First Pokémon Contest and a new Rival!

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Light & Dark

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Round One - Begin!

It was time. Jason was standing in the meeting room, getting ready. It was going to be his first Pokémon contest. He held up two Poké Balls. They were colored purple and had a sticker on them. Jason's mother had been kind enough to send him Ball Capsules and Seals for his Poké Balls. He grinned. These two would be making their first debut on his team. It was going to be fun. All that was left now was the waiting.

Silus, who had arrived in Gardenia Town that morning, walked into the waiting room with the same amount of enthusiasm as Jason. He too had been attaching ball capsules to his Pokéballs, as he had already chosen the two Pokémon he would use in his very first Hora League contest.

Slipping into the Contest Hall, with two distinct pigtails of red hair, was Jessie, disguised as Jessilina. Despite her affiliation with Team Rocket, she still had a love of Contests. She had ever since the Hoenn League. Her criminal partners, James and a talking Meowth, waited in the hall's stadium seats, awaiting thier chance to watch their comrade dominate the Gardenia Contest.

Now that all of the competitors had arrived, all that was left was to await the MC and the start of the Contest.

"Attention Everybody!!!! The Gardenia Contest is about to begin! I'm your MC Jalyn and we have with us today the Nurse Joy of Gardenia Town."

Nurse Joy stood up and took a bow. "It's great to be here."

"Mr. Raoul Contesta!"

"It's an honor to be here." Mr. Contesta called from his seat.

"And the Head of the Pokémon Fan Club, Mr. Sukizō!"

"Remarkable!"

"Now, let's the welcome the contestants that we have with us today! As you know, this contest is a double performance, which means the trainers will be using two Pokémon each! These Pokémon will have to work well with each other to create a dazzling appeal! Now, let's welcome Jessilina!"

Appeal One - Jessilina!

Jessie made her way onto the platform, bowing for the audience. She then took out her two Pokéballs.

"Snivy! Spiritomb! Your on deck!" she shouted, in her usual sly voice.

Smoke exploded from Spiritomb's Pokéball, while flowers burst from Snivy's.

"Snivy, dazzle them with Grass Mixer! Spiritomb, compliment it with Ominous Wind!" she commanded.

Snivy leaped into the air and flipped upside town, spinning rapidly to produce a tornado of leaves. Next, Spiritomb summoned an Ominous Wind; causing purple wind to surround Snivy's tornado, making a vibrant display.

The crowed cheered loudly at this, Jessie's combination was certainly making the crowd go wild.

"What a brilliant display of power!" Mr. Contesta spoke first, his eyes slightly lit up from Jesslina's performance.

"A wonderful performance, it seemed well polished." Nurse Joy's commentary was next.

"Remarkable!" Mr. Sukizō literally had the last word.

Appeal Two - Jason!

As Jessilina exited the stage, Jalyn cleared her throat. "Next up, let's give a warm welcome to Jason Reid! This is his first Pokémon Contest!"

Jason ran out onto the stage, standing in the center. It was finally time. He gripped the two Poké Balls, pressing the button on the center. He turned his hat backwards and gulped. He threw the balls into the air. "Alright, Eevee Twins! It's showtime!" The Balls released streamers and sparkles as lights flashed to form two adorable Eevee.

"Alright, Eie and Vui, let's show them a performance they'll never forget! First, both of you, use Dig!" The Evee took a leap into the air and tunneled into the ground, creating holes all around the stadium. "Now Double Team!" Multiple Eevee began to pop in and out of various holes like a game of Whack-a-Mole, emitting their adorable cries as they did so.

"Now, let's wrap this up! Shadow Ball into the sky!!!" From the holes shot several dark blobs of energy that collided with each other into the air, creating a beautiful display of multi-colored fire works. The twin Eevee jumped out of the holes, flipping into the air and landing with a cute pose while sparkles rained down.

"Incredible, just incredible!" Mr. Contesta applauded, clearly impressed by the well thought out display.

"What incredible teamwork!" said Nurse Joy. "That was very well thought out!"

"Remarkable!" Mr. Sukizō chimed his usual remark.

The crowd shared in on the excitement of the display, roaring their approval even louder.

After a few more contestants entered and performed their appeals, Jalyn called out to the crowd. "Now introducing Silus! Just like Jason, this will be his first Pokémon Contest! Now, here we go!"

Appeal Three - Silus!

