Down
Victory Road
Narrator: “Last time, Celina Meraki got her very first Pokémon, a Mew. She beat Brock from Pewter City, winning her the Boulder Badge.” As he talks, scenes flash by from the previous episodes. “Along the way, she discovers her mysterious psychic powers and decides to ask Sabrina in Saffron City how to use them. Now we find our heroine in Cerulean City…”
“No, you beat me!” The male Jr. Trainer frowned
as his Pidgey was returned.
“The trainers around here don’t travel very
much- besides the gym leaders, no one has a Pokémon that I don’t.” Celina
received some money and continued on her way. “My Pokédex tells me I’ve
captured every Pokémon possible in all the areas I’ve passed through.”
She stopped at the entrance to Cerulean City.
“Saur, Saur, Bulbaaasaur!” Her Bulbasaur looked
up at her.
“I came here for one reason.” Celina’s purple
eyes shone. “The Cascade Badge from the three sisters of Cerulean!”
“Meeew….” Mew shuffled around in her black
backpack.
“Oh yeah, that and the fact that we can’t go
back the way we came (**just like in the game**) and the only way to go anywhere
from here is through this city…” Celina laughed nervously as a large anime
sweat drop appeared on the back of her head. She spotted a lovely outdoor
restaurant nearby. “But first, let’s have lunch!”
A
neat little park stood at her right where there came a rustle from the bushes
and trees surrounding it.
“It’s a Pokémon!” Mew exclaimed, using its telepathic powers and surprising Celina.
“Let’s go!” She whipped out her Pokédex and
chased after the small little creature.
“No data on this Pokémon available.” It told her. “There are many Pokémon yet to be identified.”
“What is it then?!” She shoved it in her pocket
and continued chasing it.
As it ran from bush to bush, Celina was able to make out its physical appearance. It was blue and white, with a blue orb at the end of its black wire tail. It was apparently a mouse-like Pokémon, and she immediately jumped to the conclusion that it was a water-type when it jumped into a lake nearby.
“Bulbaa…” Bulbasaur grunted as it ran ahead of
its trainer and searched the shores of the lake for the mysterious Pokémon.
“Baka! (stupid)” Celina muttered when she
finally arrived at the lake. “C’mon Bulbasaur, we lost it.”
Celina
sipped her green-leaf tea slowly as she stared out into the streets while
sitting at the restaurant she saw earlier.
“I should’ve been quicker to act.” She criticized herself. “A long range
attack maybe…”
A young man walking alone on the sidewalk across the street caught her attention. He had black hair split down the middle of his head, brown eyes, a green shirt, red pants that came down to his knees, an orange backpack, and blue sneakers. He also had a red cloth wrapped around his forehead in a similar fashion to Celina. As she studied him, a strange feeling of familiarity engulfed her. He was only about her height or less, with broad shoulders, and a chin that resembled that of Brock’s. Watching him, Celina realized that he looked worried and was searching for something.
“Marriiiiiiil!!!!!!” He shouted, cupping his
hands around his mouth.
“Marril?” Celina asked, approaching him.
“It’s just the name of my Pokémon.” He answered,
talking in a suspicious tone of voice. “I don’t think this girl is exactly
the most trustworthy.” He thought as he looked her over. “I heard Team
Rocket is in town, and her eyes sure make her look like one. That badge could
even be fake. But if TR has Marril…I should follow this girl.” He quickly thought of something to say.
“I lost my Pokémon, can you help me find it? My name’s…Kenji.”
“Kenji, huh?” Celina squinted in suspicion- he
had used his Japanese name, and she knew it. “I’m…Satsuki. I bet I saw
‘Marril’. What does it look like?”
“It’s a blue, water-mouse type, small, cute…” He
rambled on and on.
“Just what I thought!” Celina shouted. “I saw your Pokémon! And it’s a legendary Pokémon, too!” She told him, “Marril jumped into the lake at the park, I’ll take you there.”
Soon
Marril was happily reunited with Kenji, and he couldn’t thank Celina enough.
“I guess I was wrong.” He
thought, while looking into his Pokémon’s coal black eyes. “This girl isn’t
with Team Rocket.”
“So tell me,” Celina smiled slyly. “Just what
number is this ‘Marril’? I’ve been studying Pokémon for years, and I know all
150 or so. I never heard or saw this one before…”
“Well, umm…” Kenji struggled to think of
something. He pointed to the road ahead of them. “Look! The Cerulean City Gym!
I’m pretty sure you’ve been looking forward to your next gym battle! Come on,
I’ll take you there.” He recalled Marril quickly and shoved Celina down the
sidewalk.
Soon
Celina and Kenji arrived at the dark, lightless gym, where they were greeted by
POA, Professor Oak’s Aide and Celina’s older brother.
“Alana was here already.” POA smirked and
crossed his arms. “You’re only second place. And who is this- your boyfriend?”
“Ani, could you be more baka?!” Celina
jumped acrobatically from the top of the stadium to the arena below, landing at
the edge of the large pool. “Where are the gym leaders anyway?”
“We’re right here.” A woman’s voice called out from the opposite side of the gym. The lights switched on, revealing three girls back to back on a yellow platform in the pool. “I’m Violet.”
“I’m Daisy.”
“And I’m Lily!”
“And we’re the three sisters of Cerulean City!”
They cried simultaneously.
“If a battle for the Cascade Badge is what
you’re looking for,” Lily said. “Then you’ve got it!”
“And as an extra prize,” Daisy said, lifting a
cube with the number 11 on it, “you get to have this TM if you win.”
“I’m Celina Meraki, from Pallet Town!” Celina
clenched her gloved fist. “What are the rules?”
“It’ll be three against three, but as gym
leaders we can change those rules if we want to.” Violet called out.
Celina
wasn’t paying attention. In shock, she whirled around and faced Kenji.
“Now that you know what my real name is,” She
yelled out to him, “it looks like I have nothing to hide from you. But you will
never forget the great battle you are going to witness today!”
“…….” Kenji stared in wonder.
“I choose as my Pokémon, Staryu!” Lily threw her Pokéball.
“Go, Bulbasaur!” Celina shouted. “Leech Seed,
now!”
The
seed landed directly on Staryu’s red stone face.
“Hyaa!” It cried out in pain as its HP was
quickly sapped away.
“No!” Lily recalled her knocked out Pokémon and stepped back.
“A one round knock out…” Kenji said under his
breath.
“My turn!” Violet grabbed a ball. “Starmie, go!”
“Sandshrew, I choose you!” Celina commanded.
“But water’s good against ground types!” Kenji
warned.
“She knows that.” POA told him. “But to prove
what a great trainer she is, she’ll beat a water-type with a Sandshrew.”
“Bad mistake.” Violet shrugged.
Three deep gashes were sent into its red jewel and sent the starfish flying onto the outside of the pool.
“Another instant K.O!!!” POA cheered his sister on.
“Oh…” Kenji watched in amazement.
“You win.” Daisy didn’t even bother to try. “Here.” Celina caught the TM and Cascade Badge as they tossed them over to her. “We lost to another girl from that nowhere place called Pallet Town!”
* * * * *
“Take a look at that!” Celina smiled proudly while wrapping the ends of the cloth around her forehead, which now had a Cascade Badge shining brightly beside the Boulder Badge and Pokémon League symbol.
“Impressive enough.” Kenji nodded.
“Well, look whose here!” Gary stepped out of his red convertible full of girls. “I didn’t expect you to get here already, considering I have a car and you don’t even have a bike.” He smirked, and then noticed the Cascade Badge on her forehead. Gary didn’t have one yet, so he pretended not to notice. “Let’s see how good you’ve gotten. Four against four.”
“I don’t want to be wasting my time with an immature kid like you.” Celina crossed her arms and closed her eyes, pure conceit written on her face. She turned to walk away.
Gary was about to insult her by calling her a coward when he spotted Kenji nearby.
“Does Celina have…a boyfriend?” Gary balled up his fist jealously at his side. “Damn! I’ve tried so hard to win her affection, how can this…this nerd have beaten me?!” Gary just put on a fake smile and hopped into the car. “Smell ya later, babe!” He waved while winking his eye and speeding out of site.
“Who was that?” Kenji asked. “Your ex-boyfriend?”
“Oh, come on!” Celina sighed. “Does he really look as old as me? ::sigh:: He’s just some ten-year-old boy I knew since he was born, forget about it.”
