213: Dueling Heroes
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Dueling Heroes
The announcer talks up the wonderful traditions of the Whirl Cup and tries to make it sound as important as the "real" tournaments held in places like Kanto, Johto and Hoenn. Watching over all is a tall, pretty woman in a blue robe that is identified as Maya, the Sea Priestess! Misty blushes and gasps that she is gorgeous (hehehe) and Brock leaps up holding Pikachu in one arm and Togepi in the other, unconsciously illustrating the two brightest points of Maya's personality to him. One must wonder what a "Sea Priestess" does with the rest of her time between tournaments though. Or is the role simply similar to the crappy beauty contests they hold in Maine and is one of the local greasy spoon waitresses picked out to be the "Sea Priestess" every tournament.
Regardless of how she got the position, Maya welcomes them to the Whirl Cup and lifts a staff high, topped by a massive blue sapphire that catches the attention of three snack vendors walking through the crowds, Jesse, James and Meowth. Jesse points out the Sapphire Staff to James through her binoculars and he jokes that somebody is about to lose their marble. Meowth jokes they know all about that type of thing, and Wobbuffet bravely salutes in agreement before a guy in the audience asks for a soda and they each try to get the sale, grinning as they shove sodas in his startled face and ask, "How about three?"
Meanwhile Maya holds the staff up before the sun, the sapphire catching the rays of the sun and casting blue light all over the arena, which Misty claims,"brought together the power of all Water Pokemon"
Hopefully she'll have a great rack when she grows up.
As well as becoming Water Pokemon Alpha Omega, it seems the winner of the Whirl Cup will also gain a Mystic Water Pendant, announces the announcer announcingly. With that out of the way, Ash and Misty go with Brock to the preparation area beneath the arena, where Brock reads about the Mystic Water Pendant which apparently greatly increases the power of the Pokemon that wears it. Ash is fascinated, he wants one! But Misty growls that he can't have what is hers, and they argue over whom it belongs to before Brock points out they shouldn't waste their energy arguing with each other when they've still got their opening matches to compete in.
They're going to need that energy to tell their Pokemon how to beat up other Pokemon!
Brock points out that Ash only has ONE Water Pokemon, and he quickly rushes to the Pokemon Centre and calls Professor Oak to explain his problem. Misty and Brock point out he already has six Pokemon with him and Oak asks him to send his Bayleef because it would be "great for both of them". Well that is a little odd, but Ash doesn't question it and swaps Bayleef for Kingler. On the other end of the line Oak holds Bayleef's Pokeball in his hand and says goodbye, and after hanging up he calls Bayleef out. It looks around in confusion, and then sees Professor Oak and panics, jumping onto its hind legs and dancing about before tackling him over.
Oh yeah, Professor Oak, Bayleef knows all about you and your "Research".
Back at the Whirl Cup fighting is under way in the opening rounds! An Azumarill Bubble Beams a Wartortle, sending it crashing into the water to get his trainer the win, while Misty stares with love at the Water Pokemon and Brock wryly comments she shouldn't worry about ignoring him, he'll just hang out with Pikachu (wearing a red shirt for some reason!) and Togepi.
Maya watches the proceedings from her exalted position of Sea Priestess (once the contest is over she'll have to get back to the diner to cover for Roxanne's double-shift) and above her throne sits the giant screen showing the action to those in the cheap seats. The next match is announced, and it is Ash versus a nerd called Christopher. They face off from across the water filled arena and we get out first look at Christopher, who almost seems like another Richie. He wears similar clothes and hat to Ash but also sports a pair of glasses.
Their battle is to be a one on one Pokemon match, so Ash calls out Totodile while Christopher turns out to be a bit of a showman. He whips out his rod (GETCHA MINDS OUTTA DA GUTTA) with a Lure ball attached and drops it into the water, which opens before a huge splash reveals..... a Kingdra!
"Kingdra, the Dragon Pokemon," explains Dexter, "Normally rests, on the ocean floor, but in, periods of high activity, even a, simple yawm, has the power, to generate, whirlpools."
