The Incredible Poke-Odyssey chapter 21 INNdescribable Fun In our last chapter, Cameron and friends fell down a deep pit, found some rare evolution stones called Medusa Stones, Zubat touched one of them and mutated into an huge Aerodactyl that allowed our heroes to fly over the ocean on their way to Cinnabar Island. As they were flying, Cameron looked down and saw an island filled with hotels, funparks, and lots and lots of tourists. "Hey, is that Cinnabar down there?" he asked. "No, I don't think so", said Jenny as she took out her map. "That looks like Seafoam Island to me." "But it can't be", said Misty. "Seafoam Island is supposed to be deserted with only a few Pokemon roaming around." "Not any more", explained Seymour. "About five years ago, the volcano on Cinnabar Island erupted causing all its citizens to vacate and move on out to Seafoam Island. Everyone knows about that." "Not everyone", said Stella. "We've been stuck behind an electric wall for five years to know what's been going on in the outside world." "Things sure have changed over the years", sighed Brock. "I don't even know who the hottest supermodels of today are!!!" Stella was about to whack Brock but instead just kissed him. "If you'd like", she whispered in his ear, "I can be your private supermodel once we stop and rest somewhere." Brock started turning red, took out his canteen and poured it over his head to cool down. But however, some of the water got on Aerodactyl's back causing her to make a loud, "AERO!" and swerve to the side. Everyone quickly held on tight in a panic as Aero straightened herself out again. "Careful Brock!" cried Misty. "This is not a Zubat we're riding on anymore. This is a stone skinned Aerodactyl. You of all people should know that water weakens rock Pokemon!" "Oops, sorry Aero", said an embarrassed Brock as he took out some potion and applied it to Aero's wet spot. "Are you all right now Aero?" Cameron asked his friend. "AERO!" said Aero in a tired voice. Cameron crawled up closer to her head and found her eyes looking pretty bloodshot. "It looks like Aero needs some rest", said Cameron. "I agree", said Bill. "We've been up in the air for over 8 hours." "We should land on Seafoam to rest up", said Jenny. "We'll need to build up our strength when the time comes for us to face Mewtwo." Everyone sat there silently realizing that they were very close to one of their most important and probably most dangerous goals. "Aero, take us down", said Cameron. "AERO!" said Aero as she flew down to the shore of Seafoam. When everyone got off of Aero's back. All sorts of tourists and local people in swimsuits and Hawaiian shirts quickly gathered around the group. "Is that what I think it is?" gasped an old woman while pointing her wrinkly finger at the huge flying Pokemon. "It is!" said the woman's husband. "It's an Aerodactyl! They haven't been around since prehistoric times. You should know about that Martha, you were there." Martha just bopped her husband with a huge mallet while his false teeth popped out of his mouth. "Where do these ladies keep getting these mallets?" wondered Cameron. Pretty soon, all of the tourists were marveling at the Aerodactyl while taking pictures of it with their flash cameras. All those blinding flashes started to annoy Aero while she covered her eyes with her wings. It also annoyed our heroes too. "Hey mommy!" said a little boy. "Can I crawl into its mouth and play with its tongue?" "Only if you want to take another bath tonight", said the mother while the flashes continued. "Please, stop it everyone!" cried Cameron. "Can't you see you're frightening my Aerodactyl?" "All right, move along people", said Jenny while jumping from one crowd to another like a grasshopper waving her arms like crazy. Just then Aero spread her wings and made a loud screeching noise. That caused everyone to run like crazy leaving our heroes alone. "You okay Aero?" asked Cameron as he stroked her snout. "Aero!" replied Aero in a soft hoarse voice. "You go ahead and rest now", said Cameron as he sucked Aero back into her Pokeball. "Hold on a minute you people", called out an old man's voice. They turned around and found an old man with long blond hair who looked very familiar. "Was that an Aerodactyl I just saw with you?" he asked. "Yes it is", said Cameron. "You don't want to take a picture of it?" asked Jenny. "Oh no", said the man. "I was just curious. It's just I've been on this Pokemon filled Earth for a long time and I've thought I've seen the rarest Pokemon in the world. But that marvelous flying stone creature really takes the