“What made you think I wouldn’t?” Kenji crossed his arms innocently.
“Shigeru Okido should battle someone his own low rank like his rival, A-”
“I challenge you to a battle!” A Jr. Trainer stepped out of the darkness, interrupting her. “You can’t cross this bridge if you lose!”
* * * * *
“Come back, Rattata!” A different trainer recalled his Pokémon, the fifth one Celina had to beat.
She looked up at the road ahead of her. There was one more trainer left, but he was hidden in the darkness of the trees far ahead. As she continued walking, she gasped in familiarity- a red “R” was clearly marked on the chest of his black uniform.
“You passed the test.” He told her, clapping. Celina and Kenji stepped back in surprise. “But it’s not over yet.”
“Alright, another Pokémon battle.” Celina grabbed a Pokéball.
“Let’s rumble!” The Rocket threw the red and white ball in front of him.
* * * * * *
“Finish it off!” Celina threw her outspread hand forward. “Leech life, Zubat!”
The Zubat sucked the rest of the HP from the opposing Koffing.
“You beat with just one Pokémon!” The Rocket’s jaw dropped open. He straightened himself up and regained his composure. “You have proven yourself, girl. Now it is my duty to welcome you to the infamous Rocket Gang!”
“A place in…Team Rocket?” Celina stared in shock.
“This bridge was all a test.” Kenji said to himself. “The other trainers we passed by were all hired by Team Rocket.”
“Yes.” The Rocket smiled and looked her over. “Whaddya say you ditch your nerdy friend and be my partner?”
“Shi-tsu-koiiii! (Forget it!)” Celina yelled as she stomped away. “Perv…”
“Hey, Celina, wait up!” Kenji ran to catch up with her.
“There’s something different about that girl…” The Rocket said to himself, chuckling. “Why do I have the feeling that we’ll meet her again? She looks like trouble for troublesome Team Rocket…”
Narrator: “And so, Celina has made a new friend, and some new enemies. But the battle is not over yet. Will Kenji ever tell Celina his real name? Who does Kenji remind her of? And what new challenges await this eager young trainer in the next episode?”
Episode 7: HERE COMES THE
ROCKET PATROL!
Narrator: “Celina Meraki has just defeated a member of Team Rocket and the 5 other trainers their evil organization hired, and turned down his offer for her to join them. As she travels, her new friend Kenji follows…”
“Have you heard of Bill, the young Pokémon enthusiast and famous Pokémon researcher?” Kenji asked, walking beside Celina.
“Of course!” She answered, turning back to look at him.
“His cottage is just north of Cerulean, and I was planning on stopping by and getting the latest news on Pokémon capture technology.”
“Hmm…” She thought carefully. “I want to go too. I’ve always wanted to meet famous Bill of the Lighthouse.”
“We won’t be going to his lighthouse.” Kenji informed her, both of them keeping their senses alert for wild Pokémon. “He has a second house, so to say, that he sometimes stays at to do his research.”
“Okay.” Celina looked around, but saw nothing but trees lining the path, tall grass, and bushes. A rustle came from nearby. “Go, Mew- I mean, Oddish!”
“Od-oddish!” The blue radish Pokémon popped out of its ball.
“Leech seed!” She commanded. At the same time she thought,
“It’s a good thing I didn’t call out Mew. If Kenji saw it…”
The seed landed on the monster, revealing it as an Abra. It started to blink as its Teleportation move took action.
“Pokéball, go!” The ball captured the Abra instantly, surprising her.
“Congratulations!” Kenji smiled and closed his eyes. “A psychic Pokémon for a psychic trainer!”
“H-how did you know?”
“Your eyes of course!” He pulled a mirror out of nowhere. “Any good Pokémon trainer knows the importance of telepathic powers in training PSI Pokémon!” Celina examined her eyes in the mirror as he babbled on. “Almost all people with irises that color are psychic! Think of the possibilities! One with such a gift can train all Pokémon, while one without it cannot train the PSI types. Plus, dark purple eyes go well with just about any face, including yours!”
The black blood vessel symbolizing anger appeared over Celina’s forehead. There was a loud crashing noise and the next scene showed her leaning on a giant mallet while bumpy-headed, swirly-eyed Kenji lay on the ground (missing a few teeth) next to a shattered mirror.
“Baka…” She muttered. “Why are you following me, anyway?”
“Well, as they say, even a Pokémon Master needs friends.” Kenji stood up and grinned.
Celina looked at him briefly, smiling while she picked the Pokéball containing Abra up from the ground.
“My Pokémon need to be seen to.” She said, flipping open her Pokédex and looking at the stats and HP of her team, now with a damaged Abra added onto it. “But the nearest center is back in Cerulean and it’ll take so long to get there…”
“Beeeelll.” They saw a strange plant Pokémon come out of some bushes.
“This one’s mine!” Kenji grabbed Marril’s Pokéball. “Go!”
“Have you ever thought of giving your Marril a nickname?” Celina asked.
“Maybe later.” He spotted the Bellsprout escaping. “Wait here!” He yelled as he ran with his Pokémon off into the woods to follow it.
“Hmm, I already have a Bellsprout.” Celina closed her Pokédex and shoved it in her pocket. “But my Pokémon are in serious condition. All except…Mew.”
“Come to my place.” A strange sounding voice startle her, and a man appeared out of the woods. “The Pokémon Center in Cerulean was vandalized by some gangsters, and my friends and I were put in charge of a makeshift center to heal Pokémon.” Celina looked him over. He had glossy bluish-green hair, cut short and split down the middle of his head. He was wearing a futuristic white lab coat, but his eyes caught her attention- they were brown, but their shape was similar to that of hers, and all in all, he was very good-looking.
“Where is it?” She asked. “How can I get there?”
“I can give you a lift.” The young man pulled a motorcycle from the tall grass. “I was just out here, releasing a few Pokémon, when I heard you needed medical care for your Pokémon.” Celina nodded slowly as he flashed a charming smile. He hopped onto the seat of the motorcycle and motioned her to get on behind him. “I can get you there in less than five minutes. By the way, you can call me Butch.”
“I’m Celina. Wait.” Celina grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and wrote down the words: At the Center in Cerulean. –Celina.
She pinned the note onto a nearby tree, making it very visible to anyone who passed by. Then she got on and held onto the seat, but had to wrap her arms around his middle when he triggered the acceleration and flew the motorcycle down south.
* * * * * *
“Lost it…” Kenji grumbled, slowly walking back to the place he left Celina. “Hey- Celina?”
“Mari! Mariiiil!” Marril pointed to the tree with a piece of paper attached to it.
After reading it, Kenji recalled Marril into its Pokéball and headed south, to Cerulean City.
* * * * * *
“Welcome!” A blond woman greeted Celina at the door of a building in Cerulean City. “I’m Cassidy, a licensed nurse here at our licensed Pokémon center! Please deposit your Pokémon in the tray right there. And don’t worry! We’re licensed!”
She wore glasses and the same lab coat on as Butch, who seemed to have disappeared behind the counter. Cassidy had lavender colored eyes that were shaped like Butch’s, and wore tacky triangle earrings. Her glossy blonde hair was in a bun, but the ends of her spiky hair stuck out from the bottom of the ribbon that held it up. The red lipstick on her lips curled into a friendly smile as Celina quickly bowed traditionally, even though they appeared to be the exact same height and close in age.
“I found a cute one, didn’t I?” Butch’s scratchy voice whispered as he appeared from the hallway to the side.
“I could care less about that.” Cassidy growled. “It looks like she has some rare Pokémon, judging from the way she handles them.” Celina’s suspicion did not go unnoticed. “Get rid of her fear, let her guard down with your so called… “charm”.” She had raised her fingers and signaled quotes around the word “charm”, slightly offending Butch.
“Why did I have to be partnered up with you of all women?” Butch mumbled. “I’m not used to this whole partner-thing, anyway.”
“This is only our first day working together.” Cassidy crossed her arms. “You’ll get accustomed to it.”
Celina had placed five of her six Pokéballs in the metal tray, (purposely leaving out the Master Ball containing Mew), and Cassidy rushed to put the tray on the machine that healed Pokémon that were usually found in the Pokémon Centers. When Celina turned around to walk away, she bumped into Butch.
“Leaving already?” He asked, looking hurt.
“Well, I have to find someone…” She avoided making eye contact with him, fearing that he would be able to see how attractive she thought he was.
