Fist of the Pikachu Ranma ½ and Pokemon belong to their respective owners. I just put them together for fun. <>: Thoughts * *: Pokedex responses Chapter 6 Prepare for Trouble! Ranma sighed as he continued to search for Samantha Ryker. Beside him, Raiden was riding on Wildfire while Wind Rider flew overhead. The gym leader had left in tears after Ranma's Pokemon had trounced hers. The pigtailed martial artist turned Pokemon trainer had started to feel bad as he continued to think about the match they had. Maybe it wasn't nice of him to have ridiculed her like that but she did insult his abilities. He had thought that beating her Pokemon would have made her shut up, not burst into tears. As he thought about it, the gym leader was a lot like he was. Both of them took pride in their skills and didn't like to lose. Ranma sighed again as he continued to look around for his defeated opponent. Throughout his journeys, he had discovered that he really couldn't stand to see a girl cry. Seeing a female shedding tears always made him uneasy and he had decided to make amends before moving on. In a small ice cream shop a few blocks away, Sam Ryker had long since stopped her crying and was currently drowning her sorrows in her second chocolate sundae. "I thought I'd find you here. You always came here whenever something upset you." Sam looked up with reddened eyes to see her father approaching her. The former gym leader took a stool beside his daughter. "Dad, I… want to be left alone right now." "I don't think so." Joe Ryker motioned to a server to bring him a cup of coffee. "I think that it would be better if you and I talk about what happened today." Sam fought back her tears as she said, "What's there to talk about? I lost a match!" Joe patted his daughter's shoulder and said in a soothing voice, "Everyone loses sometimes. It's all part of the learning experience." "But Dad, I lost to a beginner! After all those battles against trainers who have had at least six or seven badges, I couldn't beat a guy who has only fought once." Joe shook his head and said, "Sam, I love you dearly, but I think you're being too hard on yourself. After seeing that battle, I suspect that trainer lied to you about being a beginner to make you underestimate him. No one can be THAT good and still be a novice." "You think so?" Sam said, her face brightening up a bit. It was then that they heard a voice from behind them. "Actually, I was telling you the truth. Technically speaking, I am a beginner." Both father and daughter turned and saw Ranma standing near the doorway with his Pikachu riding on his shoulder. He had recalled his other Pokemon, as the store wouldn't let him go in with a Rapidash and a Pidgeotto. Besides, the door was too narrow to let a full-sized horse enter. Sam's expression became a bit hostile as she gazed at Ranma. "So, are you here to gloat?" Ranma shrugged as he said, "Nah. I'm just here to see if you're all right. I felt pretty bad about our match and I wanted to apologize. I also wanted to explain a few things about my Pokemon and me." Raiden nodded. "Pikachu." Joe looked at Ranma's expression and assessed it. Finding only sincerity and concern in him, he nodded and gestured to a stool beside him. As Ranma sat down, Sam's father began questioning him while his daughter watched Ranma with wariness and a bit of fascination. "So you really are a beginner? After seeing that battle and all those powerful attacks, I would have thought that you were some kind of expert and have at least eight badges by now." Ranma shook his head as he took out his Pokedex. He opened it up and showed him the registration date in which he received his trainer's license. "I just started about a month ago and I only got three Pokemon. As for matches, we've only gone up against one guy with a Golem. We beat him of course." "Which Pokemon did you use?" Sam asked. "My Pikachu." "You BEAT a Golem with a Pikachu?!" Raiden smiled and held up a paw. "Pika!" "B-But… electric Pokemon are weak against rock-types!" Raiden's trainer shrugged as he replied, "Yeah, that's what that jerk said too." He smirked. "Just before Raiden here pounded the living daylights out of his Golem." Ranma chuckled at the memory. The look on that boy's face was priceless. "B-B-But… how?!" "I'm a martial artist." "Martial artist? What's that got to do with anything?" Ranma smiled with pride as he said, "I just remembered, I haven't introduced myself, have I? I'm Ranma Saotome of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. You've already met Raiden, Wildfire and Wind Rider." "Anything Goes?" Joe asked. "I've heard of Karate, Kung Fu and stuff like