Fist of the Pikachu

< >: Thoughts
* *: Pokedex responses

                          Chapter Five
                  Battle! Ranma's First Gym Challenge

     "Hey! Look at that!"
     "Is that a Ponyta?"
     "No, it's a Rapidash!"
     "Awesome! I've never seen a Rapidash before!"
     "Wow! Check it out!"
     "He must be a great Pokemon trainer to be able to train a 
Rapidash!"
     Ranma became very nervous as he rode Wildfire into Viridian City. 
Crowds began to form around them and little children were running 
up to try and pet the flame Pokemon. Although he was proud of his 
new Pokemon, his fire-horse was drawing way too much attention. 
Even in the Pokemon world, a horse with a fiery mane and tail in an 
urban population center was about as subtle as a terrorist bombing. 
Ranma became even more edgy as he saw a motorcycle cop approach 
them. Wildfire, already nervous at being crowded, reared back 
slightly as the female officer came to a stop in front of them.
     "Whoa! Settle down Wildfire! Easy does it!" Ranma pulled back 
slightly on the reins while Raiden tightened his grip on the backpack 
and waited for Wildfire to calm down. At the moment, Wind Rider 
was in his Pokeball, resting. Though Ranma did not like to use those 
devices, he knew of their benefits. They did make transporting 
Pokemon a lot easier and helped them recover from injuries. In any 
case, with the exception of his Pikachu, his Pokemon didn't really 
mind them.
     When the flame Pokemon calmed down, Ranma looked down at 
the uniformed cop as she dismounted her motorcycle, which had a 
sidecar attached to it. She was about his height and had blue hair. 
She had a very attractive figure and was wearing a skirt-style uniform 
that resembled the uniform of the French police. Ranma had to admit 
that she was pretty cute. Then again, Ranma had not seen many girls 
in his life, either on his training journey with Genma or his travels in 
this world. She began waving off the crowd and said in firm, 
commanding tones for them to disperse. When the crowd backed off, 
she turned to Ranma and his Rapidash.
     "Hold it right there buster! You can't just ride that Rapidash into 
the city. You're going to have to put him in his Pokeball." 
     Ranma flinched at the statement. "Uh... well... I'm sorry officer...?"
     "Officer Jenny of the Viridian City Police Department. I'm going to 
have to insist that you put that horse in its Pokeball. Either that, or 
bring him to the Pokemon center."
     "Why? I mean... my Rapidash isn't doing anything wrong, is it?" 
     "No, but he's going to cause some major traffic problems if you 
ride him into the city. Besides, the tourist season is really high at this 
time, even though the Pokemon League competition is over for this 
year." 
     <Pokemon League? What's that?>
     "Your Rapidash would also be a target for Pokemon robbers." 
Jenny continued.
     "Pokemon robbers?"
     "Pika?" Raiden was also intrigued.
     "We've been having some reports of Pokemon disappearing from 
the area and your Rapidash would certainly be on a robber's list. Now 
are you going to comply, or do I have to take you in for inciting a 
disturbance?"
     The pig-tailed martial artist and Pokemon trainer looked down at 
the policewoman. Her expression was one of determination, and if 
there was one thing that Ranma's training trip had taught him, it was 
not to get involved with the police. Then again, it was usually 
Genma's fault that they were constantly on the run. 
     Ranma sighed as he dismounted and took out a Pokeball. "Sorry 
about this Wildfire. I'll have you out again as soon as possible."
     Wildfire neighed in understanding. It was just as well. The city 
was too crowded for his taste and all these people made him nervous. 
He preferred wide-open spaces.
     "Wildfire, return!" A slender red beam was emitted from the 
activator button of the device and caused the Rapidash to be 
transported into the Pokeball. Ranma replaced the Pokeball back onto 
his belt and turned to face Officer Jenny. "Now am I free to go?"
     "Let's see some identification first."
     Ranma nodded as he brought out his Pokedex and opened it up to 
display the identification the Professor Oak had prepared for him.
     *RANMA SOATOME. REGISTERED POKEMON TRAINER FROM 
PALLET TOWN. REFER TO PROFESSOR OAK FOR MORE INFORMATION."
     The policewoman nodded as she assessed him. "I figured that you 
must be a trainer. You're free to go." Officer Jenny went back to her 
motorcycle. The crowds began to scatter as the people resumed their 
own lives. It was at that time that Ranma noticed something that was 
in the sidecar of Jenny's cycle. It popped its head out in the open 
and it looked like a cross between a dog and a lion. It let off short 
barks and growls and Ranma took out his Pokedex.
     *GROWLITH. A PUPPY POKEMON OF THE FIRE ELEMENT. IT HAS A 
PLAYFUL DEMEANOR AND IT PROTECTS ITS TERRITORY BY DRIVING 
AWAY ENEMIES WITH BARKS AND BITES.*
     Officer Jenny looked back at Ranma. "Hey there. Are you here to 
challenge the gym leader at the new Viridian Gym?"
     "New Viridian Gym?" Ranma didn't get it.
     Officer Jenny was still under the impression that Ranma knew what 
she was talking about as she kick-started her motorcycle. "Ever since 
it was rebuilt and put under a new leader, a lot of Pokemon trainers 
have been coming here to win an Earth Badge. So far, nobody has 
been able to come close to giving the gym leader a good battle. Well, 
good luck and enjoy your visit to Viridian City." The officer smiled as 
she revved her cycle. 
     "Hey, now wait a minute! What are you...?"
     Officer Jenny was already down the road and gone before Ranma 
could finish. Raiden's trainer was standing amid a small cloud of dust 
that was kicked up with Jenny's departure.
     "Pokemon League? Gym leader? Earth Badge? Now what was all 
that about?"
     Raiden sighed as he remembered just how unaware Ranma was 
with basic rules of Pokemon trainers. He tapped Ranma's shoulder 
and gestured to one of his pockets. "Pika! Pika pi chu!"
     "Huh? You know something about all this Raiden?"
