Fist of the Pikachu Disclaimer: If you can't beat 'em, deny everything. < >: Thoughts ^^ ^^: Pokemon language translation * *: Pokedex Responses Chapter 14 The Soul Badge "Hello Ranma. It's been some time since you last called." Professor Oak said as he spoke into the vidphone. "Hey Professor Oak. How are you dong?" Ranma asked as he and Raiden were at a booth in a Pokemon Center on the road to the Fuscha Gym. Nearby, Sam and Jeanette were waiting on a bench as their Pokemon were having their checkups by Nurse Joy. "I'm doing fine Ranma. Oh by the way, I'd like you to meet someone. Say hello to my new lab assistant, Tracey." The Pokemon researcher gestured to the side and spoke to someone else. "Tracey, I'd like you to meet the trainer I told you about, Ranma Saotome." Another person came to the vidphone with an excited look on his face. "Wow! So you're the trainer that defeated Prima! It's a pleasure to meet you!" "Uh, yeah, it's nice to meet with you too." Ranma was still not used to the publicity that he had gained since that time in Stone Town. "So you're Professor Oak's new assistant?" "Yes." The boy with the headband answered. "My name is Tracey Sketchit and I'm also a Pokemon Watcher. I've heard a lot about you and my friend Ash would love to meet with you!" "Really? Well maybe." Jeanette had told Ranma about her battle in the Indigo League and how her Bellsprout had been defeated by Ash's Muk. Professor Oak then took the phone from Tracey. "Well Ranma, how are you doing with your Pokemon journey?" "Fine. Though I've been kinda drawing a lot of attention lately." Ranma replied with a bit of a sheepish voice. Ever since he arrived at the Pokemon Center, he had been approached by no more than fifty people who either wanted his autograph, asking about his techniques, or wanted to battle his Pokemon. "Yes, I know." Professor Oak said with a smile. "Your exploits have been making the news lately. The media had started to call you the Gym Destroyer." "Gym Destroyer?" "Well, you and your Pokemon are quite powerful from what I've heard, and you've already gained a Boulder Badge, Thunder Badge, a Rising Sun Badge, Rainbow Badge, an Earth Badge and a Marsh Badge. Am I correct?" "How did you know I had those particular badges?" "Oh, I just looked up the Pokemon Gyms that were not taking any more challengers until they were repaired. I found out that a certain trainer that traveled with a Pikachu with a headband had defeated each of those Gym Leaders. Their description of that trainer fit yours perfectly and when they described some of the Pokemon attacks that were used, I knew it had to be you." "I see." Ranma bent down and retrieved something from his backpack. It was a case that he had made to store his badges. He opened it up and displayed the contents to both Oak and Tracey. "Very impressive!" The professor remarked as he and his assistant looked at the proof to Ranma's achievements. "I see that you're only one badge away from qualifying for the Indigo League." "Wow!" Tracey exclaimed as he saw the star-shaped badge on one end. "A Diamond Staryu Badge! Misty would love to have one of those!" "Pikachu!" Raiden said with pride. "Thanks. By the way Professor, what did you mean when you said that I'm only one badge away from competing in the Indigo League?" Ranma asked. "I thought I needed eight. I only count six Indigo Badges and one Orange League Badge." "Actually Ranma, that Diamond Staryu Badge also counts as one of the badges accepted by the Indigo League." Oak explained. "Prima was part of the Indigo League some ten years ago before she moved to the Orange Islands. She's one of the top-ranking Pokemon trainers in the world and her Diamond Staryu Badge is good for both divisions." "Cool!" Ranma said as he put away his case. "So where are you headed now?" Oak asked. "Well, I guess I'll try my luck at the Fuscha Gym." Ranma replied. "Pika!" "Ah, so you are going for a Soul Badge? Well, I wish you the best of luck and I certainly hope that the Fuscha Gym will still be standing after the match." "Heh, heh, we'll try not to go overboard." Ranma laughed a bit nervously. "Oh yes, before you leave, I have something for you." Professor Oak held up a device in front of the viewscreen. It resembled a cell phone but Ranma recognized it as something else. "Hey! Isn't that a Pokedex?" The scientist nodded. "Yes, it's the latest model and it has been updated with the all the most recent discoveries and newest species of Pokemon. Do you still have your Pokedex?" "Sure, it's right here." Ranma held up his own Pokedex. "Place it into the transporter beside you and I'll swap it for this new model. Don't worry though. All the data that you've gathered on your old Pokedex will be transferred to this new one as well as stored into my computer back here." "All right Professor. Here it comes." Ranma placed his old Pokedex into the transporter device. A moment later, the device disappeared and was instantly replaced by the new model. Ranma smiled as he picked it up and opened it. *HELLO. I AM DEXTER MARK 2. I HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED TO POKEMON TRAINER RANMA SAOTOME OF PALLET TOWN. IF I AM LOST OR STOLEN I CANNOT BE REPLACED. * The martial artist Pokemon Trainer nodded as he put the Pokedex into his pocket. "Thanks a lot Professor Oak." "No problem Ranma. Good luck and call back soon." "Thanks. Nice meeting with you too, Tracey." Ranma then hung up as motioned to his traveling companions. A few minutes later, they were on their way to the Fuscha Gym. Some time later... "Are you sure this is the way to the Fuscha Gym?" Ranma asked Jeanette as they both rode their Rapidashes at an easy trot. Sam was riding behind Ranma on Wildfire as she had decided to give her Fearow a rest. Ranma was very uncomfortable having a very pretty girl with her arms wrapped around him. Sam was enjoying every minute of it, while Jeanette tried to fight down the jealousy she felt at seeing them so close to each other. They were currently traveling down a forest pathway. "Yes, this is way to go if you want to get a Soul Badge." Jeanette replied. "Who's the Gym leader and what's he or she like?" Ranma inquired. Sam answered his question before Jeanette could reply. "His name is Koga and I