ENGLISH NAME	JAPANESE NAME	POKEMOPOLIS NAME	DODGINESS RATING	ANIMATION	STORY	TEAM ROCKET	MORAL LEARNT
007: The Water Flowers of Cerulean City	007: Hanada Shitei no Suichuu ka	When The Brock's Away, Ash and Misty Will Play			Ash has his second Gym Battle... kinda. Against Misty!?!	Bent	You can't escape your family, no matter how hard you try

Well, it seems Ash got all tuckered out tearing off down the road at the end of the last episode, and he's slowed down enough now for Brock and Pikachu to catch up. Moving along at a far more sedate pace now, Ash's tiny mind has forgotten the deadly insult delivered to him by Gary and is just enjoying the sunshine. But like all good mothers everywhere, Brock is there to remind him of his shortcomings and failings, noting that while he's enjoying the sun, Gary is catching more Pokemon. Ash's eyes bulge out comically before he continues walking on as if nothing had happened (and as far as his mind is concerned, nothing has) while Brock continues to mumble to himself, figuring that you can probably catch Pokemon and enjoy the sunshine at the same time.

Not when you're Ash, though, that boy has enough trouble remembering to walk and breath at the same time.

Speaking of forgetting things, Pikachu has just noted that a certain fiery red-head isn't with them, and turning around it notes Misty rushing to catch up to them. Skidding to a stop beside them, a panting Misty demands to know where they think they're going, and gets an answer that shocks her, they're going to Cerulean City! A panicking Misty desperately attempts to convince them otherwise, despite Ash's insistence that he's on his way to get another Gym Badge. In her desperation she just out and out lies, explaining that in Cerulean City there are very scary Ghost Pokemon that look like this. She then proceeds to make a terrifying face, pulling her eyelids and her lips wide, poking out her tongue and taking on a bluish cast.
"Rike mronsters," she muffles out through her tongue.

That would be Monster Pocket Monsters, kiddies.

But if Misty is hoping to scare Ash, she's to be sadly disappointed, as the idiot-child just stares blankly at her held pose (Brock and Pikachu also looking on blankly) then laughs, "A-haha-hahaha-ha-ha-heeh, nice face Misty! Come on Brock."
He turns and walks away, Pikachu and Brock following as Misty loses her cool and lets loose.
"Hey! Hey! WAIT A SEEEECOND!!!!!!!!!"
She rushes in front of Ash, Brock and Pikachu, setting her legs wide and throws her arms to the side, desperately trying to negotiate with Ash now.
"Hey! What about Vermilion City!?! It's right on the water and there are lots of neat Pokemon and you can watch all the giant yachts pull into the harrrbouuur!!!"
She begins to get a bit carried away by her own speech, cupping her arms beneath her chin and sighing happily, eyes close as she recalls happy times in Vermilion City, while Brock stares impassively on and Ash just looks stupidly confused.
"And there's a liiitle park waaaaay up on the hill where you can sit and watch the sunset that's soooo romantic...."
"A.... ha?" asks Ash, missing the blatant invitation, not getting it as always.
"And it's much nicer than that old Cerulean City," she beams happily, clenching her fists, "So let's get going!"
"Okay!" smiles Ash, "Let's go!"
"Really!?!" gasps Misty hopefully.
"To Cerulean City," grins Ash, causing Misty to collapse on her face.
They walk on without her, Ash explaining to Brock that he's got to get more Trainer's Badges, and Cerulean City has a Pokemon Gym.......
"Makes sense," agrees Brock.
Misty stares forlornly after them, sighing that she never wanted to wind up back here (here being Cerulean City). But she heads after them anyway, because there's no way she's leaving Ash behind.

You can draw your own conclusions.