     Raiden nodded as he continued to point to the pocket. Ranma 
looked down then reached into the pocket to pull out a small slip of 
paper, which had a telephone number on it.
     "Professor Oak's number? What are you...?" He then realized 
what Raiden was trying to tell him. "Oh! I should ask Professor Oak 
about the Pokemon League, right?"
     "Pika!" Raiden replied. It would be far easier to let the scientist tell 
him, since it would take too long for the electric rodent to try and 
explain. It was pretty hard to communicate when neither spoke the 
same language.
     Ranma nodded as he said, "I'll call him as soon as we get to a 
Pokemon center."
     Fortunately for Ranma, he had saved up a sizable amount of 
money from his time with Professor Oak and had opened up an 
account. After going to various stores to stock up on supplies, 
Ranma and his Pikachu arrived at the Viridian City Pokemon center. 
A few minutes later, he was speaking to Professor Oak on the 
videophone while his Pokemon were getting a checkup and being 
refreshed.
     "Hi Ranma. It's been a while since I last heard from you. How are 
you?"
     "I'm doing okay Professor. I'm calling from the Viridian City 
Pokemon center."
     "Hmmm. It took you quite a while to get there. My grandson Gary 
and his rival Ash only took about three or four days to get to 
Viridian."
     "Hey, remember, I'm new here. Besides, I kind of got... 
sidetracked."
     "Oh? Did you catch any Pokemon?"
     "Well, you... could say that. Though I don't think 'caught' would 
be the right word." It was then that an attractive nurse with pink hair 
done up in two loops behind her head came up to Ranma. "Hold on a 
second Professor." He turned to the nurse, whose name was Joy (like 
you didn't know that). "Yes?"
     The nurse smiled as she said, "Excuse me. But your Pokemon are 
now recharged and ready for you."
     Ranma nodded as he looked down and saw that she was holding a 
tray. The two Pokeballs that contained Wind Rider and Wildfire were 
on it and Raiden was beside Nurse Joy's feet. 
     "Pikachu." Raiden waved to his trainer before hopping up to the 
console of the videophone. He then waved to the image of Professor 
Oak. "Pika!"
     "Hello Raiden." The scientist turned his attention back to Ranma. 
"So Ranma, is there a reason for this call?"
     "Yes." Ranma took the two Pokeballs from Nurse Joy and nodded 
his thanks. 
     "I must say, you are the first trainer to bring in a Rapidash to this 
center." Nurse Joy commented with a smile. "You must have some 
special talent to have caught and trained a Pokemon like that."
     "Uhhh... I guess you could say that." Ranma was unsure of the 
compliment. 
     When the young Pokemon nurse left, he turned back to Oak.
     "Did I hear correctly?" Oak asked in surprise. "You have a 
Rapidash?"
     "Uhhh... yeah." Ranma admitted reluctantly. "I got him a few days 
ago. He was mostly the reason why it took me so long to get to 
Viridian City. I also picked up a Pidgey along the way."
     "Well, I must say, I'm impressed! You've just started your 
Pokemon journey and you've already caught a very powerful and 
rare Pokemon. A Ponyta is hard enough to catch and train, but you 
have gotten its evolved form. Congratulations!"
     "Uh thanks. Anyway, I want to ask you something."
     "What would you like to know?"
     "Professor, I want to know about what the Pokemon League is all 
about. Ever since I got here, that's all I've been hearing. Other 
trainers at the center have been talking about things like gym leaders, 
badges and stuff like that."
     "You don't know? Oh, well of course you don't. You are new to 
our world. In any case, the Pokemon League is made of the top 
Pokemon trainers and masters. In order to compete in the Pokemon 
League, you have to earn eight gym badges and have at least six 
Pokemon."
     Ranma frowned slightly. He had gone through a lot when he had 
gotten Raiden, Wind Rider and Wildfire. Now he needed three more? 
"So, how do I earn gym badges?"
     "Well, you earn a badge each time you defeat a gym leader's 
Pokemon. Come to think of it, I recall that Viridian's gym had been 
rebuilt and is under a new gym leader. If you want to enter next year's 
League competition, then that would be a good place to start."
     "Yeah... I guess so."
     "Well, it's been good talking to you Ranma. I have to get back to 
my work now, so take care. Good luck."
     After Ranma hung up, he and Raiden went to sit down on a nearby 
bench. 
     "Well Raiden, what do you think?"
     "Pika!" Raiden replied in excitement. It was obvious that he 
wanted to compete in the Pokemon League. 
     Ranma however, wasn't quite as enthusiastic. It seemed that the 
people of this world relied heavily on their Pokemon. For a martial 
artist like Ranma, it didn't seem right to let Raiden and the others do 
the work. Challenging another person to a match and then letting his 
Pokemon battle for him made him seem lazy. How was he supposed to 
get any better if he didn't get to challenge anyone? Once again, his 
doubts about being a Pokemon trainer came back to him.
     "Pikachu!"
     Ranma looked down at his electric mouse and saw Raiden's 
determined expression. "You really want to challenge the gyms and 
go into this Pokemon League, right?"
     "Pika!"
     Ranma considered his friend, then sighed. Raiden had been patient 
with him with his reluctance to catch Pokemon. So far, his only 
battles had been with Wind Rider and that Golem. Ranma had to 
admit that the electric rodent's skills were impressive and could get 
better with more challenges. The martial artist was especially proud of 
how far Raiden had progressed in the last few months. As his sensei, 
it was his job to train him and all of his other Pokemon to reach their 
full potential. With that in mind, he nodded to his Pikachu. "Okay. 
We're going to go get a few more supplies and do some training. I do 
have to start training Wildfire and Wind Rider as well. After a few 
days, maybe in a couple of weeks, we'll challenge that gym. That 
sound good to you?"
     "Pikachu!" Raiden smiled and raised a paw in agreement.

