Watson led the way down the sidewalk and through the buildings’ alleyways. Toya and Phanpy scampered alongside their trainers silently. May felt another kick from the Poke’mon egg and started to second-guess her following them. Every time she took a step, she could feel her danger sense rise. “Landon, I don’t think—” “May, nobody forced you to come.” Zeru told her as they crossed the street. “Don’t start with me, Zeru!” May warned him. “Then don’t be such a Pidgey.” Zeru retorted. “I’m not scared! I just don’t think this is a good idea.” “I can take you back to the Poke’mon Center, May.” Yuko suggested. “Su-bat-bat-bat!” Zubat squeaked quickly in agreement. “I’m worried about my egg…but I’m also worried about my friends.” May smiled falsely. Once again, Landon’s optimism turned his situation into a challenge; he figured that catching the thief would be a good warm up for his up-coming match. The group ducked between another alley before they came to a tatty-looking building with a police line around it. Some of the windows were broken and the paint was pretty scratched. The other buildings around it weren’t as bad as the warehouse, but still rough-looking. It looked like something out of a detective book. Watson was right—he should have checked the warehouse out first. Watson examined the building and surroundings before attempting to step over the police line. Landon was the next to go, followed by Zeru, Yuko, and May. The front door, logically, had been boarded up. That only left one option. “We’re going through a window.” Watson stated. “Try this one over here!” Zeru said, pointing at the side window. “Good one, Zeru.” Landon said. Zeru placed his hands under the sill and started to pull up on it. “Arrrrgggh!” Slowly, the window started to creak upwards. “Phanpy, Phanpy!” Phanpy leapt up onto the sill and used her trunk to help her trainer. This time, the window slid up much easier, yet a lot noisier. “Thanks a lot, Phanpy.” Zeru massaged underneath her ears and she practically melted. “Let’s go,” Watson allowed the kids to clamber in first. After a brief look around, he crawled in after them.

       The inside of the warehouse was partially lit by sunlight that squeezed in through the breaks in the building. The floor was littered the wires and circuit boards. Against the walls were odd-looking machines and turbine generators. A thick layer of dust caused Toya and Phanpy to sneeze. “Look at this place…” May said, letting her eyes wander to the dusty computers and keyboards. Landon and Zeru put their Poke’mon on their shoulders to keep them from sneezing. “This is the old electricity warehouse that Mauville used to use when the power went out. But since we’ve had no use for it in several years, the building went out of business.” Watson explained. The place was dim wand mysterious—perfect for a hideout. The sinking sun didn’t help with the lighting in their situation. “It’s getting dark in here.” May said and Watson nodded in agreement. “I can fix that.” Zeru pulled a poke’ball from his belt, “Light it up, Charmander!” He let it open in his hand, releasing his Poke’mon in a flash of light. “Char-Char!” Charmander clapped at its entrance. Its cackling tail flame lit up the room with an orange glow, catching the shadows that the afternoon sun had missed. “We can use Charmander as a light so we can see.” “Quick thinking, Zeru.” Watson complimented Zeru. “Lead the way Charmander.” “Charmander,” Charmander started forward, followed by its trainer and the rest of the group. They walked through a door and into a short corridor. No one would’ve ever guessed that the inside of the abandoned warehouse was so long and vast. The corridors often led to steps that would lead them into lower rooms. From above, in some rooms, chains swayed in an invisible breeze ghastly-like. The only sounds they could hear were their creaking footsteps and Zubat’s wild flapping. The longer the heroes traveled, the later it got outside. Landon was jus waiting for something to jump out at him from behind one of the machines, pillars, or equipment piles. In a place like that, it would be foolish to assume complete safety. He kept on hand on the hilt of the sakaba-tou just in case. “Char?” Charmander came to halt. “Hey, what’s up?” Zeru asked and Charmander pointed forward. It seemed that their journey had com to a four-way staircase split. One lead upwards while the other three lead to another sub level. “Oh, great; now which way?” Landon folded his arms. Perhaps this wasn’t going to be as easy as he thought it would. “We can help you out.” Yuko said, stepping up to the front. “Let me take the lead for now.” The others blinked, but were no less interested in how he was going to solve their problem. “Zubat,” He started simply, “Use Supersonic; help us find where the other Poke’mon are.” “Zubat!” Zubat fluttered down to its trainer’s level. “EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” Its voice let out a sound wave that bounced off of the walls, shaking up some of the dust. Its first search went to the upwards staircase before searching the lower ones. The sound was sharp, but not bad enough for the others to cover their ears. “Now I get why he has a Zubat as his partner Poke’mon.” Landon thought to himself, “Zubat are blind, so they rely on their ears for vision—and Yuko does the same. It’s like knowing what’s there before you even get to it.” “Zubaat! Zubaat!” Zubat pointed a wing towards the descending staircase to the far right. “Thanks, Zubat! We have to go down that one.” Yuko pointed to the same stairway. “Cool! Let’s go, guys!” Zeru and Charmander started down first.