As the day stretches on into night and the Moon replaces the Sun, we find ourselves in the interior of some kind of storage shed/lab of some sort. A ventilation duct in the side of a wall shakes and then is knocked loose, allowing who else but our own beloved Team Rocket to pop their heads through.
"The coast is clear," whispers James, a flashlight in hand. "Nothing to fear," agrees Jesse.
"Nobody's here," finishes Meowth, completing the time honoured Camp-Villain Tradition of rhyming their intro.
They leap down into the dark room gracefully, standing up and looking about at the contents of the room. It appears to be a very large room indeed, lined with all kinds of weird and wonderful machinery to be used for who knows what purposes. But Team Rocket have a purpose, and they soon find what they were looking for, a huge machine with a large hose attachment.
"Well, looks like we found it," grins James.
"Just what we need to get just what we want," smiles Jesse.
"Pokemon," declares a massive close-up of Meowth's face, just to scare the kiddies.

The next day finds the sun shining over Cerulean City, which most certainly does not look like the domain of Ghost Pokemon. Ash, Brock and Pikachu make their way down the clean streets, remarking on what a nice place it looks like. Ash turns around, probably to insult Misty or make some kind of snide comment, and to his shock discovers she's no longer behind them.
"Hey look, that's weird," grunts a surprised Ash, "Misty's not following us anymore."
"Chuuuu," sighs Pikachu sadly.
"She really didn't want to come to Cerulean City, did she," notes Brock, who being a more mature and sensible person than Ash has realised that Misty's repeated attempts to keep them from going to Cerulean City was just a front for the fact that she didn't want them to go to Cerulean City.

Oh yeah, Brock's gonna have real luck with the ladies, you can just tell.

"I wonder why she hates this place so much?" ponders Ash, then grins and shrugs, "Ahhh, we'll never figure out girls."

Or the basic mechanics of walking, right Ash? It's an impossible quest.

Meanwhile, a big scene is developing outside of a machine shop in Central Cerulean City, police cars sitting on the road, a large crowd gathered around the store. What could it be? A homicide? a suicide, some other kind of -cide? Well no, because this isn't the real world at all, but the Pokemon World, where such a mundane thing as a store robbery has all the town abuzzing. Ash, Brock and Pikachu wonder up to the crowd to see what's happening, and after making their way to the crime-scene rope find out from a bystander that burglars made their way into the store the previous night.
"Burglars, huh?" mumbles Ash, trying to figure out why a Quarter Pounder or a Big Mac getting into a store is such big news.
"What do you know about burglars?" snaps an angry woman's voice, and Ash and Brock turn to find their eyes panning up a curvy policewoman's body.
"You two look very suspicious to me," growls Officer Jenny, cupping her chin and glaring at the two strangers she's sure she can pin the crime on.
"HEY!" gasps Ash, pointing like a rude little boy, "You're that motorcycle officer from Viridian!"
"Huh?" asks Jenny, stealing Ash's line, then giggles and flaps her arm girlishly at Ash, "Ahhhh! You must have met my sister-in-law!"

A twin sister-in-law? Oh boy, Officer Jenny comes from Kentuckah!

"If you know my sister-in-law," growls Jenny, suddenly all business again, "That means you probably had some dealings with the police in Viridian!"
"Uhhh, I...." gabbles Ash, his mind struggling to cope with words of more than one syllable or the concept of rhetorical questions.
"Now maybe you just stopped to ask her for directions," growls Jenny, folding her arms over her chest, "Or maybe you found a wallet on the street and turned it in to her.... OR MAYBE YOU'RE BURGLARS WHO BROKE OUT OF JAIL!!!!!!"
She leaps backwards and twirls about a set of handcuffs angrily before leaping forward to arrest them, eager to fill her quota and get a commendation from the Chief.
"I've never been to jail!" gasps Ash in shock.
Neither have I Ma'am," adds Brock, squinty eyes fixed firmly on the handcuffs and a grin on his face.

!