Well Ash is impressed, and Brock and Misty discuss it, noting that Totodile will be able to get around better using the water and the dry platforms, whereas Kingdra is far stronger but will be limited to moving about only in the water. Pikachu and Togepi do a bizarre little cheer holding up fans, Togepi perhaps going insane from the lack of vital life energy from Misty.
The ref calls the match to begin and Ash has Totodile dive under the water, while Kingdra begins spinning around and creates a whirlpool that pulls Totodile into the powerful spiralling water column. Totodile bounces on the top of the spiral and Ash tells it to hold on, and when Kingdra drops the spiral (and Totodile) it blasts a Water Gun at Totodile which quickly dodges and lands on a platform, where it.... begins to dance!
Kingdra blasts a Hydro pump at the happily dancing Pokemon, and.... Totodile DANCES through the attack with a laugh and tries a Skull Bash which Kingdra has to dive to dodge. Under the water, Kingdra fires out Smokescreen and turns the water black, and Totodile quickly dodges out of the water onto a platform as it tries to figure out where Kingdra is, and Ash doesn't know what to do either.
Meowth watches as he sells snacks, commenting that it is tough times for the twerp. Jesse snaps at him to forget about that as she sneaks a peek towards Maya and her staff, and then hears James commenting about how nice hot dogs are.
Well he WOULD say that.
She rushes over to him and snaps at him not to think of food when there is a staff to steal. James mutters it is his job and Meowth agrees customer relations are important, before a crowd member calls out to Jesse for some popcorn and she rushes off to serve him.
Meanwhile the battle has ground to a halt, and Christopher grins as he declares to himself that the longer Totodile can't figure out where Kingdra is, the more nervous it will get and then it will make a mistake. He grins as he watches the confused Totodile, which.... YAWNS!
Yes, apparently the happily insane little Pokemon has decided it is bored with this nonsense, and to cheer itself up it begins doing a happy little dance, watched by a grinning Ash who agrees there is no need to worry. Christopher gets angry and calls up Kingdra from behind Totodile and it begins to fire off a Hydro pump.... and Totodile clamps down on its mouth with a rough little bite!
Kingdra's eyes grow wide as its body bulges with the water trapped inside of it for the Hydro pump! It swells and swells as the crowd looks on astonished, then Ash tells Totodile to let go.... and Kingdra makes like a balloon and blows itself around and around the arena, up into the air and then crashing down into the water.
"Ahhhh, Kingdra," sighs Christopher, his glasses comically falling down his face as his Pokemon hits the water and lies dazed ands beaten, the ref declaring Ash the winner! Pikachu and Togepi cheer as Ash grabs Totodile and dances around in circles.
As the contest moves into round 7, Team Rocket sit behind the seats moaning in exhaustion. No matter what they tried they couldn't get near the Sapphire Staff, there was always someone demanding food. They declare they're going to steal the damn thing and sell it for money rather than making peanuts selling.... peanuts! But Jesse declares it is too precious and needs to be with someone of equivalent beauty (her), and as they argue their boss (vendor boss, not Giovanni Boss) shows up and says there are a lot of hungry customers, so they better get down and start selling.... after all, they'll get all the cotton candy they can eat!
Well that's all they needed to hear, and they quickly rush back to work.
Later that night Misty stares out the window of the Pokemon Centre and Ash asks if something is the matter. She smiles and tells him she isn't worried about her match tomorrow, she is just excited to be part of the whole thing. Ash sits and stares at her and she looks out the window with a smile, the old Misty back alive and kicking once again after so long away in the depths of her Togepi-induced haze..... it's a wonderful thing.
Stay Misty! Don't go back to being a zombie!
The next day it is Ash's turn to sit in the crowd with Brock and the cheering Pikachu and Togepi as Misty's group of trainers prepare to fight. The next battle is Misty and a middle aged fellow named Harrison dressed in a straw hat, horrible tan and nasty Hawaiian shirt. He declares no little girl is going to stop him and calls out Qwilfish, a nasty looking spiked balloon with a tailfin and puffy lips.