 

       Now the group was sprinting down the steps swift enough to make a good time, but not so fast so as to fall down the steps. They panted lightly under their fast-moving feet. The light from Charmander’s tail swayed along the wall as it ran to keep in front. They all came to a metallic door at the end of the staircase. Zubat put an ear to it in order to hear the sounds on the other side. “…..Zubat-zubat!!” It screeched. “Zubat says the noises are coming from in there.” Yuko translated. “Good job, Charmander. You can return now.” Zeru held out his Poke’ball and returned Charmander to it. “Okay,” Now it was Landon’s turn to take the lead. He grasped the door handle, then turned to his friends. “Let’s be quiet when entering; we only know a little bit about our opponent.” He said and they nodded in agreement. He slowly turned the knob and pulled the door open. It creaked lightly as it moved creepily. Once by one, they went through the threshold, leaving the door open. The room they witnessed was incredible! They had emerged onto some kind of thin metal catwalk bridge above a remarkable desert scene. The floor of the large room wasn’t tile or concrete, but rather covered with a thick layer of golden sand. A fan along one the walls blew a light breeze across the makeshift dunes in replica of a real desert. Tall, green cacti littered certain parts of the sand. The yellow gold of the ground below reflected off of the walls. The contents of the north corner caused May and Zeru to gasp silently. In it was an open treasure chest overflowing with precious stones, jewels, and gold. “What a haul! Someone has been at work.” Zeru thought to himself. “Look!” May whispered, pointing over the rail. Not too far off from the treasure were the four Poke’mon thieves, standing in a line. Sitting on a stool before them was—a human! He had sharp amber eyes and his black hair was hidden underneath a dark brown cowboy hat. A brown cloak covered his blue shirt and jeans. He sat on the stool, clicking the spurs of his cowboy boots together. The man sifted through the bags that the Trapinch and the others were stealing earlier. The Poke’mon stood perfectly still and quiet. A drop of sweat rolled off of May’s face and splashed down silently into the dry sand. “Huh…” The cloaked man sighed with boredom as he poured the contents onto the ground. The clean cut diamonds and emeralds glimmered in the sand light beautifully. He did the same to the other bags, giving the same arid look to the items. One would think that he would be grinning greedily or something along those lines. “I bet you did your best.” “Sheeesh! That guy finally talks and it’s sarcasm. What a character!” Landon thought. “You call this a haul?” The cloak shot a venomous look at the desert Poke’mon. Each one of them—especially Trapinch—trembled slightly with fear. “Front ‘n center, number one.” He said sternly. Trapinch slowly stepped forward, staring at the ground. Even though he was far away, Landon could feel how scared she was. He had been unconsciously gripping the rail as if he were ready to spring from his spot at any given instant. May kept looking at him, sweating anime style and prying he didn’t do anything stupid. “What happened out there?” The cloak started to pace back and forth. Trapinch opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off, “No-no, let me guess; you decided to take a break in the middle of your run?” “Trapinch-Trapinch-Trapinch!” Trapinch shook her head very hastily. “No? Then what do you call that?!” The cloak’s voice became more enraged as he pointed to the contents he poured out of the bag. Landon clenched his teeth, daring to take another step forward. “I knew you were going to screw this one up, Trapinch. I trust you time after time, but you never seem to get it right. I guess I’ll have to open your eyes again.” The ran reached into his cloak and retrieved a folded up whip. Sandshrew, Geodude, and Cacnea were so afraid that they all buried their bodies in the sand. Trapinch stood bravely before the human, but was scared out of her wits of him. He let his whip unravel to the ground limply. “Remember, this is for your own good.” The man raised it above his head, grinning. “Tr-tra-tra-trapin-ch-ch,” Trapinch quivered and shut her eyes. She wanted to be anywhere in the world but there. “Yaaah!” “Nooo!” Landon couldn’t take it any more; the emotional thread between him and Poke’mon alike rattled with Trapinch’s fear. He blindly pulled his body over the rail in a reckless rescue jump. “Landon!” May, Watson, Zeru, and Yuko cried. WHOOOSH—WASPSWISH! “Dah!” They gasped. “Huh!” The man growled. “……Tra?” Trapinch dared to open an eye after noticing she wasn’t struck. “Trapinch?” She gasped. Landon stood in front of it, a little shakily, but firmly. The whip’s end was wrapped around his left arm tightly. “Trapinch!” Trapinch’s mind flashed back to when it first met Landon earlier that day. “Do you always treat your Poke’mon with a whip?” Landon asked, unraveling the whip from his arm. His eyes flickered with anger and dangerousness. The man in the cloak was definitely startled, but went really calm about it. “I don’t know how you got in here, but that won’t matter in a couple of minutes. What’s your name, Kid?” He asked. “My name is Landon Himura and you’re about to be in a world of hurt, that you are.” Landon answered dangerously. “Well, we’ll see about me being the one in a world of hurt.” The cloak drew his whip back to him. He had a sinister smile that conflicted with Landon’s frown. “My name is Kuyo, the desert bandit. And you’re finished!” He forced his whip forward mightily. Landon drew the sakaba-tou and held it straight upwards. There was a rush of wind as he sped forward like lightning. “Haaa!” He pushed his sword forward into the whip, literally carving the rope in half. “What the—” Kuyo’s eyes shrank in shock. “You’re not human!”

