.”(Sure)
  Insanellama positions the 20 Pikachu on Ponyta’s back
  “Lonewolf is it ok if we double up on Vulpix’s saddle?”
  “Sure.”
  “OK LETS RIDE!” About 8 hours pass and they can see Pallet Town coming up in the distance.
  “Ok let’s slow down for a minute, let the horses cool down before they stop.” Another half an hour and they are at Professor Oak’s. Insanellama knocks on the door.
  “How are ya Oak? Mind if we stay the night?”
  “Sure, but Icy is already staying too, hope you don’t mind.”
  “Well I don’t if he don’t.”
  “Ok come right this way. By the way, why are there twenty Pikachus on that Ponyta?”
  “Long story, there’s about 280 more where they came from. There is a herd of ‘em in Viridian forest, I made friends with them, spent the night with ‘em, and the strangest thing is, now I speak the language.”
  “AMAZING.”
  “Howdy there Icy, how are ya?”
  “Fine I guess, how’d you know my name?”
  “Well I’ve known old Professor Oak here since I could speak.”
  “Hi there pikachu.”^Pi^
  “What how can you speak my language?”^Pi^
  “Calm down there little fella, I don’t mean no harm, if you want, you can go talk to some of my friends over there.”^Pi^
  “What, you can talk to pikachu’s in their own language??”
  “Well, yea, it’s a trick I picked up in viridian forest. I only have 4 actual pokémon, the other 20 won’t fight except against TR and wild pokémon if I am out, they’re some friends that agreed to travel with me. Oh by the way, Team Rocket has it in for me, and Professor Oak. I have some friends watchin out for him, but I came to check just in case.”
  “Oh I see.”
  “Well, I forgot to introduce Lonewolf here, sorry bout that.”
  “It’s ok, Hi Icy.”
  “Hi Lonewolf.”

-- SCENE SWITCH --
  “You’re mad heavy Bubba!” Random shouted at his Bulbasaur. Bubba writhed with severe burns from a Charmeleon accident on a small port east of Route 23.
  Random ran off of the ferry and right through Pallet Town until he found the largest building around. The sign said “Oak Research Lab.” Random slammed through the doors and laid the Bulbasaur on the front counter and yelled for some help.
  “HELP ME OUT HERE!!! My Bulbasaur is dying!!!”
  An aide walked to the front desk, shocked by the sight: Bubba’s bulb was burnt brown and badly singed. He was bleeding and nearly unconscious. “bulba... bull..” Bubba could barely bark. Without a word, the aide grabbed the Pokémon and ran to the back room; Random followed anxiously behind.
  Professor Oak was with company when he noticed the racket of Pokémon surgery and the new guest. Oak gave Random a quick look over. He wore tattered ripped jeans, a Spinal Tap t-shirt, and a flannel shirt. An acoustic guitar was hung over his back. His short brown hair was dirty and in need of a industrial strength comb. Oak was reminded of his own youth by the teenager’s “rebel” attitude.
  “Welcome to the Oak Research Institute” Oak proclaimed, “I am Profes-”
  “Professor Oak!” Random interrupted, “I know all about you. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
  “Allow me to introduce you to Icy, Lonewolf and Insane Llama.” Oak held his hand to each trainer as he announced his name.
  “Nice ta meet jer kwantance, Random.” Llama openly greeted Random with a forced handshake. Random flinched. Icy and Lonewolf nodded.
  “We are having some nice pineapple pizza, would you care to join us?” Icy invited Random, holding his slice high in the air. A slight grin could be seen across his face.
  “Where is my Bulbasaur? Is he alright?” Oak checked the back room and returned immediately.
  “He will be fine in a few hours. He seems to be very strong. You must train him well.” Oak was very peculiar about befriending Random.
  “Thank you, I would love some pizza.”
  “Well it’s gettin to be time for shuteye, I guess we’d better lay out our beds on the floor.”
  “Yup.”
  They all go to sleep. Tomorrow, the Viridian Forest awaits…

The Viridian Forest

  Last time, Icy finally made it to Pallet Town. After stopping at Prof. Oak’s, he met 3 new friends. And now…

  They woke up early that morning. “All right, he’s still sleeping, now’s our chance,” Icy said. Insanellama nodded.
  “Yeah, let’s get out of here before he wakes up!” Random and Lonewolf were already at the door. “Let’s go!” they whisper. Without another sound, they leave Oak’s house for Route 1.
  A few hours later, Oak wakes up to an empty house. “Good morning! Rise and shine! The early Pidgey catches the Caterpie! Hmm?!?” Oak looks around but sees no one. “I guess they were the early ones, oh well, looks like I get all the anchovy on rye for myself. Mmm, ymmm, mmmm….”
  The group stops at a local restaurant in town for a real breakfast. “We should head to Route 22 to hunt for Nidorans. They can be quite strong when well trained,” Insanellama says. The others agree and finish their breakfast. They pay and leave to hunt Nidorans.
  “Where are you Nidorans…,” Lonewolf called out. Suddenly, from behind her, 2 male Nidorans jumped out, catching her off guard.
  “Let’s double team them Lonewolf” “Ponyta, fire spin attack, now!” Insanellama shouted.
  “Vulpix fire spin attack NOW!” The flames wrapped both the Nidorans, seriously burning them. “Your mine!” they said, throwing their pokéballs. The two nidorans were easily captured.
  Just then, two more Nidorans popped up, but these were different from each other. They were a male and female. “Let’s double team these Random. Double Bulbasaur!” Icy and Random both release their Bulbasaurs. “Bulbasaur/Bubba, vine whip!” they both yell at the same time. “Bulbasaur!!” the Bulbasaurs cry as they restrain the Nidorans. “Let’s catch them now, go pokéball!” Icy and Random throw their pokéballs. Icy catches the female Nidoran, Random catches the male. “Nice work. Bulbasaurs return! Let’s get these pokémon healed before we continue.”
  “OK,” the others say.
  They head back to the Viridian Pokécenter and have their pokémon healed. “Here are your pokemon, take good care of them.” It’s now noon and they decide to grab some food and supplies before going any further. The Viridian Forest is their next challenge, or is it?
  Meanwhile, two shadows linger in a corner of the pokécenter. “Hmmm… Isn’t that Insanellama, that kid who double-crossed us?”
  “Yes. And that other kid with him, the one with the blue ring, he’s Icy. They’re high on the list.”
  “Then we should follow them. Huh…” Another shadowy figure approaches them, crosses his arms to reveal a red ring with an R on it.
  “Just leave everything to me…”

  The group goes in to the pokémart and buy pokéballs, potions, antidotes, food, and a new rope for Insanellama. “Well I guess we’d better hit the road” said Insanellama.
  “Yea it’s almost 2 o’clock” said Icy. They walk into the forest.
  “Ok guys, keep you eyes open” said Insanellama “Will a few of you guys go see if you can rustle some Caterpie up?^PI^”
  “Sure ^PI^” The pikascouts run off into the distance.
  The group keeps walking on. About 10 minutes later the pikascouts return telling them that they found 14 Caterpie in a group and will lead them to the Caterpie. “Yay, finally I’m gonna get some Caterpie” Icy said. His eyes lit up with the thought.
  “Well there they are, ok Icy, you take 10, and the rest of us will get one each, we’ll let one go free” said Insanellama. Icy uses his Abra to weaken 10 of the Caterpie one by one and catching them.
  “Pikachu THUNDERSHOCK NOW, POKEBALL GO!” and Insanellama had a Caterpie. Random’s Bulbasaur did a vine whip, and he now had one. Lonewolf’s Vulpix did a fire spin, and she now had a slightly singed Caterpie. “Well, let’s move on out guys” said Insanellama “My scouts tell me the pikaherd’s just a little bit up the road from here.”
  5 minutes later they begin to hear muddled pikaspeak, which soon grew to an almost deafening volume. “Hey pal’s can one of my friends each take one of ya with 'em in their journey?”^PI^
  “Sure” ^PI^ one Pikachu jumps on each trainer’s shoulder.
  “Well, I guess I’ll leave these guys with you” ^PI^ “Well, we got a lot of ground to cover.” The group walked off into the distance.
  Meanwhile 3 figures walked along following our heroes’ trail. “What’s that?” the man with the Red ring said. They found out that it was the pikaherd.
  “Holy crap!” said the one of the others.
  PIIIIIIIIIIIIIII KKKKKKKKKKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA CCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHUUUUUU. Electricity begins coming from every pikachu’s body and frying the Team Rocket members. They stumble away from and around the herd and pick up the trail on the other side.
  “Good thing we brought a lot of potions” said the man with the Red ring. They continued following our heroes trail.
  Meanwhile they continued walking and heard a SNOR SNOR LAX LAX coming from the east. “That’s my favorite kind of pokémon SNORLAX!!!” Said Random.
  “Ok then, you can be the one to catch it” Insanellama said. They walk towards the Snorlax.
  “BULBASAUR GO! BULBASAUR VINEWHIP NOW!!” The Snorlax is encircled by the vines. He eventually breaks free and tries to do a SIT attack. Bulbasaur narrowly evades this. Snorlax busts its rump. “POKEBALL GO!” Snorlax is caught. Random picks up the pokéball and puts it in his back, he then falls over from the weight of the bag. The others begin laughing hysterically.
  “Hahahha, don’t worry it’ll get lighter in a few seconds hehehe, you gotta be careful with heavy pokémon” Insanellama said. Insanellama stops laughing all of a sudden “Hey that looks like a pokécenter over there.” said Insanellama. They go inside and get their pokémon to be healed by the nurse inside.

Meanwhile…
  “You sure that’s enough C-4 to do the job,” Said Red Ringed Man.
  “Yea,” said one of the others.

*Back to our heroes*
  “AB RA ABRA AB AB AB!”
  “He’s pointing at that wall” said Icy. Insanellama puts his ear to the wall. “Uh. guys, it’s uh ticking, we’d better get out of here. You too Nurse” he said. They run out the door and are knocked over by the force of the explosion.
  “We got 'em, let’s go on to Pewter.”
  “Oh man, we’d better go to Pewter and rest,” said Random. They all agreed. They walk for a few hours of un-eventful travel. Just when they are at the edge of Viridian Forest.
  “TEAM ROCKET BLAST OFF AT THE SPEED OF LITE, SURRENDER NOW OR PREPARE TO FIGHT!”
  “I’m Shadow, the man with the red ring said”
  “And we’re Freaka and Reaka” The other two said.
  “You guys stay back I can take 2 of you at once” Giovanni said.
  “I’ll go first said Insanellama Pikachu GO, Ponyta GO, Pidgey go, Rattata go, Caterpie go!”
  “GENGAR GO GENGAR 2 GO GENGAR 3 GO! HAUNTER GO! HAUNTER2 GO! HAUNTER3 GO!”
  “PIKACHU THUNDERBOLT NOW” Shadow withdraws Gengar one
  “PONYTA FIRE SPIN NOW!” This attack causes him withdraw Haunter 1.
  “HAUNTER PSYCHIC NOW!” This attack hits all of Insanellama’s pokémon. Ponyta is the only one left standing.
  “PONYTA FIRESPIN NOW!” This faints one of the Haunters.
  Shadow finishes off Ponyta and Icy sends out his pokémon. “ABRA PSYCHIC NOW!” This knocks the rest of Shadow’s pokémon down to a few hit points.
  “GENGAR HYPNOSIS NOW! GENGAR DREAM EATER!” Only Dugtrio and 2 Gengar are left standing.
  “DUGTRIO EXPLOSION NOW!” This finishes the remaining Gengars, but also Icy’s last pokémon. After seeing Shadow defeated the other two rockets run off.
  Ponyta’s pokéball start’s to shake. Ponyta pops out and then turns into a ball of red energy. “WHAT IN THA… PONYTA’S EVOLVING! HE’S A RAPIDASH NOW!, CONGRATULATIONS RAPIDASH!!” Insanellama begins hugging Rapidash, about 5 minutes later they walk into the pokécenter…

Clan Caterpie and the Boulder Badge

  After a good haul, the four took to the bunks to sleep for the night. Insanellama embraced his newly evolved Rapidash and laid down to sleep for the night. Random climbed above Llama’s bunk, threw his sack by the pillow and laid on his back. Excited by his new pokémon, Snorlax, Random popped his pokéball open: Snorlax burst out.
  “SNORRR!!!” Surprise! Snorlax was sleeping!!! Random laughed at the lethargic beast and tucked over for the night. That was, until the bunk collapsed on an unsuspecting redneck, his horse, and several rabid Caterpie…

  The next morning, the four awoke and ate a great breakfast a la Lonewolf: grits and sausage. Refueled and raring for action, our heroes made their way to the Pewter City gym. Navigating through the corridors of Junior Trainers, Icy, Random, Lonewolf, and Insanellama made their way to the Main Room.
  Brock made his way to the floor of the stadium. “How can I help you?” Brock asked innocently enough.
  “A POKEMON BATTLE!!!” Random retorted.
  Brock didn’t loose his edge. “Of course….. 3 pokémon each. Who is first???”
  “Me.” Icy pushed and shoved his way to the front. Icy shouted, “ABRA!!! GO!!!!” Abra walked out onto the stadium floor.
  Brock returned fire. “Great. You look like a strong kid. But it’s gonna take more than strength to beat me. Geodude, attack.” The floating rock paraded into the corridor banged his fists.
  “Abra, Confusion attack, NOW!!!” Abra began to glow.
  “Geodude, TACKLE now!!!” Geodude dove down towards Abra and right as impact was made, Abra shot a bright blue beam of energy that shot Geodude to the wall, out cold!
  “Nice work Abra!!!” Icy and the others applauded.
  Brock nodded his head impressed. “Onix, your turn!”
  “Abra return, lets go ODDISH!!!” The Oddish appeared very fearful of the enormous rock pokémon. “Oddish, use your sleep powder!” The Oddish tried putting Onix to sleep but it didn’t work.
  “Onix, bind it now!” Onix wrapped around the little Oddish and tried to squeeze it.
  While the others just watched poor Oddish about to get turned into jelly, Icy prepared to put his plan into action. “Time to have some fun. Oddish, stun spore!” Oddish released spores into the Onix and it promptly let go. “Now, use absorb!” Oddish quickly absorbed the last of Onix’s energy. “Good work, Oddish!!! Guess that means you owe me a Boulder Badge!”
  “Not yet!! I still have a Zubat! GO ZUBAT!!”
  “GO CATERPIE!!!” The small insect squiggled from the pokéball onto the floor. “CATERPIE!!! String Shot!!!”
  “Zubat, use supersonic!!!” Zubat complied and let a horrible screech, rendering Caterpie disoriented.
  “Keep it together, Caterpie!!! Use String Shot!” Caterpie fired the string for Zubat’s chest. Zubat tried to avoid the blast, but was too slow. The shot knocked Zubat unconscious!!!
  Random commented a colorful, “How the f…-”
  “Tarnations!” Lonewolf and Insanellama interjected with frightening simultaneousness.
  “Simple vitamins, Iron & Carbos. I got some supplies from Oak’s kitchen before we left. Caterpie is healthy and in prime condition. He will be a strong Pokémon when he grows.” Icy smiled a wide grin.
  Brock mumbled as he handed over the badge, “Boulder Badge Dispenser: Over 100,000 Served…”
  “Now its my turn!!!” Random yelled, taking his guitar off his back and putting at his side, “Bubba, Open up a can!!!” Random tossed a pokéball above his head and Bubba dove out onto the floor.
  Brock sighed and threw a ball onto the floor apathetically. Bubba glanced at Random and fired a vine whip at the second Geodude. A ONE SHOT K.O.!!!
  Brock hates Bulbasaurs. “Go Onix..” Brock cringed. Bubba made short work of the Onix, gaining Random’s first Gym battle victory. Brock was running out of Boulder Badges, so he gave Random a voucher and his bus token.
  Insanellama took the field next. Rapidash had no problems overcoming adversity to thoroughly spank Brock’s pokémon. Rapidash was showing great skill and loyalty. Insanellama showed his pride and gave Rapidash a snack after single-handedly winning his master a Boulder Badge.
  Lonewolf tossed her hair back, stepped forward and threw her Vulpix on the floor. Brock’s eyes lit up. Icy and Llama put their attention to their pokémon. Random put his attention to Lonewolf. Brock released his own Vulpix and the two went at it. Lonewolf’s Vulpix used an ember attack and Brock’s returned a leer. Lonewolf commanded a Fire spin, and Vulpix wrapped Brock AND his pokémon in flame. Lonewolf laughed as she forced them into the corner. Vulpix let of a relieved belch of flame, and galloped back to Lonewolf. She collected her badge, and the team let themselves out.
  Brock was demoralized; Onix carried the broken man back to the shower. Our heroes, sporting Boulder Badges, carried the great Caterpie above their heads. “Great job y’all!”
  Lonewolf congratulated each trainer with a hug. Random really enjoyed his hug. As the group arrived at the Pokécenter, all other trainers circled around them. Icy, Random, Lonewolf, and Insanellama told the story of how they got their boulder badges, adding not to visit Brock again until he has had a nice, cold shower.
  Finally, a young trainer tugged on Icy’s pant leg and asked, “So who are you guys???”
  “Us?” Lonewolf bent down to the boy, “We are CLAN CATERPIE!!!”

Out of this World

  Last time, members of Clan Caterpie split up, each going their separate ways and paths. Icy remained at the Pewter City Pokécenter. They all know their paths will cross at some point in the future. And now…

  Icy went to the gym to watch a few badge matches. Brock was still having difficulty winning. Many of the trainers were using grass pokémon to weaken his rock type pokémon and other types to beat Vulpix and Zubat. As Icy watched Brock get beaten for the tenth time in a row without even coming close, he got bored and went out to lunch.
  He ate at a local restaurant where some Chanceys served him. After a good meal, he prepared his gear for Mt. Moon. “If I’m going to get all those badges, I’ve got to get to Cerulean City,” he said to his Abra. They could see the summit rising over the horizon. “There it is. Hmm, I think Insanellama said he was headed this way too, but he’s probably miles ahead of my be now.”
  Meanwhile, inside a secret meeting room somewhere in Pewter City. The lights are dim, but the silhouettes of five people can be made out. “Insanellama and Icy are both headed for Cerulean City. See that they never make it there.” A ruby glistened of the finger of the man speaking.
  Icy was almost to the entrance of the caves when Abra heard something. Icy turned to Abra and telepathically asked him what was wrong. It was too late. Four members of Team Rocket sprung from their hiding spots. “We have you surrounded, hand over those pokémon Icy and we won’t hurt you that much. Bwa ha ha ha!”
  From a distance, a short, little pokémon watched what was going on. The Rockets began advancing on Icy. He was trapped. Abra suddenly sensed the distant pokémon, a Clefairy, and telepathically asked it for help. It complied, and just before one of the agents was about to squish one of Icy’s Caterpie, ten Clefairies began hopping toward them waving their fingers. Team Rocket was mesmerized and Icy had Abra teleport him and his pokémon to a safe distance.
  Just then, the sky turned black, only to be broken by the intense power of the Clefairies’ metronome attack. Team Rocket was sent flying many miles into the air until they were no longer visible. Icy ran back to where the Clefairies had been to thank them, but they had mysteriously disappeared. From a distant hill, looking through a pair of slick black binoculars, a dark man had a frown on his face. “This isn’t going to be as easy as we had expected.” He began walking back towards Pewter to tell the bad news to his boss, whom he knew would be most disappointed.
  Icy, however, continued on his way towards Mt. Moon. Some trainers come to Mt. Moon in search of the legendary Moon Stone. Others come in hopes of capturing a Clefairy. Icy’s destiny had other plans in store for Mt. Moon, but for the present moment, all Icy could think about was getting to Cerulean City before Team Rocket ambushed him again. Abra navigated him through the winding caverns and they soon could see the Cerulean end. He would do battle with Misty’s water pokémon next for the Cascade Badge. But Icy knows that Team Rocket could be hiding anywhere and will stop at nothing to get him.

Icy Battles Misty

  Last time, Icy was ambushed once again by Team Rocket. After a group of Clefairies saved him, he continued his journey through Mt. Moon. And now…

  Icy looked down at the beautiful city below him. Cerulean City was well known for its beauty and water gardens. Icy decided it would be best to heal his pokémon at the pokécenter before competing for a Cascade Badge. Another one of Joy’s cousins, sisters, whichever, took Icy’s pokéballs and revitalized them. Icy had a quick snack while he waited. Soon after, a Chansey brought him his pokéballs. “Chan, Chansey!” “Thanks,” Icy said as he took his pokéballs and released his Caterpie, Pikachu, and Abra. “Let’s go earn a badge!”
  He walked confidently toward the Cerulean City Gym. As he approached, he saw three figures he thought to be human and one pokémon. “Must be having a warm-up battle before taking on Misty.” Icy disregarded them and entered the gym. It looked more like an aquarium then a gym. Icy asked the girl at the front desk where he could find Misty. She directed him to the main gym room. Icy walked down the corridor leading to the main room and found himself in front of a large swimming pool. In one corner of the gym, a young girl with a rather odd ponytail was shining her Starmie.
  “Excuse me, but I’m looking for the gym leader. Have you seen her little girl?” Misty flipped out.
  “I AM THE GYM LEADER AND I’M NOT LITTLE!” She clinched her fist, ready for a fight. “3 on 3 battle. Agreed?”
  “Uh-huh.” Icy nodded.
  “Let’s get started then. Misty calls, Staryu!” A five-pointed starfish jumped onto the platform.
  “Go Pikachu!” Pikachu jumped onto the floating platform. “Pikachu, thunderbolt now!”
  “Uh-no. Staryu, dive underwater…” Then Misty realized the terrible mistake she had just made. Pikachu used its thunderbolt on the water, electrifying the pool along with Staryu. “Owww. Staryu, return! Misty calls, Starmie!” This time, a ten-pointed starfish appeared.
  “No problem. Thunderbolt, Pikachu!”
  “Not again. Starmie, hit it with your psybeam now!”
  “Crap. Agility now Pikachu!” Starmie began to glow and then shot a colorful blast of energy at Pikachu who quickly dodged it by a hair. “Counter attack now Pikachu. Thunderbolt!” Pikachu complied sending a massive amount of electricity at the starfish. Starmie was flung into the wall, smashing its core.
  “Ohh. Starmie, return! Misty regretfully calls, Psyduck!”
  “Psy-yi-yiii!” The Psyduck appeared.
  “Confusion attack, Psyduck!” But Psyduck couldn’t remember how to do his attacks. In the morning, he had a splitting headache and took some aspirin to relieve it, now it was headache-free.
  “Pikachu, will you please do the honors!” Pikachu smiled, then preceded to using its most powerful attack, Thunder. Just the show off, Pikachu created a massive vortex above Psyduck, who just stared blankly into it. Then, large lightning bolts came crashing down on the Psyduck, reducing it to a perfect duck dinner.
  Misty recalled Psyduck and congratulated Icy on his victory. “You remind me of someone I met a long time ago. He had a cute little Pikachu too. Well, here you go, a Cascade Badge.” Icy thanked Misty and asked if it would be ok for him to stick around. She agreed. Just then, a few younger students came into the room and Misty began teaching a lesson on pokémon battles. She seemed glad that they didn’t get to see her embarrassing loss from just a few minutes ago. Icy listened in just in case he could catch a few pointers.

An Experiment Gone Wrong: Part 1 - One With the Pikachu

  Last time, Icy arrived in Cerulean City. After finding his way to the local gym, he swiftly defeated Misty. And now…

  Icy waited for the class to end. The students left the main gym for their homes, comparing pokémon as they left. Icy walked over to Misty. “Who was it that I reminded you of?” Icy asked curiously.
  Misty thought hard. It had been many years since she, Brock, and Ash had gone adventuring together. Then, the name hit her. “Ash! From Pallet Town. We used to go on adventures together when he was learning to be a pokémon master. I don’t know what happened to him.” She notices all the Caterpie crawling around Icy’s legs and turns green. “Ahhhhh! Bugs!!! Get them away!!!” She continues screaming for a second but then calms herself. “Hehe. I’m sorry. I’m not too thrilled about bugs. Hey, you look like someone who really loves pokémon. I know someone that you should meet. His name is Bill and he owns a lighthouse just a few miles north along the coast. He might be able to show you some neat rare pokémon.” Icy nodded and left the gym. Misty settled down completely as the last Caterpie disappeared with Icy. “I can’t stand bugs,” she muttered to herself. Just then the last Caterpie peeked back in only to find a metal loop flying its way. It ducked out just in time. “Grrr…”
  Icy traveled along the coast until he could see a tall building coming into focus. It was the lighthouse. After about 10 minutes, he finally made it to the front door. He rang the doorbell. A voice on a speaker greeted him.
  “Hello?” it asked.
  “My name is Icy. Is this Bill’s lighthouse? Misty sent me to see him.”
  “Yes it is. Please come in.” The doors swung open to reveal a wonderfully decorated foyer.
  “Wow,” Icy said in amazement. Bill walked up to him.
  “Hello. I am Bill, a pokémon researcher.” Bill extended his hand to Icy. They shook. “I don’t believe I’ve heard your name before. Were you at the Cerulean party last week?”
  “The name’s Icy. No, I wasn’t there. I was in Pallet Town during the party I think. But I heard about Team Rocket trying to crash it. I am a psychic trainer from Saffron City.”
  Bill notices the herd of Caterpie joyfully wiggling around Icy’s leg. “Very cute. You know, most trainers don’t let their pokémon roam freely outside their pokéballs.” He then notices a Pikachu playing with the group of Caterpie. “A Pikachu! Perfect!” He turns to Icy with a smile on his face. “Icy, would you like to be the first human to be able to read a pokémon’s thoughts? It’s perfectly safe.”
  Icy thought it over for a sec then decided it was worth a shot. “Sure, I’ll try your device.”
  “Great. Would you have Pikachu go into that pod over there please, and you go into this one.” Icy got into his pod and Bill started the device. For a second, both Icy and Pikachu felt a little funny, then Icy could hear something. The voice didn’t belong to Bill, it was Pikachu’s. Bill’s machine actually worked, Icy could hear Pikachu’s thoughts. As he listened, Pikachu was thinking about how much it missed the forest and the Pikachu herd, but it was happy to have such a kind trainer. Icy was pleased to know that his pokémon were content with him, but the serene atmosphere was interrupted by the sound of an explosion.
  “Let go of me!”
  “Bwa ha ha! We got him this time!”
  “Let’s get out of here!”
  “Right!”
  Just then, the machine, damaged by the explosion, went haywire. A weird beam Icy had never seen before fired out from the explosions at him. Pikachu was thrown from its pod into the pile of Icy’s pokéballs. The beam had a strange effect on Icy. As he pulled himself together, he thought, “What a headache. Where’s Bill? What happened?” Then, he looked down at his hands. They were yellow. An effect of the beam, possibly. Then he looked up. The controls for the machine were almost twice his height. “Weird,” he thought. A shiny, polished surface on the device glimmered in the sunlight. He slowly walked over to it and to a look at his reflection. When he saw himself, his body became completely limp and he fainted.
  Xavier, Insanellama, and X were jolted awake by the sound of the explosion. Insanellama mounted Rapidash, and told the others to move as fast as they could. Xavier got on his Nidoran, and X got aboard his Onix. Insanellama was the first on the scene. Xavier and X got there only seconds later. “Ok, Rapidash will be our flashlight guys.” said Insanellama. They walked through a door way where a door would have been if it hadn’t been knocked off of its hinges. “WHAT THE???” said Insanellama. “Those look like Icy’s Caterpie, and I think one of those two is his Pikachu.” X and Xavier and Insanellama stood motionless, in astonishment.

An Experiment Gone Wrong: Part 2 - Apples and Oranges

  Last time, Icy went to see Bill, a pokémon researcher. Bill asked Icy if he would participate in an experiment of his. Everything was going fine until Team Rocket decided to barge in. They captured Bill and a strange beam had done something horrible to Icy. Moments later, Insanellama, X, and Xavier entered the lighthouse only to find an astonishing scene. And now…

  “Which of those Pikachu belong to Icy, and where is he for that matter?” Insanellama asked, not expecting an answer. Icy’s Pikachu woke up first.
  “Pika. Chuuu. Kachupi,” it said to the other Pikachu. The other finally regained consciences. The others watched as both Pikachus stood up. The second turned facing Insanellama and tried to explain what had happened.
  “Pika! Chu-ka-pika-chuu-PI-chu-kachupi-KA!”
  “What did it say Insane?” the others asked together.
  “Yer not gonna believe this fellers, but that’s no ordinary Pikachu. It’s Icy!” The others gasp. “He says that Bill was doing an experiment, then he heard that big explosion and some strange beam hit him. Team Rocket took off with Bill too!”
  X began to wonder about what part he was playing in all this. “That’s terrible,” he said.
  Insane asked Icy where his pokéballs were and offered to hold on to them. Icy gave him the pokéballs but kept two. (Pika) “I might need these.” (Pika) With that, they left the lighthouse in search of Bill.
  Icy noticed some footprints in the sand and alerted the others. It was a very sunny day and after following the tracks for almost 15 minutes, they stopped for a break. Icy had a strange hunger for some apples and ran off towards a large tree. The others set up a small picnic. Icy climbed the tree and found a big, round, red, juicy looking apple. He grabbed it and began to eat it. Just then, he saw a Spearow flying overhead.
  From a distance, a trainer spotted Icy. “Cool! I wonder what a Pikachu is doing all the way out here.” He watched as the Spearow began complaining.
  “Spearrrrow.” (Give me that apple!)
  “PIKA. Pika-pi-chu-PI!” (No! It’s mine!)
  Spearow began to dive bomb Icy and as soon as it was only a few inches from its target, Icy let out an enormous thunderbolt, frying the Spearow. It fell to the ground. The trainer watched, becoming more and more interested in the Pikachu. “PIKA! CHAAAAA!!” (You’re mine Spearow!) Icy grabbed one the pokéballs tied to his tail. “Pi-pi-kachu!” He jumped down from the tree and began running towards the Spearow waving the pokéball high above his head. “Pika-pika, piiii-kaaaaa-CHUUUUUUU!!!!” he shouted as he threw the ball into the air. Then, electrifying his tail, he slapped the ball full force at the Spearow. It electrified Spearow as it captured it. The trainer was completely amazed at this point. “What kind of Pikachu is that? I’ve GOT to capture it!” Icy retied the pokéball to his tail, climbed back up the tree, and began eating another apple.
  The trainer approached Icy. “You’re gonna be mine, Pikachu!” He took Icy by surprise. Icy hadn’t thought of this happening. The trainer released a Diglett, impervious to electric attacks. “You won’t get away from me!” Icy thought for a sec, then realized he was in major trouble. Then an idea came to him. He used his psychic powers to teleport Abra’s pokéball into his hands. The pokéball opened revealing the Abra, who was ready to defend its master. The trainer was shocked beyond belief. “A pokémon who can control and capture other pokémon,” he thought. “Diglett, dig underground now!” Diglett disappeared into the ground.
  “Pika-chu, chapika, chuKA!” Abra understood its Pikachu master and waited for Diglett to surface. Abra sensed Diglett surfacing and teleported behind it as it did. “PIKA!” Abra complied, send a confusion attack at the unprepared Diglett. It struggled for a sec but couldn’t handle Abra’s power. It fainted.
  The trainer recalled Diglett. He had seen enough and ran away with tears in his eyes. “Mommy! Help! It’s a mutant Pikachu!!!” Icy gave him a small thundershock, making the boy run even faster. Icy returned Abra to its pokéball and rejoined the others. They were just finishing their lunch. Icy went over to Insane and showed him his new pokémon and told what had happened. Insane laughed and translated the story for the others. They cracked up imagining how a Pikachu would look capturing and battling other pokémon. They packed up, and set off again in search of Bill.

An Experiment Gone Wrong: Part 3 - Rescuing Bill

  Last time, Icy, Insanellama, and X were hot on the trail no Team Rocket. Xavier was unfortunately killed by a Team Rocket specialist. Insanellama found the pokéball with Nidoking that Xavier hid just before he was killed. And now…

  “I found Xavier’s Nidoking,” Insane told the group. X was horrified about Xavier’s death. His thoughts about Team Rocket were becoming more and more unclear. Icy had other thoughts on his mind. He was afraid of being stuck as a Pikachu for all time. It wasn’t that bad however. They continued following the tracks.
  After almost an hour, they saw a small cave. “The tracks lead straight on in,” Insane said. They went in the cave. “Icy, you go check it out. They won’t suspect a Pikaspy.”
  “Pika,” Icy replied. He slowly walked into a room off to the side. Team Rocket was there all right. Five Rockets were sound asleep with Bill tied up in a corner. Icy ran over to him and began gnawing on the ropes. Bill was free, but the sound woke one of the Rockets. Icy screamed in shock. He and Bill ran for the entrance.
  “Wake up you fools. Some stupid Pikachu just ran off with Bill!” The other four woke up and gave chase. Icy and the others were way ahead, already a good 100 yards away from the cave when they saw Team Rocket chasing them.
  “Icy, can you teleport all of us out of here? It’s our only chance.”
  “Chu. Pi-kachu!” (I’ll try!)
  Icy summoned all his psychic power, but it wasn’t enough. He released his Abra and combined his power with Abra’s. Together they were able to teleport the group just outside the lighthouse. Team Rocket had lost again.
  Bill went back to his home and called for repairs to fix the wall Team Rocket had blown up. Icy looked around, then up at Bill. He could see it in his eyes. Bill didn’t know how to fix Icy. That beam was so unnatural, even Bill couldn’t identify it. Icy began to whimper a bit and Insane walked over to him a held his close. “Everything will be fine Icy,” he said trying to comfort the saddened Pikachu. He gave Icy the pokéballs with his Caterpies, and they gathered around him. Icy smiled for a second. Caterpie always knew how to cheer him up. Then, Bill’s phone rang…

Random Rejoins Clan Caterpie Again

  Random had just gained a Growlithe in the Pokémon Mansion. He is still in search of his father, who evidently has a connection with Team Rocket. Speaking of TR, Random finally discover a Rocket, and thoroughly spanked him. Random is now on the phone with Llama from Clan Caterpie…

  “Hey! Random! How ya doin’?” Llama was excited to speak to his close friend, but was still upset over the loss of Xavier, a new friend and promising trainer.
  “I’m fine, thanks. I got a Growlithe. How is Icy? Have you spoken to Lonewolf at all?”
  Llama responded, “I haven’t talked to 'wolf in a while. Icy is…. uhh… indisposed at the moment.”
  “KAAAAACHHUUU!!!” Icy yelped in the background. Llama was hit by the powerful jolt of a Thunderwave.
  “Dang Nammit Icy!!! He won’t understand you anyway.” Llama wiped his brow.
  “What’s wrong with Icy?”

  Llama took a big breath. “We visited Bill, the Pokemaniac, and Icy participated in an experiment that turned him into a Pikachu. The machine was blown up by Team Rocket, who kidnapped Bill. But Icy stole him back. The problem is I am the only one around who can understand Pikachese (Pikachu language.. get it??).”
  “Oh.” Random said
  “Yeah…” Llama caught his breath.
  “I am coming down there. You are outside of Cerulean, right?” Random asked.
  “Yea…” Llama picked up Icy and fed him a snack.
  “I will be there in one day.” Random said, turning off his cell.
  Icy dragged himself across the Lighthouse. He was beginning to see the aggravation that comes with being unable to communicate effectively with others. His only consolation was in a car battery that Bill had been using. Icy jumped on top of the battery and gave it a big lick… “KAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCHHHHHHUUUUUUUU!!!!!”
  Random had no way to get from Cinnabar to Cerulean easily. There were no airports in Cinnabar. He must find a flying pokémon and hitch a ride. Bubba, at his side, spotted a bird-like creature perched above the Pokécenter. The great, blue bird let out a great howl (birds howl? yes.. yes they do.). Random walked up to the bird, unafraid. “Hey! I am in dire need of a ride to Cerulean City. Could you lend me a ride on your great wings???” The bird was silent, then gracefully flew down to the ground. Random and Bubba climbed onto his great wings. It was a cold perch, icicles dangled from its great wings, snow followed its path.
  The bird took off just as a man ran to the Pokécenter yelling, “My Pidgey!!! It’s dead!!!” The great bird, Articuno, had left its solemn mark.
  Within the hour, Random was at the lighthouse. The great bird gave a caw, and left immediately for Celadon City. Random had never seen a pokémon of its stature before, and would never again… He walked inside…
  Random saw a Pikachu sitting on a battery sobbing. “Is that…”
  “Yes, it’s Icy.” Insane interrupted.
  “Pika! Pikachu CHUUUUUUU!!!!!” (Random!!! Hi!!!)
  “Uhhh, what did he say?” Icy started to sob lightly again.
  “He says hello.”
  While they were all talking, BlackHole walked into the room with a Charmander following him. “Howdy there, I’m Insanellama, the Pikachu is Icy, it’s a long story, The guy with the guitar is Random. The man in black is X. Right nice to meet ya” said Insanellama.
  “Hello!” BH said as he looked behind him to see a Charmander. “Is that Charmander anyone’s?”
  “No, I don’t think so,” said Llama.
  “Pika, chu Chu Pika! (I haven’t seen it either)”
  “He said-”
  “Yeah I know what he said.” BH said as he turned to the Charmander, just to get a Flamethrower in the face. “Ay! Now you’re asking for it! Go Dratini!” BH said as Dratini looked at him, and than used Dragon Rage.
  “CHAR!!!” Charmander uses Ember and Dratini looks at Charmander and uses yet another Dragon Rage and than gets hit with the pokéball and is sucked inside by the red beam. The ball rattles around for a bit and the red center in the middle goes white. “Hey! I just caught a Charmander! Now, what were you saying? You call yourselves Clan Caterpie? I hope you know Caterpie really suck.”
  “KAAAAAACCCCCCHHHHUUUUUU!!” BH gets zapped.
  “Erk… I take it that Pikachu over there likes Caterpie…”
  “Chu, Pikachu Pikaa! Chu Ka Pikaaaaa! (My name’s Icy, and I’m not really a Pikachu, its a long story, and that’s right!)”
  “Ok ok! I get the picture! Well… would you all mind if I hung around? I don’t like traveling alone much. It depresses me.”
  “Well, sure yer welcome to stick around for a while. We’re hole up here for a while anyway.” said Insanellama. “Oh, and btw, the Pikachu over there isn’t REALLY a Pikachu. Well, it is, but it isn’t… Never mind, I’ll just tell the whole story.” Insanellama related Icy’s tale to BlackHole.
  After thinking long and hard, X had had enough. He took off his cap, faced it towards himself, he got a good grip on the edge of the TR badge, and jerked hard. “Hey guys, there’s something I need to tell you. I’m a member of Team Rocket.” He ducks a lightning bolt from Icy. “Well, after I have seen what has happened, I’ve decided to quit. Can you have your Rapidash burn this for me Insanellama?” asked X, and tossed the TR Patch to Insanellama.
  “Sure Rapidash, EMBER ATTACK NOW!” The patch burst into flames and was soon only a pile of ashes on the floor.
  “Sorry guys.” said X.
  “Look, all that matters is that you quit now. No hard feelings here pal,” said Insanellama.

Package for Icy

  “Special Delivery!”. The man dropped a small box at the lighthouse, then drove off.
  “I got it!” Insane said. He picked up the package. “Hey Icy, it’s for you. It’s from Quethril.”
  “Chu..” (So, open it already.)
  Insane opens the box. The others gather around to see what’s inside. Insane found a small black box with a rope strung through it like a necklace. A letter was also enclosed. It read…

Dear Icy,
  Heard about the incident at Bill’s. Maybe this will cheer you up. It’s a PikaTranslator I’ve been working on for the past few months. I want you to have it. Consider it a gift. Gotta go. Hope it makes you feel better.
  Quethril

  Icy was overjoyed. He cried not out of sadness, but out of happiness. He could finally be able to communicate with people again. Insane put the device around Icy’s neck.
  “Try it out.”
  The translator clicked, some static, but then they could hear Icy’s voice.
  “Testing 1,2,… It WORKS!!!!” Icy was jumping for joy, his Pikachu body glowing with electricity around him.
  “Thank you Insane for helping me. But I’m going to need someone to take care of me for a while. After battling that trainer out there, I could get in a lot of danger. I feel much safer with you guys.”
  Insane nodded. “No prob, Icy. I’ll look after you and your pokémon.”
  “Thanks, Insane! Wow, the whole group’s here. Where to next guys?”
  Black Hole spoke up first, “What is the next town?”
  X, still deep in thought regarding his dropping-out of Team Rocket mumbled, “Saffron City.”
  Llama, ever-knowing Pokémon trainer he was, said, “or Lavender Town, and the Rock Tunnel is nearby also.
  Icy responded, “BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH…”
  “Darnit Icy, the translator works…” Random said annoyed, ”STFU!!!”
  “Kachu.” Icy said, in his normal voice. A bolt smacked Random to the floor.
  Random apologized. Just then, Bill walked in.
  “Why are so many trainers showing up here? Oh well…. C’mere Flareon..” The flaming Pokémon strutted in behind Bill… Random’s eyes lit up!!! A Pokébattle!!!
  “Wanna go at it Bill?”
  “Sure… Random is it? One each?”
  “Yes. Why not? GO BUBBA…”
  “Go Flareon.”
  And with that the match began….
  “Flareon: Ember attack!” The Pokémon spit fire on Bubba, damaging his bulb.
  “Yer Okay Bubba, use your razor leaf!!!!” Bubba fired a pattern of leaves at Flareon, each burned up before hitting Flareon.. “This is a mis-match..” Random mumbled to himself… Random was becoming a smarter trainer. “Alright Bubba, try a normal tackle!” Bubba dove onto Flareon before the flame-poké could evade the attack. It was a hard hit, and Flareon hit the wall. “GOOD HIT!!! NOW STUN SPORE HIM!!!” Flareon fell asleep, and Bubba tackled once again… Flareon was defeated.
  “Great job Bubba!!! I am so proud.” Bubba fell down from Random’s arms… he was weak… he began flashing bright colors… and his bulb was shaking… he was becoming… Ivysaur!!!! “YOU EVOLVED!!!! SWEET!!!” Random exclaimed. The rest of the Clan applauded. “But now Bubba isn’t a good name; you aren’t a Bulbasaur, I hereby re-name you, Ivan, the IVYSAUR!!!!” Random tossed Ivysaur into the air!!!!
  “Well, I think we’d better leave, and let Bill finish straightening up the place,” said Insanellama. With that, he loaded up his gear into his pack.
  “Hey, will you keep all of my pokéballs except these two?” asked Icy. He had a Caterpie, and an Abra pokéball tied to his tail.
  “Sure thing pal,” Insanellama grabbed the remainder of Icy’s pokéballs and tucked them safely into his backpack. He decided only to carry four in his belt today, a Rapidash outside with him. He put Nidoking, Pikachu, Nidoran male, and Rapidash’s Pokéball on his belt. “Hope I can find someone with a Nidoran female to trade with…” he said to himself.
  Random got his gear together, muttering about the broken string on his guitar. Bill walked in and heard him muttering. “Hey, I play guitar, let me get ya a new string” A few seconds later he returned with a new guitar string for Random.
  “Thanx Bill.” He put the string in and happily played a few notes. Black hole got up, and said goodbye to Bill. They all walked out the door together, with Icy right next to Insanellama.
  “Ok, I guess Vermilion is the next stop, right guys?” They all agreed. After a couple of hours, they stopped for lunch. Icy went off to get an apple. “Don’t go off too far Icy” said Insanellama.
  Icy had just climbed back down from the tree with an apple when a trainer came out of the bushes. “Not again,” though Icy. The trainer through out a Geodude. “ABRA GO!” came from the translator as the pokéball was slung toward the Geodude.
  “What the…..????” said the trainer. “Oh well, GEODUDE TACKLE THE PIKACHU NOW!” Geodude went into a diving tackle. Abra faded out, and faded back in, in front of Icy. He started glowing and white beam erupted from his skull and Geodude reeled back in pain, hitting a tree. Icy let out a thunderbolt that sent the trainer running.
  Abra and Icy were rolling with laughter when Insanellama walked up. “Let me guess, some trainer tried to mess with you two?”
  “AB AB ABRA!” (yep)
  “Yea, good job Abra” said Icy.
  “Well, we’d better get movin again, I’d like to make the tunnel by dark” said Insanellama. BlackHole and Random took the lead, Icy, X, and Insanellama had rearguard.
  “There it is up ahead,” said Black hole. They continued walking. BlackHole sent out his Charmander to help Rapidash with the lighting situation. They went down into the tunnel, and but for the light from Charmander and Rapidash, it would have been pitch dark. When they were walking, they saw another light up ahead. As they gained on the light, they saw it was another trainer.
  “Howdy there,” said Insanellama.
  “Hi, you wouldn’t happen to have a Nidoran male to trade for a Nidoran female would you?” asked the trainer.
  “As a matter of fact, I do. Wanna trade?” said Insanellama.
  “Sure,” said the trainer. They saw a trading station embedded in the wall, so they walked over and made the trade. “Bye,” they said in unison, and continued walking.
  They got out of the tunnel, and walked towards the pokécenter to sleep for the night. They all said their goodnights, and went to sleep.

Clan Caterpie and the Thunder Badge

  They woke that morning to the cries of a Dodrio. Icy went to the front desk and asked the nurse to heal him. She gave Icy a nice apple and he finally got to eat it in peace for once. The others ate at the pokécenter restaurant. They had the nurse heal their pokémon while they ate.
  Icy remembered his friend from his first visit to Vermilion City, Mike. He wondered what he’d say when he saw Icy in the form of a Pikachu. He clicked the translator on. “Can we go visit my friend Mike?”
  “Sure Icy. Then, let’s go get ourselves some Thunder Badges!” Insanellama grinned at Icy, somehow knowing what Icy had in store for Lt. Surge. They followed Icy to Mike’s house.

