Chapter Two: Teleport In the days to come, Uiru would begin batting in the Turcott Park gym. His Sandshrew and Butterfree proved to be very skilled combatants. Butterfree began learning the different Powder attacks, and Sandshrew's skills increased and became more powerful. "I wonder where that girl went?" Uiru asked one day. "I bet she heard about all my great victories and ran." Uiru laughed. "You? Great victories? Give me a break!" Uiru turned to see the girl near the ring. She quickly entered it. "I'm gonna wipe you off the map!" "This should be good!" Uiru declared. "Hey Matt, come here! The little banshee's back!" Matt and some of his buddies ran to the ring. "I don't wanna miss this," Matt said to his friends. "These two fight like they've been married 20 years." By now the entire gym was watching. "Which two Pokémon are you gonna use for my 20th win?" Uiru asked. "You'll find out what my new Pokémon is- that is if you can beat Beedrill! Go, Beedrill!" "Butterfree, I choose you!" Beedrill and Butterfree entered the ring. While Butterfree was cute and seemed harmless and friendly, Beedrill was viscious. It's large venomous stingers on it's forelegs and tail gave it a much more menacing appearance. "Beedrill, Fury Attack!" the girl shouted. "Butterfree, Poison Powder!" Uiru ordered. Beedrill dove at Butterfree, jabbing with it's stingers. Butterfree flew above it and deposited a clump of purple powder on Beedrill's head. "You moron!" the girl yelled at him. "Beedrill IS a Poison type! Poison attacks won't hurt it! But they'll hurt you! Focus Energy and Twineedle attack!" Beedrill concentrated for a second, then stabbed Butterfree with both stingers! It got poisoned! "Oh no! Butterfree! Return!" Uiru recalled Butterfree. "Now you asked for it! Sandshrew, ATTACK!! Give it the Slash!" Sandshrew leapt up in the air and clawed right through Beedrill's Poison Sting counterattack. Sandshrew knocked Beedrill to the ground and proceeded to pound it. "Blast! Beedrill, return! Mankey, I choose you!" The trainers gasped. Around Turcott, Mankey was one of the rarest Pokémon around. A Mankey hadn't been caught in the town's history, and they're hardly ever seen. "Whoever this girl is, she's got talent as a trainer," Matt stated. "Catching a Mankey with only a Beedrill is quite a feat." "Either that's a really strong Beedrill or it's a really weak Mankey," Uiru replied. "Either way, my Sandshrew just took down Beedrill and Mankey's next! Sandshrew, Slash attack!" "Karate Chop, Mankey!" the girl ordered. Sandshrew and Mankey started pounding away at each other. Mankey's incredibly aggressive attacks were matched by Sandshrew's calm offencive and defencive maneovers. Even though Mankey was taking a lot of damage, it's rage was building with every hit. It suddenly jumped over Sandshrew, grabbed it by the tail and threw it! "Sandshrew!" Uiru shouted. "Call it back, Uiru!" Matt shouted. "Sandshrew's hurt it's head! Mankey'll pound it!" "Sandshrew... Return!" Uiru tried to recall Sandshrew, but it jumped out of the way and shook it's head. It was gonna finish the battle! "You're a lousy trainer, Uiru!" the girl shouted. "It won't even obey you!" "Sandshrew is even more hardheaded then you are, Uiru!" Matt added. "Oh shut up. All right Sandshrew, give it the Fury Swipes!" "Mankey, Fury Attack!" Mankey was too late. Sandshrew gave it an incredible slashing with it's claws, then Tackled it back to the girl. It was unconscious. The gym cheered. "Return!" the girl growled. "I swear, Uiru, I'm gonna take you down big time!" "Just like you took me down this time?" Uiru answered. "Consecutive victory number 20! Yeah!" The girl glowered at him, then left the gym. "I'd better get to the Center," Uiru said. "Butterfree's hurt." Matt went with him. "You know, Uiru," Matt said. "Yeah?" "You're doing an incredible job. In less then a week, you've got two incredible Pokémon and a CVN rating of 20." "Thanks, Matt," Uiru answered. "You've already reached the pinnacle of your skills," Matt continued, "that is if you stay here. There's nothing the Pokémon of Turcott Park have to teach you." Uiru stopped. "Are you saying I should leave?" "Yeah. You got potential to be a Pokémon Master." "Really? A