think he specializes in Poison-type Pokemon, especially Bug types." "Yes, but I bet you didn't know that he's also a martial artist." Jeanette said smugly. "Really?" Ranma became very interested. "Pika." Raiden was also wondering if this Koga was any match for his master, though he seriously doubted it. Jeanette nodded. "Yes, his gym is also a training complex for ninjas. He's a good friend of my mother's and helped her set up the Crimson City Pokemon Gym and Dojo." "Well, that's interesting." Ranma remarked. "Hey, do you think that maybe I can get a match with him after I get the Soul Badge?" Jeanette thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Maybe. But don't think he'll be a pushover. It took me a while to get a Soul Badge from him." "My Pokemon and I can handle it." Ranma said with confidence. "Pikachu!" Raiden affirmed. Wildfire snorted in agreement. "My, my, aren't we confident?" Sam teased. "Hey, it's not like I don't have a reason to be." Ranma said with a little more humble tone. "We've trained hard and we've done pretty well for ourselves so far. Since I train my Pokemon in the Anything Goes style, I kind of have an advantage over the other trainers." "Speaking of which, I've never heard of a martial art called the Anything Goes." Jeanette said. Sam nodded. "Come to think of it, you really haven't told us much about it or yourself since that time in Saffron City. You've only told us about that crazy Cat Fist training that your father put you through. I still can't believe it. Your father must be a complete moron!" Ranma nodded. "No arguments here. Stupid old man didn't even read that second page." Jeanette nodded. "Whoever heard of a training a six-year-old boy by throwing him into a pit of starving cats with fish sausage? That's just plain nuts! I'm not surprised that you went berserk whenever you see a cat." She then decided to move to another topic. "So what other stupid training sessions did he put you through?" Ranma began to get nervous again. Ever since he told them about that experience, the girls had been pestering him to tell more about his life. "Well, I really don't want to talk about them. Some of the stuff was kind of... extreme. That was one of the reasons why I was so hesitant to start training you girls." "Aw come on Ranma. I thought we were good friends now?" Sam purposely leaned a little closer to Ranma's back. Jeanette frowned at Sam's bold move, and silently wished she thought of that. She then settled on exploiting on one of Ranma's few weaknesses. Motioning her Rapidash closer to Ranma's, she gave him her cutest pout and her eyes shined as if they were to shed tears. "Please Ranma? GOOD friends don't keep things from each other, right?" Ranma became more uncomfortable. The girls were playing dirty and it was working, as he felt his resolve begin to waver. "Well..." "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaassssse?" Both girls said in their most kawaii voices. Raiden sighed and breathed out a small mushroom puff. He knew that when it came to pretty girls and their feminine wiles, his master just couldn't say no, especially since he didn't like to see them cry. The Pikachu wondered if anyone else was as pathetic. "Pika... pika, pi... chu." ^^Wildfire, our master is a wuss when it comes to girls. Can anyone be as pathetic? ^^ Wildfire snorted in agreement. Somewhere out west... "ACHOO!" "Gesundheit Brock!" "Thanks Misty. Someone must be talking about me." Back to our story... After a minute of the cute assault, Ranma finally caved in and said, "Okay, okay... so what exactly do want to know about me?" "Everything!" Jeanette replied. "For starters, when did you start training in the martial arts and what exactly is the Anything Goes?" Ranma took a deep breath and began telling his life's story. "Well, it all started when I was about five..." After an hour of riding, Ranma had given the girls the highlights of his travels during the ten-year training journey. Of course, he intended not to mention that he was from another Earth, or about his Jusenkyo curse. He wasn't sure how the girls would react to seeing his curse, and he had come to enjoy their company. It had been a long and lonely life with only a greedy and stupid father as a companion. The fact that he changed into a girl with cold water might cause the girls to be repulsed by him; despite the effect the Water Stone had on Jusenkyo magic. However, even the abbreviated version of his life story was unbelievable in itself. "What? You SWAM to China?" Jeanette said in shock. "You putting us on!" Sam added. Ranma shook his head. "Nope. Pop and I actually swam the entire distance between Japan and China. He said that is was part of the training." Ranma then took on Genma's solemn look and imitated his voice. "Son, do not think of this as a hardship, but rather a blessing in disguise. A true martial artist must overcome all obstacles in his training to achieve higher enlightenment." Ranma then snorted in disgust. "If you ask me, we swam to China because he was too cheap to buy plane tickets!" Back on Ranma's world of origin... "ACHOO!" Genma shook his head and wondered where that sudden sneeze came from. Then more important thoughts came to mind. Such as how was he going to explain to Nodoka that he had lost their only child months ago? Also was the fact that he was currently being hunted by a band of very irate Chinese Amazons that was going to make a panda skin rug out of him if they ever caught him. It was just a little feast after all. Nothing to get excited about, right? However, those Amazons were nothing if not persistent. Genma thought that now would be a good time to leave China. But where would he go? Without his son, he dared not return home, especially due to a little contract he signed with his wife, with his head as collateral. So that left only... The Pokemon World... "ACHOO!" "Bless you, Ranma." Sam said. "Thanks." "In any case, Pops had gotten me involved in a lot of stupid things and stuff over the last ten years, and most of it I'm not really proud of. He got me involved in... acts that I was too young to realize that were wrong." Ranma became quiet as he remembered all the acts of theft that Genma had made him do when he was six. He had thought of it