Just as the next contestant was announced, the lights suddenly shut off, leaving everybody in the room discombobulated. At that moment, some totally awesome music began to play as the lights shined on the center stage's left exit. As the music played, a purple-haired man moonwalked out the gateway, wearing black shades. All eyes were on him as the music began to quiet down. "Pokemon Master Yianni is present." he smiled, sliding off his shades.

From backstage, Jessie's eye twitched, "Just who is that guy...?" she muttered to herself, a half crazed look on her face.

In the stands, the other members of Team Rocket were having a similar reaction.

"What's with his hair?" James reluctantly whispered to Meowth. "There is no way it is naturally that color."

Meowth looked annoyed, "Would you shut it! Your hair is naturally that color!" he retorted comically.

"Pokémon Master?" Jason thought, seeing Yianni on screen. "He must be the Champion then!"

Jalyn cleared her throat. "Um...Alright, moving on! Once again, we welcome our next newcomer, Silus to the stage!"

Silus stepped onto stage, nervous on the inside, but showing no sign of it on the outside.

"Come forth, Aipom and Pichu!" Silus declared, throwing his two Pokéballs.

Pichu erupted from its ball, accompanied by many lightning bolts. Aipom burst from its ball, followed by many streamers and stars. Aipom also shined brightly, due to being a Shiny Pokémon.

"Aipom, use Swift! Pichu, hit that Swift with Thundershock!" Silus commanded.

Aipom swiped its hand-like tail, releasing a stream of sparkling stars. Pichu followed up with a Thundershock, which lit up each star, causing it to sparkle like stage lights before exploding into star-shaped fireworks.

"Now then, play some volleyball! Shadow ball and Iron Tail!" he continued.

Aipom created a Shadow ball and batted it at Pichu with its tail. Pichu's tail glowed, allowing it to bat the Shadow ball back at Aipom. The two Pokémon batted the ball back and forth for a few moments.

"Now end the performance with Thundershock, Pichu!" Silus commanded.

Pichu electrified the Shadow ball, causing it to burst into bright purple and yellow flashes, signalling the end of Silus's performance.

"An excellent performance! Wonderful teamwork with both Trainer and Pokémon." Mr. Contesta said his piece.

"I loved watch every minute of it. The trainer worked hard on his Pokémon's appeal, and it partially reminded me of a game of Pokémon Ping-Pong." Nurse Joy was smiling.

"Remarkable!" Mr. Sukizō finished with his signature line.

"Alright! You've seen the appeals, now we will calculate who will be appearing in the semi-finals! While we do this, the trainers can take a short break."

Round Two - Battle Round

Jason was sitting on a bench in the meeting room, waiting for the finals to be announced. He had already sent both of the twin Eevee to Professor Changi. They were Pokémon suitable for Contests, but battling wasn't their forte. He had his two Pokémon for battling. He looked over to see Silus slumped over by a wall. It couldn't hurt to go talk to him for a moment could it? He got up and walked over to the boy.

"Hello."

Silus looked up from his thought, noticing Jason had spoken to him.

"Oh, well hello. Jason, isn't it?" Silus replied.

"Yeah. You're Silus right? That was a good appeal you did out there. I liked the use of Shadow Ball." Shadow Ball was one of Jason's favorite Pokémon moves.

Silus smiled, "Thank you much! I though long and hard on my walk to Gardenia Town on what two Pokémon, and the moves, I'd use. Your Eevee combination was very impressive itself." he replied.

"Thanks." Jason grinned. "Wait a sec...you wouldn't happen to be from Eden Town, would you? You look familiar, like I've seen you around before."

At this, Jason looked interested. "Yes, I'm from Eden Town. I started my journey a few days ago, in fact." he said.

"Really? I'm from Eden Town too! Just got my Pokémon not too long ago either." Jason found this funny actually. To run into another trainer from his own hometown. "H-!" Before he could say anything else however, Jalyn's voice rang out, and they all turned to face the monitors.

"Alright! These are the decisions from the judges!! These 10 lucky contestants will be making it into the semi-final rounds!" Images began to flash up on the screen, Jason, Silus, and Jessilina flashed up as the first three.

"Alright!" Jason hissed. "Made it to the finals!"

It was at this moment that Jessie entered the room, nose held high in the air.

"I wouldn't celebrate yet if I were you, twerp. I'm the only one with enough skill to win this contest. It'd be best for you if you just backed out while you still have your dignity." she gloated.