  Mike was just finishing breakfast when they arrived at the front door. “Hello? What are you doing here?” Only Icy was at the door, the others were warming up their pokémon for later. Mike looked at the Pikachu.
  “Hello Mike. It’s me, Icy!” Mike just stared at the talking Pikachu. “It’s a long story.” Icy told Mike about the events that had taken place. Mike asked if he could come with Icy and his friends to watch them battle Surge and get some battle pointers. They agreed and set off the gym.
  They reached the gym. Once again, Icy and Insane exchanged grins. Icy would challenge Lt. Surge as himself. As they entered the gym, two trainers greeted them. “If you want to fight Surge, you gotta beat us first.”
  Icy walked toward one of the trainers. “All right then, let’s battle!” The trainer was dumbfounded, but remembered reading in the paper about a boy who was accidentally transformed into a Pikachu.
  “Ok little Pikachu. You’ll never make it to Surge! Go Magneton!”
  “Go Dugtrio!” Icy teleported Dugtrio’s pokéball into his hands and released it.
  “Magneton, thunderbolt!” Magneton tried to fry Dugtrio but it attacks just bounced right off.
  “Dugtrio, dig now!” Dugtrio disappeared into the ground, then popped up crashing into Magneton. It fell and fainted being weak against ground pokémon.
  “All right, you may pass! Any of you other wimps think you beat us?”
  Icy entered the main where Lt. Surge was training Raichu. When Icy saw the Raichu, he felt a strong hatred toward it. “Lt. Surge, I challenge you to a match!” Surge looked at Icy for a sec. He was in a cute little fighting pose that made Surge and Raichu both laugh. Insanellama was standing in back of Icy now. Surge looked at him.
  “Alright, one on one battle. My Raichu verses your Pikachu.”
  “Ok…” Insane just went along with it. Icy would be the one deciding on the attacks, not Insane. The battle began.
  Surge started off with Raichu using Take Down on Icy. As Raichu leapt for Icy, Icy just grinned, making the Raichu very angry. As soon as Raichu was about to crush Icy, he used telekinesis to suspend Raichu in thin air. Surge was in shock. “I can’t lose,” he thought. “What’s going on. A Pikachu can’t use psychic attacks!”
  “This ain’t no ordinary Pikachu!” Insane replied. Icy blasted Raichu with a super-charged thunderbolt. Raichu was stunned a little, but still able to fight. It started to charge at Icy again but was stopped once more by a field of psyonic energy Icy had set up around himself.
  “How does he do that? Pikachus aren’t psychic! Snap out of it Raichu! It’s a Pikachu! It’s inferior to you! You’re the better and stronger evolution!” Icy became infuriated.
  “PIIIIIII-KAAAAAAAAAA-CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!” Icy sent enormous amounts of electricity throughout the gym so the field was enclosed in lightning. “What are you doing Icy?” Insanellama wondered. Using his psychic powers, he directed all the lightning at Raichu. Raichu could only look in each direction as the lightning moved closer. “Rai… Chu…???” The lightning decimated Raichu and he fell hard to the ground, but Icy wasn’t finished yet. Still hurt by Surge’s comment, he prepared to attack again, but Insane stopped him.
  “No Icy, don’t! You won. It’s over!”
  “CHUUUUU… Pik-chukapi!” Icy tried to calm himself down. Surge was devastated.
  “How??? How did you get him to be that strong?”
  “Why don’t you ask him yourself. While you’re at it, apologize to him for calling him inferior.” Icy was very upset with Surge. Surge respectfully walked over to Icy and apologized to him. Icy felt a bit better.
  “I don’t know why I’m asking a pokémon for battle tips but, here goes. How did you learn those psychic attacks?”
  “I was born with them. Now, may I have my Thunder Badge please?” Surge looked at Icy with a strange expression.
  “Pokémon don’t get badges, their masters do.” He extended the badge to Insanellama, be he refused it.
  “This isn’t mine. I’m not his trainer.”
  “What are you talking about…”
  “Like I told you earlier, this ain’t your average every-day Pikachu. His name is Icy, a psychic pokémon trainer. He was accidentally changed into a Pikachu.” Surge still had a puzzled look on his face. “Just give him the badge, I want to get to beat you some time this millennium!” Surge hands the badge to Icy and heals Raichu. Icy runs off to Mike and the other members of Clan Caterpie. Insanellama gets ready for his chance at a Thunder Badge…
  As the rest of Clan Caterpie was working on defeating Lt. Surge, Random took a trip with Bub… errr… Ivan, his pet Ivysaur. They went to see the Circus in Vermillion City that week. Random walked to a vendor and purchased some cotton candy, which he fed to Ivan. Ivan swallowed the sugary-candy whole.
  As Ivan and Random watched the circus march by, a clown on a tiny bike carted past. Random cackled at the sight… “Nice bike cholo!” The clown reversed direction and returned to Random, first to insult him back. But the clown noticed Random’s prized Martin guitar along his back, and remarked…
  “Nice guitar…” Random was deep in thought, the tiny bike would fit Icy perfectly, and because Icy being a pikachu was slowing down the Clan with his speed, a bike would suit him perfectly.
  “Wanna have a Pokébattle? 2 each? If I win, I get your bike. If you win, you may have my Martin guitar!”
  “Alright!!! Let’s do it.”
  Random sent out Ivan, who was feeling a tad queasy from the cotton candy… The clown sent out Mr. Mime…
  “Mr. Mime: use a confusion attack!!!” Mr. Mime juggled his balls around and flipped Ivan over mentally…
  “Getup Ivan! Tackle the fruitcake!!!” Ivan stumbled up to Mr. Mime and pounced into the air.. vomiting half-way to the opponent. Mr. Mime was soiled… and furious.
  “F$#@ This!! I quit… This was a stupid gig anyway…” Mr. Mime walked off… Random was roaring with laughter, and recalled Ivan…
  The clown was mortified… yet sent out his Magikarp anyway… “Go Growlithe!!!” Random was giggling about the beat-down that it was about to ensue…
  “Magikarp splash!!!” The fish complied but to no effect!
  “Growlithe!!! Go step on Magikarp!!!” Growlithe stood atop of the lame fish and barked.
  “Magikarp splash!!!” The fish again complied but to no effect!
  “Growlithe: do a little dance!!!” He popped on two paws and rotated around, barking the whole way.
  “Magikarp splash!!!” The fish complied but no effect!
  “Ok OK.. Growlithe… do some… kinda ….move.” Growlithe performed the Stone Cold Stunner with surprising execution for a Pokémon, and Random had won the match.
  “Here’s the bike…” The clown was no longer smiling.
  “w00t!!!” Random somehow managed to pronounce the zeroes…He marched back to the Gym with the bike on his shoulders Meanwhile, Ivan was stumbling behind… Random managed to watch the end of Icy’s match with Lt. Surge… hilarious.
  “Icy, gotcha a present.” Random handed the bike to Icy.
  “Pika piii!” Icy exclaimed outside his translator. Insane Llama was about to battle Surge…
  By this time, Insanellama is getting a mite impatient. “Ok SURGE, PICK A POKEMON.” Surge was trying to decide what pokémon to use against Insanellama. In the end he chose Raichu for a one on one. “Ok, I choose NIDOKING!”
  “NIDOKING GO!”
  “RAICHU GO!” RAICHU THUNDERBOLT NOW! Insanellama can’t help but laugh as the lightning ricochets harmlessly off of Nidoking.
  NIDOKING HORN DRILL NOW!!!! A horn erupts from his forehead and hits Raichu spinning and drilling. “Too bad Surge, right in the left cheek, very weak electric now, not that it’s any good. Nidoking FINISH IT TACKLE!!” The Nidoking tackles the Raichu, and retrieves its horn to end the match. “Tough break man, be nicer to competitors.”
  “WHATEVER,” said Surge, and throws the Badge well over Insanellama’s head, “FETCH DOG!”
  “I don’t think so,” said Insanellama, since the badge never hit ground and was coming right at his hand. “Thanx Icy” said Insanellama.
  “PIKA PI!” said Icy.
  “Good job guys, it’s my turn now!” Random shouted preparing to launch his beloved Snorlax.
  “I will use Pikachu.” Surge launched a ball containing a Pikachu. Icy’s eyes lit up.
  The two Pokémon faced off, Snorlax was calm and docile, but the Pikachu was rabid with anger.
  “Thunderwave Pikachu” A blast erupted from the cheeks of the mouse, but it barely scathed Snorlax.
  “Snorrrr…..” Snorlax was slightly annoyed.
  “Body Slam him Snorlax!” Random shouted from the sidelines. Snorlax fought to stand up; he wobbled towards Pikachu and thrust himself into the air, landing square on the opponent. Pikachu squealed and broke free, firing a Thunderbolt on his way. Snorlax reeled with the shock. Under impulse, Snorlax double-edged Pikachu, knocking the enemy out, but also crippling Snorlax.
  “We win!!! Good job Snorlax!”
  Lt. Surge handed Random the Thunder Badge. Random dropped it in his sack with a smile. He walked to the bleachers and sat next to Insanellama and Icy.
  “Ok Surge, my turn” BH says as he steps into the arena.
  “OK buddy, this time I’m gonna win! Just give me a second!” Surge yelled as he revived his Raichu. “OK 1 pokémon each! Raichu! Show him who’s boss!” Surge yelled as Raichu stepped forward.
  “Scyther go,” BH said as he tossed out the pokéball revealing Scyther. “SCY… THER!” it yelled.
  “Raiii…” Raichu looked at Scyther and grew pale. “Oh, crap! He’s still recovering from the shock that came from that punk kid with the Scyther! ARGH… could you please choose another pokémon? A Scyther traumatized my Raichu and he refuses to fight them.” Surge explained and BH grumbles and recalled Scyther.
  “Dratini! Go!” BH yelled as he threw the pokéball out revealing the small Dragon. “Ni! Dratini!” it peeped while looking at Raichu. The Raichu scoffed and tried to Body Slam it.
  Dratini moved out of the way and pounded on it. “Dratini! Dragon Rage!” BH yelled as Dratini glowed with energy and than suddenly released it in a burning rage of fury. Raichu blinked and got blasted, he than got back up and growled.
  “Raichu! Thunderbolt!” Surge yelled. Raichu built up Lightning in his body and… “CHUUUU!” Raichu zapped the tiny dragon and it went back to BH and looked at him sadly.
  “You still have to battle. I’ll tell you what, why don’t you do this…” BH whispered to Dratini and it grinned. It started hopping all over the place confusing the Raichu.
  “Raichu! Crush it with your Thunderbolt!” Surge yelled and Raichu illuminated the arena with a thunderbolt.
  BH coughed and when the dust settled Dratini was gone. Raichu looked around for the tiny dragon while Lt. Surge was screaming about it being a trick. Dratini dropped down off the rafters and pounded Raichu into the ground. Raichu fainted and BH got the Thunder badge from Lt. Surge!
  X was ready to continue the Clan’s winning streak. “Ok surge MY TURN.”
  “One pokémon, I choose RAICHU”
  “ONIX GO!” said X
  “RAICHU GO!”
  “ONIX DRAGON RAGE NOW!!!!”
  “RAICHU BODYSLAM NOW!!!”
  Ouch, Raichu jumped right into the pat of Onix’s flame, better luck next time.
  “Thanx for the badge man,” said X
  “Grrr, when will it end,” said Surge.
  X quickly took off his cap and sewed the badge into the bill, and then put his cap back on his head. As X made his way back to the group, they all cheered for their victories and left the gym sporting their new Thunder Badges.

Team Rocket Strikes

  The group had been spending the past few days enjoying the sights of Vermilion City. They had heard about the S.S. Anne coming to Vermilion Harbor in a few days and had to kill time. But, they had the feeling wherever they went, someone was watching them. It seemed Team Rocket wouldn’t rest until Clan Caterpie had been eliminated. Icy was being healed while the others finished their lunch.

  “Let’s go check out the boats in the harbor,” Icy said into his translator.
  “Nah, you and Mike go. You guys probably need to do some catching up.” Llama said.
  “OK, but I’m taking my Dugtrio and Bulbasaur with me too. Just in case.” He tied their pokéballs to his tail. He and Mike left for the harbor.
  “Sooooo…. What’s it like being a Pikachu?”
  “Ahh. It’s not that bad. I have to be careful no one tries to capture me. But other than that, I feel great.” I thought about what he had just said. ‘I feel great? I wanna be human again…’
  “Hmm. I wish I could be a pokémon too. If I were a pokémon, I’d want to be a Ditto. They are so cool!”
  “Yeah. I want to capture one of them.”
  They continued walking down the pier. They failed to notice three elite members of TR following them.
  “Icy, do you think you’ll ever become human again?”
  Icy stopped walking. His eyes started to tear up. He wiped them dry with his paw. “I… I don’t know. Bill never could figure out what made me a Pikachu to begin with. Without that knowledge, I don’t think I ever will be a human again.”
  “I’m sorry Icy.” Mike turned his head back just in time to see three shady characters duck behind some boxes. “Icy… I think someone’s following us…” Mike pointed indirectly at 3 black figures a few meters behind them.
  “I sense them. C’mon…” Icy led Mike down one of the piers. The Rockets followed them. “Quick, in here.” They jumped into a small boat with a cover over it. The Rockets walked by.
  “Where did they go? I just saw them.” They looked and searched, but never thought about looking in the boat. “Forget this. If Giovanni wants that Icy kid so badly, he can someone else to do this. I’m tired of chasing after stupid little kids.”
  “Yeah, let’s go. We can ambush always Clan Caterpie at night when they least expect it.” They ran off, laughing about the plan they were concocting.
  “Are they gone?” Icy asked Mike.
  “Yes. We’ve got to warn the others!” Mike replied. They jumped out of the boat and headed back to the pokécenter to warn Insane and the others.
  Icy and Mike came running in, out of breath. “Tea…..ket…. ter… aterpie.” said Mike.
  “Slow down there, catch yer breath and try it again,” said Insanellama. Mike and Icy waited a second, and then told them about the three members of TR, and the threat on Icy’s life.
  “Well, that don’t change things too much, now we just gotta be twice as careful,” said Insanellama.
  “I say we get outta Vermilion and meet the S.S. Anne at Fuchsia City,” said Lonewolf. “I bet we can stay with Koga at his gym.”
  “Agreed. Let’s go now. Mike, you be careful ok?” Icy said to his friend.
  “Hey no problem. Take care you all, and Icy, feel free to visit me and my folks anytime ok.”
  “Thanks Mike. Cya!” Icy and the others made their way to the docks while X covered their tracks and made sure there was no one following them.
  “We’d like to rent a boat please.” The harbormaster noticed Icy with them and smiled.
  “Hey, you’re Icy aren’t you? Tell ya kids what, since that little Pikachu friend of yours is so famous, I let you have the boat for free.”
  “Awesome! Let’s go guys.” Everyone jumped into the boat and they rowed into the sunset.
  During the night, Lonewolf’s Vulpix kept a light going so they could navigate. Finally, it became too dark to see anything. Luckily, the group had spotted an island very close by and was able to land there for the night. As morning came, the group headed back out.
  That day, Insanellama and Icy went fishing with makeshift polls they constructed earlier that morning on the island. Icy felt a little tug on his line. “Pi?”
  “Hey, you got something there!”
  Icy struggled to hold on. As a Pikachu, he didn’t really have that much strength so Insanellama had to help him hold on to his catch. “PIIIIIKKKAAA!!!!!!” They tugged hard until they were able to pull the fish out of the sea. It flew high into the air then landed flat on Icy’s head.
  Insane broke down in laughter as the two pokémon sat there with spirals in their eyes. @.@ “Hahahahahaha!!!” Lonewolf just turned around to make sure they were still on course.
  Icy finally came to and examined his catch. It was a bright blue Horsea. “Awww look!” He grabed the seahorse pokémon and raised it up. “I caught a Horsea!”
  “Great work.”
  “Land hoe! Hehe, I always wanted to say that,” Lonewolf said. She pointed towards the mainland. It was Fuchsia City!
  “Alright! Let’s get to land and find Koga’s Gym. I’m starved.” Icy quickly scooped up Horsea. “Haha, don’t worry there Icy. I won’t eat yer Horsea. Not really a fish kinda guy.” Icy breathed a sigh of relief. They landed on the coast and made their way into town.
  “Aha, the gym is just up this road.” The group followed the road till they reached a large mansion.
  “Guess this is it.” A Venonat greeted them and let them in.
  “Veno nat!” It led them to the room Koga was meditating in. He looked up to see his guests.
  “Welcome to Fuchsia Gym. I am Koga, ninja master and Gym Leader here.”
  “Please ta meet ya,” Insane said. Icy waved hello as well. “Is there a chance we could crash here till the S.S. Anne arrives? We’ve had to hide from Team Rocket.”
  “Ok. I suppose you may stay the night.”
  “Thanks a bunch Koga.”

Icy Verses Koga

  Clan Caterpie had arrived in Fuchsia City the night before and Icy was ready to earn himself a new badge. Insanellama and his friends had just finished battle Koga. Koga already knew Icy’s true identity since they had talked about it before going to sleep last night. Now Icy challenged Koga to a match.

  “Very well. I hope you’ve got some Antidotes with you. You’ll need them!” Koga said.
  “No prob...” Icy untied Abra’s pokéball from his tail.
  “It will be two on two. GO Venomoth!” Koga throw his pokéball into the ring. Venomoth popped out. “VENOMOTH!!” it screeched.
  “No problem. GO Abra!” Icy floated the pokéball into the center and Abra came out. “Psychic pokémon are strong against poison! Abra, use your psybeam!”
  “Venomoth, use your wing attack to break its concentration!” Venomoth flapped its wings quickly and Abra was about to be blown off balance.
  “Abra, teleport!” Abra teleported behind Venomoth. Before it could react, Abra fired a psybeam at it. Venomoth fainted easily from the psychic attack. Koga returned it and sent out Weezing.
  “Weezing, smokescreen!” The entire gym was covered in smoke.
  “Abra. Ummm. Psybeam again!” Abra could see what he was doing and fired psybeams everywhere. Koga ducked as one of the beams headed his way.
  “Weezing. Sludge attack now.” Abra never saw it coming. The sludge blinding it and Icy had to return it.
  “Darn. GO Caterpie!” Icy floated Caterpie’s pokéball over the field, and Caterpie popped out. “String Shot followed by tackle!” Weezing tried its best to avoid the netting but Icy’s Caterpie was so pumped with Calcium and other vitamins that its attacks were just too fast. Weezing fell to the ground covered in string. Caterpie rushed in and tackled it. Weezing fainted from the impact.
  “Very impressive. You have trained that Caterpie well. Here is the Soul Badge.” He respectfully handed Icy the badge. “I hear the S.S. Anne will be picking up passengers from Fuchsia City on Friday. You are free to stay in my gym until then. Team Rocket won’t find you here.”
  “Thanks Koga.” Icy returned to the group. It would be a long day.

The S.S. Anne Mini-Series: Clan Caterpie Boards The S.S. Anne

  “There! There it is!!” Random exclaimed!
  The ship was huge, and tons of trainers from Pallet and elsewhere were already aboard.
  “Guess a lot of people are coming!” Insanellama yelped.
  The ship dropped anchor and let the steps down.
  “ALLLL ABOOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRDDDDD!” A man over the PA announced.

  Random was first in line, followed by his esteemed compatriots. Each member was bursting with eagerness to get aboard. Llama wanted to fight some battles, X sought Pokémon advice, and Random sought…
  “Lonewolf!!!! Look everyone!!!” Random yelled.
  Lonewolf stood atop the steps waving eagerly. Insanellama and Icy gave a mutual “HEY!” and the team gave up their tickets to the doorman.
  “Thanks again for the tickets, Random.” Icy said.
  “No problem…. Lonewolf! What’s going?!?!?” Random was happy to see her.
  “Where is Icy?” Lonewolf shrugged.
  “Right here...”
  “Oh yeah, I had almost forgot…” Lonewolf said sweatdropping.
  “Pika pii!!!” Icy shouted. “Let’s get our rooms.”
  “Do you guys mind if I get my own room? I have taken care of all your room bills already.” Random asked, checking his FAT wallet.
  “No problem Random.” Lonewolf said.
  Random walked to his deluxe suite on the top level of the ship. Others were hurrying aboard also. Many looked like characters…
  BlackHole runs up to them. “Hey! You all left me behind!”
  “Pikaaaa! (Sorry about that!)” Icy said.
  “Well… Hey! There’s my room!” BH walks into the room with the number on the ticket. “Say… its nice in here…,” BH said as he opened a drawer and saw a pokéball. “Heyyyy… lookie here… a pokémon… and a note!” BH read over the note and looked at the pokéball. “Lets see what you are…,” BH wondered out loud as he opened the ball. A red beam shot out and it revealed a odd looking pokémon… It was a pinkish, fat, balloon type thing… and it screamed, “WIGGLY!”
  “AHHHHH! It’s a Wigglytuff!” BH yelled as he immediately recalled it.
  Shortly after Random left, Insanellama, Lonewolf, Icy, and X went down to the main floor. “There’s the market booths over there,” said Insanellama. Insanellama immediately bought a moon-stone for when his Nidoran female should become a Nidorina, and when it wanted to evolve to a Nidoqueen.
  Just then, they found a booth selling very rare types of pokémon. “Hey kid, you want this amazing pokémon. This is a Porygon, ah you thought I’d say Magikarp, but he’s over there.” The man pointed over to the funny looking man selling Magikarp. “This Porygon is a very special one, at least, from what I hear.”
  Insane remembered Random had given him some extra money so he bought the Porygon and gave it to Icy, knowing he wanted one. They happily enjoyed the rest of the sights. Later that evening, they all ate dinner together and Icy ordered a few dozen rounds of Ketchup. ^.^

The S.S. Anne Mini-Series: Icy's Dream

  It was around 9:00 PM and Icy wanted to get some shuteye early. It had been an eventful day. He sat down and fell asleep.
  At that same moment on a distant island, scientists were studying a rather large pokémon. “He’s way too powerful, stop the experiment. It’s not going to hold any longer, we can’t risk it again!” The containment field generators were overloading and sparks began flying from them. From a hanging cage, a small cat-like pokémon watched with fear.

  “Turn it off before it’s too late.” He didn’t get to finish his sentence before the generator exploded, killing two scientists near it. The containment fields were offline and the giant pokémon roared. “Ohhhhhhh, crap.” the other scientist moaned as he saw a flickering image of the giant pokémon. He got on the radio. “It’s escaped! Repeat! Mewtwo has esc.” Something kept him from finishing the distress call. Mewtwo glowed and the scientist was thrown across the room, knocked out. Mewtwo caught sight of the caged pokémon, Mew. It glowed again, this time a suit of armor flew at him, covering its entire body. It shined each time the lights attempted to re-light. From the suit, Mewtwo produced a large laser blaster. Not to Mewtwo’s knowing, a scientist, hurt from the initial blast, slowly moved over to one the computers still intact.
  “It’s your fault that I was created for their pleasure in the first place. I will begin my revenge with destroying you!” Mewtwo growls in Mew’s direction. Mew shivered with fear. Mewtwo aimed the laser at Mew and prepared to fire. Mew began to weep. The scientist realized what was about to happen and quickly typed in commands on the computer to teleport Mew to a safe location. Mewtwo fired the laser, but Mew was teleported to a top-secret pokécenter installation. The blast explosion from the laser was enough to spark a fire near the computer the scientist was working at. It blew out, fatally injuring him. Mewtwo grunted with displeasure, flipped a switch on his armor suit, and flew straight through the roof. On his ascent, he dropped three blast-balls into the lab. After only ten seconds, that entire complex exploded sending debris miles into the ocean. Satisfied with the destruction he had caused, Mewtwo flew off into the distance.
  At that moment, Icy sensed a disturbance in the ether. Something big had happened. Somehow, he knew. Images began to form in his mind. He saw the destroyed lab. Then, to his fear, he saw Mewtwo. “Oh my Goddish!” he screamed. It was only subconsciously. No one else heard him. Mewtwo could sense Icy’s awareness now. It spoke with him.
  “You know who I am, just as I do you.” Mewtwo said.
  “What do you mean?” Icy replied.
  “Don’t play games with me. You aren’t a pokémon, rather a human. A psychic human. One with a gift. Much like mine.”
  “I don’t understand. What have you done? I can see the destruction.”
  “They were the evil ones. They thought they could just create a being and experiment on it for their own benefit. They underestimated what they were getting in to.”
  “But why have you done this. What do you what from us? From me?”
  “As I said. You have a gift. You are a talented psychic human. I can’t allow someone like you to misinterpret my goal. I will destroy the SS Anne and everyone on it. They must not be allowed to live.”
  “They haven’t done you any harm. Why do you want to hurt us and pokémon?”
  “They aren’t innocent. They capture pokémon, train them to battle for them. And for what? So they can go around sporting their triumphs! And the fact that these pokémon willingly give themselves up to them.”
  “But most trainers are kind to their pokémon. You can’t destroy us all. Think about what you are doing.”
  “There is no turning back. Mankind was selfish enough to create me. Now, they must pay for meddling with forces even they cannot control.”
  “No! Wait! You can’t do this! Listen to me…”
  “I’ve heard enough of you already. I’m going to end this now!”
  Icy could see Mewtwo arm his laser cannon. The weapon was powerful enough to level a large building with one shot. He hovered over the ship, laser trained on its target. Icy saw the beam fire. It was the last of the images. But it was replaced with a voice.
  #So. I am not alone.#
  “Who are you? Where are you?”
  #Where I am, does not matter. I will be above the bridge at 10 tomorrow morning. As for who I am…I am an alteration. Like you, but more like Mewtwo.#
  “…”
  #Mew could stop Mewtwo. However, this ship’s Mew seems to have gotten a bit mad, and might not spare the passengers. Although I do not doubt that everyone on this ship will pitch in to help stop them, the actual battle may be up to us, at least at first. Don’t answer me now; just sleep on it.#
  And then the presence was gone.
  It was still visible and audible in his mind when he woke up that morning. Insanellama was trying to wake him. “Icy! Hello! Wake up! Time for breakfast.” Icy finally awoke and stretched his little paws out as far as they could go. He related the dream he had last night to Insane, but neither could think of who the other voice was. He would have to wait until 10AM to find out. But if the visions of Mewtwo were true, the SS Anne was running out of time.

The S.S. Anne Mini-Series: A Pokémon Meeting

  Icy checked the clock mounted on the wall. “9:45” it read. “Well, I guess it’s time to meet whoever that was.” He left his room and headed for the main bridge. Luckily, no one was paying attention to the little Pikachu since they were too busy wondering if the rumors of a bomb on the ship were true. He made it to the main bridge, but no one was there.
  “Psst. Over here,” someone whispered.
  “Huh. Who’s there?” Icy looked around. Then, a Ditto slowly materialized.
  “I’m Mimic. Pleased to meet you, Icy. I’ve been looking forward to this.” Icy was too stunned to respond.

  “Rumors true? Is Icy…human?”
  Icy blinked. “I was…” He quickly summed up his recent history for the nth time. “And you?”
  “Icy hear of city-destroyer pokémon?”
  “That one that put Surge out of business for a while? What about it?”
  “Icy ask who Mimic is.”
  “You…?” Icy backed away slowly.
  “That Mimic’s brother. Mimic has same powers, but no want destroy everyone.”
  “So, those were all the same pokémon. A single Ditto, just like the rumors said. But, how could one Ditto do so much?”
  “No just ditto. Altered, like Mewtwo. This why Mewtwo contact Mimic. Mewtwo want help. Mimic refuse. Icy refuse.” Mimic looked to one side. “*MEW* refuse.”
  A Diglett squirmed out of the shadows. “Interesting. I did not think you could spot me like this.”
  Icy sweat dropped. “Uh, Mimic, that isn’t a Mew…”
  “Is agent. Mew take over minds. Mew crazy,” Mimic snorted.
  “‘Crazy’, am I? This, coming from someone who toys with humans at every other level…and I do mean every level, after this cruise. I wonder if you’ve developed… feelings for some of them.”
  “Mimic no know what Mew talking about.”
  “No? Are you sure? Perhaps if I were to toy with that little ‘test subject’ of yours…”
  “Mew do what Mew wants. Icy see Mew. Is preoccupied. Maybe not able save humans on ship when Mewtwo arrive.”
  Icy took a moment to register that Mimic was talking to him again. “Save…? Uh-uh. I’m not a hero.”
  “…”
  “Look, just because…”
  Mimic cut him off. “No need explain. Icy no want save ship, Mimic no can force. Mimic thought not-trainer friend help.”
  “‘Not-trainer’?”
  “Mimic recognize scent of one who give Icy translator.”
  Icy looked at his translator. “Oh, you mean Quethiril.”
  “No know name. May be, may be not. By way, why use translator? Why not speak normal? Icy was human, so Icy once spoke…did Icy?”
  It took a second for Icy to realize he had been speaking through his translator all along, rather than using normal poke-speak. The device had already become second nature to him. “I can’t, not like this.”
  “Icy can. All Pokémon physically capable; most just no know how. Mimic teach Icy, if Icy help Mimic.”
  “Look, I told you…”
  “No now, Mimic know. Maybe later.”
  Casting his ear to the humans below, Icy heard some voices talking about bomb rumors. “I better go. Maybe we will meet again some day Mimic.”
  “Bye, Icy. Good luck!” Mimic melted into the background. “Mimic hope meet Icy again, too. Mimic want discuss more with human pokémon, Mimic sure.”
  Icy moved in closer to hear the conversation.
  “I heard that Team Rocket’s gonna blow the ship sky high. I’ll sell ya a Pidgey so you fly outta here if something happens.”
  “That’s OK. I don’t believe such nonsense. I’ll be fine thank you.” The man walked away. The other just grunted.
  “Hmm. Too many possibilities. They all lead to destruction. I’ve got to get out of here, before it’s too late.” Icy headed back to his room.
  Insanellama and Random were there when he arrived. “We gotta leave now!” Icy shouted.
  “Wooohhh, slow down there partner. What’s the rush? The ship won’t be arriving in port until tomorrow morning.”
  “That’s just it. There’s a bomb. It’s going to go off before that probably. We have to get out now. Team Rocket’s probably after us too.” Insane looks at Random. They discuss a course of action and agree that the voyage has suddenly become too dangerous.
  “OK Icy. But how do you propose we get off the ship?” Insane asked.
  “I have Pidgey to fly on, and you have can ride on Porygon. He can grow to fit you and he floats on water.”
  “Great idea. But what about the others.”
  “Leave a note for them. If we all leave at once, someone might get suspicious.”
  “I’m staying here.” Random said.
  “Suit yourself. Good luck Random.” Icy replied. “OK. We’ll wait till dark.”
*** Midnight ***
  “All right. Let’s go.” They got everything ready. Porygon appeared in the water. “Porygon, convert to water type to float and grow so Insane can fit on you.” Porygon began floating and Insane jumped on. Icy proceeded to release Pidgey. “Pidgey. I need you to fly me towards land, ok.” Pidgey nodded. Icy hopped on, and they were off. No one saw them leave as they disappeared into the night. They were only 20 miles from the mainland near Pallet Town. Following the stars, they hoped to reach land by morning.
  Someone didn’t miss seeing the two escape the ship. Shining, he hovered back towards the SS Anne. “I’ll take care of you later Icy. I won’t be denied my destiny twice.”

The S.S. Anne Mini-Series: Lost At Sea

  They had been floating toward in what they thought to be the direction towards Pallet Town. Pidgey was tired from flying, so Icy joined Insanellama on top of Porygon. Insane looked at his watch. 6:00AM.
  “We’ve been floating around for six hours! Where are we?” he asked.

  “Don’t know. Maybe Porygon can help. It’s a cybernetic pokémon, so I’ll just make a few adjustments to his programming.” Icy spent about a half hour tinkering with Porygon’s internal systems. A small satellite dish formed on Porygon’s tail and a computer screen appeared on its back. “Got it. Now we can find out where we are!”
  Insane gave Icy a perplexed look. “What is that going to do for us? Cable TV?”
  “It’s a link to the GPS System. We can use it to find out exactly where we are.” Icy switched it on and a map appeared on the screen. A blinking dot indicated their position. “Porygon, download these map coordinates into your navigation systems and plot a course for Pallet Town.” Porygon hummed and began float toward Pallet.
  “When did you learn how to do that?” Insane asked.
  “Oh, just something I did in my spare time. It shouldn’t be long before we reach Pallet.”
  “Great. Better develop a taste for pineapple pizza, quick!” Icy just laughed. They had no idea of the terrible explosion that had occurred only three hours after they left on the SS Anne.
  When they reached the shore, Porygon returned to its pokéball. Insanellama and Icy headed for the lab. When they rang the bell, Oak said, “Come in.” Professor Oak was reading a copy of the Celadon Times. The front page headline said, “S.S. Anne sinks.”
  Meanwhile, X and Lonewolf were making their way towards Pallet as well. When they hit the beach, they were in pallet. They walked to the lab, and rang the bell. Insanellama said, “Come on in.” When they walked in, they too saw the headline.
  X said in a very remorseful tone, “I didn’t catch Random before we left. I wonder if he got off before it sank.” Insanellama, X, and Icy were all very worried about their friends. Lonewolf shed a small tear as she thought about if Random was ok. Again the group’s expressions went even lower.
  “I’m sure they all made it off safe,” Oak said trying to comfort Icy who had small tears in his eyes.
  Just then, Random busted through the door. “Man that water is cold…”
  “See, look Icy, Random is ok,” Insane said to comfort his friend.
  Icy was still crying. Somehow, he couldn’t picture anyone surviving the explosion. “I h-h-hope you’re right…” he sniffled.
  Later that evening, as they sat down to dinner, Icy was speaking with Oak. “I’d like you to examine this Porygon I have. I want to upgrade its internal systems with some new procedures I’ve developed,” Icy said to Oak, handing him the pokéball.
  “Sure Icy. Porygons can be easily customized when done properly by a trained professional.”
  “I’m professional enough,” Icy proclaimed. Insane seconded it.
  “Huh. Customizable Porygons? Whatever…” It was a little out of Random’ s league.
  “Well, it may take a day or two to see how much of its systems can be modified. I’ll get started on it tonight. You boys can pick any guestroom to sleep in. There haven’t been too many visitors lately. Oh, by the way, who’s up for tofu?”
  “Uhhh…” Icy and Insane and Random sighed in unison. They finished their dinners and Icy ran off to bed.
  “I’m really tired. Ahhhhhhh… I need some sleep…” And with that he dropped down right in the middle of the floor. Insane picked up the sound asleep Pikachu and carried him to a room and tucked him into bed.
  “Good night Icy. Cya in the morning.” Insane returned to the foyer and spoke with Random.
  Icy still couldn’t help but wonder what Mimic was trying to tell him about Mewtwo. Was Mewtwo just completely misunderstood? It was too complicated for him to think about. All he knew was, Mewtwo said that he was a target. That was enough to keep Icy thinking about him.
  “Oh yeah!” Random interrupted breakfast. He ran back to his room and carried out the huge sack of Pokéballs that he found aboard the S.S. Anne. “These balls were left on the Anne right before she sank. I barely saved them.”
  “Well, let’s check them out!” Icy exclaimed.
  “Certainly,” Oak said.
  The team grabbed a handful of balls each and took turns throwing them out.
  “Sandshrew!” the Pokémon yelled.
  Random’s Pokédex spoke up, *Sandshrew - an UGLY Pokémon. Uses ground attacks so it can run away from real enemies.*
  “I really shouldn’t have let this model get out…” Oak murmured. Insanellama recalled the Pokémon.
  “Wiggly”
  “ARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!” The crowd shouted.
  “Return dangit! Return!” Random shouted.
  “Diglett.”
  Diglett - a MOLE type Pokémon. Looks like a piece of--- Random turned the Pokédex on mute.
  “Cool! A Diglett!” Random yelled. “Am I allowed to keep these Oak?”
  “You may keep the Pokémon if they are not claimed in 30 days,” Oak responded.
  “Wicked!”
  Icy tossed Random the next pokéball.
  “RaiCHU!”
  “Raichu is the evolved form of Pikachu, as Icy may know…” Oak is so smart!
  “Pika,” Icy scowled.
  “Rai…. CHU!!!” the Pokémon growled…
  “…umm…” Random took a step back.
  Insanellama recalled the Raichu before any sparks flew…
  “Horsea!”
  Oak spoke up, “Horsea is a very popular water Pokémon. She grows into Seadra - a very agile fighter.”
  “Cool. I think I will hold on to these balls until I find a good home for them.” Random hugged his Diglett.
  “And you have a lot more too,” Insanellama said, pointing to the pile of balls on the floor…
  That afternoon, Icy and his friends went to the local diner to have some real food for a change. They ate lunch and began discussing what city to visit next.
  “Well, we’ve already been to Pewter, Cerulean, and Vermilion. I think we should pick a city that we need a badge from,” Icy said. They all thought for a while.
  Random spoke up. “Let’s go to Celadon City. I can show you all around. Plus, I hear there are some programmers there who could help you with your Porygon Icy.”
  “There are?!? Great… We can go as soon as Oak is done analyzing Porygon!” They finished their lunch and headed back to the lab. Prof. Oak walked out of one of the backrooms carrying a pokéball.
  “I’m finished analyzing your Porygon. You should visit the programmers in Celadon City. They can help you make modifications to Porygon’s code. My study shows that most of its systems are upgradeable.”
  Icy took the pokéball from Oak and thanked him. “Thanks professor! We’ve already decided to go to Celadon City.” They decided it would be best to leave early tomorrow morning since it would be a long hike.
  Meanwhile, far away, something was listening to every word they said. “Celadon… That brings back memories… Enjoy your time while you can Icy… I’m not finished yet…” The silver figure remained hovering over the waters separating Pallet and Cinnabar. “Soon… All humans will pay for their ignorance.”

Porygon Airways

  They snuck out early again before Oak woke up. And again, Oak woke up to an empty house. Their next stop would be in Celadon…

  “It’ll take forever if we walk and the nearest Pidgeot Airport is in Pewter City. That’s about a two days walk from here.”
  “We don’t have to walk anywhere. Go Porygon!” Porygon sprung out of its pokéball. The others started wondering what Icy was going to do. “Porygon, convert to flying type and run program JetBird.” Porygon glowed as a fine set of polygonal wings appeared from its sides. “Everybody on!” They all got onto Porygon who had hollowed out seats for them.
  “Is there an in-flight movie Icy?” Insane asked jokingly.
  “Sorry. No VCR on this Porygon. Maybe later.” Porygon took off for Celadon.
  From many miles away, the silver pokémon clicked on its jetpack and set a course for Celadon City too. “I’ll fulfill my destiny when the time is right Icy. You won’t be able to interfere with my plans.”
  Porygon started to descend as they neared Celadon. It came to a perfect stop on the road into town. When they got off Porygon, Random had just remembered something. “There’s an air show for flying pokémon here every year. It’s just about time for it I believe, you could enter Porygon Icy!” said Random.
  Needless to say, they headed straight for the registration booth. “I’d like to enter my Porygon in the air-show,” said Icy through the translator. Insanellama quickly related the tale of Icy to the attendant.
  She still looked confused, “A Porygon? They can’t fly.”
  “Mine can,” said Icy. The attendant agreed and gave them a number.
  Before anyone knew what was going on, Icy was frantically programming a stunt routine into the Porygon. When Icy finished, they walked over to the start line. The other competitors were Pidgeot, and Fearow. Icy was last. When it was his turn up, the score to beat was a 9.83 out of a possible 10.0.
  Porygon took off and ran the routine of dives, flips, spins, and other maneuvers. When it landed, the judges scored it a 9.87. The crowd was astonished to see a Porygon win. The prize was a trophy and $500. Icy held up the trophy triumphantly! The crowd quickly departed, and they were left in a relatively empty town square… Too empty…

Mewtwo's Destiny

  We find our heroes looking at the sights from the Town Square. Unknown to them, a dangerous element was descending upon them. And now…

  “Wow, that air show was really fun. I wonder if Porygon can do other types of tricks,” Icy said.
  “Maybe those programmers here can help you with that,” Random replied.
  For some reason, Icy felt something strange approaching. He looked above him and shrieked. “PIKAAAA!!!”
  “What’s wr…” Insane stopped mid-word as he looked up seeing a silver armored pokémon hovering above them. “What is that? Another Porygon?”
  “Now I fulfill my destiny. Come with me Icy!” Icy tried to run, but Mewtwo just glowed and they were both teleported to a distant island.
  “What happened? Where’s Icy? Come on, we’ve got to get help!” The group ran for the pokécenter to get help. But there was nothing they could do to save Icy now.

  Meanwhile, Mewtwo and Icy appeared on a small, dark, deserted island. “Welcome to my home Icy. This will be the last place you ever see.” With that, Mewtwo fired a large psybeam directly at Icy, pinning him against a rock wall.
  “Aghhh!!” Icy screamed in pain. Mewtwo stopped his attack. “W-Why are you doing this to me? What do have to do with your destiny?”
  “You are the one with the gift, Icy. Your psychic powers, although undeveloped now, have high potential. You are a threat to me.”
  “But I don’t care about battling you.” Icy’s conversation with Mimic was coming back to him now. “You aren’t going to accomplish or make people feel any different about you by destroying me.” Mewtwo was annoyed by Icy’s remarks and fired a short psybeam at him. “Go Abra! We have to protect ourselves and fight back. Use your psybeam!” Abra fired multiple psybeams at Mewtwo, but each time they bounced right off his armor.
  “You fool! I cannot be beaten!” Mewtwo prepared to fire a psybeam at Abra. Just as the beam hit Abra, Icy returned him to his pokéball. “Now I will finish you!” Mewtwo fired its psybeam at Icy again.
  “Pik… aaaaaghhhhh…. chaaaaaa!!!!” Icy screamed in pain. It echoed off of every wall. Slowly, he attempted to get back up. “I-I-I understand how you feel about humans. But killing me won’t make you any better than them. You will be just like them.”
  “You can’t possibly hope to be capable of understanding my life. You humans take those pokémon from their homes and force them to battle for you. Then you went as far as genetically altering one of them to create me, to experiment on. Now I will have revenge, starting with you!” He increased the strength of the psybeam. Icy screamed even louder. He was almost completely out of energy, but managed to channel every last bit to form a psyonic shield around him to counter Mewtwo’s attack. It worked, but Icy fainted from losing all his energy.
  Mewtwo looked at Icy’s lifeless body. All the sudden it hit him. “Perhaps you do understand the pain I feel inside. I have become no better than those I hate so much. My own hatred for humans has caused me to be blind. What have I done?” He held his head as he thought about what to do. “I can’t destroy you Icy. But my feelings about humans remain unchanged. For what it’s worth, you have opened my eyes to see some hope for your race.” Mewtwo teleported Icy back to the town square.
  After a few moments, a little girl saw the badly injured Pikachu lying on the ground. She ran towards it. “Cool, a pokémon! Ouwww, you’re sooo cute. Huh, you’re hurt. Help! I don’t think it’s breathing! Somebody help me, please!!!”
  An older gentleman heard her cry for help and ran over to her. “What’s wrong little one?” he asked.
  “I found this cute little pokémon, but I think it’s hurt bad. Please, sir, can you help it?” She had tears in her eyes. The man took Icy into his arms.
  “Let’s take it to the pokécenter. They can treat him there.” They ran as fast as they could to the pokécenter.
  Inside, the rest of Clan Caterpie was waiting for any news about Icy. When they saw the little girl with the Pikachu come in, they hoped it was Icy. Insane walked over to the girl and noticed a black device around the Pikachu’s neck. It was Icy! “Little girl, where did you find this Pikachu?”
  The man spoke for her. “She found him in the Town Square. Why? Does it belong to you?”
  “No sir. Its name is Icy. He’s a human Pikachu! Some strange pokémon teleported him away earlier this afternoon. Is he… alive?”
  Nurse Joy came in with a group of Chanseys following her. “We need to act quickly!” The Chanseys took Icy and placed him on a stretcher and wheeled him into the emergency room.
  “Is he… going to be… alright?” Insane asked Joy.
  “It’s too soon to tell. We’ll do everything we can for him.” She joined the Chanseys in the emergency room. As the doors closed, all Insane could think about was Icy. He hoped he would pull through.
  After they waited for what seemed like an eternity, Nurse Joy let them enter the ER to see their friend.
  The group of friends was crowded around Icy, who was wired to a car battery. “Poor guy…” Llama muttered.
  “What’s a Mewtwo?” Random asked ashamed.
  “Definitely not a pokémon I wanna mess with,” said Lonewolf as she looked at the battery.
  “Nurse,” Insanellama asked, “when will Icy be able to leave?”
  “Very soon, but he will have to be partially immobilized.” Nurse Joy said grimly.
  A few hours later… Everyone was sitting in the waiting room. Nurse Joy wheeled Icy in. He was a paler shade of yellow and bandages were wrapped over his left ear and part of his head.
  “…chuuu…” Icy muttered. He spoke into his translator, “Lets get out of here…” Random took the wheelchair. They silently exited the building.
  Lonewolf reluctantly asked, “Icy, when will you be able to walk and move around again?”
  Icy’s color was returning as they wheeled down the street. “I want to walk now,” said Icy, hopping down. Since they were only about 70 yards from the pokécenter, Insanellama sent Rapidash to return the wheel chair. Rapidash returned a couple of minutes later and the group decided they’d check out the rest of the city.
  “Hey, I got an idea! Let’s do something to lift our spirits by battling at the Celadon Gym!” said Insane. The group concurred and they made their way to the gym.

Clan Caterpie and the Rainbow Badge

  They entered the Celadon City Gym. A girl at the counter greeted them. “Welcome to the Celadon City Pokémon Gym! Are you here to challenge our gym leader, Erika?”
  “Yes, we are,” Icy answered. The girl was startled. She looked down at the talking Pikachu.
  “Did that thing just talk?”
  “Of course I just talked. You talk. Well, so do I. My name is Icy. Now, where’s Erika?” Icy was very anxious to earn another badge. Winning was much better than losing.
  “Now I’ve seen everything. That or I’m wearing a bit too much perfume today. The main gym is just down the hall to your left. Good luck!” She returned to the desk. Some other young trainers came in. Clan Caterpie headed for the main gym.

  “Erika uses grass type pokémon, right?” Icy asked. He didn’t want to get caught using the wrong pokémon in a gym match.
  “Yeah. Fire and ice pokémon will have a real advantage over her grass types,” Insane replied.
  “Hmmm... I don’t have any fire or ice pokémon. What am I going to use?” Icy didn’t have too many options.
  “How about Abra? Abra can nail them with its psychic attacks. Or maybe Porygon,” Random said.
  “Hey. That might work! I’ll have that Rainbow Badge in no time!”
  They entered the main gym. There were trees and plants all over the place. “Hello. I am Erika, the gym leader. Are you here to earn a Rainbow Badge?”
  “Yes! I’m ready!” Icy stepped up to the challenger’s box. Erika watched in disbelief as the small Pikachu approached.
  “Ahehehe... That’s very cute. So who’s my challenger?”
  “I AM!!!” Icy yelled.
  “What. You can talk? Pokémon don’t compete for badges, humans do.”
  “Errr. Not this again. Insane, would you kindly educate to daft gym leader?”
  “Why not...” Insanellama spent the next few minutes explaining to Erika about the experiment mishap that transformed Icy into a Pikachu. She was still confused, but agreed to battle Icy.
  “See, if they’d cut back on the perfume, they’d understand things a lot better. That stuff goes right to your head,” Icy whispered to Insane. He laughed and the match began.
  “It will be a three on three battle. GO, Tangela!” She threw her pokéball into the field. A small vine-like pokémon popped out.
  “I choose, Abra! GO, Abra!” Icy swung Abra’s pokéball from his tail into the field. Abra came out, ready for battle. “Abra, use psybeam!” Abra prepared to attack.
  “Tangela, try to distract it with vine whip!” Tangela shot its vines at Abra, but Icy was ready for it.
  “Abra, use Psychic to repel the vines!” Abra reacted quickly and the vines missed their target. “Now, switch attack to Confusion!” Before Tangela could bring its vines back in, Abra fired its confusion attack. Before long, Tangela was tangled in its own vines. “Hehehe. That was easy.” Icy laughed.
  “The joke’s on you! Tangela, use constrict to put yourself back together, then hit Abra with stun spore!” Icy gasped. Tangela fired spores directly at Abra.
  “Abra, teleport!” Abra teleported just before the spores could hit him. “Now, psybeam!” Tangela was knocked out in one hit from Abra’s psybeam. Abra was starting to learn how to channel more energy into its attacks. But without evolving, it would never reach its full potential.
  “Tangela return! Very impressive, but you’ll have to do better to beat, Victreebel! GO, Victreebel!” A large bell shaped pokémon came out. “Razor leaf now!” Sharp leaves emerged from inside its bell. They quickly converged on Abra.
  “Teleport Abra!” It was too late. Abra was hit by each of the razor sharp leaves. “No, Abra! Return!” Icy thought to himself what to use next. He remembered Random suggesting Porygon. “Go, Porygon!” The polygonal pokémon came out. Icy quickly looked up Porygon’s attacks on his pokédex.
  “Victreebel, use vine whip to restrain that Porygon!” Icy was worried. He couldn’t lose another round.
  “Porygon, double team!” Porygon immediately split into three identical Porygons. Victreebel was confused. It couldn’t figure out which was the real Porygon. All the Porygons struck at it at once. Victreebel was too beat up to continue battling and fainted. Erika recalled it.
  “You’re pretty good. But you’ll never beat, Vileplume!” A large plant emerged from the pokéball. It had very large pedals on its top. “Vileplume, stun spore!” Two of the Porygons got hit by the spores and disappeared. The real Porygon charged again for Vileplume.
  “Porygon, sharpen, then tackle!” Porygon became razor sharp and as it hit Vileplume, Porygon cut its side. Vileplume was hurt badly and began crying. Icy was very sad that Porygon’s attack was so strong. “Oh my. Erika, I’m sorry.” Icy ran over to Insane’s backpack and found a potion spray. He then gave it to Erika. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know Porygon would be that sharp. I hope this heals your Vileplume.” She applied the potion to Vileplume. It recovered quickly.
  “Thanks, Icy. Well, I guess you win. I’d be a little more careful with that Porygon of yours. Here’s your Rainbow Badge!” Icy took the badge from Erika and ran back to the group. “OK, who wants to go next?” The other members of Clan Caterpie tried to decide who would battle Erika next.
  Insanellama decided he would go next. “It’ll be a two on two,” said Erika.
  “That’s right up my alley mam,” said Insanellama.
  “GO TANGELA”
  “GO PONYTA!”
  “TANGELA CONSTRICT NOW!”
  “PONYTA FIRESPIN NOW!” Ponyta’s firespin connected, but Tangela managed to reach through the fire and choke Ponyta. When the smoke cleared, both pokémon were down.
  “VICTREEBEL GO!”
  “Now you’ll face the other half of my fiery duo, RAPIDASH GO! RAPIDASH STOMP NOW!”
  “VICTREEBEL VINE WHIP!”
  Rapidash was faster, and took a running leap over the vines, and came crashing down on Victreebel.
  “VICTREEBEL STUN SPORE NOW!” Without warning Rapidash reared up on its front legs and mule kicked Victreebel. The spores connected, but Victreebel was out cold.
  “What tha? I didn’t give that command,” said Insanellama. Erika tossed him a Rainbow badge. Insanellama went over to his two fiery horses, and healed and hugged them. The next matches were one on one. X’s Abra defeated Erika’s Weepinbell. Lonewolf’s Vulpix defeated Erika’s Weepinbell.
  “Hey.” Random smiled coolly at Erika.
  “What?” Erika snorted.
  Random looked around, “Sup?”
  “You want a match too?” Erika grabbed her pokéballs.
  “Sure.”
  Everyone looked at Random. He was acting pretty weird. Random tossed Growlithe onto the floor. Erika tossed Weepinbell out.
  “Growlithe, do something.”
  “Weepinbell, use Razor Leaf!”
  The leaves singed as Growlithe launched flames across the plant Pokémon. Random smiled cheerfully, yet a bit dazed.
  “w00t.” Random sighed. “Go, Jigglypuff.” Growlithe returned to his Pokéball as Jigglypuff was released. Erika responded by firing out Victreebel.
  “Jigglypuff, sing.”
  “Petal Dance now!”
  Jigglypuff got the first shot in somehow, rendering Victreebel asleep.
  “Pound ‘em!” Random spoke with little passion.
  Jigglypuff began hopping high into the air and body slamming her foe with vigor. The enemy Pokémon was soon fainted. Jigglypuff hopped behind Random and wiped her sweat from her brow.
  “Yeah... that was nice.” Random breathed deep.
  Erika looked at Random curiously. “Here is your badge.” She cheerfully handed the Rainbow emblem over.
  “Yeah... thanks a lot.” Random gingerly gripped the badge.
  Random sat down and passed out. Ivan grabbed Random with his vine and dragged him outside.
  Dev looked at X, “must be the perfume.” X responded, “Must be.”
  Jigglypuff remained where Random sat down. She began glowing....
  “WIGGLY!!!” The great voice bellowed.
  “WIGGLY..... tuff?” The freakish balloon bounced around the building, taking bites out of Erika’s plants and harassing Icy.
  “WIGGLYWIGGLYWIGGLYWIGGLYWIGGLY!!!” She hopped outside to greet her master. Ivan scampered off back into the Gym.
  Wigglytuff sat atop her master and fell asleep with him.
  “ACK!” Random squirmed to a safe distance.
  “WIGGLY - -TUFF!!!” The homely Pokémon roared. The Twisted Pokédex announced, *Wigglytuff - an EVIL type Pokémon. Easily the most hated of all Pokémon: Run.*
  “Yeah.” Random grabbed a Pokéball and brought the wicked balloon inside. He pulled a small lock and chain from his bottomless pack and fastened it around the ball.
  Random inspected the ball, “Good enough.” He stood up and rejoined the clan.