as a game at the time, but when he grew older, he realized that he was breaking the law and resolved not to do them any more. "What kind of things?" Jeanette asked. Ranma took a deep breath and sighed before going into detail. When he finished, both girls had horrified looks on their faces. "What kind of father is he? He made you steal? That's terrible! " Sam said aghast. "Well, yeah it was, but I was too young to know any better at the time." "Well, at least you realized it later and stopped." Jeanette remarked. "Yeah, well that doesn't really make things any better. Now you can understand why I don't like talking about my life." Ranma stated, to which the girls nodded. "In any case, the last straw came when we got to China. My old man didn't even bother to learn how to read or speak Chinese, when he came across a brochure about some training ground called Jusenkyo." "Jusenkyo?" Sam asked. Jeanette nodded in thought. "I know a little Chinese. I think it means... Pools of Sorrow?" Ranma nodded. "Yep. That's what it meant. Of course, Pops, being the idiot that he was, didn't even bother to find out why the place was called that. He dragged me all over China looking for it, before we finally came across a guide who knew where it was." Sam then thought about it. "Let me get this straight. Your father took you to a foreign country without even knowing how to speak or read the language, nor learn anything about the place where you were going to train? All because he saw the name in a brochure?" "That's about it in a nutshell." Ranma replied. "That is just plain stupid!" Jeanette declared. Ranma nodded in agreement then bowed his head a bit in shame. "Yeah, well I guess you could call me stupid for going along with him, now that I think about it. I mean, why didn't I try to learn to speak Chinese while we were there? I could have asked the guide about Jusenkyo before we got there. But nooo, I just dumbly followed my father's lead and..." Ranma sighed again. Sam and Jeanette looked at Ranma with a bit of surprise. This was a rare sight. Ranma was admitting to his mistakes and was acting with more humility. The martial artist and Pokemon trainer continued on. "Well, Jusenkyo turned out to be more dangerous than we realized and... afterwards, I abandoned my father and went out on my own. A little while later, I met with Raiden and few months after that, I became a Pokemon trainer. The rest is as they say, is history." "So what happened at Jusenkyo?" Sam asked. "I don't want to talk about it." Ranma replied. "But..." "I SAID, I DON'T want to TALK about it!" Ranma replied more forcefully as he held his Water Stone pendant and fingered it for a moment. The two girls looked into Ranma's eyes and their hearts melted when they saw the sadness in them. They decided not to press for any more questions until later. "Well, the good thing is, that you did get away from your father." Sam said. Ranma became a bit more relaxed and smiled. "Yeah. Going on my own was the best decision I ever made. Who knows what other bad things would have happened if I hadn't left him." Ranma's Earth... "ACHOO!" "ACHOO!" "ACHOO!" Kasumi, Nabiki and Akane all wondered why they suddenly sneezed when their father had gotten a call from an old friend and wanted discuss something about a matter of family honor. Pokemon world... As the sun began to set, the three decided to camp out for the night. As Ranma drew his Pokemon aside for some training, Jeanette and Sam were preparing dinner. An hour later, they went off to tell Ranma that it was time to eat. They stopped in their tracks as they came to another clearing to where Raiden, Bruiser, Razor and Sea Storm were sparring against each other. Wildfire was off to another side. It was then that they saw the Rapidash suddenly rear up and then bring both front hooves down to the ground. The ground trembled as flames leapt out and burned their way toward a large, dead tree. The flames blazed twin trenches into the soil, then slammed into the tree, causing it to explode into embers. The two stared in amazement as Wildfire neighed joyfully at his accomplishment. Raiden and the other Pokemon stopped in their sparring and applauded. Raiden then caught sight of the girls and waved to them. "Pikachu!" Both girls glanced to the Pikachu and were brought out of their momentary shock. Jeanette nodded to the electric rodent and asked. "Raiden, it's time to eat. Where's Ranma?" "Pika!" The Pokemon pointed to another clearing some fifty meters away. Sam and Jeanette nodded and headed over there. The Pokemon all went back to the campsite. When they got to the other clearing, they saw Wind Rider perched in a tree nearby, and Ranma standing in the middle of a large, crudely drawn spiral that he had made with a stick. "Hey Ranma, it's time to eat!" Sam called out as she and Jeanette approached him. "Be right there!" Ranma called back as he continued to stare at the spiral he had drawn. "What are you doing?" Jeanette asked. Ranma continued to stare at the spiral. "I'm trying to figure out how to do Wind Rider's Whirlwind Attack." "I thought you already knew how to do that." Sam asked. "Not really. My Wind Cannon and Hurricane Gust is based more on his Gust attack. They can only shoot off one direction. Think of how cool it would be to take out multiple targets if I was surrounded or something, right?" "I get it. Well, can't it wait until after dinner? We're all starving!" Jeanette asked. "I suppose. I'm not in any hurry." Ranma said, as he motioned for his Pidgeotto to follow them back to camp. "By the way. We saw your Rapidash blow up a tree from twenty meters away. It looked like a Fissure attack, but it had flames." Sam said. "Oh. Well that was Wildfire's new Fire Wave Fissure Attack." "Fire Wave Fissure?" Both girls repeated. "Yeah, I figured that Wildfire needed a ranged attack, so I combined a Ground Attack with his flames. Since he already knew how to Stomp, it was just a matter of revising it." "Cool! Do you think my Rapidash can learn that?" Jeanette asked. "We'll see." Ranma said as he looked over his shoulder at the spiral he had drawn. He then shrugged and thought. Not quite, for in the Amazon village on Ranma's world of origin... "ACHOO!" Cologne had wondered why she had suddenly