"Qwilfish, the Balloon Pokemon," explains Dexter, "The quills covering the entire body, have evolved from scales, a Qwilfish can cause, its body to swell, in order to shoot, its needles, in all directions."
Misty calls out Corphish and the battle is on!
Harrison does some terrible dubbing and sends in Qwilfish with a Water Gun but Corsola reflects it back with a Mirror Coat. Harrison snaps angrily as the astonished Qwilfish is sent skidding embarrassingly back through the water while Corsola jumps up and down happily. Brock comments that Harrison seems to know a lot about Corsola, pointing out that Mirror Coat saved Corsola - a Rock/Water Type - from a Water Gun that could have knocked it out. Qwilfish begins sucking in water, swelling up huge as it prepares to use a massively powerful Pin Missile attack. Brock points out that Mirror Coat is useless against Pin Missile, and Ash calls out encouragement from the stands.
Meanwhile Team Rocket are near the throne of Maya, with Officer Jenny standing nearby (perhaps to be sure Maya doesn't pawn the sapphire staff for crack?). Jesse says it is time to steal it and James asks if they shouldn't wait for their break. She growls that now is the time, and they creep behind the throne on tiptoes and grab at the staff.... just as Maya moves it to her other side. Officer Jenny steps up as Team Rocket overshoot and find themselves standing exposed, and when the policewoman asks what they're doing there they jump around on the spot in fright and then pull out snacks and ask if anyone wants to buy anything to eat?
Jenny tells her the area is restricted to Whirl Cup Officials and Maya says it was nice of them to offer, and they stare at her for an uncomfortable moment before rushing off.
Qwilfish has now reached its full size, but Misty has had a plan and at just the right moment has Corsola use Spike Cannon. As Qwilfish uses Pin Missile it strikes Corsola's Spike Cannon and the two attacks smash into each other and explode, sending Corsola crashing back into the wall. Qwilfish though has disappeared.... then reappears out of the water where it dove for protection and begins bobbing about mockingly.
Wow, what a jerk!
Qwilfish uses Takedown and hits Corsola directly, leaving Misty's newest Pokemon looking wasted... and then it uses Recover at Misty's command. Qwilfish tries another Takedown with the announcer pointing out Corsola cannot move directly after using Recover, and the Qwilfish crashes into Corsola and knocks it under the water, much to Harrison's delight..... but then Corsola resurfaces with Qwilfish..... caught in its horns!
Misty looks on in embarrassed horror while Brock comments, "That's new" and Corsola rocks back and forth trying to get Qwilfish off (not like that, you filthy Dodgers). They swim around locked together while Harrison screams at Qwilfish to get out, and when Corsola returns to Misty's part of the arena she asks if it is okay, then has it use Spike Cannon. Qwilfish is sent flying into the air REALLY high and comes crashing back down, where it lies dazed and defeated and... Misty is the winner!
Harrison moans, "WHYYY ME!?" while Misty gets hearts in her eyes and declares she loves Corsola, which jumps about happily. Ash mutters that was close and Brock says the way she turned things around from a bad situation reminds him of Ash's tactics, which Ash grumpily proclaims isn't quite true.
As the competition continues, Jesse stands staring at Maya from a distance and James and Meowth think they've failed, but she declares she hasn't given up yet. She poses bravely while flowers appear around her and James and Meowth wonder exactly what her plan is.... then someone asks for a soda and they all rush to offer one.
Ash, Misty and Brock return to the Pokemon Centre and discuss the dayıs battles, Ash and Misty wishing each other luck. Brock explains the matches for the next day will be decided by shuffling the winners of the last two days battles. A loud noise gets their attention and they look to Nurse Joy's desk, behind which sits the brackets for the tournament. It seems tomorrow's matches have been decided, and they rush over to see who they will be fighting. They get there and stare in shock at the random seeding..... it seems tomorrows battle will be one for the ages, tomorrow will be....
Ash versus Misty!
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