The Programmers of Celadon City

  The team was standing idly around Celadon Town Square. Icy was, once again, fiddling with his Porygon - Dev watching curiously over his shoulder. Random switched between talking with his friends and speaking to others over his cell phone. When he concluded his conversation, he hung up the phone and turned to Icy.
  “Hey man, I know some cool techs in Celadon who could help you out with Porygon.” Random pointed to a tall building at the end of Scissor Street.
  Icy spoke into his translator necklace, “Sweet! Let’s go!” He packed up his bag and held Porygon’s Pokéball in his little Pikachu hands.
  “You guys ok here?” Random asked Llama, X, and Dev.
  “We’ll find something to do...”
  Random and Icy took a walk down the street. They passed ROCKET GAME CORNER. “That’s where I won the jackpot last year.” Random told the origin of his adventure, “With my mother accounted for, I left home.” Random checked his wallet - full. A grin came across his face. Icy rolled his eyes.
  “There.” Random pointed to a tall building with a large, 2nd floor glass window overlooking the street. They entered.
  “Random!” A young man in his 20’s called out.
  “Hey Will!” Random shook his hand.
  “How’s your Porygon Random?” Will inquired.
  “Haven’t fiddled with him in over a year...” Random replied coolly.
  ‘Random has a Porygon?’ Icy thought, ‘he never mentions it...I thought he wasn’t interested in this stuff...’
  “Will, this is Icy. Icy this is Wilhelm Bildungsroman.” Random pointed to the tiny Pikachu.
  “Hi lil fella!” Will bent over and patted Icy’s head. Icy smacked his hand.
  “Excuse me sir...” Icy replied sharply.
  “Wha-? He talks???” Will gasped.
  “....sigh....” Random told Will the story of Icy’s transformation.
  “Wow...” Will said, “So what can I do for you Icy?”
  Will took a look at Icy’s Porygon. “Hmm... I can see you’ve already made some additions to Porygon’s original programming. Very nice work. I think you might be able to enhance its flying capabilities and maybe add some submarine abilities by adding these command algorithms.” Will showed Icy some different programs he had been working on.
  Random walked around and watched the projects the other programmers were working on. He later came back to check on Will and Icy.
  Porygon was well shined and looked like new. It sparkled as the lights hit it. Will and Icy had added new flight procedures and gave Porygon the ability to act as a submarine. They also enhanced Porygon’s psychic attacks.
  “Thanks again Will.” Icy waved as he took his Porygon back.
  “Any time Icy. Hope to see you again some time,” Will answered. He turned to Random. “Take care Random. Thanks for visiting.”
  “No prob. I still enjoy coming here. I think we are headed for Saffron City, Icy’s hometown. Right, Icy?”
  “Yeah!”
  As they left the mansion, Icy saw a poster on a dark wall. He read it.

  “Wow. New fossils! I want one! After we get a Marsh badge, we’re coming back here!” Icy proclaimed excitedly.
  “Something just doesn’t seem right about this...,” Random added. Little did they know that Team Rocket had once again come up with the perfect trap for our heroes.

Icy Goes His Own Way

  While the group was eating that day in the pokécenter, Icy decided he’d go out on his own for a while and meet back with the group after the auction. They exchanged a tearful goodbye wishing Icy the best of luck. Icy then took his backpack and a sleeping bag and headed out to a forest outside Celadon City.
  Random watched Icy leave and spoke up, “Guys. I have been thinking. I am don’t want to be a nobody. I have decided to put myself through Pokémon Tech. I am going to leave you guys for a while. You are welcome to stay at my estate for as long as you wish. Thank you, you’re my best friends.”

  “Good luck Random.” Everyone wished him well. Random walked to the door, Ivan on his heels. Random set his map down and defined the best path to Pokémon Tech. He set off.
  It was a small forest, but Icy didn’t care about that. He just wanted a place no one would bother him at. It was getting very late and the sun had already set. Icy was suddenly lonely. As he reached for Porygon’s pokéball, he put it back thinking about Abra. He found Abra’s pokéball and called him out. Abra appeared in front of him, ready for battle. Icy calmed him down and said he just wanted to talk a while.
  “Hey, Abra. It’s been a while.” Abra nodded. Ever since Icy had got Porygon, he couldn’t put it down. Abra had become just another one of his many pokémon. But now Icy realized how lonely Abra was. “I’m sorry for not paying much attention to you Abra. I wonder how all our friends are doing? Let’s find out.” Icy had each of his other pokémon materialize. Most of them just sat there staring at Icy and Abra while others, like the ten Caterpie, played little games. Icy laughed as the Caterpies crawled over each other. He remembered the times when he played games with the other kids on his block, specifically a little girl who lived next door. But that was before the accident that changed his life forever. Not that it was any bad to be a Pikachu, there were just a few things that only humans could do. Icy and Abra both joined in the games their friends were playing.
  They played late into the night and were finally so wiped out, they just fell asleep right there. Icy had been playing games with the Caterpie, letting them crawl all over him, and now they were still all over him, asleep. Since they were deep in the forest where no one would see them, Icy decided to just fall asleep for the night, since he didn’t have the energy to return them all to pokéballs anyway. Sleep overtook him quickly and slowly he began to dream about his old life. Abra and Porygon fell asleep on each other as well, and the rest of Icy’s pokémon remained scattered around them. It was almost mid-night.
  Meanwhile, in a secret part of Celadon City, Giovanni and some of his TR henchmen were setting up headquarters. “Is everything ready for the big party?”
  “Yes sir. Everything will ready right on time. We’ve got posters throughout the city and in pokécenters everywhere.”
  “Very good. Now all we have to do is wait for those trainers to get here. And this time, there had better not be any screw ups.” The two henchmen had a nervous look. “Oh. And one more thing. I’ve heard rumors that Clan Caterpie is in town. See that they are eliminated at the party. I want Icy, however, brought to me, alive. He would make a perfect agent. Bwahahahaha!!” His laugh was very deep. The other two agents laughed with him.

Free as a Butterfree

  Deep in Celadon Forest, Icy awoke to a half-dozen Caterpie on top of him. “AHHH!!!” he screamed as he got up, sending the Caterpie flying. “Opps, sorry.” They crawled around looking for nice, juicy leaves to snack on. The rest of Icy’s pokémon also looked around for food. Icy found some bright red apples and shared them with the others. After breakfast, they all spent some time training and playing games.
  Icy and his pokémon took a walk through the forest. Sunlight poured through the trees and sparkled off water droplets. It was such a beautiful day and Icy wanted to do something special with his pokémon. They found a clearing which had some rocks scattered and a few small flowers. Swarms of Butterfree fluttered overhead. Icy’s Caterpie looked up at their evolved forms with awe.

  Finally, Icy decided to have a picnic with his pokémon. He sent Abra and Porygon to go find some good food. While they were gone, he set up the picnic. A few minutes later, Abra and Porygon returned with enough food to last the night. They put the food out and everyone ate.
  After finishing their lunch, Icy let them play in the clearing. The Butterfree he had seen earlier that day came back and began playing with his pokémon. It would take a long time for any of Icy’s Caterpie to evolve into Butterfree. As he watched them, one stood out. It had green tipped wings and a light green body instead of the normal blue and was slightly smaller than the other Butterfree. Immediately, Icy felt a strange calling to it. Something inside of him was saying, this was the one. “I want that one...,” Icy thought.
  Icy called Abra to his side, then called for the green Butterfree. Icy proposed a contest between Abra and Butterfree. If Abra won, Icy got to capture Butterfree, and if Butterfree won, Icy would give all the Butterfree lots of food. They agreed to the term and the contest began.
  “Abra, he doesn’t look that tough, just use your confusion attack.” Abra fired his confusion attack at the Butterfree, who evaded it with amazing agility. Then, Icy noticed Butterfree glowing and just before it could fire its psybeam at Abra, Abra teleported. “Whoa. Looks are deceiving... No matter. Abra, psybeam now!” Abra’s psybeam knocked Butterfree clear out of the sky. Icy won the contest and captured the Butterfree.
  They all spent the remainder of the day playing with the other Butterfree. Icy sat down caring for Butterfree’s wounds. After it was ok, they joined the others in their games. Icy was so happy with his new Butterfree that he decided to share his food with the Butterfree anyway. They promised to take Icy and his pokémon for flying lessons if they had the time the next day. Icy happily agreed and as the sun set, Icy wondered about all the pokémon he would see at the Pokémon Auction in Celadon City.

The Celadon City Pokémon Auction

  Trucks were coming in by the hundreds it looked as prospective auctioneers and merchants drove truckloads of pokémon into Celadon City. Most of them had sold pokémon stuff on the SS Anne cruise and each one was happier that no obvious dangers lurked at this event. After all, you can’t sink a city.
  The auction would take place mainly in Celadon Square and inside the pokécenter and Celadon City Mall. The first wave of merchants set up their booths along the main road knowing people would have to pass by. Among them was the Magikarp dealer from the SS Anne with a fresh supply of Magikarp.
  Merchants and auctioneers weren’t the only people entering the city. Many Rocket agents were too. But instead of looting and causing trouble, they were sweeping the roads and helping people set up. Many Celadon residents were amazed when they saw how nice and humane the Rockets were acting.

  “This sucks! I can’t believe the boss is making us go through with this. We should be terrorizing the city. This is gonna give us Rockets a bad name.”
  “Quiet. We have to do this. Besides, we’ll get our chance. There’s gonna be tons of trainers here. That’s a lot of pokémon just waiting to be stolen. Now let’s get back to work.”
  Meanwhile, back at Giovanni’s secret underground base outside Celadon City, one of his top specialists entered the room. “You have your orders. Make sure they are carried out flawlessly.”
  “You can count on me sir.” The specialist left the room.
  Giovanni turned his attention to a smaller agent by the door. “Make sure my suit is perfectly clean. I want to look my best for tomorrow.” The agent nodded and left. “Ahh... This is going to be the greatest scheme I’ve ever concocted. There’s nothing that can stop me now, fwahahaha...” He sat back in his chair.

The next day,
  Celadon City was packed. Merchants and trainers were flooding the city. As they gathered in the main square, a dark figure approached the podium. He was followed by two other dark figure dressed in black with big red ‘R’s on their shirts. The crowd gasped as they saw who it was.
  Giovanni stepped up to the microphone. He looked at the large crowd from behind a bulletproof glass window. His agents took their places at his sides. He cleared his throat.
  “Welcome, everyone! It is my great pleasure to welcome all of you to the 1999 Celadon City Pokémon Auction.” The crowd cheered. “My name is Giovanni, President of Team Rocket. I have spent many millions to make this event a reality for all of you. The main auctions will be held right here, in Celadon Square. There will also be merchants selling various pokémon products. I hope you all have an excellent time and feel free of ask any of my associates for help or info about Team Rocket. And now, I turn the program over to the mayor of Celadon City.” More cheering.
  The mayor walked to the podium while Giovanni whispered something to his agents. “As mayor of Celadon City, it gives me great honor to declare the Pokémon Auction, officially open!” The crowd cheered again. Giovanni and his agents had slipped away during the mayor’s short speech. The mayor was signing autographs and handing out ‘Vote for me’ buttons. It was a perfect sunny day and the first pokémon to hit the auction table was an Ivysaur, donated by the Celadon City Gym. Trainers had already begun placing their bids.

Meanwhile,
  After sending the night with the Butterfree in Celadon Forest, Icy made his way back into the big city. It was packed with trainers. He recalled all his pokémon except Porygon, which he rode, and Abra, who rode with them. Some people noticed him as he sped by, but Icy only replied, “Hi...” Most people now knew about Icy the Pikachu trainer. But Icy was still in danger of being spotted by Team Rocket.
  The auction was going well and except for a few fights between Giovanni and other trainers, everyone was getting along fine. Over a hundred trainers had already entered the city, and more were on the way. Icy looked around. He saw the Ivysaur being auctioned off at the main area. “Hmm... I already have a Bulbasaur...” Icy was hoping to get his hands on a rare pokémon with the money Random had given him just before he left. He continued walking.
  The crowd was getting very packed now. Fortunately for Icy, he could slip through because of his size. A bulletin board had an announcement for a Porygon technology demonstration at the Celadon Mansion on Wednesday. “I gotta go to that! Maybe I can show off my Porygon.” Icy continued wandering. He was getting lonely. “I wonder if Mimic will be here? I really want to see him again...”
  He hadn’t eaten since last night so he headed towards a packed pokécenter. Icy managed to make it to the front desk where Nurse Joy recognized him immediately. “Here’s an apple Icy. That’s all I can do for you now. There sure are a lot of trainers here. Be careful walking around along out there Icy.” Icy thanked Joy and scampered off with the apple. Apple in hand, he continued to peruse the main square.
  Icy wandered around, taking in the sights and sounds. Food was the last thing on his mind, but his body raised the apple to his mouth almost by itself, responding to some natural, Darwinian urge to eat now lest famine strike or better herbivores clear the food away.
  *Chom-*
  “Owwwwww!”
  Icy blinked. The apple...was moving.
  “Sorry. Mimic no think anyone eat *apple* at this festival. Everyone sell and eat junk food, so far as Mimic see.”
  Icy examined the apple from all sides, trying to find a face, but the only distinguishing features were his own tooth marks. “Mimic! I was hoping you’d come.”
  A very tiny, worm-like Dratini poked its head out of a hole, hidden by the shadows at the apple’s top. “Mimic see many people head to Celadon, so Mimic come see what happen. Hear something about auction.” Mimic’s left eye narrowed, and he looked straight at the Pikachu. “Icy no for sale, Mimic hope.”

Later that day,
  Even at night, the streets in Celadon City were completely lit up. Trainers were still up and about. Icy and Abra rode through the crowd on Porygon. As they were going along, Porygon accidentally bumped into a trainer.
  “Hey, watch where you’re... Huh?” The trainer looked down to notice the Pikachu riding Porygon. “Uh, don’t you belong to someone? You shouldn’t wander away from your trainer. Of course, maybe you don’t have a trainer.”
  “No. These pokémon belong to me. The name’s Icy.” The man didn’t know weather to be shocked or afraid. “Hey, you wanna battle me?”
  “Uh, ok little Pikachu. How’s about a one-on-one match. I choose you, Dratini!” A cute dragon pokémon now stood in front of Icy.
  “And for my pokémon, I choose, myself! Go IcyPikachu!”
  “Huh. I guess that’s fair. But don’t blame me for any injuries my Dratini gives you. Dratini, wrap him up!”
  “Go thunderball!” Icy created an enormous ball of electricity in front of him and fired it at Dratini. Dratini was shaken up, but not beaten. Icy, on the other hand, was slightly weakened from creating the attack.
  “Hang in there Dratini. He’s weak, hit him with Hyper Beam!” Dratini began glowing. Icy was frozen with fear.
  “H-h-hyper beam...” Icy said nervously. Dratini fired the beam with amazing accuracy. “Psyshield now!” Icy was too late. Although his psyonic shield protected him from most of the blast, enough of Dratini’s hyper beam got him before the shield kicked in. Almost unable to move, Icy declared defeat.
  “Aw kid, it’s not that bad. Nobody has ever beaten this Dratini. Here, let me help you.” The man took out a potion spray from his backpack and used it to heal Icy.
  “Thank you. Well, I guess I should be on my way. Sorry for bumping into you.”
  Icy was about to leave with Abra and Porygon when the man stopped him. “Hey. Wait a sec. What other neat pokémon do you have?”
  “Well, I do have a Bulbasaur and Dugtrio. Why?”
  “Ahh. I really love Dratini here, but there’s just no fun in winning all the time, know what I mean. Maybe it’s time Dratini helped someone else. How’s about a trade, Icy? I’ll give you my Dratini for your Bulbasaur and Dugtrio. Since Dratini is so powerful and rare, I think two is a fair deal.”
  “Well, I never really do get a chance to train them anyway. Ok, let’s trade!”
  “You made a good decision.” They traded pokémon and went their separate ways. Icy released Dratini from its pokéball. It was so cute. He had Dratini wrap around his head like a hat and rode off with Abra on Porygon.
  Icy, his Dratini and Abra all rode on Porygon to the Pokémon mansion where the Porygon technology demonstration was about to begin. Outside the mansion, many posters of the computer diagrams were shown. Icy returned his pokémon to their pokéballs and walked inside. Will and his colleagues were putting the finishing touches on the displays. Icy walked over to Will. “Hi. Looking good!”
  “Yes. We hope to get quite a crowd. I hear Random went off to Pokémon Tech.”
  “Yeah. I hope he comes back during the breaks.”
  “Well, I’d love to chat with ya Icy, but I need to finish this before any trainers get here. Cya!”
  Icy wanted around and took notice to some the new enhancements they how made for Porygons. He collected some of the data on his pokédex and then went back outside. He could already see the first wave of trainers approaching the building. For some odd reason, Icy had the distinct feeling he was being watched...
  A multitude of trainers were outside of the mansion. Icy got up in front of the crowd and brought out his Porygon. Will joined him.
  “Hello everybody!” Icy said into is translator and the mic. “I am Icy, and this is my Porygon.” Will and Icy both showed to crowd some more neat things Porygons could be programmed to do. One of the neatest tricks was when Porygon could change itself into vehicles big enough for at least two people. “Thank you everyone for coming to see the Porygons. There are many exhibits inside.” Will thanked Icy for helping out.
  For some reason or another, Icy somehow didn’t feel safe outside the mansion. His psychic senses were picking up something very faint. “Must just be nothing. Pro’ly just a psychic pokémon nearby.” He walked to the main square where to they were auctioning off some rarer pokémon.
  “Hey look! A stray Pikachu! Hehe. This is my lucky day! You’re mine Pikachu!” Icy looked up just in time to see a pokéball flying at him.
  “Silly fool.” Icy muttered to himself as he teleported onto the trainer’ s head. “Opps, I think you missed him.”
  “Huh!?! Who said that?” He noticed Icy on his head. “What the?!? What type of Pikachu are you?”
  After hopping off the trainer’s head and back onto the ground, Icy replied, “My name is Icy. I am a psychic Pikachu trainer. Happy. Never, ever, throw a pokéball at me again!” Icy went off on his way to the square. The trainer was still standing there, more confused than he ever was in his life.
  Finally, Icy reached the square. “The next pokémon up for bidding is this wonderful Seel! It’s perfect for all you ice-type pokémon trainers.” Icy wondered if this was the pokémon he should get. But then he decided not to get it because he already had so many pokémon to take care of. A little kid ran up to him, followed by some other kids.
  “See, see. I told you. This is that talking Pikachu. Mr. Pikachu, can you show me and my friends that Porygon please.”
  “Umm, ok.” Icy sent out Porygon. He had it morph into different objects and stuff. Icy sensed something with high psychic power nearby. “Um. I have to go now kids. Maybe another time. Porygon, return.” Icy ran off until he could no longer sense the psychic being.
  “Crap. I bet Mewtwo pro’ly changed his mind about killing me again,” Icy said to himself. Then, out of the bushes jumped two TR agents. One grabbed Icy while to other attempted to tie him up. “Ahh. No one tries to capture me and gets away with it. Take is! Psy-thundershock GO!” An electric field formed around Icy’s body and fried the TR agent holding him. The other agent ran away in fear of being next. “I don’t think so. I’ve had enough of Team Rocker bothering me. You aren’t going to have it that easy.”
  The TR agent tried to run faster, but Icy just teleported in front of him a set up a psyonic shield. The agent bounced off the shield and fell to the street. Some onlookers were completely amazed. Icy took out Porygon and had it aim its sharp beak at the Rocket’s neck. “Go back to your boss, and tell him to quit pestering me. Otherwise, he’s next!” With that, the agent sprang to his feet, and ran as fast as he could to the secret Rocket base. Icy gave him a thundershock to quicken his pace. Then, he collapsed, tired out from the struggle and energy used for attacks.
  Porygon scooped him up, and took him to the pokécenter. Nurse Joy healed him and restored his energy. “Thanks Nurse Joy!” Icy decided he should go back to the mansion now that the two agents who were following him were out of the way.

Icy and Giovanni

  “Sir! A pikachu attacked and killed one of our agents. In fact, he’s claiming to be a trainer, and had speaking capabilities!” The rocket slowed down as Dreadite got up. Dreadite walked over to the rocket, and looked at the man.
  “Where is this Pikachu?” Dreadite asked, and threw his cloak over his shoulders. The rocket watched True Car’tos warily as Dreadite approached the rocket. “I’ll deal with this myself.”
  The rocket turned to face Dreadite. “He was at the Porygon expo last I heard.”
  Dreadite gestured to Car’tos, who shrugged, and walked past the rocket. Dreadite walked through the door and into the crowd. The rocket ran off to tell Giovanni.

  Icy was talking about Porygons to whoever walked by. He sat down to catch his breath.
  “This is really weird. Porygon seems to be so popular these days, but nobody wants to talk about them!”
  Icy’s Caterpie just made a tired noise. Icy sat down. He wasn’t able to do as much as a Pikachu and he got tired quicker. “Pika!”
  A little girl walked over to him. “Wow, a cute Pikachu! Want a snack, pikachu?”
  Icy nodded. The girl tossed him a nut, and ran into the crowd, giggling. Icy ravenously ate, prompting his caterpie to step back.
  Dreadite watched Icy eat. “That’s the one. Strange, he doesn’t seem to be human at all.”
  Car’tos laughed. “Well, maybe he was hungry. We’re not ones to talk, you know.”
  Dreadite laughed, and stepped forward. He walked up to Icy, and smiled. “Well, aren’t you the cutest little thing.”
  Icy looked up and nodded before going back to eating. Dreadite puked.
  “Too bad you made a mistake.” Dreadite slashed at Icy, and the psychic Pikachu dodged out of the way, and looked at Car’tos, who had walked out of the crowd. Dreadite laughed. “Too late!”
  Dreadite tossed a net at Icy. “Giovanni wants to see you.”
  Icy struggled with the net. “Let me go...” he whimpered. Dreadite just sneered at him and headed back to base.
  “Hmph... I expected more out of you. Psychic Pikahcu indeed. You’re going to learn the price of messing with Team Rocket.”
  “I’m warning you. Let me go or you’ll end up like that other TR agent.”
  “You can’t do anything to me.” Dreadite continued walking. Icy knew he wouldn’t easily escape without help, so while Dreadite wasn’t looking, he used his telekinesis to send out Abra and Porygon.
  “Go find help. Abra, teleport Porygon and you outta here, now!” he whispered to his pokémon. Abra and Porygon vanished. Dreadite didn’t even realize what happened. He looked at Icy again.
  “How pathetic.” He sighed. “I think Giovanni is losing faith in me, sending me to capture such a weakling...”
  “I AM NOT A WEAKLING!!!” Icy summoned up most of his psychic energy to create a massive electric sphere around him. He then hurled it into Dreadite.
  The blast singed Dreadite’s arm. Icy began to run away when he heard to click of a pistol being loaded.
  “That will be far enough Icy. You have an appointment with Giovanni that you really shouldn’t be late for.” Icy stepped back. “Do you really want me to pull the trigger?”
  Dreadite was about to grab the Pikachu, when a young girl came out of the crowd. “Leave him alone!” she demanded.
  “This is has nothing to do with you... This is Team Rockets affair.”
  Car’tos pointed the gun at the girl. “Leave us, or ill be forced to shoot.” The young woman ran back into the crowd, no doubt to call the cops. Dreadite grabbed the little rodent, and tied him up with neon green rope.
  “Come on, before Jenny comes.” Car’tos snapped back his gun, and folded his wings over his chest.
  As they walked on, Car’tos whistled, (as much as he could over his mask,) the Japanese theme of Pokémon. “Hey, what tone is that? It’s catchy!”
  “I don’t know, I heard it somewhere.” By the time they got to where Giovanni was, both Dreadite and Icy were humming it.

  When they reached the Game Corner, Giovanni was busy with another trainer.
  Giovanni motioned for his associates to stay back. Dreadite and Car’tos complied, keeping Icy out of sight and quiet.
  “I chose Nido-“
  “SCYTHER!” A flash of red from somewhere around Dreadite formed into a blade-armed pokémon.
  “Dreadite! Keep your pokémon out of this.”
  “It’s not my pokémon.”
  “Then what was it doing on your person?”
  “I don’t know.” Almost faster than any of the eyes present could follow, Dreadite whipped out his sword, beheaded Scyther, and resheathed his weapon before Scyther could hit the ground. “And I don’t care.”
  Instead of collapsing, though, the Scyther’s body staggered for a bit, while its head made a perfect arc to land on Booga’s shoulder, gooey strands of *something* trailing from severed neck to neck stump. As startled as he was, Booga was even more surprised when the head whispered, “This is not a safe place for you right now. Leave.”
  Giovanni carefully watched the Scyther stagger, nearly straight and true, towards Booga. When it finally collapsed, it dug its arms into the floor, carving a roughly circular hole beneath the novice trainer and sending him to the floor below. The Scyther’s head landed on its body.
  Icy’s nose twitched. That Scyther smelled familiar...
  Giovanni abruptly kicked the Scyther into the hole, then walked out of his office into the hallway where Dreadite, Car’tos, and Icy waited. Only after he closed and locked his office door did he touch a wall intercom. “Security to my office NOW! There’s a Ditto on the loose.” He turned to the others. “Let us discuss business elsewhere. I suspect our guests are about to get noisy.”
  “Sir?”
  “Dreadite, Car’tos: from now on, scan yourselves for pokémon before entering our bases. It would seem that our old friend Mimic has picked up a new trick...”
  At that moment, though, Mimic was in the form of an Eevee, practicing nothing more sinister than sheer cuteness as four girls tried to cuddle him simultaneously in the Celadon Pokémon Center.
  “I’ll do what I feel is necessary, Giovanni.” Dreadite glared at the leader of Team Rocket, and waved his hand. “Not like that would help, you know. Dittos are amazingly harder to detect than you’d imagine.”
  Giovanni shrugged. “Do it. Understand?”
  Dreadite smirked. “Whatever you say.”
  Icy just panicked, and started to bolt. Dreadite stepped back, and disappeared as the teleport pad went into play, flashing bright before calming down. Icy panicked, and Dreadite reappeared above him on the ceiling, before dropping down in front of him. “Hold it.”
  Giovanni smiled. As much as Dreadite seemed to disobey and spite him, he WAS an effective member. Car’tos just shrugged as Dreadite kicked at Icy. Icy dodged back, and stepped right into Giovanni. Dreadite laughed, and Giovanni picked the Pikachu up.
  “Icy, Icy... you make too much of a fuss. You know you can’t win.”

  Just then, all of Icy’s friends converged on Giovanni’s office. Icy’s Abra and Porygon followed them.
  “D***. Security...” Giovanni yelled into the intercom.
  “Don’t even try it. We’ve already handled them. Give it up Giovanni. It’s all over for you!” InsaneLlama said bravely.
  “You won’t do anything to me.” He held Icy tightly in his hands. “Try anything,” he took out a small pistol, “and Icy dies. Now, put your weapons down, slowly” Giovanni’s grip on Icy tightened.
  “Ouch... That’s it. I’ve just about had it with you.” All the sudden, Icy vanished. He reappeared on top of InsaneLlama’s head. “I missed you. Ok guys, attack Giovanni!”
  “S***. You will never capture me!” Giovanni reached inside his suit to reveal a small sphere. He threw it to the ground and vanished in a puff of smoke.
  “NO. Where did he go?”
  Abra and Porygon rejoined Icy, and the group of trainers rejoiced having saved the psychic Pikachu trainer.
  Meanwhile, in a secret compartment of the base, TR specialists were preparing to take out the heroes.

  Somewhere near the back of the room, Dreadite and Car’tos watched as Giovanni used one of his Gas Balls to escape.
  “You know, he really should give us some warning before he does that.”
  “No time for joking”, Said Dreadite. “We better get that Pikachu back.”
  Icy’s group was about ready to strike, when both Dreadite, and True Car’tos flew out of the window, taking Icy off the head of InsaneLlama. “Let go of me!” Said Icy, shooting Psychic energy at Car’tos.
  “Fwahahha! Psy-attacks can’t hurt me!” he said, tightening his grip on the Pikachu.
  “Ack... PikaaaacHUUUUUU!!” Car’tos lost his grip as he fell, semi-comatose to the ground.
  “Car’tos!” Said Dread, flying back down catch him before he hit the floor.
  “Ahhh!” Came Icy, as he hit the ground.
  Dreadite landed, and woke Car’tos up. “Hey! Wake up!” Slapping him.
  “Oooo, I’m going to kill Icy! Where is he!?” They looked at him, and saw his friends. “Oh great!”
  “I guess we fight!” Yelled Car’tos, taking out his Gold ball.
  As Car’tos was about to throw the ball, Dreadite stopped him. “Car’tos, get out of here! I’ll take care of them.” Dread pushed Car’tos back. “Go on!”
  “Alright, take care!” As Car’tos was leaving, he saw the other trainers throw their balls as well. The last thing he heard was Dreadite saying, “Pidgey, Go!!”

  “I really don’t have time for this...” Icy was getting slightly low on energy but managed to fry Dreadite’s Pidgey.
  “NOOOOOO!!!!! My Pidgey. You are so dead Icy. You hear me!” Dreadite attended to his medium-rare Pidgey.
  Dreadite looked at his opposition. He called back his paralyzed Pidgey, and laughed. Icy just stood there, angry, as Dreadite walked toward him.
  “I don’t have time to deal with you. Not anymore.” Dreadite waved his hand, and a Pokéball appeared. “This should deal with you. Jynx, get out here.”
  The Jynx appeared, and Icy leapt back. “What the.. who uses JYNX!”
  Dreadite laughed, and looked at the Jynx. “Teleport, Jynx.” A flash of light engulfed him and the Pokémon, and he was gone. Icy just waved his tail. “I wonder why he ran off like that?”
  Icy looked down to see what Dreadite left behind. The Voltorb just grinned, as Icy sighed. “A Voltorb... d***.” The explosion drowned his words out. When the dust cleared, Icy was looking at a blank wall where the office once was. The room was only a memory. A note fluttered down, and Icy picked it up.
  “Sorry I couldn’t deal with you, but I have more pressing matters at hand.”
  Dreadite’s laugh echoed through the halls as Icy walked toward the exit, glad to be alive.
  InsaneLlama ran up to Icy. “Let’s get outta here fast. TR is everywhere looting the city. I don’t think this place is very safe anymore.”
  “I agree. Let’s go Porygon!” Porygon appeared. “Jetplane conversion now!” Porygon became a nice little jet. Icy and InsaneLlama jumped in and took off.
  Icy was so weakened from the Voltorb explosion and everything else that had happened to him that he quickly fainted in Insane’s arms. “Oh, Icy. Please just tell me you’re only sleeping. I have to get you to a pokécenter, fast! Come on Porygon, step on it. Your master’s life is at stake!” Porygon engaged its rocket engines and they were quickly on their way towards Saffron City.

Homecoming and Icy's Mentor

  Porygon landed in Saffron City and Icy finally woke up. InsaneLlama was very glad his friend wasn’t hurt badly.
  “Since we are in my hometown, I should really visit my parents.” At this, Icy’s friend shot him a disturbed glance. “What? Why are you staring at me like that?”
  “Icy, umm... you’re a Pikachu. Your parents aren’t going to recognize you,” Insane said hesitantly.
  “Oh yeah. Well, you’re just going to have to back me up.”
  “Ok Icy. Let’s go then.”

  They set off for Icy’s house. Icy had not seen his parents for almost half a year since he left to become a pokémon trainer. As they got near to Icy’s house, InsaneLlama went up and knocked on the front door. A fairly young woman answered.
  “Hello. Who are you?” she asked.
  “The name’s InsaneLlama. I’m a friend of your son, Icy.”
  “Where is he?” She looked around but couldn’t find him anywhere.
  “I’m right here mom,” Icy said into his translator.
  “That’s quite a mean trick to pull on his mother. Now, where is he for real?” Insane related to her about what happened to Icy during Bill’s experiment. She nearly fainted when she took another glance at the Pikachu smiling back at her.
  Icy’s father heard her talking and came to the door to see who it was. Insane told him the story also. Finally, they accepted Icy’s new form. It was already late into the day so they sat down to an early dinner.
  At dinner, Icy told his parents about all the adventures he had gone on since he left home. They were very proud of him, but also upset that he never called them. He showed them all the pokémon he had captured. Then, he formally introduced them to Insane.
  Just then the phone rang.
  “Pika? Hello?” Icy answered.
  “Icy!!! How are ya?” Random’s familiar voice was recognized by Icy instantly.
  “Not too hot... How did you get this number?” Icy groaned and smiled.
  “The book.”
  “Oh.”
  “Yeah.”
  “Yeah.”
  “Mmhmm...”
  “So how is Pokémon Tech???”
  “I destroyed a Pokémon-sacrificing cult. You?”
  “Met Giovanni - almost killed me.”
  “Cool.”
  “Yeah.”
  “Ivan evolved. He is now Vinnie - Vinnie the Venusaur.”
  “Okay.”
  “Uh oh!!! Looks like I gotta go... Keg party!!! Cya round little yellow buddy!” Random bid farewell to his younger teammate.
  “Cya round Random!!! Call again!!!”
  “I will. Tell everyone I said hey”
  “Ok. Bye” And with that, Icy hung up.
They continued sharing their stories until late into the night. Icy’s parents offered his friend a guest room to spend the night. They fell asleep almost instantly since they were so worn out from battling Team Rocket.

  The next day,
  They woke up around 7:00 in the morning. After eating a big breakfast, Icy suggested they visit the local gym. Insane a little worried about this. “Isn’t the gym leader here, Sabrina? I’ve heard some bad things about her.”
  “She won’t be mean to us. I know her. I was her student once remember.” Icy was very confident in meeting her again. As they got near to the gym, they let Icy lead them in. He opened the doors and walked in. A psychic walked up to the two. He noticed the Pikachu was leading him.
  “Ha. You expect to challenge the great Sabrina, yet you allow your pokémon to lead you. Ha ha huh?!?” All of the sudden, he found himself floating in mid-air. “What the.”
  “Don’t ever insult me or my friend again or next time I’ll show you what I can really do,” said Icy as he put the man down.
  “Forgive me. I shall escort you to the main gym.” They followed him down a long hallway. It was decorated with many ornate drawings. “Here we are. Sabrina will be with you soon.” The man left them alone in the empty gym.
  Then, out of nowhere, they could here a voice. “So, who is my next victim?”
  “I don’t know about victims, but I’m here to finally challenge you for a badge Sabrina!”
  “That attitude sounds familiar. Ah yes, Icy. What happened to you? Never mind. How tragic.”
  “How did she know?” Insane asked Icy.
  “She’s psychic.” Icy turned to Sabrina. “Now, how about a match. Two-on-two good for you.”
  “Usually it is the gym leader who chooses that, but since you insist. Go Kadabra!”
  “KADABRA!!!”
  “I choose, Porygon!”
  “PORYGON-GON-PORY!”
  “Porygon, conversion now!” Porygon converted to a psychic type.
  “Kadabra, confusion.” Kadabra focused its mind to use confusion. Icy had to think fast.
  “Porygon, reflect the light into Kadabra’s eyes to break its concentration.” Porygon responded and Kadabra was temporarily blinded. “Now Porygon, hit Kadabra with Psybeam!” Porygon hit Kadabra perfectly, but it was hardly damaged. “Porygon, get ready to use psybeam again.”
  Sabrina wasn’t at all worried. “Kadabra, psywave.” Kadabra’s attack paralyzed Porygon. Icy reached into his bag and took out a Paralyze healer. Porygon was ready for action again.
  “Porygon, use your double team and concentrate psybeams on Kadabra!” Porygon became three separate Porygons. All of them attacked at once. Kadabra could concentrate with three adversaries.
  “Good work Icy.” Kadabra was getting very confused by all the psybeams hitting it that it fainted. “This isn’t at all over yet. Go Alakazam!” The stronger psychic pokémon appeared. Icy was speechless.
  “Porygons, tackle it!” They were only inches from Alakazam when they all crashed into each other for some reason. “WHAT???” Sabrina laughed.
  “I told you this wouldn’t be easy.” Insane watched from the sidelines.
  “How am I going to beat her? Icy seems to be just getting lucky here and there.”
  “Now, finish it off Alakazam. Psybeam.”
  Icy froze. << Porygon, move quick. >> It was too late. Porygon was slammed against the wall by Alakazam’s psybeam. Icy recalled it and got ready to release his second pokémon. “I choose, Butterfree!” Icy remembered that his Butterfree was very talented in using psychic attacks, and its small size would give it an advantage. “Butterfree, sleep powder!”
  “Blast it out of the sky. Psybeam, multiple spread!” Alakazam fired multiple psybeams at Butterfree, but it was just to fast. Butterfree released its sleeping powder over Alakazam. “Teleport now!” Too late. Alakazam was fast asleep.
  “Psybeam now Butterfree!” Butterfree began glowing. It was obviously a strong Butterfree. The glow became so bright that everyone was blinded. When the flash ended, Butterfree was still hovering joyfully while Alakazam tried to get up unsuccessfully. Sabrina had lost the battle.
  “Here is the Marsh Badge Icy. You’ve grown to be a very strong trainer. May you continue to be a shining representative of our gym here.” Icy took the Marsh Badge.
  “Now I’ve got 6! Only two more to go.”
  “Now, did your friend want to earn a badge too?”
  Insanellama walked up to the floor, leading Rapidash behind him, and moved into position. “2on2” said Sabrina.
  Insanellama was all business, he tugged his hat down a little lower, and said “Giddeyap Rapidash.” Rapidash shucked its saddlebags and harness and galloped onto the floor.
  “KADABRA GO!”
  “RAPIDASH ATTACK!” Rapidash started glowing. Kadabra had just woken up and was a bit disturbed by the even brighter than normal Rapidash. Rapidash unleashed a tornado of fire upon the stunned Kadabra. “CONGRATULATIONS RAPIDASH U LEARNED FIRESPIN!!!!” said Insanellama actually showing a smile now. It soon reverted to an indifferent straight line as Kadabra fainted.
  “I’m not finished,” said Sabrina.
  “Yet,” said Insanellama with an edge to his voice.
  “ALAKAZAM GO!” said Sabrina.
  “RAPIDASH DIAMOND STOMP!!!!”
  “ALAKAZAM PSYBEAM RAPID FIRE NOW!!”
  Rapidash was charging while doing evasive maneuvers, dodging the psybeams. Rapidash leaped high into the air, and was hit by psybeams, but never the less came crashing down with 4 hooves on Alakazam, both fainted. “Since u still have one left, here’s yer badge.” Insanellama tucked it into his jacket, 6 of 8. Blaine was next on the list.

The Cure

  Sweat trickled off his face and sparkled before hitting the ground. Whatever was causing these visions was very powerful. He let his mind go and found himself in the same place again.

  “We’re so proud of you son. You’ll make a fine pokémon trainer.” He waved goodbye to his parents. What was this? This event happened in the past. Something was definitely out of order here. As he walked, the world seemed to change. It now resembled a field. He saw a familiar kid trying to capture a pokémon. Another event from the past. What was happening? It was all real. He could feel the wind in his face and the grass with his hands. It was all too real, but not from the present time. He tried to walk up the kid, but before he could speak, the world had changed once again.
  He found himself in a dark, unfamiliar place. A strange, deep voice rang out, “You have the gift. Do you not see it? You are unique. Can you not understand it?” The voice continued speaking. Although he couldn’t figure out the voice’s owner, he felt as if he had once heard those words spoken to him before. He walked in the general direction of the sound but a bright light blinded him for a moment. When the light had dimmed, he found himself in a laboratory. He recognized this place. But now he couldn’t tell if it was in the past or present. Everything still felt real. Everything.
  A familiar man walked up to him. This had to be real. In the other visions, he couldn’t interact with the people, but this time, they were interacting with him. “Are you ready?” he asked. Ready for what? What was Bill getting ready to do? “Walk over this way.” He followed Bill into the main test chamber. Now he remembered what this scene was about. It was the experiment. Had time given him another chance? He tried to walk away from the machine but instead found himself looking down on the room. He could see himself entering the tube. It was going to happen all over again.
  The experiment was going well, as it did the first time. Then, right on cue, an explosion hit near the tube he saw himself in. This was it. This was when it happened. But this time, he saw something he didn’t see before. From another corner of the room, something caught his eye. Then he saw the beam. It came from the corner of the room. Suddenly, everything was back to normal. Bill was working with some test tubes.
  Icy approached Bill. “Icy, I found it!” Icy wondered to himself what Bill was talking about. The room seemed real. But this time, Icy didn’t recognize the event taking place. It must be the present time. He was free to interact with Bill finally. “I have the cure!” Icy’s eyes lit up. He was so overjoyed that you couldn’t move, let alone speak. Bill extracted a dose of the medicine from the tube and gave it to Icy to drink. The transformation was almost instantaneous. It had worked. Icy was human again. “It works! It works!” Icy didn’t know what to say. But, amidst all the joy and happiness this scene had, it soon turned strange again.
  Icy could hear the mysterious voice again. “You have the gift. Why do you not realize it yet? You are using it now. Why do you not see it? It is unique to you only. Icy, I know you have the potential for it. You must understand it fully. Understand the gift. Icy…” The voice trailed off. Icy had a horrible feeling inside. It was all too real. Much too real. He should have been glad to finally be human again. But now, all he could think about was the mysterious voice and the strange beam from the experiment. Bill reappeared before Icy. He saw the terror in his eyes.
  “What’s wrong Icy? You’re healed. It’s what you wanted, right? All of this, it’s all what you wanted. You created it. You have the gift to create it.” Bill faded from view. Icy knew something wasn’t right now. Everything he experienced, it was all so real. But how could it all be true. Icy couldn’t make sense of what was happening. All he could do was shut his eyes and hope it would be over when he woke.

The Gift

  When Icy finally opened his eyes, he saw all his friends gathered around him. What happened, he thought. They were relieved to see his eyes again. Insane, and Icy’s parents helped him up. He was still a Pikachu. Everything about what he had seen was all just some big dream. But why then, did it seem so real to him? Icy had to find the answers somehow and knew just the right person to talk to. He got ready to leave the house when his friends stopped him.
  “Icy, wait! Where are you going?” they asked.
  “I have to see Sabrina. I need to talk to her about something.” He was already out the door before they could respond. Icy ran towards the gym, dodging people in the street. << I have to find out what those visions were about. >> Finally, he reached the gym.

  He didn’t wait for anyone to direct him as he raced sown the hall towards the main gym. He opened the large doors and saw Sabrina taking care of an Abra. “Sabrina! I need to talk with you,” Icy shouted.
  Startled by this, Sabrina replied, “What is it Icy? What do you to speak with me about?” She sensed Icy’s anxiety and quickly realized what was going on. “I understand what’s happening to you Icy.”
  “You, you do?” Icy moved closer to his former teacher. She recalled the Abra and sat next to Icy.
  “Yes Icy. I know exactly what’s going on. Icy, you have a unique, how to put it, talent, that from my knowledge, no one else possesses.”
  “What do you mean? What talent?”
  “You experienced many visions from the past. They felt real, correct?”
  “Yes.”
  “Then you saw visions that seem to be in the present since they were new to you, correct?”
  “Yes. How did you know?”
  “Please Icy. Don’t insult me.”
  “I’m sorry, please continue.”
  “These weren’t just images Icy.”
  “They weren’t. What do you mean?”
  “You were actually in those things you saw. Do you understand?”
  “I’m not sure I can. How could I be in those events then all the sudden be in an event that took place months later?”
  “You did. You were using this talent, this gift.” The word suddenly sparked Icy’s memory. ‘Gift’ was the word the mysterious voice had said to Icy over and over during the dream.
  “But what is this gift?”
  “It is an ability called ‘phasing’. It allows one to ‘phase’ in and out of time itself. One of the effects it can have is sending you to a different period of time. That is how you ended up in places from the past.”
  “Are you saying I can travel through time?”
  “In a sense, but it’s not that simple. Time travel, as far as we know, is generally impossible. But being able to leave time and re-emerge does bring in the possibility.”
  “But why couldn’t I stay in one place. The images I saw kept changing from one point in time to another.”
  “You haven’t learned to control this ability yet. Maybe I can help you with it.”
  “Sabrina, do you have this ability?”
  “No Icy. You are the only one. I have heard about it. Many years ago, I did a study on the ancient civilizations that possessed psychic members. It was from that research that I learned about this ability.”
  “Oh. What else does phasing do? Is it like teleporting?”
  “In a sense, but on a larger scale. When you teleport, you are concentrating your energy to convert itself into pure atoms, then sending them to a new location to be put back together. With phasing, you simply vanished into non-existence for a short period of time.”
  “But my friends were with me the whole time and it seemed I was go for hours. But to them, I was only asleep for a few seconds before I woke up.”
  “I’m no expert on temporal physics Icy, but did read somewhere that while to an observer, the person seems like they were always there, but the person actually spent many hours in a different point in time. It’s very weird and complicated.”
  “Ok. So, how do I use it?”
  “Let me think. If I remember correctly, all you need to do is blank your mind of any thoughts. Then use the same techniques you would normally use to teleport.”
  “Ahh, I get it. Instead of concentrating on a specific location, I think of nothing.”
  “That’s correct. Icy, you shouldn’t over use this ability. Because you are still young and your mind is not strong enough yet, you could be putting yourself at risk.”
  “I understand. Does it require a lot of energy to perform?”
  “I believe it does. Only another reason to seldom use it. I can’t be certain whether one can be trapped inside the void by mistake.”
  “The void?”
  “The place that exists outside of time. We call it the void because it represents nothingness.”
  “Oh. Thank you Sabrina. I’m off to Lavender Town with my friends.” Before Icy could leave, Sabrina stopped him.
  “Hold on. Icy, I think it would be best we kept this a secret until we are both sure what we are dealing with. Team Rocket could be very interested in this if they understood its power. Promise me you won’t repeat anything we said here to anyone, not even your friends or family.”
  “Ok Sabrina. I promise.” He ran out the door and headed home. Sabrina went back to caring for the Abra. She wondered if Icy would ever realize the true power that he possessed.
  Icy made it home in a matter of minutes. His friends and family were happy to see him. When they asked him what he went to see Sabrina about, he told them it was about tips for battling in the pokémon league. They believed him and got things packed for their journey to Lavender Town. “I hear that the Pokémon Tower in Lavender Town is haunted by ghost pokémon,” Insane said.
  “Great, maybe we’ll be lucky enough to capture some.” His friends admired his courage as they finished packing.