"That's what they all say," growls Jenny.
"We just got into town and saw the crowd," explains Brock, still grinning, "So we came over to see what was going on."
A light shines behind Jenny's head as a smile crosses her face, her corrupt mind going back to the heavy training she got from reading Dime-Store Detective Novels, "The criminal always returns to the scene of the crime."
"We're not...." Brock tries again, but somehow it's Ash who saves the day, taking out his Pokedex and offering it to Jenny.
"Maybe this'll help clear things up," he says, opening it and allowing it to identify him.
"I'm Dexter, a Pokedex programmed, by Professor Oak, for Pokemon Trainer, Ash Ketchum."
"Yeah," agrees Brock, holding up a Boulder Badge, "And I was the leader of the Pewter City Gym."
"Well, that's evidence enough for me," says Jenny, who hasn't been shown any evidence of innocence but has heard the name Professor Oak. For a corrupt official like Jenny, it's obvious that anyone with connections to a noted scientist is above the law if it means kickbacks to her, "I'm sorry I was suspicious."
"Now I'm suspicious of my sister-in-law," Jenny mutters, "She sure has weird taste in friends."
"Uhhh Miss," interrupts Brock, getting Jenny's attention and making a confused Ash stare at him, "I was wondering, since I'm new in town maybe we could get together tonight and you could show me around."
"Well," grins Jenny, "I'm not off-duty till after your bedtime, and I may have to work around the clock to catch these burglars. Ash grins cheekily and Brock's face falls at this dis, while a man with glasses in the background smirks with raised eyebrows for absolutely no reason whatsoever. Ash asks what was stolen and Jenny explains that oddly enough, no money was taken, just a giant pump and a huge hose. Ash, not having hit puberty yet, can't imagine why anyone would want a hose and a pump (ewwwwww) and Jenny doesn't have time to play guessing games with him, telling them both to move along and then doing her best to disperse the crowd. Ash and Brock settle down on a park bench after leaving the scene of the crime, thankful for their respective forms of identification saving them from a corrupt cop looking for fast results.

"Shouldn't you head for Cerulean City Gym?" asks Brock, suddenly eager to get rid of Ash for some reason.
"Yeah," mumbles Ash, then turns to face Momma, "Hey Brock, you got any inside info on the Gym Trainer there?"
"Ehh?" asks Brock, looking surprised.
"Ahaha," laughs Ash, "I just want to find out as much as I can about him before we have our match."
He lifts a finger to make his point, "Know yourself, know your adversary, and you hold the key to victory."
"You sure know some pretty deep stuff," an impressed Brock notes, until Ash admits he got it from Dexter. Brock sits back and admits to Ash, "Well, I never actually met the Trainer here, but I know his Pokemon Special Move."
"Yeah!?!" gasps as excited Ash, "What is it?"
"I'm sorry Ash," grins Brock, who isn't sorry at all, just being a sadist, "But I can't give you that information."
"Why not?" sobs Ash.
"I'm a Gym Leader too, after all, I can't tell you out of respect, you understand."
"That's cool," sighs Ash wistfully, who to tell the truth has probably all ready forgotten what they were talking about. They get up and move on till they come to an intersection, where one of the great mysteries of Pokemon takes place. Earlier in the episode, when Ash and Brock saw the crime scene, they were standing under an awning with words written on the sign. All we could make out was 'ELOVE' which we assume read POKELOVE. So what, you ask? Well how interesting that Brock suddenly has places to go and things to see.

"Well, I have some stuff I have to go check out," he tells Ash.
"What kind of stuff?" asks Ash.
"Just.... stuff," Brock returns enigmatically, then heads off with a wave goodbye, out to check out some.... some 'stuff.'

If your mind is currently in da gutta, you can probably leave it there.

Ash and Pikachu head on, Ash doing his best o read a map and find Cerulean City Gym, knowing it should be right around here someplace. Indeed it is, looking more like a kids funhouse, brightly coloured with a giant Seel (a Water-Type Pokemon) set on the domed roof, and inside is unlike any Gym Ash has ever seen (he's only seen one so far), being a giant swimming pool with a VERY high diving board and seats set up for crowds to watch, and today there's a full house. As Ash and Pikachu (who didn't pay to get in) stand at the top of an aisle and watch, a Shellder-Shaped loudspeaker announces that the stars of the show are here, The Sensational Cerulean City Synchronised Swimming Sisters. Atop the diving board, waving to the crowds are three attractive young ladies, triplets from the look. One wears a skimpy red dress and has orange hair, the next wears a skimpy green dress and has blue hair, and the third wears an orange dress and has red hair. The three dive into the water as one and proceed to put on a display of synchronised swimming.