that, but that's a new one on me." Ranma nodded. "It's a fighting style which can combine all aspects of other disciplines into a free-style form of combat. Before I became a Pokemon trainer, I had already spent more than a decade training to be a martial artist. I can tell you that I'm pretty good." Ranma beamed for a moment before continuing on. "Before starting on my Pokemon journey, I spent a few weeks working with Professor Oak in Pallet Town. I learned a lot about the many attacks of different Pokemon. I happen to know some techniques that can allow a person, or Pokemon to tap into their own hidden potential. What you just saw today was a small sample of weeks of training my Pokemon in my fighting style. I figured, why stop at training them in the usual attacks? I mean, there's nothing in the rules saying that they couldn't do that, is there?" Joe and Sam thought about it for a few moments before nodding. It was true. They could see the advantages in teaching the Pokemon in new, unexpected attacks. That would give Ranma's Pokemon a critical edge in battle. Ranma continued. "I also picked up a few skills from my Pokemon as well and we've learned to work very well together." "Wow." Sam hated to admit it, but she was impressed. If what she saw today was only a small sample of what he and his Pokemon were capable of, then Ranma may well be a better trainer than most masters were, despite his newness to the world of Pokemon. "So how do you do it?" Ranma smirked as he said, "Now I can't be giving away all my secrets, now can I?" Sam pouted a bit, then sighed. "I guess not." The pigtailed martial artist nodded as he stood up and said, "Well, it was nice meeting you both and I hope everything will be all right with you." Joe smiled as he patted his daughter's shoulder and said, "Don't worry. My Sam is a survivor. This whole thing has taught her not to underestimate her opponents. She'll be more ready the next time, right Sam?' "You bet Dad! I'll be giving you a better battle the next time, Ranma!" Ranma smiled as he said, "I'll be looking forward to it. Oh, by the way, I believe you owe me something." Joe reached into a shirt pocket and withdrew a small item. He then handed Ranma the coveted Earth Badge of the Viridian Gym. "In recognition of your victory, we present you with this Earth Badge." Raiden leaned over a bit to look at the badge in his trainer's hand. The Earth Badge was made of a shiny, emerald-colored metal and was in the shape of a leaf. "Pika…" Nodding to Joe and Sam, Ranma pocketed the badge and he and his Pikachu left the shop. Later that day… Giovanni was more than interested as he listened to the report being given to him by Butch and Cassidy. As he spoke to the communications screen on his desk, his eyes had that devious glint to them. "What you're telling me is quite… unbelievable, to say the least. Are you sure that you're not just pulling my leg?" "No boss!" Butch said quickly. "That new trainer beat the pants off the Viridian gym leader! It was like her Pokemon were nothing!" "Do you have any proof of what you are telling me?" Cassidy nodded. "You do remember that before we sold the property to the Ryker family, we set up several hidden surveillance cameras to keep track of any powerful Pokemon that came to challenge Joe Ryker's daughter. I believe that they caught the battle on tape." Giovanni nodded as he pressed a switch on his control console and had the visuals of the battle sent to another viewing screen. He began watching Ranma's Pokemon as they battled with Sam's. Well, 'battle' was not an appropriate word. It was a one-sided match and the supreme leader of Team Rocket was more than astonished as he saw Raiden, Wind Rider and Wildfire in action. He was especially impressed with how easily the Rapidash defeated a strong water-type Pokemon, despite the fact that it was supposed to be weak against opponents such as Blastoise. The built-in energy sensors of the cameras also measured the power levels of each. The readings were far higher than normal and the cameras had also picked up the same unusual energy readings that had been detected earlier. They were mostly coming from Ranma. When the visuals ended, Giovanni was well convinced to give Jesse and James' counterparts their new orders. "Listen up you two. Whoever this new trainer is, I want both him and his Pokemon. He would certainly be an asset to Team Rocket. Get him any way you can, but bring him to me, understood?" "Yes sir!" Sometime that evening… In a small diner near the warehouse district, Ranma was eating his dinner with his Pikachu before deciding on where to go next. In front of them was a road map, which