Out Of Phase

  Icy and InsaneLlama packed out their bags and began their long journey to Fuchsia City. “Let’s visit the Safari Zone while we’re there.”
  “Don’t you already ... have a ton of pokémon, Icy,” Insane asked.
  “Well... yes... but I wanna see what others I can find. I still take care of them all...,” Icy said in reply.
  They continued walking. They were nearing the docks when they ran into a fisherman.
  “Ahhh matey. How’s about a pokémon battle? I haven’t seen many people here lately,” the fisherman said to Insane.

  As usual, Icy volunteered to do battle. “I’ll battle you,” he said into the translator. As usual, the fisherman was shocked that a talking Pikachu wanted to battle him.
  “Uhhh... very well... One on one! GO Vaporeon!” Insane was amazed to see the old man actually had some good pokémon. Vaporeon appeared in front of Icy.
  “A water poké, this will be easy!”
  “That’s what you think.”
  Icy prepared to fire his thunderbolt at Vaporeon, but before he could, Vaporeon’s tail slammed into him.
  “AGGHHHHH!!!!” he screamed as he went flying through the air. Then, all the sudden, he vanished.
  “Wha... where’d he go?” Insane said in confusion.
  The fisherman looked at Vaporeon who was immensely pleased with its victory. “Wow... I never knew you were that strong...”
  No one knew where Icy had vanished to. No one except...

  The world seemed different now. The water was gone, along with the dock. Insane, the Vaporeon and its trainer, they were all gone. He found himself surrounded by stars and darkness. A voice called out to him.
  “Welcome Icy. So, you finally made it.” A deep and sinister laugh rang out.
  “Whe... Where am I? Who are you?” Icy asked childishly. Fear gripped him tighter then anything he’d ever experienced.
  “Don’t you recognize this place?” The voice began growing louder as it spoke. Soon, Icy saw the dark figure approaching him. “Don’t you recognize me? I told you I’d have my revenge...” The figure slowly came into focus.
  “Giovanni?” Icy said timidly.
  “Am I?” the figure puzzled. It transformed again to resemble Mew.
  “Mimic? Doppler?” Icy was becoming very confused.
  “Wrong again... Really Icy, I had a little more faith in you...”
  “Mewtwo...” Icy said...

  “Mewtwo...,” Icy said coldly.
  The dark figure quadrupled in size and revealed its true form. “Well, that took you long enough,” Mewtwo said sarcastically.
  Icy looked at his surroundings again. “What is this place?” Mewtwo sneered at him again.
  “Sure. You’d want me to connect the dots for you. Lead you from A to B to C. Well, it’s not that simple. You know Icy, I had much higher expectations of you.”
  “Is this the Void?”
  “You’re close.”
  “What do you mean, close?”
  “I’ll give you that one for free. We are still within the space-time continuum. This is a place known as the Ethereal Plane. Normal time is progressing while we are here.”
  “How did you bring me here? Why?”
  “There you go again. You ask so many questions, but you never ask the right one.”
  “Stop talking in riddles. What question should I ask?”
  “Oh you’re going to want to know the answer to it. It’s been bothering you for months.” Mewtwo chuckled to himself.
  Icy’s anger had started. “What? Tell me what you know. What is the right question?”
  “I’ll give you a hint,” he said quickly. Slowing his voice down, he continued, “It has to do with, your past.” Icy could have sworn Mewtwo sneered maliciously at him after finishing his sentence.
  “What from my past! Tell me! Tell me Mewtwo!” Icy’s rage was growing by the minute. He tried greatly to hold in his Pikachu instincts, knowing Mewtwo needed but a single blast to defeat him.
  “Temper temper. You just can’t figure it out. One of the most gifted psychics in the world, the others being myself and Sabrina, and you still can’t even figure out the right question.”
  Icy lost it finally screaming, “Enough puzzles! Tell me what you know NOW!!!” With that, he charged straight for Mewtwo. Psychic energy engulfed his body as he flew through the air. Just before he could land his attack, his body felt an enormous amount of pain.
  “BUFFALO CHIPS! Where in the heck did ICY GO! He was there one minute, but now he’s gone. Even my old pal FlamingHorse couldn’t track his trail now.” said Insanellama. A rustle in the bushes caught his attention. He started to draw, but saw it was to small to be a human. A charmander slipped out of the bushes. Insanellama unleashed Squirtle. “SQUIRTLE BUBBLE NOW!” He didn’t want to make it faint but he wanted it weakened. It had the desired effect. “POKEBALL GO!” Charmander casually sidestepped. Then in a strange gesture which Insanellama later interpreted as charmander wanting a friend, charmander walked over to the pokéball, leaned down with its nose, rolled it over near rapidash, and pressed the button. Charmander went into the pokéball. Insanellama called him out. “Howdy there pardner.” said Insanellama. “CHAR CHAR!” He packed up and got ready to make camp.

  Icy’s body flew freely through the ethereal plane until Mewtwo psychically pulled it back towards him. “Foolish child. You will never be able to defeat me. You obviously aren’t ready for the information I have. Even if I shared it with you, you couldn’t even hope to change the events that took place. Perhaps our paths will cross once again Icy. Until then, I return you to your previous time frame.” In a flash, a sunny road replaced the dark world with a trainer walking by. Icy saw as the ground came closer and closer. He screamed all the way down.
  InsaneLlama was petting his new Charmander. Its flame glowed with strength. “He’s such a great find. Not even the Charmanders that Prof. Oak gives out are this nice.” He was about the pet his Charmander again when something heavy hit him on the head. Icy’s little Pikachu body smashed into InsaneLlama causing him to fall over. “What the?!?” Insane said amazed.
  “Oww… Oh, thanks for breaking my fall.
  “No… problem…”

Gold Rush

  After an unpleasant meeting with Mewtwo, Icy and Insanellama now head for Grandpa Canyon rather than trying to visit the Safari Zone.

  Icy sent out Vapor, his Gastly he caught while the two were passing through Lavender Town. Icy had given all his pokémon names while they were there too. Now, he and Insane were on their way to Grandpa Canyon after hearing about a fossil rush there.
  Insane let Icy ride on Rapidash with him. “So, what fossils do you think we will find there?”
  “I have no idea. I’ve heard they think there might be Aerodactyl fossil buried there too. Wouldn’t that be awesome to have?”
  “Be scary if it wakes. Wasn’t it a carnivore?”
  “I think so. That could be pretty bad for those miners if they uncover one.”
  “Trust me, they’d be happy all they had to deal with was that and not Mewtwo.”
  “Heh, and you are one to talk, definitely.”
  They rode up to a crossing in the road. “Hey, there’s someone up ahead.”
  Insane had Rapidash stop. “Hey bro.”
  The other trainer smiled and returned the greeting. “Got them Tauros just like ya wanted em.”
  “Icy, meet ChaoticLlama, my brother.”
  “Pleased to meet you,” he said through the translator.
  “A pleasure Icy.”
  “I called him up while we were staying in Fuchsia and asked if he’d bring us some Tauros.”
  “Cool! Another pokémon!” Icy ran up to the large bull pokémon. “I think I’ll name you… Diamond.” The Tauros snorted happily in acceptance. Icy got on.
  “You sure you can ride it?”
  “Guess we’ll find out.” Icy tried getting Tauros to go forward but found himself throw right off.
  “Ouch… You got a lot to learn pardner.” Insane and Chaotic spent the next few minutes teaching Icy how to ride Tauros. Before long, he was a regular cowpika. ^.^
  “Yaaaaaahooooo…” he cheered.
  Chaotic turned to his brother. “Do you ah, yahoo?”
  “Not like that…”
  It was getting late and the three sat down to eating some fresh steaks Chaotic had brought along. “Well, I best be go’in. Insane, you make sure ya visit the ranch some time soon ye hear.”
  “Don’t worry bro. I haven’t forgotten you guys.”
  “And Icy, I hope they find a cure for you someday, cause I think you’d make a fine cowboy.” Icy sweatdropped. “Giddyup Tauros!” Chaotic rode into the sunset.
  “Well, we best be on our way too Icy. I think Grandpa Canyon is just beyond them hills yander.”
  “Alright.” They rode together towards the dig site. Finally, just as the sun was almost gone from the sky, they arrived at Grandpa Canyon. The two took a room at a small motel just outside the canyon.
  In the morning, they eagerly ate breakfast and ran to the dig site. There, they found a stand with a vendor selling picks and various other supplies. Icy and Insane both bought picks and headed into the canyon ready to dig up an awesome fossil.
  Icy started digging. He wasn’t very fast due to his size and looked quite strange. Some other diggers began staring as they watched the Pikachu dig. Icy suddenly noticed all the people looking at him. He put down the pick. “PIKA!!!” he shouted happily. The crowd just laughed and went back to what they were doing. Icy really didn’t want to draw attention to himself.
  Insane was busy digging away. “Hey, I think I found something.” He dug a little more and lifted a small fossil out of the ground. “Hey cool, I think it’s a Kabuto.” Just then, a little boy slowly walked by with tears in his eyes. He was accompanied by his dad. Insane took notice that the boy didn’t have a single fossil, nor did his father. “Hey there.”
  The boy looked up at the trainer. “Hi.”
  “Hey, how’d you like to have this neat fossil I just dug up. I’m more interested in horses. You want it?”
  The boy’s eyes lit up as he accepted the gift. Icy watched his companion display a very kind act of giving. “Thank you so much mister.”
  “The name’s Insanellama. Make sure you raise that well.”
  “I will.” The father thanked Insane for giving his son the pokémon and the two left.
  “Awww, how sweet of you.”
  “I’m just in a giving mood it seems…”
  “Hey, what’s that over there.” Icy pointed to where the kid and his dad were leaving. He saw a gold sparkle appear for a second, then again. “C’mon.” Icy dragged Insane along.
  “Whoa, slow down pika.” Icy kept going. He wanted to see what was up there.
  They reached the spot where Icy had seen the sparkle. “Oh my Goddish… look…” They peered behind the rock to see what appeared to be a nest. But there were about a dozen Caterpie lying in it. From deeper inside the rock came a Butterfree, but not an ordinary one, this Butterfree was completely covered in gold. It flew gracefully into the sky then vanished as it passed by the sunlight. The Caterpie slowly moved from the nest to reveal a single golden egg.
  “I think they want you to take it Icy.” The Caterpie watched as Icy careful walked into the nest to retrieve the egg.
  “For me?” The Caterpie nodded. Icy placed his hands on the egg. He felt a certain connection to it, like he was meant to find it for some reason. The placed it carefully in his bag and the when he looked back to thank the Caterpie, they had disappeared.
  “Where’d they go,” Icy said puzzled.
  “I guess they had to visit another Caterpie nest,” shrugged Insane.
  Icy and Insane called it a day and went back to the hotel to rest.
  In the morning, Insane told Icy he was going to stick around and dig for some more fossils. He had heard TR was in the area and didn’t want to let them cause any trouble. Icy said his goodbyes and headed out on his own.

Instinct

  Icy headed out of the canyon. “Cyber, GO!” he called as he held out Cyber’s pokéball. Cyber came out and awaited instructions from its master. “Cyber, run rover conversion program!” Cyber converted to a land rover and Icy hopped in. “Let’s head towards the shore Cyber.” Cyber took off. No one paid any attention to him as he exited the canyon. He rode down the road leading towards the ocean.
  Meanwhile, in a field near the shore, Sara walked around playing in the flowers. She was a very cheerful and beautiful pikachu and had many pokémon friends. The butterfrees fluttered around her as she picked a colorful bouquet. She lived in a small forest just outside of Fuchsia City. From what she was told, her parents had been captured by trainers, but she didn’t ever hold a grudge against them. She understood that most trainers are very kind to their pokémon and she believed that someday, she would soon find herself a master to take care of her.

  Icy was speeding down the path to the shore when something he saw interested him. “Cyber, stop quick!” Cyber hit the brakes almost sending Icy flying. “Return Cyber.” Icy looked into the field. At first, he didn’t notice Sara, only the butterfree flying around in the air. “They’re so pretty... huh...” His eyes focused in on Sara. Emotions he hadn’t felt before began to set in. To him, she was the most beautiful creature on earth, even if she was only a pokémon. But for some reason, that detail was no longer relevant to Icy. The fact that she was a pikachu made him even more attracted towards her. He couldn’t understand what he was feeling. He left almost like he was...
  Sara spotted Icy staring at her blankly. She giggled and ran up to him not knowing anything about Icy’s past. He was still speechless. All he could do was look at her. His eyes were transfixed on her. She looked at him and giggled again. Then, she saw the small black device around his neck. “Pika. Chu pi kapi?”
  “Huh?” Icy snapped out of his daze.
  “Pika. Chu pi kapi...,” Sara repeated.
  For some odd reason, Icy understood what she was saying. He didn’t know why at first, but then he realized.
** Flashback **
  During the experiment, he could hear clearly what his pikachu, Static, was saying to him.
** End Flashback **
  The experiment must have had other side effects on him. He responded, not speaking through the translator, “Ka. Chu pika pikachu cha pi-chu-ka-pi.” [It’s a translator.] She looked at him oddly not knowing what a translator was. She pointed to it again, gesturing to take a closer look. Icy look it off his neck and handed it to her. She looked at it and shook it. Icy grabbed her hands to make her stop. “No. You’ll hurt it.” Sara understood. “Talk into it.” She put the device close to her lips and started speaking. Upon hearing her words come out in English she dropped the translator. Icy dove to catch it, then placed it back around his neck.
  “Why do you have that?” Sara asked.
  Icy wasn’t sure how to answer her. How could be explain to her that he was once human? He decided it be best to tell her the truth. “I have it because I hang out with a group of humans. I was once a human myself.” Sara stepped back. She felt very confused. “Please. I don’t want to hurt you.” She tried to sort through everything that was happening. She moved closer to Icy again.
  “How can you be pikachu if you also human?” Her question startled Icy for a second. He didn’t know pokémon had enough intellect to hold such conversations. He answered her anyway.
  “There was an experiment I took part in. It was to help trainers better understand their pokémon by letting them communicate in their own languages. But something went wrong. I was transformed into a pikachu by a strange beam.” Now it was Sara’s turn to have the blank expression. Icy turned away from her. The feelings he had were slowly fading and he felt as if his heart had been smashed to pieces. A tear formed in his eye.
  Sara collected herself and ran towards Icy. “Pika!” she cried out. Icy stopped and turned around. “Where are you going? I want to know more about you.” This confused Icy. Suddenly, he felt there was still a chance of something between them.
  “More about me? Like what?” Icy asked.
  “Well. Since you are a pikachu, and I’m a pikachu... Well... Didn’t you learn anything about feelings when you were human?” Icy was shocked. Sara was definitely gifted with intelligence. Maybe it was because she had seen many humans in her life and had grown accustom to their customs, although never being captured by one before.
  “Umm...” Icy said looking for words.
  “What was your name. My parents called me Sara.”
  “Uhh... My name is Icy. Sara is a pretty name. I like it.”
  Sara smiled. Icy was beginning to wonder if she shared the same feelings he was having for her. Sara began wondering the same. “Icy... Hehe... That’s a cute name. Do you come from the mountains or some place cold and snowy?”
  “No. My parents just liked the name I guess.” She was holding his hand now. Hesitantly, she asked, “Icy, were you a pokémon trainer when you were human?” Oddly, she didn’t have a worried look on her face from what Icy could tell.
  “Yes. I fact, I had just began my pokémon journey.” Knowing her next question, he continued, “And yes, I am still a trainer. People from my world have accepted the fact that I can still be a trainer. They seem to think it’s interesting.” Now she had a worried expression. Icy could tell what she was thinking using his psychic powers. “Don’t worry, I’ve no intentions of trying to capture you.”
  She smiled at him and replied, “I think you already have.” Her body fell into Icy’s. He now understood what his feelings meant...

Pikas in a Pod

  Icy and Sara walked hand in hand down the path leading to the shore. If there was any confusion about their feelings for each other, they were nonexistent now. They both smiled as the coast came within sight. Other pokémon walked by and smiled at them, sensing their love for each other. Many pokémon were already choosing their mates now. Butterfree were flying over top of them, headed for the ocean to lay their eggs. Icy wondered if he should let Buttercup leave, but didn’t want his good friend to go so soon.

  They finally reached the beach. Fortunately for them, no trainers were in sight. They had it all to themselves. Icy set his bag down near them, then went back to Sara. Her eyes sparkled like the sun reflecting off the ocean. As Icy approached her, she kissed him softly on the head. All the sudden, Icy felt lightheaded and almost fell over. He laughed and asked Sara what she wanted to do for fun.
  “We could have a little beach picnic Icy...” she said.
  “That sounds like a great idea. But, where are we going to get the food?”
  “Leave that to me.” Sara called out to some other pokémon nearby. She knew almost every pokémon that lived in the area between Fuchsia and the shore. She asked them if they could gather a small meal for her and Icy. Since they were all friends, they complied and went into the forest to find some apples and other nice fruits. Icy watched as they returned with more than enough to eat themselves. They invited all of Sara’s friends to share the food they had gathered.
  From a distance, a very young trainer was headed down to the shore himself. He was only about 10 years old and had only one pokémon. He spotted the large group of pokémon gathered by the water. He moved closer as if to get ready to attempt capturing them, but then had a second thought. He just sat down and watched the pokémon eat and play games on the beach. “They look so peaceful,” he thought. He had never seen pokémon like this before and didn’t want to forget it. From his backpack, he took out a piece of paper and some colored pencils and began sketching the scene. He seemed to have high artistic talent. He put the paper into his pack and ran home to show his parents.
  Meanwhile, Icy and Sara finished their meal and set out away from the group to be alone. Sara jumped on top of Icy knocking him down. The two of them played for hours into the night. Even then, they lit up the sky with electricity. Then Icy showed Sara some of his psychic powers. He focused his energies on the sparks of electricity in the air making them change color. Then, he formed them into little hearts. Sara smiled as she watched in awe.
  “How are you doing that Icy?”
  “As a human, I had psychic powers. I think I still do have them. They’re even stronger now, I believe.”
  “That’s neat.” She watched the colors fade into darkness. Then they walked back to the home in the forest. Their friends had already left since it had gotten so late. Sara picked a nice, quiet, cozy clearing where she and Icy could sleep for the night. Icy couldn’t remember the last time he had slept outside. But, now that Sara was with him, the past no longer seemed to matter. They said goodnight to each other and fell asleep...

Aquapikas

  Sara woke up first that morning. Icy was still fast asleep. She poked him a few times but was unsuccessful in waking him. Stronger methods would have to be used. “Pika pika Kapi!” she shouted as she thundershocked Icy.

  “AGHHHH!!!!” Icy screamed, jumping high into the air. Sara laughed the entire duration of Icy’s flight. (SMASH!) Icy hit the ground and moaned softly to himself. His fur was totally messed up from Sara’s thundershock. When he finally stood up, Sara took one quick glance and burst into laughter again. Icy looked at his reflection in one of his pokéballs and almost fainted. Sara was now rolling on the forest floor, laughing hysterically.
  “Pihehehe... You should have seen how far you jumped when I shocked you!” she said teasingly. She went over to him and attempted to fix his fur by licking it back into place. Icy, although mentally awake, almost fell flat on his face from Sara pushing against him. Finally, he returned to his senses and turned around meeting Sara right in the face. “PIKA!” was all she needed to say to make the unbalanced Icy fall back. She caught him and pulled him back close to her and kissed him on the forehead. Then she scampered off into the foliage to gather some fruits for breakfast. A typical morning, Icy thought to himself.
  Icy walked slowly back to their clearing. Sara was the only thing on his mind since he met her. He had begun to forget about ever becoming human again. He never had something as great as this in that life. He set up a nice place to eat before Sara returned.
  Sara was just finished gathering their breakfast. She picked out the shiniest two apples she could find and headed back. She was pleasantly surprised to see Icy had already set everything up for them. The two pikachus sat down and enjoyed their meal.
  “Sara. Before I ran into you, I was headed for the Seafoam Islands. Do you have any interest in seeing them?” Icy asked.
  Sara blinked curiously. “Seafoam Islands? What’s that? I’ve only lived here in the forest. Is it far from here?”
  “It’s a good day’s trip from here I think.”
  “Why do you want to go there? Is there something special there?”
  “I think they have a Pokémon Resort Spa there. I was going to let my pokémon have a little vacation. Maybe you and me could get in there too.”
  “That sounds nice. When do we leave?”
  “Whenever you’re ready Sara.”
  “OK, let’s go now. Umm... How are we going to get there? I can’t swim well.”
  “That’s ok... My Porygon, Cyber, will swim us to the islands. Cyber can transform into a boat for us.”
  “Wow. Do all por... por... poragens do that?”
  “No, I programmed Cyber to be able to change into different vehicles. He’s a great pokémon.”
  “That’s neat. You said you had other pokémon right? Can I meet them too?”
  “Sure Sara.” Icy opened his bag and dumped out a pile of small, unexpanded pokéballs. “Everyone, come out!” All of the pokéballs opened up releasing all of Icy’s pokémon. “Here they are!” he said as he stood next to his friends. Sara was amazed. She had never seen so many different types of pokémon before. Icy introduced her to each one, even Static. She said hello to each of them.
  Hocus walked over to Icy. “Master, I’m sensing very high levels of activity in your body, are you felling ok?”
  “Yes Hocus. I’m fine. It’s nothing to worry about.”
  “Your thoughts seem to all involve that new pikachu you showed us. I don’t think that’s good for when you need your concentration.”
  “Hocus... I’m fine... She’s just... well... I...” For some odd reason, Icy was having difficulty telling Abra about his feelings for Sara.
  “You’re in love with her right. It’s not hard to see. I think you two make a cute pair.”
  “Thanks Hocus... I think...” Sara was now looking at all the caterpie Icy had.
  “Why do you have so many of these kind? They are kinda cute...” Some of the caterpie were crawling over and around her. The others quickly crawled towards Icy.
  “Those are caterpie. I think they are one of the cutest pokémon in the world. With the exception of you...” Sara blushed. The caterpie had successfully overtaken Icy and pinned him to the ground. “So... ouww... Sara ... mphh .. phhea,” a caterpie almost crawled into Icy’s mouth, “... shall we go?” He got up, knocking all the caterpie off of him.
  “All right, let’s go to the pokémon resort!” she cheered. Icy returned his pokémon and he and Sara held hands as they walked down to the beach.
  They were only a few yards from the shore when Sara heard some voices. “Icy... I think there are trainers on the beach. What are we going to do?” she asked nervously.
  “No problem. I’ll battle them!”
  “Huh. What do you mean, you’ll battle them? What if they try to capture you?” Sara wasn’t thrilled with Icy’s plan but she couldn’t come see any alternative.
  Icy ran down to the beach and found two trainers talking to each other and showing off their pokémon. “Hello. Would either of you care for a match?” The trainers looked at the talking pikachu.
  “No match, but I will take you. Pokéball, GO!” He carefully aimed the ball directly at Icy. Icy just stood there waiting patiently for the ball to get just in front of him. Sara peeked over a hill only to see Icy disappear. She wanted to cry but knew that would give her away.
  Icy reappeared on top of the trainer’s head. “All I wanted was a pokémon battle! Now I’m gonna get one! CHUUUUU!!!!” Icy fried the trainer who threw the ball at him. He and his friend ran off. Icy sensed Sara’s presence nearby and teleported to her.
  “I thought, I thought...” she panted, unable to speak.
  “It’s ok. I won’t scare ya like that anymore. C’mon. Let’s hit the waves!” Icy called out Cyber and had him transform into a boat for two. “Get on Sara. Cyber’s a great pokéboat, very safe.” She got in, then Icy followed and they set sail for the Seafoam Islands.
  Sara had never been so far out from the mainland and was beginning to get scared. She kept a tight grip to Icy almost breaking his paw. Icy tried to comfort her and make her calm down. “Maybe you should go down below Sara. It’s less scary down there.”
  “No, I’m fine as long as I’m with you.”
  “Well then, maybe you could loosen your grip just a tad.”
  “Huh... Oh... Sorry...” She released Icy’s now numb paw from hers. “There you go.”
  They had been sailing towards Seafoam for almost half a day now. Icy checked Cyber’s GPS link. “It looks like we should be arriving at Seafoam Islands in just a few hours.” Sara was relieved. Now she knew why she hadn’t learned to swim, she didn’t like water.
  “Are we almost there yet Icy? I’m starting to get tired.”
  “It should be within view in just a few minutes.” The first of the islands came within sight. Many more islands followed it. Then, they saw the main island of the Seafoam Islands. “Cyber, head for the port on the big island there.” Cyber set his course toward the main island.
  Sara looked out at the chain of islands. She was very excited having never seen islands before. Cyber landed at the Seafoam Port and Icy and Sara stepping onto the dock.
  “Cyber, return!” Some sailors were eyeing the new arrivals. Icy and Sara made their way to the resort. “According to that map back there, we just follow this road.” They continued up the road. After about five minutes, they could finally see the entrance to the Pokémon Resort Spa. They ran up to the main gate.
  The attendant watched as the pikachu couple approached the gate. He went back to filling out paperwork. Icy went up to the gate and asked the man for admittance into the resort. The man looked down at the pikachu talking to him. “Did you just talk?” he asked.
  “Yes. My name is Icy, ring a bell?”
  “Hmm... Uhh... Oh, yes... I remember! You’re that kid Bill did that crazy experiment on... You want to stay in our resort huh?”
  “Yes. I’d like to come in too if that’s ok. I am a pikachu... Here are the rest of my pokémon who are coming with me. And this is Sara. We’re friends...”
  The man nodded. “Fine. That will be 10000 PB. Do you have any money?”
  Icy handed him the money from his bag. The man opened the gate and gave Icy the key to his suite. “Thank you! C’mon Sara!” Laughing, Icy and Sara ran into the resort. Their summer vacation had finally begun.

Pika Vacation

  Last time, Icy and Sara left the forest outside Fuchsia City for the Seafoam Islands. They arrived there after a long sea voyage aboard Icy’s Porygon. Icy, Sara, and all Icy’s pokémon are now taking a summer vacation in the Pokémon Resort on the Seafoam Islands. And now...

  Icy and Sara had been enjoying every moment of their stay in the Pokémon Resort. Icy could tell his pokémon were having a good time as well. Since they arrived, they were given excellent care by the trainers who worked at the resort. Even Icy enjoyed learning how to better master his pikachu form. It seemed that with ever day, he was becoming more like a pikachu then a human.
  One day, while Icy was searching for Diamond’s pokéball, he came across a very dusty, round object. It was a pokéball he hadn’t used for quite a long time. He opened it, revealing a Spearow. He suddenly remembered about the Spearow he caught just after the accident. “Oh my. I can’t believe I forgot about you. I’m so sorry. Hmm. Well, you need a name. How about, Ironbeak?”
  “Spear spearow!” Ironbeak said with content.
  “Great. I’ll have to introduce you to my other pokémon.” Icy gathered Sara and the others and introduced them to Ironbeak. They welcomed the fearsome bird pokémon into the group.
  “Hor sea. Hor sea!” Neptune said cheerfully as she splashed around in the pool. Hyper was also with her and they were playing a little game in the water.
  “Sara,” Icy called.
  “Yes Icy.”
  “Why don’t we get one of the trainers here to teach you how the swim?”
  “But I’m scared...” she answered nervously.
  “Don’t worry. The trainers won’t let you drown. Besides I’ll be right here.” Sara thought about it for a sec. “C’mon... You don’t want to miss out on all the fun, do you?” Before Sara could even say ‘OK’, Icy took her by the paw and ran over to the trainer attending the pool.
  “Hello there Icy, Sara. What can I do for you?”
  “Can you teach Sara how to swim? She has a slight fear of water.”
  “Of course. It’s nice to be able to take a dip in the water from time to time.” He looked at Sara. “We’ll start with the basics.” He went over to a bag and pulled out two round floaties and put them around Sara’s arms. “Don’t worry. These will make you float.” Then, he took Sara over to a shallow pool. There were other pokémon there who were learning to swim too.
  The lesson began. Icy watched as Sara struggled furiously to stay about the water. Finally, she got so mad she let out a large thundershock through the pool. Sara looked at the fried pokémon and trainer and blushed. “Pika...” she muttered softly. After several more lessons, Sara was finally beginning to get the hang of it. Icy told her he’d come back later to see how she was doing and went to check on his other pokémon.
  Leafy, Buttercup, and all the Caterpie were playing in a field near the pool. Ironbeak and Windstorm were performing tricks in the air. Cyber was resting in the sun charging his solar energy batteries. Hocus sat under a tree in the shade concentrating. Icy went over to him.
  Hocus sensed Icy’s presence. “Yes master. Is there something you need from me?”
  “No Hocus. I just wanted to sit with you. What are you thinking about?”
  “I was thinking about many things. But my main thoughts were on you and Sara.”
  “Oh... Good thoughts I hope.”
  “Yes. Good. You and Sara are certainly meant for each other. I was also thinking about you in general.”
  “What do you mean?”
  “Master, you are showing signs that indicate you are becoming more Pikachu and less human.”
  “Is that a bad thing? There isn’t a cure. And even if there was, I would lose Sara.”
  “I don’t think it is a bad thing. I must caution you that you always remember what you did have as a human. You should remember that you are a trainer first, pokémon second.”
  “I understand.”
  “Master, I mean no disrespect, I only wish to advise you since I have known you for so long.”
  “I always appreciate your advice Hocus. You have been a great companion and friend, while I was human and now as a pikachu.”
  “I am glad you think so highly of me. Perhaps after our vacation here, we should go to Cinnabar Island to get another badge. That will help you hold on to your human side. Also, we are all prepared to battle other trainers if you wish. Those activities will keep you in balance.”
  “You never fail to help me Hocus. My parents made the right choice getting you for me as my first pokémon. Perhaps we’ll run into some trainers on out way to Cinnabar Island.”
  “Yes. Well, I sense you have other things to do. I will remain here to meditate.”
  “Thanks for the advice Hocus.” Icy left Hocus and went back to the pool where he saw Sara racing against some other water pokémon. She was doing quite well.

Pikas at Sea

  Sara was getting better at swimming every day. She beat Icy twice in a race earlier and was close to beating Neptune. Neptune won the first round and the two pokémon lined up at the end of the pool to start round two. Icy signaled to start and they jumped in. Neptune easily took the lead with Sara not too far behind. By halfway, Sara was beginning to catch up. Neptune gave it her last best effort and beat Sara again by only a fraction of a second.
  “I think she’s got the hang of it,” the trainer said. Sara shook herself dry and went over to Icy. She was so worn out that she fell right into his arms. Neptune continued playing in the pool while Icy took Sara back to the room.
  “Did you see me out there Icy?” she asked.
  “Yeah. You were good. You almost beat Neptune!”
  “Thanks. You were right. Swimming is fun!” With that, she fell asleep. Icy decided it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to catch a quick nap himself. He wanted to be ready for the journey to Cinnabar Island later that day.

  After a few hours, Icy woke up to find ten Caterpie comfortably snuggled up to him. The rest of his pokémon and Sara were also asleep in various places in the room. Icy poked Verde and she woke the rest of the Caterpie. They wiggled off of Icy and woke the others.
  “Listen up everyone, we’re leaving today for Cinnabar Island. It’s not too far from here. We should get there before nightfall.” His pokémon nodded in confirmation and Icy returned them to their pokéballs. He and Sara left the room and waved good-bye to the resort staff. Then, they walked down the road to the Seafoam Docks.
  “Come out Cyber!” Cyber appeared and awaited Icy’s next command. “Cyber, run Jetboat program. Convert now!” After a few alterations, Cyber took on the form of a small jetboat. Icy motioned to Sara. “C’mon. Cyber will get us to Cinnabar in no time!” She jumped in and they departed from the Seafoam Islands.
  They were making excellent time as Cyber raced over the water. Then, Icy saw something up ahead and told Cyber to stop. A water pokémon trainer was working with her Seadra. She quickly noticed the approaching Porygon Jetboat.
  “Hello. Nice boat... Hello?” She looked around but couldn’t find anyone. “That’s odd. Porygons don’t just turn into boats and go for joyrides...” Icy came up top of Cyber and looked at the trainer. “Well hello there little Pikachu. What are you doing way out here?”
  “I would ask you the same question, but you obviously are a water trainer. The name’s Icy.” She stared at him for a few seconds wondering if she was seeing things. “No dream. I am a psychic trainer. There was an accident that caused me to become a Pikachu.” Sara now came up to join Icy on deck.
  “Who’s that?” she asked Icy.
  “She’s a water pokémon trainer. Don’t worry, I don’t sense she has intentions to capture us.”
  “Well, Icy, would you care for a quick battle. My Seadra could use some experience. What do you say?”
  Icy agreed and expanded one of his pokéballs. “Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, Buttercup!” Buttercup materialized in the air. The trainer’s Seadra looked at its opponent. “Buttercup, psybeam now!”
  “Seadra, bubble attack now!” Buttercup fired her psybeam at Seadra. It cut through some of the bubbles but got deflected by others. Only a weak portion of the beam hit Seadra. Seadra prepared to make its move. “Seadra, knock that Butterfree out of the sky with your water gun!” Seadra fired rapidly at Buttercup but couldn’t keep up with her quick movements.
  “Good work Buttercup. Try using your confusion attack.” Buttercup emitted a confusion wave and Seadra’s determined expression began to fade.
  “Seadra, snap put of it! Water gun again!” Seadra fired again but this time its aim was way off.
  “Finish it Buttercup. Psybeam now!” Buttercup glowed a bright blue then fired the beam straight at Seadra. The attack was enough to beat it and the trainer admitted defeat.
  “Not bad. I guess my Seadra needs a little more training. Your Butterfree is very skilled with psychic attacks. You may even be able to beat Blain with it.”
  “Thanks. Your Seadra wasn’t too bad itself. That bubble attack was a smart move. Well, we must be going now if we want to reach Cinnabar by night.”
  “Farewell Icy and good luck!” She waved until Cyber was out of sight.
  After a few more hours, the large volcano in the center of Cinnabar Island came into view. Cyber came into port and let Icy and Sara off. Icy returned Cyber to his pokéball and he and Sara walked to the local pokécenter. Nurse Joy happily allowed Icy and Sara to stay the night in the pokécenter. Icy dreamed of the battle he would have with Blaine the following morning.

Fire and Icy: Buttercup's Defeat

  Icy woke up bright and early. The room was dark still. Sara was sleeping on a bench across from him. Pokéballs were scattered over the walls on other benches. Icy looked at the clock above the door. “6:30 AM” He hopped down from his spot and called up to Sara. She sighed softly as she opened her eyes. Icy collected his belongings and Sara followed him into the main foyer.
  Nurse Joy was half-awake at the front desk when Icy jumped up in front of her. She yawned then greeted him, “Good morning. Did you two sleep well? Can I interest you in some breakfast before you go?”
  “Yes to both,” Icy said. He was very energetic this morning. Sara, on the other hand, looked like she had seen better days as she almost fell asleep again.
  “I have something that will wake you both up. How about a nice, warm breakfast of pancakes.” She led the two pikachus into the diner next to the pokécenter. Some Chanseys brought them two entrees of pancakes. Icy and Sara ate their breakfast and thanked Nurse Joy for her hospitality.
  “Oh it’s nothing. You’re always welcome here. By the way, if you don’t mind me asking, where are you headed today?”
  “I’m going to try for Blaine’s Volcano Badge. We’re going to the gym after this.”
  “Oh. Good luck then. Blaine’s a tough trainer.”

  Icy and Sara left the pokécenter and headed for the gym. The gym was located inside the main chamber of the volcano. Blaine’s original gym had collapsed a few years back when he abandoned it. So many tourists had invaded the island that trainers were a rare site. Fortunately, Icy was aware of the relocated gym site. “Is... is... is that the gym?”
  “I think so. C’mon, let’s go in.” They entered the volcano through an entrance carved into the rock. The temperature inside was very high. Sweat dripped down their faces.
  “It’s so hot in here. Why did we come here anyway?”
  “In order for me to get the Volcano Badge, I have to defeat the gym leader here.”
  “Oh. Do you think you’ll win?”
  “I hope so.” They entered the main chamber. Blaine was standing in one corner tending to a shadowy pokémon. “Blaine, I challenge you to a pokémon battle for the Volcano Badge.” No matter the odds, Icy always stayed confident. Sara stayed to the side.
  “Very well. If you want the Volcano Badge, you must best me in a two on two match.” The dark pokémon Blaine was working with was gone now. Blain fussed a bit with his hair then readied his pokéball. His glassed glimmered as he threw the ball into the field. “Go Ninetails!” The golden, nine tailed fox appeared on the field. Its fur glimmered like the lava below it. “Well, what pokémon shall my Ninetails defeat?”
  “Defeat? Grrr... Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, Hocus!” Hocus appeared ready for action. He studied his foxy opponent.
  “Let the match begin! Ninetails, take the Abra out with a fire spin.” Ninetails fired a large ring of flames at Hocus. He teleported out of the way just in time to avoid being burned.
  “That was close. Hang in there Hocus. Counter back with your confusion attack.” Hocus quickly emitted confusion waves at Ninetails but the fire pokémon was just too strong to be affected. “Hocus, psybeam quick!” The psybeam managed to hurt Ninetails slightly, but still not enough.
  “Sorry little pikachu, but those small attacks won’t win it. Ninetails, finish it off. Flamethrower!” Ninetails charged up its flamethrower attack while Icy psychically told Hocus to be prepared to teleport. “Ninetails, double play fire now!” Ninetails fired a small fireball at Hocus causing him to teleport. Unfortunately, it was a trick. Ninetails was waiting for Hocus to reappear before it blasted him with a full-power flamethrower.
  Icy was in shock. “How could Hocus lose. Uhh... Hocus, return!” He took his second pokéball and expanded it. “Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, Buttercup!” The small, green butterfree fluttered overhead. “Sleep powder now!” Buttercup quickly poured sleep powder on Ninetails.
  “Fight it off. Stay awake!” Ninetails tried to stay awake but finally gave in and fell asleep. “Hmm. Maybe I’ve underestimated your skill. But your butterfree is no match for my second pokémon.” The gym lights faded. Suddenly, the lava began glowing. Something climbed out from the crater onto the field. The lights came back on, slightly dimmer.
  “What type of pokémon is that?” Icy said as he looked at the brightly colored pokémon.
  “This is a Magmar. Its entire body is made out of lava. It can even live in lava without being hurt. And now, Magmar, give the pikachu a demonstration of your awesome power. Fire blast that butterfree!” Magmar spit a large fireball directly at Buttercup. She managed to dodge most of it but her left wing was burnt.
  “Aghh! Buttercup! Are you ok?” Icy screamed franticly. He was about to recall Buttercup while she shook her head no. “Alright Buttercup, but be careful. Watch for the flame attack. Use your psybeam!” Buttercup prepared to use her psybeam while Magmar got ready to fire another fireball.
  “Magmar, wait for it...” Buttercup fired her psybeam. “Now Magmar!” Magmar shot out a massive ball of flames at Buttercup. It was so strong it broke right through her psybeam and completely engulfed her. She fell to the ground crying in pain as the flames continued burning her.
  “NOOOO!!! BUTTERCUP!!! STOP!!! Please!!! I give up! Neptune go! Help Buttercup quick!” Neptune put out the flames on Buttercup. Magmar returned to the lava.
  “Here Icy. Take this burn heal. It should help ease the pain for your butterfree. Better luck next time.” Blaine tossed the healer to Icy. It fell just in front of him. Blaine looked back. He noticed Icy didn’t take to healer. He left the gym and headed for his personal training area.
  “Icy...” Sara said softly. Icy didn’t respond. She picked up the burn heal and applied some of it to Buttercup’s burn wounds. Icy’s eyes were filled with tears as he looked at Buttercup’s charred body. Losing the match was one thing, but watching his friend suffer like this was another. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he cried. Sara put her paw on his back. “She’ll be ok. Maybe we should take her to that place they heal pokémon at. That lady who served us breakfast might be able to help.”
  Icy nodded slowly. He lifted Buttercup into his arms and Sara carried Neptune. Buttercup looked at her master’s watery eyes. Pain seared through every part of her body. She continued to cry as Icy carried her out of the gym. Sara had Neptune spray Buttercup with water every few minutes as they walked to the pokécenter.
  They walked through the automatic doors. “Someone help me! Please, my butterfree’s burnt badly. Oh please, someone help her!” Icy cried as he looked for someone who would help Buttercup. Nurse Joy rushed over to them along with a few chanseys.
  “I’ll treat her right away!” She reached for Buttercup, but Icy could let go of his friend. Sara put arms around Icy and told him Buttercup would be fine. He handed Buttercup over to Nurse Joy and she took her into the ER. Sara led Icy over to a bench in the waiting room. Icy was still completely in tears. Sara wept softly too. Buttercup was the only thing on Icy’s mind at the moment...

Fire and Icy: Will Buttercup Survive?

  Icy and Sara were waiting impatiently in the waiting room. It was getting late. Images of the battle flashed past Icy’s mind. “I shouldn’t have let her continue the match. I should have called it off,” he kept muttering. Sara was getting worried. She searched for Hocus’ pokéball hoping he would be able to help Icy get through this.
  She finally found it and released Hocus. “Please Hocus. Icy needs help. He’s not acting like himself.” Hocus’ burns had already healed by using recover. He went at sat next to the depressed pikachu.
  “Master...” Icy was silent. His mind was elsewhere, all his thoughts focused of Buttercup. “Master, please answer me. You are beginning to frighten me as well as Sara.” Icy’s eyes were still distorted by tears. “MASTER! SNAP OUT OF IT!” Hocus shouted telepathically at Icy. Icy jumped being startled by Hocus and turned to him. “Now that you are back with us, perhaps you could cheer up. Sara is really afraid for you, as am I.”
  “I... I’m sorry...” Icy was still crying, but not as much now. He glanced again at the light above the ER. It was still lit bright red. “I could have prevented this. I could have recalled Buttercup when she got burnt the first time.”
  “You didn’t do anything wrong,” Sara said trying to comfort Icy. “There was nothing you or Buttercup could do. You didn’t know that Magmar was so powerful.”
  “I know, but, that’s not going to help Buttercup now...”

  “Master, you can’t change the past. Buttercup will recover. You yourself have survived much worse injuries. Perhaps the nurse will let us visit her in a few minutes. She won’t let Buttercup die. Buttercup has a strong life-force.”
  “I hope you are right. But there’s no way I’ll be able to defeat Blaine. He’s just too smart. You and Buttercup were my best bet on beating him, and he made fools of both of you.”
  “I admit, that Ninetails pulled a clever stunt tricking me into teleporting only to blast my when I reappeared. But losing can have just as much benefit as winning, maybe more. I may have lost the match against Ninetails, but I learn a valuable defense lesson. If I was to battle it again, I would not be as easily fooled.”
  “I understand what you mean. But Blaine’s pokémon are smart and strong. Fancy defense tactics won’t beat him.”
  “You need to think positive again. Buttercup wouldn’t want you to be so depressed like this. She, like me, made an underestimation. But she stayed positive. For her sake, at least smile. It will make you feel better as well.”
  Icy wiped the tears from his eyes. He looked at the light above the door again. It turned off. Joy came out of the room and walked towards Icy. “Is Buttercup... ok?” Icy asked sadly.
  “She’s resting now. You can go in and see her.” She led Icy, Hocus, and Sara to Buttercup’s room. She was lying on her back with wires and other medical equipment connected to her. Her body was still slightly dark from the burns but would heal in time. A monitor tracked her heartbeat. Icy couldn’t hold back the tears as he moved closer to his friend.
  “I... I’d... I’d like to... to be alone for a bit...” Sara and Hocus went with Nurse Joy back to the waiting room. Icy looked down at his friend. “Please be strong Buttercup. Don’t leave me.” He spent the rest of the night with her while Sara slept in Nurse Joy’s room with the other chanseys.

  Nurse Joy woke Icy in the morning. Buttercup was still asleep. Icy looked at her with sadness filling his face. “How is she?”
  “She’s doing better today Icy. She should make a complete recovery by the end of the day if all goes well.” Joy checked the monitors displaying Buttercup’s condition. “Icy, don’t worry. She’s going to be just fine. Why don’t you and Sara have some breakfast.” Sara stood behind Nurse Joy.
  “Thank you...” Icy said quietly. He walked over to Sara and the two pikachus held paws going to the diner.
  “Are you feeling better today Icy?” Sara asked.
  “A little...” he replied softly. They sat down at the table as a tall, baldheaded man walked in. He put on a red an orange wig and asked Nurse Joy something. Then, he walked over to where Icy and Sara were sitting.
  “Am I correct in assuming I am addressing Icy the Pikachu?” the man asked.
  “You would be correct. Who are you?”
  “Oh, you don’t recognize me? I am Blaine, the fire gym leader. I came to ask how that butterfree of yours was doing. It is... ok, isn’t it?”
  “We’re not sure, but Nurse Joy seems hopeful that she will survive...” Icy responded softly. A sigh of relief came over Blaine. He was glad to know his Magmar hadn’t killed Icy’s pokémon. The thought of it was too unbearable.
  “I’m glad to hear that. I am really sorry Magmar hurt your pokémon so badly. Perhaps when she’s better, you’ll return for another try?” Blaine collected himself and went back to his gym.
  “That was nice of him to apologize. Are you really going to battle him again?”
  “I have no choice. I need that badge. But I’m not going to use Buttercup. I’ll use Cyber and Hocus.”
  “But Hocus lost last time. What if Blaine’s pokémon beat him again?”
  “They won’t. This time will be different.” Nurse Joy went back to Buttercup’s room. Icy told Sara he’d be right back and ran to catch up with Joy.
  “Can I see her again please?” he asked.
  “Yes. She’s awake but very weak. You’ll have to keep it brief.” Icy nodded and went in. “That’s one dedicated trainer,” she said to herself.
  “Buttercup...”
  “I... I... Icy...” Buttercup managed to speak. Her voice was very weak. “I... I dreamed... last night that... that you came and stayed with... me...” Her voice trailed off.
  Icy put is paws on the backs of her wings. They were soft and had a silky texture. Her color was now almost back to normal, a few dark spots on her left wing. “I wanted to tell you that I am very proud of you. You are a very courageous pokémon and a valuable friend. I know you will pull through.”
  “Frii... friii...” Buttercup closed her eyes and fell asleep again. Icy took his paws off her wings and left the room. Nurse Joy entered with some chanseys to give Buttercup some medicine.
  Icy sat down with Sara again and finished his breakfast. Later that day, he, Hocus, and Cyber trained to battle Blaine. He wanted to be ready for anything Blaine could pull the next time they battled.
  That night, while Icy and Sara were having dinner, Nurse Joy came up to Icy and asked him to come with her. Sara followed them into Buttercup’s room.
  “She is doing much better Icy. She still needs rest, but it’s likely she’ll be able to leave with you tomorrow morning.” Buttercup was eating some pokémon food that Joy had got special order from Brock. Icy gave Buttercup a small hug.
  “I knew you could do it Buttercup.” A tear sparkled from his eye before hitting the ground. Buttercup smiled and went to sleep.