Synchronised Swimming, which along with Ballroom Dancing is officially labelled the world's most boring 'sport. And yet somehow, the Gym is filled with fans.... male fans.... here to see the swimmers.... young girls in skimpy outfits......

Suddenly this ain't such a mystery.

Ash, who is both ridiculously stupid and also pre-pubescent, doesn't get it as always, whining to Pikachu that he thought this was a Pokemon Gym. Pikachu isn't listening though, staring with wonder and delight at the swimming sisters.

Once the show is done and the guys have pulled their raincoats on and rushed out the back door, Ash heads around the Gym in a state of confusion. He passes by a painting of a Magikarp, complaining to Pikachu until he notices the underground Aquariam with a number of fish swimming about inside.

Note that they're fish.

Not Pokemon.

Fish.

As Ash stares at the non-Pokemon things swimming about he's sure now more than ever that this isn't a Pokemon Gym. Approaching voices catch his attention and he turns to see the three sisters approaching, getting water out of their ears and complimenting each other on yet another great show. From the sound of their conversation they sound like vacuous pretty girls, the kind that infuriate everyone including their parents, and when Ash tries to ask them a question they rudely tell him that if he wants an interview he'll have to call their manager.

"No, it's not that," Ash tries again.
"We don't do.... autographs," sighs the stuck-up sister.
"I don't want one," Ash says with a shrug, "I really just wanted to know if this is a Pokemon Gym?"
"It sure is," the sisters tell him.
"Well I'm looking for the Gym Trainer."
"You're looking at them," grin the sisters.
"Huh?" gasps Ash, who is going for the record of most huh's in an episode today.
The girls spin back against a glowing blue backdrop to introduce themselves as The Sensational Sisters, claiming that they're world famous.
"HUH!?!?!" cries Ash, really throwing caution to the wind and going for it, "But what's with all that swimming?"
"It's like our hobby," giggles one of the sisters, "And our fans love to watch us perform."
"We pool our talents to make a big splash."
The three sisters collapse into ridiculous, annoying giggles which zoom straight into Ash and Pikachu's brainstems and go into epileptic shock and start twitching and convulsing. Once they recover, Ash, Pikachu and the Sensational Slutty Sisters head poolside, where Ash challenges all three to battle.
"Uhhh, welllll.... ehhh," mutter the three girls, looking about uncomfortably.
"What?" asks Ash, confused. "We uhhh, don't feel like battling any more," mutters one of the sisters.
"What do you mean!?!" growls Ash.
"We just got beaten three times in a row," sighs one sister as a sweatdrop forms on Pikachu's head, "By kids from this nowhere place called Pallet Town."
"Not again," sighs a miserable Ash, realising his three rivals have gotten ahead of him again.
"It was just one defeat after another," sighs the blue-haired sister, spinning her hands about them pulling her eyes into slants, "My eyes were spinning from all the losses."
"We had to like, practically rush all of our Pokemon to the Pokemon Centre," sighs the third sister, hating the memory of all that.... effort.
"This is the only one left," says another sister, and pulls a Pokeball out from somewhere on her skin-tight costume and lets loose the Pokemon inside.
"Goldeen, Goldeen Goldeen," says Goldeen, "Goldeen, Goldeen."
"You mean ALL you have is a Goldeen?" asks Ash, in case they're lying and actually have an Articuno hidden under their skirts or something. They call the Goldeen back and openly talk about how shit it is, making you wonder if it can hear them inside that Pokeball.
"If it would evolve into Seaking we could use it," complains the blue-haired sister, "But all it can do now is it's Horn Attack."
"So like, there's no point in battling," agrees the orange-haired sister.
"Now instead of having matches, we have time to make ourselves look more beautiful than ever!" giggles the red-haired sister vacuously.
"Ahhhhh!" gasps Ash in horror at this incredibly negligent style of training.
"I know what you want," grins the orange-haired girl, and claps her hands, "Seel!!!!"
Seel leaps out of the pool - apparently Seel isn't a Pokemon, since the only Pokemon they have is a Goldeen and therefore Seel can't be a Pokemon because the only Pokemon they have is Goldeen and therefore Seel can't be a Pokemon - and sticks out it's tongue, a small blue badge in it's mouth.
"A Cascade Badge, this is what you want right? You can have it."
"Thanks," mumbles Ash, who has the decided advantage of being too young and thick to be blinded by their beauty, noticing instead their empty-heads and bad training techniques, "I'd rather earn my badges."
"Take it," grins the sister, "A badge is a badge."
Ash knows it's wrong, but he walks towards them anyway, unable to deny that the badge is at least tempting. He reaches out to take it and he.....