carrot cake." "Carrot cake?!" asked Bill. "Yech, I hate carrot cake. Give me cheese cake anyday!" "And a talking Rattata too!" gasped the man as he picked up Bill and started playing with his face. "Are you people from Ripley's Believe it or Not?" "I'll do something you won't believe if you don't put me down!" said an annoyed Bill. He jumped out of the man's hands, bounced off his head, and landed on the beach. Bill then felt something on his hind feet. "AAAH! Some new kind of Pokemon's eating my feet!" cried Bill in a panic. "Get it off! Get it off! GET IT OFF!!" "Relax you little pipsqueak", smiled the man. "It's only my wig!" and he bent down, yanked the wig off from Bill and dusted the sand off of it. Cameron, Misty, and Brock saw the bald man's head and they suddenly knew who this man was. "Hey, you're Blaine", smiled Brock. "The Cinnabar Island gym leader!" "Oh, so you've found me out", said Blaine as he put his wig back on. "I knew I should've put crazy glue on this thing." "Blaine, don't you remember us?" asked Misty. "I'm Misty and this is Brock. Five years ago, we were your guests at your Big Riddle Inn in Cinnabar." "Yes, it's all coming back to me", said Blaine. "There were three of you that day. You've solved every riddle I threw at you until you found my inn and my secretly hidden gym. That Ash kid was a pretty amazing trainer. Say, where is Ash?" Misty was about to tear up again, but then stopped herself. "Hey, I think I'm getting better at this", she thought and then said. "He's not here with us right now. It's just me, Brock, and some new friends with us." "Well, welcome to Seafoam Island everyone", smiled Blaine. "Would you all care to stay at my hotel, The Even Bigger Riddle Inn?" "What happened to your first Inn?" asked Brock. "Alas, it's gone forever", sighed Blaine. "Ever since the volcano on Cinnabar erupted, I was forced to abandon it. Ash is now spread all over every inch of Cinnabar Island." "Someone splattered Ash all over the island?!" asked a shocked Misty imagining the bloody mess her friend was. She started crying out tears while our heroes pulled out their umbrellas. "I think he's talking about the ash from the volcano", Cameron whispered into Misty's ear. "Oops, sorry!" said Misty who suddenly stopped crying. "Don't worry about me Misty", smiled Blaine as he handed her a Riddle Inn hanky. "Time heals all wounds and I've gotten over the loss of my first inn. Luckily, I had very good insurance and I was able to build me a bigger and better inn here on Seafoam", and he pointed east to the huge building with neon lights. "That sure is beautiful", said Stella with neon stars in her eyes. "And yes, there's an entire shopping mall inside the inn", said Blaine knowing the certain look on a young girl's eyes. "But your old inn was near the volcano", said Misty. "How did you ever escape the eruption?" "That was quite a story", said Blaine while going into a flashback. "I was sitting by the side of the volcano taking care of all my Pokemon getting them ready in case I might get some more customers and maybe some more challengers. Just then, I heard a loud boom. The volcano was about to erupt! I had no idea why it was doing this, but I had no time to think about that now. I found me and my Pokeballs about to fall into the piping hot lava. Just then, I was suddenly rescued by a huge flying Pokemon. It took me and my Pokemon away from my dear home of Cinnabar where I watched people fleeing the island in panic on ships, crafts, yachts, and on their water and flying Pokemon. Then the flying Pokemon brought me safely to the deserted island of Seafoam. I decided that this is where I'll start over with my new inn and gym. And five years later, the once empty Seafoam Island is now the hottest tourist trap in the world. And it doesn't even have a volcano!" "That sure is a pretty amazing story", said Brock. "And you were lucky that flying Pokemon came along. I would've liked to see that." "Yes, so would I", said Bill. "Hmmm, maybe you will one day", said Blaine. "That's why I became so intrigued by your Aerodactyl, boy. In fact, I'd like you all to stay at my inn as long as you want free of charge. An Aerodactyl trainer is one of a kind in my book." And he winked at Cameron. "Thank you", said Cameron blushing. "We appreciate your offer", said Jenny. "We all need to rest up after all the journeying we've done. And we've got even bigger ones in the future too." "And is it okay if I can challenge you for a VolcanoBadge while we're here?" asked Cameron. "Only if you can find my newly hidden gym", laughed Blaine with a