Poke-Odyssey 2001 chapter 26

The Final Match and Chapter

Things have gotten really interesting for young Cameron Fusterman.  He and his 
friends had just arrived in Vinegar Town.  Home of the famous Ryooku League HQ 
where he just defeated the Supreme 4.  The four top Pokemon trainers in Ryooku 
who were lead by Zeus, the president and founder of the Ryooku League.  When 
Cameron and Zeus had their battle, Team Rocket had interrupted their match.  But 
luckily, Cameron had defeated them.  Probably for the last time for Zeus 
ordered his Ampharos to seal up the rockets in cotton straitjackets and then 
called security while he let Cameron face the Ryooku League champion.  Cameron 
became shocked when he found out it was AJ, one of Ash's old opponents who is 
now the undefeated champion of Ryooku.  And now the final chapter.

"You're my final opponent?!" gasped Cameron nervously while the crowd in the 
stands cheered like crazy.

"Pretty shocking, huh?" scoffed AJ while twirling a Pokeball around on his 
finger. "You may have defeated Team Rocket, but remember, I defeated them 
before you did!  So it's probably no guess who's gonna win this match.  Heh heh 
heh!" Cameron was a little too nervous to reply back, but before he could, a 
referee got between them.

"Okay boys, here are the rules", said the ref. "This'll be a 6 vs. 6 match with 
no time limit.  Fusterman, you can switch any Pokemon you feel is weakening or 
might be a better opponent.  But AJ, being the champion, will not be allowed to 
switch his.  And the winner will be the one who has defeated all six of their 
opponent's Pokemon.  Understand?"

"As usual", smiled AJ.

"Yes I do", said Cameron.

"Very good", said the ref. "The match will start in a half-hour.  Fusterman, 
you can go to that dugout over there where Nurse Joy will restore all your 
Pokemon's health."

"Thank you", said Cameron as he pulled his Pokemon back into their balls.  Then 
called Sandy over as he walked into the dugout while AJ walked over to the 
other side.

"Hello Cameron, my name is Nurse Joy", smiled the nurse as Cameron approached 
her. "It's such an honor to have a hero competing in the Ryooku League."

"Thank you", said Cameron who just couldn't stop blushing all day from hearing 
all this praise.

"Let me take your Pokeballs and I'll make them all fighting fit", smiled Joy.  
Cameron handed Sandy and all his Pokeballs to Joy. "I just hope AJ's Pokemon 
won't damage them too badly afterwards", said Joy.

"Shrew?!" gasped Sandy not liking those words he just heard.

"Don't worry little Sandshrew", smiled Joy as she pushed Sandy's nose with her 
finger. "Because if that happens, I would love to nurse a cutie like you back 
to health again."

"Shrew!" sighed Sandy as he smiled and snuggled into Joy's bosom as she took 
him to a back room.  Cameron wondered if Sandy liked being in Joy's arms a 
little too much.

"Getting the jitters champ?" called out a familiar voice.

"Ash?" gasped Cameron as he turned around and saw Ash and Pikachu in the dugout 
with him. "I thought no one else was allowed to go in with me."

"You had to face the Supreme 4 alone", said Ash. "But they said that only 
coaches are allowed to be in the dugout with their trainers.  Congratulations 
on getting this far."

"Pika pi!" said Pikachu congratulating him.

"Thanks guys", said Cameron nervously. "I just noticed that all my friends and 
family are in the stands too."

"Yeah, I met them before I went in", said Ash. "They wanted me to tell you that 
they're all so very proud of you and they'll believe that you'll win this whole 
thing."

"But did you see who my opponent was?!" asked Cameron nervously. "I have this 
feeling that AJ's gonna mop the floor with me and stuff poor Sandy in his mop 
bucket."

"Just don't think about it", said Ash. "I'm sure you'll do fine against AJ."

"I remember you thought the same thing when you battled him", said Cameron. 
"And you ended up losing.  No offense guys."

"Chu Pika", said Pikachu which meant, "None taken."

"I think the reason I lost to AJ was because I let my head get too big", said 
Ash humbly. "The way I kept bragging about my wins and my badges, I didn't 
really concentrate too much on the actual battle and that became my downfall."

"More like nosefall", thought Cameron giggling as he remembered the episode 
where Ash started to grow a long nose from all that untruthful boasting and 
when AJ defeated Ash, his long nose broke off like a twig.  That episode always 
made Cameron laugh a little.

"What's so funny?" asked Ash.

"Oh, nothing", said Cameron getting his worried face back. "I'm just trying to 
laugh during my upcoming challenge."

"Well, I can certainly tell that you're not going through a huge ego-trip like 
I did", said Ash. "Just concentrate on the game, figure out which of your 
Pokemon will be good against AJ's, and believe in the power of your Pokemon."

