Wai, wai! Episode 36!

Disclaimer: Shadow does not own pokemon. It belongs to Nintendo, Game FREAK, 4Kids, Shogakukan comics.

Notes: Um… blank stare… Oh yeah. <> Indicates telepathy, ** indicates thoughts, and italics indicates poke speech thoughtfully translated into the English vernacular by your faithful, hardworking authoress!

Timeline: Right after Episode 35, in case you didn’t know.

Note: Tracey doesn’t come in until the Johto card arc, unless I feel like it. And I’m not feeling very charitably inclined towards him.

Note: The reason I didn’t update for so long was because MY ACCOUNT WAS FROZEN! And now my Internet connection is broken so it will take longer to update. *Sighs* AND FROM 12/21 to 12/25 I had NO ACCESS!

Ranma – heh, first reviewer, as usual. Ash actually doesn’t have the Sakura cards, since someone stole them from the shrine. Clow is VERY devious. Hmm… not planning anything with Yue, Ruby Moon or the others yet, but its intriguing. You’ll have to wait until Ash gets back – wait, that’s a spoiler! Never mind. Yes, he could probably change the Sakura cards because they have the same magic. I don’t think Ash wants Pink cards, Hehehe…

Tmp – Because then there would be no point to the Ashura cards arc! Plus lots of energy is required to transform cards, it really drains his magic. Yes, Sage Chow was based on the monks in the G/S/C Gameboy games. The Sakura cards are from the actual timeline of Card Captor Sakura; they are what Sakura changes the clow cards into. Destiny will make another appearance soon.

Pikacar/Marle – 2 reviews, yippee! It would be good if you had some knowledge of Card Captor Sakura, but its not required… Don’t worry, your writing style improves with time, I mean, look at me, I started writing 2-3 yrs. Ago…

Ivan, Derek, and Tracey – THANK YOU! 3 new reviewers! Yep, Pika-chan is really kawaii!

Eevee99 – No, I didn’t forget you, but due to ff.net freezing my account and very bad Internet connection (works for about 5 minutes every day), I was unable to update.

Mistress of Richard Cox – I wish I had a fruit basket too! No, I’ve never even heard of the anime, is it good? *Blushes* Wow… thanks for the compliment!

The Eevee Master – Hehehehe! Yep, Candice is really lucky. See above to see why Shadow could not update. *Sobs*. Actually, Fissure works pretty well for me *smirks*. Yes, I know Ash lost, but at least there’s a reason for it! *Unlike some fanfics* A-ano means But. You’re right. I will update as soon as my Internet allows. *Hands you a peanut butter sandwich* would you like marshmallows, banana slices, or honey with that?

Satoshi - *Smiles at compliments* But Ash is changing the cards!

SnowTiger – wow, I’m happy! Hmm… yes, you should read the fics to find out more about Destiny. *Sighs* And yes, Todd will mysteriously reappear!

Episode 36: Training and Transforming

Ash, feeling better after two days of rest (Pika-chan had to practically tie him to the bed in order to get him to stay there), was walking down the streets of Lavender Town. He wanted to go check out the Pokemon Mart and see if they had anything.

“Hi, may I help you?”

Ash turned to the salesperson. “Hello. I was wondering if you have any maps? I get lost sometimes.”

The salesman laughed and pointed to a rack. “There you go. Anything else? Poke balls or potions, maybe? Antidotes? Repel? That might come in handy if you’re going to wander around.”

Ash picked out a very dusty map of the Pokemon Tower. He wanted to go check it out.

“Do you have snacks?”

“Well… since there isn’t a general store close by, you might want to try out Brenda’s Kitchen. It’s about four blocks away. This is a pretty small town, so we don’t get a lot of business.”

“Thanks.” Ash said. He paid for his map and two Escape Ropes. Then, he headed down the street to Brenda’s Kitchen.

Pika-chan was playing solitaire on Ash’s pokédex. “Darn! I lost again. Aw…”

Sunny looked up from where she, Oddish, and Skymew were occupied in a rousing game of poker.

< Feeling a bit frustrated, Pika-chan? > Skymew asked.

