The Incredible Poke-Odyssey chapter 9 Electric Schemes Back in the Rocketville palace, Jessie was lying on a nice soft table dressed in a white towel. She was getting her back massaged by a muscular Machoke. "Ah, this is the life", she sighed, "If only everyone in the world could live like this. Too bad I'm just a monarch who doesn't care about the needs of the common folk. HA HA HA!" Just then, a Primeape came in rolling a table with a ringing vidphone on it. "It always rings when I'm doing something important!" Sighed Jessie as she got up and stretched her sexy arms. She picked up the receiver and pushed the voice only button. "Queen Jessie speaking", she said sweetly, "If you're calling to give me compliments, talk away. If not, hang up before I spray mace through the receiver!" "Greetings my most royal, smart, and superior majesty", said a pretty Japanese accented voice. "Reiko, is that you?" smiled Jessie delighted to hear from her favorite intern. "How are things going with our rebel retrieving party? Good I hope." "Not exactly", sighed Reiko, "Like the lump that forms on your mattress when you try to drift off into a peaceful night's sleep, we seem to have a little dilemma right now." "WHAT???!" shouted Jessie in a frightening voice causing Machoke and Primeape to hold each other while shaking. "You might want to turn on your vidphone screen so I can show you", said Reiko. Jessie did and she found Reiko and Meowth staring at James who was sitting on the ground in a trance. He was still under the effects of Tangela's truth spore and was saying stuff like. "I always felt like I was a woman trapped in a man's body. I was completely devastated when I got turned down for the role of Cinderella in our school play. I even had 12 inch glass slippers custom made just for me!" "What's he babbling about?" asked Jessie, "He seems more pathetic than usual!" "Those rebels did something to him to make him do nothing but tell the truth", said Reiko, "And now he won't stop being truthful." "There ain't nothing more useless than an honest villain!" cried Meowth. "Say Meowth, did I ever tell you that Jessie and I are really dog people?" asked James. "NOOOOOO!!!!!" screamed Meowth as he fell into a cartoon pit of despair. "How dare you spit out our little secret!!!" screamed Jessie as she shook the vidphone up and down, "I don't want people to know I like dirty, slobbery dogs!!!" "Please your highness", pleaded Reiko, "You might break our connection. I called you up so I can get some of your wisdom on what to do about this problem." Jessie calmly set the vidphone down. "Where are you now?" she asked. "Behind the Vermilion City Gym", answered Reiko. "Hold on, I'll be right there", said Jessie as she turned off the vidphone. She looked over at the Machoke and Primeape who were still shaking in fear. She smiled and sucked them both into their Pokeballs. Jessie then went behind a screen and changed into her old Team Rocket uniform and admired herself in the mirror. "Even in peasant garb, I still got it!" Jessie smiled. She then went to a huge shelf filled with Pokeballs and placed Machoke's ball into the M section and Primeape's into the P section. Then she grabbed a Pokeball from the K section. "Go Kadabra!" shouted Jessie releasing a strange looking Pokemon with pointy ears, a pointy snout with a mustache, and was holding a huge spoon. "Kadabra", said Jessie, "I need you to teleport me to Vermilion City right away." "Kadabra!" said Kadabra as it suddenly disappeared out of sight taking Jessie with it. * * * * * * Jessie and Kadabra found themselves in Vermilion City where Reiko and Meowth were waiting for them while James was still in a trance. "Heya Jess", smiled Meowth, "Long time no see!" "Greetings your majesty", said Reiko while bowing, "I hope your journey was blissful." "I only left the palace a second ago", said Jessie, "But thanks for your concern", and she patted Reiko's head while she rose proudly. "Oh, hi Jessie", said James, "Did I ever tell you that your hair looks like you've eaten a thousand pounds of spaghetti? And you do look like you've put on a few pounds as well." "WHAT?!!!!" screamed Jessie as she grabbed James by the ankles and spun him around until he hit the wall of