"Stuff it hag woman." Jason replied snappishly. The board began to shuffle the faces to show the battle partners. Jessilina and Jason were matched up together as opponents, Silus matched off with a veiled young woman.

"Hag woman?!" Jessie fumed, "I'll show you!"

She then stormed out onto the battlefield.

Silus shook his head and grinned, "Good luck out there, Jason. Hope to see you in the final match!" he said, encouraging his new friend.

Jason vs Jessilina

"Thanks." Jason said, grinning. "Let's meet up in the finals." He ran out onto the battle field, and Jalyn cleared her throat.

"Alright everyone! The first double battle of the Contest! Jessilina vs Jason! This will be a double battle. Each contestant have 5 minutes to show off their POkémon and steal as many points as is possible. Let the match begin!"

"Alright you two. It's Showtime!" Jason threw two Poké Balls into the air. One released Servine is a swirl of hearts. The other released Eevee in a swirl of shadows.

"Dazzle them, Spiritomb and Snivy!" Jessie shouted, tossing her Pokéballs.

The same effects as the appeals round accompanied each of her Pokémon.

"Snivy, Spiritomb, combine Grass Mixer and Dark Pulse!" Jessie commanded.

Snivy spun on its head, turning itself into a tornado of leaves. Spiritomb, on the other hand, surrounded Snivy's Grass Mixer with dark energy waves, as Snivy closed in on Jason's Pokémon.

"'Eevee' use Dig!" Jason called out, and 'Eevee' tunneled into the ground, dodging the 'Grass Pulse', and Servine flipped into the air, dodging it as well. This was gonna cost Jessie.

"Now, Servine, Leaf Storm!!!" A swirl of leaves began to form around Servine, forming around her tail into a large floral spear. The crowd let out gasps at this. "'Eevee', use Shadow Ball!" 'Eevee' jumped out of the hole, charging up a larger-than-normal Shadow Ball. "Let them both rip!" Jason commanded, and Servine let the "spear" loose to fly like a missile, and 'Eevee' shot the Shadow Ball, which dissipated on contact with the leaves, melding to create a spiraling, missile of doom cloaked in a dark light.

"Now we've got them! Snivy, Toxic attack! Spiritomb, Hypnosis!" Jessie retaliated.

Snivy waited for Servine to close in before firing the toxic sludge right in its face. Spiritomb floated above the field and fired Hypnosis down upon both Servine and Eevee.

It was too late for Servine, but as for Eevee. "Now Eevee, dodge the Hypnosis." Eevee jumped, dodging the visible waves Hypnosis created and escaping from being trapped in Dream Land. Servine has used it's tail to wipe the Toxic off it's face. "Now Servine, use Leaf Blade!" Servine's tail began to glow green and it actually expanded. "Now, mold it!" Jason called out another command, the the glowing tail formed into a literal blade.

"Wow!" Jalyn's voice rang out. "Servine actually managed to shape it's own leaf blade into an actual sword!"

"Now, Eevee, reveal yourself!" Jason was getting excited, and Eevee jumped into the air, a pink swirling aura surrounded it, and it turned into Zorua, it's real form.

"Now Zorua, use your Shadow Ball on the blade!" Zorua released a large Shadow Ball at the leaf blade, wrapping it in it's dark aura much like it had with the Leaf Storm.

"Alright Servine, only three minutes left! Let's wrap this up! Swing your tail!" Servine followed it's orders, swinging the Leaf Blade in a large arc, releasing a wave of dark energy from it, heading towards the Snivy and Spiritomb.

The blast hit both Spiritomb and Snivy head on, slamming them into the stadium floor.

"Snivy! Spiritomb!" Jessie shrieked as her Pokémon fainted.

"Snivy and Spiritomb are unable to battle. Jason wins!" Jalyn declared, and the crowd went wild.

At the sound of this, Jason grinned. "I WON!" It was all he could take to avoid dancing. "In your face hag woman!"

Jessie clenched both her fists and fumed, "Just wait! You'll get yours!" she grunted before storming off stage.

There, James and Meowth met her.

"James, Meowth, let's get a move on! I wanna set a trap for that little twerp!" she snarled at her teammates.

"Calm down, Jessie." said James, trying to appease his teammate. "We've already come up with a plan."

And with that, Jessie, James, and Meowth scurried out of the contest hall.

Meanwhile, back on stage, MC Jalyn was finishing the judging of the last semi-finals match.

"Well folks, both of Angelica's Pokémon are unable to battle! That means the win goes to Silus!" she announced.

