468: Dawn of a New Era!
Dodgy Synopsis
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472: Potchama tai Subomi! Hikari Hatsu Batoru!
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He starts snapping at her to be careful, and well, she isn't going to take that shit lying down, and hits right back at him, accusing him of shouting too much and distracting her. As they stand face to face arguing, Piplup watches the Buneary it just spent an untold amount of time beating down for Dawn run away. Ash and Dawn kick right back into blaming each other as Brock sits with his hands between his legs... what else is new when a girl in a short skirt is nearby?
Oh dear, it seems that this isn't the best of beginnings for the new trio of twerps. But you can't expect smooth sailing at the....
They continue on up the forest road, still complaining about each other's big mouths with Brock stuck in-between them. They accuse each other of being stupid and Brock snaps they're both hurting his ears.... and then.... Sunny Day?
Snow-like "fire" appears to rain down onto them, making them "happier". Apparently this is Sunny Day, a Pokémon move that gets people high, and yet somehow isn't abused by bored upper-middle class teenagers whose parents JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND THEM!
A Budew approaches, a bizarre brussels sprout looking Pokémon with odd vine like protuberances above its head. As they look it up with the Pokedex, Brock wonders if it caused the Sunny Day, and then a bizarrely flamboyant, long haired and caped Spaniard with a hat speaks up from behind a tree, revealing that it was indeed responsible, and plays a harp as he asks them if it has made them feel better?
DRUG DEALER! DRUG DEALER!
Yes he heard them arguing and decided they were just the kind of vulnerable kids he could exploit, giving them a hit for free and then taking them for everything they've got before pimping out Dawn and using Ash and Brock as drug mules.... Oh sick sadistic new world! Oh Sinnoh!
Ash introduces himself, then the others do as well, and then the Drug Dealer introduces himself as the Bard, Nando. He explains that he travels the world playing music (to cover for DEALING DRUGS!) and then Dawn declares that she wants to battle him to prove to Ash how much better she has gotten.
Ash warns her this'll be her first battle against a proper trainer, but she doesn't seem concerned. Nando asks if she is trying to win the Sinnoh League but she explains she wants to be a Coordinator, and like all good (or rather, bad) Drug Dealers, Nando knows how to shift to meet his market and agrees to a Contest Battle. They head on towards a nearby clearing, watched from the bushes by.... Team Rocket!
They're interested to see Dawn, remembering her as the new twerp who sprung Pikachu from their trap. Jesse is outraged, how dare Dawn think she can win Pokémon Contests? Why, the only diva that is going to be winning contests around here is her! Meowth moans that she needs to snap out of it but she roars back that she'll snap them if they're not careful, then off-screen descends into mad cackling as James and Meowth sigh in resignation, surrendering to the mad whim of their Bitch Queen Goddess.
In the clearing, May calls out Piplup to use Spotlight to make a gorgeous entrance, but its entrance seems decidedly.... normal. She tells it to use Peck, but Budew dodges by leaping high, then blasts at Piplup with Bullet Seed. Piplup dodges aside and tries Bubble Beam, which hits Budew head on.... to no effect!
Dawn can't understand why, but Ash and Brock explain that Water Type attacks aren't powerful against Grass Types. Nando orders a Solar Beam from Budew, which has FINALLY returned to the ground after seemingly sitting stationary in the air forever, and now Dawn thinks she has it. It takes time for a Solar Beam to attack, so she sends Piplup in to use Peck and..... it gets blasted back by Solar Beam and knocked out! The Drug Dealer wins!
Dawn can't understand how it hit Solar Beam so fast, but Brock points out that it used Sunny Day earlier and the sun HAS been getting hotter as the day progressed. But Nando also tells her that he wouldn't have guessed this was her first battle, and Brock and Ash agree that the battle itself would have been good experience for her.
Apparently Nando is experienced too, and seems to have seen something in the battle that indicates he won't get these kids hooked on his demon drugs so easily, so he tells them he'll be on his way. He heads off, leaving them behind.... and Team Rocket watching. Jesse is delighted to have seen Dawn take an ass whomping! She knows now that she could beat the shit out of her too, but first, it's time to capture Pikachu!
As the sun sets, the twerps head on through the forest as Dawn complains that she can't catch a Pokémon and she can't win a battle, what CAN she do.
Ash tells her that a night in bed will cure her woes.... (GETCHA MINDS OUTTA DA GUTTA!).... and Brock notes that there is a Pokémon Centre up ahead, and then excitedly calls out Bonsly to tell it they're going to get to see a Nurse Joy!
Dawn checks out Bonsly with her Dextina and Ash asks Brock if he brought his other Pokémon, but apparently he left them all behind at Pewter City.... and it's at this point that Dawn finally discovers that Brock is a former Gym Leader!