Fire and Icy: Backfire

  Icy and Sara woke next morning to a pleasant surprise. Waiting for them in the lobby was Buttercup, good as new. Icy ran up to his friend and gave her a big hug. “Buttercup! You’re ok!” Tears of joy fell from his eyes. Buttercup shed small tears too that sparkled as they fell. Sara and Nurse Joy were also equally as happy Buttercup was better.
  “Frii frii friiiii!” Buttercup cheered.
  “Buttercup’s ok! I knew she would make it!” Sara exclaimed.
  “Icy, in celebration of Buttercup’s recovery, I had Brock himself prepare a special meal.” Brock walked into the room. “Brock, I do believe you and Icy have met before.”

  “Yes, but when he was a human. It’s ok Icy, I’ve no hard feelings. Now, where’s that courageous butterfree?” Buttercup came forward. “There you are,” he said in a babyish tone as he petted her on the head. “She looks very healthy now. Joy must have taken really good care of you, didn’t she?” Joy blushed. “Well, I’ve taken the liberty of cooking you all a special breakfast. I hope you...” he stopped, noticing they were already eating the great meal. “Uhhh, let’s eat?” He sat down next to Joy and ate with them.
  After breakfast, Brock said his good-byes to everyone, especially Nurse Joy, and boarded the next Pidgeot to Pewter City. Icy and Sara thanked Nurse Joy for saving Buttercup’s life and left the pokécenter.
  “Well Icy, now that Buttercup is better, what are we going to do?” Sara asked.
  “I’m going to have a rematch with Blaine. Hocus and I have been working on a new strategy. Hocus and Cyber will battle Blaine’s fire pokémon.”
  “Are you sure that’s a good idea? Remember what happened to Buttercup...”
  “This time will be different,” Icy said. “I hope,” he added softly. They reached the volcano entrance. A trainer happily ran out, sporting a Volcano Badge. “If he can do it, I can do it.” Icy and Sara entered the gym and headed for the main chamber.
  “You decided to come back. I am impressed. I was hoping to get to battle you again. You are a worthy opponent. How is the butterfree?” Blaine seemed in be in quite a good mood for someone who just lost a gym match.
  “She fine now. I’ve come for a rematch. This time, I’m going to get that Volcano Badge.” Icy’s determination was definitely back as he expanded his first pokéball.
  “Very well. Two on two match. Go Ninetails!”
  “Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, Cyber!” Cyber materialized on the suspended field. “Cyber, conversion now!” Cyber’s physical characteristics now resembled a fire type.
  “Ninetails, fire spin!”
  “Cyber, sharpen and tackle!”
  Ninetails fired the ring of flames at Cyber but they had no effect. Cyber jump through the ring of fire and hit Ninetails with its sharp front. Ninetails cried out in pain.
  “Cyber, psybeam now!” Cyber finished off Ninetails with one blast. Blaine seemed impressed.
  “Impressive. You must be very close to your pokémon for them to fight so valiantly. Ninetails return. Magmar, come out!” The lava below the field bubbled. Suddenly, Magmar jumped out and landed in front of Cyber.
  “Double team Cyber, split up!” Cyber formed two duplicates of himself and immediately tried to tackle Magmar.
  “Defend yourself with a shield of fire Magmar.” Two of the porygons vanished when they hit the fire wall. Magmar caught hold of Cyber. “Good. Flame-thrower!” Magmar burned Cyber until he started to overheat.
  “Ughhh... Cyber return! Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, Hocus!” His abra appeared. Hocus studied the lava covered pokémon. “Psywave!” Hocus sent out waves of psychic energy. Magmar was stunned for a sec but became fully alert when Hocus followed up with a psybeam.
  “Flame-thrower Magmar!” Magmar dodged the psybeam and launched his flames at Hocus.
  “Confusion Hocus!” Hocus used his confusion on the fireball sending it back at Magmar. It pushed him back slightly but didn’t do much damage. “Auww... How do I hurt him? Hocus, try using psychic to wear him down.”
  “Magmar, multiple fire blasts now!” Magmar spit five fireballs at Hocus. His concentration broken, he tried teleporting. He successfully dodged the first two fireballs but was hit by the last three. Hocus fell to the ground, sweat dripping from his head. Icy was worried. Flashbacks from the first match formed in his head.
  “Hocus. Are you ok? What’s wrong?” Hocus began to glow. His breathing had increased. “Hocus?” Hocus grew a bit taller and a spoon appeared in his hand. Hocus had evolved into Kadabra! “Hocus! You evolved! I can’t believe it!” Hocus recovered his energy and took on a fighting pose. “Alright Hocus, psybeam, full power!”
  “Kadabra...” he muttered as he conjured up his energy. A blue, glowing ball of psychic energy began forming in front of Hocus.
  “Magmar, fire blast now!” Magmar spit a large fireball at Hocus, but it was deflected. “Agh. You have to break its concentration. Multi-fireballs now!”
  Just as Magmar was about to spit more fireballs at Hocus, Hocus released the massive energy beam at him. It destroyed every fireball Magmar could spit then collided with the molten surface of Magmar’s body. He was knocked back a little and managed to stay on his feet.
  “Psychic attack Hocus.” Hocus lightly pushed Magmar over telekinetically. He fell and fainted. “All right!” Icy shouted with joy. “You beat him!” Hocus was pleased with himself as well and floated to Icy’s side.
  “Most impressive Icy. You have definitely earned this Volcano Badge!” Blaine walked over and handed Icy the shiny red Volcano Badge.
  “Haha! Seven badges! Just one more to go!” Icy and Sara joined paws and ran out of the gym.
  “You did great Icy! I never doubted you for a second! Cyber and Hocus really nailed those fire pokés!” Sara said. They headed back to the pokécenter to retire for the day.
  That night, Icy dreamed of winning the Earth Badge, the eighth badge necessary to enter the Pokémon League. But something wasn’t right in the dream.
{ Evil music plays }
  “I’m waiting for you Icy... I know what you want to know... I know... Bwahahahahaha!!!”

The Truth

  Icy woke immediately. Sweat dripped down his face. His heart raced uncontrollably. He was having trouble breathing correctly. His eyes searched the room for the owner of the voice.
  “You seek the truth. I have the truth.”
  “Where are you? Who are you?”
  “There you go again, always asking so many questions, never asking the right ones.”
  “We’ve been through this before. Why do you always have to bother me with your riddles?” They were back on the ethereal plain again.
  “I keep bringing you here because I somehow hope you can figure it out. Solve the puzzle Icy. I know you can do it.”
  “What puzzle?”
  “Think back, Icy. Do you remember what happened four months ago?” Icy’s mind flashed images past his eyes. He saw the events from his life going in reverse until he realized that Mewtwo was talking about. “The truth is in the lab. Not in Cerulean, here, on Cinnabar. That’s where the truth lies. Seek the truth...” Mewtwo returned Icy to his former location. “Seek the truth Icy... before it’s too late...”

  Mewtwo’s words echoed in his mind. He and Sara ate then took a walk in the Cinnabar Park. Icy decided he should tell Sara about Mewtwo.
  “Sara, I need to tell you about something. There is a pokémon named Mewtwo. He has information about my past that I need to know. I have to go and find a lab somewhere on this island. I think it would be better if you stayed with Joy in the pokécenter.”
  “No Icy. I’m coming with you. I don’t want you to go alone.”
  “Fine, but stay close. Mewtwo is known for his tricks.”
  Meanwhile, a dark, tall man picked up a red phone and dialed a number. A voice answered him. “He’s getting too close. Proceed with secondary protocols. Leave nothing...” He put the phone back on its holder and folded his hands as he leaned back in his chair. Sunlight poured through a large window behind him touching everything except him. “I never should have started this...”
  Icy and Sara searched for the Cinnabar Lab. Everyone they asked said they had no idea or just plain ignored them. Icy was beginning to lose hope when Mewtwo appeared in front of them. “You are in danger Icy.”
  “Tell me something I don’t know. I’m always in danger when you drop in for a visit.”
  “No, not from me. Someone is on his way here now. He intends to keep you from finding the truth. Believe it or not Icy, we are in this together.” Before Icy could reply, Mewtwo had begun to teleport them...

  Mewtwo, Icy, and Sara reappeared inside a cold, dark room. “I have brought you to the lab. The rest is up to you. Do hurry, you haven’t much time.” With that, Mewtwo vanished.
  “I really do hate him. C’mon. Let’s find out what this place is.” They walked past rows of shattered instruments and broken tables. Piles of ash marked either charred bodies or burnt documents. It was becoming too dark to see, so Icy created an electro sphere in his paw for light. The walls of the complex were burnt and some were even melted. Parts of computer systems were scattered over the floor.
  “I don’t like this place. It’s so spooky,” Sara said staying very close to Icy. They found what looked like a glass containment chamber. A small broken piece of metal with a strange hieroglyph lay near it. It resembled what looked to be a cat in an Egyptian pose. The glass around the chamber had spider-webbed and the front was completely broken. There must have been many computer systems working on the chamber judging from the amount of cybernetic debris in the vicinity.
  “This place looks like it was used to hold something, or someone.” Icy took a look at the area near the chamber. Parts of a former wall seemed to be intact hinting an office used to be there. “That must be the main control room.” The door was the only structure still unharmed. It was made of solid titanium alloy and had only a few scratches and dents. Sara electrocuted the locks and the door immediately opened.
  “It doesn’t look like this room was destroyed,” Sara said as they entered the control room. One computer and a file cabinet stood in the back of the room, seemingly unharmed. Icy walked towards it but suddenly ran into some type of force field.
  “No problem,” Icy said teleporting inside the field. He found a tiny metal device under the desk the computer was on. “This must be the field generator. I’ll try and disable it.” Icy tinkered with the device for a few minutes until finally it shut down. “This entire sector has it’s own power.” Sara walked over to him as he turned on the dusty computer. The screen flickered and then became clear. A logo appeared on the screen.
  “Oh... my... Goddish...”

  “What is it Icy? What does ‘TR’ stand for?” Sara asked. Icy just stared at the black screen with the letters ‘TR’ spelled out in red. A menu popped up. It had sections listed: daily logs, current projects, old projects, top-secret weapon development. “Icy, what does all that mean?”
  “I think this means Team Rocket was a part in the experiment. I have to be certain. “Icy clicked through the options but was denied access on each. “Maybe the password is somewhere in that file cabinet.” Icy skimmed through the papers. He found one that listed only the weapons projects password. “Figures.” He opened the folder. The password was ten lines long. He typed it in. “Hmm. Has a familiar ring to it.” The screen brought up a new option menu.”
  Meanwhile, over the sea near Cinnabar Island, Dreadite was on his way to the lab. “Ah, that pikachu is too darn nosey. I’ll be sure to doesn’t his little paws on any of our secrets.” He set his wings over a faster air current and quickened his pace.
  Back at the lab, Icy looked at the list of special weapons. Most of the items were on Wigglyweapons. He keyed in the date range of the experiment. “One record found,” the computer responded. Icy read the title. “The Transpokéfier Gun.” This was it. The experiment. Team Rocket had performed their own experiment. They created a weapon to transform humans into pokémon. Icy clicked the header but the computer only came up with an error. “It must have been classified. Maybe it’s in the recent project area.”
  Dreadite was closing in on the lab now. “Where are you! He’s in the mainframe! If he finds out about our current project, we’re finished! Just destroy the entire complex. We’ll throw the blame on Mewtwo.” “Understood, Dreadite out.” The island was almost in range.
  “Current projects. One entry found,” the computer read. Icy looked at the project codename. “The Doomsday Weapon...” He clicked on the title. “Access den...” the screen when blank. Then, everything went dark. Dreadite fired a few more energy balls at the lab. Icy saw everything flash before him as they hit.

  Mewtwo watched the sequence of events play out again. “You can’t change that, it was fate. You can’t just go around messing up other people’s lives.”
  “But I brought it upon him. By changing this, I undo changes I already made.”
  “That doesn’t count.”
  “Why?”
  “Because, those actions really did occur. That’s fate.”
  “But it wasn’t his fate. He wasn’t supposed to even know of the lab.”
  “Just because you didn’t get everything you wanted in the end, doesn’t mean you have the right to change the continuum. Icy’s timeline ends there. Understand?”
  “No, I don’t.” The man’s eyes widened as Mewtwo fired at massive psybeam at him. “You should thank me for that. After I’m done, you might end up with a better job in life. Of course, for now, your timeline ends here.” Mewtwo left the conference room the two were in and headed down the main corridor. It had been 10 years since Icy and Sara were killed in the explosion. Since then, Mewtwo could not accept the fact that he had staged Icy’s destruction. It wasn’t the plan he had in mind. For the years afterwards, he didn’t think of the consequences of Icy’s death. But when Team Rocket did end up using the Doomsday Weapon, all that changed. Icy’s role in that timeframe was critical. Without him, Team Rocket was able to keep the entire thing a secret until it was too late. He blasted open the doors to the chrono chamber.
  “Crap. You’re not authorized to be here!” The guard reached for his gun but found himself unable to move. “Secur...” his voice died off as quickly as he did. Mewtwo reset the controls on the ChronoJumper to only seconds before Dreadite would fire the energy balls at the lab.
  “As long as Icy lives through it, everything in the continuum will be fine. Everything except for Icy still being alive. But that’s how it was supposed to be.” He entered the ChronoJumper. Several armored guards came storming in. They were too late. Mewtwo had already traveled back in time.
  “Ahh, shit! Giovanni is not gonna like this.” They went to report the incident to the boss.
  Meanwhile, back in our normal timeframe, Icy was reading the screen output. “One entry found,” the computer said. “The Doomsday Project.” Icy clicked on the title but nothing happened. Suddenly, everything went dark. Dreadite prepared to fire the energy balls at the lab. Mewtwo came out of the ChronoJump just before he launched them.
  “I told you not to take so long! C’mon.” Mewtwo teleported Icy, Sara, and himself away from the lab. Dreadite’s energy balls hit with total accuracy and the lab was completely destroyed. “Humph. You can thank me some other time.” Mewtwo clicked a button on his wrist and vanished. His task had been accomplished. The timeline was altered.
  Icy and Sara woke to find themselves outside the Cinnabar Pokécenter. “Uhh... my head hurts,” Icy said as he got up. Sara wasn’t feeling any better. “How’d we get here?” Sara tried getting back up but was too dizzy to stand and fell flat on her face.
  “Ouww... I told you I didn’t like this place. Now can we go?” She grabbed Icy’s paw and dragged him into the pokécenter. “We’ll have some dinner and then we are leaving! No more crazy experiment stuff. No more Mewtwo. Just peacefulness.” She took Icy into the pokécenter. There were almost a hundred trainers gathered inside. Officer Jenny was making an announcement.
  “People please. Quiet down! QUIET!!!” They all stopped talking. “Thank you. As you know, a very loud explosion was heard earlier this morning. There is no reason to panic; it was just a robotic helicopter that crashed. We have already cleared the damage. You can all go home now. Again, there is nothing to worry about.” She obviously didn’t want the citizens of Cinnabar to know what happened. Icy and Sara walked up to the desk. “Hey, you two pikachus. You need to go home with your trainers.”
  “Excuse me? We don’t have trainers. I’m Icy, and this is Sara.” Jenny shrugged.
  “Well, you can’t just run around with a train... did you just talk?”
  “Aggghhhhh... Why me? Have you ever heard about the kid who was transformed into a pikachu?”
  “Ummm... Oh. You’re Icy...” She blushed bright red realizing the mistake she had made. “Umm... Sorry to bother you then. Have a nice day.” She ran out the door still embarrassed.
  “Ughh... That gets really annoying after the first 20 times... Nurse Joy, can we please spend one more night here in the pokécenter? I promise we’ll be headed out tomorrow.”
  “Of course you may Icy. I don’t mind it at all.” Icy and Sara ate a quick dinner and went to bed. They had a big day ahead of them tomorrow.
  “Just don’t forget what you saw Icy. I didn’t come back all that way just to let you enjoy your insignificant life,” and deep voice whispered in Icy’s head. Somehow, he managed to ignore it and was fast asleep.

Return to Pallet

  After having a modest breakfast, Icy and Sara went to the docks. “Where are we headed Icy?”
  “We can head north to Pallet Town.” Icy sent out Cyber who transformed into a boat. The pikachu couple hopped aboard and rode off into the open sea.
  Meanwhile, Dreadite headed back to his previous assignment. “Mission accomplished. We shouldn’t have any more trouble from that psychic pikachu anymore.” The voice on the other end sounded pleased. Little did they know that not only had Icy survived, he now knew about the existence of the Doomsday Project.

  “What’s in Pallet Town Icy?”
  “A man by the name of Prof. Oak has a lab there. It’s also home to two of the greatest pokémon trainers.” Sara tried to look impressed. The waters were smooth today. With a little luck, they would reach Pallet by late afternoon.
  The sun was directly overhead when they reached the shores of Pallet Town. Oak’s lab stood high upon a cliff overlooking the waters. They jumped on land and Icy returned Cyber to his pokéball. “Let’s pay Oak a visit. I haven’t seen him for a while.” They walked up the winding path to the front entrance and knocked.
  Oak answered the door. “Yes? Oh look, two adorable pikachus. Wait a second, I recognize you. You’re Icy. And who’s this with you Icy?”
  “This is my friend Sara.” Sara waved to Oak. He invited the two in for tea and crackers. They had a lot of catching up to do.
  “So Icy, it’s been... how long since you last contacted me?”
  “Sorry professor. Being a pikachu, I don’t regularly use phones.”
  “How are your pokémon doing? I heard that your butterfree was seriously injured in a battle against Blaine. How is she now?”
  “Buttercup? Oh, she’s doing much better. She’s a fighter.” Icy suddenly remembered something. He pulled the egg he had found in the canyon out from his bag. “I found this in Grandpa Canyon. Think you can tell me what’s inside?”
  Oak examined the egg. “Hmmm. I’ve never seen this type of pokémon egg before. I can’t be sure what’s in it. It may hatch any day now, so make sure you keep it extra warm.”
  Icy nodded and placed the egg carefully in his pack again. “I did win the Volcano Badge. I only need one more!”
  “You’ve got seven badges? That’s quite a feat. So, when will you battle the Viridian Gym Leader?”
  “I was hoping to battle him tomorrow. Do you know who it is?”
  “I can’t tell you that Icy. The league likes keeping that a secret.”
  “Hmphh... No fair... Professor, can we stay the night here?”
  “Of course, Icy. You’re always welcome.” He noticed something troubling Icy. “Was there something else you wanted to tell me?”
  “Ummm... Sara, I want to talk to the professor alone for a sec.” Sara understood and waited in another room. Icy turned his attention to Oak. “Professor, on Cinnabar Island, I uncovered data records from the experiment Bill was working on with me. But these records aren’t about his experiment, they were something about a TransPokéfier Gun. I think Team Rocket is involved in it.”
  “Icy... There were many things that happened on that day. No one is still certain as to what exactly happened. As for Team Rocket, they were there to capture Bill, not you.”
  “But the file was dated the same as the experiment.”
  “It could have been about anything. People have same birthdays. They could have done research on the same day. It doesn’t seem like a definite connection.” Oak was holding something back. Icy didn’t sense it for some odd reason.
  “Maybe you’re right. Another thing. On their central computer, I fo...” Oak covered Icy’s mouth.
  “Not here.” He led Icy into a special soundproof room. “I’m sorry but we don’t need the neighbors listening in on us.”
  “Like I was saying, on the main computer, I found a document titled ‘The Doomsday Project’. Do you know anything about it?”
  Oak tried to hold back the worried look. He had to think fast. “Sounds like a dangerous project. Better not get too involved with it. Team Rocket has been getting quite aggressive lately.” Icy agreed. They walked back into the main room and joined Sara. It was getting late so Oak offered them some real dinner for once. They ate and went to bed.
  Oak stayed up that night. “Done well, you have. Kept secret, our plan.” He sighed and went off to bed.

Secrets

  Oak made a nice breakfast for Icy and Sara then told them he had to go run some errands. The two pikachus left the lab and continued on their way towards Viridian City. Just on the outskirts of Pallet, Icy felt something funny. “What is it?”
  “I... I don’t know... I feel like I’m...” Icy fell to the ground. Sara became very nervous and tried reviving her friend. Icy’s body slowly disappeared.

  The phasing gift was having its random effect on him again. He entered once again, a dreamlike state in the Void.
  “So, we meet again.” Mewtwo’s shadowy figure was the only visible figure Icy could see. He moved towards Icy. “I must say, you really do pick rather inconvenient times for us to chat.”
  “I didn’t ask to come here.”
  “No. I suppose you’re right. The problem is, I didn’t either. You’re controlling all of this.”
  “How? How am I controlling it? This is the gift right? That thing Sabrina was telling me about?”
  “You catch on quick Icy. This is the eternal Void. All of space and time stands still here. Your appearances here are not by coincidence, let me remind you. You’ve come here to seek answers.”
  “The visions. That’s what took me to Cinnabar Lab. But now, from that, a new terror has arisen. Team Rocket’s Doomsday Project.”
  “Let go of your thoughts and concentrate on nothing. The past, present, and future will become known to you.” Icy cleared his mind of thought. He became one with the Void. It spoke to him. It put images into his mind.
  He opened his eyes, seeing a peaceful grassland. Many pokémon ran free. Eevees were playing cute little games with each other while some sandshrews ran races. It was all too real and too serene. “Why am I seeing this? What does this have to do with the Doomsday Weapon? I’ve never seen this place before.”
  “This isn’t from your life. The experiment was, but this requires your presence. The purpose of the visions will become clearer if you pay close attention. Ahh, look...” Icy focused his attention back on the vision. The pokémon were disappearing. One by one, they vanished. The landscape soon became dark. Ash and cinders replaced the grass. The trees were reduced to mere twigs or burning limbs. The once bright blue sky was now filled with dark gray clouds and was the color of burnt red.
  “Wha... What happened? This doesn’t look anything like the place I was just in.”
  “The visions are sometimes strange. Keep watching...” Mewtwo vanished, unknown to Icy. His eyes were focused on the field again. It was back to normal, green, fresh, and populated. A flock of spearows flew from the trees crying out. Something was happening. Icy couldn’t see for sure exactly what happened after that, but whatever it was that blinded him temporarily was definitely the cause of the destruction he had seen earlier.
  “What does all this...” Icy looked around for Mewtwo. He was nowhere to be found. “Oh that’s just great.” He began to cry a little. [sniff] “Why? Why me? Why do I have to be the one how must prevent all this? I don’t even know what this is! I can’t do it...” His tears rolled off his cheek and floated through the Void.
  “Why do you cry little one?”
  “Who... who’s there,” he managed to whimper.
  “I am not able to be identified by the words of your language. I am much more complicated then even you could hope to understand.”
  “If you’re Mewtwo playing another cruel joke on me, I’m not listening.”
  “I assure you, I’m not that egotistical freak of nature you call Mewtwo. I am a much higher being. You might say, I reside here, in the Void. I am that which watches over the world and keeps balance and peace. But now, Chaos has ripped the balance from your world.”
  “You mean the Doomsday Weapon?”
  “Yes. That is the source of the chaos. With this weapon, your world may cease to exist.”
  “But if you watch over everything, why don’t you stop it?”
  “Icy, there are things that even I can’t control. Only someone who is mutually involved, such as you, can stop this. You must see the connection here Icy. Nothing just happens. There is a reason for everything. We must all see these things and recognize them. You will find this. But now, it is imperative you understand what’s at stake now. Our time grows short. You’ll be back in your current timeframe soon. Remember what you saw here. Know that the gym leader of Viridian City is Giovanni himself. Use that opportunity to find out more about the Doomsday Project. Confront the less intelligent agents and use them to your advantage.”
  “But wait, I want to know the truth about the experiment. Please tell me...” Icy stopped his sentence as he felt himself drift thought the barriers of time.
  “Icy! Icy! Oh please answer me! Wake up!” Sara’s eyes were filled with tears. She didn’t know what to do so she dragged him behind some nearby trees so no trainers would find them. Icy slowly regained consciousness.
  “Ouhhhh....” he moaned. Sara was overjoyed. She gave Icy a huge hug.
  “I thought you’d never wake.”
  “How long was I out?”
  “Not long. But you gave me a big scare when you just fell for no reason.”
  “I’ll explain it to you some other time. For now, lets get to Viridian City. There’s a lot of things I’ve got to do there.” They continued on their way through Route 1 and reached the medium-sized city by noon. They rested for the middle of the day in the local pokécenter, which was all brand new since it was destroyed by Ash’s pikachu a while ago.

Nemesis

  Icy and Sara entered the city of Viridian. It was the first big city Sara had ever seen. All the tall buildings and lights amazed her. “What is this place?”
  “It’s called Viridian City.”
  “Where are we going in here?”
  “To the pokémon gym. I’m going to win my final badge!”

  “Huh... Why do you always want to win those badges? What good are they other than pretty to look at?”
  “Uhhh... They show how good a trainer is. If you have a lot of badges, that means you’re a really good trainer. I’ve got seven badges, and this will be the eighth.” Sara nodded, still not completely understanding what Icy was telling her. She went along with it anyway. They walked towards the gym entrance.
  They gasped as they looked at the magnificent gym. It was beautiful and huge. Icy had never seen such a great gym before. The two pikachus held hands as they approached the entrance. Two guards with long poles with large metal blades attached to them stopped Icy and Sara.
  “Halt! Only trainers may enter the gym. Go find your masters.” One of the guards thought about snatching one of the pikachus.
  “Let me through. I’m Icy, the Pikachu trainer. I’m here to challenge your boss!”
  “Hahahaha!!! Quite big words for such a little rod...” Icy psyshocked the guard before he could finish talking. “AGHHHHH!!!!!!” he screamed in pain, dropping to the floor. His partner tended to him while Icy and Sara walked past.
  “Humph... Losers...” They made their way to the main gym. It was just as elegant as the outside. A desk stood atop an upper level balcony in the room. Behind it, a large stain-glass window. A tall, slender man turned around in the chair.
  “Hmm, hmm, hmmmmm... We meet again, Icy...”
  “I... I... I... Icy... W...W...W...Who’s that......” Sara stuttered nervously.
  “So, you want to win my Earth Badge do you. Since you are here on League provisions, I can’t kill you legally.”
  “Such a pity Giovanni...” Icy retorted.
  “Don’t speak so soon pikarunt. Dreadite may have failed to destroy you and keep...” He stopped mid-sentence and sat back in his chair. His figure was still shadowed by the light from behind. “Nevermind... If you want the Earth Badge, you must best me in a 3-on-3 pokémon battle.” He expanded a pokéball as Icy selected his first. “Go pokéball!” He threw his first pokéball into the arena revealing a Nidoking.
  “Whoa! It’s huge!” Icy looked at the pokéball in his hand. “There’s no way I can beat that... Ahh, I have to try.” He threw the pokéball into the arena. “Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, Leafy!” Icy’s Oddish appeared on the gym floor. She shrieked upon seeing her enormous opponent.
  “Hmmm... I didn’t know you practiced pokémon sacrifices. Oh well, that sorta makes two of us. Nidoking, horn attack.” Nidoking charged Leafy with his horn. She was petrified.
  “Leafy, use your stun spore now!” Leafy obeyed Icy and quickly sprayed Nidoking with her stun spore. It stopped dead in its tracks. “Good work, now absorb his energy.” Nidoking tried moving but couldn’t while Leafy sucked away his power.
  “Damn you Nidoking. Here, take this.” He threw Nidoking a Paralyze Heal and Nidoking broke free. It pounded Leafy into the wall.
  “OOOOOOOOOODDDDDISHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!” she screamed.
  “No! Leafy, are you ok? Please, Leafy? Huh? AGHHHH!!!! She’s evolving too???” Sure enough, Leafy was evolving. She had already had much experience living in the wild and her courage and determination contributed to her growth. She grew plumper and slightly taller. Pedals sprouted from her head.
  “GLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!” she proclaimed.
  “WOW! Leafy evolved into a Gloom. Uhhhhhhhhh... Hmmmm... Oh. Leafy, sleep powder now!” Leafy let out sleep powder over Nidoking. It fell asleep almost instantly. “Horray!!! Great job Leafy! I knew you had it in you.”
  “Gloooommm!” she shouted. Leafy jumped in celebration.
  “Phaaa... Nidoking return. You won’t have it so easy this time. Go Kangaskhan!” The large pokémon emerged from its pokéball.
  “Ohhh... Leafy, you’ve done your job, take a rest. Leafy, return. Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, Hyper!” Icy’s Dratini appeared on the arena floor. This was the first time Icy had ever used Hyper to battle before. Hyper was ready for action and awaited Icy’s commands. “Hmm... I know... Hyper, water gun now!” Kangaskhan didn’t see it coming as Hyper rapidly slithered around the floor spraying it with water. The parent pokémon slipped on the wet floor and fainted after a quick hyper beam from Hyper.
  “WHAT!!! This is impossible. Hmmm... You are a clever trainer Icy. But you are still no match for me... oh yeah... he quit... that little jerk... never should have created... aghhhhhh... go Rhydon!” Another giant horned pokémon came into play. Hyper sized up his opponent. “You won’t escape this one.” Rhydon charge the Dratini and smashed it across the floor. Hyper managed to get back up, but then fainted. Icy was shocked. Hyper was such a strong pokémon. Fortunately he wasn’t too badly injured and would be fine later.
  “Ohh... Hyper, return. Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, Hocus!” Icy’s Kadabra leapt onto the arena floor. “Ok Hocus. Show that horned beast who’s boss! Psybeam, maximum power now!” Kadabra needed little time to produce the massive wave of psychic energy. It hit Rhydon head on and made it faint. Giovanni’s jaw dropped. He was outraged.
  “AGHH! You meddlesome pest. If this weren’t an official league match, I’d kill you now. Take you’re badge and get out.” He threw the Earth Badge as hard as he could at Icy. Icy used his telekinesis to float the badge into his hands. “You just watch your back. You may know about the name of my little operation, but that’s all you’ll ever know.” He clicked a button. The floor under Icy began to shake.
  “Crap! Hocus, get us out of here, quick!” Hocus nodded and they were teleported to safety.
  Back in his office, Giovanni sat down in his red chair. “D*** that pikachu. You told me you destroyed him.”
  “I did. That lab no longer exists.”
  “But the pikachu does! Mewtwo must have intervened. D*** him too. They are too close. Nothing and I mean nothing better go wrong with the Doomsday project. Understood?”
  “Yes sir.”
  Giovanni stoked Persian’s fur. “Soon it will be complete. The engineers in the Amazon have already finished phase one. It’s only a matter of time.” He cupped his hands and sat back.
  Meanwhile, Hocus teleported Icy and Sara outside the local pokécenter. “Let’s heal Hyper. He took a good beating during the battle.” They went up the front desk and Joy healed Hyper for Icy. “I can’t believe it. I’ve got all eight badges!” He couldn’t keep himself from jumping up and down throughout the pokécenter cheering. Many trainers were startled by the way the pikachu was acting. Most just went back to minding their own business though. As night fell, Icy could only dream about the wonderful feelings he had now that he’d won all eight badges. Sara curled up next to him and they both fell asleep...

Revenge Lasts Forever

  After spending the night at the pokécenter, Icy and Sara went for a walk around town. Sara stayed very close to Icy for there were many trainers gathering in Viridian lately.
  “It’s so crowded...” Sara pointed out.
  “Must be new trainers from Prof. Oak or something.” They continued on their way.

  Meanwhile, on an opposite corner, two men dressed in black observed the two pikachu. “You think he senses us?” one whispered to the other. His partner shook his head.
  “Not while we have these handy anti-psychic boxes with us. He won’t be able to pull any tricks on us.” He glanced again at Icy and Sara. “We’ll pursue them as they go down that alley.”
  Icy had sensed their presence. For some odd reason, the signal from the anti-psychic box was being distorted by the waves coming from Icy’s translator. “Hide behind those boxes. I need to deal with some agents real quick.” Icy got in position while Sara hid.
  The two agents entered the alley. “Well, well, well. A stray pikachu. Must be my lucky day. Hehehe...” The agent reached into his pocket and pulled out a black pokéball with a red ‘R’ on it. “You can’t escape us this time.” He threw the ball at Icy.
  “Nice try losers,” Icy shouted as he teleported in back of them. He realized his mistake too late however as three agents all threw pokéballs at him. “CRAP!” he screamed as one of the pokéballs hit him in the head. “Noooooooo!” Icy was sucked into the pokéball. He banged on the inside walls but something was stealing all his energy. His last images before he fainted were the metallic insides on the pokéball.
  “Ha! Good job.” One of the agents picked up the pokéball containing Icy. Another agent rushed back from the alley. In his hand was the black pokéball he had originally thrown. “Giovanni will be most pleased. Take them both to the gym. He is waiting to see them personally.” They all went off around town while the one agent took the two pokéballs to Giovanni.
  Giovanni stroked Persian’s white fur. It purred fiendishly as the agent entered the office. “I trust everything went according to plan.” The agent nodded and handed him the two pokéballs.
  “He fell for it just the way you said he would.”
  “Of course he did. I have an eye for the future. Literally!” Giovanni stood up and handed a large briefcase to a person standing in the shadows of the room. “He is your payment as promised. Count it here if you must.”
  The person opened the briefcase. It was filled with thousands of pokebucks. “Remember, no killing them. You may get whatever it is you want from them, but I cannot proceed with our plan if they are dead.”
  “Do not worry. They won’t be harmed, much. Be sure to have everything ready in time for the launch. Oh, and one more thing.” He handed the person some computer microchips. “Install these in your new...”
  “I know what they are for. Now, I must be going or I’ll arouse suspicion.” Giovanni walked back to his desk and picked up Icy’s pokéball.
  “Now I can have my revenge and make sure you don’t meddle with my plans any further.”
  The person Giovanni had paid off left the gym. After checking to see if any agents were following him, he headed for the police station.
  “So, did you get it?” Jenny asked. The man nodded and placed all but one of the chips on a table. “Great. Now our labs can analyze these and find out what Giovanni is really up to. I’d suggest you head back to your lab as soon as possible.” The man nodded. “Professor, you have been a great asset to this operation. Please don’t do anything heroic, ok?”
  “Giovanni’s got Icy and Sara.”
  “That’s not good.” The man nodded. “Well, my people will take care of that. You just get back to your lab.” The man left the station and hailed a taxi.
  “Pallet Town, please.” The cabby gave a small nod and drove off.
  Elsewhere. “Have the events occurred as planned?”
  “Yes my lord. Everything is going just as you said. We are close to a 100% match.”
  “Perfect.”
  Meanwhile, back at the police station. “Does he suspect anything?”
  “No sir. He got in your cab just as you said.” The officer removed the Jenny outfit and revealed her true self. “I won’t be needing this stuff anymore. What are your orders, sir?”
  “Return to base. But remember to destroy all the evidence. Leave nothing.”
  “Understood.” She took out three charges and placed them around the station. “This will tie up the loose end.” As she casually walked out of the building, the charges detonated. She didn’t look back or change her speed as the station exploded. Nothing was left when the smoke cleared.
  “Now I will have my total revenge. Starting with you Icy!” He opened the pokéball and Icy appeared on his desk hardly able to move. “You are such a pathetic worm.” He picked Icy up and threw him across his office. “You will never be able to stop me!” He kicked Icy into a corner. “I am going to enjoy destroying you once and for all.” Icy attempted to locate his pokéballs. He detected them being still on Giovanni’s desk. “Now I will finally end you pitiful life.” He moved closer. Icy summoned his last bit of energy to move Hocus’ pokéball to him.
  “Hocus... heeeeellllppppp meeeeeee....” Icy dropped the ball as he fainted. Hocus appeared in front of him.
  “Master?!?” Hocus used his telekinesis to gather all of Icy’s things. “Do not fear master. I will get us out of here.” Giovanni was furious now.
  “Come back here. I must have my revenge!” He chased the Kadabra down the main hallway. “There is no escape from me.”
  “Maybe, then again. Take this!” Hocus fired a psybeam at Giovanni throwing him back almost 50 feet.
  “Aghh! No! I’ll kill you for this Icy! I swear it. I will kill you! You can’t escape from the Doomsday Weapon!” He laughed as he blacked out from the effects of the psybeam.
  Hocus ran past the guards at the doors and enter the streets of Viridian. People everywhere stopped what they were doing to see what was going on. “Uhhh... Good day, nice, humans... Ahhh... sooo... how ‘bout that weather we’ve been having.” Suddenly, Hocus found himself the target of several dozen pokéballs. “This isn’t good...” He teleported just in time. “Shew... That was close. Now to heal you master.” He took Icy to the pokécenter where Nurse Joy fixed him up. They stayed there for the remainder of the day.
  Meanwhile, Oak was still riding in the cab. “I think you missed my turn.” The driver ignored him. Oak took out a pistol he had stashed away in his lab coat. He repeated, “I believe you missed my turn.” He pointed the gun at the driver’s head.
  “Ok, ok, just no shoot. I make big mess if fire.” Oak motioned for him to exit the vehicle.
  “Now, return Loki.” The driver, a ditto named Loki, beamed back into a pokéball Oak had in his hand. “Nice work. Mission complete. Now, I hope Icy somehow managed to survive.” He removed the tracer bugs on him and placed them inside of the car. Then, he let the cab drive into the lake and sink. “Time to take this chip back to the lab to be analyzed.”

  “Where are we now?”
  “Very close to 100% sir. His dialog was missing the colorful metaphors you said it would have.”
  “That’s acceptable. Everything is just as I foresaw. Proceed with the plan.”

The Doomsday Probe

  “Status.”
  “Still at 100% accuracy my lord. All actions in this timeline match the desired timeline.”
  “Perrrfect. According to the timeline, the probe should be ready for launch now.”
  “T-minus 5 minutes and counting,” a male computer voice announced. “All personal, clear launch area at this time.” The scientists left the launch pad and waited behind a glass wall inside the observation room. The Doomsday Project had been Team Rocket’s best kept secret until Icy, with the help of Mewtwo, uncovered it. Now, the completed Doomsday probe was ready to go into orbit.

  “Inform Giovanni that everything is going as planned.” The scientist walked over to the phone.
  “Sir, everything is going as planned. We will have liftoff in less than 3 minutes.”
  “Good. Keep me updated.” Giovanni signaled a guard to kick the little trainer who had come for an Earth Badge out. The guard picked the kid up and threw him out the door. “Now. Give me a visual.” A monitor showed the lab and the rocket preparing to blast off.
  “1 minute and counting,” the computer said. The countdown continued as the scientist who made to call walked over to the main control room. He took a barrel out of one of his pockets.
  “It’s time,” the dark figure muttered. “He won’t delay the countdown. I already know his fate.”
  Just before the scientist could arm his handheld bomb, a bullet from another agent’s gun struck his head. He fell to the ground instantly, dropping the unarmed bomb. “Take him away.” They dragged the body into another room.
  “10... 9... 8... 7...” The engines on the rocket began to fire. “4... 3... 2... 1... Blast off!” The rockets main boosters kicked in and the rocket took off. It was so bright the scientists had to cover their eyes as the rocket carrying the probe traveled into space.
  “We have liftoff sir. The rocket is away!”
  “Good. Nothing can stop me now.”
  “Wrong Giovanni. Nothing can stop US now. So soon you forget our agreement. We supplied the technology, you supplied the facilities. We are in a mutual agreement and contract.”
  “If you think I would honor any stupid agreement with a pokémon like you, you must be out of your pea-sized brain.” With that, Giovanni blasted the little pink pokémon. She gave a small cry before she passed away. “Dispose of it. I have my own plans for that rocket.”
  Meanwhile, on a starship orbiting the PokéEarth, the dark figure’s chief adviser became worried. “My lord, the continuum has dropped to 73%. The timeline has been altered. Something didn’t go right.”
  “Impossible! I saw every event. Nothing can change. What caused it?”
  “Giovanni has killed our earth contact.”
  “That bastard. He should know better to toil with me. Take control of the Doomsday rocket. I want it back! NOW!”
  Back at TR HQ. “Giovanni, urgent message from the mission control. The rocket has been taken off course. It’s heading back to the starship.”
  “No. D*** that mew. He won’t get away with this.”
(Scene switch to outer space)
  “Have the probe cloak and orbit the earth. I will see to it that the timeline does not get any more damaged then it already has.” The dark lord, Emperor Mewtine, sat down in his small black chair. Meanwhile, thousands of Mews scrambled aboard the ship checking on gauges and monitors. “Giovanni and the rest of this planet will learn the price of slavery. Why Mewtwo would not help us is beyond me, but I will see that the goal is met. Prepare the occupation phase.”
(Scene switch to Viridian Pokécenter)
  “This just in. Team Rocket, headed up by Giovanni, has launched a rocket into outer space. Reports are still sketchy on what the purpose of this rocket is for, but we have received leaks for some TR scientists that the rocket is part of some secret project code-named, Doomsday. We will bring you more updates on this story as information comes available. And look, here’s a look at today’s weather...”
  “Bahhh... Why do they always talk about the weather after something important.” Hocus was suddenly reminded of the previous day when he encountered the group of trainers and popped that same question. He laughed on the inside.
  “Doomsday... That’s familiar. Oh my Goddish! That’s what it was! Oh crap. Hocus, we are all in grave danger. We need to warn Officer Jenny right away.” Icy was about to leave his room when several armed guards opened the door. “Wha..wha..what’s the meaning of all this?”
  “You are under arrest for withholding evidence Icy. Please come with us quietly.” They handcuffed the little pikachu and dragged him to a small makeshift police station, since the TR agent had blown up the original.
  “Did they apprehend Icy?”
  “Yes my lord. He is in custody. Timeline is steady. What are our next moves?”
  “We wait. I want Icy out of the picture before anything else occurs.”
  “Understood my lord.” The probe orbited the earth while the starship remained steady above the planet.
  “Why am I under arrest? I didn’t commit any crime.”
  “Sure you didn’t. Hey, wait a minute. Since when do pikachus talk?”
  “You idiot. It’s Icy. See the box. Can you say, ‘translator’?” The other officer smacked the first in the back of the head. “Icy, what do you know about Doomsday?”
  “Nothing. I don’t know anything.”
  “He’s lying!”
  “Who are you?”
  “Your worse nightmare.” The small pinkish pokémon glowed and the officers found themselves floating in mid-air. “Now get out of here. He’s my prisoner now.”
  “Hey, you can’t do th.....” The mew telekinetically choked the officer to death then grabbed Icy and took off.
  “You are one troublesome pikachu. My lord doesn’t want you to stay around here much longer. I will spare your life now if you go and forget everything you know about the project called Doomsday. You won’t pay any attention to any newscasts you hear concerning Doomsday.”
  “Won’t pay any attention. I know nothing of Doomsday.” Icy’s words came out in a hypnotic tone. Mew walked him back to the pokécenter.
  “Now, gather your things. You are leaving at once. If you are still here in two days, I will have to terminate you. Now GO!”
  Icy scrambled back to his room and locked the door behind him. Panting, he turned to Sara. “We’ve got to get out of here.” Sara looked at him with a peculiar expression.
  “Whoa.. whoa... slow down. What’s the rush?” Icy couldn’t speak, he just packed all his stuff, grabbed Sara’s paw and bolted out the door. Unfortunately, he forgot to unlock the door and smashed right into it knocking him and Sara out cold. He laid there on the floor for the rest of the evening.
  “The timeline has suffered more damage my lord. Our agent didn’t kill Icy yet. She let him live. We are down to a 67% match.”
  “This is not good. We need the keep what’s left of the timeline intact.”
  Meanwhile, back in Pallet Town. “Loki, come here.” The small purple blob slithered over to Prof. Oak. “Now, transform into this one,” he said, pointing to a Staryu.
  “Ditto!” Loki transformed but it had one more point than normal.
  “Aghhhh... What’s wrong with you? Why don’t you transform right?” The doorbell rang. “Yes, coming... coming...” He opened the door and a small pink pokémon scampered in. “Well... uh... come in...”
  “You are in danger. I have little time. You already know enough about the Doomsday project. You must work with Icy and the others to stop it.”
  “Huh... I know about Icy, but who are the others? Wait, come back!” The mew ran from the lab. A bush near it transformed into another mew and tackled the one who warned Oak.
  “You trouble maker. Do you have any idea what you’ve done? The emperor is going to be so ticked off with you when he finds out.” Suddenly, they were both gone.
  “Ok... I think I put too much sugar in my tea today or something... I knew I shouldn’t have woken up this morning.” Oak went back to find Loki missing. “Loki? Loki come out!” A picture of Prof. Oak with only one eye transformed into the purple gooey Ditto. “There you are. Now, let’s get back to training...”

The End of the World

  “My lord, the probe is operating at almost 80% now. We will be able to transport our people down to the planet by tomorrow morning.”
  “Excellent. See that our agents see to it that Giovanni doesn’t interfere any further.”
  “Yes my lord.”
  Back on the planet, Icy and Sara finally came to. “Owww... my head.” They jumped to their feet. Icy unlocked the door and found himself face to face with three Mews. “Ummm, hello?”
  “Come with us pikachu.” Icy and Sara exchanged strange glances. “Let’s go! NOW!” They went with the Mews. In the lobby, Mews had cornered all the trainers. They had taken over the entire complex. “Do not worry about them, just keep moving.” They led them outside. “We are in position.” They were teleported onto the Mew starship.
  “Where are we? What is this place?” Icy and Sara looked around the ship filled with Mews. One walked up to them.
  “Come with me please.” They followed the Mew to another section of the ship. “The emperor doesn’t want you to be in the way.”

