Fist of the Pikachu Disclaimer: Okay, so do you want? A song and dance number? < >: Thoughts * *: Pokedex responses ^^ ^^: Pokemon talk Chapter 13 Mind over Mind "Ash! Misty! Did you hear the news?" "What is it Tracey?" A young boy of eleven asked as he and his friends got off the ferry from the Orange Islands. On his head was a Pikachu. In his arms, he was proudly holding the Winner's Trophy that he had earned after defeating Drake, the Gym Leader at the Pomelo Gym. "Look at this!" Tracey said as the young Pokemon watcher held up a newspaper, depicting a photo of Ranma and Raiden as they stood beside Prima at the Pokemon Convention in Stone Town. Misty looked over the shoulder of Ash and saw the headline. Her eyes widened as she read the headline. "W-What?! Prima was... defeated?!" Tracey nodded. "According to this article, Prima had given this new trainer, Ranma Saotome, a Diamond Staryu Badge after she lost three consecutive matches. That's the first one to be given in over ten years!" "A Diamond Staryu Badge? She lost three matches in a row?!" Ash said in disbelief. When he had challenged Prima, she had made short work of him and his Pikachu. "Ooh, that's one of the most sought-after badges in the world. All Water Pokemon trainers want one! I'd give almost anything to have one of those!" Misty pined. "Who is this Ranma Saotome?" Ash asked. "Not much is known about this trainer." Tracey read. "He just suddenly appeared a few months ago and according to this report, has already gotten five Indigo badges and is reported to be heading toward Saffron City for a Marsh Badge." "He's going to have his hands full with Sabrina." Ash commented, remembering how difficult it was for him to beat the psychic Gym leader. "I don't know Ash." Misty said skeptically. "If he was able to defeat Prima, then Sabrina might not be able to stop him as she did with you." Ash winced as he recalled how humiliating his initial defeat against Sabrina was. Brock and Misty had gotten turned into dolls and it was only due to Haunter that he had been able to win against Sabrina's Kadabra. "Here's another thing Ash. It says here that this Ranma can actually copy a Pokemon's attacks and that his Pokemon have been trained in new, more powerful attacks." "Say what?!" "Look here." Tracey pointed to a picture in which Ranma was doing an electric attack. "He's doing... a Thundershock?" Ash could not believe what he was seeing. Neither were Tracey and Misty. "Wow! He must be some special kind of Pokemon trainer if he's able to do all of that." Ash was deep in thought as he continued to gaze at the picture. Somewhere else... "ACHOO!" Ranma rubbed his nose after sneezing and wondered if he was coming down with something. He then shrugged and turned back to observing his Pokemon as they sparred with each other. "Golduck!" "Pikachu!" Ranma nodded as he watched his newest Pokemon train with his best disciple in the Anything Goes Pokemon Martial Arts techniques. He had decided to call the new branch of the Anything Goes as Pokemon Ken. He smiled as he saw the blue waterfowl take to the physical training with relative ease. He was a bit worried though about his upcoming match against the gym leader of Saffron City, who was reputed to be an unparalleled expert when it came to psychic Pokemon. Though his new Golduck was also a psychic type, the Pokemon trainer and martial artist was still relatively inexperienced in dealing with psychic attacks and how to defend against them. Golduck may be able to handle its own mental attacks such as Confusion and Disable, but it was still learning to control its newfound powers and they were nowhere near as strong as they should be. Ranma didn't know how to train a psychic-type Pokemon. Ranma decided to look up the entry on Golduck on his Pokedex. *GOLDUCK IS MAINLY A WATER AND PSYCHIC-TYPE POKEMON, BUT ALSO POSSESSES ICE ATTACKS AND CAN ENGAGE IN CONSIDERABLE HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT. * Ranma put away his Pokedex as he saw Jeanette and Sam approach him. "Hey Ranma, how's the training going?" Sam asked. The martial artist shrugged as he replied, "It's going well enough. Golduck is handling the physical training all right, but I still haven't gotten around to helping it with its psychic powers. I really don't have any idea how to improve on its psychic attacks. Come to think of it, I haven't even thought of what to name Golduck." "Why don't you just call it Golduck. Every other trainer that has a Golduck does." Jeanette suggested. "Nah. Calling it Golduck