230: A Tyrogue Full of Trouble!
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A Tyrogue Full Of Trouble.
"Tyrogue, the scuffle Pokemon," explains Dexter, "Tyrogue is the evolved form of Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan; it has a small, but very energetic, body."
It doesn't look energetic to them, Misty commenting that it looks unhappy, while Brock's expert opinion is that it is hungry. He offers it some food which is refused, but when Brock checks to see if he has anything better in his backpack, the shifty little Pokemon grabs three containers out of the bag and rushes off. They yell for it to come back, but as they give chase, nuts fly out of the trees at them. They pull up in shock as a Primape and Mankey leap out of the tree, hoot in defiance and then take off with the Tyrogue.
Ash is determined they won't get away though, and calls out Bayleef which tries Vine whip, blocked by a Swift Attack from Tyrogue. Brock cries out the obvious, this Tyrogue is pretty tough, but Ash is just as mule headed and offers Bayleef encouragement. The fiery Latino slaps its Vine whip at the rock on the top of the cliffside that Tyrogue, Primape and Mankey are standing on. They jump off and the boulder as it falls towards the twerps, who stand in horror staring at it, before - luckily for them - the rock is smashed aside by a Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan. They are ordered about by a muscular looking man in a tank top and sweatband who tells them to forget about Tyrogue for now and asks if they are on their way to Mahogany. Ash says he is and shows off the six badges he has, mentioning he has been at this a long time.
TOO LONG! GET YOUR ASS INTO GEAR, DAMMIT!
Kio - for such is his name, Gentle Dodgers - is shocked to see Ash has received a badge from Master Chuck (The Machoke, Machoke Man) and explains that he is Chuck's protégé, and is known far and wide as the Blackbelt KIO!
Well okay!
The twerps ask him what he is training for and he explains he is training for the P1 Grand Prix, which dictates who will be the Battling Pokemon Champion. Kio then explains that Tyrogue is a troublemaker who steals stuff just for kicks, and then a local shows up complaining that it is at is again. It seems the local village has been vandalised, and they discover Tyrogue and his buddies trying to ride a herd of Tauros! They kick off a stampede, sending the villagers scrambling as Togepi randomly staggers drunkenly after a terrified Butterfree, perhaps to teach it a lesson for being so crap. This puts the monster right in the path of the stampede of course (YAY!) but surprisingly Tyrogue leaps off of the Tauros it is riding and scoops Togepi up to safety (BOO!), jumping back onto the Tyrogue. The stampeding herd approaches and Kio reacts in a fashion Chuck would be proud off.... he runs right into them! Smashing against the lead Tauros, Kio struggles to hold it in place by the horns, pushing the stampede aside and letting it run off as Tyrogue flings Togepi into Kio's arm before the cattle disappear into the horizon, removing the village¹s supply of hamburger with it!
Watching all of this has been Team Rocket, who are very impressed with Tyrogue's mischief making ways. As self-designated (and unpaid) Team Rocket scouts, they decide to go draft Tyrogue into their team, a concept that Wobbuffet happily agrees with.
"All losers back to the showers," grunts Jesse, returning Wobbuffet to its Pokeball before she, James and Meowth mangle a few more sports clichés and then head off to get their new member.
Back in the village, the villagers have had enough of Tyrogue and its delinquent ways, but Kio argues its case, telling them they shouldn't put it into jail (JAIL! IT'S A POKEMON!), he just wants a chance to change Kio's ways. The villagers stare at Kio, and then eventually agree, perhaps when they realise he can beat the shit out of all of them.
He takes the twerps into the forest, explaining that Tyrogue has a problem with anything - human or Pokemon - bigger than itself. He tells them about how Tyrogue was abandoned during rigorous training by its original trainer, and we see a flashback to Kio sitting under a waterfall (well why not?) before noticing a weak Tyrogue struggling through the forest. He made it soup and fed it, but once it had regained a little strength it had pushed away from him and rushed off, Kio finishing off by saying that the betrayal of its original trainer hardened its heart. But Kio is sure that Tyrogue has power and strength and he wants to first fight it, then fight WITH it at the Grand Prix.... but first he must melt its heart.
Elsewhere, Tyrogue and its posse smash some apples down from a tree and get ready to eat when they notice some hungry looking Pokemon staring hopefully at them. They offer the apples to the Pokemon, but then encounter three other hungry creatures that are much bigger.... Team Rocket! They make their pitch to have Tyrogue join them, while it looks on suspiciously, and Jesse makes the tactical error of taking an apple off one of the hungry Pokemon and... well, you won't be surprised to hear that Team Rocket are blasting off.... again!