sneezed when she contemplated teaching her great-granddaughter how to do the Hiryu Shoten Ha. (And I believe I have run that sneeze gag into the ground now) A few days later... "Well, this is it." Jeanette said as they came across a huge, Japanese style complex, with the dojo located in back. "So where do we go?" Ranma asked. Jeanette pointed to the open gate and gestured for her friends to follow. She then stopped as she saw something standing at the end of the entrance hall. Ranma moved forward and saw that it was a Pokemon. It looked like an oversized ball of purple fuzz with feet, antennae, and large red eyes like an insect's. *VENONAT, A PSYCHIC BUG POKEMON. IT USES ITS LARGE EYES LIKE RADAR TO SEE IN THE DARK. ITS ATTACKS INCLUDE PSI-BEAM, AND VARIOUS SPORES. * "Veno... nat." "Cool!" Ranma commented as he put away his Pokedex. Jeanette nodded as she said. "As we said before, Koga's gym specializes in Poison-type Pokemon. From here on in, you'll have to follow Venonat there." Ranma glanced at the Pokemon, then looked back at Jeanette in confusion. The girl smiled as she crossed her arms and shrugged. "That's the way I had to do it. Good luck." Ranma gave his companion a suspicious look, then decided that to follow her instructions, since she was here before. He and Raiden stepped forward toward Venonat, which in turn, turned around and bolted behind a corner. "Hey! Wait up!" "Pikachu!" As Ranma disappeared around the corner, Jeanette held up a hand to her mouth and giggled a bit. Sam frowned at her companion. "Okay Jeanette, what's going on?" "Why, whatever do you mean?" Jeanette replied with mock innocence. "Come on, spill it!" Sam demanded. Jeanette shrugged as she leaned forward and cupped a hand to her ear and listened. A moment later, she smiled as she heard a loud noise. THUNK! "OW!" Jeanette stifled a small laugh. "Sounds like Ranma had just run into one of the transparent walls." "What?" Jeanette's smile became even more mischievous as they heard another sound. THUMP! "YOW!" "That must have been the collapsible wall that leads to the edge of the cliff." "WHAT?!" FFFFT! THOK! THOK! THOK! THOK! "Well, I guess he just met up with Ia." "Who?" It was then that they heard Ranma shout out. "WHO THE HECK ARE YOU?!" Jeanette motioned to Sam to follow as she pushed at a sidewall, revealing a hidden passageway. "Come on. We better get in there and stop them before Ranma beats Ia senseless." At the Pokemon Gym... "Born in darkness, living in darkness. Such is the fate of the ninja. I am Ia, ninja warrior." Ranma was already in a defensive stance with Raiden also prepared at his feet. Behind him were eight shurikens that were imbedded into the wall. When the Pokemon trainer and martial artist had followed Venonat into the mansion, he had a sneaky suspicion that he was walking into some kind of setup. His suspicions were confirmed after running into a transparent wall, then almost falling over the cliffside when a part of the outer wall fell away. No sooner had he had gotten back on his feet and started chasing after Venonat again, he had found himself inside a large training area and a barrage of throwing stars were hurled at him. Unlike Ash Ketchum, Ranma's skills easily allowed him to dodge them. He made a neat flip forward before ending up in his battle stance. He found himself facing off against a green-haired girl of sixteen or so who was crouched before him. Her hair was done up in a kind of topknot ponytail, and she was wearing an electric pink outfit that Ranma recognized as belonging to that of the female ninja, or kunoichi. Although, he thought that the color was a bit loud and that her skirt a bit short, too short as he found himself staring at her long legs. He shook his head and focused on her face. A very attractive face at that with lively eyes and that cute nose and... looking downward, he noted that she had ample... Ranma shook his head again. Being with two attractive girls all the time and without his father made him become more aware of female attributes. Ia smiled as she stood up and said, "You dodged my little 'star' treatment. I'm impressed. You're as good a fighter as I've heard... Ranma Saotome." This caught Ranma's attention. "Hey, how do you know my name?" It was then that another panel opened up and Sam and Jeanette emerged from it. Jeanette smiled at Ranma, then bowed respectfully to Ia. "It's good to see you Ia." Ia smiled as she too bowed to her then went over to give her a hug. Ranma then got a bit steamed as he realized what had happened. "Wait a minute. You guys know each other? This was a setup?" Both girls gently laughed before Jeanette addressed him. "I'm sorry Ranma. But when I called my mother last week, she had informed me that she had spoken with Ia and Koga and told them all about you. This was all just a bit of a test. You remember back when you challenged my mother and that you had to defeat not only Bruiser, but also me? Well, the Fuscha Gym is also like that. They test both the Pokemon and their trainers." Ia nodded as her Venonat came up to stand beside her. She bent down to pet it. "This is a training camp after all, and unlike the last challenger, you didn't let your guard down. I'd be honored to have a Pokemon battle with you." Ranma was still a bit miffed at being manipulated, but then smiled as a Pokemon battle would be a perfect way to get back at her. "Okay, why not? I accept your challenge." As the two faced off in the dojo, Ia smirked. She knew about Ranma's Pokemon and how he battled from all the news media about him and what Jeanette's mother had told her. However, she had her own strategy as she said to Ranma, "One Pokemon for each of us. Choose yours now!" Ranma nodded. He realized that she was making him make the first choice. In the past, he had always let his opponent make the first choice of Pokemon, so he would choose a Pokemon that could defeat it. Now he would have to go first. He looked down at Raiden with a questioning expression. The electric rodent nodded his assent to let another Pokemon go. Ranma had gotten predictable by using Raiden all the time. Since the Fuscha gym specializes in Bug types and that Venonat was standing beside Ia. "All right, let's go... SEA STORM!" "Golduck!" The evolved form