the Pokemon gym. "Please your highness", pleaded Reiko, "Like the volcano on Cinnabar Island that could destroy its neighbors with one little irritation, you must try to control your temper or else there will be no Team Rocket left for you to boss around." "Oh very well", sighed Jessie as she stared at the beaten James, "Kadabra, teleport James back to the palace and have the royal doctors treat him." "Hey Jessie", said James who was trying to stand up with no luck at all, "I think the whole world should know about your secret desires like how you're a big fan of Jar Jar Bi...." "Get him out of here NOW!!" shouted Jessie. A nervous Kadabra complied and quickly teleported away taking James with it. "Whew, that was close", said Jessie as she wiped her forehead with a handkerchief. "I hope he didn't blab about anything else, did he?" "Well, he did tell those rebels about our old boss and about the nerve wrecking adventure we had when we last saw him", said Meowth, "Now they plan on going over to him to find out what he did with that brat Ash." "Giovanni?!" gasped Jessie, "Well why are you both hanging around Vermilion City for? His headquarters are in Celadon City! We've got to stop them before Giovanni finds out what we've done!" "We've heard the rebels were on their way here to get help from Lt. Surge", explained Reiko calmly, "We figured that we should wait here and capture them before they meet up with Surge." "Pretty good idea", smiled Jessie, "But I've got something better. Let's take over this gym and let them walk right into our cute little clutches!" "Are you crazy?!" said Meowth, "That place is packed with heavily armed war veterans with electric Pokemon! I still haven't recovered from all those Pikachu shocks!" "Relax you fraidy Meowth", sighed Jessie as she took out a suitcase and pulled out some rubber suits. Two human sized and one cat sized. "With these rubber PJs, we'll be invulnerable to anything those brain fried soldiers dish out!" "You're always so wise my queen", smiled Reiko as she started putting on the suit. Meowth was wondering what Jessie's boots tasted like for Reiko always seemed to be kissing them. "So how did you know we'd be needing these rubber suits Jess?" "Simple my dear Meowth", smiled Jessie, "You were in Vermilion City, the electric capitol of the world. So I figured that rubber suits would come in handy. And besides, it gives me an excuse to show off my lovely figure!" and she started posing in her purple covered suit and veil. After they were all suited, Reiko found an open window on top of the gym. Jessie used her 11 foot Arbok to push them up to the window causing them to fall into a vat of Pokeballs. "Wow, we hit the jackpot!" smiled Meowth. "I can't wait to see what kind of Pokemon are in these balls!" smiled Jessie as she tried to open up a ball but it just wouldn't open. "I do not think they are Pokeballs my queen", said Reiko nervously. "Well, what are they then?" asked Jessie. She turned the ball around and discovered two angry eyes looking at her saying, "Voltorb!" All the other balls in the vat had the same eyes and were sparking like crazy. "VOLTORBS!!!" they all screamed at once. They managed to leap out of the vat just as all the Voltorbs exploded. "Hey, what's going on in there?!" called out a girl's voice. Jessie, Reiko, and Meowth were on the floor looking up at two tough looking faces. A girl dressed in a red tank top with army pants and a guy wearing a black leather jacket also with army pants. "Now who do you suppose these jokers are Shocker?" asked the girl. "I don't know Electra", said Shocker, "But it looks like they've walked right into trouble!" "TROUBLE?!!" asked Jessie and Reiko nervously as they got up. "Look", laughed Electra, "You've got them so shook up, they might start crying for their mammas!" "Believe me, it's not what you think", sighed Meowth knowing what the two Rocket ladies would do whenever they hear the word trouble. Jessie: "Prepare for trouble!" Reiko: "And make it double!" Jessie: "To protect the world from devastation!" Reiko: "To unite all peoples within our nation!" Jessie: "To denounce the evils of truth and love!" Reiko: "To extend our reach to the stars above!" Jessie: "Queen Jessie!" Reiko: "And for King James too!" Jessie: "Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!" Reiko: "Surrender now or prepare to fight!" "Royal Meowth, that's right!" finished Meowth. "So you're the famous Team that took over Pallet Town!" grumbled Electra, "I've been wanting to battle you for years!" "Yeah", said Shocker, "Let's show these bad babes what military power's all about! Go Pikachu!" shouted Shocker as he released a cute little Pikachu. "Pika, pi!" it went. "A Pikachu?!" cried Meowth as he ran behind the two ladies' legs. "Oh no! Don't let it zap me girls! Protect me!" "Like the Omanytes that died out many years ago", sighed Reiko, "So did chivalry!" "Pikachu, paralyze them with thunder wave now!" commanded Shocker. Pikachu let loose a wave of electricity but it didn't effect Team Rocket one bit. "What happened?!" asked Meowth who just felt no pain, except for the fan that Jessie whacked him with. "Haven't you forgotten about our protective rubber suits you flea brain?" shouted Jessie. "There's no way this wac and this wacko can stop us from taking over this gym!" "Is that so?" smiled Electra, "Go Magneton!" and she released what looked like a bunch of magnets stuck together floating around. "Go ahead and try shocking us", cackled Jessie, "We're indestructible to your type of power!" "Oh, we're gonna shock you all right", smiled Electra, "Like this! Magneton, magnet power now!" Jessie, Reiko, and Meowth suddenly found themselves being pulled up into the air by a magnetic force. Meowth's metal charm on his head, Reiko's sword and metal throwing stars she kept hidden in her outfit, and all of Jessie's royal jewelry really attracted them to Magneton's power. They found themselves stuck all over Magneton. "Talk about a sticky situation!" cried Meowth as he tried to pull his forehead off from Magneton, but with no luck. "Magneton, blow them away with sonicboom!" smiled Electra. Magneton floated up to the open window that Team Rocket came through and blasted them right through it. "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" shouted all three of them together. "Ah, I haven't said that line in a long while!" Sighed Jessie as they all flew off into the horizon. * * * * * * "What do suppose they are?" asked Misty as she pointed out the van window to the three flying figures in the sky. "They're probably just three shooting stars", said Stella. "Or maybe it's more Pokemon who've left the moon and are coming here to live on Earth!" said Seymour excitedly. "Do you actually think all Pokemon came from the moon?" asked Bill the Rattata. "I kind of doubt that. I never felt any connection to the moon while inside this Rattata's body. Except when I get cravings for green cheese." "Well I know you're wrong about the moon being made of cheese", said Seymour, "I know for a fact that the moon is made of pistachio ice cream. Who'd want to live on a gooey drippy place like that? That's why all those poor Pokemon decided to come and live here!" "Yeah, whatever", said Bill wanting to end this conversation fast. "Well, here it is, the Vermilion City gym", said Jenny as she stopped the van and everyone stepped out of it. "I really hope Lt. Surge will be able to join our cavalry", said Misty. "His jaw alone could scare all those Rockets out of Pallet Town." "I also hope I can win a ThunderBadge from him", said Cameron. "Are you sure you want to take on Lt. Surge?" asked Brock, "I remember the last time we were here, the Pokemon center was packed with injured Pokemon that were beaten badly by Surge's Raichu." "Even Ash and Pikachu were a little scared to come to his gym", said Misty, "I sure hope Ash is brave wherever he is now", she thought to herself. "Don't worry", smiled Cameron, "Because I got Sandy here with me. And everyone knows that electric attacks don't effect ground Pokemon. Right Sandy?" "Shrew, shrew!" said Sandy who was practicing boxing with his shadow. "I wouldn't be so sure", said Brock who remembered the time Ash's little Pikachu shocked his big Geodude black as coal. "I guess we should all go inside and continue our quest", said Jenny. "You're coming with us?" asked Stella, "Don't you have an identical relative here you need to visit?" "No", said Jenny sadly, "My