sneaky smile. "You're gonna give us some riddles, aren't you?" asked Misty. "I don't call my place a riddle inn for nothing", said Blaine. "And here it is. My gym is located where you find an apple you never eat. To go there, just remove the thing that always stops!" "Got all that", said Seymour as he typed it into a mini-computer. "And I'm gonna have to ask you to put that thing away", said Blaine. "Puzzle solving devices are against the rules at the Riddle Inn." And he took out a small device, pointed it at Seymour's computer, and erased the words he just typed up. "Other than that, do what ever you can to enjoy your stay at the Even Bigger Riddle Inn", smiled Blaine. "Just don't try to steal the bathroom towels when you leave." As they all followed Blaine to his inn, a huge Kingler had washed up on shore the minute they left. And on it was a beautiful female ninja wringing out her black braid in back. (WOW! TRY SAYING THAT FIVE TIMES FAST!) She saw the huge inn they were all headed to and started to smile. "Like the Diglett that enjoys abandoned subways with discarded food samples. I believe that I'm going to enjoy this place", smiled Reiko as she pulled a black swimsuit out from nowhere. * * * * * * That evening, our heroes were just having the time of their lives at Blaine's inn. Stella was dragging Brock all over the indoor mall buying up clothes and handing them to Brock so he could carry them. "I've heard this could happen when you finally get a girlfriend, but I never believed those stories were true", thought Brock as he tried to catch up with Stella while balancing all the boxes and bags he was carrying. * * * * * * Seymour, dressed in a black tux and Jenny dressed in a blue spaghetti strap gown with a police badge were at a fancy table about to have a romantic dinner. They looked at their menus and discovered all the food items were in riddles. "What exactly is a What Came First Sandwich?" Seymour asked the waiter. "This is a riddle inn", said the waiter in a snooty French accent. "Figure it out for yourself!" "I hope it's not an egg sandwich", thought Seymour, "I break out in hives when I eat an egg!" Jenny just secretly giggled for Seymour looked cute when he sweats. * * * * * * Misty was lying on a deck chair in her red bikini and sunglasses under a huge sunlamp. She suddenly felt a tap on her bare arm. She looked down and found Psyduck smiling at her while holding a Hungry-Hungry Hypnos board game. "No Psyduck, I'm not in the mood to play with you right now", sighed Misty. "Why don't you go and play with your little Pokepals. I've got five years of tanning to make up for!" "Psy", sighed Psyduck as he left Misty while dragging the game behind him. "She was a lot nicer when she was all big and rocky." He thought. Psyduck had pushed open a small door and joined all the other Pokemon who were playing in a huge indoor playground made just for Pokemon. Some were sliding down Onix's back. Donphan was in the pool squirting water on all the water Pokemon, while the others were having fun on the huge jungle gym. Especially Buzz who had just completed 2,000 chin ups. "Hey Golem, how about giving me a push please?" called out Bill who was sitting on a swing. "Golem", said Golem as he gave Bill a big hard push. The swing went spinning around like crazy until it got tangled up at the top bar. Golem looked up and found Bill gone. "Could those stories about Pokemon swinging over the bar be true?" wondered Golem. "A little help here?" called out Bill's voice. Golem looked around for him unknowing that Bill was stuck between two stones in Golem's rocky back. Sandy was in the sandbox making a sculpture of a female Sandshrew. He looked at it with sly eyes and said. "Sandshreeeew!" in a sexy voice. The statue just fell to pieces in response to Sandy's pick up line. "Shrew", grumbled Sandy snapping his claws. He then looked out the outside window and found Cameron wearing multi-colored Bermuda shorts and holding a towel in his hand. Sandy stepped outside and approached his master wondering what he was gonna do. "Hi Sandy", smiled Cameron. "Having fun so far?" "Shrew", smiled Sandy. "I'm just going off to relax in the hot tub over there", said Cameron. "Would you like to join me?" "Shrew, shrew!" said Sandy shaking his head no. "Oh yeah, I forgot", said Cameron blushing. "You and water are not really the best of friends. Sorry Sandy." "Shrew", smiled Sandy showing that Cameron was forgiven and then went back to the playground to continue playing with his Pokefriends. * * * * * * Cameron just loved the feel of the warm bubbles dancing