Pokémon Master? Me?" Uiru liked the sound of this. "Yeah. I think it's about time I leave too. I've collected all the Grass type Pokémon around here." "We can travel together, then!" Uiru declared. "Yes." "Great! This is going to rock!" They walked along in silence for a while. "I guess our first stop will be Persimmon City, right?" "You got it. I hear there's a special kind of Grass type Pokémon there." "What is it with you and Grass Pokémon? You wanna make your entire team out of them?" "Yeah, I do. I don't know why, I've just always liked Grass types." "An entire team of Grass types... That'd be powerful! But, wouldn't it be weak against Fire and Ice attacks? You wouldn't be able to get the Volcanobadge." "Poison, Flying and Bug attacks, too," Matt answered. "I'd have to train really hard to beat them." "Yeah," Uiru agreed. They reached the Pokémon Center. "I was thinking. There are 15 types of Pokémon, right?" Matt nodded. "I want to know if it's possible to choose six different Pokémon that are strong against them all. You know, no matter what I'm being attacked with, I'll have a Pokémon that's strong against it." "It's possible," Matt replied. "Your Butterfree is strong against Grass, Fighting, Ground and Bug attacks. Your Sandshrew is strong against Electric, Poison and Rock. That's half the types covered right there!" Uiru handed his two Poké Balls to the nurse. "Great! I'm gonna create a team that's strong against all 15 types, and become a Pokémon Master!" Persimmon City was about a week's walk from Turcott Park. It was a well-traveled path, and there were a couple Pokémon Centers set up along the way to help trainers. Uiru and Matt were two days into it when they had quite an unpleasant surprise. "All right Uiru! This is it!" "Look who it is. Havn't you had enough humiliation yet?" It was Uiru's old rival, the girl. "I still don't know your name." "I'll tell you- after my new Pokémon blows you off the planet! Kabuto, I choose you!" "Butterfree, attack!" Uiru responded. "First a Mankey and now a Kabuto? Where does this girl get her Pokémon?" Matt mused. "Butterfree, Tackle!" Uiru shouted. Butterfree wound up, charged, and bounced right off Kabuto's rocky shell. "Kabuto is a Rock type," Matt warned. "Physical attacks aren't going to work on it!" "Kabuto, Harden! Scratch attack!" the girl ordered. Kabuto glowed brown and then leapt up in the air and clobbered Butterfree! "Butterfree, give it the Confusion!" Uiru shouted. Butterfree blasted Kabuto with psychic waves of energy. It wasn't enough though- Kabuto leapt up and Body Slamed Butterfree! "Damn! Butterfree, return! Sandshrew, I choose you!" "Absorb attack, Kabuto! Drain Sandshrew's energy!" "Sandshrew, Dig underground!" Sandshrew dug underground, narrowly missing the blast of Grass type power which would heavily damage it. It came up right under Kabuto, sending it flying. It came down on it's shell, but flipped over and charged again. Sandshrew whipped up a Sand Attack to blind it, then dug underground again. By this time, the effects of Butterfree's Confusion attack were starting to sink in. When the girl ordered Kabuto to use Absorb, it hit itself with it! It took quite a bit of damage but instantly recovered it. Then Sandshrew blasted it from underground again. "Sandshrew, Poison Sting!" Uiru shouted. "Go for the underside!" "Kabuto, Harden!" Kabuto, still momentarily Confused, did nothing. Sandshrew pelted it in the gut with it's Poison Sting attack, which poisoned it! But Kabuto countered with Absorb! Sandshrew collapsed! "Oh no! Sandshrew, return!" Uiru had lost! "YES!! I win!" the girl shouted. "In your face Uiru!" "All right, fine, you beat me," Uiru replied. "Don't let it go to your head though! I'll find something that's strong against Kabuto, and then I'll win!" "By the time you find something strong against Kabuto I'll have two more Pokémon that can beat whatever you have to throw at me!" All this time Matt had stood out of the way, letting the fight go on. "You know, young lady, every Pokémon has a weakness. Kabuto is a Rock type. Rock is weak against Grass. If I were to let Uiru borrow my Bulbasaur, he could still win the match." Matt tossed Uiru the Poké Ball with Bulbasaur in it. "He