is so... generic. I want my Golduck to have a name to give it more personality. That's what I've done for all my other Pokemon. Got any ideas?" Both girls shrugged as they began thinking of what to call Golduck. "Hey, how about Tsunami?" Jeanette suggested. "Tidal wave?" Ranma replied. "No... sounds more like a name for an attack. Besides, it sounds too feminine. Golduck's a male." "Well, how about Kappa?" "Water Demon? Nah, Golduck may be powerful, but he's no demon." "Maybe Poseidon or Aquarius?" Sam tried. "Who are they?" Ranma asked. "Poseidon was a Greek God of the sea and Aquarius was the Water Bearer of the Zodiac. We could also try Neptune or Triton?" "Nah... that doesn't sound right either. History ain't my strong point and besides, I don't wanna keep on naming my Pokemon after gods and stuff. That gets too repetitive. Raiden's good enough for me." "Well, since Golduck's also a psychic-type, how about Mindstorm or maybe Kinesis?" Sam recommended. "Hmmm, maybe but... I don't know." Ranma waved it off. "Anyways, the name isn't that important right now, so it can wait." Ranma said as he turned back to where his Golduck and Raiden were taking a breather before going at each other again. Some time later... "Okay, now breathe in and out, slow and steady." Ranma instructed as he and his Golduck took stances and began their meditation exercises. The waterfowl was especially proficient in this discipline as these techniques had allowed it to evolve from a Psyduck. No longer requiring a headache to activate its psychic abilities, Golduck was determined to enhance its mental abilities even further. He had been practicing hard during their trip to Saffron City and was confident that it could handle anything that Sabrina's Pokemon could throw at it. Beside them, Sam and Jeanette were also taking deep breaths and clearing their minds. Then, in unison, they began going a series of simple katas to attain a higher level of focus. Ranma and Golduck were already lit with bright blue auras. Jeanette had a pale white aura that was much smaller, while Sam's was the faintest and smallest of all: a very thin, gold halo of light. Off to one side, the rest of Ranma's Pokemon stood by with Sam's and Jeanette's. After an hour, Ranma called a halt to the training and the group decided to break for dinner. As they started eating, Sam and Jeanette began discussing with Ranma on their own progress. "So are we ready to start projecting ki?" Jeanette asked hopefully. Ranma shook his head and said, "No, you two still got a long way to go. I'm not surprised that your aura is stronger than Sam's since you've had some martial arts training from your mother already." Jeanette gave her rival a bit of a smug smile, since she was way ahead of her. Sam scowled a bit. They had been practicing for weeks with the pigtailed boy and now he had just complimented Jeanette on her greater skill. This only made the former gym leader of Viridian City even more determined to beat her rival for Ranma's attentions. Though neither would admit it openly, both girls had grown very fond of Ranma's company ever since they started traveling together. "By the way, Ranma. How come my aura's different than yours and Jeanette's?" Sam asked, hoping to change the subject. Ranma shrugged as he said, "Well, ki can use your own emotions as a medium. The different colors and size of your auras can represent which emotion you are using to projecting it, and how intense it is. My blue aura represents my confidence. The same thing goes with all my Pokemon." "So what about ours?" Jeanette inquired. "Well, I can only guess, but I'd say that the white color is calmness, which kind of fits with your passive fighting style of Akido. Sam's gold color may be because of her determination. Mind you, I'm only guessing but I think those must be the emotions that you are drawing from." Both girls thought about it for a while, then nodded. It was then that they began asking Ranma some more personal questions. "Ranma, we've been traveling together for a while and we still don't know much about you." Sam said. Ranma became a bit edgy at those words and Jeanette added to his nervousness by saying, "Yes, tell us about yourself. Where are you from?" "Uhhhh... well, it's kinda hard to explain and... I'm not really sure where to begin." He looked toward his Pokemon for support, but they could only give him a sort of helpless look, as they too did not know how to tell them. "Oh come on Ranma!" Sam said cheerfully. "You can tell us at least where you're from