had all the locations of the nearest towns and cities. "So where do you think we should go next?" Ranma asked as he munched on his meal. Beside him on the table, his Pikachu was devouring his own dinner. "Pikachu!" Raiden pointed to a spot on the map. The trainer looked down at the area. "Pewter City?" Ranma then read about the town. "Specializes in rock-type Pokemon. Hey, they even have a gym there." "Pika!" "Looks like it's about a couple of days walk from here." After the battle at the Viridian gym, Ranma had become a little more confident about his skills as a trainer and Pewter City was as good as any place to go to. In any case, it wasn't as if he had any other destination in mind. "Okay Raiden. First thing in the morning." A while later, after dinner was consumed and Ranma had taken Wildfire and Wind Rider to the Pokemon center for treatments, the trainer and his Pikachu began heading back to the motel that Ranma had been staying at ever since he arrived in Viridian. As they came to their room, Ranma immediately noticed that his backpack was missing. He and Raiden began searching around for his possessions but could find nothing. Panicking that thieves might have broken in and stolen all of his worldly possessions, he went to the phone to call the police. It was then that he noticed a small note near the phone, which read: To the trainer who beat the Viridian gym leader. If you want your stuff back, meet us at the following address and come alone. Signed Team Rocket. Ranma winced at the memory of the last time he met up with that organization. Jesse and James were of no consequence and neither were their Pokemon. All except one that is. That c-c-cat of theirs. The martial artist shuddered at the thought of encountering that talking Meowth again. However, if Ranma wanted his property back, then he had no choice. Some of those items were irreplaceable and had great sentimental value. In any case, that pack also contained most of their supplies and money was a bit tight at the moment. With a resigned sigh, he gestured to his Pikachu to follow him as he exited the door and headed toward the area that was indicated on the note. Ranma knew that this was some kind of trap, but he didn't really have a choice. In an abandoned warehouse, Butch and Cassidy were going through Ranma's pack as they waited for his arrival. "Hey look at this Cassidy." Butch hauled out Ranma's ceremonial tanto, which was wrapped in a embroidered cloth and tied with a silken rope. As he unwrapped the blade, he stared at the Saotome family crest and said, "Whoa! Strange thing to be carrying around." "If you think that's weird, look at this." Cassidy held out a small metal spatula, which had some kanji symbols on it. The two thieves rummaged through the pack, finding provisions and whatnot inside. After a few minutes, they were satisfied that there was nothing of any value inside to sell off or keep. Nothing in the pack gave them any information on how Ranma had trained his Pokemon, and the training manuals they found were in illegible Japanese. Replacing all the things in the pack, they turned to a console that had many television screens on it. On one of the screens, they saw Ranma and his Pikachu approaching the warehouse. They nodded to each other as they began the preparations for their unsuspecting guests. Ranma and Raiden approached the warehouse with caution. They didn't know what to expect, but they were on their guard. Ranma fingered the two Pokeballs on his belt. Though he was confident that he and Raiden could handle anything that could be thrown at them, the fact that his other two Pokemon were ready at a moment's notice was reassuring. Taking a deep breath and then giving his Pikachu a nod, Ranma reached out to turn the doorknob. In the control room, Cassidy smiled as she pushed a button on the console. Ranma and Raiden each yelped in surprise as the ground gave way beneath them. The trapdoor swung out from beneath them, causing them to be dropped down a chute. "What the hell?" "Pika!" The two went down the nearly vertical shaft and found themselves headed down a hundred yards below ground. When the slide suddenly leveled off, Ranma and Raiden soared off into empty space. Curling his body into a somersault, Ranma made a graceful double flip before landing on a metal floor. His Pikachu followed through with a triple somersault and landed perfectly beside him. The two looked around and saw that they were in a huge room that was about the size of a high school gymnasium. The area was lit by large ceiling lamps and was totally empty. The walls were smooth and were made up of panels. There didn't seem to