A day later...
     Wildfire and Ranma were in an open field on the outskirts of 
Viridian City. Ranma was in a horse stance, while Wildfire observed 
with fascination as his trainer glowed with a blue aura. On the 
sidelines, Wind Rider and Raiden watched as well During their trip to 
Viridian, Ranma had also demonstrated his curse to his new Pokemon 
and had his Pikachu explain it to them. A nice thing about Pokemon 
was that despite the different sounds that they made, they all 
understood each other. After a short while, Wind Rider and Wildfire 
accepted the fact that Ranma had a partially controllable evolving 
process. 
     "You see Wildfire? This is my ki. What you are seeing is the 
energy that is made by all living things. When you get control of it, 
you can use it to boost your physical skills. Watch!"
     Ranma made a standing jump to a height of thirty feet and landed 
on a branch of a tall tree. Wildfire let off a surprised neigh as his eyes 
widened at the sight. Ranma smiled as he continued with the 
demonstration. He leapt off the branch, twisted in midair and seemed 
to hover for a few seconds as he threw several punches and kicks. 
When gravity took hold of him, he used several trees to rebound off 
and darted about the area at amazing speed. When he landed on the 
ground, Ranma focused on nearest tree and delivered a straight kick 
to it.
     To Wildfire's surprise, and to Ranma's, there was a large snapping 
sound as the thick wood buckled under the force of impact. The tree 
trunk was more than three feet in diameter. Ranma and his Pokemon 
stood in awe as the tall tree shuddered and then it came crashing 
down as if a lumberjack had felled it.
     Ranma was in a bit of a shock. <Huh? Now that wasn't supposed 
to happen!> He had expected a large chunk of the wood to break off. 
He had not expected to kick through the entire tree. <I didn't even 
kick that hard! All I did was use my usual Stonebreaker technique 
and...> It was then that Ranma thought back to the months that he 
had trained with Raiden to control his ki. He had learned to generate 
his ki as a projectile attack and convert it to electricity. Raiden had 
learned to do the same as well as increase his agility and voltage 
output. Then Ranma remembered all the times he sparred with Raiden 
and realized something.
     <Well I'll be damned! All those practice sessions with Raiden 
must have given me better ki control and increased my physical 
strength and speed!> Ranma smiled as he came to a conclusion. 
<And here I was worried about not getting any practice! Training 
with my Pokemon WILL help me keep my skills! The better my 
Pokemon get, the better I'll get! Maybe being a Pokemon trainer isn't 
all that bad!>
     The Rapidash was stomping his feet in excitement while Wind 
Rider flapped his wings, which caught Ranma's attention. "So you 
want to learn that stuff?"
     The flame horse nodded enthusiastically. It could see the 
advantages of such training. The Pidgey also wanted to learn. Ranma 
looked at his Pokemon and started thinking about how he could train 
them in using their ki to enhance their own abilities. In doing so, he 
might gain some new attacks as well. <Hmmm, Wind Rider can't learn 
punches and kicks, but maybe I get him to increase his aerial evasion 
techniques and those wind attacks of his. Wildfire can kick, and that 
horn of his could come in handy. His biggest asset is speed and 
those flame attacks. Maybe I can increase his endurance too. 
Hmmm... this just might work.>