second cousin who works here was one of the unfortunate Jennies that got trapped in Pallet Town. Oh, how I miss our yearly barbecues!" and small tears formed in her eyes. "Please don't feel sad Jenny", said Seymour who was trying to find a handkerchief in his labcoat but had none in his pockets. "Here us this", said Bill as he handed Seymour a small yellow handkerchief with holes. "Thanks Bill", said Seymour as he handed it to Jenny who used it to blow her nose. "Thank you Seymour", said Jenny, "This is a very interesting handkerchief. Not only does it look like swiss cheese, it smells like it too." Seymour smiled as he looked at Jenny and then looked down at Bill and frowned. "What else is a rodent supposed to carry?" whispered Bill sheepishly. * * * * * * When they all stepped inside the gym, Shocker and Electra were standing right in front of them. "Halt!" shouted Shocker, "What brings you civilians into our gym?" "If you're here to challenge our Lieutenant to a Pokemon match, come back later", said Electra, "He's busy having his breakfast of two dozen raw eggs and gruelshakes. He can get pretty steamed if he's interrupted." "Never mind sergeant, I'm done already", said a gruff sounding voice. "SIR, YES SIR!" shouted Shocker and Electra as they stood at attention while saluting. Out of the shadows stepped Lt. Surge. He was extremely large, extremely muscled, and extremely intimidating with his mean looking stare, blonde buzzcut, and a piece of raw egg on his huge jaw. Cameron didn't feel nervous when he saw him in the cartoon, but meeting him live was another story. "Well, well, what babies do we have here today?" asked Lt. Surge as he looked at Misty. "Have you come here to get your pretty little baby face pulverized by yours truly?" "Uh, no sir", said Misty nervously, "Don't you remember us Lt. Surge? I'm Misty and this is Brock. We visited your gym six years ago." "Hmmmm", said Surge, "I've had many trainers come here and leave crying for their mammas for many years. So why should I recognize you babies? Are any of you here for a Pokemon match or do I have to court marshal you all out of here?" "No Lt. Surge", said Jenny, "I'm Officer Jenny from Pallet Town and we've come a long way to ask you for help." "Now hold on there a minute Officer", said Shocker, "If you want to ask any favors or even speak to our Lieutenant, you have to challenge him to a Pokemon match. If not, Sgt. Electra and I will get to work our electric magic on you." "That's no way to talk to an officer of the law!" said Jenny angrily as she grabbed Shocker by his leather jacket. "No he's right", smirked Surge while tossing a coin in the air and then crushing it to powder with his bare hand. "And besides, a Lieutenant like me ranks higher than a lowly officer like yourself girly." "Not to mention another kind of rank", thought Stella while holding her nose. Jenny was about to use her rage attack on Surge until Cameron stopped her. "Please let me challenge him", said Cameron, "That way we can continue this quest without any trouble. "Oh all right", grumbled Jenny while looking dagger eyed at Surge. * * * * * * A minute later, Cameron and Lt. Surge were standing in opposite corners over a huge metal floor. "You know baby", said Surge, "That hat you're wearing reminds me of a kid who actually beat me a few years back. It's gonna be a pleasure knocking you and your Pokemon off of this planet!" Cameron just stood there nervously hoping his Sandshrew was tough enough for Surge's Raichu. "We'll each use two Pokemon, no time limit", said Surge. "Go ahead and release your first puny Pokemon!" "All right, I will", said Cameron trying to show no fear. "Sandy, I choose you", and he released Sandy on the steel floor ready for action. "Aw, ain't that cute?" laughed Surge, "The baby thinks he can defeat my electricity with a ground Pokemon. I've got just the Pokemon for those types. Go Electrode!" and he released what looked like a Voltorb, except it was a lot bigger and scarier looking. "An Electrode!" thought Cameron, "Those things can explode in just one second! Sandy, dig underground quick!" shouted Cameron. Sandy complied but his claws couldn't tear through the tough steel floor. "Sorry little mousie", laughed