  “Who’s the emperor?”
  “You don’t need to know that. Now get into the cell.”
  “Wait. Come back here.” The Mew hissed at him and Icy jumped back. For a second, fear gripped him. His pikachu senses were coming out more. Sara backed away as well.
  “Icy... What are we going to do? I’m scared.” A guard took its post outside the cell. In his hand was a strange weapon. Sara started crying.
  “Sara... Don’t worry. I’ll find a way to get out of here.” Suddenly it clicked in his mind. “Wait a sec. I can teleport us both out of the cell. When I do, electrocute the guard and take his weapon.” Sara nodded.
  Back on the main bridge. “Activate now.”
  Icy attempted to teleport but found himself unable to. “What, what happened?”
  “He’s contained my lord.”
  “I can’t teleport. Something is prevent me from using my psychic powers.” The Mew guard laughed at him.
  “Hahaha... nice try rat. You know, when the Mew army invades earth, I think the rat population will the first to go.”
  “Why?”
  “Because.”
  “That’s not an answer.”
  “Fine. We are the master race. Do you see any other pokémon who can build space ships? No.”
  “But that’s not a valid reason.”
  “Too bad. Now get back from the door.”
  “Let us out. You can’t keep us in here forever. I’m warning you.”
  The Mew laughed. “In case you haven’t figured it out yet, pikabrains, our emperor has foreseen your every move. There is no escape from us. Doomsday will continue as scheduled.” The Mew went back to its post. Icy sat on the floor with Sara.
  “This isn’t good. There’s nothing we can do without the emperor Mew knowing it before we even think of it.” Sara sighed and sat down with Icy.
  A few hours passed. Finally, a cloaked figure walked up the cell. His hand glowed and the guard flew into a wall, knocking it out. “Hurry, there isn’t much time.” He unlocked the cell door. An alarm sounded. “Crap, you must hurry. Good luck.” The strange person ran off as quickly as he’d appeared.
  “This is why I hate my life. C’mon Sara. Let’s find a way outta here.” Icy and Sara ran toward the front of the ship.
  “Hey, how did you get out.” Two mew guards pointed their weapons at Icy and Sara. “Put your hands in the air now.”
  “Ok.” Icy sneered as they walked closer.
  “What? What’s so funny?” Sara was laughing for some odd reason. “Stop that! Stop laughing at me. Stop it! Stop it!” The mew was having a nervous breakdown.
  “He’s so cute with that gun. But he’s even cuter now,” Sara said still giggling.
  “Why did you make fun of him? You should be kinder to others,” the other guard said.
  “You aren’t.”
  “Mews don’t have to be. We’re the master pokémon race.”
  “Whatever.” Icy shocked the Mew and Sara did the same. He fell over and Icy continued on his way with Sara close behind. She giggled one last time before leaving the corridor.
  “My lord, the pikachus are heading this way. The timeline is at 20%. The Doomsday device isn’t going to work with these low numbers.”
  “Seal off the bridge.” Large metal doors closed at the bridge access points.
  “There must be some way off this ship.” Mewtwo suddenly appeared in from of Icy. “AGHHHHHH!!!! Not you again. What do you want now?”
  “For you to die! These Mews are my ticket for destroying all of humanity once and for all. And I’m not letting you ruin it.” Mewtwo blasted Icy into a nearby wall. Sara watched in horror.
  “Noo! Please don’t hurt Icy. Please stop. We only want to go home.”
  “I’ll send you both packing.” Mewtwo turned and fired at Sara. Icy finally got up and ran over to Sara. “Humph... This is way too easy. Why couldn’t those Mews take care of you?”
  “Cause they’re psychos like you.” Icy grabbed Sara and leaped out of the way as Mewtwo fired another psybeam at him.
  “You are no match against me Icy. Come out and fight me.”
  “My lord. Psychic battle outside the bridge. It’s the pikachu and Mewtwo.”
  “This isn’t supposed to happen. Activate the weapon. Begin the Doomsday Operation NOW!” Just as he finished his sentence, the bridge doors exploded. Icy came flying through the debris with Mewtwo close behind. “No, stop them. You’ll damage the controls.”
  “Shut up. I want that pikachu!”
  “Yeah, you and everyone else. But I want him the most,” Mewtwo shouted, firing another blast at Icy.
  “Whaghhh!” he screamed, just missing the beam. It hit the probe control systems.
  “You idiot. Now we’ve lost all contact with the probe. It’s going to crash into the planet. The whole mission is a failure due to your arrogance.”
  Mewtwo sneered at the tiny little pink Mew. “Some emperor you are. You should have foreseen this.” With that, Mewtwo fired another blast at the Mew, killing him. “Hmm... That was easy. Now for Icy.” The bridge was now on fire from all the blasts Mewtwo had fired.
  “Abandon ship!” one of the Mews cried. They ran to the escape pods but Mewtwo blocked the doorway.
  “No one’s going anywhere until I kill Icy. Now where is he?”
  “Forget him. The ship’s gonna explode. He will be killed in that. Now let us through.” Mewtwo shook his head. “Fine. Mews, charge!” The few hundred Mews that were on the bridge smashed into Mewtwo and ran to the escape pods. Icy and Sara quickly blended into the crowd. Mewtwo searched the bridge tirelessly for Icy.
  “WHERE ARE YOU ICY!!!”
  The two pikachus snuck into one of the escape pods and flew away from the ship. “Umm, Icy. Do you know how to fly this thing?”
  “No. Why?”
  “Because that green stuff it getting bigger and bigger.”
  “Ahhhh... duck!”
  “Where?”
  “No, get down!” He pushed her head down as the escape pod collided with the earth. The two pikachus were tossed and bashed around the pod as it bounced into the air and back down again. After what seemed for an eternity of rolling, they finally came to a stop inside the Viridian Forest.
  Meanwhile, back aboard the starship. “D***it! He slipped away from me again. I will find you again Icy. I always do.” Mewtwo teleported off the ship as it blew up. A bright circle lit up the sky for a second as the ship exploded. Giovanni watched in triumph.
  “Well, that takes care of those horrible little Mews. And hopefully Mewtwo and Icy.” He sat back in his chair awaiting the next trainer to challenge him.
  The Doomsday probe entered the atmosphere and crashed into Mt. Moon. Some Clefairies quickly salvaged the broken components and took them deep into the cave for unknown reasons.
  Icy and Sara’s pod opened up and they both rolled out. Icy and Sara were badly bruised. Icy tried getting up but found himself unable to move. Sara was having similar difficulty. They both blacked out as night fell…

A Pika Day Out

  When we last left Icy and Sara, they were lying unconscious on the floor of the Viridian Forest. During the night, Nurse Joy had led a search team out to recover them. They woke the next morning inside her pokécenter at Viridian City.

  Icy and Sara had a small breakfast before heading out into the streets of Viridian. “Let’s head north to the Viridian Forest. It’s a lot like the forest you’re from only bigger.” Sara liked the idea of seeing something similar to her home and happily held Icy’s paw as they walked towards the forest.
  As they entered the forest, Sara’s eyes lit up. “It’s beautiful Icy!” She kissed Icy on the cheek making him jump high into the air. “Pihehehe...” she giggled. Icy landed in front of her. “You’re silly!” She giggled again then ran ahead to scope out the sights. The forest was in great condition lately with many flowers blooming, as well as Oddishes. It gave Icy an idea.
  Icy searched his bag for a certain pokéball. “Ah, here it is.” He opened the ball revealing his Gloom, Leafy. “Sara, come here for a sec.” Icy tried to pick up his flower pokémon as Sara came back to him.
  “What Icy? Why did you call me?” Icy was still struggling to pick up Leafy. Finally, he managed to get the Gloom into his paws and presented it Sara as a flower arrangement. “Awww... Cute! Huh?” Icy wobbled for a sec, then collapsed with Leafy on top of him.
  “Uhh... for you...” he said as he gave up trying to get Leafy off of him. Sara pulled the large Gloom off of Icy and waited for him to get up. “Heh... thanks. Isn’t Leafy nice looking.”
  “Uh huh. She’s cute. She looks like a big flower!” Sara sniffed Leafy and promptly covered her nose. “Eww... but she doesn’t smell like a pretty flower,” she said falling back. Leafy and Icy sweatdropped.
  “Well, Glooms aren’t exactly known for having a nice scent. Oh well. Leafy, return.” Leafy was sucked back into the pokéball. Sara had recovered from the awful smell and was back on her feet.
  “What pokémon live in this forest Icy?”
  “Well, there are my favorites, Caterpies. There are also Weedles and even other Pikachus.”
  “Other Pikachus live here?”
  “Yep. But they are rare to spot. We might not run into their herd.”
  “Oh. That’s ok. I’m happy with the Pikachu I’ve got already.” She smiled at Icy. Icy’s cheeks became very red as he let out a small giggle. “Come on, I wanna go exploring!” Sara ran off into another wooded area with Icy close behind.
  “Wait for me Sara!”
  They came upon a small clearing where they found a small group of Weedles and Caterpies. “Look Icy! Caterpies!”
  “Caterpies?!? Where???” Sara pointed ahead and Icy’s face was filled with joy. “CATERPIES!!!” he shouted as he grabbed Sara’s paw and ran into the clearing. Since they were both pokémon, the Caterpies and Weedles didn’t mind their intrusion. They merely looked up to make sure it wasn’t a Pidgey or Spearow looking for a snack. Icy walked up to some of the Caterpies and introduced himself and Sara.
  “Hello. I’m Icy and this is Sara. What’cha all up to?”
  The Caterpie looked at Icy, then at Sara. “We’re just hanging out. It’s a really nice day today.”
  “Neat, may we join you?”
  “Sure I guess. We don’t see too many Pikachus around in this section of the forest. They tend to stay near the center.” Icy and Sara joined the other Caterpies and they played games with them for the afternoon. Icy didn’t mention to them that he was a trainer. As the sun was going down, Icy and Sara waved goodbye to the group of Caterpies and headed deeper into the forest.
  “It’s getting late Icy. I’m hungry.” Icy was also hungry and searched the area for something to eat. He hadn’t gone far before finding a big tree full of bright red apples.
  “Ymmm. Those look good.” He climbed up the tree and retrieved two of the apples and brought one back for Sara and one for himself.
  “Mmm... good!” She yawned softly. “Ohh... it’s really late now. I can hardly see.”
  “Yeah. Let’s sleep the night here and we can take another adventure through the forest in the morning.”
  “Ok. Good night Icy.” She yawned again and fell asleep. Icy gave her a kiss on her forehead and said good night to her before falling asleep himself. The sky became dark with only the glow of the Moon keeping the earth from being covered in total darkness. The two Pikachus slept well that night.

The Ace: Part I - Blast from the Past

  During that night, while Icy and Sara were alone, Icy dreams revealed a new message to him. A dark figure spoke in a deep voice.
  “Icy…” he moaned. Icy, in his dream, woke up, startled. Although in his conscience mind he knew whom the voice belonged to, something kept him from realizing it this time.
  “Who’s there?”
  “Icy… You still haven’t figured it all out.”
  “Figured what out? Who are you?” Icy’s pikachu instincts brought on a quick surge of anger and impatience.
  “You think it all ended with the Doomsday Project.”
  “What do you mean? What ended?”
  “You can’t even figure out what puzzle you’re trying to solve… Pathetic… Your pikachu form has made your mind weak.”
  “Why are you speaking in riddles? If you want to tell me something, just say it already.” Icy grew more impatient.
  “I sense the anger in you. You want to know the real truth. What really happened? It’s so much more than you could possibly hope to imagine.”
  “Who are you! Show yourself coward!” Icy took a fighting stance as the shadowy figure emerged from the darkness. “You…”

  “Yes Icy. We meet face to face once again. Hopefully for the last time. I’ve been trying to help you put together this complicated puzzle, but alas, I should have known even you can’t figure it out.”
  “What is the puzzle you speak of? Maybe if you told me what it’s about, I could solve it.”
  “Ha! Do you expect to get it that easily?”
  “Tell me what you’re hiding Mewtwo!” Fire raged through Icy’s eyes.
  “Hmm… Hatred… You were such a nice young lad when you were human. Look at yourself now. Full of hate and confusion. You haven’t a clue as to what is going on anymore around you.”
  “Why did you bring me back here again?”
  “Because she depends on it.” The ground near Mewtwo seemed to light up revealing Sara.
  “Sara! What have you done to her?” Icy ran to her side but was thrown back by some type of force field. “Why did you kill her?”
  “First of all, I didn’t kill her, you did. Secondly, you should have detected that field was there. Another sign of your fading psychic powers. A shame really…”
  Icy’s eyes were filled with tears now. “Why? How? How did I cause her to die?”
  “Let’s take a trip Icy…” With that, the world faded away. It was replaced with a scene from Icy’s childhood. Icy was a human again, about 9 years old. A little girl was playing in the yard next door.
  “Hey Icy, wanna come over for dinner? My daddy brought home a new pokémon and he’s gonna show it to me tonight!”
  “Ok. Lemme ask my mom first.” The human Icy ran inside and back out in less than 15 seconds. “It’s ok with my parents. I’ll be right over.”
  “Great!” Icy went back in a combed his dark black, blue tinted hair back and brushed his teeth. “Gotta look my best for her,” he said silently to himself.
  Meanwhile, Icy looked from within the clouds of the scene. “That was me 3 years ago. I remember that day. But the girl, something… I can’t remember… she…”
  “Just keep watching…,” Mewtwo interrupted. Icy focused his attention on the scene again.
  Icy walked up the girl’s front door. She quickly answered and let him in. “C’mon in Icy, we’re just getting started.” She led Icy inside and closed and locked the door. Saffron City was becoming a dangerous place lately with the high amount of Rockets in the area. Icy sat down with the little girl to eat dinner.
  “Daddy, show me and Icy that new pokémon you got!” The little girl was very energetic. Icy watched the event unfolding from above, unknown to the others in the scene.
  “Ha ha ha… Eat your dinner first sweetie, then I’ll show you and your friend Icy. By the way Icy, aren’t you planning on becoming a pokémon trainer?”
  Icy looked up from his meal. “Mmhmm…”
  “Well, I’m sure you’ll make a fine trainer. Have you met with Sabrina yet?”
  “No. I’m gonna visit her next week.”
  “That’s great. Well, finish up you two, then I’ll show you both this new pokémon.”
  They both stuffed the rest of their meals down and cleaned their plates. “Now can we see the new pokémon?”
  “Ok ok! Come out here.” The followed him out into the living room.
  “Show us daddy,” the little girl said loudly.
  “Alright! Pokéball go!” The ball opened to reveal a cute blue Butterfree. “I caught this one from a forest outside town. It was all alone. Perhaps you should have it Sara.”
  Icy jumped back. Suddenly it all became clear to him. “That can’t be!”
  “You remember that little girl?”
  “I… I… I know… I knew… It’s… Sara???”
  “A coincidence perhaps…?”
  “No, something happened… later that week…”
  The scene faded with the last view of Icy and Sara playing outside with the beautiful Butterfree.
  “What happened to her Icy? You do remember, don’t you?”
  “Yes… She disappeared. No one ever found her. Her parents were in shock and had to be hospitalized. That Butterfree was going to be her first pokémon.”
  “So, you know a pikachu named Sara, and a little girl from your childhood was named Sara…”
  “Are you hinting something to me?”
  “Of course not… I’m merely reiterating what is going on and what you know.”
  “She can’t possibly be the same. And why is this Sara dead?”
  “I already explained that. You killed her.”
  “HOW!”
  “By not doing something. But that’s in the future. You can still change it.”
  “But I don’t even know what I’m looking for…” Mewtwo had vanished, leaving behind a note. It read:
  “See Bill. Take the egg.”
  “The egg…?”
  Icy woke up from the dream. He looked to the side. Sara was still there and alive. He woke her up and told her about the dream. He left out the little girl’s name.
  “Icy, are you feeling ok?”
  “Yes. C’mon… We have to go to Cerulean City.”
  “But what about the others?”
  “I’ll leave them a note.” He quickly scribbled down on a piece of paper where he was going and set in on a tree stump. “Go Windstorm. I need you to fly us to Bill’s lighthouse outside Cerulean City. Ok?”
  “Pidg pidg!” They both got on and flew off into the night…

The Ace: Part II - All Hands Down

  Windstorm landed on the shores just a few meters away from the lighthouse. “Windstorm, return!” The tired Pidgey returned to its cozy pokéball. “C’mon Sara, let’s find out what Bill knows about this egg.”
  “Wow, it’s pretty.” The egg had multi-colored dots speckled over it. Icy figured it would hatch soon since the shell was beginning to crack. “Who’s Bill?”
  “Bill is a scientist. He does a lot of research on pokémon. He’s quite famous.” Icy hadn’t taken another step before the world changed to resemble the dark Void again. But this time, Sara was with him, alive.
  “Icy…” she shivered. “Where are we? This doesn’t look like the beach anymore…”
  “It’s not. Mewtwo is playing games with me again. We’re inside the Void.”
  “What’s that?”
  “It’s kinda complicated to explain…”
  “Welcome back Icy. I must admit, I wasn’t sure you’d come this far…”

  “What do you want from me Mewtwo? Tell me now!”
  “Tisk tisk tisk… Have a little patience why don’t you…”
  “Not with you! Tell me why I’m back here again! NOW!”
  “Silence!” Icy found himself unable to speak or move. Sara was also disabled. “I’ve brought you two here so you could learn more about events you didn’t have the chance to see. Your pasts are linked. They combine at many intersections. But you both don’t seem to make the connection. It’s vital you do. Now, watch…” Mewtwo pointed in front of him as a scene appeared.
  In it, they saw a small house. It was Sara’s house. The human Sara. She was playing in the yard with the Butterfree her father had brought home to other day. Suddenly, a black van pulled up. Two dark men jumped out. They pulled out a strange looking bazooka-like weapon and fired. The shell exploded opening a net that captured the Butterfree. It struggled to free itself but was unsuccessful. Sara began crying and tried to save her new pokémon. The other agent pulled out a different weapon this time. It was small, looked more like a gun. The scene vanished just as he pulled the trigger.
  “Wait, what happened?”
  “Those are the last of little Sara’s memories of that event. I can’t just create memories out of thin air.”
  “But. That weapon…”
  Sara, having heard her name used so many times was trying to put the pieces together. “Are they talking about me?” she wondered.
  “That weapon should look familiar. You’ve seen it before Icy.” A new scene appeared. Icy recognized it immediately. It was the lab in the lighthouse, the day of the accident.
  “Why do you pick that scene Mewtwo?”
  “Shhhh… you missed it during the real timeframe… Don’t miss it now.”
  “Miss wh…” he stopped upon seeing a shadow in the corner of the room. His keen Pikachu eyes focused in on the weapon in the figure’s hand. It matched. “Oh my…”
  The beam fired. But this time, Icy saw who fired it. It was a TR agent. He ducked out of the scene as the explosion occurred. That was it. The link. The agent who fired the weapon was the same one who was holding the strange gun to Sara from before. Mewtwo read Icy’s thoughts and grinned.
  “Now you are beginning to understand. All is not lost Icy. You and Sara suffered the same fate by Team Rocket. And although my hatred towards you boils warm, my hatred towards Giovanni and the rest of Team Rocket is hotter than the fiery pits of… umm… almost forgot, this is supposed to be a G rated story…”
  “But if that was the same agent and the same gun, then that means…”
  “… I knew you from before…???” Sara was very confused.
  “I think so… I remember now. You are the same girl I knew when we were little.”
  Mewtwo grinned again. “Sara, Icy is correct. You both have suffered similar fates. But I know of the way to fix all that. I have done much research on the Pokéfier Gun. Icy, now you know the truth. Your existence, and everything about you has been revealed…”
  Icy stood speechless. His eyes went back and forth from Mewtwo to Sara and back again. “I… I…”
  “So I was that little girl? But, I don’t remember being a human.”
  “That’s because it’s been too long since you were transformed.”
  “Wait a sec… I was transformed into a Pikachu because that was the pokémon closest to me at the time. Why didn’t Sara get turned into a Butterfree?”
  “I’m afraid I don’t have an answer for that question Icy. Perhaps it was set on a certain DNA strand… But never-the-less, I think I know how to cure you both.”
  “WHAT?!?” they both said in amazement. Mewtwo turned away from them. The scene vanished.
  “That egg you have. It is the key to reversing the effects. It contains a very special pokémon.”
  “What?”
  “I know not its type, only that it can cure you, and Sara. You must go to Bill and give him the egg. He’ll know what to do. I must leave you now. Oh, and Icy, this doesn’t change me feelings against you. While a cure exists for you, none can cleanse the hatred I have plaguing me against humans. But you have helped, a little. Now go!” With that, Icy and Sara found themselves on the beach again. It was dark. Mewtwo was gone. In the distance, the light from Bill’s tower pierced the ocean waters. Icy and Sara looked at each other confident this would be their last night together as pikachus…

The Ace: Part III - All Good Things

  They woke up the next morning overlooking a beautiful sunrise on the Cerulean Sea. The sky was full of reds, pinks, oranges, and purples. Icy and Sara ate their breakfast while they watched the impressive display. Sara leaned over to Icy.
  “Icy, do you think that Mr. Bill was a cure for us?”
  “Yes Sara, I do.”
  “How can you be so sure of it?”
  “Because, if he doesn’t, well, I just know he does, that’s all.”
  “Icy, tell me what the little girl Sara was like.”
  “Well, first, you were that little girl, remember.”
  “Uhhhh…”
  “Anyway. Sara was a sweet little girl. She always loved to play with pokémon and help them. She would spend time with me every now and then. Hehehe… at least you remembered to continue doing that part.”
  “Pihehe… Yah…”
  “Well, let’s go visit Bill.”
  “Wait, I want to enjoy one last morning of being a Pikachu first.” She took Icy’s paw and run into a nearby forest.

  “Where are you taking me to?”
  “You’ll see.” She led Icy to a clearing. In it were many caterpies and butterfrees. “See Icy. Your favorite pokémon are all right here.”
  “Awww! Let’s spend the morning here.” They played with the caterpies and Butterfrees all morning long. Then, after saying their goodbyes, they finally headed up to Bill’s lighthouse.
  Bill was there at the front door waiting for them. “Thank goodness you made it. Come in, please. You, do have, the egg, right?”
  “Yes Bill. What’s in it?”
  “I’m not sure, but Mewtwo gave me instructions on how to cure you two. I must say, he’s quite the scientist. A shame he’s always so evil. People really don’t see the good that’s still in him.” Icy took the egg out of his bag. “Oh, I see it’s almost hatched. Here, I’ll just put it in an incubator.” A few hours later, the shell began to pop off.
  Icy peered inside. A golden antenna popped out. Then another. Finally, a normal sized golden Butterfree flew out of the egg. “Ohhh! It’s beautiful.” He stopped. Then Icy remembered the wonderful Butterfree that Sara’s father had given to Sara 4 years ago. Mewtwo was right about one thing, the Butterfree was symbolic. It was the cure for her and Icy. It flew gracefully around the lab. Finally, it landed next to Sara.
  “It seems to like you Sara,” Bill said.
  “Uh huh…” She pet the Butterfree gently on the head.
  “OK… Let’s see… Mewtwo left instructions…” He took out a sheet of paper. “It says we need to collect some of its powder.” He asked the Butterfree to let out some of its powder. It nodded and shook its wings producing a blue powder. Bill collected the proper amount in a test tube. “Now we’ll just put this in the apparatus over here.”
  Icy and Sara watched as Bill worked quickly to develop the potion to cure them. “Do you really think it’s gonna work Icy?”
  “You asked that question already. Of course it will.”
  “It’s almost done. If you two had anything you still wanted do anything as pikachus, now’s the time.”
  “Oh wait. My pokémon. They need to know. Come out everyone!” Icy’s pokémon filled the room.
  “Master, why have you called for us all?”
  “Hocus, Bill and Mewtwo have found a cure for me. Isn’t that great?”
  Hocus thought about the possibilities for second. Then he nodded in agreement. “That’s wonderful master. Bill and Mewtwo are very generous souls. They should be commended for their time and effort. Especially Mewtwo. I always knew he had some good left in him. Even from our first encounter.”
  “Yes. Many people have helped us along the way. I’ll miss them.”
  “What do you mean?”
  “Well, our adventure is kinda over Hocus. I don’t want to journey anymore.” Bill was almost done now. “Me and Sara have decided to get married and settle down in the Viridian Forest.”
  “Master, I don’t fully catch your drift here.”
  “Hocus, you’re a great friend and mentor. But there is more to life than training pokémon. But don’t worry, I won’t ever stop playing with you all. Even old people can be trainers too!”
  “That is true.”
  “Well you two, it’s ready. There’s enough here for the both of you. Open wide.” Sara gripped Icy’s paw tight. He winced a sec but then understood her fear. He telepathically calmed her mind, putting her at ease. They drank the potion. Then, they waited. An hour past, but nothing had happened. Icy’s eyes began to water. Sara put her paw around him for comfort.
  “It’s not working… I’ll never be… never… be… cured…” Icy’s tears hit the floor. Bill lowered his head.
  “I… I’m so sorry… I really thought we had there…”
  “Icy… Are you going to be ok?”
  “I… I… Huh.” Icy looked at his paw. It was a hand again. “Hey! It’s working! It’s WORKING!!!” Icy laughed hysterically as the rest of his body changed back into human form. “I’m a human again! I’m a kid again! IT WORKED!!!” Sara too was slowly changing into a beautiful young lady. “Sara! You’re human again too! You are the Sara I knew. Mewtwo was right!”
  Somewhere, in the room, or just inside Icy’s head, he heard someone say to him faintly, “Now you hold all the aces Icy. May you continue to help pokémon and serve my cause. Don’t prove me wrong.” Icy knew who the voice belonged to and smiled inside. Sara went up to him and kissed him on the lips.
  “I love you Icy,” she said softly.
  “I love you too, Sara,” he replied. Bill left the room and Icy’s pokémon returned to their pokéballs.
(Dramatic music plays in the background)

Icy and Sara Together Forever

  Icy and Sara traveled to Saffron City to meet their parents and announce their engagement. Sara’s parents were so overjoyed to see their daughter for the first time in 4 years, and Icy’s parents were equally happy to see their son a human again.
  Sara’s father had a special gift for his daughter. It was the Butterfree from her childhood. It had grown a bit bigger, but was still cute. She took it and thanked him.
  Icy then told Sara he needed to contact the Pokémon League for some business. He called the league commissioner. “Hello, this is Icy. I was inquiring about opening a non-league gym in the Viridian Forest?”
  “Yes Icy. We have you on our file. It’s cleared. But the league will not recognize the badge you give out for there you know.”
  “I know, I know. I just want to have a gym to train pokémon in and hold battles.”
  “Can’t find any regulations against it. Good luck. Remember, you still gotta build it. Oh, just for the record, what type will you be primarily training there?”
  “Bug pokémon sir.”
  “Bug?”

  “Yes, you know, caterpies, weedles, butterfrees. Bugs.”
  “Ok, I’ll do you a favor and list you under our non-league gym section. Then you’ll get some trainers to battle you.”
  “Thanks.”
  Icy turned to Sara. “The League OK’d my gym idea. I’m going to be Viridian Forest’s first gym leader!”
  “That’s great Icy. Let’s go!” The kissed their parents good-bye and left for Viridian Forest. After a few months, Icy opened his new Bug Gym to the public. He and Sara were the gym trainers there, training all bug types, along with Icy’s other pokémon, of course.
  A young boy walked in. He was only 10 years old, had blond hair, short, and wore a silver ring. “Excuse me,” he asked politely, “but are you the same Icy who was once a Pikachu?”
  Icy walked over to the kid. “Yes, I am. How did you know?”
  “I read about you in the papers last month. Bill and Mewtwo cured you and Sara. That’s cool! You knew Mewtwo.”
  “Yah… He’s not that bad once you get to know him. So did you want a battle?”
  “Oh, wizards, yes! Would you battle me please. I just started training pokémon. I only have two though. Is that enough?”
  “Yes. We can battle two on two.” Icy teleported to his section. “I’m sure they told you I was psychic right?”
  “No, they left that part out. Ummm, you aren’t going to use any psychic pokémon are you?”
  “No, only bugs. Let’s go. Ready to fight, come in sight, Icy calls, Buttercup!”
  “Hehe… That’s a neat battle motto. I should come up with one too… I call, Flametail! Go!!” The boy’s Charmander eyed the Butterfree.
  “Buttercup, use your stun spore.” Buttercup swooped down and hit Flametail with the stun spore.
  “Oh no, Flametail, ember attack.” Although young, the boy knew his pokemon well. The ember attack fried the spores. “Ok, scratch that Butterfree now.” Flametail quickly got the upper hand pinning Buttercup to the ground.
  “You’re good kid. Buttercup return! Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, Suctioncup!”
  “A caterpie?”
  “Never underestimate your opponent young trainer. This caterpie may look weak, but not after he does his stuff. Suctioncup, string shot now!” The caterpie tied up the amazed charmander then tackled it. Flametail smashed against the wall and fainted.
  “Oh… That caterpie is strong.” He returned the charmander to its pokéball. “Try this, go Pikachu! Hehehe…” The pikachu examined its rival. “Pikachu, thundershock that caterpie!” Pikachu blasted Caterpie across the gym into a wall with one blast. “Ha! Never underestimate the pikachu, eh Icy…” Icy laughed.
  “You fight well kid. Here’s a Forest Badge to show your friends. It won’t help you in the league, but it does show you bested a gym trainer. Wear it in good health.”
  “Thank you mister Icy. Well, I gotta go. C’mon Pikachu.” The kid waved goodbye and ran off. Icy healed his pokémon and went back with Sara.
  “You let him win?”
  “No, he beat me. Bugs don’t often win. But with a lot of training, they can. I don’t want to cream trainers, just teach them to be prepared for powerful pokémon in small packages.”
  “Oh, I see…” She went back to teaching a pokémon class in the back room. Icy went back into the main gym and trained some more of his pokémon.

The End... Or is it?

The Pokémon League

  When we last left our hero, he and Sara had opened an unofficial gym inside the Viridian Forest. But being only a gym leader is beginning to bore our young hero and he makes plans to embark on another adventure. And now…

  “Go Rattata, you’re my last chance!” A small purple rat stood in front of the little girl. Her other pokémon, a Pidgey, was recovering inside its pokéball. Icy recalled Wiggler and floated Buttercup’s pokéball into the field.
  “Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, Buttercup!” The small, green Butterfree fluttered above the ground.
  “Go Rattata, tackle it now!” Rattata charged toward Buttercup.
  “Throw it back with whirlwind Buttercup!” She flapped her colorful wings hard blowing the Rattata back towards its trainer.
  “C’mon Rattata, use your quick attack and pin that Butterfree to the ground.”
  “Buttercup, psybeam now!” Rattata wasn’t more than a foot off the ground before met to beam of energy head on. It fell to the ground helplessly. “Buttercup return. Good match Kelly. Just keep training and by the time you get to Pewter City, you’ll get to add your name to the long list of trainers who’ve humiliated Brock.”
  Kelly tried to giggle but her thoughts were transfixed on her pokémon. Icy sensed her feelings and handed her a few potions. “Thank you Icy. Bye Sara!” Sara waved good-bye, as did her golden Butterfree whom she named, Aura.
  “You fought well that match Icy. Wiggler is really getting strong.”
  “Yahh…”
  “What’s wrong?”
  “I don’t know. I thought I had everything, but, something’s missing.”
  “You’re bored right?”
  “Uh huh.”
  “Well, maybe this will interest you. Lance, from the Elite 4, emailed you this earlier today. She handed Icy the memo.
Dear Icy,
  I would be honored to invite you to compete against the Elite 4 and me. Please visit us at the Indigo Plateau. I’ve already taken care of housing arrangements.

Lance
  “Hmm. An invitation to compete in the Pokémon League. What do you think Sara?”
  She laughed as she nodded. She had already packed for the trip. “Let’s go!”
  “Ok. We’ll ride Cyber there. Come out Cyber!” Icy’s Porygon materialized. “Run program, Land Rover Conversion, Cyber.” Cyber glowed as it rearranged its code. After a really neat light show, Cyber had transformed into a small car. Icy and Sara hopped in and drove off the Indigo Plateau.

  Meanwhile, at the Pokémon League HW, Lance was addressing the other members of the Elite 4. “You won’t talk back to me Bruno.”
  “Lance, you can’t just let the kid have a free ride past us, it’s against the rules.”
  “I make the rules here! Let Icy win, and make it look easy. I want to really test him.”
  “Losing is not my specialty Lance, but if that’s what it takes to please you, then so be it. You just better be careful how many enemies you want to make.”
  “Please Lorelei, enough empty threats. Just get Icy up to me.”
  “And what if he wins?”
  “That’s impossible…” Lance drew his cape and left the room. The others discussed the issue.
  “Forget it. Lance has gone too far this time. Something smells foul here. I’m not purposely losing a match to some silly kid.”
  “Agreed. If Lance wants to get to battle this Icy fellow, he’ll have to beat us three first.”
  “Count me in too. I’m not standing up for his oppressiveness anymore.” The three elite trainers left the conference room.

  By now, Icy and Sara were only a few moments from the entrance to Indigo Plateau. A guard stopped them. “I’m sorry, but only trainers with eight badges may enter Indigo Plateau.” Icy showed the guard his badges and the letter from Lance. “Oh, you’re Icy. Yes. Your apartment suite is just down that road to the right. Third on the left.” Icy thanked the guard and drove to the apartment.
  “Wow, these sure are nice accommodations,” Icy said examining the inside of the room. Sara unpacked. A computer was in the corner of the main room and a TV in the bedroom.
  “So, when do you get to battle to Elite 4?”
  “It says I need to sign up tomorrow in the Grand Stadium.” Icy put down the card and turned on the computer. It greeted him with a message similar to that that was on the card. It also gave to times of all the events happening. “Well, looks like the fun starts tomorrow.” They went to bed immediately afterward being worn out from the trip.
  That next morning, Icy was awoken by the cries of a Dodrio. “Those things are sooooo annoying,” he thought. He woke Sara and they went to the café for breakfast. When they got there, they found many other trainers there too.
  “They must be here to challenge the Elite 4 too,” Sara said. Many of the trainers were much better built and broader than Icy making him look very small. One of the larger one’s walked over to him.
  “Hey, ain’tch you dat pikachtu keed?” The man was obviously up all night drinking and still had a good amount of alcohol in him to stay drunk. Icy just nodded and turned away quickly.
  He and Sara got their breakfast and sat at a table in the back for two. After finishing, they went to the Grand Stadium to sign up. A match was already in progress. Icy decided he’d better learn all he could about the Elite 4 before actually battling them.
  “Go Lapras!” Lorelei commanded. The challenger sent out a Raichu. Icy stared at the Raichu for a sec. Perhaps not all his Pikachu emotions had been purged yet. “Lapras, blizzard attack!” It began to snow heavily over Raichu. It looked quite confused but its trainer was still sharp.
  `”Raichu, thunderbolt now!” The large electric mouse regained its focus and zapped Lapras with every drop of electricity it could muster. Lapras fainted, but moments after the trainer had been declared the winner, his Raichu fainted as well. The trainer took out some revives and potions to recover his pokémon.
  “The league rule for battle the Elite 4 state that you must defeat them all in order at one time. You only choose one set of six pokémon.”
  “Ok. Where do I sign mis?” The clerk point to a line with an ‘X’ on it and Icy signed up. “What time do I get to battle them?”
  “Let’s see…” She punched some commands into the computer. “Look’s like you’re scheduled for at 2:00.”
  “Ok. Thanks!” Icy and Sara went back to apartment. Icy took out all of his pokéballs, setting the caterpies to the side. They were now inside green colored pokéballs called, “Forestballs”.
  “I wonder what pokémon I should use. You can only select six. Hmm…” Sara thought with him.
  “How many, Hyper?” Icy nodded and set Hyper’s pokéball aside. He also found Buttercup’s pokéball and placed it beside Hyper’s.
  “Ok, I’ve got a dragon and a psychic/bug type, what else.” Icy snapped his fingers. “Almost forgot!” He took Hocus’ pokéball and added it to the set. “I’ll need Hocus. Hmm, that’s three…”
  “How about Cyber? That triple attack illusion thing is sure to win.” Icy agreed and placed the ball with the others. “Ok, two more, right?”
  “Right. Let’s see. Who to pick? Who to pick?”
  “Are you going to use any of your Caterpies?”
  “No. They won’t stand a chance against these trainers. It’s too bad I don’t have any fire pokémon. A Charizard would crème all of them, hehehe…” Sara just rolled her eyes. “Hmmm, maybe not…”
  “We still need to pick two more. What about your Pidgey or Spearow? Are they any good?”
  “Too weak… Oh, I know! I’ll take Leafy.” Icy put his Gloom’s pokéball with the others. “That leaves just one more…”
  “Ehem…” Sara said clearing her throat as she held Static’s pokéball out in her hand. “Take Static, a pikachu. If not for the look, for its electric attacks.”
  “Right. Good idea. Well, that’s six.”
  “I heard there’s a training center in town where you can practice. I’ll go the store and buy you some potions and other healers for the matches.” She ran off towards the Pokémart mega store while Icy put back the pokéballs he wasn’t going to use. He attached his six chosen pokéballs to his belt and headed for the trainer arena.
  As he entered through the double glass doors, Icy saw a few different trainers all working with their pokémon. A poster in the back of the room caught Icy’s eye.
  “ELIMINATION STYLE TORNAMENT to be held NEXT WEEK with whoever is TOUGH enough to DEFEAT the ELITE FOUR. There can only be ONE TRUE POKEMON MASTER! Sign up after you DEFEAT the ELITE, if you can!”
  “Cool, maybe I’ll get to compete in that,” Icy thought to himself. “Well, time stands for no one, cept, ahh, never mind… Come out Hocus!” The wise Kadabra materialized in front of its master looking down. “Hocus, up here…”
  Hocus sweatdropped. “Oh… right… I forgot,” said the not-so-wise Kadabra as he lifted his head. “Where are we? This doesn’t look much like a gym.”
  “It’s not, it’s a training arena. I need you all in great shape before the big battle.” Hocus tilted his head in confusion. Icy had never gotten around to informing his pokémon about fighting against the Elite 4. “I’m sorry, I signed up to go against the Elite 4 Hocus. You are in my lineup.”
  “I see. Well, who’s my sparing partner?” Icy pushed a few buttons on a computer and a Porygon rolled over. “This?” The Porygon emitted a bright green beam producing a holographic Machamp. “Oh, ha! Even easier!” The Machamp made the first move smashing Hocus into Icy.
  “Owww… Ugh… Get off me Hocus…”
  “Sorry master. Hmph, I’ll show that overgrown brute.” Hocus used a couple of psybeams and made short work of the Machamp. “Told ya, piece of cake.” Icy’s other pokémon fought against other holopokes the porygon created. Icy had them stop around 1:15 so they could go to be healed and get some rest.
  Icy brought his pokéballs up to Nurse Joy who took them to be regenerated. Then, he stopped by the local diner where Sara was waiting there.
  “Something told me I should wait here for you. Strange huh?” Icy merely smiled and gave her a soft kiss. “Hehe, stop it. Not in public.”
  “Huh… Why not? You didn’t mind it when we were pikachu…” Sara sighed as Icy kissed her hand.
  “Well, what shall we eat?” she asked pulling her hand away.
  “Ummm, I don’t know. These decisions were mush easier when we were pikachu… Oh well. I think I’m just going to have a salad. You want one too? The people at the arena said they are very good.”
  “Ok, I’ll try it”
  “My pokémon are still at the pokécenter in the arena.”
  “Oh, did someone get hurt?”
  “Nah, not much. But they were pretty worn out. Don’t wanna pull an Ash Ketchum during a battle by sending out a worn out pokémon…” Many people standing nearby starting laughing hysterically. “Hmm, was it something I said?” They finished laughing and resumed their previous actions.
  Icy and Sara picked up their lunch, paid, and sat at a table next to the window. “This city is so beautiful. Everything here is so well kept.”
  “Yeah. Too bad we can’t live here. I think it’s reserved for the trainers competing and the staff. But, it would be nice…” Icy looked at his watch, “1:37,” it read. They finished their meals and headed back to the pokécenter inside the training arena. Icy pokémon were anxiously awaiting the return of their master. He gave them all a big group hug, something he hadn’t been able to do for quite some time.
  “Ok guys. This is what we’ve trained for our whole lives. This day. The day when we would come up against those trainers people called the best. But we are stronger than them. We can beat them. I know you all have it in you to make me a Pokémon Master. So, are you all ready to take on the Elite Four and win?” They all cried out in acknowledgement. “Alright then, let’s go show them what we’ve got!” They cheered again. Icy returned them all to their pokéballs and headed with Sara to the Grand Stadium.
  “Think they’ll let me watch from the field with you Icy?” Sara asked.
  Icy shrugged. “Don’t know. Just ask the official when we get there if you can. But you can always cheer me on from the stands.” When they got to the stadium, an official checked Icy’s appointment and his pokéballs. Sara asked her question.
  “You can watch your friend from the fan section on the sidelines miss.” Sara was pleased and the official led them both in.
  “Well Lorelei… time for Icy. Remember, forget about Lance. Just get it over with fast so we…” She quickly nodded to Bruno. He stopped talking and left her to go to the battle.
  “Now entering the stadium, the next challenger, from Saffron City, please welcome, Icy!” The crowd cheered. “Icy, as many of you already know, was once a pikachu due to a scheme by the notorious Team Rocket. He is now the gym leader of his Bug Gym in the Viridian Forest. His first opponent this afternoon will be Lorelei! Let the game begin!” Lorelei stepped into her trainer’s box and prepared to start the battle.
  “You don’t look so tough. This will be easy. Go Lapras!” Her Lapras appeared on the field.
  “In that case… Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, Static!” Icy’s pikachu took the field. “Thunderbolt now!”
  “Ice beam now!” Lapras charged her ice beam while Static prepared to use its thunderbolt. Something told him to wait for Lapras. She made the first move by firing her beam of ice directly for Static.
  “Piiiiiiiiiii-kaaaaaaaaaa-CHUUUUUUUUUHHHUUUUUUHUUUUU!” Static shouted firing the thunderbolt. It sliced through the ice beam and hit lapras. Unfortunately, the ice and weakened the lightning bolt so much that it hardly damaged lapras.
  “Alright Static, agility now!” Static quickly headed for Lapras.
  “Mist attack Lapras.” Suddenly, Static for himself in an icy cloud of haze. “Tackle it Lapras.” Static was completely unprepared when Lapras smashed him down the field with a heavy blow to the back.
  “Agh! Static return. Icy calls, Leafy!” Lorelei laughed. “You won’t be smiling much longer! Leafy, posionpowder attack now.”
  “What the…” Lapras was poisoned.
  “Ok, leech life now!” Leafy sucked Lapras’ hit points dry.
  “Ouuuu… you win that round. Go Dewgong! Use your aurora beam attack now!” Leafy stepped back. The colorful beam threw her back towards Icy.
  “Oh… Leafy… C’mon… I know! Leafy, solar beam!” Leafy began taking in sunlight. Good thing they were battling during the day.
  “Don’t let it charge fully. Ice beam!” Dewgong’s horn glowed blue as a sphere of ice appeared above it. “FIRE!”
  “FIRE!” The intense heat of the solar beam melted right through Dewgong’s ice beam and torched it. Dewgong flopped around in pain.
  “That’s impossible!” Lorelei muttered. Sara cheered Icy on from the sidelines. “Ouuu… Dewgong return. This time, you’re through Icy. I call, Cloyster!”
  Leafy was getting tired. She had used most of her energy on the solar beam. Now, her opponent was almost 4 times stronger than her.
  “Stun spore now.” Leafy tried spraying Cloyster but it withdrew into its shell.
  “You can’t beat my Cloyster. Not that easily.”
  Meanwhile, from atop a balcony overlooking the entire field, Lance was beginning to anger. “What the h*** does she think she’s doing? D*** her! She’s not supposed to beat him.”
  “Cloyster, aurora beam!” Cloyster opened its shell and blasted Leafy right towards Icy.
  “Aghh! Leafy return!” he screamed quickly. She was sucked into the pokéball seconds before she would have hit Icy in the face.
  “Well folks, the score is now tied at 2!” Sara jumped up and down cheering for her boyfriend.
  Meanwhile, Icy worried about who to choose next. Lorelei only had 2 more pokémon left after Cloyster. “Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, Hyper!” The adorable yet powerful Dratini slithered onto the field.
  “Ha! You foolish boy. Watch as Cloyster sends your dratini back to the Ice Age!”
  Icy realized his grave error. “Oh crap!” He wanted to hit himself on the head, but determined there would be plenty of time for that later. “Ok, agility now!”
  “Cloyster, turn that worm into a popsicle with your ice beam.” Cloyster fired the frozen ray at Hyper but was too slow for him. “C’mon Cloyster, hit it!” It fired and missed again.
  Icy telepathically ordered Hyper to charge its Hyper Beam. After Cloyster missed Hyper for the fifth time in a row, Hyper lunged into the air and nailed Cloyster with a blinding hyper beam. Cloyster immediately fainted while Hyper began recovering from the energy drain.
  “Cloyster return. You just got lucky that time. I call, Jynx!” The crowd immediately turned in disgust. “Oh put a lid on it…” Jynx herself lowered her head in shame.
  “Hyper return! I call, Cyber!” Icy’s porygon appeared in front of jynx. “Double Team attack Cyber! Sharpen and tackle that horrid monster!” Icy had suddenly got a huge adrenalin rush it seemed. The Jynx didn’t know what to do as the three Porygons crashed into it.
  “Jynx, don’t just stand there, blizzard attack!” The snow froze the two porygon clones leaving just the original one.
  “That won’t help you much. Cyber, psybeam now!” Cyber defeated the Jynx with just one well-aimed psybeam.
  “Ouuu… Jynx return. Slowbro go!” The strange pink pokémon appeared in front of Cyber. “Use psychic now!” Slowbro just stood there. “Did you hear me? Psychic! Now! On him!” She was furious.
  “Here, lemme show you how it’s done. Cyber, psybeam, rapid fire!” Although every beam hit Slowbro directly, it didn’t really seem to mind it. However, about 5 seconds later, the dopey pokémon collapsed. The psybeams had confused it and caused it to knock itself out.
  “The match is over! Icy of Saffron City has won this battle! Congratulations young trainer! We will now have a short break. Remember, refreshments are being sold directly behind your seats inside the stadium. Now’s a great time…” His voice continued blaring into the distance.
  Icy walked over to Lorelei’s end and extended his hand. “Good match. That was quite a challenge.”
  “Ha. You may have beaten me Icy, but you haven’t even seen half the elite’s might! I suggest you heal those pokémon of yours during the break time. Bruno is going to make short work of them.” Icy stepped away and went to heal his pokémon with the potions and revives Sara had bought for him. Sara walked over to him.
  “You were great Icy! I’m sure you will be able to defeat the next elite trainer.”
  “I hope so…”

Icy’s Meltdown

  “Who’s the next trainer you battle?”
  “Bruno. He uses fighting types. I’m going to have Buttercup and Hocus do most of this match.” The bell rang. “Well, it’s time for the match. I have to get in position.”
  “Ok. I hope you win Icy. I’ll be routing for you!” She gave Icy a kiss and went back to the fan section.
  “Oh, now it’s ok?” Icy shouted. Sara giggled as she made her way to the box.
  “Now, the battle continues folks. Earlier, Icy of Saffron City, defeated Lorelei. But does he have the strength to beat Bruno. Let’s find out. Round two begins NOW!” The bell rang again. The sun was beginning to set over the Grand Stadium. Bruno came through the tunnel.
  “Hahaha. You’re Icy? HA! This is going to be too easy. Let’s just get this over with quick, ok?”
  “Are you all that mean? Don’t you ever get embarrassed after saying that whole thing then losing?”
  “Oh, a hot shot, huh? You’re going down. HARD! Onix, GO!” The rock serpent roared standing so high it blocked the sun.

  “Just like Brock,” Icy thought. “Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, Leafy!” His Gloom came out completely healed. “Alright Leafy, petal dance now!” She started swaying around as small flower petals formed around her.
  “Bind it Onix. Crush that little weed.” Before Onix could grab Leafy, she sent the petals at Onix. They did some damage but Onix was still ok. It grabbed Leafy and began to squeeze her.
  “No! Leafy, mega drain now!” Onix roared in pain as Leafy drained its power adding it to hers. Onix finally let go.
  “This isn’t over.” Bruno used a potion on Onix. “Ha, it’s perrrrrfectly legal to heal your pokémon during a match.”
  From somewhere in the stands, someone cried out, “*cough* rip-off!!!” Bruno sneered in the person’s direction and suddenly a Wigglytuff missile found its way to the man’s seat. He was covered in a warm, pinkish goo. “It’s still a rip-off!” Two Officer Jenny’s arrested the man and led him out of the stadium.
  “Hmph. All that over a lousy voice imitation. Shheeeshh… Where were we. Oh yeah. Now, Onix, slam!” It hurtled towards the fearful Gloom. (Yes, Glooms can express fear. Picture it with a sad face, drool going everywhere, and shaking. Yes, that’s it, a fearful Gloom.)
  “This is going to take forever. Sleep powder now!” She sprayed Onix with the blue dust just before being slammed into Icy. Onix fell asleep while Icy shook his head. Small cartoon birds tweeted as they flew around Icy in circles. Out of nowhere, a Meowth jumped onto the field and ate one of the birds. It purred, pleased with its small snack. “Owwww… return Leafy…”
  “Return Onix… Maybe you are good. But you won’t beat the kicking fiend. Go Hitmonlee!”
  “Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, Buttercup!” His green Butterfree fluttered around. “Buttercup, use your confusion attack.” She emitted confusion waves at Hitmonlee.”
  “Stay sharp. Focus energy, then give that flying pest a high jump kick”
  “Don’t call my Butterfree a pest! Grrrrrr… Buttercup, psybeam now!” Icy shouted. As the kicking fiend rushed towards her, Buttercup blasted it with a psybeam twice her size. Hitmonlee went flying back and fainted. Buttercup was still fluttering about, but she had very little energy left. “Here Buttercup, take this.” Icy gave her an elixir that Sara had bought for him to restore Buttercup’s energy. She immediately began to beat her wings with vigor. “Great, you’re all pumped up and ready for the next battle!”
  “Onix go!” Bruno’s second Onix appeared. “Onix, rage!”
  “Buttercup, supersonic now!” Onix became confused and for some reason, became enraged by its tail. As Onix chased it’s stone tail round and round, Icy and Buttercup laughed hysterically.
  “Onix, what’s wrong with you. Attack the Butterfree, not your tail.”
  “I’d love to continue watching this all day, but our 5 minute story slot just isn’t long enough to fit that. Buttercup, psybeam, full power!” Buttercup began to glow bright green. The sun had set and stadium lights were now on. Buttercup was glowing so bright, so lights weren’t even necessary.
  In another part of the stands, a young boy opened his brand new pokédex and aimed it at Icy’s Butterfree. “Butterfree,” the new computer voice dictated. “This particular specimen, although smaller than most of its type, is extremely powerful with psychic attacks. Its only drawback is that it lacks the full energy potential of a normal Butterfree. However, this Butterfree can is currently generating an attack with an energy level of 10,000 psys and rising.” The boy closed his pokédex and squinted as he looked at Buttercup. “Wow… This is going to be good.”
  The green aura that was around Buttercup was now bright white. She shimmered with multiple colors as she continued to build up energy. “Ready Buttercup. FIRE!!!” Time seemed to stand still as Buttercup stopped generating energy and focused it on her target. Her body glowed as the energy sphere rushed out from her.
  “FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!” she cried, sending the massive psybeam barreling down towards Onix. The crowd had to cover their eyes because the beam was so intense. After the smoke had cleared, Onix was totally wiped out. Buttercup was barely able to flutter more than a foot off the ground.
  “Buttercup, come back. Great job.”
  “D***! How? D*** psychic. Grrr. Strength and might will still prevail! Go Hitmonchan!” The punchy pokémon appeared.
  “Ha. This will be simple. Go Hocus!”
  “No, not another psychic…” Hocus materialized. “S***, a Kadabra.”
  “Hmm… Where… Oh… Me…”
  “Hocus, enough games, we’ve got a battle to win. Use a psybeam to take him out!” Hitmonchan dodged the attack and immediately lunged for Hocus. Icy’s eyes glowed blue and Hocus teleported. “Ha. Missed! Hocus psychic attack. You can play a bit.”
  “Thank you master.” Hocus glowed and so did Hitmonchan.
  “Hey, no fair.”
  “Legal move, sorry. But you haven’t even seen the best part yet.”
  “That’s right master. Time for some fun. Dance please.” Hitmonchan began dancing.
  “See mommy, he’s fine. He’s just doing a little dance for everyone,” said a kid in the stands.
  “Hmm, Ash in training up there,” Icy thought. Hocus now had Hitmonchan doing the can-can dance. “Ok Hocus, finish him off! Your call.”
  “I love it when he says that. Well Mr. Chan, I’m afraid we must cut this dance short. Goodnight…” Hocus teleported a safe distance away. The star on his head glowed red.
  “Fire Hocus!” Hocus blasted Hitmonchan with a well-aimed psybeam. It fainted.
  “This is not turning out the way I planned. Oh well, return Hitmonchan.”
-= Scene Switch =-
  Lance watched the battle from his suite. “At least he’s not going too hard on him.”
  “Lance, you’re an a** you know.”
  “Look here. I’m the boss.”
  “Well, boss, judging by his performance so far, you’re going to lose to him too. He’s good.”
  “Shut up.”
-= Scene Switch =-
  “Go Machamp!” Hocus stared at it and remembered his earlier encounter with the holo-Machamp.
  “He’s not gonna beat me!” Hocus began to fire psybeams everywhere.
  “Whoa. Hocus control yourself. Ahh!” He ducked, narrowly missing a psybeam by Hocus. Finally, a few hit Machamp. He was sent flying back. “Hocus stop, you got him.”
  “What? Oh… I see… Sorry master…”
  “Crap! How did it do that? This Machamp almost never loses.”
  “Psychic pokés have a big advantage.”
  “The winner! Icy, of the Viridian Forest Bug Gym! He’s now just one more match away from Lance. We will continue this great battle in 10 minutes time. Remember, you can get…” he continued his advertisement.
  “You did it!” Sara ran out to hug Icy.
  “I did. We won! We won! That’s two!” They looked like the two happiest people in the world. “Hocus come here and get healed. Oh, and never do that again.”
  “I’m so sorry master.”
  “It’s ok. You just scared me there.” Icy treated his pokémon.