around in the hot tub he was sitting in. And it felt even relaxing as he stared up at the starlit night sky. "I think I'm gonna love living in this world from now on", he sighed. But then he frowned when the thought of Mewtwo entered his head and wondered if his new life might end the minute they come face to face with that monster. "I'd better get my mind off of that right now", said Cameron while shaking his head. "I'm here to relax. I'll just think about Blaine's riddle. Let's see. His gym is located where you find an apple you never eat. Could that be The Big Apple? That can't be. I bet New York's miles away from Seafoam and I wonder if New York even exists in this world. And to go to this gym, I have to find the thing that always stops. Do I have to remove a nearby stop sign from a road? No, Jenny would not like that. She'd probably have me thrown in jail along with Blaine for giving me that idea. Ow, brain strain!" and he took off his glasses and started rubbing his head and his eyes. Cameron then saw a blurry sexy figure standing at the edge of the tub. He quickly put on his glasses and saw it was Reiko dressed in a black bikini. "Is there room in this tub for one more?" she smiled while bowing to him. Cameron became a little nervous for she looked like she was bowing a little too low for him. "Are Jessie and James here with you?" he asked. "No, they're back at the palace recovering from a bad fall", said Reiko as she stepped into the tub and sat down in front of Cameron. "And I told them that I'd continue the mission all alone." "So do you think you can possibly capture all of us at the same time?" asked Cameron, "Not that I'm doubting your ninja skills." "No, I do not want to do that", said Reiko seriously. "Oh Cameron-san. Like the Venomoth that gets mesmerized by a brand new light bulb. I have truly seen the light. I now see how evil and unremorseful Team Rocket can be. I want to be on your side Cameron-san." And she slowly clasped onto his wet wrinkly hand. "You really mean that?" asked Cameron with a smile. "Wow, I'm really glad you're gonna be on our side now. I can't wait to tell the others." "No, you cannot do that", said Reiko seriously. "Officer Jenny is sure to handcuff me and send me to the nearest jail after all those times I escaped her wrath. I'll help you, but I need to stay out of the other's sights for a while." "I'm sure if I reason with Jenny, you can join our group without getting cuffed at all", said Cameron. Just as Reiko was about to speak, she noticed the scar marks on Cameron's chest from that Sandslash incident back at her old home. "Those scars!" said Reiko as she placed her fingers on his chest. "This is my fault you have them. If I hadn't brought those Rockets into my own family's gym, this wouldn't've happened to you." And a tear ran down her face. "Please don't blame yourself Reiko", said Cameron wiping away her tear with his wet finger. "You were the one who treated my wounds. And I kind of wished I was awake when you did." And he winked at her. "Cameron-san", sighed Reiko as the two gazed at each other while they felt the water getting even hotter. Just as their lips were about to touch, a voice called out. "Hey Cameron!" "Officer Jenny?" asked Cameron as he turned around and found Jenny in her strapless blue and white striped swimsuit standing at the edge of the tub. He then turned around and found Reiko gone. "Mind if I join you?" asked Jenny as she stepped into the tub with him. "Uh, sure, go right ahead", said Cameron trying to maintain a smile and was thankful that Reiko was gone just in time. "She sure is a quick ninja", he thought. "Why aren't you with Seymour?" he then asked Jenny. "Seymour's sleeping peacefully right now." Said Jenny. "He put his brain through a mighty workout trying to figure out every riddle in this inn. You should've seen the trouble he went through just trying to figure out the clue to get the mens' room door open. I put him to bed and decided to spend the rest of the night relaxing under the stars." "You really do take good care of Seymour, don't you?" smiled Cameron. "Yes, I've never met a guy like him before", sighed Jenny. "You'll know what that's like one day too." "I think I already have", sighed Cameron. "You're not thinking about that dishonest Rocket Reiko are you?" she said sternly. "Listen Cameron, I know Reiko does seem to care about you a lot. But I suggest it's not a good idea to have a romantic relationship with a criminal. After all, she seems to be more loyal to Team Rocket than she is to you." "But suppose if Reiko wanted to change and