Three days later...
     Ranma's Rapidash was blazing along the fields near Viridian City 
as Ranma watched him from a ridge. In his hand was a stopwatch. 
When Wildfire passed a large boulder, he clicked the stopwatch and 
checked Wildfire's time.
     <Hmmm. He beat yesterday's time by more than three seconds! 
Not bad! Looks like those ki-focusing techniques I taught him are 
working! I would say that his top speed is now about 130 mph!>
     Like Raiden and other Pokemon, Wildfire had a subconscious 
ability to harness and utilize his ki. It was relatively a simple matter for 
him to draw it forth and use it to not only to form those living flames, 
but also to boost his physical abilities. Wildfire trotted toward his 
master and Ranma noticed that the fire-horse had a thin blue aura 
about it. 
     Ranma looked over to the side to see Raiden and Wind Rider 
sparring. Raiden was leaping about and the Pidgey was doing his 
best to dodge. The Pikachu would only use gentle taps on his 
opponent, which the bird would try to avoid. The pig-tailed martial 
aartist noted that Pidgey was receiving fewer hits than yesterday. 
Every now and then, he would see a faint blue glow about the flying 
Pokemon.

A few more days later...
     Wind Rider's battle aura glowed more brightly as it dove at Ranma. 
Ranma moved ever faster as he leapt about and tried a few punches 
and kicks. After a few minutes, the Pidgey pulled back and began 
flapping his wings rapidly. Ranma had frequently experienced the 
gust attack before during these training sessions and thought he 
could handle them. He was genuinely surprised when the wind hit 
him with more force than usual. He found himself flying backward 
and was thrown twenty feet further than what he normally traveled 
when hit by a gust attack.
     Wind Rider flew to his trainer when he landed on his rear on the 
ground. It landed before him and looked concerned. Ranma shook his 
head to clear it, then looked at the diminutive bird. He smiled as he 
assessed Wind Rider's power level. 

A few more days...
     Wildfire was surprised to see his trainer running at a fast pace 
behind him. The flame Pokemon could see Ranma was glowing with a 
bright blue aura as he was going at about 35 miles per hour. Since 
this was an exercise in endurance, the Rapidash wasn't going at much 
more than 50 mph. With a whinny, Wildfire doubled his speed and 
shot forward.
     Ranma saw his Pokemon pull away and tried to increase his speed. 
His aura began glowing even brighter as he stained to keep the 
Rapidash in sight. He knew that there was no way he could beat 
Wildfire in a foot race, but he still strained to achieve greater speeds. 
He concentrated even harder, trying to get more ki flowing through 
his limbs. He could feel his body almost overflowing with power. He 
was so intent on catching up to Wildfire, that he didn't notice that his 
aura had become more intense and that it was changing color. 
Suddenly, it flared like a sunburst and Ranma shot forward at better 
than 65 mph!
     Ranma's Rapidash was already waiting at the stopping point near 
the large boulder with Raiden and Wind Rider. They had not been 
expecting Ranma to arrive for another few minutes. Imagine their 
surprise when they saw him shooting toward them like a speeding 
car. His aura was now a deep crimson and was trailing behind him 
like... flames?
     Ranma couldn't believe that he was traveling so fast but then he 
saw the finish line. Leaning back, he tried to thrust out his feet to 
slow down. However, as he was unused to traveling so fast, he 
stumbled forward. Instinctively powering up his aura to deaden the 
impact, Ranma curled in his body to roll with the fall. His body hit the 
ground and bounced a couple of times before he was able to skid to a 
halt. The Pokemon had to dive for cover as he kicked up a lot of dirt 
and plowed a trench into the countryside. 
     When the dust clouds settled down, Raiden and the others slowly 
moved forward. There, in a deep ditch was their trainer, who was 
sprawled on his back and had several deep cuts and bruises. His aura 
had become a thin blue halo and Ranma looked totally exhausted.
     "Pikachu?"
     Ranma looked toward his electric rodent and gave him a weak 
smile. "Okay. So... I need to get better brakes."

