So what has Shadow’s nefarious mind cooked up now? ^_^

Disclaimer: I don’t own pokemon! It belongs to Nintendo and Shogakukan Comics. This is non-profit fanwork, no copyright infringement is intended, and since I wrote this fanfic it’s my property.

Notes: <> for telepathy, ** for thoughts, italics in case a pokemon talks

Chapter 6: Shake and Deal

Janine listened patiently as her father explained the situation. She didn’t like it much herself, but in a twisted way it did make sense.

They were the same age…

Plus, they could train together, so that would help with her own skills.

It was worth a try. If he had won the indigo league championship, he couldn’t be that bad, right?

Right.

“I never knew you had a daughter.” Ash said, surprised, as he and Janine shook hands.

“Have fun kids,” Koga said, putting on his arm guards as he prepared for his next mission. “And be good, Janine.”

“Don’t worry father.” The girl said as she looked at Ash. * Hmm… well, at least he’s not a weakling, he does pretty extensive training from what I’ve heard, and his strength is speed like me… *

Koga nodded as he and his group of poison-pokemon vanished.

“So basically, if any other girls come near, I’m supposed to be your girlfriend?”

“I think that’s what your father said.” Ash nodded, as their pokemon ran around in the grassland outside of Pallet.

“And your next match is here?”

“It’s from some kid named Luella, I think that’s a girl’s name.”

“Sounds foreign, or at least very old.” Janine conceded as she closed her eyes and took aim at a white splotch on the nearby maple tree.

Four shuriken were embedded neatly inside.

“Hey, that’s cool!” Ash said.

“I bet you can do it too, you’re a psychic, right? So you actually have an advantage.”

“Since I’m bored, might as well try.”
“Be careful with these, they’re sharp and if you break them I have to fix them.” Janine warned.

Red kept that in mind as he closed his eyes, seeing with his heart as Sabrina had taught him to, and let fly.

Two of them hit the tree.

The third caused a yelp, as a girl stumbled out of the tree, which had apparently been hollow. “Hey! What do you think you’re doing?!”

“You’re Luella?” Ash asked. “I was waiting.”
She glared and rubbed the patch of red blooming on her cheek. “Yeah, yeah, and you hit me with one of those things.”

“You’re throwing too hard.” Janine explained. “They don’t take that much power.”

“Oh.”

“I challenge you! I am Luella the Sundance trainer, and I won’t lose!”

“… Well, might as well.” Ash said. * I was getting bored… * Janine shrugged, and in the next instant was up in a tree, watching.

“Sundance trainer? How boring…”

“Go! Marowak!”

Marowak charged, only to run straight into an Ice Beam attack that turned out to be a one-hit KO.

“Is this all you’ve got?” Ash taunted.

“I’m just getting warmed up! Exeggutor, Hypnosis!”
Poliwrath yawned and rubbed his eyes, but then used another Ice Beam. Since Exeggutor was still part grass, it was super effective as well.

“Use Barrage!”

Three coconuts hit, the rest were deflected with Doubleslap and then Poliwrath launched a final attack. Seismic toss.

One Exeggutor flew up in the air and one came crashing down, fainted.

“Even I could beat her probably.” Janine considered as she continued watching, looking for a weakness in Red’s style. He wasn’t exuding overbearing arrogance, which was a plus.

If he _had_, she wouldn’t have agreed to her father’s demands.

Well, actually, it was more like a suggestion. And she might learn something from watching him, so it wasn’t’ a waste of time.

“Muk, go!”

“Ooh, poison-type.” Janine said, glad to see one of her favorite and favored pokemon take the field.

Poliwrath vanished back into a poke ball, as Red flicked his wrist, revealing another pokemon.

A bird?
“Not Pidgeot or Fearow chain… and that’s not a Farfetch’d.” Janine analyzed. “But he has an Espeon, so why isn’t he using that?”

“Just wait until your pokemon falls to my poison moves! Muk! Toxic!”

Janine winced in sympathy. She knew first hand how Toxic was, having been through the attack many times herself to boost resistance to poison. But it had all paid off in the end.

“Come on, would I be pokemon master if I didn’t consider things like type advantage?” Ash mused.

The sludge, oily and glistening with ooze, slid off Skarmory’s body, not a smudge was left.

Shiny feathers continued to glint in the sun.

“Muk, Poison Gas!”

“Steel Wing…” Skarmory’s wings glinted, and Muk was hit. But since there was no type advantage on his side either, it was still alive.

Muk attacked with Sludge Bomb. Again, nothing happened.

“You haven’t figured it out by now? I’ll tell you.” Ash whispered. “Steel is poison-resistant. Bit late now though… Skarmory, finish it!”

A Swift attack pulverized the Muk; even its sludgy body wasn’t help against the sharp stars that flew at him.

Ash flashed a ‘V’ for Victory as Luella grudgingly paid him and exited the tree, still mumbling to herself.

“I didn’t know there were steel-types.” Janine said with interest. * So poison can’t hurt them at all, I’ll need to work on something besides speed because I doubt physical attacks would be much good either. * “Can I see him?”

“Sure, but be careful, Skarmory’s feathers are like swords.”

Janine whistled appreciatively. “Nice. Well, now that she’s not in the tree anymore, want to practice with the shuriken again?”

Ash cracked a grin, pulled the ones already implanted in the tree out, and then began throwing them again, while Janine offered tips and threw some of her own.

End Chapter

Shuriken are those ninja stars…

I like Janine!

Completed 5/6/04