be any exits that either could see and Ranma's danger senses were on high alert. "Pika! Pika!" Ranma looked down at his Pikachu and saw that he was gesturing toward the center of the room. He turned his gaze to where Raiden was indicating and saw a familiar object on the floor. "My backpack!" Ranma and his Pokemon started to run toward it. When they were more than halfway toward it, they stopped when they heard a noise. Looking around, they saw that one of the wall panels was sliding open. A small object emerged from the hole and dropped to the floor. Afterwards the panel closed up. Ranma's attention was fixed on the object and when it rolled close enough, he recognized it as a Pokeball. When it came to a stop, it opened up and released a huge shape. The Pokemon roared as it came in being. Ranma's expression turned pale as he brought out his Pokedex *RHYDON. A RHINOCEROS POKEMON OF THE ROCK TYPE. RHYDON IS THE EVOLVED FORM OF RHYHORN. ITS SKIN IS STRONG ENOUGH TO WITHSTAND EXTREME PRESSURES AND TEMPERATURES OF WELL OVER 2000 C. ITS TAKE DOWN ATTACK IS LIKE BEING HIT BY A TANK. ITS HORN IS AS HARD AS DIAMOND.* "That doesn't sound good." Ranma remarked, then saw that another wall panel was opening up. Another Pokeball was released and reveled the Pokemon inside. At first, Ranma thought he was seeing a dragon when it flapped its wings and let off gouts of flame from its mouth. Then he remembered to point his Pokedex at it. *CHARIZARD. THE FINAL EVOLUTION OF THE CHARMANDER. A FIRE TYPE POKEMON THAT HAS BEEN KNOWN TO UNINTENTIONALLY START FOREST FIRES. ITS FLAMES CAN BECOME HOT ENOUGH TO MELT STONE. ITS TEMPERMENT MATCHES ITS FIERY FLAMES AND IS EXTREMELY HARD TO CONTROL.* "Cool!" Ranma said in spite of the fact that he and his Pikachu were trapped in a room with these potentially lethal Pokemon. It was then that a third Pokeball rolled onto the scene and opened up. The Pokemon that appeared was just as intimidating. With its whiling, bladed arms, Ranma became concerned. "Scyther!" *SCYTHER, A BUG TYPE POKEMON THAT HAS SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF DINOSAURS. IT IS VERY AGILE AND THE RAZOR EDGES ON ITS FOREARMS MAKE ITS SLASH ATTACK EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.* Ranma didn't like the way things were turning out. He and Raiden were facing off against three very violent and dangerous Pokemon that looked ready to tear into them at any moment. They both went into their ready stances and waited. In the control room, Butch and Cassidy smiled as they watched Ranma and his Pikachu on a large viewing screen. It was then that Butch reached over to activate a loudspeaker and give their Pokemon the order to attack. "CHARIZARD! FLAMETHROWER!" The fiery lizard took a few steps forward and let loose with a scorching blast from its maw. Ranma and his Pikachu leapt to either side to avoid being toasted. Ranma rolled to the right then began powering up his ki energies. Raiden followed his trainer's lead and glowed a bright blue. "RAIDEN! DOUBLE MOKO TAKABISHA!" Ranma had later named his ki attack as the Fierce Tiger Ball after he had discovered that he could project his ki by way of his confidence. "Pika!" A small blue ball formed in front of the mouse's paws and then was sent hurtling toward the Charizard, just as Ranma released his own. At the control room, Butch and Cassidy could only stare in amazement. "What the heck is that?" Butch exclaimed. The Charizard looked in confusion as two balls of ki energy came at it from either side. It had never encountered anything like this and it was too slow in dodging the twin attacks. Ranma's blast hit it in the belly while Raiden's exploded against the side of its head. The final evolution of a Charmander let off a roar of pain and was staggered. It would be several seconds before it could shake off the effects. That was all the time Ranma needed as he dashed toward the injured Charizard to finish it off. His aura suddenly exploded into a red, blazing corona as he suddenly went from zero to 70 mph. He crossed the distance between himself and the Pokemon in under one and a half seconds and then leapt up in a sidekick. "RAPIDASH RUN!" The Charizard had just shaken off the effects of being hit by ki blasts, when it saw Ranma approach it from out of the corner of its eye. It tried to turn its head toward the speeding martial artist to use another flame attack, but it was too late. Ranma's foot energized with ki that resembled Wildfire's flames, slammed into Charizard's temple and sent the lizard flying. The pyro-Pokemon slammed headfirst into a nearby wall with a loud clang, and then it slumped down into unconsciousness. Butch's