Silus smirked and walked off-stage and into the waiting room while Jalyn carried on.

"Our final match will be between Silus and Jason!" she announced on the loudspeaker.

Jason was standing over his pack, replacing a Poké Ball with another and placing a capsule onto it. He looked up. He had actually made it into the finals.

Silus vs Jason

Silus stepped back onto the stadium on his side of the battlefield awaiting Jason's arrival. He'd already picked his two Pokémon for this battle, and he knew one thing for sure; he had to win this. It'd be perfect training for his upcoming Gym match.

Jason rushed out to center stage, both Poké Balls gripped in hand. "Well Silus, we both made it to the finals." He breathed in deep. "Let's make this a good match."

Silus grinned, "Don't worry. I will!" he declared, "Monferno, Pichu, standby for battle!"

An eruption of flames accompanied Monferno's appearance on the field, while electric sparks followed Pichu's.

"And Silus's two Pokémon are Monferno and Pichu! What will be Jason's choices?" Jalyn questioned.

Jason turned his cap backwards, and pressed the buttons on both Balls, making them in large. "Servine, Heracross! It's showtime!" He threw the Poké Balls into the air, and Servine was released in a swirl of hearts, while Heracross was released with letters that spelled "WIN".

"Jason is starting with Heracross and Servine! It appears type-advantage is on Silus' side in this battle."

"Servine, let's get this started! Use Attract!" Servine leapt silently into the air, and formed a massive, hollowed-out heart. She hit it with her tail, and it burst into many smaller hearts which rained down on Pichu and Monferno. "Heracross, don't give them a chance to react! Aerial Ace and make it last!" Heracross shot off from the ground like a missile, a multi-colored auro swirling around it for an Aerial Ace you could only see in a contest. And it was heading for Monferno.

Silus was amazed at the combination prowess of Jason and his two Pokémon, but he remained stone-faced on the outside. He didn't want to show even a speck of weakness to his opponent.

"Pichu, get in front of Monferno and counter Heracross with Volt Tackle. Monferno, skid back a bit to avoid Attract and fire Flamethrower at Pichu's Volt Tackle! Go!" he commanded.

Pichu suddenly lit up with electrical energy, "Pichu, Pichu, Pichu, Pichu, Pichu!" it shouted repeatedly charging its attack as it leaped at Heracross.

Monferno leaped back and away from Attract and then fired Flamethrower directly at Pichu's Volt Tackle, creating a flaming Volt Tackle which was headed straight for Heracross.

"Endure Heracross!"

"HERACROSS!" The Single Horn Pokémon covered intself with a glistening red aura, and it collided with the Flaming Volt Tackle, creation an explosion of both powers.

"Servine, Leaf Storm now!" Servine began to swirl as it created a tornado of leaves. "Now, do it!" Servine released the tornado, but it split, forming two drills of leaves that attacked Monferno from the left and the right.

"Don't relent, Monferno! Flame Wheel!" Silus commanded.

"Mon...fer...no!" it cried, spinning into a wheel of flames just as the Leaf Storm collided, turning the flurry of leaves to ignite into flames and surround Monferno, making its Flame Wheel double the normal size.

"Now Monferno, direct that at Heracross!" Silus followed up.

Monferno launched itself, still inside its giant Flame Wheel, directly at Heracross.

Pichu, meanwhile, landed back on the field from its earlier attack and was slightly electrocuted by the recoil of Volt Tackle.

"Pichu, help Monferno! Keep Servine distracted with a Quick Attack!" he continued.

Pichu was surrounded in white light as it leaped at intense speeds, directly for Servine.

Heracross itself was feeling the pain from the collision with the Flaming Volt Tackle, and the Flame Wheel hit head on, setting Heracross ablaze and sending it back into the stadium wall.

"Servine, create an Attract wall!" Servine created a large, spinning wall of hearts that left no opening, and expelled it from her, the wall expanding, and it was bound to hit Pichu.

"Heracross, get up! We're running out of time. Use Aerial Ace and combine it with your Night Slash!" Heracross once again took the air with it's Aerial Ace, the move which never misses. But the spinning aura soon gained a pinkish-red outline as Heracross began to charge up Night Slash. And once again, it's target was Monferno.

"Persistent, aren't you? Well, so am I and there is no way I'm gonna get hit with that Attract! Monferno, Pichu! Time for another combo attack! Volt Tackle and Flamethrower! Destroy that Attract wall and hit Heracross hard!" Silus shouted.