of Psyduck appeared in front of them. Ia nodded as she saw Sea Storm. "Ah, a water-type. Excellent against Bug Types, but... I select Electrode!" Ranma winced as he saw the Pokemon appear. He then looked at Jeanette, who was standing on the sidelines with Sam. "Sorry. I forgot to mention. Koga's gym may specialize in Bug and Poison types, but they also have a lot of Voltorbs and Electrodes." Ranma took out his Pokedex. *ELECTRODE, THE BOMB BALL POKEMON. THIS POKEMON IS THE EVOLVED FORM OF VOLTORB AND LIKE VOLTORB, IS OFTEN MISTAKEN FOR POKEBALLS. THEY ARE OF THE ELECTRIC TYPE AND THEIR STRONGEST ATTACK IS EXPLOSION. * "Uh oh." Ranma said as the Electrode began powering up. "Electrode! THUNDERBOLT!" Ia commanded. "Electrode!" Sea Storm however, wasn't going to just stand there and get hit. The Golduck swerved to the left to dodge the attack then did a neat flip to launch himself toward his opponent in a flying kick. The kick connected and Electrode was sent back several feet. However, impacting against its charged surface, caused Sea Storm to yelp as several hundred volts were conducted into him. The Golduck went sprawling. Ia smirked. "I see that you have taught your Golduck well in the martial arts. However, it is still at a disadvantage against an Electric type." Ranma smiled a bit. "Just makes it more challenging, doesn't it? And don't count Sea Storm out, just because he's a water type." It was at this point that Sea Storm got back to his feet and took another stance. "SEA STORM! KI BLAST!" "Golduck!" To Ia's amazement, the Golduck cupped its hands and then launched a blue bolt of energy at her Electrode, blasting it back a few more feet. The Pokemon became stunned at the unexpected attack and was reeling. It wobbled unsteadily and that was all Sea Storm needed. He engaged his Disable attack, which caused Electrode to be frozen on the spot. Then using his Confusion attack, he sent the ball Pokemon bouncing like a... well, like a ball. After ten successive slams, Sea Storm charged forward and delivered several punches and kicks. Since Electrode was dazed from the Confusion attack, it didn't have time to power up its electrical field. After kicking it back like a soccer ball, Sea Storm took a stance and looked back at his master. Ranma nodded as he decided to finish Electrode off. "SEA STORM! PSYCHIC TSUMNAMI!" The Golduck began powering up his ki and psychic energies as his battle aura flared. Jeanette and Sam knew where this was going. Ranma's Pokemon was about to trash the gym before facing the Gym Leader. As always, Ranma and his Pokemon tended to go overboard when in battle. Ia was amazed at the power that radiated from Ranma's Golduck. Despite the advantage that Electric Types had over Water Pokemon, it was clear that Ranma's Pokemon at a far higher level and that there was no way Electrode could withstand an attack as intense as this one. Apparently, Ranma's Pokemon weren't very concerned with the normal rules of Pokemon combat. "STOP!" Golduck stopped powering up as Ranma looked around at the sound of the voice. When a Voltorb dropped from out of nowhere and exploded, the entire room was filled with thick clouds of smoke. It was that moment that a shadowy figured appeared and stood beside Ia. When the dust cleared, Ranma saw the owner of the voice, Koga, of the Fuscha Gym. Ranma motioned for Sea Storm to join him and Raiden as he addressed the newcomer. "Koga, I presume?" Koga nodded as he turned to Ia. "Once again, you had underestimated your opponent, Ia. Recall your Electrode. This battle is over and I declare your opponent to be the victor." "But honored brother, I had not yet lost!" "And do you think your Electrode could have beaten that Golduck's attack, especially in its condition?" He gestured to the Electrode, who was still seeing stars. Ia became silent as she thought about it. She then nodded and reluctantly recalled her Pokemon. She then bowed to Ranma. "Thank you for the match." Ranma nodded in return and focused his attention on her brother. He could tell that Koga was a martial artist by the way he stood. Koga had dark hair in a spiky style and wore a red sash around his waist. He was dressed in a full body, ninja outfit. "I was very impressed by your Golduck's mental and ki control." Koga stated. "You have trained it well." Ranma smiled at the compliment as he held up a hand. "Yeah, well I'd like to think so." He then made a small ball of blue energy appear above the palm. Raiden nodded to Sea Storm as they both powered up their battle auras in demonstration. "In any case, I think you know why I'm here." "Indeed." Koga held out a scroll and let it roll down; revealing a heart-shaped badge attached to it. "You wish for this Soul Badge. However, I will not be so easy to defeat." "I wouldn't have it any other way." Ranma responded as he motioned for Raiden to step forward. "Let's battle!" Koga nodded as he held up a hand. "Would you mind if we battled outside? I would prefer to keep my training area intact." Ranma winced again and then gave a nervous laugh. "Oh, I guess you heard about those other gyms that I..." "Destroyed? Oh yes. I've heard a lot about the Gym Destroyer." Ranma could only scratch the back of his head as a huge sweatdrop appeared. He laughed nervously some more as he realized how close he and Sea Storm had come to destroying the gym. Meanwhile, on the outside of the gym, several shadowy figures were speaking to a portable communicator as Giovanni gave his instructions. "Now listen up. Thirteen Team Rocket members are now in jail because of that trainer, Ranma Saotome. I am getting very annoyed at all these bunglers and failures!" "Do not worry. We shall not fail!" One of them said. "Unlike those fools, we know only of success." The second one said. "Besides, we have a score to settle with the Gym Leader." Giovanni nodded. "Remember, I want either the trainer, his Pokemon or both brought back to headquarters, as well as any other Pokemon you can get from the Fuscha Gym." "Hai!" The group acknowledged. On the outside of the training area, Ranma faced off against his opponent Koga. Raiden stood beside his master, waiting for the order to step in if needed. "We shall have a three-on-three battle young man." Koga announced as he took