A week later...
     Ranma nodded as Wind Rider stood in front of the large boulder. 
The Pidgey took off and then began flapping his wings furiously. He 
began circling the boulder, creating a cyclone of wind. The air current 
began buffeting the rock. Slowly, but surely, the Pidgey's Whirlwind 
began to pick the mass of granite off the ground. The other Pokemon 
and their trainer smiled as Wind Rider redoubled his efforts and 
began beating his wings even faster. Soon, the massive rock was at 
least three feet off the ground. It was then that Ranma saw that the 
surface was starting to show cracks and fissures. He looked up and 
saw that Wind Rider was glowing a bright blue. It was then that they 
all heard a loud sound and they looked up to see a large crack 
appearing near the center of the boulder. Several smaller cracks 
showed up in spider web patterns as Wind Rider increased the air 
pressure. The rock shook and trembled and fragments of it started 
falling to the ground.
     "Get back!" Ranma cried as he held out an arm to push his 
Pokemon back.
     It was at that moment that the Pidgey let off a wail as the air 
currents caused the boulder to explode. The shards of rock crumbled 
before them and landed in a heap of rubble, causing a large dust 
cloud to appear. Raiden and Wildfire were amazed while Ranma felt a 
surge of pride in his bird.
     Wind Rider fell to the ground totally exhausted from his effort. 
Ranma raced forward and caught him before he hit the soil and 
cradled the bird in his arms. Its aura faded away as the Pidgey gasped 
for air. It took a few minutes before his breathing returned to normal. 
Ranma looked at the pile of rock that was once a one-ton boulder, 
then smiled down at his Pidgey.
     "Way to go Windy!"
     The Pidgey looked up at his trainer and gave him a weak, but 
happy chirp. Then suddenly, it happened. 
     Ranma was just kneeling down to set his Pidgey on the ground 
and check on his health, when the bird suddenly began glowing with 
an intense white light. Ranma almost dropped Wind Rider as the 
flying Pokemon began squirming and tried to spread its wings. The 
pig-tailed martial artist's eyes opened wide as he realized what was 
going on.
     <Wind Rider's evolving!>
     The bird suddenly jumped out of his arms and landed on its feet. It 
then spread its wings and let off a squawk.
     "PIDGOOOOOOO!"
     The bird suddenly increased to more than four times his size and 
took on a more robust form. When the light faded, Wind Rider the 
Pidgey was replaced by Wind Rider the Pidgeotto. 
     Ranma whistled as he admired the new colors of the tail feathers 
and crest plumage. The Pidgeotto was also glowing with renewed 
energy as it powered up its battle aura. He then took off and made a 
series of loops, dives and turns, testing out its new form. He saw a 
large tree nearby and then swept his wings forward. His battle aura 
flared and to the amazement of all those present, the wings released a 
huge, concentrated blast of air that slammed into the tree and caused 
it to topple over. Unlike his usual gust attack, the air was focused like 
a solid object and struck like a battering ram.
     <Wow! Wind Rider can now fire off compressed air blasts instead 
of just flapping his wings to create high-speed winds! Looks like he's 
learned to use his ki in a more efficient manner! Cool! Maybe I can 
learn that too!>
     "Pika..." Raiden was also impressed as was Wildfire.
     Ranma gestured to his Pokemon and waved to him. Pidgeotto saw 
him and swooped down to land beside Ranma. He leaned forward and 
nuzzled his trainer.
     *PIGEOTTO. THE EVOLVED FORM OF PIDGEY. IT HAS A FIERCER 
PERSONALITY THAN THE PIDGEY'S AND ITS GUST ATTACK IS ESPECIALLY 
STRONG.* 
     "I don't doubt that." Ranma commented as he put away his 
Pokedex. 
     "Pidgooo!"

Several more days later...
     Ranma continued training his Pokemon as well as building his own 
skills. Wildfire was eventually able to achieve speeds of over 180 
mph, 
developed some new ki-based attacks and had built up a resistance 
to the effects of water. Ranma had thought to build up Wildfire's 
defense against water-type Pokemon and because of his curse. 
Despite the fact that that Water Stone he wore negated the effect of 
moisture temperature, Ranma still found it odd that water would 
always find him. He had been through several gender changes before 
he had gotten the pendant, and it wouldn't do for that to happen 
frequently unless his fire Pokemon could adapt. 
     He had also learned to harness his new running technique and 
called it the Rapidash Run. Although he couldn't match Wildfire's 
overall running speed, he could still achieve short bursts of speed of 
up to 70 mph. He made a note not to use it too often as it quickly tired 
him out. He had learned that he could manipulate his ki to resemble 
the living flame of his fire-horse, which added to the power of his 
kicks and punches.