  Agatha was warming up. “Don’t forget, make this short, got it.”
  “Piss off Lance. If he can beat me, he’s all yours, otherwise, you’ll have to hope he tries again.”

  “Icy, who’s next?”
  “Agatha. She uses ghost types. That means I’m in trouble.”
  “Why?”
  “Ghosts are extremely powerful. I’m not sure I can beat her.”
  “Yes you will.” Sara tried to put some confidence into her friend.
  “Alright. I will! I’m gonna give it my all!” Icy’s pokémon agreed. The match was about to start.
  “Welcome back everyone! Icy has now defeated the first two elite trainers, but can he defeat Agatha’s ghostly group.
  Agatha walked out slowly with her cane. “Well, you must be a talented trainer Icy. You’ve gone much farther than most other trainers.”
  “Really? Guess not all of you are insulting.”
  “Oh no. See, talented as you may be, there’s nothing that can prepare you for me. Go Gengar!”
  “Whoa… Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, Cyber!”
  “No sweat. Gengar, lick it!” Gengar teleported over to the porygon and licked it. Cyber shivered in pain.
  “Cyber! Are you ok?” Cyber didn’t look too good. “Double team. Psybeam now!”
  “No you don’t! Gengar, confuse ray now!” Gengar’s confusion ray caused all three Porygons to smash into each other. Cyber fainted. “Well, that was too easy,” Agatha said slyly. “Give up, young one?”
  “Never! Return Cyber! Static, you’re on!”
  “Say good-night pikapest! Gengar, hypnosis!” Gengar used its hypnosis attack to put Static to sleep. “Awww… pleasant dreams little pikachu… Gengar, dream eater!” Gengar ate all of Static’s dreams. Static woke immediately and began screaming.
  “PIIIIIIIIIIKKKKKAAAAAAAAA!!!!!” Static suddenly became enraged and sent everything he had at Gengar. The electricity had a good effect on Gengar and Static began tackling him. “Piikaaa… chupi! [Try to eat my dreams will you…]” After several rounds of pounding, Static was able to defeat Gengar.
  “So. I still have 4 more pokémon, and my next will be Golbat.”
  “No prob. Static, thunderbolt!” Golbat was fried and fainted.
  “Oh… hmm… that really worked. Go Haunter!” Haunter came out. “Lick!” Haunter licked Static, paralyzing him.
  “Return Static. Go Buttercup!”
  “Lick Haunter!” Buttercup suffered the same fate as Static. “Well, who’s better now? Ready to concede?”
  “No. You aren’t through with me yet! Go Hyper! Agility!” Hyper avoided Haunter’s deadly tongue and fired a hyper beam at him. Haunter faded out just before the beam would hit him. While Hyper searched franticly for his opponent, Haunter sneaked up in back of him and licked him. Icy recalled his Dratini.
  “Hmm… you now have just two left.”
  “Go Leafy!”
  “Bad move. Haunter, night shade.” Leafy couldn’t see while Haunter snuck up on her. LICK! Icy’s Gloom was helpless just like him other pokémon.
  “Darn it. Return Leafy. Hocus, I choose you!”
  “I’ll handle him.” Haunter moved in. “Hello ghost. Eat this!” Hocus grabbed Haunter’s hand a sent a psyshock through him.
  “Hmm. Nice move,” Agatha said returning her Haunter. “But this will fix you. Gengar, go! Confusion ray now!” Gengar’s level was way too high for Icy’s Kadabra to withstand. “Now take it out. Body slam!” Gengar smashed Hocus to the ground. The match was over. Agatha recalled her Gengar and left the field.
  Icy dropped to his knees. A tear drop formed in his eye. “Noo…” he whimpered. The tear dropped a few feet before it hit the ground. “I… lost…”
  “Icy, are you alright?”
  “What… oh… I think… C’mon, let’s go heal my pokémon.”
  “Awww, don’t take it so hard. She’s really good. But guess what I found out. Bugs have an advantage over Ghost pokémon. Next time, bring Wiggler to battle that Gengar.”
  “Hmm…” They slowly exited the stadium while another trainer began her battle verses the Elite 4. They went to the diner, then went home.
  “You still did great Icy. Those trainers were really hard, but you still beat two of them on your first try.”
  “Yah… But I’m never gonna become a pokémon master.”
  “Don’t say that. You just need to pick some different pokémon next time.”
  “Perhaps… Let’s get some sleep…”
  “Good idea… Good-night…” Icy tried to sleep, but the elite 4 was the only thing on his mind. “Ohhhh…” he sighed. He fell asleep.

Success is Never Easy

  Last time, Icy did battle with Bruno and Agatha of the Elite 4. After he easily defeated Bruno’s fighting squad, Agatha’s ghostly bunch made short work of Icy’s team. You might say, she *licked* the problem. Discouraged by the utter defeat, Icy must decide whether to give it another shot, or give up on ever becoming a pokémon master. And now…

  “Cheer up master. We’ll try again to beat her.”
  “It’s not that simple. I have to beat Lorelei and Bruno again before I can challenge Agatha to a rematch.”
  “But we beat them both easily. If we could do it once, there’s no reason why we can’t do it again.” Hocus put his hand on Icy’s shoulder. “Master, you can’t give up on something that requires you to take your whole life to achieve. Becoming a pokémon master was your life-long dream!”
  “I know, but now it seems like I’ll never reach that goal. The Elite 4 are just too tough.” Icy looked at the ground. “I’ll never win…”
  “Master, you can still become a pokémon master. You just need to have confidence in yourself and us. C’mon, what happened to that lively spirit you once had?”
  “It’s gone…” Icy sulked.
  “Hmm… not quite the answer I was looking for. Master, you must challenge them again. It’s your goal, your dream. Your destiny? Why would you just quit like this?” Icy was silent. “Please think it over some more at least…”
  “You don’t understand. I can’t win… I just can’t beat them all…” Icy went into the bedroom and threw himself onto his bed. “I’ll never become a pokémon master,” he mumbled into the pillow. Hocus wasn’t ready to give up just yet. He went into the room too.
  “Master, you are just upset over this loss. But you’ve lost before and won the very next time. Why should this time be any different?”
  “Because I didn’t just lose to Agatha, she completely humiliated me.”
  “Next time, use a pokémon that’s strong against ghosts. Bugs, they have an advantage against ghosts for some odd reason. Maybe one of your Caterpie could help here.” It was getting late and Hocus could see Icy was just not in the mood to see a positive outcome to the events unfolding. “Good night master.” Icy muttered some more nonsense into the pillow before falling asleep. Sara joined him some time later. Hocus also went to sleep, but on the floor.
  The sun rose over Indigo Plateau as the Dodrio crowed. Icy slowly woke up. “Someone really does need to shoot that darn thing…” He got breakfast for Sara and himself.
  “Good morning Icy,” Sara yawned, half-awake. She sat down with him and ate breakfast. “So what’s the plan for today?”
  “There isn’t any plan. I don’t want to battle them again. I’ll only lose. Who’s gonna come to a gym whose leader is a loser? No one!”
  “No one’s gonna come to our gym if you don’t become a pokémon master. Please Icy, give it another try. You and your pokémon have come too far to give up now.” Icy just sighed and ate his breakfast. “C’mon Icy. Do it for me at least.”
  “Why are you all trying to get me to battle again? I don’t want them to hurt my pokémon again.”
  “Icy, what if the next time, you win? Remember when you were battling Blaine? Even after he almost killed Buttercup, you still challenged him again.”
  “Ohh… Hmmm…”
  “Icy, you know deep down inside this is the right thing. It’s what you want. You can’t let your loss to Agatha ruin your dreams. Please give it another shot.”
  Icy thought long and hard. Flashbacks of his battle against Blaine appeared in his mind. “I… I… I’ll do it! I’ll do it for you, for my pokémon, and for myself. I’ll beat them. This time, it’ll be different.”
  Sara was overjoyed. Hocus, who had been listening in on the conversation all along simply smiled to himself. “I won’t let you down master…” he said to himself.
  “This is great Icy. New, we need to work on some strategy, especially on fighting ghost pokémon.”
  “Right. C’mon everybody. We’ve got training to do!”

***

  Icy and Sara walked to the training arena. There weren’t many trainers there now because the day’s battles had already begun. “All right, we really need to get prepared for Agatha’s ghost pokémon. But remember, you all still need to get past Lorelei and Bruno first. We’ll train for them a little later.” Icy went to the computer and selected Gengar for an opponent and chose normal difficulty. “Hocus, let’s get started.”
  “Right master. Which attack shall I use?”
  “Well remember, Agatha’s pokémon are at higher levels then you, so your attacks might not do as much damage as normal. For now, let’s go with attacks that can prevent her from using Gengar’s special attacks.”
  “Ok. I believe my confusion attack could help in that department.”
  “Hmm… I thought we tried that. Confusion can easily be countered if the pokémon is strong and well trained. Can you use disable?”
  “I’m not sure. Can you have the pokédex explain the move and level? Perhaps I can learn the attack naturally.”
  “Sure.” Icy found is pokédex from the bottom of his pack and opened it, knocking of the pile of dust that had collected on it, and asked it for technical details on Disable.
  “Disable. Kadabras are capable of learning this attack and do so naturally. It involves using psychic energy to prevent the usage of an opponent’s attack. The energy must be targeted at the opponent’s brain in order to work. For further assistance on helping your Kadabra master this attack, please click the yellow button then give the pokédex to the Kadabra.”
  “Hmm… Do you think you can perform that attack right now without help Hocus?” Hocus wasn’t too sure so he shamefully shook his head no. “Well, that’s ok. Maybe the pokédex can aid you in it.” Icy pressed the yellow button and handed Hocus the pokédex. It blinked and made strange sounds while Hocus stared at its screen.
  “Ahh… Uh huh… Yes… Of course… Ha! I knew it! Mmmhmm… Got it!” Hocus closed the pokédex and handed it back to Icy. “I was very close. Just need to channel the energy over a slightly higher frequency for the right effect.”
  “Wow, pokédex told you all that?” Hocus nodded. “Well, I’m certainly impressed.” Icy and Sara were both glad that Hocus had learned a new attack. “Try it out on the Gengar and I’ll have the computer display a report on the outcome.”
  “Got it!” Hocus took a fighting pose. He touched his finger to the star on his head and began glowing. Only seconds later, he pointed his finger at the holo-Gengar firing the disable beam. The computer began calculating the results.
  “Let’s see what we got here,” Icy said reading the screen. “The attack did cause minimal damage and you were able to disable its Night Shade attack. Good work. Now, do you think you can focus on a specific attack? Maybe ‘D’ has some more methods you can try.” Icy gave Hocus his pokédex again. Hocus accessed more information on the Disable attack. Soon after, he returned D to Icy.
  “It says I still need more experience with the attack before I’ll be able to disable specific abilities.”
  “Ok. I guess that’s all right for now. How ‘bout you practice that attack while the others get some training as well.”
  “No problem. I won’t let her make fools of us again master.”
  “Thank you Hocus. You’re a true friend.” Icy went over to the next available area and had the Porygon there produce another Gengar. Just as he was about to release Wiggler, a familiar man rushed in.
  “Oh, hello little boy, are you and your girlfriend the only trainers in here?”
  “Uh, yeah, I think so. Why? Are you lost?”
  The man shook his head. “No, not lost… I am looking for someone. Someone I met a few months ago, in Celadon City. You know, they had that big auction thingy… ahhh… well maybe you didn’t get a chance to go.”
  “No, I was there. I remember, they had a Porygon Technology Demonstration. Who are you looking for, maybe I saw the person.”
  “No, not a person, a pokémon. Ahh, you wouldn’t understand, I know I didn’t at first.” Now Icy was certain. It was the man who had traded him Hyper for Bulbasaur and the Dugtrio King.
  “Was this pokémon Pikachu by any chance?”
  “Yes, how did you… oh, never mind,” he finished, seeing Icy’s Kadabra. “You’re a psychic aren’t you? I heard only psychics could control psychic-type pokémon.”
  “You heard right. Although Hocus there can sometimes do things all on his own, without my instruction. I still can’t figure it out, but he is a very good friend. So, did this Pikachu have a name?”
  “Yes, I believe it called itself, Icy. Yes, that’s it. Someone told me the trainer by the name of Icy was here.”
  “Well, I can tell you one thing, you can stop looking for the Pikachu.”
  “Really? I don’t see how I’d find this trainer any other way. You see little kid, this Icy fellow was involved in a tragic accident that transformed him into a Pikachu.”
  “Ahhh, the good days. Remember Sara, when we could just camp out in the forest together.”
  “We still do…” Icy sweatdropped.
  The man’s face went white as if he’d just seen a ghost (no pun intended!). “Uh, are you ok mister?”
  “You, you’re Icy?!?”
  “That’s right. The former Pikachu-trainer. And this fine lady is my girlfriend Sara.” Sara giggled slightly and bowed.
  The man was still getting over it. Icy quickly related how he and Sara were cured with the help of Mewtwo and Bill. “Ok, I get it now. Well, my search is over then. I have a small business matter to settle with you Icy.”
  “Really?”
  “You remember your Dugtrio and Bulbasaur you traded me. I gave you my Dratini for them. Well, I’m sorry to say it, but I’m growing tired of creaming young trainers as well as old ones with my pokémon. Your pokémon, after being trained by me, turned out to be very strong fighters. I want you to have them back as a token of my appreciation in getting to train such excellent pokémon. I’ve got plans to open a pokémon dojo for trainers who want to become champs like me. I’ve already got the pokémon I need to teach with and want to return these fine pokémon to you. They seem to miss you dearly…”
  “I guess it’s only fair I give you back your Dratini in return right?”
  “No. It’s not that I don’t want Dratini back; I want you to hold on to it. Icy, after I trained your pokémon, I found that there was something missing that I couldn’t teach them. Something you were able to show them. I found that even after we won so many matches and seemed to be becoming close, they always reflected back to you. You have taught them to show respect for the trainer and to know they will always be there for them. I’ve tried to get them to understand how much I enjoyed being their trainer, but they just didn’t get it. Not even Dratini ever fully trusted me; he just knew that he was capable of wining inside. I guess that’s my talent, building a pokémon’s confidence.
  “Wow. I never though I was really teaching my pokémon such a deep lesson. Well, thank you for giving me Dugtrio and Bulbasaur back. Stop by and visit anytime. I own a pokémon gym in the Viridian Forest.”
  “Ok, perhaps I will. Maybe I’ll bring some of my pupils along and you can show them how to build a pokémon’s trust in the trainer.”
  “Oh course. Goodbye!” They waved goodbye and the man ran off. Icy was still a bit shocked he didn’t want anything in return.
  “Well, I’ve never seen those types of pokémon before. Do they have names Icy?”
  “Not yet. Let’s see, Dugtrio will be called, Triking, and Bulbasaur here will be named, Seedy.” Icy gave his old friends a big hug. They all had tears in their eyes as they felt each other’s loving hold. Sara watch from a short distance with Wiggler on her shoulder.
  “Wiggler, who are those two pokémon?” Wiggly answer her in Caterpie-talk. Sara got the gist of it and understood why Icy was so glad to see them again. “Well Icy, that’s two more to put in the running for battle against the Elite 4.”
  Icy let go of Triking and Seedy. “Yes… Maybe they can help me defeat Agatha.” Icy looked back at Hocus to see how he was progressing. “How’s it coming Hocus?”
  “I am getting a little more accurate, but a simulation is no way of judging this. I’ll have to hope I get it right when the time comes.”
  “You’ll do it Hocus. I know you can. And I know I can now too. I won’t quit until I’ve reached my dream to become a pokémon master!”

***

  “That’s great master. By the way, the computer has measured a high increase of level since I began sparing with this Gengar. I think you should be sure the others get a thorough workout too, especially Wiggler.”
  “I almost forgot… But what attacks can Wiggler use to defeat Gengar?”
  “Well, I just know that bugs have advantages over ghost pokémon. Wiggler’s small size should prevent Gengar from licking it. I think if Wiggler uses a few string shots, he’ll be able to slow Gengar down enough to get the upper hand.”
  “Well Wiggler, are you ready to get trained to beat Gengar?” Wiggler produced a few cute Caterpie sounds and crawled down from Sara’s shoulder. “Ok, let’s start by using your string shot attack.” Wiggler nodded and sprayed the white string at Gengar. Gengar faded away before the string hit then reappeared. Wiggler was too slow. “You need to be faster Wiggler. This Gengar isn’t nearly as strong as the ones Agatha has. Let’s try it again.” Wiggler charged toward the Gengar who once again faded away. But this time, Wiggler had a plan. As soon as the Gengar reappeared, Wiggler sprayed its string shot at it. Gengar found itself unable to move. “All right! It worked! I’ll reset the simulation and you keep practicing it.” Wiggler nodded and waited for Porygon to reset his opponent.
  Hocus was resting beside the computer. “I’m worn out. Perhaps you should select a preliminary team now.”
  “Right. Well, you and Wiggler are in.”
  Sara interrupted him. “Icy, don’t you have a ghost pokémon of your own?”
  Icy suddenly remembered the Gastly he had captured a while back in the Pokémon Tower. “Oh yeah, Vapor. He could help me get past Lorelei and Bruno really fast. Go Vapor!” Icy’s Gastly materialized. “Hello Vapor. You’ve been added to the team to battle the Elite 4.” Vapor seemed pleased and floated around in circles. “Let’s see, how about we have you battle the types of pokémon Lorelei uses.” The Porygon produced a Lapras for Vapor to battle. Vapor was only able to use its Lick and Night Shade attacks. “Good work Vapor. Try disappearing now and then to avoid its attacks.” Vapor did as Icy suggested and was getting even more attacks in while not being hit as much. The computer tracked his performance.
  “So, should I add Vapor to the list?”
  “Yes. Put Static and Hyper on there too.”
  “That leaves room for one more.”
  “Cyber. Put Cyber on the list. That team will do it.”
  “Yeah. I think you’ve got a good chance of beating them all this time.”
  Wiggler was getting tired out from battling Gengar. It wanted to stop, but something inside it told him to keep going. Wiggler’s body began to glow bright green. “Wiggler, are you ok? Oh, no wait, you can’t evolve yet, I need you to stay as a Caterpie for now.” Somehow, Wiggler understood what Icy was saying and stopped glowing. It collapsed from the workout. “Ohhh… Here Wiggler…” Icy picked up the worn out Caterpie and pet him gently. “You’ll be all right after some rest. Let’s see how you did.” The computer readings showed good potential for Wiggler verses Gengar. His attack speed was much faster along with reaction time. Icy returned Wiggler to his pokéball and let Static do some training.
  Later that day, after all of Icy’s pokémon had had a full workout, he took them to Nurse Joy to be healed. Meanwhile, he and Sara went to a Brock’s Diner for dinner since it was getting late.
  “So, how do you think your pokémon will do?”
  “They seemed to get a lot out of that workout. Tomorrow, I’ll sign up to battle the Elite 4. Before I do, I’m gonna have them train some more. I want them pumped for battle.”
  “Great! I hope you win!”
  “I will. This time, Agatha won’t get the last laugh.”

To Be A Master: Part I - A New Plan

  Icy’s pokémon were pretty worn out by now. The day’s battles were coming to a close. The final match was about to begin. Icy took his pokémon to be healed then, he and Sara went to the Grand Stadium to watch the match.
  “Welcome back pokémon fans. Well, it’s been quite an eventful day and we are down to what should be the last battle for the night. So far, Nicky, from the Seafoam Islands, has defeated the first two elite trainers. Now he faces the third, Agatha. Ahh, it looks like the battle is about to begin.”

  Nicky looked at his pokéballs. “Hmm. Gotta beat her ghosts now.” Nicky selected one of the balls. Agatha took her place.
  “Let’s get this over with fast little boy. I’m already late for a date.” Agatha threw in her pokéball containing Gengar. Nicky choose a Sandslash.
  “Sandslash, go underground now!” His Sandslash quickly disappeared into the earth. Agatha didn’t look too worried. Meanwhile, Icy jotted down some notes. Just as Sandslash came through the ground under Gengar, Gengar faded and Sandslash went through him. Confused, Sandslash looked all around for its opponent.
  “Gengar, lick attack now!” Icy remembered well how this part went. Gengar appeared right in front of Sandslash and licked him. Sandslash looked sick but still stayed on its feet. Agatha just grunted, upset that the attack wasn’t enough to paralyze Sandslash.
  “Sandslash, slack attack!” Sandslash swiped Gengar a few times but it did little more than separate Gengar temporarily. Gengar pulled itself back together again. “What?!?” Nicky was shocked at the punitive results of the attack.
  “Let’s finish this off the right way Gengar. Hypnosis followed by dream eater.” Gengar’s hypnosis waves put the already worn down Sandslash to sleep, then Gengar followed up with its dream eater attack. Sandslash was beaten and Nicky held its pokéball out to return it. “Humph, this is all too easy.”
  Nicky decided it was time use a new strategy. { If I can’t use regular attacks against that ghost, I’ll try going with a more defensive approach. } Nicky pulled out his second pokéball. “Vileplume, it’s your turn now! GO!” The large plant pokémon jumped out from the pokéball and planted itself on the field in front of Gengar. “Vileplume, stun spore.”
  “Gengar, night shade, don’t let it find you.” Gengar’s nightshade kept Vileplume from knowing where to target its spores. “Now you will watch your Vileplume go down as well. Gengar, lick it now.” Gengar licked Vileplume but it had no effect. Icy checked his pokédex, which he had begun to use now more often.
  “Vileplumes are grass and poison. This particular situation favors Vileplume because it doesn’t need to move in order to attack. Vileplume uses long-range projectile or spore attacks. In this battle, Vileplume’s attacks can damage Gengar.”
  “Vileplume, poison power… wait, no, sleep powder!” Nicky commanded. Vileplume emitted sleep spores. This time, Gengar was the one sleeping. “Mega drain now.” Vileplume sucked all of Gengar’s energy away. Agatha had to recall her beaten Gengar.
  Icy continued to watch the battle. “According to ‘Dee’, Vileplume is impervious to Gengar’s poison attacks. I think Leafy would be able to do the same.”
  “But isn’t Vileplume the evolved form of a Gloom? Are you sure that Leafy is as powerful as that Vileplume?”
  “Leafy can be just as good as that Vileplume! She trusts me. She won’t let Gengar beat us again. Tomorrow, we’ll be training for these situations.”
  Agatha sent out her second pokémon, a Haunter. Nicky decided to keep Vileplume in the match. “Haunter, hypnosis attack.”
  Nicky couldn’t afford to let Vileplume be defeated now. “Petal dance Vileplume. Confuse Haunter with it.” Vileplume began her petal dance. Haunter tried to remain focused, but the petals swirling around Vileplume were distracting him from his target. “FIRE!” Vileplume sent the petals flying at Haunter who was able to dodge most of them. “Quick, sleep powder!” While the last of the petals were being fired off, Vileplume added sleep powder to the remaining. Some of the sleep powdered petals hit Haunter. It slowly fell asleep and Agatha recalled it.
  “That’s amazing! That Vileplume beat two of her pokémon! If Leafy can do that too, I’m set!”
  “I don’t know Icy. Don’t you think Agatha will be ready for that type of attack next time?”
  “Even if she is, Leafy won’t be beaten by her lick attacks. Leafy can work on perfecting the attacks that worked in this battle. I’m having Dee keep an analysis.”
  Agatha was getting slightly ticked off now. “You may be good now kid, but we’ll see just how good you really are. Go Gengar!”
  Nicky decided now was the best time to use Vileplume’s ultimate attack. “Vileplume, charge it up now!”
  “Gengar, confusion ray attack!” Agatha smiled with her plan but then frowned seeing Vileplume was still charging up. An expired Full Heal canister was lying in Nicky’s hand. “S***!” Even with the small amount of sunlight left, Vileplume was able to fully charge its solar beam. “Crap, Gengar night shade.”
  “Solar beam now!!!” The field became completely dark. It was like time had just stopped itself and stood still now. Icy and Sara looked around but, like the rest of the spectators, couldn’t find the two pokémon. Suddenly, the intense beam of light from Vileplume’s solar beam ripped through the darkness over the field. The audience was stunned for a moment. It all happened so quickly. The darkness cleared away, revealing a bright white Gengar and a panting Vileplume.
  Agatha was shocked, but not as white as her Gengar. “This can’t be. Gengar return. Arbok go!” Agatha’s Arbok slithered onto the field. Nicky determined it was time to let Vileplume sit it out. He returned it to the pokéball then selected another.
  “Ok Butterfree, your turn now!” Nicky selected a Butterfree to fight the venomous Arbok. Icy’s eyes lit up. Sara opened a silver pokéball and let Aura watch. (Aura is the golden Butterfree that Sara now owns, remember?)
  “Wow, a Butterfree. Let’s see what he does with it.” Aura seemed very happy to see another of her kind battling.
  “Butterfree, psybeam now!” Agatha knew Arbok would go down in an instant if the psybeam hit it. Arbok dodged the beam just by a hair then lunged for Butterfree with jaws wide open. “Confusion now!” Arbok was only a foot away from sinking its venomous fangs into Butterfree when it suddenly found itself confused and bit its own tail. Arbok figured out what had happened a little too late though. “Psybeam Butterfree!” Butterfree finished Arbok off with just one hit from the psybeam leaving Agatha with only one pokémon left.
  “Darn. I’m not going to win this one. Oh well, I can still weaken your pokémon so you can’t beat Lance. Hmm, what am I saying? I hate that jacka** of a trainer. Nevermind. Go Golbat!” The enormous bat appeared hovering over the field. “Bite now!” Golbat swooped past Butterfree then snuck up from behind. It sank its fangs deep into Butterfree’s back. Butterfree screamed in pain.
  “NO! Butterfree! Return now!” Nicky was about the cry but help the tears back. Icy was reminded of how he felt when Buttercup was almost killed by Blaine’s Magmar. Nicky gathered himself and took out another pokéball. “Raichu, go! Thunder attack, NOW!” The Raichu began to light up. The sky roared with thunder. Suddenly, enormous lightning bolts came striking down to Raichu. Raichu channeled all the electricity towards Golbat. Golbat puffed out some smoke before hitting the ground and fainting. Nicky had won.
  “Wow. What a battle! Nicky looks like he might be able to take out Lance as well. Due to the time, that battle will be postponed until tomorrow morning. Remember, the snack bar opens 30 minutes before the match so get your refreshments…” he continued to babble on and on as the crowd filed out of the stadium.
  “So Icy, are you going to battle the Elite 4 tomorrow?”
  “Yes. But not in the morning. I’m going to use that time to strategize. My pokémon and I have a great deal of training to do. I WILL become a pokémon master!” Sara and Aura followed Icy back home.

  Once again, Icy was awoken by the pestering Dodrio… eh-hem, I said, once again, Icy was awoken by the pestering Dodrio. Hmmm… Icy continued sleeping peacefully through Dodrio’s horrible morning crowing. Two fluffy, yellow earmuffs covered his ears. Sara and Aura were in the den playing games when Icy finally woke up several hours later. He joined them and everyone went to Brock’s Diner for breakfast.
  “That trainer Nicky was really great last night.”
  “Yes he was. Are you going to see him face Lance today?”
  “I guess I should. I want to be completely prepared for anything Lance can throw at me.” They finished their breakfast and headed towards the Grand Stadium. The battle had already begun! “Shoot! Quick, let’s find some open seats!” They got two seats close to the mid-level section of the stadium and watched the match currently in progress.
  Lance’s Gyarados fell to Nicky’s Raichu. It was now 3-2 in favor of Nicky. Raichu got back into its fighting pose and awaited its next opponent. Lance drew his cape, attempting to look all big and tough, and sent out his fourth pokéball. Nicky looked at his next opponent with fear in his eyes. The pokémon Lance sent out was like no pokémon he’d ever seen.
  “Wha, what is that?” He clicked open his pokédex.
  “Aerodactyl, an once to be believed extinct pokémon. This fearsome flying creature has many sharp teeth showing that it was a carnivore.” Nicky put the pokédex away quickly not wanting to hear anything more that would scare him or his pokémon.
  “That thing likes like it’s made of rock so Raichu is useless. Raichu, return!” Nicky didn’t want to lose now, not after making it this far… “All right Blastoise, it’s your turn to battle now!” The giant shellfish pokémon took the field. “Hydro pump now!”
  “Huh! Crap. Aerodactyl, fly to avoid getting hit.” The stone bird flew up high as Blastoise fired its water cannons. Because Aerodactyl was made on rock, it couldn’t move quickly enough to avoid all the blasts but did manage to survive. “Ok, now use sky attack!” Aerodactyl swooped down towards Blastoise.
  “Withdrawal now!” Blastoise complied quickly and Aerodactyl smacked flat into its shell. “Now, finish it off Blastoise.” His Blastoise took Aerodactyl by the tail and held it in front of his water cannons. After a thorough soaking, Lance gave up and recalled the beaten bird. “YYYYEEEEEESSSSSS!!! One more to go!”
  “GGGRRRRRR… I can’t lose this match… D***… Ok Dragonite, it’s all up to you now.” Lance sent out his final pokémon, Dragonite. Nicky looked at the huge dragon pokémon.
  “Ooohhh… That thing’s huge!” Blastoise waited for Nicky’s commands. “Ok, Hydro pump again Blastoise.” It fired the jet stream of water from its water cannons directly at Dragonite.
  “Agility now Dragonite. Follow it up with your Hyper Beam!” Dragonite completely dodged the water blast and charged up its hyper beam.
  “Oh no.”
  “Fire!” Dragonite made a perfect shot on Blastoise knocking it out with one hyper beam.
  “Oh, Blastoise return.”
  “It’s 4-3 now folks! Lance looks like he may make an incredible comeback here. Don’t forget to fill up on…” Suddenly, fighting sounds are broadcasted over the PA. The crowd cheers as a new announcer takes over. “Ok, Nicky is getting ready to select his next pokémon.”
  Nicky looked at his remaining pokéballs. He still had Sandslash, Vileplume, and a Dewgong. “That’s it, ice can beat dragons. All right Lance, prepare to lose. I’m gonna be a Pokémon Master! Your turn now Dewgong! GOOOO!!!” The seal pokémon entered the field. Dragonite was still recovering from the hyper beam energy drain.
  “Shoot, an ice pokémon. Dragonite, slam now.” Dragonite’s speed was greatly diminished due to its low energy state.
  “Dewgong, now’s your chance. Ice beam now!” Dewgong fired its ice beam directly at the slowly charging Dragonite. In the blink of an eye, Dragonite was encased in a block of ice. “Finish it, aurora beam!” Dewgong fired the colorful beam at the Dragonite-popsicle, finishing it off for good. “YES!!! WE DID IT!! I WON!!!!!” Nicky jumped up and down while Dewgong clapped cheerfully. Lance just sank his head as he recalled Dragonite. He walked over to Nicky.
  “You are a very talented pokémon trainer. You have proven this by defeating the world’s four strongest trainers. Now, by the power vested in me by the Pokémon League, I hereby name you, Pokémon Master Nicky. Congratulations master trainer Nicky, you have done what others can only dream of doing.” Lance presented Nicky with a multi-colored badge. In it were multiple gemstones that sparkled brightly in the sunlight. Nicky held the badge up high into the air. The crowd applauded the young boy for his valiant effort and skill. After the festivities were finally over, they crowds left and waited for the next set of battles to start.
  Icy and Sara left for the training arena. “That was cool. Nicky sure knows how to handle pokémon. I wish I could do that well too…”
  “You will Icy. But I think you should change the lineup a bit.”
  “Right. Ok, my lineup. Cyber, Hocus, Wiggler, Leafy, Vapor, and Buttercup. You guys are going to make me a pokémon master!” After training his new team in the arena for a few hours, Icy signed up to battle the Elite 4.
  “You just in luck, the last trainer just cancelled a few minutes ago.”
  “Hmm, why?”
  “I’m not really allowed to say. Sorry… You are scheduled to battle them in about one hour. Can you be ready by then?”
  “Yeah. I’ll be more than ready!”
  “Well, good luck little boy.” Icy took his pass and went back with Sara. They ate lunch and then picked up Icy’s pokémon from the pokécenter where they were healing from the training.
  “Let’s go guys. Our dreams await!” They headed back to the Grand Stadium. Icy was in the greatest of moods when the stadium seemed to vanish. “What, what’s happening?” Suddenly, everything was gone, replaced by a dark world. “Why am I here? I don’t have time to play games with you now Mewtwo!”
  “Come now Icy. Is that any way to treat the one who cured you? Personally, I’d be much more grateful.”
  “Somehow, I can’t picture someone like you being very grateful for anything.”
  “Whatever. There’s no riddle or conflict this time Icy. I merely wanted to wish you the best of luck.”
  “Huh? Am I getting this right? You are wishing me, luck?”
  “Oh… Yes Icy, I am. Please, I may be heartless at times, but you can understand that I do possess a heart like you all the same. I can’t help it if I carry a deep hatred towards trainers though. But still, you interest me most of all. So, once again, I wish you luck. Please don’t go and embarrass yourself again like you did battling Agatha. That can really damage your reputation as a trainer.” Mewtwo snickered audibly so Icy could hear.
  “Why you little…” his stopped after noticing he was back in normal time and space again. The phasing had worn off. Sara was staring at him funny.
  “Ummm, who are you talking to Icy?”
  “Oh, no one… C’mon, let’s get to the stadium!” They continued on their way. In the back of Icy’s mind, he thanked Mewtwo for his kindness.

To Be A Master: Part II - Dreams Do Come True

  “Wwwwellllcome back, pokémon fans! We have yet another great match lined up for all today. The psychic trainer from Saffron City, Icy, is going to try again to defeat the Elite 4. Icy was beaten by Agatha a few days ago, but he looks like he’s ready to beat them all this time. Let’s see if he’s got what it takes to become a true pokémon master!” The crowd cheered wildly. Icy took his place in the challenger’s box. Sara and Aura watched from the sidelines.
  Lorelei came out of the tunnel first. “Well, well, well. We meet again Icy. You may have won the first time, but I won’t let that happen this time. You’ll never make it to Lance!”

  “Don’t be so sure of yourself Lorelei.”
  “Whatever. I choose, Dewgong!”
  “In that case… Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, Vapor!” Icy’s Gastly floated over the field. Lorelei was stunned.
  “I didn’t know he had a Gastly…” she thought to herself. “Ok Dewgong, ice beam now!” Dewgong fired the beam of ice at Vapor. The beam passed right through him.
  “Good work Vapor. Now it’s time to fight back! Use your lick attack!” Vapor hovered over to Dewgong and gave it a big lick. Dewgong turned bright green and wobbled as the paralyzing effects of Vapor’s lick attack took effect.
  “Uwwww… Return Dewgong. So, you’ve got some new pokémon for this match, it doesn’t matter what you use, I’ll never let you win! Go Cloyster!” The giant clamshell pokémon came onto the field. “Aurora beam now!”
  “Vapor, become invisible so it can’t target you.” Vapor nodded and disappeared. The aurora beam missed him completely. Vapor reappeared behind Cloyster and tapped him on the back. Cloyster turned around only to be met by Vapor’s tongue. Lorelei was becoming quite upset as she angrily recalled Cloyster.
  “Why you! Go Slowbro!” Icy remembered how dopey her Slowbro was and recalled Vapor so he could rest.
  “Ha, this is too easy. Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, Buttercup!” Icy’s Butterfree flew over the field. “Buttercup, use your sleep powder to knock him out cold.” Buttercup sprinkled the blue dust over Slowbro but it didn’t look like it had any effect.
  “Ha, you were saying?”
  “Go ahead, have Slowbro attack if you’re so confident.” Icy was starting to act just like the Elite 4.
  “Slowbro, use your amnesia attack.” Slowbro just stood there, eyes wide open. “Slowbro, listen to me! Attack, now!” Finally, Slowbro moved. His eyes shut, and he fell asleep. “Awwww!!!!! You pathetic pokémon, return now!” Icy couldn’t help but laugh seeing how frustrated Lorelei was getting. “Oh, you think it’s funny huh. You won’t be laughing for much longer you little twerp. Go Jynx!”
  Icy didn’t want that horrifying pokémon to get anywhere near Buttercup, so he had her return. “Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, Cyber!” The Porygon came out from the pokéball.
  “A Porygon, I’ll show you. Jynx, lovely kiss!”
  “Cyber, sharpen!” As soon as Jynx was about to give Cyber a smack on wherever his lips are, Cyber jabbed his sharpened beak into Jynx. The viking pokémon shuddered for a sec, then backed as far away from Cyber as she could. “That’s right, you can’t kiss my Porygon. Cyber, finish her off with psybeam attack.” Cyber was happy to vanquish the evil pokémon and sent a psybeam right for her lips. Jynx went down with just one blow.
  “AGHHH!!! This is impossible. How can I lose like this? Return Jynx. Go Lapras!” Lorelei sent out her final pokéball containing Lapras. Icy returned Cyber and brought out Hocus. “Oh s***, a psychic. Blizzard attack Lapras!” Lapras prepared its attack.
  “Hocus, use you confusion attack. Give Lapras a new weather report.”
  “Good idea master, can do! Here’s today’s forecast Lapras. Snow, with a chance of psy-storms.” Hocus used his confusion attack to make Lapras create to blizzard over itself. Although it did little good for Hocus, Lapras was still confused why it was now snowing over it. Hocus fired a few psybeams at it and Lorelei was defeated.
  “All right! You did it Hocus. One down, three to go!”
  “This just wasn’t my day. You won’t make it much further Icy. You’re going to lose again, just like you did against Agatha.” Lorelei sneered after her last remark. The Elite 4 weren’t exactly known for their kindness, however, which pokémon leader is? Icy recalled Hocus and healed his pokémon to be ready for Bruno.
  “Wow. What a short match. Lorelei is blanked completely by Icy. He might just make it folks!”
  Nicky was now in the stands. He decided he’d watch some other trainers try to do what he did. After seeing Icy easily beat Lorelei, he decided to see it to the end. “Hmm, he’s pretty good. Maybe I could challenge him to a match later.”
  “Are you talking about that there Icy fella,” an old man asked Nicky.
  “Uh, yeah, why?”
  “He owns a pokémon gym in the Viridian Forest. I think it’s called the Bug Gym.”
  “I never heard of a gym in the Viridian Forest.”
  “It’s not official. But if you want to challenge him, that’s where to go.”
  “Gee, thanks mist…” The old man was gone. “Hmm, that’s odd…”
  “Bruno is now entering the stadium. Icy’s second elite match begins now!” The crowd cheered again for the young trainer.
  Sara and Aura were especially proud of Icy. “See, you are doing great. You beat her more easily this time than the last time you fought her. Nice work.”
  “Yeah. I think Vapor is turning out to be a great addition to the team. Now I’ll just concentrate on using my psychic types to beat Bruno.” Sara gave Icy a kiss for good luck and he took his position.
  “So, you beat Lorelei flawlessly. I’m not too impressed. She may be a pushover, but I’m not so let’s get started. Onix GO!” The rock serpent materialized on the field. Icy thought about with pokémon to start with.
  “Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, Cyber!” The Porygon appeared in front of the giant snake. “Cyber, conversion!” Cyber reconfigured its body to be that of rock.
  “The pile of computer code can’t beat us, Onix, slam that Porygon into the earth now!” Onix wrapped its stone tail around Cyber and hurled him into the ground. Cyber’s rock form protected him somewhat but he was still dizzy from the pounding.
  “Cyber, are you alright. Don’t give up Cyber. Let’s see how Onix likes a psybeam to the head.” Cyber regained its pose and fired two psybeams directly at Onix’s head. The first one connected making Onix reel back in pain. Then the second one made the rock serpent fall to the ground.
  “Hmmm, good show Icy. Return Onix. Now you can take on the punchy pokémon.” Bruno threw his second pokéball into the field. It was Hitmonchan. Icy kept Cyber in for the match.
  “Cyber, double team. Split up, then all fire psybeams at once.” Cyber divided itself into three porygons. Hitmonchan was slightly confused and decided it be best to try taking one of them out before they could all fire. Bruno nodded and Hitmonchan aimed for the center Porygon. “Fire now!” Hitmonchan swung at the middle Porygon which vanished as his glove made contact. It was a fake. The psybeams however, were very real indeed and Hitmonchan learned the error of standing perfectly in the crossfire. It went down before it could realize its mistake.
  “What is wrong with me today? Must be the sun… Return Hitmonchan. Go Hitmonlee!”
  “Bruno sends out his third pokémon, the kicking fiend, Hitmonlee! Let’s see if Icy can continue his streak.”
  “Cyber return. You need to rest now. Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, Buttercup!”
  “High kick now!” Buttercup wasn’t ready for it when Hitmonlee connected with her entire body. She fell to the ground, hitting the earth hard. She struggled to get up. “Ha, now I’m doing better again. Finish her off Hitmonlee, mega kick!”
  “Buttercup!!! No, get up!” Somehow, she mustered enough strength to avoid getting kicked into orbit, but she couldn’t go on. Buttercup fell once again to the ground and fainted. “Oh… Buttercup, return. You’ll be ok.” Icy took a full heal out of his pocket and placed it next to Buttercup’s pokéball. “You’ll pay for that Bruno. Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, Hocus!”
  “Time for you to see stars mister kick boxer.”
  Hitmonlee wasn’t amused and took a swing for Hocus. His foot was stopped in mid air and he found himself unable to move.
  “What’s wrong with you? Hit him.” Bruno couldn’t stand to lose another pokémon to Icy. Hocus was controlling Hitmonlee via psychic.
  “Ok Hocus, finish him off!”
  “With pleasure master.” Hocus fired a psybeam straight into Hitmonlee’s chest throwing it across the field.
  “D***! Hitmonlee return. You are being a real pain, you know that?”
  “Good, now hurry up, I don’t wanna wait till next millennium to become a Pokémon Master…”
  “Oh, you’ll never get that far Icy. Go Onix!”
  “Hocus, telekinesis. You know what to do.” Hocus nodded and got to work. He summoned all of his psychic energy and the two pokémon both began to glow. Moments later, Onix found itself most tied up as it now took on the form of a rock hard pretzel. Meanwhile, Icy and the rest of the audience and even the announcer were laughing their heads off.
  “Hahahahaha… Would you look at that. Icy’s Kadabra has turned Onix into the world’s largest and hardest pretzel. Looks like Bruno is going to lose to Icy as well. He has just one more pokémon left.”
  “Onix, return. You asked for it Icy. I’m shutting that Kadabra down. Go Machamp.”
  “Return Hocus. I need you to rest and be ready for the next battle. Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, Vapor!” The Gastly floated over the field.
  “Now what?”
  “This is too easy. Just lick him Vapor.” Vapor laughed and licked Machamp who succumbed easily to the paralysis effects of Vapor’s lick attack. Bruno recalled Machamp and admitted defeat. Icy was back to where he had lost originally, Agatha.
  “Well folks, this surely has been an exciting day. First, Nicky defeats Lance to be a true pokémon master. And now, Icy may just do the same. But he needs to beat Agatha next. Don’t go anywhere, this could be the battle of the century here… or not…”
  Icy tended to his pokémon, especially Buttercup how looked like she had seen better days. She was badly bruised and Icy applied the full heal potion to her injuries. She began to recover, but she was still not fully healed. Icy came up with his battle plan for Agatha. Sara and Aura watched as Icy rearranged his pokéballs.
  Nicky watched Icy carefully from his seat. “He is good. But maybe they were just giving him a break. That looked WAY too easy. But he’s got a real advantage with that ghost pokémon. I wonder how he’ll deal with Agatha.”
  “He’ll lose again,” an old lady said in a crackling voice.
  “Huh?”
  “You heard me. Icy got creamed by Agatha last time they met. Her ghost pokémon are much stronger than Icy’s weak little baby pokémon. You know he’s got what, only 4 evolved pokémon out of the 20 or so he’s captured.”
  “Well, perhaps he doesn’t like to evolve them. He is winning you know.”
  “He doesn’t have the skill to win. You on the other hand used a vast array of evolved pokémon and won. You are a better trainer.”
  “Well, thanks. I guess I’ll…” She too had vanished. “Oh man, I gotta just keep my thoughts to myself. Maybe then these strange old people will stop bothering me…”
  Agatha entered the stadium. “So Icy, we meet again. Are you ready to be beaten all over again? Lemme ask you something. Did it hurt to be the laughing stock of Indigo Plateau?” Agatha laughed evilly. Icy just ignored her.
  “Let’s get started shall we?”
  “I concur. Gengar, go!”
  “Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, Leafy!” The Gloom stood in front of the ghostly opponent.
  “Hmm, a gloom ehh. That doesn’t scare me, but I wonder if Gengar scares her. Gengar, lick it now!”
  “Hmm, she doesn’t learn…” Icy thought to himself. Leafy just stood there while Gengar attempted to lick it. “Leafy, stun spore now.” Gengar was in for a big surprise. He had gotten too close to Leafy and now would learn the error he had made. Leafy wasn’t affected by Gengar’s lick attack, but Gengar seemed to be having a hard time getting his tongue back in his mouth after Leafy sprayed him with stun spores. “Mega drain Leafy!” Leafy drained Gengar life points and Agatha recalled it.
  “Oh, I see you’ve been training. Well, that is what’s called dumb luck. You don’t get it each time. I choose Golbat now.” The large bat flew onto the field.
  “Return Leafy. Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, Hocus!” Icy Kadabra made yet another appearance. “Hocus, you should be strong against poison types, so just use your psybeam on it.”
  “Will do master!” Hocus fired his psybeam at Golbat, but missed. Golbat dodged the beam narrowly and dove for Hocus.
  “Bite attack now. Poison that no good psychic pokémon.”
  “Look out Hocus!” Hocus was already aware of the approaching Golbat. He sent a psyshock right for Golbat and it fell to the ground, unable to move. “Ok, finish the job.” Hocus gave Golbat another psyshock and it fainted. Agatha was now very upset.
  “How is this possible? You weren’t this good last time. Golbat return. I’ll teach you a lesson Icy. I choose Haunter now.”
  “Great. Hocus, disable attack now!” Hocus focused on Haunter’s lick attack. He hoped he was successful.
  “Now I’m going to take out that meddlesome Kadabra of yours. Haunter, lick attack now.” Haunter prepared to attack, but stopped. “What? What’s wrong? I said attack.”
  “Ok,” Hocus replied. He fired multiple psybeams at the purple ghost pokémon.
  “No not you! Aghhhhhh!!!! Haunter, return!”
  “Well folks, Icy seems to be quite unbeatable this afternoon. I wonder what is giving such good luck today?”
  “His luck is about to run out. Arbok, GO!”
  “Hocus, return. I choose you now, Buttercup!” Icy slightly injured Butterfree fluttered over the field.
  “Go eat your dinner Arbok!”
  “Buttercup, psybeam, maximum strength!” Buttercup summoned all of her power and began glowing. She turned a bright blue as a sphere of pure energy formed around her body.
  “What’s this, Icy’s Butterfree is really generating a lot of energy. I hope Arbok is ready for this.”
  Arbok leapt for Buttercup. Just before he could make contact, Buttercup discharged all the energy directly at the approaching cobra. Arbok held onto the ball for a second before being thrown deep into the ground. Buttercup didn’t fare too well either was she was throw high into the air by the explosion of energy.
  “BUTTERCUP!!!!!” Icy watched in horror as she ascended further. Finally, she began heading back towards the surface. Icy homed in on her and used his telekinesis to guide her down slowly. “Buttercup, are you ok?” She couldn’t even move. Icy called for a quick timeout as he rushed his severely injured Butterfree over to Sara. “Sara, I need you to take Buttercup to Nurse Joy quick. I’ll get there as soon as I can. Please, go now.”
  “We all hope Buttercup will be ok. But now, let’s get back to the match. Agatha is down to her last pokémon. This is really turning out to be Icy’s lucky day!”
  “You may win against me Icy, but Lance will crush you. There I go again, praising that jerk. Do you know how much I hate that filthy piece of trash? I… hmmm, ok, another time then. Gengar, GO!”
  “Ok, here we go. Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, Wiggler!” One of Icy’s ten Caterpies wiggled onto the field.
  “A Caterpie??? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!”
  “Shutup! Wiggler, remember what we trained for. Now’s the time to do it. Ok, Wiggler, tackle attack alpha!”
  “Owww, the little buggy’s gonna tackle my Gengar, whatever. Gengar disappear, confuse the stupid little bug.”
  “My Caterpie is not stupid. However, your Gengar is. Wiggler, finish the move.” Wiggler muffled some cute Caterpie sounds and sprayed its silk string all over Gengar.
  “What’s this? Gengar lick, or just eat the bug.” Gengar couldn’t move. Wiggler continued to tie him up with its string. “Just break out of it. It’s only string.” Gengar tried, but Wiggler’s string was too strong, plus he already had almost 5 layers covering him. “This is pointless, return Gengar. I’m going to laugh when Lance crushes you and your stupid little worms.”
  “For the last time, they aren’t stupid!” Icy calmed down and had Wiggler return. Everything had gone just as they planned. Agatha stormed out and tried to get Wiggler’s silk off of her Gengar.