“Of course! I’m going to go out and find Ash! Say, where did Storm and Ponyta go?”

Storm is taking care of the Dratini that some breeder brought in today. I didn’t like him. Ponyta’s probably with Ash, and Pidgey is outside, hunting for bugs. Oddish spoke up.

< Yuck. > Skymew said, thinking how revolting it would be if she was forced to eat a bug.

Pika-chan’ s expression mirrored hers. “Well then, I’m going! See ya!” She flapped her wings and flew out of the window.

Sage Chow continued his walk towards Lavender Town. He was feeling rather tired and decided to rest in the forest for a while.

Ash smiled contentedly when he entered Brenda’s Kitchen. The air smelled of spicy pumpkin pie, and there were aisles of food. He could see a bakery/deli section off to one side.

Ash happily headed over to the deli/bakery section first. There was a young woman in an apron there, putting cookies on display.

“Hello!” Ash said.

“Hi, welcome to Brenda’s Kitchen.” She said. “Can I help you?”

“What kind of cookies do you have?” Ash asked, noticing that there were no signs.

“Oh, it depends. We have different kinds every day. Let’s see, today is Thursday, so we have chocolate chip, peanut butter, and oatmeal raisin cookies.” She said. “We also have fresh apple pie and banana cream pie. If you want donuts instead, he have glazed, powder sugar, and chocolate.”

“Cool!” Ash said. He ended up buying four-dozen cookies as well as a pie. When Pika-chan met him at the door, he was ready.

Pika-chan got all starry-eyed when she saw the food. “Sugoi…”

“These will last us until we get to Saffron, hopefully.” Ash said as he handed her a cookie. Pika-chan munched and nodded at the same time.

Of course, she ended up coughing when the cookie crumbs went down her windpipe. Ash pounded her on the back until she recovered.

“Why don’t we go training, then?” Ash asked when they had finished. “I need to practice.”

“Yes, your transforming skill is, alas, rather mediocre.” Pika-chan said sadly.

Ash’s eyes narrowed in mock anger and he shrouded the cookies in invisibility. Pika-chan found herself holding nothing but empty air.

“Hey!” Pika-chan said, looking around frantically for the sweets. Ash smirked as he discreetly slipped the boxes into his backpack.

Pika-chan huffed. “Well, it’s true.”

“I know.” Ash said. “So, I guess it’s just us two, right?”

“Right! Skymew is at the center, and Sabrina doesn’t like being woken up for no reason.” Pika-chan said. “She’s not a people person.”

“I noticed.” Ash said dryly. “Shall we go?”

The two trotted off towards the forest, Pika-chan perched on Ash’s shoulder, looking like a toy.

In a forest clearing, about half an hour later…

Ash groaned as Pika-chan zapped him with a Thundershock. He had tried transforming into Pidgey so he could sneak past her (they were playing hide and seek), but after about six minutes, the transformation had worn off and he had started falling. He landed in a tree, and Pika-chan had taken advantage of his trapped state to shock him, laughing all the while.

“It’s not funny! Why can’t I do this?” Ash asked.

“Maybe it’s just not your magical talent.” Pika-chan suggested. “After all, your forte seems to be illusions and offensive/defensive spells, not subtlety, teleportation, or other ‘psychic’ powers.”

“Well, you’re the one who wants me to do this.” Ash said. He sighed as he closed his eyes and formed the mental image of a Geodude. “Okay, Pika-chan, let’s try this again. Close your eyes and count to ten.”

Pika-chan obediently closed her eyes and began counting slowly. “One, two, three…”

Ash opened his eyes three seconds later, to find that the transformation had been successful. He happily floated off and hid in the bushes.

“Nine, ten!” Pika-chan called. “Ready or not, here I come!” She began flitting around, looking for Ash.

Ash sighed in relief as she flew over his head. It seemed that the level fifteen spell; Aura Shield was still up, so she couldn’t find him because of magic aura. Also, there were wild pokemon out in the woods that would probably conflict with her senses.