“I’m off duty now, so why don’t I take you to the best restaurant in Cerulean City?” Butch smiled, crossing his arms and staring into her eyes intensely.
“Why do I have the feeling that something’s wrong?” Celina thought to herself as she bit her lower lip, trying to make a decision. “Why don’t premonitions come to me when I need them most?” She turned and looked at the counter where Cassidy was busy pressing buttons on the healing machine.
“Don’t worry about anything. I’m sure your friend will come here and Cassidy will tell him where we went, won’t-cha, Cass?”
“Just have a good time!” She smiled and waved to them.
“So it’s all set! Let’s go!” He started to push Celina out the door.
“I’d rather stay here.” She pulled out of his grasp and walked to the bench nearby. “Something’s wrong with this place…I can’t just leave my Pokémon here. And I wouldn’t even do that at a normal center.”
“Fine.” Butch sat down next to her. “We can always have a friendly conversation here.”
* * * * * *
“What do you mean the center was vandalized?!” Kenji grabbed Officer Jenny by the shoulders. “My friend was supposed to heal her Pokémon here!”
“Calm down.” She told him. “I heard there’s a temporary center in the abandoned bike shop. You can’t miss it- it’s right next to the new one. Your friend should be there.”
* * * * * *
“So you’ve been training Pokémon for only five days?” Butch seemed impressed. “And you’ve owned 21 different Pokémon!”
“Yeah…” Celina looked nervously over at the hallway where Cassidy took the tray of Pokéballs to the back of the building.
* * * * *
“So we now have a Pidgeotto, Bulbasaur, Butterfree, Sandshrew, and Clefairy added to our bundle of stolen Pokémon!” Cassidy informed a group of men and women dressed in black with red R’s on their uniforms.
“This was a great plan.” One Rocket commented.
“Only our Boss can think of ideas like this.” Said
another.
“The Boss would really like a rank “A” Pokémon like Clefairy!”
“And they’re all very high in levels.” Cassidy looked over at the giant cage full of gagged and tied-up trainers. “First we much get rid of these nuisances and then report to the Boss. I’ll surely get a raise for this!”
“Ms. Cassidy!” A Rocket walked up quickly. “Our security cameras spotted another trainer coming. He’s with a police officer.”
“Eradicate them immediately.” Cassidy said. “We don’t want to risk getting caught, and I think we have enough Pokémon to make the Boss happy.”
* * * * * *
“Kenji?” Celina spotted him nearing the building through the window.
“I’m guessing that’s your…friend.” Butch stood up.
“Butch!” Cassidy walked up quickly and smiled. “Time to show Celina Meraki a tip of our hospitality.”
“Wha-?” Celina shouted as Butch picked her up roughly and flung her over his shoulder.
“Hold still!” He flinched under her merciless kicking and punching. He then followed Cassidy to the back of the building, where the other trainers were locked up and gagged.
“Dump her in there.” Cassidy ordered.
“I hate to do this to such a cute girl…” Butch smiled as he threw her in with them and tied ropes around her ankles and wrists. “But that’s my job. It’s been great chatting with you!” He kissed her cheek quickly and left, grinning at the look of anger and disgust written all over her face.
A few minutes later, everyone was startled by the door opening and Kenji being thrown in with them.
“Celina!” Kenji spotted her huddled in the corner.
“…..” Celina looked up at him with anger burning in her eyes.
“Uh…”
“You left me! You just ran away and left me with a team of unhealed Pokémon!”
“I…” Kenji’s startled face became dark with anger. “You just left! I told you to wait for me, and this happens! You should have been better to know that this place was a complete fake! Team Rocket is behind it all! You’re the psychic here! How can you even call yourself a Pokémon trainer?!”
“I…you…” Celina turned away, crushed and humiliated.
“Celina…” Kenji knew he had hurt her. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?!” She turned back to look at him. “If this is what happens when you follow a Pokémon trainer wannabe like me, then don’t follow me!”
“You really don’t want me around?” He asked seriously.
“No, I don’t!” She whipped her face back to the barred wall she was leaning on. “Just stay away from me. I knew hanging around you would mean trouble.”
“Whatever.” He turned his face away also, thinking about his Pokémon, which were now Team Rocket’s.
“Mew…I hope you’re okay…” She thought, reminded of her loss. “I wish I could talk to you on my own…” She had left the Master Ball in her backpack, and that was now in the custody of Cassidy and Butch.
“You’re free to go!” The lights switched on and all the trainers were nearly blinded. Rockets flooded into the cage and untied everyone. “We don’t have use for you anymore.”
“Tell anyone about this and you’ll have to suffer the consequences!” One of them warned, as the door was opened for them to leave.
“What about our Pokémon?” A blue-haired male trainer asked.
“Forget about them!” The Rockets gruffly threw him out.
“You can’t do that!” Kenji yelled. He punched one, knocking him out, and kicked another, making him fly to the wall.
“That’s right!” Celina pulled a mallet from typical Anime nowhere-ness. In a few minutes injured Rockets were scattered everywhere, moaning in pain on the ground.
“Hold it!” Cassidy and Butch stood at the door, large bazookas raised and ready to fire. “Drop the mallet!”
“Where are you, Kenji?!” Celina searched frantically around.
Some Rockets that weren’t hurt had kidnapped him and escaped through the back door, and the other trainers had left when told to.
* * * * * *
A large helicopter landed on the grassy field outside a house that was practically in ruins, the owners sobbing on the ground. Celina was held at gunpoint by one of the Team Rocket members, while others worked quickly to load the helicopter. Kenji was nowhere in site.
In the back alley of the building where Team Rocket had cleverly made a “Pokémon Center”, some Rockets had their guns raised, ready to shoot Kenji and get it over with. Suddenly there was a bright flash, and they were thrown against the brick wall- knocked unconscious. Mew appeared and untied Kenji.
“Mew myuu...” Mew had him free in a second.
“Thank you little Pokémon.” Kenji turned to leave.
“You’re gonna try and save my trainer without any Pokémon?” Kenji nearly fainted in surprise as a female voice sounded from out of nowhere.
“Wha- who’s there?” He looked around. “Are you talking to me, Pokémon?”
“Of course I’m talking to you!” Mew jumped on his shoulder and handed him a handful of Pokéballs. “These are yours and Satsuki’s, I wasn’t able to get the other trainers’. Now listen carefully…”
* * * * * *
“Hahaaa!” Cassidy clasped her hands together as the helicopter flew off. “We’re rich, Butch!”
“What’ll I do with my share…?” He thought to himself.
“Try buying yourself a personality, you spineless freak!” Celina was being held standing in front of a Rocket, anger glowing in her dark eyes.
“We have no use for her.” Cassidy snapped her fingers. “Get rid of her!”
The guns raised, ready to fire.
“So this is how I was meant to live my life.” Celina
thought to herself as the man tied her wrists and ankles together. “Without
a chance to say good-bye to Mew, too…”
“Glad you thought of me!” Mew’s voice rang through her head, but when she looked around she couldn’t find it.
“Mew…?” Celina slowly closed her eyes, confused as to what was happening.
“Fire!” Cassidy pointed her finger forward, but something hit her hard, sending her flying to the wall.
A huge barrage of various Pokémon attacks filled the air as little monsters jumped in the scene, each using their best moves. A Clefairy was using Metronome, a Bulbasaur was using Vine Whip, a Butterfree was throwing Rockets with Confusion, Pidgeotto blew them away with Gust, Sandshrew scratched every face it could find, and Marril shot blasts of water at Cassidy and Butch, whose lab clothes were tattered and torn and their black TR uniforms showed underneath. Kenji stepped out of the chaos of screaming and yelling Rockets and shots of electricity and waves of psychic energy and untied Celina.
“Didja miss me?” He smiled as she rubbed her wrists from the rope markings and Mew appeared behind him.
She looked around and grinned saying, “I’m thinking of the many things we can do to end this riot.”
“Is double dating one of them?” Kenji asked, still smiling.
“Indeed!” She stepped forward with Mew in front of her and Marril joined Kenji. “Give it your best shot everyone! Teleport, now!”
Mew teleported here and there, making sure to move too quickly for a Rocket to clearly recognize it, throwing them into a huge pile with some strange sort of PSI attack Celina had never seen.
“Ice beam!” Kenji commanded.
Everyone seemed to be encased in a huge block of ice.