and how you became a Pokemon trainer right? It's not like we're asking you to tell us your deepest secrets, right?" "That's just the problem." Ranma replied reluctantly. "In order for me to tell you as to where I came from, I'd have to tell you my deepest secret." "Huh?" Both girls said. Ranma sighed. "All I can say is that I got my official start as a Pokemon trainer in a place called Pallet Town." "Pallet Town?" Jeanette repeated. "I've heard of that place. That's where Ash Ketchum came from." "Who?" "He was a trainer that I went up against in last year's Indigo League championships. He beat my Bellsprout with a Muk, of all things." Ranma thought about the name, then nodded. "Oh yeah, now I remember. Professor Oak told me about him when I used to work at the Pokemon research center in Pallet Town." Ranma then got up and stretched out his arms while yawning. "Well, enough about me. My Pokemon and me better get some sleep. Tomorrow's a big day and I need Raiden and the others to be well rested for the match." "So which Pokemon are you going to use?" Sam asked. "Well, the obvious choice would be Golduck, since he's the only psychic-type I've got. Though he's gotten a lot stronger mentally and physically, I really don't know what Sabrina will do and how she battles. I guess I'll find out tomorrow." The next day... Ranma and his group approached the Saffron City Gym and stopped at the front door. Ranma took a deep breath and knocked. "Hello? I'm here to challenge the gym leader." A moment passed in silence before the doors automatically opened up, allowing for Ranma, Sam and Jeanette to enter. Raiden was currently riding on Ranma's right shoulder. As they walked down the hallway to the main battle arena, the two girls began giving Ranma some last-minute details about his opponent. "You've got to be really careful against Sabrina, Ranma. She and her family happen to be very powerful psychics and I found out the hard way that she's telepathically linked to her Pokemon." Jeanette cautioned. "Really?" "That's right." Sam affirmed. "She doesn't have to say anything to direct her Pokemon. She does it all mentally." "How did you get the Marsh Badge?" Ranma asked Jeanette. The trainer from Crimson City sighed as she said with reluctance, "It took me six tries to get it and I was lucky. Sabrina had been suffering from a headache during the sixth attempt and that weakened her psychic link with her Pokemon enough for me to overpower her. I have a feeling that she's not suffering from any headaches today." "Indeed." The three were startled at the sound of Sabrina's voice as they came to the main arena. On the opposite end of the fighting area was the psychic gym leader herself. She was very slim and had long, straight, dark hair. She was wearing a kind of formal suit that resembled a ringmaster's outfit. Ranma noted that something was floating beside her. It looked like a gaseous face with two disembodied hands at its side. He took out his Pokedex. *HAUNTER, THE GASEOUS POKEMON. THE EVOLVED FORM OF GHASTLY. THIS GHOST-TYPE POKEMON IS KNOWN FOR ITS MISCHIEVIOUS YET PLAYFUL PERSONALITY. ITS ATTACKS INCLUDE NIGHTSHADE, CONFUSE RAY, HYPNOSIS AND DREAM EATER. * "Welcome to the Saffron Gym, Ranma Saotome." Sabrina greeted with a smile. Ranma was taken aback by her greeting and became bit unnerved. "H-How did you...?" Sabrina shrugged and said, "I don't need to be a psychic to have predicted that you would have eventually come here. Besides, I saw you on television when your Rapidash won the Pokemon Challenge Race and when you defeated Prima in Stone Town. I've been looking forward to battle against you." Ranma winced as he realized that the publicity he had gained might work against him. Unlike the other gym leaders, Sabrina was expecting him and probably prepared for him. "So, shall we get started?" Ranma nodded reluctantly and motioned for Sam and Jeanette to stand back. This was it. Sabrina nodded back and said, "This will be a two-on-two match. Haunter, I choose you!" "Haunter!" The Ghost Pokemon floated forward to face off against whatever Pokemon Ranma would use. The pigtailed boy took a deep breath and decided to start off with his Pikachu. "Raiden, go!" The electric rodent sped forward and took a ready stance. Unfortunately, Sabrina was already giving her Ghost Pokemon her orders by telepathy. "Haunter!" The eyes of the Haunter began to glow and it shot out a beam of energy. "Raiden, fight back with Meditation!" The electric rodent began to concentrate its ki into a protective screen