could not!" the girl shouted. "Kabuto is all powerful. Besides, I still have Beedrill and Mankey. They could take down Bulbasaur easily!" Uiru tossed Matt the ball. "Thanks, but I want to beat her with my own Pokémon." Matt nodded. "You're the type who would never trade a Pokémon, aren't you?" "Trade my Pokémon?" Uiru had never thought of that before. "Why would I do that?" "To get stronger ones, obviously!" the girl inturrupted. "Now if you'll excuse me, my Kabuto requires medical attention. Train hard, Uiru, because I don't want to beat you that easily again!" "Wait a second! Who are you?" Matt asked. "My name is Allison, from Charteruse City! I'm going to be a Pokémon Master, and I fully intend to step on Uiru every step of the way!" With that, she left. "What an ambitious trainer," Uiru commented. "If all she focuses on is fighting her Pokémon instead of raising them, she'll fail." "She's cute though," Matt commented. "I wonder if she's my type?" "Yeah, if you like fire and brimstone," Uiru replied. "Let's get moving, I need a Pokémon that can take down Kabuto." Matt and Uiru headed for the nearest Pokémon Center, which was pretty close. "You know, I've heard some pretty wierd things about Kabuto," Matt stated after they handed over their Pokémon to be cured. "Like what?" "Well, it's a Rock type Pokémon, but it takes heavy damage from electricity. It also learns Grass type and Water type attacks." "Maybe it's a Rock-Water type," Uiru suggested. "That's what some people think, but Rock is weak against Water. Shouldn't it destroy itself?" "Well normal Rock type Pokémon like Graveler and Onix aren't affected at all by electricity." "That's because they're part Ground type. It's the Ground in a Pokémon that gives it the defence against electricity." "They've got quite a few Pokémon books here," Uiru observed. "Let's check some of them out." As Matt and Uiru collected their Pokémon, an older trainer came into the Center. He went up to the nurse and handed her a single Poké Ball. "Can you take this Pokémon? I don't want it anymore." "Why not?" the nurse asked. "I've tried everything I could to make the little bugger evolve, and it can't. My other five Pokémon all evolved ages ago, but this one is too weak. I didn't want to abandon it, so I'd like you to find it a good home." "Well, I guess so," the nurse answered. "Hey, I'll take it!" Uiru spoke up. "I'm just starting, I could use a new Pokémon!" "You want it?" the man asked. "I'll battle you for it. What Pokémon do you have already?" "Butterfree and Sandshrew," Uiru answered. "Never mind then," the man said. "It could never beat a Sandshrew, even if it was thirty levels higher then it. Take it, kid, and take good care of it." "Do you have a Pokédex?" the nurse asked them. "No. What's a Pokédex?" "Nah, I never bothered with one." "Oh, it doesn't matter then. If either of you had one, you'd have to trade the Pokémon so your Pokédexes would update. Since you don't, there's no problem." "All right, let's see what I got! Pokémon, come out!" Uiru summoned out his new Pokémon- Pikachu! "Wow! It's a Pikachu!" Matt gasped. "They're really strong!" "It's so cute!" Uiru added. "Compared to my other Pokémon, it's weak," the man replied. He knelt near Pikachu. "This kid's your trainer now, okay Pikachu? Try not to shock him too much." "Shock me?" "Do you know how tempramental Pikachu get? Why do you think my hair's such a mess?" He laughed. "I got a feeling you'll be a great trainer for Pikachu. You might even get it to evolve someday." He headed for the door. "See ya, Pikachu. Good luck, kid." Pikachu waved, then turned to Uiru. "You're so cute! Here, meet my other Pokémon." Uiru called out Butterfree and Sandshrew. "Meet my new Pikachu, guys!" Butterfree and Sandshrew made friends with Pikachu instantly. While they talked to each other in their own language, Matt came over to look at Pikachu. "You know, if that guy's been trying for a long time to make his Pikachu evolve, it's probably at a really high level. It'll be just the thing to take down Kabuto." "Great! I wonder when we'll run into Allison again? She is SO dead!" Uiru recalled his three Pokémon. "Come on guys, we got work to do!" Uiru and Matt made it to Persimmon