Yet another couple of days...
     "Do that again Windy."
     The Pidgeotto nodded as he began focusing his ki and spread his 
wings. The bird then brought his wings down in a swooping motion 
and Ranma could heard the brief sound of air being sucked in before 
it blasted forward and struck another large boulder.
     THOOM!!!
     The blast of high-pressure air sent the boulder flying off the 
ground. The huge mass of granite was pushed back at least twenty 
feet before it settled down on the ground. Ranma noted that there 
was a large hole in the face of the rock that was more than a foot in 
diameter and three feet deep! Cracks began to appear from the hole 
and larger pieces of the rock fell away.
     Ranma whistled in appreciation over Wind Rider's new attack. 
Raising his arms above him like wings, he began focusing his own ki. 
After gathering his energies, he brought his arms down in the same 
manner as his Pokemon had done. However, the only wind current he 
could generate was a faint breeze.
     Ranma sighed as he raised his arms to try again. <This is going to 
take a while.>

Seventeen days since they had started training...
     Ranma was eventually able to learn how his new Pigeotto was able 
to generate the blasts of compressed air and called it his Wind 
Cannon technique. He wasn't able to generate as much force as his 
Pidgeotto, but he could still cause some serious damage with it. Wind 
Rider eventually learned several new fighting maneuvers and his 
normal attacks had gotten stronger.
     Raiden had developed some new electric and speed attacks, which 
he shared with Ranma. The pigtailed martial artist had become very 
pleased at how much he and his companions had progressed. When 
it was more than two and half weeks since they arrived, the trainer 
and his Pokemon were ready to face off against the gym leader of 
Viridian City.
     Meanwhile, in a secret office somewhere in the world, Giovanni, 
the leader of the terrorist organization Team Rocket, was petting his 
Persian when he got a call on his communications console. He was 
still brooding over the destruction of Team Rocket's main 
headquarters and the continuous bumbling of Jesse, James and 
Meowth. He was especially upset over the loss of his most prized 
Pokemon, Mewtwo.
     A flunky appeared on the screen and said, "Sir. For the last few 
days, we've been detecting some strange power readings coming 
from the outskirts of Viridian City."
     "Is it Mewtwo?" Giovanni asked. He had set up several energy-
tracking stations to monitor for any signs of his missing secret 
weapon.
     The flunky shook his head. "No sir. The readings we're getting 
aren't anything like Mewtwo's psychic energies. They seemed to be 
more along the lines of fighting-type Pokemon. They're very 
powerful though. And we're also detecting some other strange 
emanations that we can't identify."
     "Hmm. You say that it's near Viridian City?"
     "Yes sir. Shall I contact Jessie and James to investigate?"
     "No, I don't want those two idiots! After that Mega-Transporter 
Pokeball fiasco and the way they bungled stealing the blueprints at 
Professor Oak's laboratory, I don't need any more failures!"
     "Then who should we send?"
     "Contact Butch and Cassidy. Unlike Jesse and James, those two 
have a better record for success. They're in Viridian right now, 
stealing some Pokemon for me. Have them stake out the new gym and 
its leader. Ever since we sold the property rights to Sam Ryker, that 
gym has been especially busy. If those sources of energy have 
anything to do with Pokemon, then that is where it will most likely 
turn up. If there are any new kinds of powerful Pokemon in the area, I 
want them. Is that understood?"
     "Yes sir."
     Back in Viridian City at the front of the Pokemon gym, Ranma took 
a deep breath and looked down at his Pikachu. Wildfire and Wind 
Rider were in their Pokeballs. He had learned from the locals that the 
gym leader's name was Sam Ryker.
     "You ready to get that Earth Badge?"
     "Pikachu!" Raiden responded as he and Ranma walked up the 
stairs to the front doors of the gym. The building was about the size 
of a high school gymnasium and had a large sign above the doors, 
which read Viridian City Pokemon Gym in bold letters. In smaller 
letters, was the message that it was under new management.
     Ranma nodded as he knocked on the door. A moment later, the 
doors automatically opened to allow them inside.
     Hidden behind some hedges on one side of the gym, two members 
of Team Rocket watched as a trainer and his Pikachu entered the 
building.
     "Looks like another trainer is going to go up against that new gym 
leader." Butch commented.
     Cassidy nodded as she motioned for her partner to follow her. At 
their feet, their Raticate trotted alongside. "Remember what the boss 
told us. We're to check out all Pokemon trainers and see if any of 
their Pokemon are worth stealing."
     "I still say we should steal the gym leader's Pokemon too."
     "Don't be stupid like those dopes, James and Jessie!" Cassidy 
chided. "We've already got the police looking for us. If we steal the 
city gym leader's Pokemon, then we'll draw even more attention to 
ourselves. Besides, there have been rumors that a trainer had entered 
the city on a Rapidash. That is one Pokemon that the boss would 
love to have!"
     Butch nodded as he and his partner found a window that gave 
them a good view of the battle area of the gym. They settled down 
into comfortable positions to watch the upcoming battle.
     Inside the gym, Ranma and Raiden entered a large space, which 
resembled a basketball court. In the center, a line was drawn to 
separate the two halves of the battle area and a large circle in the 
center that was in the image of a Pokeball. The area was dimly lit and 
Ranma had his senses on alert for any surprises. It was then that the 
main lights turned on and the place was lit up like a stadium.
     "Hello?"
     Ranma and his Pikachu turned to see a young girl and a man stand 
on the opposite end of the field. The girl was about Ranma's age, was 
about an inch shorter than Ranma and had blue hair done up in a 
long ponytail that was waist-length. She had green eyes and a 
confident expression on her face. She was dressed in a white T-shirt, 
blue jeans and hi-tops. She had a bit of a tomboyish look about her, 
but Ranma couldn't help but notice that she was pretty cute. Her 
figure was slender and Ranma could tell that she exercised regularly.
     The man beside her looked to be around his mid-forties and Ranma 
easily noticed the resemblance between the two and assumed that 
the man was the girl's father. He was dressed similarly to the girl's 
attire and was built like a football player. 
     "Excuse me." Ranma said as he and Raiden approached the two. 
Ranma looked directly at the older man, assuming that he was the 
gym leader. "I'm looking to challenge the gym leader Sam Ryker? Are 
you him?"
     The man shook his head and said, "Nope. My name's Joe Ryker. 
I'm not the gym leader. I retired from being a Pokemon gym leader a 
while back. What you want is my kid, Sam."
     "Okay, so where is he?"
     The girl crossed her arms and looked up and down Ranma, 
assessing him. She then gave off a 'hmpf' and turned to her father. 
"This guy's just a beginner, Dad. He wouldn't be much of a 
challenge."
     Ranma felt as if he had been slapped at the comment. He turned to 
the girl and said, "What... did you just say?"
     "Pika." Raiden also didn't like the way she was addressing his 
sensei.
     The girl smirked and said with a slight sneer, "I said that you 
wouldn't be much of a challenge. You're just a beginner."
     "What makes you such an expert?" Ranma said with a bit of 
annoyance at her comments.
     The girl's smirked as she replied, "I noticed that you only have 
two Pokeballs on your belt that are filled. Now counting that Pikachu 
down there, that only totals up to three."
     "So?"
     "How long have you been a trainer?"
     "Uh... about a month. Maybe a little more."
     The girl gave a short laugh and said, "A whole month and all you 
got are three Pokemon? Even a novice would already have the 
required six Pokemon by that time. And just how many Pokemon
battles against other trainers have you been in?"
     Ranma became a little embarrassed as he admitted, "Uhhhh... 
one."
     The girl giggled some more as she said, "And you expect to 
challenge a gym leader after only one battle? That is so funny!" The 
girl burst out in a fit of laughter, which did nothing to make Ranma or 
Raiden feel any better. In fact, the Pikachu was charging up his cheek 
pouches with the intent of shocking the girl for her insults. Ranma 
shook his head and waved for Raiden to power down. A moment 
later, the electric rodent complied.
     The girl's father shook his head at his child's insensitivity. "Now 
you be quiet! If this boy wants to battle for an Earth Badge, then I 
say we should let him! All gym leaders must accept any challenge at 
any time!"