around it to offset the psychic waves. Sabrina nodded as she watched the Pikachu generate a blue aura around it. "Haunter!" A bolt of black energy burst from Haunter's hands and blasted into Raiden. Fortunately for the electric rodent, its aura took the brunt of the attack. The Pikachu was sent flying backward, but managed to land on its feet. Its aura however, was dispersed and Haunter saw its chance and emitted a hypnosis attack. Raiden was caught off guard as he saw Haunter and started to fall down toward the floor. Ranma became desperate as he saw his friend begin to falter. Raiden couldn't get close enough to do any physical attacks on Haunter, not that it would work against a Ghost-type. Then Ranma got inspired and yelled to his Pikachu. "Raiden, put your headband over your eyes!" "Pika!" Reaching up with his paws, Raiden pulled down its headband over his eyes, effectively blinding himself and preventing him from seeing Haunter's blurred form, which canceled out the hypnosis effect. Sabrina smirked as she commented. "That was cute. That headband may stop the Hypnosis attack, but your Pikachu can't fight while it's blindfolded." Ranma grinned as he said, "Raiden doesn't need to see to beat Haunter! Raiden... use your new finishing move... THUNDERBLAST STORM!" "Thunderblast Storm?!" Sam and Jeanette eeped. During their travels with Ranma, they had seen him train his Pokemon in newer techniques. They had witnessed Raiden do this new attack last week! "TAKE COVER!" Both girls yelled as they backed off quickly. Raiden suddenly crackled with electricity and ki as he focused his inner energies. He then let loose with a massive explosion of lightning and ki bolts in every direction. "PIKA... CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!" "Haunter!" The Ghost Pokemon tried to zig and zag out of the way of the massive barrage but since the attack hit everywhere at once, it wasn't any use. Physical attacks it could evade by making itself immaterial. Energy attacks were another story. It screamed out as several bolts of electricity and ki slammed into it, causing it to drop to the ground, unconscious. Sabrina looked up from where she had taken cover and gasped. Haunter was down and entire floor of her gym was scorched. In the center of the arena, Raiden was still standing, unscathed and raising his headband. On the other side, Ranma was also standing without so much as a scratch on him. He had used his own aura to deflect any incoming energy. Behind him, Sam and Jeannette were just emerging from where they had taken cover. Ranma smiled as said, "Raiden doesn't need to see when he has an attack that hits everywhere at once!" Sabrina looked down at the Pikachu, then recalled Haunter. "Haunter, return." When the Pokeball recalled her Ghost Pokemon, she said to it, "You did a good job, Haunter." She then turned back to Ranma. "That was very impressive. I can see why you defeated Prima. I wasn't expecting something like that, but now it's time to get serious!" Taking out another Pokeball, she called out her ace-in-the-hole. "Alakazam! I choose you!" Ranma frowned as the psychic Pokemon appeared. He took out his Pokedex. *ALAKAZAM, THE EVOLVED FROM OF KADABRA. ITS POSSESSES BOTH A POWERFUL BODY AND PSYCHIC POWERS. ITS MIND IS EQUIVALENT TO A SUPER-COMPUTER. * Ranma was about to give Raiden his next command when Sabrina mentally ordered her Pokemon to take Raiden apart. Before Ranma could utter a single word, Alakazam focused the two spoons it held in its hands and directed a wave of psychic power at it. Raiden was paralyzed in a second. Raiden was sent bouncing up and down like a basketball. Sabrina had learned from her earlier mistake and didn't let the Pikachu a moment to recover or counterattack. Ranma cried out as his Pikachu was struck hard by the blast and sent flying. He ran out and caught his best friend in his arms as he came back down. "Raiden, are you okay? Speak to me buddy!" The electric mouse slowly opened up its eyes and gave Ranma an affectionate lick on his cheek. "Pika..." Ranma sighed in relief as he saw that Raiden was all right, but was in no shape to battle any more. He nodded to Sam who walked up and took Raiden into her arms as Ranma faced off against Sabrina again. "That was kinda extreme." "No more extreme than that last attack of your Pikachu's." Sabrina countered. Ranma thought for a moment, then nodded. "Point taken." He then took out a Pokeball and readied to throw it. "GO... GOLDUCK!" The blue waterfowl exploded from his Pokeball and took a