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" roars Misty, standing in the aisle between the now empty rows of seats.
"Misty!?!" gasps Ash.
"CHAAAAA!" squeals Pikachu happily.
"Hiiiiii-YAH!" hiiiiii-yah's Misty, flipping through the air and landing to the side of Ash and the sisters, "All right Daisy, if you don't want to battle him, I will!"
Ash's face drops in shock at this declaration, how can Misty battle him for a Cascade Badge?
"What do you mean?" he asks.
"I'm a Cerulean City Trainer too," she announces to the world.
"AHHH!" ahhh's Ash.
"CHAAAA!" chaaaa's Pikachu.
"I'm the fourth Sensational Sister," Misty smugly tells Ash.
"There are only three Sensational Sisters," one of Misty's sisters interjects, "And one runt."
"Grrrr," grrrr's Misty.
"So little sister," mutters Daisy (the orange haired one),"It's a surprise to see you back so soon."
"That little girl with the big mouth who said she wouldn't come back until she was a great Pokemon Trainer," giggles the blue-haired sister, "Wasn't that you?"
"Huh? I guess.... I did say something like that when I left," mumbles Misty, falling into the shadow of her older sisters as she probably has all her life.
"So that's why Misty was so deadset against coming here?" Ash asks Pikachu, forgetting it can't speak English.
"Piii-ka," agrees Pikachu.

"Misty," Misty's red-headed sister taunts her, "You left here pretending you wanted to become a Pokemon Trainer, because you couldn't compare with us, because we're obviously much more talented and beautiful than you are."
Misty's eyes narrow.
"Uh-oh," uh-oh's Ash, who for all his faults isn't so dumb as to goad Misty in this fashion.
"THAT WASN'T THE REASON!" roars Misty.
"Well then I guess like, you came back because you couldn't make it as a Pokemon Trainer," Daisy mocks her, tactfully not mentioning that her and the others just spent the last week getting their asses whupped and have now given up on battling.
"IT WASN'T MY IDEA TO COME BACK HERE!" roars Misty, "THE ONLY REASON I'M HERE IS BECAUSE HE WANTED TO COME!!!!!"

Oh Lord that was a smart thing to say in front of your sisters.

Daisy takes a look at the gormless Ash and smirks knowingly, "Well, he's totally not someone I'd choose for a boyfriend..."
Ash collapses to the ground, one hand clawing helplessly at the air.
"...but you're no prize yourself."
"MY BOYFRIEND!?!" screams Misty, red-faced and furious, this family reunion not exactly going the way she'd hoped, "If I battle him it will prove I'm not a quitter and I'm just as good as a Trainer as you three!"

Misty, all you have to do is get your ass whupped three times in a row and you'll be just as good a trainer as those three.