"Thanks coach", smiled Cameron feeling not so nervous as before.  Just then, 
the announcer started talking.

"Fans, we have a surprise treat for all of you!" said the announcer. "We just 
received news from our beloved founder Zeus, that Cameron Fusterman has 
defeated Team Rocket for the second time about a few minutes ago!"  The crowd 
cheered as they heard this news.  Seymour and Jenny hugged each other for they 
were happy that Cameron had defeated their enemies and that they wouldn't be 
harming their boy for a while.

"And as a half-time treat, our local Jennies are wheeling in the imprisoned 
Rockets so you can witness young Fusterman's latest victory."  Two Officer 
Jennies started wheeling in a huge cage where Jessie, James, and Meowth were 
locked up in with James feeling blue, Jessie burning with red, and Meowth was 
feeling both black and blue.  The crowd cheered and laughed as they saw the 
infamous Rockets they heard so much about locked up like savage Pokemon.  Some 
of them even started throwing food at the Rockets.

"AUGGH!" cried James as he got hit with an ice cream cone. "An ice cream 
headache in the worst way!"

"Meowth's hate water!" whined Meowth as he got hit with a cup of soda.

"But that's soda, not water", said James as he got hit with half a hot dog.

"Who cares!  It's wet ain't it?!" whined Meowth as a sticky candy apple hit his 
fur.

"This is all your faults you two simpletons!" growled Jessie as she got chewed 
bubble gum in her hair.

"How is this our faults?" protested James as a popcorn bucket landed on his 
head.

"It's just is!" growled Jessie. "So let's just leave it at that!" Then a box of 
Japanese noodles landed on her head. "WHO THREW THAT?!" growled Jessie as she 
looked around the stands filled with thousands of people while a certain ninja 
girl was smiling innocently while twiddling her chopsticks.

"How's that for a confidence booster champ?" smiled Ash as he patted Cameron's 
shoulder.

"I think that did it!" smiled Cameron watching their enemies getting their just 
desserts for Gary had just ordered a bunch of cream pies to throw at the 
Rockets.

In the other dugout, AJ was watching this interesting half-time show while 
lifting two dumbbells. "Maybe I shouldn't underestimate this kid after all", 
he thought.

*      *      *      *      *      *

Soon, it was time for the match to begin.  The cage that held Team Rocket was 
carted off to the side and Cameron and AJ were both standing on huge stands 
looking down at the green and white lined battle field below. "Let the match 
begin!" said the ref as he blew his whistle.

"With pleasure!" laughed AJ. "Well kid, let's see how good your Pokemon are 
against my flying warrior!  Go Noctowl!" and he released a huge owl with big 
eyes and even bigger eyebrows.  

"It looks like AJ's sticking with his usual strategy and has chosen Noctowl as 
his first battler", said the announcer as a picture of the owl appeared on a 
huge board under the name AJ.

"Noctowl?" asked Cameron as he aimed his Dex at the owl.

"NOCTOWL: the evolved form of Hoot-Hoot", replied Dextra. "Noctowl's huge 
eyes are specially adapted.  They concentrate even faint light and enable it to 
see in the dark."

"You'd better knock that brat out if you know what's good for you you overgrown 
featherduster!" shouted Jessie trying to bring Cameron down so he'd lose.  But 
Jessie got hit with another box of noodles while a certain ninja smiled 
innocently again.

"Since Noctowl's a flying-type, I'll start with you Buzz", said Cameron as he 
released his Electabuzz onto the field. "BUZZ, EL BUZZ!" said Buzz while saluting 
his master.

"And it looks like Fusterman has chosen an Electabuzz for his first fighter", 
said the announcer as a picture of an Electabuzz appeared on the right side of 
the same board under the name Fusterman.

"Elekid's become an Electabuzz again?" gasped Ash. "I haven't really noticed 
that when they entered the field."

"Pika, Pi!" said Pikachu who was glad that Buzz was grown up again, but sad 
that the cute little Elekid he befriended was no more.

"Okay Buzz, start off with your thunderpunch!" said Cameron.  Buzz nodded and 
started creating a sparking fist.

"Noctowl!  Create a reflect shield!" commanded AJ.  Noctowl complied by 
creating a glowing reflect dome around itself protecting it from the 
thunderpunch attack.  Buzz kept punching away at the dome, but with no success. 
"Okay Noctowl", said AJ. "Make it even more tired with a hypnosis attack."

"HOOO!" said Noctowl as its eyes glowed causing Buzz to stop punching and yawn.

"BUZZ, YOU'VE GOTTA STAY AWAKE!" cried Cameron as he watched his Electabuzz 
about to drop down on the ground.