Surge, "But there ain't no runnin' from a Pokemon match. Electrode, explosion now!" Everyone in the room quickly covered their ears for when a Pokemon blows itself up, it's quite a painful noise. Electrode made a huge BOOM and smoke filled the room. Cameron nervously waited for the smoke to clear wondering how injured Sandy would become. When he finally saw Sandy, Cameron was relieved that Sandy was rolled up in his protective ball. "All right Sandy!" shouted Cameron happily, "What a great strategy! Protecting yourself and letting your opponent finish itself off." "Sandshrew!" said Sandy doing a double back flip in triumph. "Ha!" scoffed Surge, "Your Sandshrew may be smart, but let's see it protect itself from my toughest private! Go Raichu!" and he released a larger version of Pikachu with bigger ears and a longer electric tail. "Don't worry Sandy", whispered Cameron, "Raichu's electric attacks won't harm a ground Pokemon like you. You've got this battle won already!" "Shrew!" Sandy shouted at the smirking Raichu. "Chu!" replied Raichu in an overconfident voice. "All right Raichu", said Surge, "Give it your thunderbolt attack!" Raichu let loose a huge bolt of lightning at Sandy completely shocking it like crazy. "SSSHHHRRREEEWWW!" screamed Sandy who had never experienced an electric shock before in his life. "Sandy!" cried Cameron as he saw his poor Pokemon on the ground all fried to a crisp. "That's impossible! I thought ground Pokemon were invulnerable to electricity!" "You've made the mistake every little baby makes thinking their groundies can defeat my Raichu", laughed Surge. "Pokemon types don't matter here in this gym, strength is the only thing that counts and I'll show you! Raichu, finish it off with mega-kick!" "Raichu!" shouted the mouse as it launched its huge foot at the weakened Sandy. But Sandy managed to dodge out of the way causing Raichu to fly out of the ring, ramming into Shocker's stomach. "Oh thank God!" said Cameron as he pulled out Sandy's Pokeball getting ready to pull Sandy back in. But Sandy just leapt out of the way of the Pokeball's beam. "You don't seriously want to keep on battling in your condition?!" asked Cameron. "I'll just send out another Pokemon so you can..." "Sandshrew, shrew, shrew, shrew!" explained Sandy for he knew there was no other choice. Zubat and Slowpoke would be totally weak against Raichu's electricity for they were flying and water Pokemon and if Cameron sent out Gloom, he'd be sneezing all over the place while all those mean human soldiers would just laugh at him. "Raichu, get back in there and use your swift attack!" commanded Surge. "CHU, RAI, CHU!" shouted Raichu which meant sir yes sir in Raichuese. It jumped off of the dazed Shocker's stomach and got back into the ring with Sandy. Raichu started throwing little swift stars at Sandy with no star missing his poor battered body. "Sandy, you have to get back in your ball now!" cried Cameron. "Shrew!" shouted Sandy shaking his head no. Then he started throwing his own swift stars at the stars Raichu was throwing. Everyone ducked in cover as little glowing stars started flying all over the place. One of them almost cut off Misty's pigtail. "Which one of you two threw that star!!!" she shouted hysterically while Brock and Stella tried to calm her down. "All right Sandy, blind it with your sand attack!" commanded Cameron who now had his confidence in Sandy back. "Shrew", replied Sandy as it blew sand into Raichu's eyes causing it to rub them like crazy. "No private!" shouted Surge, "Don't rub your eyes like a big crybaby! Get that walking sandbox with your thunder! That way you'll be sure to strike it wherever it's standing!" "Raichu", cried Raichu as it concentrated hard. The entire room went black and about ten lightning bolts shot down on the floor making the room all bright and blinding. "Oh no, Sandy's done for!" thought Cameron as he covered his eyes. "Why did you have to be so stubborn?!" Just then he felt something tug on his pants leg and saying a soft "Shrew." Cameron uncovered his eyes and found Sandy a little burned and crispy but still alive and smiling. He looked at the battleground and found Raichu all blackened and charred for it got hit by one of its own