City without incident. Sandshrew had learned a new ability called Swift, and was working on perfecting it. Butterfree was learning how to Confuse enemy Pokémon with it's Confusion and Supersonic attacks. Pikachu was working on it's Agility. Matt's Pokémon were doing well too. Bulbasaur had learned Razor Leaf fighting the Pokémon they met on the path. Bellsprout was beginning to learn the Powder attacks. And Paras was mastering the Spore power. "What's that special Grass type you wanted to catch?" Uiru asked as they headed into the city. "It's a very strange Pokémon that looks like a clump of eggs," Matt answered. "It's got Psychic powers as well as Grass. I think it's called Exeggcute." "Exeggcute? That's the wierdest name I've ever heard. Where do we find it?" "In the forest west of town," Matt replied. "Let's head out right now, okay?" After curing up their Pokémon, Uiru and Matt didn't make it three steps out when they were challenged by a trainer. "You guys trainers?" the girl asked. It wasn't Allison, but it was- in Uiru's opinion- someone much cuter. "Yeah, we are," Matt replied. "You wanna fight us?" "I wanna fight him," she replied, pointing at Uiru. "All right, fine. How many Pokémon?" he asked. "Two on two works for me," she replied. "Okay. I have three, but I can still win with two! Sandshrew, I choose you!" "All right, fine! Cubone, go!" Sandshrew opened up with a Swift attack. Dozens of tiny stars fired from Sandshrew's body and flew at Cubone. Cubone spun it's bone club, blocking all the stars! "What? It can't do that! Swift ALWAYS hits!" Uiru shouted. "It did hit, but it didn't hurt," Matt told him. "Try another strategy." "Cubone, Bonemerang!" "Sandshrew, Dig!" Sandshrew dug underground and blasted Cubone from underneath. Unfortunately, the Bonemerang came back and hit Sandshrew right in the back of the head! Sandshrew collapsed. It tried to get up but couldn't. "Return! Pikachu, go!" "I'll show you my other Pokémon now! Cubone, come back! Machop, go!" "It's a good thing she recalled Cubone," Matt announced. "Pikachu can't touch Cubone." "It's a Ground type, right?" Uiru asked. Matt nodded. "All right! Pikachu, Thundershock!" Machop dodged the electric bolt and hit Pikachu with a Karate Chop! It countered with a Thunder Punch, then gave Machop a supershock. "Yeah, that's the way!" Uiru cheered. "Quick Attack!" Machop tried to Chop Pikachu again, but Pikachu whipped around and kicked it first. Machop jumped up and hit Pikachu with it's Low Kick attack! "Machop, Submission!" the girl ordered. Machop grabbed Pikachu and used a submission hold! It dropped Pikachu to the ground. "Oh damn! Pikachu!" "One more Karate Chop," the girl declared. Machop wound up for a super chop! In the blink of an eye, something appeared next to Pikachu, grabbed it and vanished! Then Pikachu appeared next to Uiru. A flash later, and there was something else battling Machop! It took a few seconds for the events to register. "Huh? How did Pikachu get over here?" Uiru asked. He picked Pikachu up. "HEY! You cheater! It's only two on two!" the girl shouted. "I only have three Pokémon, and that one isn't one of them!" Uiru replied. "It's an Abra!" Matt announced. "And... it's fighting hand-to-hand with Machop?" "Aren't Abra Psychic types?" Uiru asked. "I thought they didn't like to physically fight." "This one does," Matt replied. Abra matched Machop at every kick, hit and chop. "I beat you," the girl declared. "This Abra just happened to attack me. I'll catch it after Machop weakens it!" "You don't actually expect Machop to win, do you?" Matt replied. "Machop is weak against Abra." "Besides, I want the Abra!" Uiru added. "Everyone be quiet. I'll just try to catch it now! Poké Ball, go!" The girl threw a Poké Ball at Abra. Abra teleported out of the way! It reappeared next to Uiru. Like a small child, Abra grabbed Uiru's pant leg, then looked pointedly at the girl. "You want to come with me?" Uiru asked. Abra nodded. "All right! Hop aboard!" Abra willfully entered Uiru's Poké Ball. "So Abra happens to like you," the girl announced. "I still won the battle." "I know. You're a good trainer," Uiru replied. "What's your name?" Before the girl could answer, someone shouted a