jaw hung out and hit the floor of the control room. "Huh? No way! How did he do that?" Cassidy took up the microphone. "RHYDON! TAKE DOWN ATTACK! SCYTHER! SLASH ATTACK!" Ranma was just taking his eyes off the downed Charizard, when his finely tuned danger sense kicked in and he ducked, thereby avoiding a viscous slash to the head by the Scyther. As Ranma turned to battle it, he felt the floor begin to shake and tremble. Sparing a glance to his Pikachu, he saw that Raiden was directly in the path of a charging Rhydon. It was then that the Scyther began making a series of slashes and cuts at the martial artist. On the other side of the battle zone, Raiden leapt high in the air to avoid the Rhydon as it charged. As the electric rodent reached the apex of his leap, he began charging up his cheek pouches. He then discharged a massive amount of electricity in the form of his Thundershock attack, aiming directly for the Rhydon's eyes. "PIKACHU!" The blast did nothing to the rock-type Pokemon's thick hide, but that was not Raiden's intent. Ranma's Pokemon knew that Rhyhorns and their evolved forms were like regular rhinos, and did suffer from poor eyesight and sensitivity to light. Having a burst of electricity occur in front of it was like staring at a flashbulb at point blank range. Rhydon stopped in its charge and shook its head as it was temporarily blinded. Raiden landed behind it and then launched the Stonebreaker Quick Attack. The Pikachu became a yellow blur of fury as he darted back and forth, landing dozens of ki-enhanced blows on his rocky foe. In just a few seconds, Rhydon was subjected to an intense pounding. When Raiden completed his attack, he stood in front of his adversary in a ready stance and waited. Rhydon had a look of confusion as it tried to comprehend what had just happened to it. It then let off a groan as cracks in its protective skin appeared. Its massive horn also showed signs of fractures in it. The Rhydon looked down at its diminutive foe and let off an angered roar. It tried to charge at Raiden again, but the injuries it sustained was too much for it and it collapsed onto the floor face first making a loud boom as its massive body hit the metal. Raiden made a polite bow to his fallen opponent. In the control room… "B-But… rock Pokemon are supposed to be strong against electric types!" Cassidy gasped as she saw Rhydon collapse to the floor of the arena. Meanwhile, Ranma was getting quite a workout as he successfully dodged each of Scyther's attacks. He was really enjoying himself, as this was his first human-sized opponent. Ranma had been itching for a challenge to test his new skills and he wanted to make the experience a memorable one. For the Scyther, it was a completely story. It couldn't understand how a mere human could be this fast. It had expected the trainer to send out a Pokemon to battle it, not fight it personally. Not only was he evading each of its attacks, but also he was actually smiling at it, as if he were enjoying it! This went on for another minute, in which the Scyther became more enraged at Ranma's audacity. Rearing back with one arm, it focused all of its energies in a downward slash to Ranma's head. The razor edge came down… … And was stopped when Ranma clapped both palms on the sides of the arm and trapped the appendage in a barehanded sword catching technique. "Scyther?" No one had ever stopped its slash attack before. It tried to pull its arm back, but Ranma tightened his grip and kept the arm from pulling free. The martial artist then raised his arms and sent a hard kick to Scyther's midsection, stunning it and causing its breath to be driven out. Releasing his hold on its arm, Ranma moved forward and delivered several hard punches to the bug Pokemon's abdomen and head, causing it to stagger back. Its thick exoskeleton began to buckle under the continuous pummeling. With the last punch, Ranma sent it sprawling back a dozen feet. The Anything Goes fighter began powering up his aura as he gestured for his Pikachu to join him. Raising an arm with the palm facing up and the fingers spread out, focusing his ki into his hand. Ranma smiled as he began converting the ball of ki energy into electricity. In the control room, Butch and Cassidy were still in shock after seeing Raiden defeat the Rhydon when they saw sparks appear in Ranma's hand. "How the heck is he doing that?!" Butch said, as he and his partner became awestruck at the appearance of a ball of lightning in Ranma's hand. "Why are you asking me?" Cassidy replied as her eyes roved over the image of the muscular and very handsome martial artist as he prepared to deal the final