       WHOOSH! Landon flashed on the other side of him. the two stood back to back silently; while Kuyo’s eyes held onto their shocked look, Landon’s remained just as dangerous as before. Bits of the whip fell to pieces onto the floor except for the handle. A split ran up Kuyo’s hat and a piece of his cloak ripped at the side. “Ah…” He trembled. “You see, Kuyo, if this sword weren’t reverse-bladed, it would have been all over for you.” Landon said without turning. Kuyo kept his astonished expression for just a little bit longer, then closed his eyes, to break into a grin. “Bravo, kid; you had me worried for a second. But I don’t need an upstart telling me how to raise my Poke’mon. The only way to settle this is with a one on one Poke’mon battle.” “Fine, and if I win, you have to treat your Poke’mon better and give back all of what you stole.” Landon requested. Kuyo stepped out a little distance across the sand before the two turned to face each other. His friends above on the catwalk bridge watched closely but silently. “That Landon is definitely not a child to be taken lightly. Maybe he can even teach the old Mauville Gym leader a thing or two.” Watson thought to himself. “Good luck, Landon!” May shouted down. “Yeah, show that jerk it’s not right to pick on innocent Poke’mon.” Zeru shouted. Kuyo’s eyes glanced up to them for a brief moment. “Those are some nice friends you’ve got there. Too bad they have to see you get defeated by me.” “Let’s just go.” Landon pulled the poke’ball with the flame sticker on it, “Vulpix, I choose you!” He threw it into the air and it burst open in a flash of light, releasing Vulpix. “Vullll!” She arched her back, her tails flexing threateningly. “Then I choose to fight with the very Poke’mon you sought to protect. Trapinch, go.” Kuyo pointed to Trapinch. “Ah!” The others gasped. Landon clenched his teeth and fists. “What a rotten trick. This is going to make it that much harder for him to battle.” Said May. Trapinch slowly trudged to the front of her trainer, still staring at the ground. She didn’t want to fight Landon, but knew she had to listen to her trainer. “I’m sorry, Trapinch, but I have to fight you to help!” Landon called out to her. “Hmph!” Kuyo brushed his hair with his hand, “You’re a petty one, kid.”