join with us?" asked Cameron. "Would that be okay with you?" "Cameron, please understand that once I find that Rocket girl in my presence, I'm going to have to cuff her. After all she did ruin my original van, tried to help Team Rocket capture us, take Brock's family hostage, and try to take hostage an entire ferry. No matter what, it's my duty to arrest all Rockets, even Reiko. I'm sorry Cameron." Cameron suddenly saw a large bubble emerge from the little bubbles. He pretended to drop his glasses and ducked his head into the water. There he found Reiko under the water holding her breath like crazy. And it looked like she was about to croak if Jenny didn't leave soon. Cameron pulled his head out of the water and tried to maintain a smile at Jenny who had no idea that her arrestee was in the same tub with them. Cameron tried to think of something fast and was thankful he found something. "Uh, Jenny", asked Cameron, "Isn't that your badge pinned to your bathing suit?" "Why yes it is" said Jenny as she took off the badge and tried to dry it off with a towel. "I just can't seem to stop pinning this thing no matter where I go or what I wear. Thank you for pointing that out to me Cameron. If this badge had rusted in the water, the head Jenny would take it away from me for good. I'd better go put this back in my room. Be right back." And Jenny got out of the tub, dried herself off and left. "Okay Reiko, she's gone", said Cameron as he pulled her arm bringing her up to the surface. Reiko was breathing like crazy while clutching her chest. "Are you all right Reiko?" he asked her. "But of course", said Reiko proudly. "I was imagining myself like the Vaporeon that uses acid armor to blend in with clear blue water. Now I think I had better leave before Officer Jenny finds me and goes back for her badge." She was about to step out of the tub, until she felt something caught her toe. She managed to yank it out and found out it was the stopper. Suddenly, all the water started going down the drain leaving only Cameron and Reiko standing there high and dry. "That's a pretty fast drain", said Cameron. "Blaine must use a powerful detergent in his pools." Suddenly the tub floor started to slowly split open. Reiko grabbed Cameron's shoulders and quickly pulled him out of the tub. There they saw a stone stairway leading down somewhere. "To go to the gym, you first have to find the thing that always stops", said Cameron as he saw the stopper still stuck on Reiko's toe. "Reiko! You did it!" smiled Cameron as he hugged her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I do not know what kind of damage I just did", said Reiko puzzled. "But can you tell me so I can do it again?" "Hey Cameron, are you still there?" called out Jenny's voice. "Uh, oh", said Reiko, "That's my cue to depart." And she kissed Cameron and did a huge flip over a nearby wall. "What in the world just happened to the tub?!" gasped Jenny as she gazed at the hot tub that was now replaced by a stairway. Cameron just smiled as he looked down and saw the stopper that his little ninja pulled and helped him solve part of Blaine's riddle. * * * * * * Cameron and Jenny quickly got dressed and gathered all their friends and Pokemon to show them the huge stairway that could lead to Blaine's hidden gym. "I never would've expected to find something like this in a hotel hot tub", said Seymour who was now feeling a lot better after a good sleep. "Do you think it could lead to Blaine's gym?" asked Stella. "Only one way to find out", said Brock. "Come on everyone and you can lead Cameron since you found it." And Cameron lead the way while his other six friends followed him down. "You don't think these stairs could lead us to another volcano like last time?" asked Misty. "Probably not", said Brock. "These stairs look like they're leading straight down." "You don't suppose we're all going to the center of the Earth, do you?" asked Stella. "Nyahhh, that can't possibly happen", laughed Bill. Cameron suddenly remembered the first part of Blaine's riddle. "The gym is located where you find an apple you never eat. And no one eats apple cores. Could that mean the Earth's core?" * * * * * * They seemed to have walked down for quite a few hours until finally they came to a huge metal door. "Just like in Blaine's old volcano gym", said Brock. Cameron felt the door and it seemed pretty hot. "I'm not sure if I'm gonna like what's behind this door", he thought. "And I don't think we should open this door", said Jenny. "There might be a fire behind it waiting to come out and fry us." "No problem", said