Kio has taken the twerps to one of Tyrogue's favourite spots in the forest, and he calls it out for a friendly battle. Tyrogue does show up, apparently having dealt with Team Rocket a few minutes earlier, and Kio cries out excitedly that he wants to battle it and calls out Hitmonchan.
Tyrogue just looks pissed off with the whole scenario, and when Hitmonchan tries Punch Attack, it easily dodges the move. Hitmonchan then tries Megapunch but Tyrogue easily jumps away, causing it to hit a rock instead before it gets smashed over by a headbutt from Tyrogue and gets knocked out. Kio calls it back and sends in Hitmonlee which tries Rolling Kick, but Tyrogue against easily dodges and uses Double Team, surrounding Hitmonlee with illusions of itself. Ash asks what Double Team is...
Goddammit, Ash.
....and then Tyrogue knocks out Hitmonlee with a Headbutt.
Kio calls it back and then holds up both of his Pokeballs, congratulating them on getting their asses whipped by a 12 year old boy, but then Tyrogue is lassoed by a rope!
"Prepare for trouble as Tyrogue sails away!"
"Cos we really can't stay!"
"POW!" cries Jesse, dressed like a boxer in a loose pink singlet and shorts (with a sports bra underneath, dear perverted Dodgers), "To protect the world with a mean right hook!"
"Wham!" adds James, in his own boxing gear, "To unite all people with my kickboxer look!"
"To denounce the evils of honest fights."
"To extend our odds and punch out your lights."
"Jesse!"
"James!"
"And!" adds Jesse,"Team Rocket the winner at the speed of light!"
"So surrender at once because we've just won this fight!"
"Dat's Right!"
They tell the twerps they've got Tyrogue all tied up in their new recruitment agreement and begin to sail happily away, Ash chasing after their balloon though he is soon outpaced by Kio. The Blackbelt runs up the cliffside FASTER THAN THE BALLOON CAN SAIL BY IT! and jumps onto the balloon. James stares in dismay and asks if they should just prepare to blast off already, while Kio punches through the canvas, then climbs down and grabs Tyrogue, jumping off before the balloon smashes into the cliff.
He asks if Tyrogue is okay and then a boulder begins to fall from the wreckage of the balloon. Tyrogue flinches but Kio rushes up and blocks the boulder, holding it in place and crying out for Tyrogue to open its heart and help him. Team Rocket (apparently alive) laugh at Kio's display of muscle and tell Tyrogue it'll have more fun with them, but then the twerps show up and Brock has Onix smash aside the boulder, which lands directly in front of a scared Team Rocket.
Kio assures the twerps he does this type of thing before breakfast each morning, and Tyrogue seems impressed. But Team Rocket are angry, James saying that fighting for things that don't belong to them is their specialty, and they send out Arbok and Weezing. Onix blocks a Poison Sting Attack and Pikachu blocks Sludge with a Thunderbolt, sending both Pokemon crashing back into Team Rocket, and then Onix smashes the ground in front of them with its tail and sends them blasting off again!
Again!
Back by the waterfall where Kio first found Tyrogue, they prepare to do battle again.... but this time it is Tyrogue versus... KIO HIMSELF! Well, as Brock points out, Master Chuck taught that there is no difference between Pokemon and Human (he was a Machoke Machoke man after all!).
Tyrogue throws a punch that Kio blocks, the Blackbelt laughing and asking if that is the best it can do? Tyrogue growls and tries Double Team, but Kio just settles down and grins, meditating as the illusionary Tyrogues circle about them. Then the real Tyrogue leaps forward with a punch.... and is blocked by Kio before he.... FUCKING PUNCHES TYROGUE'S lights out!
But this shocking abuse and violence against a Pokemon surprisingly doesn't kill or cripple Tyrogue, but makes it eager for more. It comes back with a kick that Kio blocks, and when it tries again, Kio grabs it and flings it into the lake. Tyrogue hauls up to its feet with fury, then collapses, its jaunty little blue scarf falling off and sailing away.... perhaps the last sign of the Trainer that once abandoned it?
Kio picks Tyrogue up and carries him to shore, saying he dreams of living together with him and fighting in the Grand Prix. Tyrogue looks understandably concerned about the first part of that deal, but when Kio promises not to hurt him, it smiles.
Yay the 12 year old boy is going to live with a fully grown man who beats up on it to get its respect, but promises not to hurt it!!
Kio tells Primape and Mankey he wants them to come too and they happily agree, and the twerps head off wishing Kio luck at the Grand Prix and asking him to say hello to Chuck for them. Kio for his part wishes Ash luck at Mahogany, and they go their separate ways.
We're pretty sure Kio's path will end with somebody dead and somebody in jail, but whom remains to be seen, Gentle Dodgers.
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