Pichu again lit up with electric energy as Monferno coated it in flames. Pichu then charged full speed, smashing through the pink heart-shaped wall, and directly at Heracross. However, when the Attract wall broke, some of its shards hit Monferno, infatuating it.

"Servine, use Leech Seed, Heracross, standy for further commands!" Servine jumped up, spitting out several seeds which shot towards the infatuated Monferno and the speedy Pichu. Heracross did as asked, waiting patiently for it's role in this.

"Monferno, snap out of it!" Silus cried.

It was useless. Monferno was clearly infatuated. The Leech Seeds simply evaporated when they came into contact with Pichu's flaming Volt Tackle, though they landed a direct hit on Monferno. Pichu then leaped straight at Heracross, aiming to end it.

A glint appeared in Ahatake's eyes. "Endure Heracross!"

"HeraCROSS!" Heracross released a light red barrier from it's body that expanded outward, meeting with Pichu's Flaming Volt Tackle, effectively holding it at bay.

The Leech Seed began to sap at Monferno's health, restoring Servine to her glory, and giving her a glow which made the crowd gasp.

"This isn't looking good! If Monferno doesn't snap out of it, I'm done for! ...Wait! That's it!" Silus thought. "Pichu, use Thundershock on Monferno right now!"

Pichu looked confused at first, but then released a jolt of electricity on Monferno. Monferno looked shocked, but realized soon after that it was free of infatuation.

"That snapped him out of it!" Silus shouted in victory. "Now then, Monferno, use Mach Punch before Servine can act! Pichu, use Thundershock on Monferno's Mach Punch!"

Monferno's fist glowed and was then shrouded in Pichu's electricity, turning it into an electric Mach Punch! In an instant, Monferno was face to face with Servine, aiming its punch for Servine's gut.

"Combine Leaf Storm with Leaf Blade!!!!" Jason commanded, and Servine's tail glew light green and leaves swirled around it. It launched itself forward, it's tail colliding with the punch, leading to a stalemate.

"Heracross, Horn Attack on that Pichu while it's not paying attention!" Jason gave Heracross it's order, and the Single Horn Pokémon's horn glew white and it charged at Pichu.

"Time to wrap this up. Pichu, use Iron Tail! Monferno, point blank Flamethrower!" Silus roared.

Pichu's tail glowed white and it leaped up, slamming its tail into Heracross's horn. Monferno opened its mouth right in Servine's face and unleashed a powerful jet of flames.

It hit it's mark, sending it hitting the ground hard and covered in flames. It seemed to be stunned from this.

"Heracross, overpower that Pichu!!!!" Heracross lifted it's horn up, and Pichu went up along with it. "Now, slam it down!" The horn went down, heading towards the ground for a not-so-comfortable landing.

Pichu landed on its back and was knocked out, though this left Heracross open to an attack from behind.

"Monferno, Flamethrower once more!" Silus commanded.

Another jet of flames was released from Monferno's mouth, right at the unsuspecting Heracross's back.

"Heracross!!!!" The flames left their mark, and gave Heracross waves of pain, knocking out the Single Horn Pokémon. Now it was Servine and Monferno on the battlefield, and Servine was looking worn out.

"Now its just our starter Pokémon, Jason! I have no intention of losing against you! Monferno, combine Flame Wheel and Aerial Ace to finish this battle!" Silus declared.

"MONFERNO!" the chimpanzee-like Pokémon cried as it turned itself into wheel of flames, surrounded by white light. It then barreled towards Servine at intense speeds.

"Ser!" Servine let out a cry as the combination move hit it. It fell to the ground bruised and burned.

"Servine! C'mon! You gotta get up!" Jason called out to his Pokémon. Servine was trying to force itself up, it's legs and 'hands' shaking.

Silus watched as Jason's points neared zero and the clock ticked away. In someway, he felt bad for Servine. Just like his Monferno, Servine was giving it her all for her trainer. Still, this was a battle and Monferno has the chance to win.

"Monferno, let's finish this strong! Use Aerial Ace!" Silus shouted.

Monferno glowed white and launched itself at the barely standing Servine.

Once again the move hit, but Servine would not go down. She was hanging on by thread. And then suddenly she began to glow green.

"What...is this?" Jason held up his Pokédex. "Overgrow. A Special Ability unique to certain Grass-type Pokémon such as Servine. When weakened severly, these Pokémon tap into their extra power, increasing their grass-type moves by a large margin."