     The girl nodded as she calmed down and said, "All right. This 
shouldn't take too long. I'd say that he'd lose in one minute! Heck, if 
he let's his Pikachu run free then he must be even worse than I 
thought. That electric rodent probably isn't even at level twelve. He'll 
probably lose quicker than that guy who brought his own cheering 
section with him."
     "Pretty sure that I won't win, huh? Well, let's battle! And after I 
defeat you, then I'll beat the gym leader too!" Ranma was mad. 
     Raiden was steamed. "Pikachu!"
     "Oh, where are out manners? My girl totally forgot to introduce 
herself." Joe said as he gestured to his daughter. "Meet my daughter 
and gym leader of Viridian City, Samantha."
     "Call me Sam." The girl said with a smirk.
     Ranma's eyes widened as he heard this. "Y-Y-You're the gym 
leader? But... y-y-you're a girl!"
     "Yeah. So what? You afraid that you'll get beaten by a girl?"
     Ranma's mouth became a firm line as he clenched his fists. Now 
even though he was taught that he shouldn't fight girls, he REALLY 
wanted to put this arrogant female in her place. She was far too cocky 
for his taste, which reminded him of himself when he was training 
with his father. Receiving the girl curse, going on his own in this 
world and training his Pokemon had mellowed out that character trait 
somewhat, but he still had his pride. Now this person was insulting 
him and his friend. As Ranma thought about it, a Pokemon battle 
might be just the thing to shut this girl up. He could beat her without 
having to physically fight her, and satisfy his qualms against hitting 
girls. The look on her face when he beat her Pokemon would be good 
enough. <I'll show her who's the better trainer!>
     "Let's battle." Ranma growled.
     Ranma and Sam were soon facing each other off at either sides of 
the arena. On the sidelines, Sam's father watched. Unlike his 
daughter, Samantha's father knew the value of never underestimating 
one's opponent. His long years as a veteran Pokemon trainer gave 
him the experience to assess his opponents and their Pokemon. 
<Hmmm, I think there's more to this boy than meets the eye. Why 
would he challenge a gym leader after only one battle? Sam is good 
and she hasn't lost yet, but I have a feeling that all that's going to 
change.>
     "We'll have a three on three battle. Is that all right with you?"
     "Fine! Let's get it on!" Ranma gestured to Raiden to move up. The 
electric mouse hopped forward and waited.
     Sam gave off a short laugh as she threw out her first Pokemon. 
"Let's see if your electric rodent can handle this! Go Flareon!"
     The Pokeball opened up and released the fiery, evolved form of an 
Eevee.
     "Flareon!" The red and yellow Pokemon stood at the ready for its 
trainer to give its orders.
     *FLAREON. ONE OF THE THREE EVOLVED FORMS OF EEVEE. USING 
A FIRE STONE WILL CAUSE EVEE TO BECOME A FLAME-TYPE POKEMON 
WHOSE INTERNAL FIRE SAC CAN RELEASE FLAMES OF UP TO 1000 C.*
     Ranma smiled a bit. Raiden had some experience with flame-type 
Pokemon since he had him train with Wildfire. Signaling to his 
Pikachu to let his opponent make the first move, Ranma watched as 
Sam gave her Flareon the order to attack.
     "FIRE SPIN!"
     The fox-like Pokemon opened up its mouth and let loose with a 
searing blast of flames that looped and spiraled toward Raiden. As 
the fiery streams came at the electric rodent, Sam noticed that the 
Pikachu was taking a fighting stance and saw a faint blue glow 
surrounding it. Then it happened.
     "LIGHTNING TACKLE ATTACK!"
     "Pika!"
     The blue aura suddenly changed to a bright, yellow-white color 
and then crackled. Raiden then darted forward and his body was 
enveloped in electrical energies. He moved so fast that the naked eye 
could only discern a darting bolt of lightning as it made a zigzag path 
across the ground, effortlessly dodging the tongues of fire. In under 
a nanosecond, Raiden had crossed the distance between his 
opponent, just as the Flareon was starting to close its mouth. The 
energized Pikachu slammed into the Flareon's side, feet first, knocking 
the wind (and fire) out of it and sent it flying.
     "Flare!" 
     Sam gasped in disbelief as her Pokemon was sent tumbling to the 
ground. When it finally came to a stop, it let off a pathetic moan 
before it lapsed into unconsciousness. She then looked up in a state 
of shock as Raiden gave his defeated opponent a polite bow before 
returning to his master.
     "Return Flareon!" Sam held out the Pokeball and recalled her 
Pokemon. After it had been transported back into the device, she 
then regarded Ranma and his Pikachu with a bit more wariness. "H-H-
How did it do that?"
     Ranma shrugged and tried to act innocent as he said, "Beginner's 
luck?"
     On the outside of the gym, Butch and Cassidy were more than 
astonished at Raiden's method of attack.
     "I don't ever remember a Pikachu being able to do that." Butch 
said as he and his partner watched the match.
     "Hmmm, the boss did say that there were some strange energies in 
the area. That Pikachu may just be what we're looking for." Cassidy 
commented.
     Sam was more than irritated at the Ranma's smirk and attitude as 
she brought out another Pokeball. "I don't know how that Pikachu 
did that, but let's see if you can handle this!"
     "Okay." Ranma said nonchalantly.
     "Go Venomoth!"
     The Pokeball opened up and released the moth Pokemon. The 
moth flapped its wings as it hovered before Raiden.
     Ranma nodded as he brought out his Pokedex.
     *VENOMOTH, THE EVOLVED FORM OF VENONAT. TINY SCALES 
ON ITS WINGS PRODUCED VARIOUS SPORES WHEN THEY ARE FLAPPED.*
     Sam smiled as she said, "Let's see if your Pikachu can handle this 
one!"
     Ranma was about to say that it didn't matter to Raiden, but then 
decided on a different approach. He took out another Pokeball and 
motioned for Raiden to pull back.
     "Pika!" Raiden didn't want to pull out. It was just getting warmed 
up!
     Ranma shook his head. "Now, Raiden, I know that you can handle 
it, but you have to let the others have a chance too."
     Raiden nodded as he realized that he was hogging all the fun. He 
scampered to his master's side and waited as Ranma let loose with the 
Pokeball. "Let's go Wind Rider!"
     The Pokeball opened up to reveal Ranma's new Pidgeotto.
     "Pidgooo!"
     Sam gave a short laugh. A Pidgeotto didn't have a chance against 
the spore attacks of her Venomoth. "VENOMOTH, STUN SPORE!"
     Ranma commanded his Pidgeotto in one of its newest attacks. 
"WINDY! CYCLONE SPIN ATTACK!"
     The Pidgeotto shot forward toward the cloud of noxious spores. 
Sam thought that Ranma had lost his mind. She had expected the bird 
to counter with a gust or whirlwind, but instead, Wind Rider closed in 
his wings and feet and started spinning like a drill. His ki glowed as 
he formed an envelope of air around him. The spores were unable to 
penetrate the barrier and were pulled behind him in his jet wash.
     Venomoth was completely caught off guard at the unexpected 
attack and it made no move to dodge as Ranma's Pidgeotto plowed 
into it.
     WHAM!
     Sam's Pokemon was put into a daze as it fluttered to the ground. It 
landed on its back and was still stunned when Wind Rider made a 
low swoop over it and let the cloud of stun spores do its job. 
Venomoth was rendered temporarily helpless as its own spores were 
used against it.
     Wind Rider flew up high and then focused his ki again.
     "WINDY! USE YOUR WIND CANNON!"
     "Pidgooo!"
     The bird's battle aura flared and then released a blast of 
compressed air at his downed opponent. The blast was on target and 
the Venomoth never had a chance.
     BOOM!
     When the dust and debris from the impact cleared, which also 
scattered the cloud of stun spores, Venomoth was embedded in the 
floor of the gym and was clearly in no shape to battle.
     "Veno... moth."
     "I... don't... believe it! H-H-How... did... you?" Sam was trembling 
as she stared at her downed Pokemon.
     Ranma smirked as he said, "Well, why ask me? You're the gym 
leader. I'm just the beginner, right?"
     On the outside of the gym, Cassidy and Butch's eyes were now 
the size of saucers. (The flying kind).
     "No way!" Cassidy exclaimed. "Now I know that's not possible!"
     "That was... cool!" Butch said in awe. "The boss would love to 
have that Pokemon!"
     "I'm more interested in how that trainer had been able to teach his 
Pokemon to do those attacks!" Cassidy looked over Ranma's lean 
and muscled form with an appreciative eye.
     Sam was more than unsettled at her opponent's Pokemon and 
decided to pull out all the stops. Recalling her Venomoth, she took 
out her third Pokeball and said, "I got to admit, you're pretty good for 
a novice..." Sam fought hard to control the uneasiness in her voice.
     Ranma's smirk became even more pronounced as he recalled Wind 
Rider and brought out his last Pokeball. "You ain't seen nothing yet! 
Go Wildfire!"
     The Pokeball landed on the gym floor to release the flame horse.