out his first Pokeball. "A different Pokemon for each round and you will go first each time!" As the Gym Leader, Koga had the right to set up the parameters of the Pokemon challenge. "Sounds good to me." Ranma said. On the sidelines, Jeanette, Sam, Venonat and Ia stood by to watch. "This is going to be messy." Sam commented. "Ranma's Pokemon is going to cream Koga's." "Don't be too sure." Ia remarked. "My brother has been studying Ranma's exploits and he's been preparing for him. Ranma may have beaten my Electrode, but he's going to have his hands full." "Choose your first Pokemon!" Koga said. "All right. Let's go Wind Rider!" Ranma tossed out the Pokeball and his Pidgeotto emerged. "Pidgooooo!" Koga nodded as he took out his Pokeball. "I shall begin with... Venomoth!" Sam gasped. "Venomoth doesn't stand a chance against Ranma's Pidgeotto!" Ia looked over to Sam and asked. "Why do you say that? Venomoth's spore attacks have beaten normal bird types before." She remembered back to when Ash Ketchum had tried to use his Pidgeotto. "Yeah, but Wind Rider is anything BUT normal!" It was then that Ranma gave the order to attack. "WIND CANNON!" With a single flap of his wings, Ranma's Pidgeotto launched a blast of compressed air at the moth Pokemon. Now usually, Venomoth would have been slammed into the wall of the gym, but since they were outside, the Bug Pokemon simply rode out the attack and then gained altitude. It was soon flying above its opponent. Koga laughed a bit. "Now you can see another reason why I wanted us to fight outside, Saotome. Venomoth has far more room to fight and I have been training it to be maneuverable!" He then looked up at his Venomoth. "VENOMOTH! STUN SPORE!" "Venomoth!" The winged Bug Pokemon let loose with a huge cloud of spores that blanketed the area above where Wind Rider was flying. Ranma thought. He was going up against an opponent that used strategy. "WIND RIDER, CYCLONE SPIN BLAST OFF!" Wind Rider closed in his wings and focused his ki. The bird then shot forward, spinning like a drill and pulling the descending cloud behind in his jet wash. The bird then suddenly shot straight up like a rocket then made a tight loop in the air above where Venomoth was hovering. The spores blanketed the Bug Pokemon and caused it to become shaky in flight, making it difficult to stay aloft. "NOW, QUICK ATTACK... ANYTHING GOES STYLE!" "Pidgooo!" Koga watched in astonishment as Wind Rider began darting back and forth at Venomoth, delivering dozens of fast, high-impact strikes with the head, wings, talons and body. Ranma had modified the basic midair combat techniques of the Anything Goes to suit Wind Rider's Quick Attack. Now instead of a simple fast charge, the Pidgeotto could let loose with a series of rapid-fire strikes with each pass. When Wind Rider made the last pass, Venomoth was out cold and plummeted to the ground. Ranma gestured to his bird, which dived down after the Bug Pokemon and caught it before it could hit the ground. Ranma smiled as he watched his Pokemon set Koga's gently down in front of him, before flying back to land at his master's side. Sam gave a smug look to Ia. "See? I told you." Koga was impressed. No, he was absolutely awestruck as he recalled his Pokemon. He looked up to Ranma and nodded. "Magnificent! That was a very impressive display!" The Gym Leader had thought that Ranma's Pokemon would use its wind attacks, not physically overpower his Venomoth. "Thanks." Ranma replied. "Shall we get on with it?" He took out another Pokeball and tossed it. "Razor... go!" Ranma's Sandslash appeared. Koga nodded. "You have trained your Pokemon exceptionally well! But, you will find this one to be much more of a challenge! I select... Golbat!" "Golbat!" *GOLBAT, THE EVOLVED FORM OF ZUBAT. ATTACKING WITH ITS SHARP FANGS, THIS POKEMON CAN DRAIN 300 CUBIC CENTIMETERS OF BLOOD PER BITE. ITS STRONGEST ATTACK IS MEGA DRAIN. * Ia nodded. "Now my brother has the advantage. The Sandslash is very weak against air opponents." "Don't be too sure." Jeanette remarked. "Ranma usually finds a way to overcome the weaknesses of his Pokemon." "GOLBAT! SCREECH ATTACK!" The bat Pokemon let loose with a horrid screech. Razor was quite put off by the sound. Everyone held his or her ears as the sound made their ears ring. Everyone except Koga, who stood by calmly, unaffected by the sound. "DIG DOWN RAZOR!" Ranma called out. "Slash!" The Sandslash dived underground to escape the noise. As soon as the Golbat saw that its opponent was gone, it stopped screeching and searched for any sign of the mouse. The ground trembled as the Sandslash burrowed deep. Then, just below where Golbat was hovering, Razor suddenly burst out from the ground and knocked the bat upward with a Skull Bash. "ANYTHING GOES RAZOR!" While still in midair, Razor began the Saotome specialty of the Anything Goes. However, being slower than Raiden, plus the fact that Koga's Pokemon was a Flying Type, the Sandslash found out that midair combat was not as effective. Golbat dodged the first strike, then hit back with its feet, connecting with Razor's head. A double swipe with its wings sent Razor flying back to the ground. "Razor!" Ranma cried out as he saw his Pokemon land hard on his back. Koga then called out. "NOW! WING ATTACK!" The bat made several darting passes at the Sandslash and scored a few hits. Though they weren't much against Razor's tough hide, they did keep him from launching any attacks. Then as the Golbat made another pass, Koga called for its strongest attack. "MEGA DRAIN!" The Golbat opened up its mouth and latched onto Razor's unprotected neck. The Two began to glow as Golbat began sucking away Razor's energy like a Leech Seed. However, Razor wasn't going to go down without a fight and used one of his paws to slap away the Golbat. Golbat flapped away but was feistier than ever from the energy it had taken from Razor. Razor woozily got to his feet and took a shaky stance, more than ready to continue. Ranma however, knew that Razor was in no shape to fight. "No Razor, that's enough. You did your best, so come on back!" "Slash!" Razor shook his head. He wanted to get back at that flying vampire! Ranma sighed as he held up Razor's Pokeball and pleaded with him. "Please Razor... I don't want