Servine stood up, and the aura dissipated. It was 30 second on the clock. "Overgrow, eh? Servine, use your Grass Mixer now!" Servine began to spin upside down, creating a green leafy tornado. "Let 'er rip!" Servine let the tornado fly.

"Monferno, switch to Flame Wheel right now!" Silus yelled, feeling the anticipation of time running out.

Monferno curled into a ball and ignited its flames as Grass Mixer surrounded it, turning the leaves into a massive blaze ball headed directly at Servine.

"Spin and dodge!!!" Jason ordered, and Servine flipped into the air, stealing points with a move like that. 15 seconds. "Now, we gotta hurry! Attract!!!" Servine let loose a rain of hearts.

"That won't work a second time! Monferno, duck under Attract and Mach Punch! Let's go!" Silus shouted.

Monferno powered up its right fist and ducked under the hearts of Attract, aiming a Mach Punch powered uppercut directly for Servine's chin.

The speedy punch hit it's mark, but Jason's Servine struck back with Leaf Blade. 5 seconds.

"Damn it! Will this never end?!" Silus shouted as Monferno skid backwards from its attack. "Monferno, grab Servine with your left hand and then hit it point blank with Fire Punch!"

Monferno grabbed Servine's snaky body with its left hand as its right hand was engulfed in flames. It then aimed the final punch for Servine's gut.

And it was the final punch. Just at the punch hit, causing Servine to choke slightly, the bell rang, signifying that time was up. Servine was on it's knees, but still conscious.

Jalyn stood up from her seat, "And that's all she wrote, folks!" she announced. "Now here is our Hora League Champion, Yianni, with the results!"

The purple-haired man stood up and walked out into the center of the battlefield. The scoreboard then chirped as Jason's remaining points vanished from the screen.

"You both battled considerably, and your trust in your Pokémon was bar none." he said, but then turned to Silus. "However, all competitions have winners and losers. That's how we grow as people, and as Pokémon Trainers. In this instance, Silus is our Gardenia Town Ribbon winner!"

Yianni approached Silus and handed him a case containing the ribbon.

"Congratulations to you Silus." he said with a smile, before turning to Jason. "And congratulations to you, Jason."

"What a guy!" announced Jalyn. "And there you have it folks, the winner of the Gardenia Contest is Silus!"

The crowd roared in excitement and Silus could no longer contain his happiness. He ran and hugged Monferno, "We did it, bud!"

"Monferno!" the Pokémon cried happily.

Jason held up a Poké Ball, calling his Heracross back. He walked over to Servine and picked it up, smiling. "You did real great Servine. We'll just have to try again next time." He walked over to Silus and extended his hand, Servine climbing onto Jason's shoulder. "Silus, thanks for a great match."

Silus smiled and shook Jason's outstretched hand, "You're quite welcome, and thank you as well." he replied. Upon seeing how Servine was treating its trainer, Monferno raced to show some affection as well. It leaped onto Silus's back with a yip sound.

"I can't believe you're still rowdy after all of that! You really are the Playful Pokémon." Silus joked. "We'd better get these guys to a Pokémon Center."

Silus then headed for the exit.

Team Rocket!

Jason followed him out, and opened his Pokédex, looking up Pichu, something that had been bugging him. "Hey Silus, why did your Pichu look so different from the one in the Pokédex?" He showed Silus Pichu's Pokédex image. It lacked the Spiky ear that his Pichu had.

Silus took out his Pichu's Pokéball and called it out onto his other shoulder.

"I don't know actually." Silus replied, a puzzled look on his face. "This Pichu isn't native to this area of Hora. According to someone I met in Freesia Town, it was brought there by Team Rocket when they were running some sort of scam there awhile back."

"Ah." Jason nodded, and closed the Pokédex. "Maybe it's a rare-type of Pichu. Professor Changi will be interested in this I'm sure. I kind of hope I can find one now..."

Their next step sent them both tumbling into a pit fall trap.

"Ow, my head!" Silus moaned.

"Hehehehehehehe!" came the combination of three voices from above, as two mechanical arms reached down and snatched Pichu and Servine right from their trainers.

"Looks like you two took quite a fall!" said a female voice.

"I hope you won't mind us taking these rare Pokémon off your hands!" said a deeper, male voice.

"Who are you guys?!" Silus shouted up at them.