       “Vulpix, use Tackle!” Landon opened out. “Vulpix!” Vulpix’s eyes turned dangerous blue as she rushed towards Trapinch. “Counter wit Take-down.” Kuyo ordered. “Trapinch—Trapinch!” Trapinch frowned a charged forward. Perhaps if it put up a good battle, Kuyo would forgive it and go easy on Landon. The two crashed into each other harshly, both staggering backwards from the force. “We’re close enough.” “Vulpix, Flamethrower!” Landon exclaimed. Vulpix opened her mouth, charging up for the fire attack. “Quick, evade by digging!” “Trapinch!” “Vulllll!” Trapinch burrowed underground just as the fox Poke’mon launched a stream of flames in its direction. “Vul?” She blinked. “Stay focused—its still out there!” Landon told her. His eyes wandered around the sand-covered ground. Trapinch could be anywhere, able to strike at any given instant. “Trapich!” Trapinch popped out of the sand behind its opponent. “Behind you!” Landon called. Vulpix jumped around and launched a stream of fire at it. “Tra!” Trapinch pulled under again to dodge. The air around the room became hotter each time Vulpix launched her Flamethrower attack. “Vullll!” She fired another before she started to pant a bit. “That’s enough, Vulpix; just calm down.” Landon told her. He had to find a way to catch Trapinch off it guard. Being on a battlefield made completely of sand really put him at a disadvantage. He closed his eyes and focused with his other senses. Landon had to be just like Yuko in this situation—he had to adapt to his lack of sight. Somehow, Vulpix sensed what her trainer was thinking and closed her eyes as well. Her ears twitched to collect the sounds coming from underground. She could feel the rumbling of Trapinch’s movements across the sand under her paws.

       “Jump now!” Landon exclaimed. Vulpix bounced up into the air before a wave of sand spat from the ground. “Vulpix,” Vulpix breathed a sigh of relief after she landed. “So, I guess you think you’ve found a weakness in our strategy.” Kuyo folded his arms. “Trapinch, use your Sand Tomb attack.” “Trapinch-tra!” Trapinch caused a spurt of sand to fly into the air; the ground started to rumble slightly as a small fissure formed in the sand. the fissure slowly started to swirl in place, becoming faster and wider each second. It transformed into a spiraling whirlpool of sand, sending mighty waves of pressure all around it. “Ahh!” Landon exclaimed, flabbergasted. “Vulpix, Vulpix!” Vulpix growled as she tried to keep herself from being dragged in by the Sand Tomb. “Don’t’ think you’ve wont this battle.” Landon rose a fist. “Vulpix, launch Fire Spin directly into the pit!” “Vulll!” Vulpix hurled a trail of spiraling flames from her mouth. It blended in with rotation of the whirlpool of sand, spiraling downwards towards the eye. “What the—” Kuyo took a shocked step back. "This boy is a lot stronger than I took him for.” A drop of sweat dropped from his face. Once the flames reached the bottom of the pit, there was a giant explosion of fire and sand. “Traaaa!” Trapinch screamed while it soared through the air; it hit the ground with a harsh thud. The whirlpool behind it slowly started to subside till it became nothing but a small dent in the sand. “Good job, Vulpix.” Landon cheered. “Trapinch, get up now—on your feet!” Kuyo shouted angrily. He had a combination of fear and anger burning hotly in his eyes. Trapinch trembled, trying to stand back up. Landon’s eyes now flickered with a more mellow emotion; his compassion for Poke’mon couldn’t allow him to watch this horrific scene any longer. He had to fight quickly or risk hurting Trapinch more. As long as she remained loyal to Kuyo, she wouldn’t ever give up the fight. “Go, Take down, now!” Kuyo ordered. “Vulpix,” Landon started calmly, “Rush with Headbutt.” “Vulpix!” Vulpix made a dash with her head lowered. There was a loud THUD as the two butted their heads together. They clenched their teeth, trying to push each other back. Vulpix let out a dangerous low-pitched growl. Trapinch did the same, but it wasn’t nearly as aggressive as her opponent’s. “Landon, finish this now!” Zeru called down from the catwalk. “Huh?” Landon looked up. “Trapinch is wide open now. The quicker you finish this, the less you’ll have to hurt her.” Zeru explained. “…..oh!” Landon nodded, then turned back to the battle. “Vulpix, use Flamethrower!” “Vulll!” Vulpix spurted a burst of flames point-black at Trapinch forcefully; the sand but flew onto the ground. “Traaa,” It spat out a puff of smoke and its eyes swirled dizzily. “Oh-no!” Kuyo’s eyes trembled. He took a shocked gulp at the defeat he was just handed. His eyes maneuvered from Trapinch, to Landon, and back again. “…..how? How did he do that?” He croaked. Landon scooped up Vulpix and gaveher a large hug. “That was some battle, Vulpix. Great job!” “Vulpix-vulpix!” Vulpix hugged him back.