Misty as she released all six of her water Pokemon. "All right guys" she said. "We're gonna open this door and I need all of you to spray your water guns if a fire does charge out of it." All of Misty's Pokemon nodded as Cameron opened the door. Luckily for them, there was no fire in front of the door. "Looks like you guys didn't have to waste any of your water", smiled Misty but then frowned for Psyduck was squirting his water all over the place like a fountain. Our heroes stepped through the door and they were surprised to find where they were. They were in a huge blazing inferno with red stone walls. They looked below a ledge and found a pool of molten lava with a huge stone slab that was as big as a gym floor. "I can't believe it!" gasped Bill. "We are in the Earth's core!" Cameron suddenly became nervous. He was hoping that they all didn't go to the bad place. Suddenly, a burst of smoke appeared from the ledge on the other side of the lava and there appeared a devil with a red face and horns, pointy ears, a red tuxedo with a forked tail while holding a pitchfork. "Welcome to your eternal torment you seven new arrivals!" said the devil in a creepy voice. Everyone held each other in fear. "PSYKE!" said the demon as he pulled off his mask. Everyone became relieved that it was really Blaine all along. "Sorry about that", he laughed. "It's just that I'll always be a joker at heart." "Are we actually in the Earth's core?" asked Cameron. "So you've solved my riddle, eh?" smiled Blaine. "But don't worry. This isn't the real Earth's core. No one can survive the intense heat down there. This is just a little underground inferno I had constructed. And yes, that's real lava down there. Just something to make the gym matches here more gripping. Now who wants to battle me for a VolcanoBadge? 3 Pokemon each, no time limit?" "I would", said Cameron as he stepped up to the ledge, but not too far. "You'd better be careful Cameron", said Brock. "Battling on a sea of lava could mean serious burns for your Pokemon." "Not to mention less Pokemon", said Misty. "All right Cameron", said Blaine as he took out his first Pokeball. "I'll start out with Rapidash!" and he released his first Pokemon on the stone floor. It was a unicorn with a mane and tail made out of pure fire. "Slowking, I choose you", said Cameron as he released Slowie onto the other side of the floor. "So, another kid thinks he can stop my fire types with a water type", laughed Blaine. "Rapidash, give him your stomp attack!" "Slowie, use your water gun!" commanded Cameron. Slowie was about to take a deep breath and release his water gun, but he wasn't fast enough against the speedy Rapidash. The huge horse managed to stomp poor Slowie flat into his Shellder crown. "SLOWIE!" cried Cameron as he saw his Slowking who was nothing but a crown and two cute feet dancing around. "That wasn't really smart sending the world's slowest Pokemon to battle the world's fastest", scoffed Blaine. "Maybe I should have Rapidash stomp some sense into you instead. HA HA HA!" Cameron quickly sucked Slowie back into his ball and said. "I'm sorry Slowie, but my next Pokemon will avenge you though. Donphan, I choose you!" and his huge elephant suddenly landed with a thud on the stone floor almost causing Rapidash to lose its balance. "Breaking out the heavy artillery, eh?" smiled Blaine. "Not that I don't blame you though. Rapidash, give it your ember attack!" Rapidash started waving its fiery tail around sending little embers onto Donnie's tough hard skin. "Quick Donnie! Stop, drop, and roll!" commanded Cameron. Donnie then rolled up into his tire form and started rolling around the floor putting out the fire on his skin along with the natural fire on Rapidash's body. Donnie then started rolling non-stop all over Rapidash until it looked like a horse skin rug. "Nothing puts out a fire like the classic stop, drop, and roll method", smiled Cameron. Blaine sourly pulled the flattened Rapidash back into its ball and then pulled out another one. "So you think you can outclever the riddlemaster, eh?" said Blaine now smiling. "Let's see how your Donphan does against Magmar!" and he released a dwarf like Pokemon that was made of fire and lava. "MAGMAR", it said in a hot steamy voice. "That's Blaine's strongest Pokemon." Said Misty. "I was sure he'd save that one for last." "Unless he has a Pokemon even stronger than Magmar saved up", said Brock. "Donnie, use your tusk attack!" commanded Cameron. Donnie trumpeted and started to charge at the fiery beast. "Magmar, smog attack now!" said Blaine. Magmar sprayed a huge