blow to the weakened, but still fighting Scyther. Ranma gritted his teeth as he saw the Scyther get to its feet and then made a suicidal charge toward them. At his feet, Raiden was powering up his cheek pouches. Ranma smiled as he shook his head and said to his friend, "Sorry Raiden, but this one's mine! Just jump with me!" In his raised hand, the ball of ki was converted completely to electricity and grew to five times the size of a basketball. He and his Pikachu then leapt high. At the apex of his jump, Ranma reared back and tossed the sphere at the attacking Scyther in an overhand throw. "THUNDERBLAST BOMB!" The bug Pokemon screamed in absolute terror as the ball lightning shot toward it and just as it tried to evade the attack, the sphere exploded against its side. Scyther roared in pain as it was subjected to more than 60,000 volts! Its body twitched and convulsed as the electricity swept through it. Coincidentally, since the floors and walls were also metallic, the electricity was conducted through the surfaces. The surveillance cameras were overloaded and blew out their lenses as their circuits were fried. In the control room, Team Rocket had to duck for cover as their monitor exploded into a shower of glass, metal and sparks. Fortunately for Ranma and his Pikachu, they were in the air at the time and weren't in contact with the electrified room. When the blast ended, they focused their ki to absorb and redirect any remaining electricity that was still present. After a few moments, they powered down and gazed at the battlefield. Charizard, Rhydon and Scyther were all down for the count. In the control room, Butch and Cassidy were just getting up when they saw that the main monitor was a smoking ruin. Butch whistled. "Whoa! Now that's what I call power!" "I'll say!" Cassidy agreed as she dusted off some debris from her uniform. "So, do you think we should introduce ourselves now?" Butch nodded as he went to the console and checked the systems. Fortunately, only the surveillance cameras had been damaged. Just about every other system had been insulated and was still working, including the speakers. In the arena, Ranma and Raiden were still trying to figure out who had sent those Pokemon after them, when they heard Butch's voice over the speakers. "Charizard! Rhydon! Scyther! Return!" The Pokeballs that the Pokemon had come out of, each had a special remote control chip within them. Each device sent out their recall beams and took back the injured Pokemon. Ranma and Raiden went into ready stances as wall panels opened up and robotic arms appeared to retrieve the Pokeballs. When they disappeared into the walls, Ranma shouted out to his mysterious attackers. "Who are you? What do you want? Why did you have those Pokemon attack us?" "Very impressive pal! You passed your test with flying colors!" Butch replied. "Test? What test?!" Ranma demanded. "Pika!" Raiden was also annoyed. Cassidy's voice took over the microphone. "The test to join our illustrious organization of course! We only invite the best Pokemon trainers and you most certainly qualify." "Who… are… you?" Ranma said slowly. "Let us introduce ourselves." Butch replied. Suddenly, a panel in the floor opened up and the two conspirators rose up from an underground platform. "Prepare for trouble!" Cassidy declared. "Make it double!" Butch added. "To infect the world with devastation!" "To blight all people in all nations!" "To renounce the goodness of truth and love!" "To extend our wrath to the stars above!" "Cassidy!" "Butch!" "Team Rocket! Circling the Earth all day and night!" "Surrender now for you will surely lose the fight!" Just after Butch finished his line a strange Pokemon appeared from the opening and stood before them. "Drowzee!" Ranma's expression was a mixture of surprise and relief. He had expected Jessie and James to appear when he heard the start of that motto, but he was thankful when that talking Meowth didn't appear with them. Then he considered whom he might be up against. THIS Team Rocket looked a lot more competent than the other two. He took out his Pokedex and aimed it at the Drowzee. *DROWZEE. A PSYCHIC POKEMON THAT IS SAID TO BE DESCENDED FROM THE TAPIR. ITS ATTACKS INCLUDE HYPNOSIS, PSI-WAVE AND THE METRONOME.* Ranma frowned. He had no experience in dealing with psychic Pokemon and neither did his Pokemon. He and Raiden were trapped in an underground arena with no way out. Things didn't look good. To be continued… Author's Notes Well, Ranma is now facing off against the more able Team Rocket and it looks like he's in really hot water. He's going to need a lot of luck to get out of this one. Stay tuned!