“Argh!” Cassidy stood up from her hiding place behind some crates. She quickly undid the bun that held her hair and removed the white lab coat so that she was in her Rocket uniform once again. Her hair had spikes coming out of the bottom, strongly reminding Celina of Alana. “Look what you did!”
“The Boss isn’t gonna be happy about this…” Butch looked nervous.
“Say “konnichiwa” to your Boss for me.” Celina smiled menacingly. “Bai-bai!”
All the Pokémon, excluding Mew, blasted the group of Rockets away.
* * * * * *
“Thanks to you, our city is rid of Team Rocket!” Officer Jenny saluted Celina and Kenji.
“Yaaaaay!” A crowd had gathered around, cheering.
“Too bad they still got away with all those other trainers’ Pokémon.” Kenji looked to the mourning people nearby.
“Let’s just hope it never happens again.” Jenny nodded her head.
“With me around, it won’t!” Celina grinned.
* * * * * *
The violin music ending theme played in the background as the sun began to set on the Route, revealing 4 forms walking down the path.
“Why did you come to save me?” Celina asked Kenji, her Mew floating next to his Marril.
“Why wouldn’t I?” He shifted his backpack onto his other shoulder.
“Well, I was pretty mean to you back there when the Rockets captured us…” She turned away, embarrassed.
“As they say, even a Pokémon Master needs friends.” He grinned.
“…….” Celina remembered how he had said that earlier.
“And leaving you to die is just not me.” Kenji shook his head.
“Just who are you, anyway?” Celina was reminded of the fact that she still didn’t know his real name.
“Haha!” Kenji laughed, extending his hand to her. “My name’s Tracey. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Celina Meraki.”
“Same here,” She closed her eyes and shook his outstretched hand, “Tracey.”
“Myuu…” Mew giggled.
“Marril!” Marril laughed.
The closing scene shows Celina and Tracey walking side by side, their Pokémon giggling, the sun setting, and a bright future set ahead of them.
Episode 8: ALEXANDER- THE
ELECTRONIC DICTIONARY
Narrator: “So Celina went through a lot last time. She seemingly developed a crush on Butch, a member of Team Rocket. Also, Kenji revealed himself as Tracey, and saved Celina with Mew’s help. Six days have passed since she left home, and now she walks along Route 25, battling trainer after trainer, and raising the levels of her Pokémon.”
“There it is!” Tracey pointed to a large cottage standing next to the sea. “Bill’s cottage.”
“Great!” Celina’s eyes closed as she brushed her side bangs away from her face. “I heard this guy knows all there is to know about Pokémon! I could learn a thing or two from him.”
They entered the house without knocking, (**In the game you just walk into people’s houses! Isn’t there something weird about that?**) and noticed electronic machines and devices scattered around. Then they noticed a strange form in the darkness.
“What’s that?” Celina neared it.
“Hello?” Tracey looked around. “Anyone home?”
“It looks like a Pokémon…” She switched on the lights, never taking her eyes off of it.
“No! I’m Bill!” A voice came from the creature, which was, infact, a Pokémon.
“Aah! A giant-talking-killer-cannibal Rattata!!!!!!” Tracey jumped behind Celina and used her as a shield.
“Help me!” Bill the Rattata called out, reaching its furry paw in a pleading motion. “I’m a true blue Pokémaniac, not a Pokémon!”
“What happened?” Celina was fighting off the cowering Tracey.
“My experimental teleporter has combined my cellular structure with that of a Rattata’s! Please, just press that button on the large machine there at the back of the room.”
“Alright…” She walked back and pressed the large red button.
The Rattata scurried into one tube, and a second later a young man stepped out of the other.
“Thank you very much!” Bill said, brushing his brown suit with his hands and fixing his curly green hair. “Who knows how long I would’ve stayed in that form? From now on, I’m sticking with costumes.”
“What is that thing?” Tracey stared curiously at the machine.
“Just something I’m testing out.” Bill looked at Celina. “What’s your name?”
“Celina Meraki, from Pallet Town.”
“I’m Tracey.”
“Ah, do you know Professor Oak?” He started to type something onto his computer.
“Yes, he’s the one who gave me my first Pokémon, a Bulbasaur.” Celina answered. “And my Pokédex.”
“Wonderful!” Bill snatched the Pokédex from her hands. “Prof. Oak has assigned me with the task of programming 3 of the 4 trainers from Pallet Towns’ Pokédexes. You see, he was only able to do it with one of the Pokédexes, but the others had left already. I believe Dexter is the name of that kid’s Pokédex.”
“This is boring.” Tracey sat down at a desk and pulled out some kind of Pokémon manga. (**It’s the kind by Toshihiro Ono!**) “I love these comics…”
“My Pokédex doesn’t have a name…” Celina just realized it.
“That’s why I have to program one into it.” He pressed a few things on the cover of it. “The only name I have left is…Alexander.”
“Sounds good to me!” She shrugged.
“I heard somewhere that Pokédexes have personalities.” Tracey said, looking up from his comics.
“Depending on who they are, yes.” Bill continued to type on his computer. “One of the names is Dexter. He has a teasing personality, but is really helpful when needed. Alexander will prove to be a very good friend, though it’s nothing but a machine.”
“Oh…” Celina and Tracey muttered simultaneously.
Dark clouds started to fill the formerly clear sky as thunder rolled nearby.
“No, a storm!” Tracey glanced out the window. “You don’t mind if we stay here until the rain stops, right?”
“Not at all!” Bill smiled. “I need the time to program Alexander anyway.”
“But what’ll happen if-” Celina was interrupted by the darkness as the power went off.
But that wasn’t the only thing that happened. A strange beam of light blasted from Bill’s computer and bounced from the teleporter and hit Bill and Celina. A second laser hit the manga that Tracey had left on the desk and then bounced onto the second tube of the teleporter.
“Aaaaaaaah!” They yelled as they seemingly vanished into nowhere.
“Celina! Bill!” Tracey saw them as they disappeared.
“Kenjiiiiiiiiiii!” Her voice echoed through the air and faded out.
* * * * * *
“Eeeeeeek!” The two people came tumbling down on the grassy ground below.
“Ugh…” Celina groaned as she stood up in pain. After a split second of observing her surroundings, a loud scream tore through the air.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”
“Huh? What’s going on?” A young man rose from the ground, looked at the background, and shouted in surprise.
“NAAAAAANIIIIIIIIIIIII?!?!?!?!?!” (What)
“Who the hell are you?!” Celina looked at him. “What’s going on? I don’t understand! I…I…look different!”
“Celina?! Celina Meraki?!” He looked at her in surprise. “Forget how you look, what happened to me?! My voice! My clothes! My hair!”
“……” She looked at him. “…Bill? Is that you?”
“Yes it’s me!” He seemed angry. “What happened? The world has become so…weird!”
“Oh my gaaaaawd!” Celina recognized what they looked like. “We’re…in the world of manga!!!!”
“With color!” Bill added.
“Stupid Tracey!” She kept turning around to look at how different the world was. “We got zapped into our world through a manga artists’ eyes! Except the world is in color!” She turned around again and looked at Bill. “What the heck happened to you?”
“Did something else happen that I should know about?” He inquired as Celina handed Bill a mirror. He cried out in shock. “I look so different!”
He still had dark green, glossy hair, but it wasn’t wavy. His cat-like smile was gone, his eyes looked a lot weirder (as were Celina’s), his voice was like that of a normal teenagers’, and he was much taller. Also, Bill was wearing a baggy black and yellow jacket with a hooded sweater underneath and baggy jeans. Celina stared at him in surprise- he was very attractive. Maybe it was the vast difference between his old look and his new one, but she couldn’t help but think of how good-looking he was at the time. She looked pretty much the same, except with a slightly meaner look on her face, probably because she was irritated.
“We have to find out a way to get back.” Bill had started to unpack some stuff from the backpack he was wearing that came out of nowhere.
“Oh, yeah.” Celina stopped daydreaming to help him out.
* * * * * *
“Satsuki…Bill…” Tracey was on his knees crying back at Bill’s cottage. “What have I done?”
“Myuuuu.” Mew patted the back of his head as he wiped his tear stained face. Celina had left Mew there, surprisingly.
“Marril! Maaaariiil!” Marril snuggled in his lap.
“I have to get them back!” He stood up and balled his hand into a tight fist. “You’ll help me, right?”