On the outside of the building...
     "It's him! That must be the same guy who rode in on a Rapidash!" 
Cassidy exclaimed.

     Sam smirked as she said, "That's a mighty fine fire Pokemon you 
got there. Too bad its no match for my Blastoise!" She threw her 
Pokeball forward and released the huge, final evolution of a Squirtle.
     Wildfire neighed and backed off a bit at the sight of the Blastoise. 
His memories of the last encounter with such a Pokemon were not 
good ones.
     Ranma nodded in understanding as he saw how uneasy Wildfire 
was. He remembered how close his Pokemon had come to dying 
when it was a Ponyta. However, it was against the rules to pull his 
Pokemon back. Taking out his Pokedex, he pointed it to the Blastoise.
     *BLASTOISE, THE EVOLVED FORM OF WARTORTLE. ITS POWER 
RELIES ON ITS STRENGTH, RATHER THAN ITS SPEED. ITS SHELL 
CONTAINS TWO WATER CANNONS WHICH CAN RELEASE HUNDREDS 
OF GALLONS OF WATER IN A SECOND, MAKING IT ONE OF THE MOST 
POWERFUL OF ALL WATER-TYPE POKEMON.*
     Ranma knew that Wildfire had developed some better resistance to 
water since he started training him and his main asset was speed. He 
then called out to his Rapidash. "Wildfire, calm down and keep 
focused! You can beat it! I know you can!"
     Wildfire looked back and saw the look of encouragement from his 
trainer. He nodded his head and turned to face off against his 
opponent. 
     Sam was smiling again after seeing Wildfire's reluctance to fight 
her Blastoise. "BLASTOISE! HYDRO PUMP NOW!"
     "Blastoise!" The water cannons on its back swiveled and aimed 
toward the Rapidash. It then let loose twin torrents of water.
     Wildfire reacted in an instant and dodged the attacks. He then 
began galloping around the huge turtle at high speeds. His fiery 
mane and tail began to glow even brighter as Blastoise continued to 
shoot at the Rapidash. The streams of water were just barely nicking 
at the edges of the flames, causing steam to appear. Wildfire winced a 
bit, but ignored the pain as he began increasing his speed.
     Ranma nodded, as he knew what his horse was doing. As he 
gained even more speed, Ranma shouted out his command.
     "WILDFIRE! SUPER FIRE SPIN! NOW!"
     Wildfire neighed as his living flames blazed like a solar flare and he 
sped forward. He became blur to all those watching as he circled his 
opponent and created a huge circle of fire. The ring then expanded to 
become a towering column of flames that went up toward the roof of 
the gym. They exploded through and caused debris to fall 
everywhere. The trainers had to back away to avoid getting hit from 
the falling rafters and such. 
     Inside the column, Blastoise was sweating profusely as the 
intense heat started to get to him. He had experienced the flames of a 
Charizard before, but this was far hotter than he was used to. It 
ceased firing its water cannons as the steam from the attacks was 
forming a scalding mist. In less than a minute, Blastoise was forced to 
retract into its shell to escape from the flames.
     Ranma noticed Blastoise retreating into its protective shell, and 
motioned for Wildfire to cease. The fire horse stopped in his run and 
stood ready to face off against his opponent. The fires it had caused 
began to die down. Fortunately, the building was mostly made of 
concrete and very little of it caught on fire. Although the floor did 
have many blackened areas. Wildfire began focusing his ki to prepare 
for the final assault.
     Blastoise's shell was covered in scorch marks and was smoking. 
Sam was more than shocked to see just how easily the Rapidash had 
created such a huge fiery attack. Her father was also amazed.
     As soon as Blastoise popped his limbs and head out of its shell, 
Ranma gave the final order.
     "WILDFIRE! BLAZING HORN CHARGE!"
     The Rapidash glowed with a blue light, then burst forward in a run 
with his horn pointed directly at the weakened Blastoise. The horn 
began to glow even brighter as Wildfire used his ki to harden it to 
that of diamond. His flames trailed behind it and surrounded his body 
like a sun's corona. He left blazing trails behind him as he charged at 
his opponent at breakneck speed. His form resembled that of a 
blazing meteor. 
     With her Pokemon just barely standing, Sam knew that Blastoise 
was in no condition to fend off such an attack and shouted out, 
"STOP! PLEASE! YOU WIN!"
     Ranma then shouted out, "WILDFIRE! HALT!"
     The Rapidash pulled back and began applying its feet to slow 
down. His flames burned even more brightly as it began to decelerate. 
When he finally stopped, he looked up and saw that his horn was 
about a foot away from Blastoise, who was trembling a bit at the 
sight. The flames lost their ultra brilliance and returned to their normal 
brightness.
     "Blastoise, return!"
     Wildfire trotted back to his trainer, who gave him an affectionate 
pat on the flank.
     "Good job, Wildfire." Ranma then smiled triumphantly at his 
defeated opponent and said, "Well, I guess this lowly beginner has 
just earned himself a badge!" His smile then faded as he saw Sam 
standing there with her hands at her side and her eyes full of... tears?
     Sam was trying desperately to keep from crying, but she couldn't 
hold it back. With a loud cry, she bolted from the area with her face in 
her hands.
     "Sam!" Her father began running after her, leaving Ranma and his 
Pokemon standing in confusion.
     "Huh?" The heir to the Saotome name was a bit confused at this 
turn of events. He didn't know why his opponent was suddenly 
crying. But then again, he was a Saotome, and his ability to be 
absolutely clueless where females were concerned was the same as 
his father's. Fortunately, his compassion was better than Genma's and 
he really hated to see a girl cry. He began racing after the father and 
his daughter, closely followed by his Pokemon. 
     From their observation point, Butch and Cassidy had seen 
enough.
     "Whoa! Now that's what I call some really powerful Pokemon!" 
Butch commented as he and Cassidy watched Ranma and his 
Pokemon race after Sam and her father. "Should we try and nab 
them?"
     Cassidy shook her head and replied, "No, I think it would be better 
to report to the boss about all this. We should also keep tailing that 
guy and find out more about him."
     "Why don't we just swipe his Pokemon?"
     "Use your head Butch! If that guy can train his Pokemon to be 
that powerful, then think of what he could do for Team Rocket's!"
     Butch considered it for a moment, then smiled. "Hey... yeah! Why 
swipe the students when you can have the teacher? Team Rocket 
could really blast off if we had him for a member!"
     Cassidy nodded as she had an image of Ranma in a Team Rocket 
uniform. All those rippling muscles and those beautiful blue eyes. 
Cassidy's eyes started to glaze over, but she was then jolted back to 
reality as Butch nudged her to follow him. She quickly smothered her 
emotions for the moment and joined her partner in crime.

To be continued...

Author's Notes
     Well, that takes care of chapter 5. For those of you who are 
wondering that Sam should have been using Rock Pokemon because 
of the Earth Badge, I do recall that Giovanni had used Psychic and 
Water types in the anime and he was the gym leader of Viridian. 
Ranma may soon be getting a traveling buddy, as Sam will want to 
learn how he had trained his Pokemon. As for Team Rocket, we'll be 
seeing more of Butch and Cassidy, as well as Jessie and James. For 
those of you who wish for Ranma to meet up with Ash and his 
friends, well it'll be a while. 