lightning bolts while Sandy was able to dodge them all. "Way to go Sandy!" smiled Cameron as he picked up his Sandshrew while all his friends cheered for both of them. Lt. Surge just sucked Raichu back into his Pokeball and approached Cameron. His big scary frown turned into a huge smile. "Congratulations kid", he said, "Your Sandshrew may be undisciplined but you've trained it well in combat. Here you go. The ThunderBadge is yours." And he handed Cameron a badge that looked like a red ruby surrounded by little lightning points. Cameron smiled as he gazed at the pretty badge while Surge and his soldiers saluted him. Cameron saluted back to them while holding Sandy in his other arm who was also saluting back. "Well now that we've had our little Pokemon match", said Jenny, "Maybe we can start discussing the thing I wanted to talk to you about." "Fire away officer", said Surge. And Jenny did explaining how they needed Surge's soldiers and powerful Pokemon to join their cavalry so they could free Pallet Town from Team Rocket. Electra almost jumped when she heard the words Pallet Town. "Sorry, no can do", said Surge. "But why not?" asked Jenny, "You are a famous war hero aren't you?" "But of course", smiled Surge beating his chest. "It's just that me and my Pokemon had experienced harrowing torments and hardships during PokeWar II and I promised them that they'd never have to fight in another war again. Just engage in tiny Pokemon battles." "But couldn't we make a small exception just this once?" asked Electra. "Did I give you permission to speak soldier?!" bellowed Surge. "SIR, NO SIR!!!" shouted Electra standing at attention. "Maybe you don't want to fight because you're just a cowardly chicken who hates getting his spiffy uniform dirty", called out Misty hoping that would motivate Surge into coming with them. Surge just giggled at Misty's cute peer pressure and pushed a button on a remote. A door opened from the ceiling and a pile of Voltorbs and Electrodes fell onto the floor just waiting to explode. "Let's see who're the chickens now!" laughed Surge. "These balls will go off in about ten seconds if you feel like you're brave enough to hang around here. One, two, three...." Counted Surge. Our heroes sped out of the gym as fast as they could just as Surge shouted out "TEN!" Then all the Voltorbs and Electrodes popped open revealing candy in each one. "The old fake Voltorbs and Electrodes filled with candy strategy", laughed Shocker as he scooped out a handful, "You sure are smart sir." "And don't you forget it!" smiled Surge as he chomped down on 50 jawbreakers at once. Electra just stood there thinking. * * * * * * An hour later, Cameron and his friends were having lunch at the Pokemon center's café. Sandy, who had just been healed by Nurse Joy, was enjoying a huge deluxe plate of corn chips. "You deserve it champ", smiled Cameron as he was admiring his third badge. "That Lt. Surge sure was tough", said Seymour. "I sure am glad he was on our side during the war", said Brock. "We really could've used him in our cavalry", said Jenny. "I don't know if I could stand his beefy machoism every step of the way though", said Misty who was a little thankful that Surge wasn't coming with them. "I don't know if I can stand seeing a Rattata on a public fast food place", thought Stella who was watching Bill sitting on the table next to Sandy enjoying a plate of nachos with all varieties of cheese dip. "Care for a bite?" Bill asked Stella holding a half-nibbled nacho up to her. "Uh, no thanks Bill." Said Stella trying to prevent herself from turning green. "I'm going to the restroom for a minute", said Cameron, "Maybe an idea will come to me while I'm in there." And he walked off to the men's room. Cameron had locked the door to the men's room and did his business in the nearby wall toilet. When he was done, he suddenly heard a small knock on the closed bathroom stall door nearby. Cameron curiously opened the door and was shocked to find Electra standing there. "What are you doing in the men's rmmmmph!" said Cameron just as Electra covered his mouth. "Keep your voice down kid", whispered Electra, "I snuck in here because I don't want Lt. Surge or Shocker finding me here with you." "But why do