Part 162!

Disclaimer: Shadow doth not own pokemon. It belongs to Nintendo and Shogakukan comics.

Notes: <> indicates telepathy, ** indicates thoughts, italics indicates telepathy.

Zapdos Articuno – wow, thank you!

Ranma – thanks! ^-^

SS2 Megami-sama – I hate dub… *nods firmly* kissing is a bad thing?

Incomplete13 – yes, yes!

Blackness44 – gracias! *Holds up lock card while Pika-chan is busy eating the turrets off the castle*

Link Masters – you know, I confuse myself so I’m not sure

Alanzia – why not use one of the existing gym leaders?

Psychic Sabrina – Hi! Well, Giselle will get what she deserves. It’s steel. And Luna is right, there’s more to life than magic. Maybe Kingdra and Ho-oh… I’m not answering questions yet!

Episode 162: Mahogany Town Adventure

Two days later, Ash and Co. headed to Mahogany town.

“I’d like to get a Glacier badge.” Ash said.

“Are you absolutely sure you’ll be okay?” Pika-chan pressed.

Ash sighed. “Pika-chan…”

“Well, it’s true! Remember what happened at the Uranus gym? If you black out after the battle, I’ll shock you!”

Ash groaned.

Pika-chan zapped him just to make her point.

Lance picked Ash up. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Put me down!” Ash hissed in a whisper.

“Wow, you’re light.” Lance said, as she continued walking. “Of course, I’m using Power, so I have a lot more strength.”

Ash sighed. “Crystal…”

“What?”

“I give up. It’s pointless to argue with you.”

“I’m so glad you finally concede that point.”

They walked into the Mahogany gym. Then, Lance put Ash down. The referee was snoring. But there were a couple of junior trainers around.

Short work with electric and fire pokemon… Ash got to use the Ponyta card though.

“So where’s Pryce?” Ash asked the last junior trainer.

“He’s up doing solo training on that mountain.”

“What?!” Ash demanded. * I’ve been fighting all these trainers for nothing?! Why does this remind me of Morty’s gym? *

< Apparently so… >

“Do you know where on the mountain?”

“No, not really.” The trainer said. “You could always ask Sheila, if she’s anywhere around here.”

“Who’s Sheila?”

“I am!” An energetic, exuberant, hyper old woman appeared. “I’ll take ya’ll to see Pryce! Let’s go!”

She then ran off.

Ash and Lance shrugged and ran after her. Soon, they came to a field filled with what looked like rock statues.

Sheila stopped short. “This wasn’t here before.”

Ash nudged Lance. “Crystal, they’re all statues of pokemon. You don’t think…”
Lance looked worried. “I’m afraid so. This is the work of a Stone Cardix.”

“A what?”

“A Stone Cardix, they can be turned into cards. They sprinkle powder on people and pokemon to turn them into stone, or they touch them.”

“So how do we turn them back?”

“Defeat it in battle.”

“Where is it?” Luna asked, looking around. “Pika-chan? AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

The group turned around and saw that Pika-chan had been turned to stone.

“It’s definitely around here.” Ash said. He swung his key in a circle. “Magic to cards, cards to key!”
The chant worked.

Ash released a pokemon card. “I’ll take care of it, Crystal, you protect Sheila.”

Lance nodded, and put up her Shield card around both of them. Sheila looked terrified. * What’s going on here? *

“I know you’re out there.” Ash said. He released the Mantine card. “Mantine, Rain Dance, now!”

It began to pour.

There was a growling sound, and something flung itself at Mantine. However, Ash had taken precautions and coated himself and his pokemon with Safeguard.

“Mantine, Bubblebeam!”

Mantine spat a torrent of bubbles at the Stone Cardix, sending it flying.

The demon pushed itself up and charged again.

“Mantine, hit it with another Bubblebeam!”

Mantine growled and his attack crumbled the Stone Cardix into a million pieces. Ash whipped out his Thunder Wand.

“Heaven’s Fury to destroy this abomination and purify the earth!”

There was a bright flash, and it vanished.

Ash turned around to look at Lance, and found her standing over a fainted Sheila.

“She blacked out.” Lance said. “I used Hypnosis to erase her memory.”

Suddenly, the stones around them began changing back into the wild pokemon. The pokemon scattered, leaving the meadow empty.

“Should we wake her up?”

“Wait.” Lance said. “It takes a few minutes for Hypnosis to work completely.”

“Well, high time!” A voice said.

Ash saw Pika-chan looking indignant with her hands on her hips.

“What’s wrong, Pika-chan?”

“I can’t believe you didn’t notice the aura of a Stone Cardix until I turned into a rock!”

“Well…”

“Pika-chan, he just captured Ampharos yesterday. Give him a break.” Lance said.

Ash shot her a grateful look. “Thanks, Crystal.”

Pika-chan looked slightly huffy. * I knew it! They are in love! *

Luna yawned.

< You know, there is another Stone Cardix heading this way, and Sheila’s about to wake up. >

< Great. > Ash said.

< I’ll take care of it. > Lance said, smiling. < You make sure she stays asleep. >

Lance drew out a card. “Watery, Drown it.”
Watery easily drenched and killed the demon.

Lance shook her head. * I hope someone’s not letting these in… otherwise, when I get my hands on them… *

Sheila finally woke up half an hour later.

“Well, what are we wasting time for, let’s go!”

And so she ran off. Again. I wonder what cereal she had for breakfast?

Ash and Lance followed. They ran past two boulders, up a mountainside, and across a flat plateau, before they finally reached a waterfall.

“Pryce is sitting in the waterfall and meditating.” Sheila explained.

“Let’s wait until he’s done.”

After a while, Pryce finally emerged.

“Pryce! This kid wants to have a battle with you.” Sheila said.

Pryce scowled. “Look at the way you’re playing with that Pikachu. You must be a weak trainer.”

“What?!” Ash asked, outraged.

Pika-chan was restrained, thanks to Luna, so she would not bite Pryce’s head off.

“Battling you would be a waste of my time.”

Ash growled.

“I resent that. Let’s settle this with a battle.”

“Ash you wish.” Pryce said. “Dewgong, go!”

“Sunny, go!” Ash said. < Match Thunder now! >

It was a one-hit KO…

Sunny preened. < Ha! We showed that old geezer. >

< Hehehehehehe…. > Ash replied.

Pika-chan finally relented. Lance sighed, having turned the nearby tree into candy with the Sweet card, which Pika-chan occupied her with, stuffing chunks of creamy caramel and chocolate bark into her mouth in rapture.

Pryce looked stunned.

“Pokemon and trainers need to work together with love.” Ash said. “Can’t you see?”

“Easy for you to say.” Pryce said bitterly.

“What do you mean?”

“Once upon a time, I had a Piloswine that I loved more than anyone else in the world. But one day, we were at a tournament, up against a Magmar. We lost, and I wound up with severe burns over my body. And that night, Piloswine disappeared. I never saw him again…”

Ash stared at Pryce incredulously. “Didn’t you look for him?!”

“Of course I did!”

“But you never found him?” Lance asked.

Sheila nodded.

Ash looked at Lance. < I feel sorry for him. > Then, he noticed that Lance had her eyes closed.

Her eyes snapped open, and they were ice blue this time.

“I know where Piloswine is.”

“What?”
Pryce looked flabbergasted. “How?”

“Trade secret.” Lance said. “But he’s alive.”

“Then let’s go find him!” Ash said.

“I hope you have a good flying type… because we’re going into that canyon.”

End Episode 162!

Flames = BAD! Reviews = wonderful!

Poll: I was thinking about writing a Sabrina/Morty romance in the end of CCA, should I?