dramatic pose. "Golduck!" Sabrina smiled as she gazed at the psychic water Pokemon. "Very nice. You have a very fine-looking psychic Pokemon. Now let's see how well he's trained." By sheer coincidence, Ranma shouted out the same command. "GOLDUCK, DISABLE!" Alakazam thrust out its two spoons and focused its mental powers. At the same time, Golduck's eyes glowed bright blue as it too emitted paralyzing waves. There was a sudden flare of energy that appeared between the two Pokemon as the two attacks hit each other head-on. Then a massive blast of light appeared and caused both trainers to look away. Ranma heard Sabrina cry out a bit at the brightness, then recovered to give her Pokemon another command. Golduck was still a bit distracted from the sudden flare of light and was struck hard by the blast. The waterfowl went sprawling, but quickly recovered and rolled to its feet again. Unfortunately, Alakazam began giving off psychic blasts in rapid succession, scoring several hits. Ranma winced as he saw Golduck get repeatedly. Sabrina had the advantage with her mind-link and Golduck just wasn't reacting fast enough. Ranma hoped that a ki blast would catch Alakazam and Sabrina off guard. "GOLDUCK! KI ATTACK!" Like all of his Pokemon, Ranma's Golduck had no problems in learning to project ki. It was even easier for Golduck due to its psychic abilities. Cupping its webbed hands forward, the water Pokemon shot a blue sphere of energy at his opponent. Alakazam put up a psychic barrier to deflect the blast. The Pokemon shuddered a bit when the barrier trembled under the force of the ki bolt hitting it. It then followed through with another Psybeam. Golduck leapt high to evade it, then came down to deliver a jumpkick to Alakazam's head. It was then that Ranma realized that Golduck was leaping into a trap as he saw Alakazam's eyes glow. "GOLDUCK! LOOK OUT!" It was too late. As Golduck was in the air, he was wide open for a Disable attack. He was stopped in midair, and that was when Alakazam began powering up its final attack. An orange ball of energy began to form in front of the psychic Pokemon. "COUNTER ALAKAZAM'S HYPER-BEAM WITH YOURS!" Ranma called out. Golduck desperately tried to power up his own Hyper-beam to counter but it was too late. Just as the center jewel on its head began to glow, Alakazam let loose with a huge, orange beam. "GOLDUCK!!!" Some time later... "Your Golduck wasn't hurt too seriously, but it will need to rest for a while. He's very weak from that Hyper-Beam." Nurse Joy said to Ranma after she had emerged from the ICU of the Saffron City Pokemon Center. "Can I see him?" Ranma asked, to which the Pokemon nurse nodded and led him, Sam and Jeanette to where Golduck was bedridden. Beside him, wearing a few bandages of his own was Raiden. Ranma frowned as he saw his newest Pokemon with a bandage wrapped around his head and a patch of gauze taped on the right cheek. Both of his arms were also bandaged. After nodding to his Pikachu, Ranma knelt down at one side of Golduck's bed, took one of his webbed hands into his and said, "Golduck... I'm so sorry. This was all my fault." Golduck looked at his trainer then slowly shook his head. "Gol...duck. Gol..." Ranma shook his head in response. "No, it was my fault. I didn't know how to make your psychic powers stronger and I put you into battle when you weren't ready! We should have trained more and I should have realized that Sabrina would have been prepared for us, especially with all that publicity I got in Stone Town. Please forgive me." "Golduck... golduck..." The waterfowl placed a webbed hand on his trainer's head and tousled his hair. "Golduck... duck... golduck." Raiden nodded, as he understood what Golduck was saying. "Pikachu. Pika." Ranma sighed as he looked back at Jeanette and Sam. "I really wish I knew what they were saying." "I think Golduck is saying that he doesn't blame you for what happened. Right?" Sam looked at the bedridden Pokemon, who nodded in response. Jeanette also spoke up. "Golduck understands that you tried your best to prepare for the match." "Yeah, well it didn't do us any good, now did it? We still lost! Sabrina's got too much of an advantage with that mind-link of hers and I just can't think of a way to counter it and..." Ranma paused for a moment as he thought back to the match. He then realized something. "Wait a minute. Maybe... there is a way to counter her!" "What are you talking about?" Jeanette asked. Ranma addressed his Golduck. "Golduck. As soon as you're well enough to leave here, we're