you want to see me?" asked Cameron. "Because I want to free Pallet Town as well", said Electra. "But why?" asked Cameron. "Because Pallet Town's my birthplace", said Electra, "I'll do anything for my glorious homeland, even going against Lt. Surge's orders. I want to give you something that might be good against the Rockets' electric wall." She reached into her pants pocket, pulled out a Pokeball and threw it to Cameron. He opened it up and out popped a short creature with huge muscles, yellow fur with black stripes, small antennas on its head, and a long cat's tail. "BUZZZZZ!" said the creature while little sparks were forming on its antennas. Cameron took out his Pokedex and aimed it at the Pokemon. "ELECTABUZZ, the electric Pokemon", said Dexeena, "Normally found near power plants, they can wander away and cause major blackouts in cities." "Private Buzz here has saved our butts countless times during the war", said Electra, "And I think he'd be a perfect addition to your team." "Are you sure you want me to have him?" asked Cameron, "Didn't Lt. Surge promise all his Pokemon that they'd never have to fight in another war again?" "Yes, but Buzz here is different", smiled Electra, "He really misses being in combat and I'd do anything to make him happy again. So please make us both happy and recruit him." "You got it!" smiled Cameron as he stuck out his hand to the Electabuzz, "Welcome to my team Buzz." Buzz just frowned at the funny looking kid with glasses. He just stuck his finger at Cameron and gave him a small thundershock. "I don't think it wants to go with me", said Cameron whose hair was now sticking up like Bart Simpson. "Don't worry, I'll straighten him out", said Electra, "ATTENTION!" she shouted in a tough drill sergeant's voice. Buzz stood at attention while saluting and let out a "BUZZ, EL, BUZZ!" "Now you listen and you listen good Private Buzz!" shouted Electra, "Like it or not, I'm transferring you to Cameron's unit. Now you will obey your new commanding officer or I'll have you peeling and frying potatoes till you're nothing but a worn out old sparkplug! Got that!" "BUZZ, EL, BUZZ!!!" shouted Buzz. "Now get down on your fat fuzzy belly and give me fifty!" shouted Electra. "BUZZ, EL, BUZZ!" shouted Buzz as he plopped onto the white tiled floor and started doing push-ups with only one hand. Cameron was shocked at the way Electra handled that smug Pokemon. "There you go Cameron", smiled Electra, "I bet you won't have any problems with good ol' Buzz now. Right Private?" she asked Buzz while looking at him with tanks forming in her eyes. "I just don't know how I can ever thank you for this", said Cameron looking at his new Pokemon. "Just keep him in his Pokeball until you're far, far away from Vermilion City", said Electra, "If Lt. Surge found out I gave Buzz to you, he'd have me scrubbing his personal toilet till I'm old and gray." "But won't Lt. Surge find out that his Electabuzz is missing one day?" asked Cameron. "Don't worry about it", smiled Electra, "I've replaced Buzz with a stuffed toy Electabuzz. Believe me, Surgie won't know the difference!" Then she climbed onto the sink and pushed open the window above. "Safe journey to both of you", smiled Electra as she gave Cameron and Buzz a victory sign with her fingers. Cameron smiled and did the same as he watched the pretty soldier climb through the bathroom window and was gone. * * * * * * Meanwhile at the Vermilion City power plant, three figures were outside the plant surrounding a huge wooden box. A long cord was sticking out of the box and it seemed to be sucking all the power out of a nearby generator. "Perfect!" smiled Jessie, "Thank badness there's no solar energy here!" "Yeah", said Meowth, "Are those saps gonna get a charge out of our latest scheme!" laughed Meowth like a mad maniac. "Like the ground that plays executioner to a poor rooted tree during a thunderstorm, our clever little rebels will be in for quite a shock as well!" laughed Reiko but much more maturely though. TO BE CONTINUED AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well so far Cameron now has three badges and five Pokemon, but will Team Rocket's mystery box stop Cameron from getting more? We'll soon find out in chapter 10! ;)