        “Mudkip!” Toya led the way down the steps of the bridge with the humans tagging along behind her. “Mudkiiiip!!” She scampered across the sand and jumped onto her trainer’s head. “Mudkiip-kip!” She tapped him to remind him he still had work to do. “Right then,” Landon’s expression turned serious as he whirled towards Kuyo. “We won fair and square. Now you have to give back what you’ve stolen and be kind to your Poke’mon.” But instead of accepting his defeat, Kuyo threw his split hat off and laughed. “Ha-ha-ha-ha! Yeah, like I’d really do that. You’re a full, Landon Himura—this is no movie!” He snapped his fingers. Suddenly, the ground all around Landon started to tremble beneath his feet. A burst of sand shot up from three sides around him, spitting up Cacnea, Sandshrew, and Geodude. “Now, attack him all at once!” “Magnaton, go!” Watson tossed a poke’ball onto the dry sand. It exploded in a blinding flash of light, revealing a Poke’mon formed by three metallic spheres joined it a triangular shape. Each sphere had its own eye and magnet at its end. “Maaaggnaaatooon!” it droned. “Magnaton, use Thundershock attack!” Watson called out. “Magnaaaa!” The magnets at the ends of Magnaton thrust forward a trio of lightning bolts that danced through the air; the blast were so powerful, that they crashed heavily into the desert Poke’mon—and actually hurt them! “Whaaaaa!” Cacnea, Geadude, and Sandshrew rattled with pain. The shock rendered the three unconscious. “No way!” Landon gasped.

       Zeru‘s mouth hung open, “…he shocked them with a simple Thundershock ….and took them all down at once?” He averted his gaze to Watson, “There’s something very strange about that man.” He thought to himself. “Good job, Magnaton.” Watson said to his Poke’mon. Then, he turned to Kuyo, “Kuyo, you’re finished. If you stop now, Officer Jenny may take it easy on you.” “Shut up, you old fool!” Kuyo withdrew another whip from his cloak and prepared to swing it. “Go, now Magnaton.” “Magnaaaa!” SPWWEEEE! Magnaton fired its Thundershock attack and shocked Kuyo into submission. “Daaahhhaaa!” He trembled and dropped to the ground in a puff of sand and smoke. Landon walked over to Trapinch and dared to reach to her. Trapinch just lay there, staring at him with her small eyes. She didn’t really trust him completely, but she didn’t reject him either. Landon put his hand on her head and patted it gingerly. “Hey; sorry about that. You put up a great fight that he didn’t appreciate. But now, you won’t have to worry about following orders from Kuyo anymore.” “Trapinch,” She said gently. From above, a group of black spheres dropped from above and landed on the sand. BAKKOOOM! They exploded and billowed up with a black smoke. “Ack!” Everyone coughed from the fumes. “What is (cough) this?” Landon spat. “Aha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”

 