going to do some special training." "Golduck?" "I think I may have thought up of a way to beat Sabrina and get that Marsh Badge! What do you say? Are you up for it?" "Golduck!" Golduck affirmed. "What are you talking about?" Jeanette asked. Ranma only answered her with a smile. Two weeks later... "I'm here for a rematch!" Ranma called out as he and Golduck came to the front doors of the gym. On his shoulder was Raiden. Behind him, Sam and Jeanette whispered to each other. "Do you think this plan of his will work?" Sam asked. "Maybe." Jeanette replied. "He and Golduck have trained so hard for the last few days and I can't believe just how much they've improved! Ranma may just win that Marsh Badge!" "We'll see." The doors of the gym again opened to admit Ranma and his group. As they entered, several shady characters were watching from the shadows of a nearby alley. They smiled as they recognized their target and began moving toward the gym. Inside of the gym, Sabrina smiled as she again faced off against Ranma. "I knew you would be back. You didn't strike me as the type to give up so easily." Ranma smirked as he replied, "You bet! So let's get started!" "Very well. This time, it will just be one Pokemon for each of us. Choose yours now." Ranma nodded as he said to his Golduck, "I choose you..." And that was when he got an inspiration. "SEA STORM!" "Golduck!" The water Pokemon smiled at its new name and leapt forward to take a pose. Sabrina chuckled as she threw out her Pokeball. Alakazam appeared. "SEA STORM, PSYCHIC BLAST!" The Golduck raised a webbed hand and let loose with a psychic attack. Sabrina's Pokemon brought up its shield but was surprised at the intensity of the blast. Alakazam was actually forced back! Sabrina was also impressed with sudden increase in power, but decided to bide her time and see what Ranma had taught his Golduck in the past two weeks. "SEA STORM! TORPEDO ATTACK!" Sea Storm suddenly shot forward like a missile, using its psychic powers to shoot itself through the air. Its streamlined body became enveloped in ki energy, which exploded on contact with Alakazam's barrier, shattering it. Alakazam was slammed backward and that is when Golduck started raining swipes, punches and kicks, displaying its ability in the martial arts. Sabrina winced as she began feeling the pain that her Pokemon was experiencing. On the other side, Ranma smirked. He had guessed right. Sabrina's mind-link was a two-way system. Not only could she mentally communicate with her Pokemon, but she also felt the feedback of whatever her Pokemon was experiencing. Apparently, the link wasn't 100%, or she would be bruised and battered from Golduck's attacks. He had suspected on how the system worked when he recalled from the last battle, how much more affected Sabrina had been, during that bright flash of psychic energy. All he had to do was to have his Golduck maintain the assault and keep her too off-balanced to give her Alakazam any orders. Sabrina winced again as she felt more pain from her Alakazam. She knew from the increasing intensity that her Pokemon couldn't take much more of this pounding and chided herself for nor not ending the match sooner. She then bit down, ignored the pain and ordered Alakazam to disable Golduck. Alakazam managed to focus its energies and Golduck found himself once more paralyzed and floating in midair. Ranma scowled as he saw Alakazam powering up and shouted, "NOT THIS TIME! SEA STORM, PSYCHIC FLASH!" Sea Storm's eyes took on a bright blue color, then suddenly flared like magnesium powder. Alakazam cried out as it took the glare at full strength. "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Sabrina screamed out as she too found herself blinded. She raised her hands to rub at her eyes. Consequently, she was forced to disengage her psychic link with Alakazam. The psychic Pokemon shook its head to clear it, then took on a puzzled look as it found itself disconnected from its trainer. Ranma smiled. This was the moment he had been waiting for. Now that Alakazam was mentally separated from its master, it was time! "NOW SEA SPRAY! FINAL ATTACK! PSYCHIC TSUNAMI!" The Golduck nodded as he began focusing his mental and ki energies around him. The battle aura that was formed was huge as it continued to build around him. Soon the entire gym was bathed in a bright, blue luminance. Then the outer edges of the aura began to become alive, as if it were made of water. Sabrina regained her sight just to see Golduck throw its arms forward and the entire