They head into the Pokémon Center where Dawn proves once again that pretty much all kids never actually bother to notice all the goddamn clones/twins hanging about them as they grow up. She asks if Joy is the same Joy she met before and gets the standard stock explanation that they're all relatives who happen to share exactly the same goddamn genetic code... and Brock loves it, but he especially loves THIS Nurse Joy!
Dawn points out he acted the same way with Officer Jenny, though luckily for Brock, Joy doesn't seem to overhear this. They give Dawn's Mother a call and Ash and Brock hide behind Dawn after spotting Mrs Dawn's Mum's terrifying bouffant hairdo. she eyes them up, realises that they're two young single pubescent boys, and promptly declares that she is relying on them to keep an eye on her underage, short-skirted daughter.
Nurse Joy turns out to actually have another use as well, she can register Ash up for the Sinnoh League. She can't do the same for Dawn though, she'll need to register her for Pokémon Contests in the towns where they are actually being held. Then three kids enter with terrible voices AND a Turtwig, Chimchar and a.... Prinplup, the evolved form of a Piplup! Dawn checks the smug, cranky looking bastard with Dextina, and then has her attention diverted by the return of Nando. He has popped into the Center to pick up his Budew, telling Dawn he won't be staying, he has much to ponder outside.
Joy explains that he divides his time between Contests and Battles, and Ash instantly proclaims that he should just battle all the time. Dawn retorts he should take part in contests, and the two argue angrily before deciding quite rightly that it is Nando's decision to make, not theirs.... so they charge outside to force a decision on him!
In the dark of the forest, Ash's Starly has had no more luck than they have in finding Nando. Now they're so far out into the forest they're going to be forced to camp, and Brock snaps that this always happens, Ash goes running off without thinking of the consequences. To make things worse, Team Rocket shows up, cleverly disguised as.... wait.... they're....in disguise? They're...
....they're not even trying anymore!
Jesse insists they have three hots and a cot, and James adds what they need is what they've got! They show them the "Rickety Roof Inn" which looks like a nice enough place.... until the wind blows over the facade and blows away their awful, awful disguises. Jesse roars at Meowth that he was supposed to build an entire motel, not a Hollywood Movie Backlot! Meowth stares in horror up at her, knowing it is pointless to argue that she demands the impossible, mumbling only in his defence that he only had two bucks to work with. After all, she is his Bitch Goddess Queen, and one does not argue with the unreasonable demands of a God.
"Listen, is that a voice I hear?""It's speaking to me, loud and clear!"
"Floating on the wind."
"Past the stars."
"In yer ear!"
"Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace!"
"Dashing hope, putting fear in its place!"
"A rose by any other name's just as sweet."
"When everything's worse, our work is complete!"
"Jesse!"
"And James!"
"Meowth, dat's a name!"
"Putting the do-gooders in their place.
"Team Rocket!"
"We're in your face!"
"To make everything worse!" they all finish together, with Wobbuffet and Mime Jr chipping in for emphasis.
James calls out Carnivine, the plant Pokémon driven insane by years of isolation. It gleefully chows down on James' head, then eats up Piplup's Bubblebeam before trying to get a taste of delightful penguin as well, only for Budew to arrive and send them blasting off again!
Yes Nando has saved them, and asks them what they're doing out in the forest. They explain they came out to see him, and settle down around a campfire where his accent beings to slip as he explains his concerns over whether he should go with Gym Battles or contests. Ash and Dawn start arguing about what he should do and he tells them they won't be able to hear the forest sing if they keep arguing. They ask what he means, and then we hear various Pokémon making their noises throughout the night forest, and the twerps groove on hearing it before Dawn apologises to Ash and he reciprocates, much to Brock's delight. Ash suddenly for NO REASON AT ALL starts talking about the first time he saw Ho-Oh and Dawn talks about her own spotting of a legendary Pokémon. Nando plays his harp and talks some nonsense, and Ash declares he wants a fight, once again out of nowhere!
The next day, it's Budew versus Pikachu. Pikachu dodges Bullet Seed and hits a Quick Attack, then Budew hauls up Pikachu in a funnel of green energy, the Mega- Drain healing Budew's own damage. Pikachu hits back with Thunderbolt, but this just pisses Budew off and... it evolves! Now it's a Roselia!
Nando has it use Sunny Day to reassure himself he can still deal his Demon Drugs, then calls for a Solar Beam. But Pikachu moves in as it fires, jumping out of the way of the massive blast and coming down with Iron Tail to.... SMACK MY BITCH UP!
"Well, that's the end," mutters Nando impassively, not overly concerned since he still has a source for his vile drugs. He recalls Roselia and thanks Ash, then tells them he has made his decision, he enjoyed battling them both so much he is going to continue with Battles AND Contests! So they part ways, Ash and Dawn seemingly at truce for now, happy that they helped Nando find peace with himself.
| BEST QUOTES |
 "Are you calling me stupid?" "No but I'm thinking about it now!"
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