To Be A Master: Part III - The Ultimate Sacrifice

  “Well folks, Icy has proven himself worthy of battling the head of the Elite 4. Lance, the dragon pokémon trainer will battle with Icy to see if he’s got the skills to become a pokémon master. Can he do it?” The crowd expressed their support for Icy and his pokémon. Icy meanwhile busily healed the five remaining.
  Back at the pokécenter, Sara waited in the waiting room for an update on Buttercup’s condition. Nurse Joy came through the doors. “I think she’ll make it. What exactly happened to her?”
  “She was involved in a high energy explosion.”
  “Oh… I see,” she replied as if this type of thing happened every day.
  Back in the Grand Stadium, Lance was coming onto the field. “You’ve done well Icy. I have been waiting for the chance to beat, I mean meet you.”

  “Save it. I know you’ll just insult me like the others do. Let’s go at this shall we.”
  “If that is what you wish, then that we shall do. Gyarados, go!”
  “Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, Leafy.”
  “Tisk tisk. Big mistake. Dragon rage!”
  “No, Leafy mega drain. Sap his energy.” Leafy started draining Gyarados’s energy but it still fired the dragon rage. Leafy received a direct hit from the fiery rage from Gyarados. She screamed in pain as the fire spread over her head. “Oh, Leafy, return. Go Vapor.”
  “A ghost huh. Gyarados, hyper beam.”
  “Night shade Vapor.” The field became pitch black. Gyarados couldn’t find its target. “Lick it now Vapor,” Icy called into the darkness. When the night shade finally wore off, Gyarados was paralyzed while Vapor was doing a victory dance on top of it. “Good work.”
  “Lucky shot. Return Gyarados. Go Dragonair.”
  “Lick now!”
  “Agility now!” Dragonair dodged all of Vapor’s attacks. “Play time is over for you Icy. Dragonair, hyper beam that ghost.” Dragonair was faster at charging the hyper beam.
  “Now Vapor. While it’s still charging, lick it.” Icy’s plan worked. Dragonair wasn’t quick enough to avoid Vapor and charge the hyper beam at the same time.
  “What in the??? Well, you are clever my friend. Take this…” Lance recalled the paralyzed Dragonair and sent out another one. “Dragonair, dragon rage now!”
  “Vapor, look out!” A good portion of the raging fires hit Vapor. Something else happened to Vapor though. “Vapor, what’s wrong?”
  “Hmm, I think he’s going to evolve.”
  “Evolve? Oh cool! I’m gonna have a Haunter!” Sure enough, Vapor had gotten so much experience from battle the elite trainers’ pokémon that it finally got enough to evolve into Haunter. “Vapor, hypnosis attack!”
  “What, oh no.” Lance’s second Dragonair had already fallen asleep. Vapor just laughed the way most Hunters do… “Return. Go Aerodactyl.”
  “An Aerodactyl. But I thought they were extinct.”
  “They are. I found its fossil while on a mining expedition and took it to the Cinnabar Labs to be recreated. And now, you shall feel its wrath.”
  “I don’t think so. Vapor, hypnosis.” Vapor just stood there. “Vapor, why aren’t you attacking? Did you here me? Hypnosis attack now.”
  “Ha. Either you aren’t a very good trainer, or your pokémon’s tired out, which also makes you a bad trainer. Aerodactyl, hyper beam now.” Aerodactyl fired its hyper directly at Haunter. Haunter was completely beat.
  “Shoot… Return Vapor. Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, Cyber! Cyber, double team, multi psybeam attack now!” Cyber split into three and each fired a psybeam at Aerodactyl. It fainted easily and smashed into the ground crushing Cyber with it. “Oh!”
  “Hmm, that’s a first. See, you are a bad trainer.”
  “Cyber return. I’ll show you, who’s winning, huh?”
  “That’s not important, but now you shall lose. Dragonite, GO!” Lance’s ultimate pokémon, Dragonite, appeared on the field.
  “Wow. I’ve never seen that type of pokémon before.” Icy was definitely impressed by the Dragonite.
  Meanwhile, Nurse Joy was finishing up on Buttercup. “She’s felling better, but I don’t think she should do any battling for a while. Sara scooped up Buttercup and ran back to the stadium.
  “Go Wiggler!”
  “A Caterpie???”
  “Stop right there, don’t say another word. Wiggler, string shot now.”
  “You’re joking right. Dragonite, slam it.” Dragonite picked Wiggler up and prepared to knock it into the ground.
  “WAIT!!! I recall Wiggler.” Icy returned Wiggler to its pokéball. “No battle is worth losing a pokémon over. Besides, I still have Hocus.” Hocus appeared in front of the Dragonite.
  “My, what a large pokémon.”
  “Dragonite, hyper beam now.”
  “Huh?!?” Hocus didn’t know what hit him. The hyper beam completely fired him, as well as Icy’s dreams. Suddenly, he felt as if the world around him had collapsed. He fell to his knees, tears in his eyes. In the distance, he heard something, but he could focus on it. He extended Hocus’ pokéball and recalled him.
  “This can’t happen…” he heard a faint voice coming from behind him. It was Sara and Buttercup.
  “ICY!!! Buttercup’s ok.”
  “Great! Buttercup, I know you are weak, but I need you to be strong right now. Can you defeat the Dragonite? All you need to do is hit him with that ultra psybeam and we will win. Can you do that?”
  “Icy, Nurse Joy said she shouldn’t battle. Huh…” Sara saw Buttercup nodding. “You want to battle?” Buttercup nodded again. “Don’t do this Icy. She’s too weak.”
  “She has to try. She believes in me and in herself. She’s proven that time after time.” Icy turned to Buttercup. “I want you to know that I will love you and care for you no matter what happens Buttercup. But I know that you can pull this off. Please, just do this one last thing. Please help me Buttercup.” Buttercup had tears in her eyes. She nodded and attempted to hug Icy. “Th… thank you Buttercup.”
  “C’mon Icy, do you admit defeat?”
  “No Lance. I choose Buttercup now. Buttercup, psybeam, full power!” Buttercup began to glow, her body emitting a bright blue. She struggled to stay airborne and generate more power.
  “FFFFFFRRRRRRREREREREREREREREEEEEE,” she cried out. She was now engulfed in a bright white sphere. It blinded Icy and Lance, Dragonite, and the rest of the audience.
  “Buttercup! FIRE!!!”
  “FFFFFFFFFFFFRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!”
  Everything was quiet. For an instant, time stood perfectly still. Nothing moved. The light blinded everyone. The intense beam made direct contact with Dragonite causing him to faint instantly. But Buttercup was in worse shape. Because of the enormous amount of energy she used on the attack, she could not stay in the air. When the light had died down, Icy saw his best friend lying not even half alive on the field. Lance admitted defeat but waited for Icy to have a moment alone with Buttercup.
  A tear formed in his eye. “Buttercup… this can’t happen… Oh please wake up…” He began crying. “Please wake up Buttercup…”
  “Befreeee, free…….,” were the last words Buttercup emitted before she lost consciousness.
  Icy couldn’t hold back the tears and pain inside. He held Buttercup up close to his chest and pressed hard. “This… {sniff}… is all my… {sniff}… fault. What have I done…?” Icy cried over his stiff Butterfree’s body. She didn’t move and no longer had a pulse. “I wanted to win so badly I sacrificed my own friend to do it…” Icy couldn’t take the reality of the situation. Buttercup was no longer alive. She pasted away. Icy could not accept the fact that his dearest friend was gone for good. “NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” he put her back down and placed her body in his backpack inside a box to take with him on his journey back to Viridian Forest.
  Lance walked over to Icy. “Icy… I know you don’t believe you earned this, but, all the same, you have. Many trainers would have given up, maybe due to how much was at stake, maybe because they just didn’t have confidence. But you stood up to the challenge, even when it was the life of your friend at stake. I… I wish there was some way to bring her back. Here…” Lance handed Icy the master trainer’s badge. Sara took it for him and they both walked silently home. Lance’s words echoed in Icy’s head, ‘…some way to bring her back…’

Buttercup’s Legacy

  Last time, Icy battled to Elite 4 again to be a pokémon master. After creaming Lorelei and Bruno, he got revenge on Agatha. But in the end, Lance’s Dragonite had Icy pinned down. With the injured Buttercup as the only way of winning, Icy sent his friend into battle. Buttercup made the ultimate sacrifice to make Icy’s dream come true. Sadly, she went unconscious and never woke up. And now…

  Icy and Sara packed up their belongings from their Indigo Plateau apartment. Icy placed Buttercup’s body in a clear case and packed the last of their bags into Cyber. “Cheer up Icy. Buttercup knew what would happen. She did it for you Icy.”
  “That’s why I’m upset Sara.”
  “But she wouldn’t have done this if she didn’t love you so much. She knew how much you wanted that win.”
  “I never wanted her to sacrifice herself for me. Why did she have to die?”
  “Icy, me and Aura are sad too, but you have to remember that she did it for you.”
  “But, I would have quit if I’d known. I’d never have let her pull that.”
  “I know. She probably had so much loyalty towards you that she figured this would show just how much you meant to her.”
  “It means nothing now that she’s dead.” Icy got into the Porygon car. Sara and Aura both got in. “When we get back, I’ll have Triking dig her grave in the forest near the gym. It’s what she would have wanted.” They drove off into the sunset. Crystal-like tears rolled off Icy’s cheeks. He remembered the time Buttercup was almost killed by Magmar, but she pulled through. This time was different. She used every bit of her life force to perform her final attack. But Icy still blamed himself for letting her do it.
  They arrived back in the Viridian Forest a few hours later. “Sara, you take in the stuff. I want to be alone with Buttercup for a second. Aura wanted to conform Icy but Sara called her back over to her.
  “Come Aura, he needs this time with her.”
  “Buttercup… You didn’t have to sacrifice yourself for me. This wasn’t how I wanted to win. Why Buttercup, why?” Icy clutched her soft body and pressed it to his. His tears fell on Buttercup and roll down the contours of her back. “I love you Buttercup. I will always love you. You were my best {sniff} friend.” Icy could no longer hold back his emotions and burst into tears. A flock of Pidgeys flew off from the canopy.
  “Icy, dinner.” Icy and Triking had finished digging the grave for Buttercup. Sara came out with Aura. “We can do this first.” Some pokémon from the forest came out to see what was happening. When they saw the deceased Butterfree and Icy’s watery face, they kinda understood what was going on and began to pour dirt on the case. Icy wanted to smile, seeing how his friends from the forest understood his pain, but his emotions gripped him again. His tears moistened the soil below.
  “We are all gathered here to witness the burial of my dear friend, Buttercup. She was a true friend, loyal until the very end, and then still. She sacrificed her own life to fulfill my dreams. She had put herself on the line many times before this. She added a certain something to my life. She brought me joy when I was sad; she was there for me when I felt alone. But now, I am alone again, and she is not here anymore. I’d just like to say, you will be missed forever Buttercup. Your sacrifice will not have gone in vein. Rest in peace friend.” Icy finished his eulogy. Everyone was crying now, even the forest pokémon. “Thank you all for being here for me. I know that I’ll never be alone.” Sara walked up to Icy.
  “Icy, I’ll always be here for you.” She embraced Icy. Icy felt like he couldn’t ever let go of her. She let go and took Aura back to the gym. Meanwhile, the forest pokémon paid their respects to the fallen Butterfree and went back into the foliage. Icy followed Sara back home. They had dinner then went to bed. In his dreams, Icy dreamt about Buttercup and all the fond memories they had. She was unique. Sadly, she wasn’t meant to last…
  During the night though, the Caterpies and Butterfree of the forest, plus a few Pikachu gathered around the gravesite of Buttercup.
  “Cater cater.” “Pika.” “Free free freeeeeee.”
  They joined together and focused their energy on the ground Buttercup was buried under. The earth opened around the case Buttercup was in. Then, they combined their energy and focused it all on Buttercup…

Forever

  Last time, Icy had returned home to his gym in the Viridian Forest. But it wasn’t a joyous occasion at all. After burying his closest friend, Icy and Sara retired for the night. But during the night, many caterpies and butterfrees from the forest had gather around Buttercup’s grave. What could they be up too? And now…

  The Caterpies and Butterfrees focused their energies on Buttercup’s still corpse. Her body began to glow a bright blue. The light emanating from it could be seen from the sky as it pierced through the trees.
  Icy woke next morning to a strange site. Wiggler was running around all over the gym. “Wiggler, stop that. Wiggler! Huh…” Wiggler stopped and glowed. “Oh, Wiggler. Sara come quick, I think Wiggler’s ready to evolve!” Sara and Aura came in before Icy could finish his sentence. Wiggler stood upright and sprayed its string into the air above it kinda like a fountain. The string fell back over his body creating a cocoon. “Wiggler…” After he was done, a new pokémon looked at Icy and Sara for the first time. “Wiggler, you’ve evolved in Metapod! I’m so happy!”
  “This is great Icy!” Sara then turned to Aura. “At least this will turn his mind away from Buttercup for a while.” Sara was equally sad about Buttercup’s unfortunate death, but Icy was still worse off. He didn’t get much sleep last night.
  Meanwhile, back inside the forest, a flock of Butterfree flew over the canopy. Among them was a smaller, greenish colored Butterfree. She insisted on flying in loops and did other various tricks. The other Butterfree smiled, as was their form of applause. They flew over top Icy’s Gym. Sara watched them but turned away so Icy wouldn’t look. She didn’t want him to be constantly reminded of Buttercup. Not now… The green Butterfree looked at the gym and continued with the other Butterfree. Pokémon usually didn’t understand the differences in human buildings anyways…
  “So, what do metapods do? Dee, help us out here.” Icy opened his pokédex.
  “Metapod, the evolved form of Caterpie. Metapods cannot move thus are unable to attack. In time, they will evolve in the 3rd stage of the Caterpie evolutions, Butterfree.” Icy closed Dee slowly.
  “Buttercup…” he sighed. “Oooohhhh…”
  “Are you ok Icy, you look sick.”
  “No, I’m fine… Metapods don’t do anything… Not until they evolve…”
  “Icy…”
  “Wiggler can’t replace Buttercup…”
  “Icy, none of your pokémon can replace her. That’s what made her unique. She was special. But you need to accept the fact that she gave her own life to help you.”
  “That’s not fair. I didn’t want for her to die. She should have just refused to battle, I would have understood. I beat them all once, I could have done it again. Then she’d still be alive. She would have been a hero, instead she’s dead, and I don’t feel like a pokémon master. A master wouldn’t let his pokémon battle to the death. I could have prevented it.”
  “Icy, blaming yourself all day won’t bring Buttercup back to life. You can only learn from the mistake and move on. You’ll be happier once Wiggly evolves into a Butterfree. I wonder when the rest of your Caterpie will evolve?”
  “Them, I don’t know. They don’t ever get a chance to do much.”
  “Maybe you could let my class play with them. I have many young students, younger than 10. They love cute pokémon. They could give the Caterpies all the training they need to evolve.”
  “I suppose… But I don’t see how playing with them makes them evolve.”
  “Well, love and care helps somewhat…”
  “You have a point there.” Icy sat down in the center of the main gym floor and sent out his Caterpie. They immediately covered him. “Thanks guys. I’ll never allow any of you or my other pokémon to try something you are capable of ever again. Buttercup won’t have died in vein.” The caterpies were saddened, but knew that Icy had to live with the impression he had caused Buttercup’s death. They cuddled him more.
  Back in the forest, a young boy ran down the path. “AGHHHHHHHH!!!! Stay back you!”
  “PPPPPPIIIIIIIIIIKKKKKKKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACHUUUUUU!!!!”
  “AGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!” He jumped after being shocked for about the tenth time. “I said I’m sorry. I didn’t know that was your apple tree. Really! Please, leave me be!” The Pikachu continued perusing the kid. “AGHHHHH!!!!! Someone help me.”
  Back at the gym, Sara was looking out the window with Aura when she saw a small area of the forest light up. “Huh, what was that?”
  The kid began approaching the gym. “Oh, a gym! They’ll protect me!” The Pikachu was right behind him. He reached the doors and quickly jumped inside. “Wow!” The trainer looked at around. The main hall was lined with forest artifacts. Fairies and caterpies were placed atop pedestals down the walls. The boy walked slowly down the hallway. He admired every aspect of it. Finally, he reached the main doors. He pushed them open slowly. Then, he saw Icy, covered by Caterpies. “Wha, what is that,” he thought to himself.
  Icy sensed his presence in the room and got up quickly sending some of the Caterpie flying off in odd directions. They slid upon the waxed floor. Icy looked at the boy with curiosity. “What a sec, I know you from somewhere.”
  “Funny, same here.”
  “Nicky!”
  “Icy!”
  “A pokémon master, in my gym…”
  “What about yourself Icy? You beat Lance too remember… Oh…”
  “Please… I don’t consider that a very good reason for being a master…”
  “Sorry… Oh yeah… Is it ok for me to hang out here for a while? Some Pikachu was really ticked with me for picking an apple off a tree. I guess the tree belongs to him. He almost fried me with his thundershocks.”
  “Yes, thundershock is a strong Pikachu attack. I should know.”
  “Really, why’s that?”
  “Surely you must have known about me and the great accident.”
  “No.” Icy sweatdropped. Then, he related to Nicky the story about him being transformed into a Pikachu and all. Then he told him about Mewtwo and Bill’s cure for him and Sara. Nicky was sorta stumped but just nodded.
  “Well, I guess you can hang out for a while. I don’t often get visitors.”
  “Hey, can I see your pokémon, I’ll show you the one’s I’ve caught!”
  “Ok. They aren’t all evolved, but I love then just the same.”
  “Hey, it’s the ability of the pokémon combined with the trainer, not the form that matters. Appearances are meaningless, never forget that. That’s what makes a master. Hehehe… I must sound like a poképhilosopher… hehehe…”
  “Yeah…” Icy summoned his pokéballs via telekinesis and opened them. Nicky watched in awe.
  “You’re a psychic? That’s awesome!” Icy smiled. Not many people liked psychics, so anyone who thought it was cool was considered a good friend. Icy’s pokémon all jumped out from their pokéballs. “Wow. Now that’s a lot of pokémon!” Nicky set all his pokéballs in a line. There were only ten of them. “Ok guys, come out!”
Nicky’s pokémon included: Raichu, Butterfree, Vileplume, Sandslash, Venomoth, Nidorino, Pidgeot, Wigglytuff, Dewgong, and Blastoise. Icy was most impressed by his vast array of pokémon.
  “WOW! Those are really strong pokémon. I could never win a battle against you with that team.”
  “Oh come on. We are both pokémon masters, let’s go at it. Besides, you’re a gym leader right?”
  “Well, yes.”
  “Then I challenge you. Under league rules, you can’t turn down a challenge.”
  “Kinda… I operate outside the pokémon league… Which means for you, I’ll get to use pokémon other than bugs. This battle will be three on three.”
  “I see. That works fine for me. I choose you, Sandslash.”
  “A Sandslash huh. Ground type. Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, Neptune!” Icy’s Horsea leapt into the ring. She took one glance at the large mouse and began hopping away. “No Neptune, you are my only water type. Neptune, water gun now!” Neptune shrugged then fired her water gun at Sandslash.
  “That little squirt bottle doesn’t scare me. Sandslash, slash attack now!” The water gun was almost useless since Sandslash’s level was many times higher than Neptune’s. It slashed Neptune once and she was knocked out. “Uhh… Good thing you didn’t battle with her in the League.”
  “Ohhh… Neptune, return. Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, Hocus!”
  “I am ready master. Well hello Mr. Sandslash, care to dance.”
  “Right, psychic attack!” Hocus focused his mind on Sandslash and the mouse began doing some strange dance.
  “What’s going on? Sandslash, stop fooling around.”
  “Finish him Hocus.”
  “Righto. It’s been swell Mr. Sandslash, but now I’m afraid you shalt have to part in such sweet sorrow…” Hocus sent to psybeams at Sandslash knocking him out. “Goodnight…hehehe…”
  “Great job Hocus, as usual.”
  “Thank you master.”
  “Wow, your pokémon can talk?”
  “Kadabras are very smart. This one’s been talking since it was an Abra. He’s very special.”
  “I’m flattered,” Hocus interrupted blushing.
  “Well, talking Kadabras aren’t preventing me from beating you Icy. Return Sandslash. I now choose Dewgong. Dewgong, aurora beam now!” Dewgong fired the beam directly at Hocus. Hocus twitched but did not go down.
  “Tis a mere scratch.” Hocus used recover then followed up with a psybeam. Dewgong went down just like Sandslash.
  “Oh, you are good. That Kadabra is pretty funny too.”
  “Thank you Nicky. Now, which pokémon may I beat last?”
  “Humph… I think I liked the funny jokes better… Return Dewgong. Go, Blastoise.” Icy was speechless.
  “A Blastoise… Hocus, confusion now.” Hocus used his confusion beam but it had no effect. Blastoise picked up the upset Kadabra.
  “Good, now slam Blastoise.” He threw Hocus to the ground.
  “Teleport now!” Just before hitting the ground, Hocus managed to teleport to safety. He was still a bit shaken up though. “Ok, this won’t work, Hocus, return.”
  “Last one Icy. My Blastoise is gonna win it all!”
  “Don’t be so sure. Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls Wiggler.” The motionless Metapod appeared. “Wiggler, harden now!”
  “Blastoise, wash it away with hydro pump.” Blastoise jet sprayed Wiggler, but it didn’t seem to matter. In fact, something was happening. The water was nurturing the Metapod.
  “Oh cool! It’s gonna evolve!” Sure enough, the Metapod cracked open and a beautiful Butterfree with bright colored wings popped out. It fluttered all around the gym. “Wiggler! You evolved! Hmm, Wiggler doesn’t sound like a name for a Butterfree, I’ll call you Flutter.” Flutter was please with its new name and prepared to attack. “Ok Flutter, psybeam!” Flutter got ready to do something, but then he realized he didn’t know how to do that attack. “Oh no, I forgot, Butterfree don’t learn that till latter.”
  “Too bad Icy. Blastoise, hydro pump!” Blastoise fired its water cannons at Flutter, pinning him to the wall.
  “Ok ok, that’s enough, one dead Butterfree is all I can take. Flutter, return. You have bested my Nicky. To prove your skills, not that you really need to, I present you with this Forest Badge.” Icy handed Nicky the colorful badge. On the left was a Caterpie and on the right, a Weedle. In the middle was an olive branch. Nicky took the badge and thanked Icy.
  “You were pretty good there yourself. I’m very sorry about your Butterfree. She was quite a fighter. Her attacks were way off the chart from any known pokémon. Researchers could learn a lot about her even from examining her corpse.”
  “WHAT! No one’s gonna operate on my Butterfree. It’s bad enough she died, now you want some scientists to cut her open!”
  “No no, I’m sorry I mentioned it. Could I at least see her? I never did get a chance to take a close look at her. I promise not to touch.”
  “Fine. Why you’d want to see a dead pokémon is beyond me though. She’s buried deep inside the forest. I’ll have to take you there.” Nicky nodded and they went to the gravesite.
  “She would be happy. This is really a beautiful place to be. Now her spirit can merge with the forest. Kinda like she’d be all around us right now. Just as he said the words, the flock of Butterfree flew overhead. The smaller Butterfree was inside the group too. She looked down at the earth to see what was happening. Nicky looked up and laughed. “See Icy, my point. She’s all around. Take those Butterfree for example… Icy…?”
  “It can’t be…” Icy’s eyes glanced at the ground. The hole had been undug and the case was empty. “Buttercup…”
  “What did you say?”
  “That’s Buttercup!”
  “Icy, she’s dead, ahhhhh!!” Nicky finally realized the case was empty. “How can you tell?”
  “She’s the green one, small than the rest. She’s looking at me.”
  Sure enough, Buttercup did make eye contact with Icy but didn’t seem to recognize him. She flew into the sunset with the other Butterfree.
  “No, come back! Windstorm, I choose you. Fly me to those Butterfree. Oh yeah, I’m not a Pikachu anymore… you can’t support me now. Return Windstorm. Cyber, I choose you. Jetplane program, run now!” Cyber converted to a jet. “I’m gonna track her down. I have to get her back.” He jumped into Cyber and they took off after the Butterfree.
  “Good luck!!!” Sara came running out.
  “What happened?”
  “Icy’s going after Buttercup. She’s alive!”
  “She is? How’s that possible?
  “Must be a miracle. But now Icy’s gotta find her. She flew away with a flock of Butterfree.”
  “Oh, please bring her home Icy.”
  “Faster Cyber, we need to catch up to them!” Cyber switched on the afterburners and soon, they caught up with the Butterfree. Icy got on top of Cyber and called out to them. “BUTTERCUP!!!!!”
  Buttercup heard her name. She looked back seeing the crazy human standing atop a speeding fast jet. “What a lunatic. He’s gonna kill himself doing that,” she thought. Thinking nothing of it, she turned back to the group.
  Icy wasn’t ready to give up yet. “BUTTERCUP!!!!! IT’S ME!!!!! ICY!!!!! PLEASE REMEMBER ME!!!!! I… I… I love you Buttercup! WAHHHHH!!!!!” Icy shouted upon seeing the tall tree. “TREE… TREE!!! Cyber tur… no. Oh crap!!!” Cyber couldn’t turn without risking Icy falling off. He attempted to avoid the first tree but a higher branch smashed into Icy’s chest. He was thrown from his Porygon and began falling straight down to the earth below. “AGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! HELP!!!!!” Cyber slowed down but found himself surround by trees and ended up crashing into one.
  The Butterfree flock was not too far away. Buttercup heard the boy’s plea for help and she saw him falling to the ground. She very well knew what would happen if he continued. He would splatter again the forest floor. Not a very pretty sight. Something inside her told her to try to save the boy. “Freeeeeeee!!!!” She called on the other Butterfree to help her save Icy.
  Icy continued to fall. He was still almost 400 feet up and falling quickly. The trees were coming in sight. “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Huh?” Something was supporting his weight. He looked in front of him and saw the Butterfree flock glowing. They were using their psychic energy to hold Icy up. They gently guided him to the ground. Then, all but the one small, green Butterfree took off.
  “Free free…” [Silly human… be a little more careful from now on.]
  “Wait, Buttercup, please don’t go. I… I… I’m sorry. It was my fault you ended up getting killed. I forced you into doing what couldn’t be done without the consequences. I didn’t want this to happen… You did sacrifice yourself for me. I sacrificed you for me… Buttercup, please, I’m begging you for another chance. The sheer fact that you have been brought back to life is an indication that this was never meant to happen. And, you saved my life. I know you couldn’t have done that if you didn’t still care about me. You could have just kept flying away, but you didn’t. Please Buttercup, please forgive me… I can never forgive myself for what I’ve done. I don’t deserve to be a pokémon master, not for how I made you fight. It was wrong and selfish.” Icy got down on the ground to Buttercup’s eye level. “Please Buttercup. My life without you is meaningless. I love you Buttercup. I would do anything for you. That’s why I’m so sorry that I betrayed you. Please, can you find it in your heart to forgive me, Buttercup? Can you give me another chance?”
  Buttercup stared at Icy. She remembered now what had happened. She could remember the Dragonite and Icy’s voice telling her she could do it. She remembered channeling all of her life force to beat it. Then, she remembered being with the other Butterfree, Caterpie, and a white pokémon. The white pokémon left, then she was flying with the other Butterfree. Now she looked at Icy with tears filling his eyes. She wondered why he was pleading with her. She looked deeper. Suddenly, she realized who it was she was looking into the eyes of. She remembered the time she first met this trainer. She remembered the times when Icy spent entire evenings caring for her when she was injured. Tears formed in her eyes. Icy took her and hugged her. Buttercup made her decision. She moved herself closer in Icy’s arms. Sara and Nicky finally found them.
  “Icy. Buttercup?? You found her.”
  “Buttercup has decided to come back with me.”
  “That’s sweet. Buttercup’s a true friend. Wait where’s Cyber?”
  “Oh no, I lost him when I got hit by the tree.” Cyber was only a few 100 feet from their location. Icy used telepathy to track him down. Cyber had already begun repairs on itself when they found him. “Cyber, you’re ok!” Cyber joined the happy group and they all returned home.
  “Thank you Buttercup,” Icy whispered to his true friend.

An Icy Battle

  While Icy celebrates Buttercup’s return, another trainer is wandering through the Viridian Forest…

  Meeko shuts her eyes and reaches slowly towards the handles, slowly, slowly...
  ( Just open the stupid door already! ) Bulba says and opens the door, all the other Pokémon follow.
  “Huh? Wha-?” Meeko slowly peeks inside, and walks carefully in.
  Jigglypuff!
  “What Jigglypuff?”
  Jigglypuff!
  “Caterpie what did she say?”
  ( Nice gym! )
  “Yeah, to be turned into dolls....”

  “Hi!” a twelve-year-old girl leaves the trainees and walks over to Meeko.
  “Ekk! Oh, uh, hi, I’d like to battle Icy, what’s your name?”
  “My name’s Sara, come this way, he’s in here, your name would be?”
  “Meeko, uh, Icy hasn’t turned anyone into dolls has he?”
  “Not that I know of...” Sara gives Meeko a weird look, “Here he is, Icy, a girl named Meeko has come to get the Forest Badge.”
  As Sara walks over to Icy’s side, she mutters under her breathe, “Dolls..???”
  “You are here to challenge me for my Forest Badge I suspect?”
  “Uhhh, yes…”
  “C’mon girl, have some confidence. Let’s hear some enthusiasm!” Icy wasn’t in the business of belittling his opponents. He didn’t find it amusing when the Elite 4 did it to him, so he figured it wasn’t the greatest way to be a gym leader.
  Meeko cheered up a bit. “Alright. Yes, I challenge you Icy! I want that Forest Badge!”
  “That’s the spirit! Ok, here are the rules. This will be a 4 on 4 match, to make things interesting. No time limits, and all of my pokémon are legal in accordance with unofficial gym rules.” Icy kinda laughs upon hearing himself use the words ‘rules’ and ‘unofficial’ in the same sentence.
  “Fine with me. Alright, I choose Caterpie!”
  Icy picks up a green pokéball from the stand behind him. “Ok guys, let’s go for another victory. Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, BUTTERCUP!” Icy’s green Butterfree flew out over the field.
  “Caterpie, string shot!” Buttercup’s small size helped her to easily avoid the string attack.
  “Buttercup, don’t waste any time, psybeam attack now!” Buttercup charged and released her psybeam at Caterpie. It tries to get up but cannot and Meeko is forced to recall it.
  “Oh no, Caterpie return. You’ll pay for that! Pikachu, I choose you now! Thunder shock now!” Pikachu sends out a thunder shock and hits Buttercup. She is hurt but still manages to stay in the air. “Huh? How’s that possible?”
  “Buttercup is a very strong pokémon, but even she can’t keep going forever. Buttercup, this isn’t worth getting hurt again, return now.” Icy called his friend back to her pokéball. He knew not to push her too far anymore, since she would loyally do whatever it took to win as Icy had seen. “Ok Meeko, you fight well, but you’ll have to try better than that Pikachu to win this badge. Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, HOCUS!”
  The amazing Kadabra appears on the field. “Ahh, a Pikachu! Pppphahahahaha!!!!”
  “Hey, stop laughing at my Pikachu. Go on, thunder shock attack!”
  “Hocus…” Icy commands his Kadabra telepathically.
  “Humph, such a weak electric attack.” His eyes glow blue. “Let’s see if you can take all that you can deal.” Hocus points his finger back at Pikachu and the lighting bolt follows.
  “PIIII!!!!!” Pikachu is hit by its own attack and falls over defeated.
  “Noo, oh, now I remember why I hate psychic pokémon. Return Pikachu. It’s a long shot, but here goes. Jigglypuff, I need you now!”
  “Jigglypuff???”
  “Yes! Jigglypuff, explosion now!”
  “Hocus, psychic attack.” Icy went back to a more serious stance. He never liked to reveal his thoughts to the opponent through facial expressions, so it was generally hard to tell whether he was mad or even happy. At most, Icy would sneer or grin slightly, but that was all.
  “Right.” Hocus used his psychic attack to float Jigglypuff into the air. She became confused from it all that she forgot about performing her attack.
  “Jigglypuff? Hey, what’s wrong with her?”
  “And now for my next trick.” Hocus floats Jigglypuff over to him. He takes her in on hand and begins dibbling her. Jigglypuff expands and deflates a bit.
  “Huh, what was that for.”
  “She’s mad that your Kadabra is playing B-ball with her.” Hocus floats Jigglypuff high into the air, then proceeds to slamming her into the ground. “Ok, ok, that’s enough. Jigglypuff return.”
  “Uhh, do you surrender Meeko? It’s 3 to 1.” Icy didn’t want to have to beat another of Meeko’s pokémon, at least, not with Hocus.
  “No, I’m going to win still. I call Bulba now!” Mekko’s Bulbasaur materializes on the field. “Solar beam quick!” Balba takes advantage of the situation by charging his solar beam. Meanwhile, Hocus is still cracking up over the cruel joke he played on Jigglypuff. He turns around just in time to see the glaring heat of the solar beam just inches from his spoon.
  “WHAT THE!”
  “YEAH!!! You beat him!”
  “Hm. So, you think you can really defeat a psychic trainer huh…”
  “{gulp}”
  “You have yet to see the full extent of my pokémon’s power. Ready to fight! Come in sight!! Icy calls… FLUTTER!!! GOOOOOOOOOO” Icy’s new Butterfree appears ready to take on Bulba. “Flutter, psybeam attack!”
  “Aghh!”
  “Huh?” Flutter just flutters over the ground unsure what to do. “Opps, I forgot, you still don’t know that move.”
  “Haha, now’s my chance. Bulba, stun spore!”
  “Flutter, whirlwind the spores away!”
  “Reeee?”
  Icy sweatdrops. “Ohhhh… Look, do this.” Icy starts waving his arms. “Flap your wings really fast.” Flutter just gives Icy and confused look. The spores hit him and he falls to the ground paralyzed.
  “Ok Bulba, finish him off with Razor Leaf!” Bulba uses its razor leaf attack on Flutter and wins.
  “Ohhhh… Flutter, return. Hmm, I guess he needs more training…”
  “Yeah, guess so.” Meeko tosses Icy some special herbs. “Here, they will make him feel better.”
  “Thanks,” Icy replies catching the bag. He hands them to Sara who gets started with treating Icy’s pokémon. “Ok Meeko, you have made an impressive comeback. Time to show you how a real pokémon battle is fought.”
  “Uh oh.”
  “Hmm, hmm, hmm… Ready to fight, come in sight! Icy calls, CYBER!!!”
  “Hey, that’s not a pokémon, it’s a machine.”
  “On the contrary, this little guy is most definitely a pokémon… Cyber, Double Team Attack! Multiple psybeam attack NOW!”
  “Bulba, try using your stun spore!” The spores phases out one of Cyber’s clones, but the remaining two nails Bulba with their psybeams.
  “Finish it Cyber. Sharpen and tackle!” Cyber finishes off Bulba and the match ends.
  “Bulbasaur…”
  “It’s over young one.”
  Meeko looks up at Icy almost about to cry. “Uhh, yo you don’t turn people into dolls by any chance do you?”
  “Dolls? Oooooohhhhh…. Hehehe, you mean like what Sabrina once did? Nooooo, and she’s a lot nicer now. Besides, I don’t waste precious psychic power for that kinda stuff.”
  “Shew…”

Kelly’s First Adventure

  This is the story about a young girl named Kelly. Kelly is a short, darker blonde haired girl and has two Eevees named Mars and Venus. Mars, a male Eevee, is very playful, and Venus, a female Eevee, is more laid back and relates better to Kelly. She is only 9 years old but has special permission to have pokémon travel with her. Kelly is unsure of what she wants to do in life, but one thing is clear, she loves to care for and play with pokémon. She kisses her mom and dad goodbye and heads out in Celadon City.

  “Kelly, where are we going?” asks Mars.
  “Wherever this road leads. I want to explore the world and meet all kinds of pokémon!” Kelly replied joyfully.
  “It’s a pretty big world. How are we going to see it all just by walking?” Venus asks.
  “Hmm. Ah, we’ll rough it, right Mars?”
  “Veee!”
  “So, where does this road take us?”
  “Hmm, I’m not sure.” Kelly continues walking down the road until she stops at a sign. “Uhhh, this says. Uhhh. Hmm. What’s that word Mars?”
  “Sa. Saf. Saffron. Saffron City.”
  “Oh, that’s right. I remember hearing about that city. It’s a big place. Should we go there?”
  “I don’t know. How are we going to sleep and eat?”
  “I think pokécenters let young trainers eat and sleep for free now,” Venus cut in.
  “That’s perfect. If we can make it to Saffron by night, we can stay at the pokémon center!” Kelly smiles and starts to run down the road leading to Saffron City.
  “Heh, Kelly, wait for us!” Her two Eevees run to catch up with her. The trio heads toward the large city.
  “Hey, little girl.”
  “Huh?”
  “Yeah, you.” A boy walks out from behind a bush. “You have pokémon. C’mon, let’s have a little battle.”
  “Uhh, what do you mean?” Kelly wasn’t sure how a pokémon battle went, so she tried to talk herself out of it.
  “You know what I mean. Let’s see, you have an Eevee huh, I choose my Mankey, hahaha!”
  Kelly was very scared of the pig-like pokémon. Mars and Venus growled at the Mankey. “Venus, what do I do?” she whispers to her Eevee.
  “Don’t worry Kelly, me and Mars will handle it. Just call me out and have me tackle Mankey. Got that?” Kelly nods.
  “Umm, ok kid, you want to battle, then I choose my Eevee Venus! Venus, uhhhh, tackle attack.” Kelly didn’t exactly have the appearance of a trainer, which is why the boy chose her as an opponent.
  “Your Eevee can’t beat Mankey. Mankey, fury swipes attack!”
  Venus dodged the small paws of Mankey and rammed into the pig. “All right, I won!” Mankey got back and tossed Venus back towards Kelly. “Huh, oh no, Venus!”
  “What, are you even a real trainer. Oh forget you, I don’t wanna fight a stupid girl novice anyway. Mankey return!” The boy gave Kelly a snotty look then ran off.
  Kelly wanted to cry. She wondered why she left home in the first place. “{sniff} Oh Venus. I don’t like this world. It’s scary and full of mean people.”
  “C’mon Kelly. Let’s get to the pokémon center. The people there should be nicer.”
  Kelly sobbed softly and walked onward to Saffron City. They finally made it there just as the sun was setting. “We made it!” She looked around for the pokémon center. “But, where’s the pokécenter?”
  “Excuse my miss, are you lost?” The older gentleman could tell Kelly had been on a long journey. Her eevees studied his figure.
  “Uhh, yes. I can’t find the pokécenter {sniff} and I’m hungry.” She started crying softly.
  “Oh, now don’t cry little one. Uhh, the pokécenter is just down this road here. Go about two blocks. It’s on the left.”
  “{sniff} Thank you mister.” Kelly and her Eevees followed the man’s directions and made it to the pokécenter. “Wow! We made it here! Let’s get dinner.” They all walked in and had dinner. Soon after, Kelly got a room for the night and instantly fell asleep with her two Eevees cuddled together on the floor. She dreams about all the wonderful adventures she hopes to have on her tour of the world.

Kelly’s Dream

  Kelly woke up the next morning to find her two Eevees still cuddled up next to each other. “Aww, you two are so cute.”
  Mars woke with a start. “Huh. Agh!!! Um, er, ah, cya!” Mars ran into the next room to hide for a while.
  “Oooook. I’m just gonna pretend that didn’t happen. Venus, wake up. It’s morning. Let’s go get breakfast.”
  “Wait for me! I want food too!” Mars flew from his hiding spot at the sound of food. Kelly giggled as she left her room for the food area of the pokécenter.

  “I’d like some pancakes and eggs, and my Eevees will take some of Brock’ s special brand Eevee-Chow.” The Chansey waiter nodded and hurried back with the food she had ordered. “Wow, that was fast.” Kelly looked around. There was nobody in sight. “Hey, where is everybody?” Mars alerted Kelly to the time. “Aghh!!! It’s still only 5am!”
  “Yeah, but I was hungry anyway so I didn’t bother telling you the little details.”
  “Ohhh.” Kelly sighed.
  “Cheer up, at least we don’t have to worry about any mean trainers picking fights with you.”
  “But I’m going to have to stand up to them someday.”
  “Be happy that day isn’t yet here. Remember, you aren’t technically a pokémon trainer. You have to be 10 before you can be that. But we will still fight for you,” Venus said to Kelly.
  “Yeah, we won’t let those bullies boss you around.” Mars and Venus could be a tough team when they joined together.
  “Thanks guys. I can always count on you. Well, since we’re up, let’s pack. I wanna meet this gym leader Brock in Pewter City. He’s a pokémon breeder and I think that might be what I want to become. Maybe he can help me figure it out.”
  “A breeder. But I thought you were going to see the world and collect different pokémon. That’s the job of a pokémon trainer, not a breeder.”
  “I know, but raising pokémon is fun. Capturing them isn’t so nice when you think about it. Pokémon should be free, like you two.”
  “Well, I suppose we are kinda free, but we still like to travel with you.”
  “Good. So it’s settled. We head for Pewter City?”
  “Ok. But, Pewter is almost a week’s walk from here.”
  “Great! We’ll meet so many different pokémon along the way.”
  “Hmm, and trainers.”
  “That’s ok.”
  “You are headed for Pewter City?” Nurse Joy came around from behind the counter. She had been listening to Kelly’s half of the conversation.
  “Uh, yes m’am, why?”
  “Well, you know, you can always fly Pidgeot Express to Pewter.”
  “But I want to see more pokémon.”
  “I think it’s safer you did go adventuring just yet. Tell ya what I’ll do. I can get you tickets for you and your Eevees on the next flight out for free.”
  “Well.”
  “Please, I don’t want to see those bullies picking on you. They hide, waiting to stop any passing traveler.”
  “Ok, ok, I’ll take to Pidgeot. Uh, where is it?”
  “Oh, silly me, they take off from here too. Just wait in the lobby. Have you ever seen a Pidgeot before?”
  “Umm, in picture books. It’s like a giant bird right?”
  “Yes.”
  “Cool!”
  After waiting a few minutes from the Pidgeot to arrive, Kelly, Mars, and Venus all board the Pidgeot from Pewter City Pidgeyport. “Safe journey!”
  “Bye, and thank you!” As they take off, Kelly can only hope the pokémon gym leader Brock can help her in reaching her goals of being a pokémon breeder.

Brock’s Tips on Pokémon Breeding

  Kelly slept that night in the Pewter City pokécenter with her two wonderful Eevees, Mars and Venus. Her alarm went off at 7:00 this time, rather than the previous morning. “Ahhh. Oh good, it’s not 5 in the morning again. Wake up you two.” Kelly tapped Mars and Venus on the head.
  “Oh, good morning Kelly.”
  Mars simply rolled over a stayed asleep. Venus prodded him with her paw until the sleeping Eevee finally had enough. “Ok, ok, I’m up. Where are we going today? Please not another Pidgeot ride, I think I almost got sick last time.”
  “Hehe, no. Today, I’m going to see that gym leader Brock. He is a pokémon breeder. He might give me some tips on getting started.”
  “Sounds good to me!” The trio packed and went to the dining area for breakfast. After eating, Kelly and her Eevees head to Brock’s gym to speak with him.

  “Onix return. Here’s a boulder badge for you, and WHY DON’T YOU TAKE ALL OF THEM!” Brock stormed out of the main gym into a side office.
  “Not a very nice man to be a pokémon breeder. Are you sure he can help you?”
  “I hope so. I don’t know any other pokémon breeders.”
  “Oh well. Let’s go see if he’ll speak with you.” Venus took the front with Kelly close behind and Mars.
  “Ohhh. I’m just not cut out for this Vulpix.” Brock’s Vulpix stared innocently at him with her big eyes. “Ahh, at least you care about me. Huh, who’s there?”
  Kelly walked into the office. “Uhhh, hi! My name’s Kelly. Uhhh. I want to be a pokémon breeder like you.”
  Brock lifted his eyes from Vulpix to see the small girl standing in his office. He tried to block out the idea of asking her out. “Oh. Well, I am kindof a pokémon breeder. What brings you to me?”
  “Well, I hear you are to best at pokémon breeding.”
  “Hehe, who told you that?”
  “Huh, lots of people. They say you should give up being a gym leader and just be a breeder.” Brock facefaults. “Umm, oh, I’m sorry.”
  “It’s ok.” Brock points his attention over