to see you hurt any more. Please... return." Razor looked at his master's sad expression and then reluctantly nodded. Ranma activated the recall mechanism and the Sandslash was recalled. Koga nodded as he said, "Your Pokemon has a great fighting spirit. It is a true warrior, but you were wise to recall your Sandslash. This round goes to me!" Ranma nodded, respecting his opponent. "I have to admit, that Golbat was good and it has shown me that Razor needs a bit more practice with dealing with air opponents." Koga agreed. "Yes, I had seen on the news of how your Pokemon were proficient in aerial attacks and decided that the best way to defeat that Anything Goes attack was to train my flying Pokemon in midair attacks as well." "Yeah, I noticed your Golbat's kicking and wing strikes. This is getting to be some match." "And now, it is time for our final round!" Koga held up his third Pokeball. Ranma nodded. Koga had planned for this Badge challenge in advance. By using different Pokemon per round, Ranma would always be facing off against a fresh Pokemon each time and wouldn't be able to decided which to battle Koga's, since he had to go first. On the sidelines, Sam and Jeanette were on edge. Ranma and Koga were tied at one round each and this fight would decide the winner. After witnessing Ranma lose the second round, they began to worry. Koga was certainly using good strategy. This last fight could go either way. Ranma pondered for a moment, then he looked down at Raiden. The electric mouse nodded up to him with an expression that told Ranma that he would respect any decision he made. Ranma thought for a few moments more, then realized that he had been using Raiden a lot and that would have made him predictable. Koga would have probably prepared for a fight against Raiden so... "Go... Bruiser!" "Machop!" Koga nodded. "An excellent choice! But let us see if you can stand up to mine! I choose... Hitmonlee!" Ranma blanched as he saw Koga's choice. Then again, it made sense that Koga would have a fighting type Pokemon as well. *HITMONLEE, ALSO KNOWN AS THE KICKING FIEND. ITS POWERFUL LEGS CAN REDUCE BOULDERS TO GRAVEL AND CAN DELIVER EXTREMELY FAST KICKS. * Ranma's eyes narrowed. This one was a lot faster than the Hitmonchan Bruiser had faced off a while ago and he could tell that this Pokemon had also done some serious training. He took a deep breath. He was committed and hoped that Bruiser's training had raised his level high enough. "BRUISER, MEGA PUNCH!" "Hitmonlee!" Hitmonlee suddenly let loose with a barrage of kicks that were almost too fast for the eyes to track. The Machop's Mega Punch was faster than normal, but not fast enough. Ranma winced as Bruiser took several hits to the side, but the Machop hung in until he spotted an opening. Grabbing the leg as it was extended, Bruiser began swinging around his opponent into a Seismic Toss. Slamming Hitmonlee to the ground, the Machop then charged up for another Mega Punch. When Hitmonlee sprang back up, Bruiser swung forward. Hitmonlee raised a leg to counter the punch, then crouched down and applied a leg sweep. Ranma's Machop went down, but rolled out of the way as Hitmonlee tried a Stomp attack. This was followed by another barrage of near-supersonic kicks. Bruiser was knocked back, but remained on his feet. "MOKO TAKABISHA!" Bruiser began focusing his ki and then launched a blast at Hitmonlee. However, the kicking Pokemon was faster and used its powerful legs to launch itself high into the air to avoid the attack. Bruiser leapt up after it. Hitmonlee reared back a foot and waited for the last possible moment before releasing a devastating reverse spin kick at Bruiser's head. The kick connected, but the Machop grasped the foot as it touched his face and smiled evilly. "Machop!" "All right!" Ranma exclaimed. Bruiser had tricked Hitmonlee into extending itself and now the Machop had one of the Kicking Fiend's legs in a bind. "ANYTHING GOES!" Machop pulled Hitmonlee forward and began landing punches and kicks on his stunned opponent, then finished it off by putting it into a Seismic Toss. The kicking Pokemon was slammed back down into the ground and Bruiser added the final touch. "MA... CHOP!" A blue ki blast fired down and impacted heavily onto Hitmonlee. There was a huge cloud of dust that formed around the downed Pokemon. When the dust settled down as Machop landed, Hitmonlee was in no condition to battle. "Hit... mon... lee." "MACHOP!" Bruiser raised an arm in triumph as Ranma and his group cheered. It had been a spectacular match. Koga nodded as he recalled Hitmonlee then approached Ranma. "You have defeated me. Your reputation as a skilled trainer has been acknowledged and I am pleased to give you this." Koga held out the scroll and unrolled it, revealing the Soul Badge. Ranma smiled as he took it and said, "You were a good opponent and that was a great match." "Yes, but it seems all my preparations wasn't enough." He then gestured to his Pokemon. "Young man, would consider trading any of your Pokemon?" Ia also walked up to them with Sam and Jeanette behind her. "I would gladly trade for some of them as well." She also gave Ranma an appraising look, much to the dismay of Sam and Jeanette. Ranma smiled as he shook his head. "Sorry but I wouldn't trade my best friends for anything, right guys?" Ranma looked at Raiden, Wind Rider and Bruiser. "Pikachu!" "Pidgooo!" "MA... chop?" "Is anything wrong Bruiser?" That was when Bruiser began to glow. "Uh oh! Looks like that last battle was intense enough! Bruiser's evolving!" Jeanette exclaimed. The small humanoid Pokemon began to grow in size and gained a lot more muscle mass. The arms and legs became longer as the body became robust and well defined. When the light faded, Bruiser was now taller and looked like a body builder, but was a bit leaner, due to its martial arts training. "Bruiser's a Machoke!" Sam said. "MACHOKE!" Ranma took out his Pokedex. *MACHOKE, THE EVOLVED FORM OF MACHOP. IT POSSESS GREATER STRENGTH AND CAN LIFT OVER TEN TONS. BECAUSE OF ITS INCREASED POWER, IT USUALLY REQUIRES A POWER BELT TO KEEP ITS STRENGTH UNDER CONTROL. IT IS ALSO KNOW TO BE MORE VAIN THAN MACHOP. * This was apparent as Ranma's Machoke struck a pose and flexed his biceps. Ranma smiled as