smog cloud at the charging Donphan. Donnie suddenly stopped and started coughing for its long trunk was very sensitive to smog. "Okay Magmar, give it your flamethrower attack!" said Blaine. Magmar took a deep breath and started spraying out a powerful jet of fire at Donnie pushing him right off the floor and into the hot lava below. "No, Donnie!" cried Cameron as he carelessly leaned over, but was caught by Brock just in time. Everyone silently looked down into the sea of lava wondering if the tough Donnie was tough enough to handle this much hotness. Suddenly a burst of lava shot out and Donnie landed back on the floor with an even louder thud causing Magmar to almost fall down. "All right Donnie!" said a relieved Cameron. "So your Donphan is tough against the hottest elements", said Blaine. "Let's see if it can handle my hot heavy hitter. Magmar, fire punch now!" "MAGMAR!" said Magmar as it made a huge fiery fist and was getting ready to give Donnie a black-charred eye. "Donnie, finish it off with your earthquake attack!" said Cameron. Donnie trumpeted real loud and started stomping down many times causing the stone floor to crumble apart. Magmar stopped as the floor suddenly collapsed into the lava causing poor Magmar to hit its head against a floating slab of rock. When the smoke cleared. They found an unconscious Magmar floating stomach up on the lava while Donnie was standing on what was left of the floor trumpeting proudly. "That's showing 'em Donnie", said Cameron proudly. "I guess it's time I release my secret weapon", said Blaine as he called back Magmar and released his final Pokemon. Everyone was surprised when they saw what it was. It was a huge orange dragon with very large wings that allowed it to hover over the lava. Cameron quickly aimed his Pokedex at the magnificent looking beast. "DRAGONITE: The evolved form of Dragonair", replied Dexeena. "A rarely seen marine Pokemon. Its intelligence is said to match that of humans." "I can't believe it", gasped Bill. "IT'S YOU!!!" Bill started flashbacking six years ago when he, Ash, Misty, and Brock were at his lighthouse. They discovered the shadow of a huge never before seen Pokemon coming their way. Just as they were about to find out what it was, Team Rocket started firing missiles at the mysterious creature chasing it away. "I thought I'd never see you again my mysterious friend." Whispered Bill. "That's right folks", said Blaine proudly. "This Dragonite was the same flying Pokemon that saved me from that erupting volcano. Now its my most strongest champion." "Okay Donnie", said Cameron, "Use your... uh, oh!" Cameron suddenly realized that when Donnie made the stone floor crumble, all that was left of it was a tiny slab that was barely big enough to support Donnie which meant he couldn't move around to battle. "Looks like you put your Pokemon in a tight corner", laughed Blaine. "Dragonite, show 'em your dragonrage attack!" "DRAAAAGGGG!" howled Dragonite as it summoned a huge typhoon causing Donnie to get sucked in and twirled all over the place while hitting the walls. "Donnie return!" shouted Cameron as he tried to pull Donnie back in, but couldn't for the Pokeball's beam kept missing Donnie. It took him a whole minute but Cameron finally managed to catch Donnie while Dragonite ceased its dragonrage. "You got one Pokemon left to use", laughed Blaine. "It better be your best one!" "Aerodactyl, I choose you!" said a very determined Cameron and Aero appeared hovering right in front of Dragonite. "Excellent", smiled Blaine. "A battle between two rare Pokemon. I just hope Dragonite won't make your Aerodactyl too extinct. Dragonite, hydro pump now!" Dragonite started squirting out a powerful bolt of water at the Aerodactyl. "Aero, fly now!" shouted Cameron. Aero flew very fast and high up so that the hydro pump couldn't touch her. "All right Dragonite", said Blaine. "Use your fire blast now!" Dragonite started to breathe out a huge clump of fire at Aero. "Quick Aero", said Cameron. "Blow it away with a whirlwind!" Aero quickly flapped her wings hard and fast sending the fire right into Dragonite's face causing it to roar and rub its eyes. "Now finish it off with hyper beam", commanded Cameron. "AERO!" shouted Aero as she started to charge herself up. "Quick Dragonite!" shouted a now nervous Blaine. "Use your hyper beam before that bird uses its!" "DRAGG!" said Dragonite as it finished rubbing its eyes and charged itself up as well. Both Aero and Dragonite had launched their hyper beams at the same time causing quite a scene. Both beams were trying hard to push at each