"Wellll, you are the only one of us with Pokemon that can actually battle," Daisy admits uneasily.
"All right Ash!" roars Misty into Ash's face, "Are you ready to rumble?"
"Ahhhh-hhhhh-hhhhhhhh," replies Ash succinctly. They square off against each other across the pool, which will serve as their Battle-Arena. Three floating islands float inside the pool, and on either end of the pool a blue and red island floats, with Ash and Pikachu standing on one and Misty on the other. Misty yells across the pool that she wasn't planning on challenging Ash until after he replaced her bike, but now is as good a time as any. Ash, of course, is eager to battle and let loose some of this weird tension he's been feeling since Misty and her Daisy-Duke Cut-Offs entered his life. Positive that this is going to be a piece of cake, he grabs Pikachu and hauls it up.
"Pikachu! I choose you!" he screams and prepares to hurl his cute widdle rodent into the water. Not surprisingly, Pikachu clings onto his arm and refuses to go, both because it doesn't want to die and also because it doesn't want to fight Misty. Ash is shocked but what's a guy to do? He can't force Pikachu to fight a friend so he agrees to let it stand down.
"Pikachu!" laughs Misty, "You're a Pika-Pal!"
"PIKACHU!" giggles Pikachu happily.
"Yeah, thanks a lot," Ash mumbles to the fat traitor, then calls out Butterfree.
"FREEEE! FREEEE!" squeals Butterfree, which is getting more and more annoying with each passing episode.
"In that case," says Misty grimly, then refers to herself in the third person, "Misty chooses Staryu!"
"H-YAAH!" h-yaah's Staryu, the odd, starfish like Pokemon facing off against Butterfree, the annoying flying Bug-Type.
"Uuuuh," uuuuh's Ash, not quite pulling off another Huh, and takes out Dexter to get a reading.
"Staryu, the core of this, Water Pokemon, shines in a, rainbow of seven colours. A core that is, valued by some as, a type of jewellery."
"Oh, wow," mutters Ash, staring at the alien-looking Pokemon, "Leave it to a girl to show off her jewellery."


....

Well, that was incredibly sexist.

"QUIT STALLING AND LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!" screams Misty angrily, pinwheeling her arms about.
"Do you think Misty could really win?" asks Misty's blue-haired sister.
"Like, in her dreams, maybe," laughs the red-head.
"Seel, Seel," notes Seel philosophically.
"Butterfree!" cries Ash, "You can blow that thing away with one blast, tackle it!"
"REEEEEEEEEEEEE-EEEEEEEEEEEEE," squeals Butterfree horribly, then slams down and smashes over Staryu.
"Staryu, Counter-Attack!" cries Misty, and the Water Pokemon spins up in the air. But Butterfree dodges and Staryu overextends, bouncing along on the island it lands on before being tackled once again by Butterfree.
"Haha!" laughs Ash, "I'm gonna win this!"
Misty calls for Staryu to use it's Water Gun and it leaps into the water, blasting a surprised Butterfree with water, then leaping back out onto the island and shooting spurts of water about, which Butterfree dodges easily.
"In that case, Stun Spore!" orders Ash.
Butterfree coats the pool with Stun Spore as Staryu obligingly stops shooting it's Water Gun and allows the Spore to fall over it's body.
"Oh no, it looks like it's in real pain!" gasps Misty.
"It doesn't have a face!" growls Ash, "How can you tell?"
"Because I'm sensitive to other's feelings, that's how!" growls Misty, the two of them getting rid of their tensions and emotions on the battlefield.
"Oh yeah, like I'm not," growls the boy who just a couple of episodes ago spent a night electrocuting his best friend so he could beat a single mother in a fight.
"Seel, Seel, Seel!" laughs Seel, clapping it's hands.
"Like, which side are you clapping for?" growls the blue-haired Sensational Cerulean Sister.
"Staryu, wash it off!" orders Misty, and Staryu drops into the water and sinks deep, allowing it to wash off the effects of the Stun Spore. It leaps out of the water and poses bravely, flexing the limbs that approximate it's arms.
"Yay!" yays Misty, "Too bad you didn't know that Stun Spore doesn't work if you wash it off with water."
"She thinks she knows everything," growls Ash, then proves that she knows a hell of a lot more than him by calling for Butterfree to use Sleep Powder. Not surprisingly, Staryu leaps into the water and sinks deep, and Misty calls for it to tackle Butterfree from under the water, meaning the Bug Type won't know where it's coming from.