challenge. "Uiru!" "Did you hear that Matt?" Uiru asked. "It sounded like the wind blowing." "No, not the wind," Matt answered. "But something with a lot of hot air." "YOU shut up!" Allison shouted. She approached Uiru and Matt from the Pokémon Center. "So, you just got whipped, eh? Figures. You're a crap trainer, Uiru!" "I did not get whipped! I lost one fight and got an Abra during it. Give me five seconds to cure my Pokémon and I'll kick your head in." "You know her?" the girl asked Uiru. "Yeah. Of all the people I know, she's the biggest pain in the-" "Uiru!" Allison inturrupted. "Let's play a game. Me and her against you two." "Between us, we have seven Pokémon," Matt declared. "You two only have five, unless you caught another one." "No, not yet," Allison admitted. "But I will, soon." "I want to cure my Pokémon first," the girl stated. "Then we'll battle." "I need to cure mine too," Uiru added. "You, Matt?" "Nah, mine are in good shape," Matt replied. A moment later, Uiru and the new girl came out of the Center with fully powered up Pokémon. Always the gentleman, Uiru held the door for the lady. "So what are we gonna do about our two-Pokémon advantage?" Matt asked Uiru. "Don't worry about that," the girl grinned. "I actually have three Pokémon, and trust me- it'll make up the difference." "You sure about that?" Allison asked. The girl nodded. "So how are we gonna run this? Tag team? Or two VS two?" Matt asked. "Two VS two," the three answered in unison. "All right, let's get it on! Butterfree, I choose you!" Uiru began. "Bellsprout, I choose you!" Matt declared. "Cubone, come out!" the girl shouted. "Mankey, go!" Allison announced. "I'll take Mankey, you deal with Cubone! Butterfree, Confusion!" Uiru knew that in this first round, he and Matt had a large advantage. Butterfree geared up and fired a blast of PSY power at Mankey, damaging it heavily. But Mankey wasn't gonna give up that easily. It charged Butterfree and attacked with Karate Chop, which Butterfree barely dodged. Bellsprout got belted by Cubone's Bone Club attack, but retaliated by capturing Cubone with Vine Whip and blasting it with Absorb. Cubone couldn't stand up to the assault and fainted. Bellsprout replenished it's HP from the Absorb attack. "Cubone, return! Machop, I choose you!" Although none of the trainers were advanced enough to know this, Bellsprout still had the advantage as Fighting type attacks are ineffective on Poison Pokémon. Butterfree blasted Mankey from behind with a powerful Tackle, which finally knocked it unconscious. Only Butterfree's amazing agility kept it from being squashed. "Mankey, return! Kabuto, attack!" "Damn, it's that Kabuto thing again! Butterfree, return! Pikachu, I choose you!" "Bellsprout, Vine Whip Kabuto!" Matt shouted. Bellsprout attacked Kabuto with the same tactic it used on Cubone- trap it and drain it's HP. However, Kabuto was a lot more powerful then Cubone was. And at that moment, Machop gave Bellsprout a furious thrashing that sent it back to Matt's Poké Ball. Kabuto, still spinning from Bellsprout's pummeling, soon got blasted sky-high by Pikachu's mighty Thunderbolt. But it was still kicking, and retaliated with a viscious Slash attack. "Bulbasaur, help Pikachu!" Matt shouted. Bulbasaur appeared and began giving Kabuto a lashing from afar with Vine Whip. Kabuto finally had it. "Return! Beedrill, go!" "Machop, Mega Punch!" the new girl ordered. Machop wound up and gave Pikachu a mighty blast, sending it to dreamland before it hit the ground. "Pikachu, return! Abra, go!" Again, Abra and Machop began their fighting match. Bulbasaur, on the other hand, had it's hands full dealing with the Bug-Poison Beedrill. Vine Whip and Razor Leaf were apparently ineffective, and it's Twineedle attack was sapping Bulbasaur's strength. "I don't think Bulbasaur can win that battle!" Uiru shouted. "You're damn right it can't!" Allison shouted. "Beedrill, Pin Missile!" "Better switch tactics," Matt decided as Bulbasaur got hit with dozens of tiny spears. "Bulbasaur, return! Paras, I choose you!" "You know, I'd love to know where that Abra learned to fight like that," the girl mentioned to Uiru. "Yeah, me too. It's good, isn't it?" "If I didn't know what it was, I'd swear it