“Myu!”
They three got busy finding a form of light and electricity.
* * * * *
“Get that camera over there.” Bill had his face buried in a made-from-scrap computer.
“Here.” Celina handed it to him.
He took it, flashed a handsome smile, and sighed.
“I still don’t get how this happened.” He grumbled, resting for a minute.
“Neither do I…” She was still thinking about how much better he looked.
They looked at each other briefly, but turned quickly away. Bill was blushing a little, but Celina just looked up at the sky with a small smile on her face.
“It’s really peaceful here.” Bill commented, wiping sweat from his forehead. “We appear to be in some kind of forest of something.”
“Yeah.” She agreed. “Do you think you’ll have the new teleporter built by evening?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah, at least I hope so.” He had to force himself back into reality, taken in by the beautiful surroundings. “Though I wouldn’t mind staying here.”
“What?” Celina seemed surprised. “I have Pokémon to train! I have gym leaders to beat! I have Pokémon to capture!”
“But there are Pokémon here.” He pointed out. “Listen to that calling noise- it’s a meeting between some Pidgey and Fearow.” She heard birds far off, in the distance. “And the rustling noises from the trees around us- are probably Rattata and Oddish.”
“Oh…” She noticed it.
“I’d like to stay here.” Bill leaned back and lay on the grass. “Since you want to go back, I have no choice. But this is what any researcher wants- to be able to observe Pokémon in their natural habitats.”
Celina was sitting on the ground next to him, staring at him and smiling. He looked into her eyes for a split second and grinned.
“Aren’t you the mastermind behind the Pokéball storage and retrieval system we trainers use?” She asked.
“Don’t!” He laughed. “Everyone says that- it’s embarrassing.” He looked into her eyes again. (The music when someone’s telling someone his or her dreams is inserted here.) “I couldn’t even spell “Pokémon” when I started my Pokémon journey. The thing was, that was the first year they were letting students go on vacation from school. I hated school so much, that I’d do anything to get away from it. But who knew I’d develop such a love for them once I got to know them?”
“Tell me about your journey.” Celina urged him.
“I started out with a Bulbasaur, like you told me you have.” Bill held up his Pokéball. “One morning I woke up and saw the Venusaur’s petals bloom, bathed in the golden light of the rising sun. How could I forget that? Pokémon have been the center of my universe, the reason for my existence, the only thing I ever thought about, ever since then.”
They both looked up at the sky, where the sun had begun to set beyond the treetops. (Music ends)
* * * * * *
“I heard this machine here is a way to contact anyone who has the other part of it.” Tracey held up an electronic device up to the light illuminating from a flashlight Marril found. Thunder rolled outside, frightening them. “I think Bill was holding the other half. So if we were to get this thing started, we could communicate with them, wherever they are.”
“Myuu, myu mee kroo.” Mew looked into his brown eyes. “How are you sure they’re in another dimension?”
“I’m sure of it!” He put the communicating machine down. “Now help me get this thing working.”
* * * * * *
“Pokémon mean a lot to you, don’t they?” Celina was now lying on the grass next to Bill, but her body was facing the opposite direction, so her body was upside down compared to his and her head was near his shoulder.
“They do.” He replied.
“Did you ever quit training them?” She asked.
“If you consider battling to win badges and get into the League training.” Bill answered. “I just figured along the way, that a master was not what I was destined to be.”
“…..” She turned her face to look at him. The sun had set, and stars began to light the sky. His fine features stood out in the darkness, and his dark hair was spread out in the grass. “Did you ever meet anyone who cared about Pokémon as much as you and shared the same interests as you?”
“Maybe…” He kept staring at the stars in the dark blue sky, smiling slightly. “But I never allowed anything get between my study of Pokémon. In a Pokémon trainers’ journey, many obstacles will come along that test your love for them and skill in training them. Sometimes I just wanted to quit and make live life like a normal person, but something just kept telling me to go on. My becoming so infamous has only urged me onward, to find out everything one could possibly know.”
He turned his face and stared into her dark purple eyes, the stars reflecting off of them. She was smiling beautifully, he flashing a charming grin. For a long time they lay there, just thinking about how wonderful it was to be talking to each other in such a way- they had barely known each other for a day and already they were chatting like lifelong friends.
“Hello? Hello? Celina? Bill?” Tracey’s voice came from a strange device in their camp nearby. “Please, tell me if you’re there!”
“Tracey!” They jumped up and ran to the communicator.
“You’re okay!” He sighed in relief. “What happened? Where are you?”
“We’re in a world that looks like colored manga!” Celina told him.
“I can’t see you! There’s too much static!” Tracey’s voice started to get cut off.
“Tracey, go to my computer at the left side of the room!” Bill told him.
“Bill? Is that you?” Tracey was surprised. “Your voice sounds really different…Okay, I’m at your computer.”
“Turn it on. It should work, considering it doesn’t work on electricity.” He commanded him.
“It’s on.”
“Carry it over to the teleporting machine and hook it up!”
There was silence. Only static could be heard through the radio.
“We lost him!” Celina growled and punched the ground.
“Don’t worry.” Bill grabbed her Pokédex. “Alexander here will save the day!”
A second later Tracey heard Bill’s voice again.
“Bill! I have the computer hooked up. Now what do I do?”
“You know what machine I used to program Alexander into Celina’s Pokédex, right?”
“Hai. (Yes)” He answered.
“There’s a similar one in the house somewhere. Find it!”
“What are you going to do?” Celina asked him as he put the Pokédex onto their little computer.
“I may not know exactly how to do it without the proper equipment, but Alexander does!” Bill said, pressing a bunch of buttons. “I’m gonna tell your Pokédex to teleport us like it does Pokéballs back to my cottage.”
“Greetings!” A mechanical voice sounded from the red machine. “I’m Alexander, the electronic dictionary for Pokémon.”
“You’re also our ticket back home!” Bill exclaimed in happiness.
“I found it!” Tracey shouted. “It’s already attached to the teleporter.”
Bill reached out his finger to press the white button on the Pokédex, but hesitated. Looking around, he smiled. Celina watched him for a second, and nodded as he questioned her with his eyes. He reached his hand out to her.
“It’s been great talking with you.” Bill took her hand. “I would’ve liked to stay here forever, but it’s time for you to go back.”
“Will you ever purposely come out to this dimension?” Celina asked him, fighting the urge not to blush when he squeezed her hand a little.
“Maybe.” He looked at her and smiled, then pushed the white button in the Pokédex.
* * * * * *
“I’m so glad you’re back!” Tracey smiled as he walked out the door of Bill’s cottage.
“Yeah, being in the manga dimension really gets to your head sooner or later.” Celina brushed her raven black ponytail from her shoulders.
“Wait.” Bill walked up and handed them two pieces of paper. “These are my gift to you,” He smiled at Celina, “for the great time.”
“They’re tickets to the S.S. Anne in Vermillion City!” Celina stared at him. “Thank you, Bill.”
“Sayonara!” Tracey waved.
“Bai-bai!” Celina turned and walked away.
As soon as Bill was out of site Mew popped out of the Master Ball and hugged Celina.
“Hahaha!” Tracey laughed as Celina turned around and hugged Mew back. “Mew helped me out when you guys disappeared. I never knew a Pokémon could be so smart!”
“Myuu!” It nodded its head in thanks.
Episode 9: A FORK IN THE
ROAD
Narrator: “We find Celina and Tracey walking down the route leading to Vermillion City. But a new challenge lies ahead, as does a new lesson in the ways of becoming a Pokémon Master.”
A school bell ringing through the air caught the traveling Pokémon trainers’ attention.
“A school? All the way out here?” Celina peered through the trees to see.
“There it is!” Tracey motioned to an area to the side. “It must be Pokémon Technical, a prep school for Pokémon trainers.”
“Those rich little snots just don’t want to go out and travel on their own!” Celina rolled her eyes in a similar fashion to Alana. “Wimps…”
“Just who are you calling wimps?” A red-haired boy dressed in a Japanese school uniform stepped out of nowhere.
“We’re the infamous Pokémon Tech students.” A boy with long black hair followed.
“No one disses our school!” A green haired boy stepped up, followed by several other boys dressed in uniforms.
“I wasn’t dissing your school!” Celina insisted. “But if little brats like you are the result, I’m going to have to jump to the conclusion that this school sucks!”