BANG! Butterfree is knocked for a loop and only barely avoids the next tackle, and with Staryu bouncing in and out of the water, the annoying fly Bug-Type can't counter-attack in any way. Misty watches with delight, knowing that if Staryu can get Butterfree under the water then she'll win the match (or the first of the two battles, anyway, as they agreed to a two-on-two battle).
"Nothing beats Water Pokemon in the water!" laughs Misty, bestriding the camera like a colossus, water splashing up around her dramatically. "Ka-Chu!" giggles Pikachu happily.
"Pikachu!" whines Ash petulantly, "You're supposed to be on my side."
"Ka-Chu," apologises Pikachu sadly.
'Misty's totally awesome," smiles Daisy.
"Well we three got the good looks in the family, so I guess she had to get SOME talent," smirks the red-haired sister, still unwilling to pay more than half a compliment to her youngest sister.

Staryu bursts out of the water and connects hard with Butterfree, knocking it into the water and leaving it squealing and screeching for help. While we at home might be secretly rooting for it to die, Ash calls it back and calls out Pidgeotto to save the day. Wanting to keep her Pokemon fresh, Misty calls back Staryu and replaces it with..... STARMIE!

"HRRRAAAHHMMMMM!" the even more alien looking Pokemon declares, looking like two Staryu fused together and painted purple. Ash calls for Pidgeotto to call up a Whirlwind to blow it away, but Misty is ready for that, having Starmie leap under the water then burst out and tackle the Flying-Type. It comes around for another tackle, spinning dangerously, but Pidgeotto knocks it down with a Wing Attack. Unfortunately, it gets knocked right into the water, which refreshes it and sees it come spinning back out and slamming hard into Pidgeotto. Once again it comes around for another tackle, but Ash has learned at last and has Pidgeotto beat up a Gust Attack that knocks Starmie past the pool and hard into the side wall, knocking the wind (water?) out of it. It collapses to the ground, it's core blinking to indicate it's energy is low, and Ash moves in for the kill, calling for Pidgeotto to help him get that Trainer's Badge. But before Pidgeotto can zoom down and gore Starmie on it's beak, a rumbling begins to shake the Gym, catching everyone's attention. They turn and look, and to their surprise a massive vehicle with a metallic wedge on the front smashes through the wall.... and there are two very familiar haircuts poking out from behind the wedge.

"Check out that hair!" gasps the blue-haired Sensational Sister.
"Like who invited the party crashers?" asks Daisy.
"Sorry to burst in on you ladies," says Jesse as she and James rise up on a platform from behind the wedge.
"Allow us to introduce ourselves," adds James, before they get into the motto itself.

"Prepare for trouble."
"And make it double."
"To protect the world from devastation."
"To unite all peoples within our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
"Jesse."
"James."
"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light."
"Surrender now or prepare to fight."
"Meowth, dat's right!"

With the motto done, Team Rocket get right into the business of being villains, explaining their plans to their adversaries.
"The Water Pokemon have the advantage," James explains.
"But if steal that water away," adds Jesse.
"Then the Pokemon are ours for the taking," finishes James.
"And Meowth knows just how to do it!" throws in Meowth before throwing a switch and getting the party started.
A giant hose bursts out of the machine and drops into the water, beginning to suck up all of the water inside of the pool... while the gears in Ash's head begin to rustily churn about.
"A giant vacuum and a massive hose," he gasps, then clicks that it was Team Rocket who were the robbers of the store back there..... why he should have known!

Why should he have known? Because Team Rocket are the only thieves in the Universe?

In any case, The Sensational Cerulean City Sisters are none too pleased to see their water getting sucked away, and a kind-hearted Meowth offers to give it back, reversing the flow and blasting them all with water. A quick flick of the switch again, and now the hose is not just sucking up the water but also the Pokemon caught in it's flow. Seel goes first and Pikachu is quick to follow, but not before Ash proves he's having a 'good brain-day' and remembers that water conducts electricity. He cries out to Pikachu to use it's Thundershock and the canny Pokemon quickly catches on, letting loose and turning the water in 4000000000000000000 volts of pure Texas Justice. Team Rocket scream in agony as the electricity courses through their bodies, and when it finally stops a gasping James gives us all the first real indication of his lifestyle choice.