battle aura went crashing down toward Alakazam like a huge tidal wave. "GOL... DUCK!" "ALAKAZAM! REFLECT!" Alakazam just barely managed to put up another barrier, but it wasn't enough. The shield shattered under the tremendous force that Golduck's attack produced and Alakazam was swept away like a leaf caught in a fast-moving river. The Pokemon and all that energy slammed into one of the walls of the gym, causing it to be blown out. When the energy dispersed outward into the open air and the dust settled down, Alakazam was going to need a trip to the Pokemon Center. "Ala... ka... zam." All was silent in the Saffron Gym for a long moment, then a shout rang out. "WE DID IT, SEA STORM!" "Golduck!" On the sidelines, Sam and Jeanette were cheering with his Pikachu. Ranma had done it! He had beaten Sabrina! Sabrina could only look in shock at her defeated Alakazam, and then she nodded. Ranma had beaten her fairly and earned the Marsh Badge. Taking out her Pokeball, she recalled her Pokemon and said to it. "You fought well Alakazam." She turned and walked to her opponent, who was hugging his Golduck, and addressed him. "Congratulations Ranma Saotome. I didn't expect something like that, but then again you're known for surprises." Ranma separated himself from his Golduck and nodded. "Thanks Sabrina. That was a good match. So now I think you have something for me?" Sabrina nodded as she handed Ranma the Marsh Badge. "In recognition of your victory at the Saffron Gym." Ranma smiled, then showed the badge to Sea Storm. "Good work Sea Storm! Nothing can stop us now!" It was at that time that someone threw a smoke bomb into the gym and some ominous music began to play. "Oh no! Not again!" Ranma groaned. Raiden breathed out a mushroom puff. "Pika…" Sam, Jeanette and Sabrina were confused. "To subject the world to devastation! "To… " "SHUT UP! WIND RIDER! DOUBLE TEAM GUST ATTACK!" The Pigeotto exploded from its Pokeball and joined its master in blowing away all the smoke. When the gases were cleared, at the hole where Sea Storm's attack had blasted through were four very goofy-looking characters. Each had a white and black outfit with a large R printed on their chests. "Hey! We weren't finished!" The first one said. "As far as I'm concerned, you are!" Ranma shot back. "So which Team Rocket are you?! Jesse and James? Bonnie and Clyde? Billy and Kid? Larry, Curly and Moe? Tom, Dick and Larry?" "No, we're…" All four take a sentai pose. "HARPO!" "CHEEKO!" "ZEPPO!" "AND GROUCHO!" All together they said, "Team Rocket! Blast off at…" "BLAST THIS! RAIDEN! THUNDERBLAST BOMB!" Raiden moved forward and let one of his most powerful attacks fly. Sam, Jeanette and Sabrina dove for cover. "PIKA…CHUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!" KA-BOOOOOOOM!!! At the damaged wall, four members of Team Rocket were now extra crispy and sprawled on the ground, unconscious. One of their Pokeballs rolled out from under them and came to a stop at Ranma's feet. In answer to his question, the Pokeball opened up and… "AAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH! GET IT AWAY FROM ME!" The girls were all surprised to hear Ranma scream in terror. Looking over to where Ranma was now on the ground, shivering in terror at what had just came out of the Pokeball. "Purrrr…" "It's a Persian." Sam declared. "Ranma's afraid of Persians?" Jeanette asked in confusion. It was at that time that the Persian's training took over. Seeing that Ranma was not one of its masters and therefore an enemy, it began to chase after him. This caused Ranma to scramble away even more frantically. "GET AWAY! GET AWAY! GET AWAY! GET AWAY!" Sam, Jeanette, and Sabrina had huge sweatdrops as they watched the scene. Here was the most formidable Pokemon trainer in the world, running about like a chicken with its head cut off, screaming in absolute terror, while being chased by a Persian. Raiden could only shake his head and sigh. Sea Storm, who did not know about his master's fear of cats, could only watch in confusion. When the Persian leapt up and tackled Ranma to the ground, pinning him down by standing of his back, the Pokemon trainer's fragile hold on sanity snapped. "MEEOOOOOOOWWWWWRRRRRR!" "Huh? Is that Ranma?" Jeanette asked in confusion. The Persian was also confused to hear its prey suddenly meow. It was then suddenly thrown off as Ranma bolted upward and crouched down on all fours. The cat Pokemon glared at its opponent as the two faced off. "What's he doing?" Sam wondered. The Persian decided to use its Fury Swipes attack