“Umm, Celina, let’s try not to upset the kids here.” Tracey looked nervous, being only two against a good ten.
“You’re right, I shouldn’t waste my time with you.” She turned to walk away, her black hair swishing around her neck.
“Is there a problem here?” A girl walked up, dressed in a girl’s Japanese uniform. She was extremely pretty, will long brown hair and three pieces of hair for bangs. Her eyes were that of a normal girl’s, but a look of stark conceit seemed to hide them. “I’m Giselle, the number one student here in the beginning class of Pokémon Tech.”
“Wow…” Tracey was blushing like a maniac next to Celina. “She has the looks of a movie star…”
“Heehee!” She giggled as she cocked her head upwards. “I’m no movie star, but being me is too good for the average person!”
“Is your face an identifying mark of sheer stupidity and ignorance?” Celina stepped up and put on a very conceited look of her own. “It sure seems like it, especially in your case.”
“Oh…” A murmur ran through the crowd of Pokémon Tech students. They said to each other, “Does someone dare insult the great Giselle?”
“What are you doing? Is that a challenge?” Giselle seemed angry, but kept her cool. “There’s nothing more annoying than someone who just can’t show her intelligence, that is, if she has any.”
“That is a challenge, you incompetent geisha. (Japanese prostitute)” Celina motioned to her skirt. “Hasn’t anyone in their right mind commented about how short you wear your skirt? It’s as if you really want them to gawk at your bony features!” She tossed her head back and laughed cruelly.
“Has Giselle finally met her match?” One boy asked another.
“Hmm,” Giselle looked at Celina’s eyes. “A psychic, no? And exactly what kind of PSI Pokémon do you have?”
“Umm…an Abra.” She answered.
“And how long have you been training?”
“About six days.” She replied.
“Your Abra is still not level sixteen?” The red lipstick on her lips smiled in a mocking way. “Abra’s only attack is Teleportation. It sleeps eighteen hours a day but can still battle while asleep. If that’s the only psychic Pokémon you have, you haven’t been training very well.”
“……” Celina just stood with her teeth clenched together in anger.
“At level eighteen Abra will evolve into Kadabra, that is, if you can even get it that high in levels. The only way to get an Alakazam is by a chemical reaction created through trading it. Psychic is Alakazam’s strongest and special attack.”
“……”
“The say Alakazam’s brain is faster than a super computer. They also “Like trainer, like Pokémon”, but in your case-”
“Enough!” Celina shouted, grabbing her Pokéball that contained Abra. “Let’s battle, hybrid geisha!”
Gasps ran through the crowd of witnessing people, including Tracey. Who dared to make fun of Giselle’s heritage?
“Hybrid?!” She shrieked and pulled a Pokéball out of nowhere. “Do not mock my blood! I’m as perfect as a fully blooded Asian! C’mon, give me your best, telepathic freak!”
“No, because I don’t have to follow the orders of an inferior!” Celina shouted back. “I don’t have to put an ounce of exertion to beat a thin blood like you!”
“CATFIGHT!!!!!” A brown-haired boy started to run away like the rest of the group.
“Shut up, Joe!” Giselle yelled to him.
“I’m outta here!” Tracey followed the red-haired boy.
Celina and Giselle stared into each other’s flaming eyes, trying to think what the other was thinking.
“Cubone, go!” Giselle threw her Pokéball after a long and very conceited Pokéball throw.
“Abra, I choose you!” Celina quickly threw her ball onto the grassy arena.
“Cubone, Bone Club!”
“Teleport!”
The ground type little monster ran up to hit the half asleep Abra on the head, but it Teleported out of site just in time to send Cubone flying face first to a tree.
“Do you think she can beat Giselle?” One student asked Tracey as they watched from far off.
“Positive!” He smiled. “I never met anyone with so much battling potential. She’s a natural at it.”
“Leer, Cubone!” Giselle ordered.
“Letting its defense down isn’t enough!” Celina smiled. “Keep teleporting!”
Cubone couldn’t even see Abra for a second as it zipped around, coming into site and then disappearing again.
“Cu, cubone!” It grunted as it ran back and forth swinging its club.
“Focus Energy!” Giselle shouted.
“It must be at least level 31 to know an attack like that!” Celina said to herself. “My Abra’s not even level 16 yet…”
“Bonemerang!” Giselle commanded.
“No, to know a strong attack like that it must be at level 43!” Celina exclaimed.
Abra teleported in front of Giselle.
“Cu- booooone!” It threw the bone at it with the new energy added in from the focus energy attack it had used earlier.
Abra disappeared just as the bone neared it and dodged the attack. A loud scream rang through the air as the bone hit Giselle in the shins and made her fall in the dirt.
“Ow!” She recalled her Cubone. “My hair’s a mess!”
“Giselle has called back her Pokémon, Celina and her Abra are the winners!”
“Yaaaaay!” Celina jumped up and hugged the yellow armored creature. “You were great, Abra!”
“Abraaaa?” It flashed white and glowed.
“What’s going on?” Tracey called out.
“It’s…evolving!” Giselle and all the other students had come out to watch the spectacular scene.
“Kaaadabra!” The newly evolved Pokémon held up a spoon.
“Wow! A Kadabra!” Celina whipped out her Pokédex.
“Kadabra, number 64, the Psychic Pokémon. Kadabra relies on a strong mind rather than a powerful body to win. It can send out waves of mental energy that cause headaches at a close range.” Alexander told her.
“It says here that it’s already at level 27!” Celina exclaimed. “Battling such a high leveled Pokémon like Cubone made it skip levels!”
“But usually they don’t learn any attacks that they would’ve learned if you got their attacks one level at a time.” Tracey informed, walking up to her.
“I lost!” Giselle cried out. “How could I lose? Cubone’s my strongest Pokémon!”
“For some reason, I think she and Gary Oak would make a cute couple…” Celina said to herself.
“Shigeru Okido, that guy we met in Cerulean City?” Tracey looked at the crying Giselle. “You know what? I think you’re right.”
* * * * * *
“This is the simulator room.” The boy mentioned earlier, Joe, was showing Celina and Tracey around the school.
“Simulators?” Tracey seemed interested.
“These are here to teach us what type of attack is good against what type of defense.”
“Tell me,” Celina crossed her arms. “Exactly how does your school function?”
“Well, we have different classes.” Joe began. “I’m only in the beginner’s class. Once you graduate from the advanced class, you can go straight to the Pokémon League!”
“Without any badges?” Tracey and Celina asked at the same time.
“Someone in the beginner’s class has the qualifications of a trainer with 2 badges.” Joe answered. “Different classes show how many badges you have. But this school is a lot harder than you’d think it was. Some people are held back for many years, and no one bothers to help them anymore.”
“Just what are you saying?!” Celina seemed angry. “There are some things a person can only learn from traveling on their own, like true love for Pokémon. A real Pokémon Master doesn’t just study books and battle with someone else’ Pokémon!”
“She’s right. It’s just not the same.” Tracey added.
“Try saying that to Giselle!” Joe said. “If you really want to argue with her. I gotta hand it to you, no girl has ever fought with her and won a battle against her!”
“That’s Celina.” Tracey laughed.
“Tell me more about getting into the League from here.” Celina said.
“Anyway, this school is just a way for rich kids who don’t want to go through the perils of a Pokémon journey to enter the League.” Joe continued. “Just call it a second path to becoming a Pokémon Master!”
“Celina!” Giselle called to her from the other side of the room. All was tense as she neared her. She stopped walking at about three feet away from her, and Celina was able to estimate her height to be around five-five. “Great battle.” She raised her hand for her to shake it.
“Oh…” Joe, Tracey, and everyone else there looked at them.
“Thanks!” She took her hand. “You put up quite a fight.”
“Next time we meet, I won’t go so easy on you!” Giselle joked.
“And I’ll beat you yet!” Celina smiled.
* * * * * *
“So we ended up being friends in the end.” Celina told Mew as she and Tracey sat on the grass to rest.
They were far away from Pokémon Tech, having traveled for a few more hours.
“Pokémon Tech is just one of the different ways to get into the League besides traveling around for badges.” Mew told her. (One of the ending themes play in the background) “Today was a really important day in your journey. We came across a fork in the road, a second path.”
“Oh yeah!” Celina pulled out her Pokéball and called out Kadabra. “Mew, meet Kadabra.”
“Myuuuuu!”
“Kaadabraa.”