was a Fighting type." "Well, Abra don't learn any of their Psychic attacks until they evolve, so this one must have learned to battle while it waited to evolve," Uiru speculated. "Even when it does evolve, the combination of incredible fighting and mental ability will make it a force to behold." "Will you two shut up and fight?" Allison shouted. Uiru and the girl pointed at Abra and Machop. "We're not getting in the middle of that," they both answered at once. Allison sighed. "Beedrill, Agility! Fury Attack!" "Paras, Leech Life!" Paras got nailed by Beedrill's furious stinging rampage, but healed some of the damage by draining Beedrill's HP with Leech Life. Then, when Beedrill was preparing for it's final charge, Paras unleashed it's secret power- Spore! Beedrill got hit with the cloud of sleep spores while it was charging, and instantly fell asleep. It then crashed into the ground. "DAMN!! Return!" Allison was out, but if the girl could beat them she wouldn't lose to Uiru and Matt. Abra finally struck Machop with a Seismic Toss attack. The worn-out Pokémon returned to it's Poké Ball. "So, what's your secret Pokémon?" Matt asked. "I'll give you a hint! My name is Jessica, from Turquoise Lake!" "And that should mean what...?" Uiru asked. A terrified look crossed Matt's face. "You don't mean... Turquoise Lake? Where all the ghosts are?" "You got it!" Jessica laughed. "Gastly, I choose you!" "What's that thing?" Uiru asked. "It looks like a cloud with a ball." "That THING is a Ghost type Pokémon!" Matt shouted. "It's got NO weaknesses!" Uiru looked at him. "No weaknesses?" Abra gave Gastly the same fearless glare it gave all it's opponents, and prepared to attack! Gastly laughed. "All right! Go blow him off the planet Jessica!" Allison cheered. "Paras, Spore!" Matt shouted. "Put it to sleep, quick!" Paras fired it's cloud of sleep powder at Gastly. It had no effect! "Gastly, show Paras how it's done! Hypnosis!" Gastly used it's Psychic power to lull Paras into a deep sleep. Paras was out, and so was Matt. Abra charged Gastly and attacked with Double Kick! The attack went straight through Gastly! Abra crashed to the ground. "Without Psychic power, Abra can't even touch Gastly," Uiru realized. "Abra, return! Sandshrew- I choose you!" This was it. Uiru VS Jessica. Sandshrew VS Gastly. "Gastly, Night Shade!" Sandshrew was covered in an eerie black light that exploded and sent it flying! It landed on it's feet and charged, attacking with a powerful Slash attack! Like Abra before it, Sandshrew went through Gastly like there was nothing in it's way. Sandshrew whipped around and charged again. "This isn't working! You've got to be able to hit this thing with SOMETHING!" Uiru complained. "Physical attacks won't touch a Ghost type, but other kinds of attacks will!" Matt suggested. "All right then, Sandshrew! Use Dig attack!" Jessica knew what type Dig was, and she also knew how it would affect Gastly's hidden weak point. "Gastly, evade!" she shouted. Too late. Sandshrew blasted up from the earth, nailing Gastly with a supercharged blast of Ground power. Gastly's second type- Poison- was weak against Ground type maneovers. Gastly started to fade! "Oh no... Gastly, return!" "All right!" Uiru shouted. "We beat them!" "Incredible teamwork!" Matt agreed. "Now we need to heal our Pokémon AGAIN," Uiru announced. The four turned to the Pokémon Center, and were greeted by the sight of video cameras. "What's all this?" Allison asked. "Are they taping us?" Matt asked. "Hey, you guys!" Uiru shouted. "What are you doing?" "We're from The Pokémon Report," one of the cameramen answered. "We got your entire battle start to finish on tape! With your permission, we'd like to use it on our show this week." The four looked at each other. "Sure, I guess," Uiru answered. "Great! Bye!" The two cameramen ran off. Matt shrugged. "Oh well. It's getting late. We should stay at the Center tonight," Matt suggested. Allison nodded. "I won't bother you tonight Uiru, but tomorrow morning I'm leaving. And when I find you again, I'll beat you." "Okay, truce for tonight. There's time for war tomorrow." Uiru held the door as they entered. They gave their Pokémon to the nurse and then went to get something to eat.