against this crazy human, but was more than shocked to see its claws knocked aside by Ranma, who moved with unbelievable speed. He then proceeded to maul the Pokemon with a ferocity that was beyond imagination. "He can copy a Persian's attacks?" Sabrina said in disbelief. In less than a minute, the Cat Pokemon went running off for its life after receiving more than a thousand scratches. Ranma hissed at his retreating foe, then looked around. He then spotted the girls and started toward them. The three backed away nervously as the cat-boy approached them. Raiden sighed as he powered up his electric sacs. "Pikachu." ^^ Forgive me, Master. ^^ ZZZZAAAAAPPPPP!!! Neko-Ranma was thrown backward as he received Raiden's Thundershock therapy and was knocked out. Raiden ran over to his fallen master and placed his ear onto his master's chest. He nodded with relief and gestured to Sea Spray. "Pikachu. Pika, pi." ^^Sea Storm. Could you come here? ^^ "Golduck. Golduck. Duck." ^^What's the matter? What's wrong with our master? ^^ "Pika, pi, pika… chu. ^^Master Ranma has a fear of cats. ^^ "Golduck?" ^^Really? ^^ Raiden nodded. "Pika, pi. Pikachu. Pika, pika, pika, chu, chu." ^^Ranma told me that his father did a very bad thing to him when he was six. ^^ "Chu, pika, pika, pikachu." ^^Now Ranma goes crazy every time he sees cats. ^^ "Golduck! Duck!" ^^That's terrible! ^^ "Duck? Golduck, duck!" ^^Is there any way we can help him? ^^ Pikachu. Pikachu. Pika, pika… chu." ^^Usually he goes back to normal after I shock him, but he'll go crazy again whenever he sees a cat. ^^ Sea Storm thought for a moment then got an idea. He turned to Sabrina and began focusing his mental powers on her. "Golduck." Sabrina looked at Ranma's Pokemon curiously as she began to get mental urges from the Golduck. She then approached the unconscious Ranma and looked down at Raiden. The electric rodent nodded to her. The telepathic gym leader knelt down and placed a hand on Ranma's forehead. Her eyes glowed with an eerie light as she began to read his mind. A few minutes later, she let off a cry of horror. "MY GOD!" Sabrina gasped as she looked into the memories concerning Ranma's traumatic experience when he was six. "HOW COULD HE DO THAT TO HIM!? THAT… THAT…" Sabrina couldn't even think of the words to describe Genma Saotome and swore that if she ever met him, she'd give him such a psychic beating that a lobotomy would seem mild in comparison. She then began to emit soothing psychic waves into Ranma's damaged mind and soon the expression on his face was more blissful. After a few minutes, she finished with her ministrations and stood up. Ranma began to awaken as she walked back to Sam and Jeanette. "What was that all about?" Jeanette asked. Sabrina took a deep breath, then replied, "I just corrected a mistake that was inflicted on him by his father when he was young. Ranma will never have to be afraid of cats again." "Huh?" Sam and Jeanette said together. Some time later… Ranma waved goodbye to Sabrina as he and his companions walked toward the city limits. As they headed toward their next destination, the girls continued to pester Ranma for some answers. "Come on Ranma! What was that all about?" Sam pleaded. "Why were you acting like a cat? And what did Sabrina mean when she said that she corrected the mistake that your father made?" Jeanette inquired. Ranma took a deep breath as he remembered back to his last private conversation with the Saffron City gym leader after he had awakened. Sabrina had to backtrack through all of his memories concerning his entire life, before discovering the part about the Neko Ken. As a result, she knew ALL of his deepest secrets, including Jusenkyo. Thankfully, she had promised not to tell any one about it. As for his fear of cats, Sabrina had used her mental abilities to block out the trigger, which caused him to revert into the Cat Fist. Ranma was now free of his phobia, in which he was very grateful. "C'mon Ranma! Won't tell us anything?" Sam said exasperatedly. Ranma sighed again as he decided that it was time that Sam and Jeanette knew a few things about him, if they were to continue to travel with him. He wasn't going to tell them everything though, at least not now. "Well… it all started when I was six, and my father got a hold of some training manual…" To be continued… Author's notes Well, Chapter 13 is done and Ranma is now on his way to get the Soul Badge from the Fuscha Gym! As for Ash Ketchum and the gang, they'll soon meet up with our cursed Pokemon trainer soon enough.