       “A Stealth like dark, we’re shadows of the night.” “Blanketing over those who do things right.” “Where treasure glitters, we’re there to claim.” “To higher riches, we’ll surely aim.” “Tsubimi!” “Yoshimari!” “We’re Team Darkhorn, the Pirate thieves.” “Don’t mess with us; you’re out of your league!” Two familiar voices recited through the smoke. “Not them again.” May said after a cough. The smoke started to clear from the force of the blowing fans slowly. Yoshimari’s and Tsubimi’s figures appeared in the middle of the room. They wee being suspended from the ceiling by a rope and held two large sacks over their shoulders. Zeru glanced off to the side and noticed that the reassure chest was completely cleaned out. “Those two are getting away with the stolen goods!” He exclaimed. “Finders Keepers, right, rooster boy?” Tsubimi laughed. Zeru pulled a poke’ball from his belt and tossed it up. “Treecko, use Razor Leaf to cut the bags!” The Poke’ball burst open and released the grass Poke’mon. “Treecko-treecko-treecko!” Treecko jumped into the air and spun once, whipping two spiraling leaves from its tail. The blades ripped a hole in the bags, causing the jewels to spill out. “Oh-no! Our treasure!” Yoshimari cried as he and his sister made a vain attempt to catch the jewels. “Quick, let’s call our Poke’mon—” “I don’t think so!” Landon threw Pikachu’s poke’ball, “Pikachu, use a Thunderbolt farewell!” It shot open and freed Pikachu. “Piiiiikaaaachuuuu!” It launched a giant jolt of electricity in mid-air, spiraling backwards from the shock-back. “Magnaaatonn!” Magnaton rose up to help Pikachu in the attack. “We should’ve known this was going to happen.” Yoshimari said. “Yeah, our time in this episode was way too short.” Tsubimi added. The two crashed through the roof and disappeared into the night sky. “Heh-heh,” Landon grinned. “Well done, Landon,” Watson walked up to him. “Thanks, Mr. Watson.” He replied back. May frowned and ran up to Landon. She drew her hand back, then sent it rushing forward. SMACK! She left a cherry-red hand mark on the cheek that she belted. “Dah!” Watson, Zeru, and Yuko gasped. “Will you and Zeru stop scaring me like this? You could’ve been hurt, Himura!” “But I’m not.” Landon said calmly. “Trapinch?” Trapinch looked up at him. The other desert Poke’mon were behind her, looking at him too. “So how about it? Are you ready to go back home?” He asked them and they nodded.

 

       Back at the Poke’mon Center, Landon, May, Zeru, and Yuko stood beside the bench on the wall. Toya was snoozing in Landon’s hair and Phanpy tossed a ball back and forth with Zeru. The night had settled into the air, decorated with tons of stars. Landon really wanted to have his gym battle, but was forced to wait till the morning. Nurse Joy walked over to Landon and the others, “Here’s the key to your room.” She gave him a silver key tagged with a room number. “Thank you,” Landon said and she smiled back. The doors to the Poke’mon Center slid open and Watson stepped in. “Well, I returned the Poke’mon to the desert where they belong.” He said. “That’s good,” May said. “…that is to say, I nearly returned them all.” “Trapinch!” From behind Watson, Trapinch dashed across the tiles and jumped at Landon. “Traaaa!” Instinctively, Landon held out his arms and caught her deftly. “Landon, maybe you should let this Trapinch tag along with you.” Watson said. “You showed it compassion in its time of need, so it seems it has developed a respect for you.” “Really, Trapinch? Do you want to tag along?” Landon asked her. “Trapinch-trapinch!” Trapinch smiled. “Now, Landon, about that Gym match.” Watson held a thumbs-up, “I accept your challenge.” “What!?” The kids (except for Yuko) gasped. “Yeah, my grandfather is—” “—none other than the Mauville City Gym Leader!” Yuko and Watson grinned. Landon was at a lost for words; the whole time he was waiting for his gym match and the Gym Leader was in his face the entire time. (Well, this is a shocking turn of events. After seeing the tremendous power and skill wields, does Landon have a chance to win the Dynamobadge? Find out on the next episode of “Poke’mon X”!)

 

Fast Fact answer: The pieces of the Fang Sword originated from Regice, Regirock, and Registeel. Stay tuned for more Fast facts.

 

                                      “Shine the Sky” (Ending Theme)

 

Shine the sky!

Crystal power hit the high—

Flying current to my victory

Try and Try!

Never give the fight away

I’ll take every challenge that I can get in my hands

Des—tiny!

Prophecy I can’t ignore

Know what surprises that it has in store

Shine the sky!

A new adventure I will face

Another chance at victory with Poke’mon!

 

 

 

THIS IS THE END OF EPISODE 23. SEE YA'