Pika-chan hummed as she looked around. He didn’t seem to be in the air this time. It was a smart choice, since she could have easily zapped him and forced him to reverse his transformation.

Ash yawned seven minutes later. Maybe he could get the hang of this after all. He still didn’t see why he couldn’t just use his cards to transform instead of learning it the hard way, but if that was the way Pika-chan wanted it, fine. * Oh wait; I can’t use my cards because they’re almost out of energy, so the only way is if I change them. * Ash thought, a bit sadly.

Suddenly, Ash sneezed.

Pika-chan grinned and dived into the bush. Ash glared at her balefully, but her Thundershock didn’t do anything, since he was still a Geodude.

“Pretty good, Ash. I wouldn’t have found you if you hadn’t sneezed.” Pika-chan said.

“That’s good.” Ash said. * At least I’m getting better. *

“Why don’t we take a short break now?” Pika-chan suggested. “I’m sure we could both use some relaxation.”

“Sounds good to me.” Ash said. He unpacked the cookies he had bought at Brenda’s Kitchen earlier and they each had some cookies. Ash would have called his mom, but he was saved from doing so when his cell phone rang. Ash set down his cookies and turned it on.

“Hello. Ash Ketchum here.”

“Hello, Ash. This is Giovanni. Where are you? I need to talk to you about your Vulpix.”

“What’s wrong with her?” Ash asked as he shot Pika-chan a look.

“She was fine until a few days ago. Suddenly, out of the blue, she just seemed to lose energy and fall over. Our doctors are working hard to try and reach the root of the problem, but we do not seem to be having any luck. She is in what seems like suspended animation right now, she is not getting worse, but I don’t know what we can do.”

Ash gasped. Then he remembered that since Vulpix was a card, she was undoubtedly feeling the energy drain he had indirectly caused by having the wrong magic type. The only way to fix the problem would be to change Vulpix into an, ‘Ash card’.

“Can I come see her?” Ash asked.

“I suppose so.” Giovanni said. “Right now, she’s at the gym in Viridian City. Why don’t you drop by when you have time?”

“All right. Thanks for calling.” Ash said. He hung up.

“Come on, Pika-chan. We’re going to Viridian to see Vulpix!”

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Pika-chan asked.

“What?”

“Unless you change one of the cards, we can’t go until you go back to the poke center and reclaim Storm and the others. We have to Fly to Viridian, you know. It will take way too long to walk there.”

Ash sighed. “I know. Let’s go back to the poke center then.”

“Well, I guess our training ends now.” Pika-chan said. She hopped into his backpack and Ash started walking back to Lavender Town.

Let’s see what Gary has been doing…

“Bellsprout, use Poison Powder!” Cary called to her little plant pokemon.

“Arcanine, Quick Attack!” Gary was helping Cary train her pokemon, as part payment for taking care of him, plus temporary room and board.

Arcanine nodded and rammed into Oddish. Unfortunately, this caused it to be hit straight in the eyes with Poison Powder.

“Oops. I didn’t mean to do that!” Cary said, brown eyes widening in concern. “Is your Arcanine okay?”

Gary recalled his Arcanine. * Wow, someone actually beat me! She has potential; maybe she’d like to be one of my cheerleaders. *

“Yeah, I think so.” Gary said. “That was a good shot.”

“Thanks!” Cary said. They shook hands, before heading inside.

“So who won?” Cary’s uncle asked.

“I did!” Cary said. “I actually won!”

“That’s a good girl.” Ed said, patting her on the head.

“By the way, do you have a phone? I need to call my grandfather.” Gary said. Ed indicated the black, old-style phone on the counter.

Gary thanked him and called Professor Oak.

And after a six-hour nap, Sage Chow began walking towards Lavender Town again.

End of Episode 36! Please review! Comments and Constructive Criticism are great! Flames will be used to fry the evil egg. I think you know whom I’m talking about. *Glares* Oh, and some people e-mail me w/rude comments; I’m getting insanely angry. Oh, and some people have been trying to copy my ideas too, Shadow’s getting very angry. If you want to borrow an idea, pokemon, or attack, ASK ME!