"It's times like these that make me want to go straight."

They collapse into the water where James continues to moan that now he knows what it's like to be all washed up, while Jesse cries that they'll never come clean, and then they're sucked into the hose and burst out into the air as Seel stands next to the hose and claps happily.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!!!!!"

Back inside the Gym, Pikachu is still in danger of being sucked up into the hose and Ash runs with everything he's got, trying to get to the machine and shut it down. Pikachu is sucked under water and pulled up into the hose as Ash clambers aboard the machine and dives for the lever, reversing the flow of the water. The hose bursts out of the water blasts out it's contents, Pikachu firing out with the water and landing in Daisy's arms with a sigh of relief. With Team Rocket defeated and the machine shut down, the Sensational Sisters, Misty and Ash take in all of the destruction. Misty suddenly remembers that they never got to finish their battle, and Ash is also morose about this as, in his opinion, he was just about to win.

"WHAT?!" gasps Misty.
"You could say your match had to be postponed like, due to drain," quips Misty's blue-haired sister horribly.
"At least nobody lost," adds the red-head helpfully.
"I wanted to win," moans Misty.
"I guess I'm not going to get that Cascade Badge," whines Ash, dropping his head in the time-honoured fashion all children always do when they're hoping to still get something they didn't earn.
"Wrong," smiles Daisy, falling for it, "We're giving this badge to you."
"Huh?" gasps Ash, still going for that record.
"How come he gets the badge?" whines Misty, "He didn't win!"
"Pikachu was the one that like, totally saved us all," explains Daisy, "And if he'd used Pikachu from the start there was no way your Water Pokemon could have won."
"Oh man," whines Misty, forced to give in to her sisters yet again, even though a badge is ONLY supposed to be given by the Badge Holder once they've been beaten in a fair Pokemon Match.
"Take the badge Ash, you deserve it," Daisy says, handing it to him.
"Wow, thanks," grins Ash happily, not realising that he's gotten two badges now only because his opponents felt sorry for him, "Ha! I'll take it!"
"CHAAA!" throws in Pikachu, but such volatile political statements have no place here.

Outside the Cerulean Gym, Ash and Misty say goodbye to Misty's sisters, who haven't finished grinding their poor youngest sister into the dirt just yet, telling her she should keep on trying to be a great Trainer because she'll never be a star like them. A shocked Misty growls that they'll be seeing stars, but Daisy tells her to calm down, because despite the esteem-breaking mental abuse they inflict upon her, she knows they love her.

"Ash, hey man!" cries Brock, rushing up from whatever 'stuff' he's been up to.
"Yo Brocko!" Ash says for some reason.
"How'd it go?" Brock asks.
"See for yourself," Ash brags to Momma, and holds up his Cascade Badge.
"Cool, let's go," Brock hurriedly says, turning and moving away as quickly as possible.... perhaps whatever 'stuff' he got up to has gotten him in trouble with the man?
"Right," says Ash and heads off without a look back at Misty.
"You're not leaving without me!" cries Misty, charging after them.
"Misty, you're not going to be a sore loser are you?" Ash asks cheekily, having convinced himself her won their battle.
"I didn't lose anything, it was a draw," growls Misty.
"Well I'm the one who got the badge," grins Ash.
"WHAT?" gasps Misty angrily, "You know you lost with Butterfree!"
"That was just round one, I made a great comeback!" smiles Ash, loving living the revisionist lifestyle.
"If Team Rocket hadn't bust in, I would have destroyed you!" an enraged Misty growls as they head into the sunset, Brock beside them and Pikachu bobbing along besides.
"You're lucky they showed up, you were about to lose!"
"Lose? I was just getting started?"
"Oh yeah?"
"Oh Yeah!"


But neither of these argumentative children will get the final word today, that goes to Momma Brock, who sums things up nicely.

"Oh brother."

BEST QUOTES

"I'm not off duty 'till way past your bedtime." "It's times like these that make me want to go straight."

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