other while sparks were flying all over the place. "This is amazing", gasped Seymour as he took out a pad and pencil. "I'm witnessing an actual hyper beam collision. For years us scientists have been pondering what would happen if two hyper beams collide!" And the result was a big explosion that caused both Pokemon to get blown back. Aero landed on the same ledge our heroes were on. "Aero, are you all right?" asked Cameron. "Aero!" said Aero with a big toothy smile showing that she was a little battered but still awake. But Dragonite wasn't looking so hot. It landed out cold on the opposite side of the ledge where Blaine was. In fact it landed right on top of Blaine. He managed to crawl out from under Dragonite's scaly body and dusted himself off. "Well Cameron", he said, "It looks like you've managed to beat my 3 best Pokemon. Congratulations. Let's all head back to the surface so we can get our Pokemon healed by Nurse Joy and my back healed by my chiropractor. Oooh!" * * * * * * Our heroes were now in the Riddle Inn Pokemon center where Nurse Joy was healing all the Pokemon that fought hard today. Joy had to get about 15 stretchers to support Aero. "Wow, I bet I'm the first Joy in my family to actually treat an Aerodactyl." Said Joy as she fed Aero some vitamins. "I wonder if I can get a picture of me next to her." Blaine had approached Cameron and smiled at him. "Are you going to present me with a badge for beating you?" asked Cameron. "But first, you'll have to answer me one last riddle", smiled Blaine. "What would you do if I just decide to give you no badge?" "No badge?!!" gasped Cameron disappointed. "But I beat all your Pokemon fair and square, I deserve that VolcanoBadge. Wait a minute. Would you give me it if I added the letters V-O-L-C and A to no badge?" "Bingo!" laughed Blaine as he handed Cameron a badge that was in the shape of fire. "Congratulations you little smarty-pants. The VolcanoBadge is yours." "Thank you", smiled Cameron as he showed his seventh badge to his friends. "Look everyone. I won a VolcanoBadge!" "Yes, you and your remarkable Aerodactyl truly earned it", said Blaine. "I also have something for Aero as well. I've noticed that you don't have a fire Pokemon on your team, so I'd like you to program this into her head." And he handed Cameron a small device that said TM 38. "TM 38?" said Cameron excitedly. "I've heard of this. This is fire blast! Thank you Blaine. This'll be so cool!" "You mean hot don't you?" Blaine corrected him. As soon as Aero was 100 percent healed, Cameron took her outside and aimed the fire blast device onto her head. "Do you know how to use fire blast now Aero?" Cameron asked her. "AERO!" said Aero as she saw the same group of tourists coming up to take some more annoying pictures of her. Aero just smiled and breathed a clump of fire at all the tourists chasing them away. "You really shouldn't've done that to those people", scolded Cameron. "But I'm kind of glad you did though. They were annoying." "Aero!" said Aero winking. * * * * * * The next day, our heroes were back on Aero's back ready to take off for Cinnabar Island. "So you're actually going to Cinnabar, aren't you?" asked Blaine. "Yes", said Jenny. "We're on a mission and we have to get there no matter what cost." "Well I hope my fire blast TM will come in handy there", said Blaine. "Thanks again", said Cameron, "And thank you for showing us all a great time in you inn." "And when and if I become human again", said Bill. "Can I come back to study your Dragonite? I'd like to get know my old friend better as a human." "Sure you can", smiled Blaine. "My Dragonite will still be here. They've been known to live for 1000 years." "Let's just hope it wasn't Dragonite's 999th birthday this year", said Stella. "So long everyone", smiled Blaine as he waved goodbye to the group who were flying away on Aero while waving back to him. * * * * * * Reiko was quickly following our heroes surfing on Tentacruel's back. "I'm just grateful that Jessie, James, and Meowth hasn't found out I helped them along the way." She sighed. * * * * * * Back at the Rocketville Palace, Meowth was watching a huge monitor and found something extremely shocking. "Wait'll Queen Jessie finds out the truth about her so-called bootlicker!" he snickered. TO BE CONTINUED AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well it looks like Cameron now has 7 badges and they're all on their way non-stop to Cinnabar to face the mysterious Mewtwo. Will they defeat him and get Ash back? And what did Meowth discover on that monitor of his? Stay tuned to find out?