“You two will make great friends!” Tracey said, watching them.
“Do you think Giselle will make it to the Pokémon League?” Mew asked.
“I hope so…” Tracey blushed heavily, still thinking about how pretty she was.
“Haha!” Celina laughed when she saw him. “I hope so, too!”
Episode 10: VERMILLION
CITY’S ANNUAL POKéCRUISE
Narrator: “Now Celina and Tracey find themselves at Vermillion City, where the eager trainers are capturing Pokémon at Diglett’s Cave.”
“Tell me again, where are we?” Tracey asked Celina as they groped with a flashlight through the dark of the cave.
“This place is called Diglett’s Cave.” She replied. “It connects Route 11 with Route 10, and is a great place to catch Diglett and Dugtrio.”
“I want to get out of here and go to the gym!” Tracey whined.
“Just a little longer…”
* * * * * *
“Yeeeeeaaaah!” Celina shouted, holding up a Pokéball. “I caught a Dugtrio!”
“Level 42, not bad.” Tracey said, glancing at her Pokédex.
“This is great!” She attached it to her belt. “With Sandslash, Diglett, and Dugtrio on my team, there’s no way I can lose to Lieutenant Surge!”
“Is he the gym leader here?” Tracey asked.
“Yes, and he trains electric types.” She answered. “Ground always has the advantage. Especially at these high levels…”
* * * * * *
“What the heck is with all these cans?” Tracey looked around. “It’s impossible to find the right two!”
“Well you have to.” Professor Oak’s Aide said. “It’s the only way to open the door to get to the leader of this gym.”
“Hmm…” Celina hit the switches on two cans and the doors opened. “Why am I so good?”
“Welcome to the Vermillion City Gym!” Lt. Surge shook Celina’s hand eagerly when the trio walked inside. “Aren’t you the cutest trainer to ever pass by? Except for that Alana girl…”
“That’s right!” Professor Oak’s Aide stepped up. “Alana beat you again!”
“Ani.” Celina growled.
“Just what is your real name, anyway?” Tracey asked. “Calling you Celina’s Oniisan (When speaking about someone else’s older bro, Japanese say oniisan instead of ani.) gets kinda annoying.”
“Who are you to say this anyway, Kenji?!” Celina towered over him.
“The name’s Cid.” POA nodded his head. “But my Japanese name is Siduko.”
“And I’m Lieutenant Surge, the Gym Leader here.” The tall man said. “Just because you’re a cute one doesn’t mean I’ll go easy on ya! Beat me and win the Thunder Badge and this TM 24.”
“Alright, let’s go!” Celina shouted.
The next scene shows the two trainers at the fighting arena, positioned and ready to battle.
“The challenger is Celina Meraki from Pallet Town, battling Lt. Surge of Vermillion City.” Cid called out. “Unlimited time and unlimited Pokémon. Let the battle begin!”
“Go Raichu!” He threw the Pokéball.
“Go get’m, Sandslash!” Celina chose her Pokémon.
“Raiiii!”
“Slaaash!”
“Dig, now!” Celina commanded.
A large whole was dug in the ground as Sandslash dove under.
“Use your Electric Shock!” Lt. Surge shouted.
All of Raichu’s attacks missed. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Sandslash popped out of the ground underneath Raichu and knocked it unconscious.
“Ha!” Celina cried. “My Pokémon is too high in level for you, Surge! Plus, you should’ve known you can’t hurt my Sandslash when it’s underground, and electric attacks don’t work against ground types!”
Soon the battle was over. Celina beat Surge’s Voltorb, Pikachu, and Raichu, without even calling back her unharmed Sandslash. Just minutes later, Celina strolled out of the gym, with a smile on her face and a Thunder Badge shining next to the Cascade one.
They went to several different places, including the Pokémon Fan Club’s headquarters, where they received Bike Vouchers for listening to the president’s boring stories. Also, there was an Old Fishing Guru that thought Celina was “a pretty little girl” and gave her an Old Rod as a gift. Celina was able to trade one of her many Spearow for a Farfetch’d, too. Coming out of his house, Celina looked to Tracey.
“Where shall we go now, my dear friend Tracey?” She asked him, grinning.
“To the Vermillion City docks, where the S.S. Anne awaits our arrival!” Tracey pointed ahead at the large ships and beautiful ocean.
“May I see your tickets?” A man asked the two as they walked onto the pier. Celina flashed him the S.S. Anne tickets. “You may pass.”
“Huh? Oh wow!” The two trainers gasped at the site. (As they survey the room, music plays in the background) There were people and Pokémon everywhere, stores selling Pokémon Items, battles, contests, and a lot more.
“I’m going to check out the stores!” Tracey ran off and disappeared into the crowd. “See ya, Celina!”
“I’ll be checking out the battles!” She started to run to a cheering group of people, the number one sign that a battle was taking place. But she screeched to a stop at the tables and tables of lovely food. “Kawaii!” She clasped her hands together. “Let us eat first! Hmm?” She looked down at the Master Ball on her belt, which was shaking in righteous anger. “Mew must want to come out too.”
She wandered outside the main room and found someone that could help her.
“May I help you, madam?” He was apparently a Japanese-French man.
“I need the keys to my room.” Celina said.
“Your tickets?” Celina showed them to him. “Ah, you have one of the best rooms on our entire ship!” He handed the keys to her. “Room 102. Please enjoy your stay!”
“Alright, Mew, you can come out!” She said as soon as she was safe inside the large, luxurious room. “I didn’t expect us to be sleeping in here…”
“It’s perfect!” Mew curled up on her shoulder. “A television, couch, two beds, could it get any better?”
“C’mon, let’s go watch the people battle! But first…”
A few minutes later Celina came out of the room with a Ditto perched on her shoulder.
“It’s funny how you made me Transform into a Ditto!” Mew telepathically told her. “Actually, it’s ironic!”
“Transform into a…Vulpix. Did you know there are no other Pokémon that know the attack Transform?” She told it.
“No I did not…”
“Venonat! Poisonpowder!” A familiar voice caught their attention.
“Tracey?!” Mew and Celina cried at the same time.
“Nooo!” A Sailor recalled his Tentacool. “Ya beat me, ya little runt!”
“I didn’t know you were into battling!” Celina and “Vulpix” walked up.
“Not really. But that Sailor was really beginning to bug me.” Tracey said. “So I sent out a Venonat! Get it?” Crickets chirped as Celina and Mew stared at him in such a way that he began to know how lame that joke was. “What’s with the Vulpix?”
“It’s Mew.” Celina whispered. “Transform is it’s second attack. How about a battle, so you begin to know just how great of a Pokémon it is?” She challenged.
“You’re on!” He smiled. “Our strongest Pokémon against each other!”
“Another battle! Yay!” The crowd started to gather around.
Celina and Tracey stood far apart from each other, as according to the League rules. Staring into each other’s eyes, they both thought the same thing: It was their first battle against each other ever.
“Marril, go!”
“Mew- I mean, Vulpix, I choose you!”
“Marril! Marriiiiru!”
“Vuul…pix!” Mew struggled to say.
“Marril, Hydro Pump!”
“Vulpix, Mega Punch!”
“Mega Punch?” The crowd murmured. “Since when does a Vulpix know Mega Punch?”
“Mariiiiil!” The blue mouse cried as it flew down by Tracey’s feet in a one round knock out.
“Your famous one attack K.O.” Tracey muttered, petting, but not recalling, his Marril. “You win.”
The lighted board above her head flashed the word: Winner.
“Hahaa!” Celina laughed as Mew leapt into her arms. (Still in the form of a Vulpix) “You did great, Mew.” She whispered.
“Mew’s a lot stronger than I expected.” Tracey said. “I’ve heard about it in legends and stories…It was a good idea to make it Transform so it could be here.”
“Come on, everything’s not over yet!” Celina raised her arm for Mew to climb onto her shoulder. “There’s so much more to see! I even heard there’s a great Pokémon impersonator on board, Duplica or something, and Suzy, the famous Pokémon Breeder. Let’s go!”
For hours Celina, Tracey, Mew, and Marril, who was now on top of Tracey’s head, walked around the cruise ship. Upon entering other people’s rooms, Celina was able to battle trainer after trainer with her other Pokémon. She even ran into the captain of the ship, who gave her HM 01 for being so “cute”. (HM 01 contains the attack Cut, which Celina quickly taught to her Bulbasaur.) It was late at night when they finally went to sleep in their rooms, the S.S. Anne having been departed from shore already.