"I'm so glad you asked! Prepare for trouble!" began the female.

"Make it double." followed the male.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!" shouted the third member, finally speaking up.

"Oh that hurt..." Jason was rubbing his head and looked up. Then he noticed his Servine was gone. "My Pokémon!" Then he looked closer, and saw that there was a Meowth with Jessie and James. And it had talked. He enlarged a Poké Ball and threw it, determined to get a talking Pokémon.

Meowth swiped the Pokéball away effortlessly, "What's the big idea?! I ain't a wild Pokémon!" it shouted in anger.

"Oh? Pity." He said, sulking briefly. Then he looked over at Jessie. "Hey, aren't you the hag I beat earlier in the contest?"

A vein bulged in Jessie's head, "How dare you?!" she shouted, and then seemed to calm herself somewhat. "You know, I don't care anymore! After all, we did get your Servine! The boss will be quite happy with it."

Silus suddenly interrupted, "Give back my Pichu!" he roared, "Oshawott, I choose you!"

A bright flash erupted from Silus's Pokéball, revealing his newly caught Oshawott.

"Osh!" it cried.

In the anger Jason was feeling, he managed to climb out of the pit trap, and reached for the Old Ball that was on his belt. "I know you've never met me yet, but I'm counting on you!" He began to twist the dial on the Ball, and held it out. It released a wave of white light, which formed into a Charizard with strange brown markings. The Flame Pokémon let out of roar, spewing flames onto the air at the same time.

All three members of Team Rocket shrieked at Charizard's appearance.

"That brat had a Charizard!" James exclaimed.

"We can still beat it!" Jessie growled through gritted teeth. "Come on out, Spiritomb!"

The Spiritomb from earlier emerged from its Pokéball.

"Dark Pulse!" Jessie commanded.

Spiritomb unleashed violent waves of dark energy on Charizard.

"Charizard, Flamethrower!" Jason ordered.

Charizard looked at Jason for a moment like the boy was stupid. He didn't know who this boy was, but he did resemble his old trainer from when he was young. Still, he didn't feel like listening to a greenhorn trainer...yet the Spiritomb was on the attack. No point in taking unnecessary damage. Charizard turned, glaring at Spiritomb, and unleashed it's Dragon Breath, the blast of the powerful Pokémon colliding with Spiritomb's Dark Pulse.

Spiritomb was blasted back by the shockwave created by the collision, as it was still weak from the contest battle it had fought in earlier.

Silus then saw his chance. "Oshawott, Shell blade!" he declared.

Oshawott detached the shell on its belly and threw it at the mechanical arms holding Servine and Pichu, snapping the rope-like connections and freeing the two Pokémon.

"Jason, they're free! Now aim for Team Rocket!" Silus shouted.

"Chaizard, Flamethrower on Team Rocket!" Jason ordered. Charizard, however, turned away from Jason, looking off in a different direction.

"Hey Jess, while Charizard is taking five, we should scat and come up with a new plan." James whispered.

"Not a bad idea." Meowth whispered back.

"I concur." finished Jessie.

"Not so fast!" Silus snarled from below. "Pichu, Volt Tackle!"

Pichu gathered electrical energy around itself and plowed right for Team Rocket, hitting them all dead center, sending them flying through the Hora skies.

"Look's like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" they shouted as the vanished from sight.

Jason opened the Old Ball, and Charizard was recalled back into it as Servine slithered back onto Jason's shoulder. He sighed. "Guess Mom was right about me not being able to control Charizard yet..." The thought seemed to depress him.

Silus, Pichu, and Monferno climbed out of the pitfall and Silus put his hand on Jason's shoulder.

"Don't sweat it. If you challenge the Gyms of Hora and get enough badges, I bet Charizard will come to respect you as a trainer. Servine seems to trust you quite a bit!" he said, trying to encourage his rival.

"Pi-Pichu!" cried the Tiny Mouse Pokémon, trying to encourage Jason in its own language.

Jason grinned. "Thanks. This Charizard was my grandfather's, so getting it to obey me would be one step to becoming as powerful as he is."

Silus took a step back and recalled his Pokémon. The sun was setting on the horizon and tomorrow was Silus's first Gym match.

"Let's meet up again sometime and battle, Jason." he said before departure.

"You can bet on it!" Jason grinned. "And I'll win it next time."

The End

First Pokémon Gym Battle! Victory over the Gardenia Twins? | Pichu the Mischievous Pokémon!