he put away his Pokedex. "Don't let it go to your head Bruiser, just because you've evolved." He then held up a hand, which glowed with ki. The Machoke then stared at his trainer for a minute, as if comparing his new power to Ranma's. He then nodded as he still respected Ranma as his sensei and relaxed. Ranma nodded as he held up a Pokeball. "We'll see about getting you a Power Belt or train to have you control that new strength later. Good job anyway. Return..." It was then that that everyone heard laughter and a smokebomb was thrown. A huge net with weights on the edges came down on top of them. Ranma felt himself sticking to the net and realized that it was coated with some kind of adhesive. He then saw four shadowy figures appear from the clouds, dressed in ninja outfits, with letter R's printed on one side of their chests. (You knew this was coming!) "To blanket the world in darkness and devastation!" "To subject the people to ninja occupation!" "To make the world tremble of the shadow four!" "To take revenge on Koga and even the score!" "Leonardo!" "Donatello!" "Raphael!" "Michelangelo!" "Team Rocket Ninja! Tremble and fear us on sight!" "Surrender now, for you cannot win the fight!" "And if you resist, we shall extinguish your light." "For you cannot withstand the shadow four's might!" (Okay, I admit it. This has got to be one of THE lamest Team Rockets that I could come up with) Ranma moaned as he saw these people. Koga became very displeased when he saw them. He stood up and addressed the leader. "I had not expected to see the four of you again. Why have you returned?" Ranma turned to speak to Koga. "You know THESE morons?" "Indeed. They were all former disciples of mine, until I caught them stealing and selling the gym's Pokemon and family treasures. I had cast them out of this gym and had them arrested! You four are not welcome here!" "Hah!" Leonardo sneered as he held up a twin pair of katanas. "We have joined Team Rocket now and you are in no position to stop us from taking what we want!" Michelangelo nodded as he swung around a pair of nunchakus. "Our new master wishes for us to bring in your opponent, Ranma Saotome and his Pokemon, as well as all of yours, Koga." "I'm sure that he will be pleased when we bring in a new Machoke!" Raphael stated as he produced a pair of sais. "And there is nothing that you can do about it!" Donatello said as he swung a Bo staff. "Oh really?" Ranma said as he tapped the side of his belt of Pokeballs. "Oh Sea Storm." He then tossed the Pokeball through the gaps of the net. "Golduck!" Sea Storm formed outside of the net and launched a Disable attack, paralyzing the four ninjas. He then turned around and assessed the situation. "Use your Ice Beam to freeze the net." Ranma commanded. "Golduck!" A light blast of cold energy was applied and caused the net to become brittle. Ranma and the others easily broke out as it shattered apart. The waterfowl then turned to finish off the ninjas, but Ranma placed a hand on his shoulder. "Turn off your Disable Attack." Ranma said as he cracked his knuckles. "I feel like kicking some Team Rocket butts!" The Golduck did as he was told and no sooner could the ninjas move... WHAM! CRUNCH! WHAP! OW! SLAM! POW! OOH! KAPOW! KICK! YOW! OWIE! WE GIVE! WHAT? KABOOM! WHACK! POW! WHAM! CRASH! BOOM! SLAP! CRACK! YOWZA! MANGLE! WHOA! Ia, Koga, Sam and Jeanette all had huge sweat drops on their heads as they watched the carnage. "Brother?" "Yes Ia?" "I'm not so certain which is more dangerous. Ranma's Pokemon or their trainer." Some time later... Ranma shook Koga's hand as he and his companions were preparing to leave for their next destination. "It was an honor meeting with you, Ranma Saotome." Koga said. "Thanks. And Team Rocket?" Ranma asked. "Do not worry. I have already called Officer Jenny to pick them up. What's left of them, that is." "Okay. Well it was great going up against your Pokemon and maybe we'll have that match between us, eh?" "I shall be looking forward to it. In any case, I believe that it is time that you were on your way. So where will you be going?" "I don't know." Ranma replied as he absently stroked his Pikachu's ears. Raiden was perched on his shoulder. "I've got the required eight badges for the Indigo League, but since it won't start until next year, I don't have any idea of where to go from here." It was then that Ia appeared with a carrying bag and said, "Why not head out west." "West?" "Yes. That is where all the newest Pokemon discoveries have been made and that is also where they are holding the Johto League." "Really? Hmmm, why not? Sounds like a good place as any to go to." It was then that Ranma noticed the bag she was carrying. "Er, what's with the luggage?" "Oh this? I've decided to go to the Johto League as well, and since you're going, I guess that makes us traveling companions, right?" She gave him a playful wink. "I'm sure that I can learn a lot from you." "A marvelous idea!" Koga affirmed. "I'm certain that you'll be good company for my sister." "WHAT?!" Sam and Jeanette gasped. They then gave the ninja girl angry, jealous glares. "You can't just invite yourself along with us!" Sam said angrily. "That's right!" Jeanette agreed. Sure Ia was a friend, but Ranma was hers! "Well, I don't it's your decision to make, is it?" Ia said. "I don't think Ranma would mind, would you?" She gave him a very cute look and sided up to him. Raiden gave another sigh as he saw Ranma beginning to falter to his weakness. "Pikachu." ^^Here we go again. ^^ Later... Ranma walked up the pathway of a hill that overlooked a meadow and stopped when he reached the top. A few meters behind him, Sam, Jeanette and Ia were ignoring each other as walked toward where Ranma was. The martial artist took in a deep breath as he watched sun dip toward the horizon. "Johto League... Here we come!" "Pikachu!" To be continued... Author's notes Wow! That was a long one! In any case, the long-awaited encounter between Ranma and Ash draws near as Ranma heads out to compete in the Johto League. The following are scenes for the next chapter. Scene I "Oh no! My Water Stone is broken!" Scene II "Ranma, is that... you?" Scene III "Hi there! My name's is Brock and I just wondering if..." WHAM! Scene IV Pikachu Vs Raiden!