“I’m so tired.” Tracey flopped onto his bed, followed by Marril.
“So am I, but I think I’ll stay awake a little longer.” Celina took off the cloth wrapped around her forehead, as did Tracey. Throwing her gloves on the table, she opened the sliding glass door and stepped out onto the balcony, thankful still that she got such a great room because of the tickets Bill had given her. The breeze flew through her now let down hair, and she closed her eyes as the black strands whipped around her face.
“Myuu…” Mew appeared beside her. “What are you thinking about?”
“Hmm. About Pokémon training. It’s practically the only thing I think about!” Celina laughed. “Here we are, so many Pokémon trainers from all over, all gathered here to share our interest.”
“It’s kinda overwhelming, isn’t it?” Mew’s voice sounded through her mind.
“You read my mind!” Celina laughed and looked into Mew’s large blue eyes. “I was lucky, very lucky, to begin with a friend like you.”
“And I was lucky to get a trainer like you.” Mew nodded its head. “I can’t do it well, but I see a great future ahead of you. But that’s later. Right now we need to get our sleep.”
Tracey was lying on his bed, leaning on the frame and petting Marril while watching Celina and Mew talk outside.
“Trainer and Pokémon, there’s no greater friendship, right, Marril?” Tracey looked down at the half asleep mouse, laughing as it struggled not to close its eyes. “It’s as if they were meant to be, like fate or something. Celina and Mew…” Looking at them and down at his Pokémon, he smiled and said, “Go to sleep, little guy. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow.”
He flipped off his shoes and slid under the blankets just as Celina walked in, followed by her floating Pokémon. She glanced at him, but his back was turned to her.
“Goodnight, Kenji.” She smiled and switched off the lights.
* * * * * *
“You sure we were allowed to take this?” Meowth looked at Jessie, who was pedaling at a ferocious rate, as was James.
“We need that girl’s help!” Jessie reminded it. “She helped us find that boy with his Pikachu, and I know she’s the one person we can go to about this. I overheard the Boss talking about giving this Gyrados submarine to us anyway, so why not take it now?”
“Are you sure she’s on the S.S. Anne?” James asked, panting.
“Positive.” Meowth answered. “And hurry up, we’re supposed to be following the pest and his Pikachu!”
* * * * * *
“Ring, Ring, Ring! Ring, Ring, Ring! Phone call, phone call!” A mechanical voice shouted into Celina’s ear.
“Aah!” She woke up, startled. “I knew I shouldn’t have slept with the phone right by my bed…” Celina grumbled and fixed her hair before putting on the video phone. “Moshi-moshi?” (“Hello”, but used only when answering the phone.)
“Hey, Celina, it’s us!” Jessie was talking, but she could plainly see James and Meowth in the background. “We need your help, so wake up and come out onto the deck!”
“I’ll meet you in a few minutes.” Celina turned off the phone and grabbed her stuff.
Soon she was out on the empty deck, the sun just beginning to rise.
“Psst! Over here!” A man and woman dressed in black waved her over.
“Jessie? James? Meowth?” Celina smiled when they nodded. “I haven’t see you guys in a while.”
“We need your help!” Meowth dropped on his knees along with Jessie and James.
“What is it?”
“But first, our motto!” Meowth closed his eyes as they began.
“Prepare for trouble!”
“And make it double!”
“To protect the world from devastation!”
“To unite all peoples within our nation!”
“To denounce the evils of truth and love!”
“To extend our reach to the stars above!”
“Musash!”
“Kojiro!”
“Team Rocket- blast off at the speed of light!”
“Surrender now or prepare to fight!”
“Me-owth, that’s right!”
“Do you guys have to say the motto even when you don’t mean to threaten anyone?” Celina asked. “I mean, it’s real catchy and everything but…”
“Well, that’s not what we’re here to talk about.” James began. “We need some background info on the pest who wants to be the best!”
“Ash Ketchum?” Celina looked surprised. “I can’t believe you guys are still wasting your time with him.”
“His Pikachu’s definitely worth any amount of time!” Jessie exclaimed. “Our Boss would really be happy.”
“Did you know your Boss just hauled in a helicopter full of stolen Pokémon?” Celina crossed her arms. “Forget it!”
“Pleeeeeeeze…” Jessie and James bowed low. “Kudasaiii…”
“Well…” Celina looked at James. If it were just Jessie, she would’ve refused instantly, but with James it was different. She sort of had a crush on him, but something about how Jessie viewed him told her that he was taken. But James looked so cute bowing to her like that… “Alright. Where do you want me to begin?”
“Just tell us about where he’s from, and basically all you can about him.” James said, smiling eagerly.
“Well you see…” She began.
(A Flashback comes in here, as the screen goes blurry and then becomes clear again)
“I was about four or five years old when two boys were born in Pallet Town. One was Gary Oak, or Shigeru Okido, and the other was Ashton Ketchum, properly named Satoshi. (The scene shows two mothers with their baby boys in their laps, laughing together in happiness.) They were the best of friends, and I was able to watch them grow. I viewed the both of them as my little brothers, my family not being around the house often enough for me to feel appreciated. (Young Celina is seen with two little boys, giving them some cookies from a jar and laughing as they gobbled them up.) But I always had them, Ash and Gary, to talk with and teach. Ash’s father left Pallet Town to become a Pokémon Master when he was ten, and they hadn’t seen him since. My father was always in other cities working as a Pokémon Professor, and for some strange reason I never really saw Gary’s parents much. But one day, they’re friendship was broken by something…I wasn’t really sure. (A little bit more matured Ash and Gary turned their backs on each other and started to walk away, Celina surprised.) I was very young, but I could tell that this was the start of a rivalry that wouldn’t end until their friendship was renewed. They abandoned me, and never talked to me much again. I had my friends, but losing them was like losing my family. For some reason, Ash and Gary always seemed nervous when I tried to start a conversation with me. After that…I actually started to disdain them. I figured it was because I wasn’t a good older sister, and that I just shouldn’t worry about little kids. So I learned to hate younger children. (Celina can be seen giving some children a cold stare when they asked for something.) I even called those two boys Ototo Shigeru and Ototo Satoshi! (Ototo= Younger brother) Until that one day everything was just torn apart…”
“That’s so sad!” Jessie and James had streams of tears pouring down their cheeks. “Oh, why is the world so cruel? Two best friends torn apart because of jealousy!”
“What?” Celina seemed surprised. “Jessie, James, are you saying that it might because they were jealous over me?”
“That seems to be the problem…” James said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “So Ash must be ten years old now, and he’s from Pallet Town.”
“We know that he has a Pikachu, Butterfree, and Pidgeotto.” Jessie thought. “Do you think this boy is a good trainer?”
“I really wouldn’t know.” Celina answered. “I haven’t seen him since the day I got my first Pokémon!”
“The story you tell us is very interesting.” Meowth said. “We need to know all we can about our victim before attacking!”
“Right!” Jessie and James cried simultaneously.
“Oh yeah, we need to borrow a nice costume from you!” Jessie pleaded. “We’re thinking more on the lines of average school girl…”
“I have just the thing!” She nodded.
* * * * * *
“Thanks for everything!” Jessie, James, and Meowth waved to Celina as their submarine started to sink under the water. “See ya later! These are real cute school girl uniforms!”
“Bye! Come back anytime!” Celina shouted to them.
“What are you doing up already?” Tracey appeared on the deck.
“I was just watching the sun rise.” She quickly answered.
“You know, normal people like to watch the sun set.” Tracey informed her.
“Look!” She pointed up ahead at an island in the distance. “It’s Pokémon Land! I read on a pamphlet that the S.S. Anne takes people there. This is great!”
“Yeah! And there should be even more Pokémon trainers at the big theme park like that!” Tracey exclaimed.
“We are now nearing the docks of Pokémon Land!” A woman’s voice rang through the intercom. “Everyone please gather up your belongings and head to the third level, where our workers at Anne-cruise lines will help you get off once we come to shore. Thank you for coming to our annual PokéCruise on the S.S. Anne! Look for our sister ship, the St. Anne, in Vermillion City soon!”
The scene ends as the ship docks and all the people walk down and touch dry land. Celina and Tracey can be seen running ahead of them all, eager to see what new challenges await them in Pokémon Land.
çTo be continued…