"But your Buzz looks so tired", cackled AJ. "Why don't I have Noctowl tuck it 
in?  Noctowl, use a fly attack!" "HOOOO!" hooted Noctowl as it floated up high 
in the air and started to swoop down at full speed getting closer and closer to 
the sleepy Buzz.

"Quick Buzz, return!" cried Cameron as he quickly sucked Buzz back into his 
ball and put Slowking onto the field.  Noctowl flew down and bounced off 
Slowie's tough Shellder crown back into AJ's stand.

"Is it raining today?" asked Slowie as he rubbed his crown wondering what hit 
him as a picture of a Slowking appeared under the picture of the Electabuzz.

Noctowl got back on its feet and rubbed its sore head with its wing. "You know 
what to do Noctowl?!" said AJ. "Give it another hypnosis attack."

"Slowie, push your crown down!" cried Cameron. "Okay Mamma", complied Slowie 
as he pushed his crown over his eyes so Noctowl's hypno-beams couldn't harm him.

"He's got his eyes closed!" snickered AJ. "That's the advantage we need.  Give 
'em your confusion! "HOOO!" concentrated Noctowl as it released a psychic 
blast at Slowie.  Since Slowie had his eyes covered, all that the psychic 
attack did was make him see pretty retro-colored blobs in the darkness. 

"That's pretty!" said Slowie. "I give some to you too!" And Slowie released his 
psychic blast at Noctowl.  Since Noctowl didn't have his eyes covered and they 
were extremely huge, the psychic attack did a lot of damage to poor Noctowl 
causing it to get knocked out.  The picture of the Noctowl faded out showing 
that AJ's first Pokemon had been defeated.

"Hey, you did it Slowie!" called out Cameron. "You defeated AJ's first Pokemon!"

"I did?" asked Slowie with his eyes still covered. "I wish I could've seen it."

"You just gotten lucky punk!" scoffed AJ as he pulled Noctowl back and took out 
another Pokeball. "But let's see if you can handle the cold steel and hot 
lightning of Magneton!" and he released what looked like three Magnemites 
bolted together.

"There's a Pokemon I remember dealing with on my Gameboy", said Cameron as he 
pointed his Dex at the cluster of magnets.

"MAGNETON: the evolved form of Magnemite", replied Dextra. "Three Magnemites 
are linked together by a strong magnetic force.  Ear aches will occur if you 
get too close."

"Sorry Slowie, but I don't want a water-type like you dealing with electrical 
appliances", said Cameron as he pulled the still eye-covered Slowking back into 
his ball. "Sandy, you want to handle this?"

"Shrew!" said Sandy as he eagerly jumped off the stand and ran out into the 
field ready to take on Magneton.

"So the little hose stopper wants to get in the game", laughed AJ remembering 
what that little Shrew did to him today. "Magneton!  Zap cannon now!" commanded 
AJ.  Magneton suddenly used the same strategy Zeus's Ampharos used.  It kept 
blasting zap cannons onto the field causing Sandy to get knocked back by 
powerful blasts.

"Quick Sandy!" cried Cameron. "Do what you did today and dig to escape those 
zap cannons!"

"SHREW!" nodded Sandy as he started digging for his dear life.

"You can dig but you can't hide", laughed AJ. "Magneton, lock on and release a 
sonicboom!" Magneton complied and locked on to Sandy's tail just as he escaped 
into the ground.  Then Magneton released a booming tornado into the hole Sandy 
had just dug.

"OH NO!" cried Cameron realizing that digging away from a battle may not always 
work.

As Sandy kept digging, he heard some booming noises coming right behind him. 
"Shrew?" he asked as he turned around and saw the sonicboom chasing after him.  
He started clawing up to the surface as the sonicboom tracked him down thanks 
to Magneton's lock on.  Then Sandy burst out of the ground right behind 
Magneton.  "Mag?" asked Magneton as Sandy jumped on top of it and stuffed it 
into the hole he just dug plugging it up.

"Magneton!  Get out of that hole now!" cried AJ.  But it was too late.  The 
sonicboom hit Magneton blasting it out of the hole causing some of its bolts to 
pop out and collapse onto the field into a pile of scrap metal.  Then the 
picture of Magneton on the board faded out as well.

"Great work Sandy", said a relieved Cameron.

"Shrew!" said Sandy as he gave his master a dirt covered claws up.

"I'm glad my Magnemite isn't here to see that", said Prof. Oak.

"Don't worry Magneton", said AJ as he pulled all the parts back into its ball. 
"A trip to Radio Shack should get you fully buffed and recharged soon." Then AJ 
took out his third Pokeball. "Let's see if my Jumpluff will make you jump!" And 
he released a blue round bush with three branches each with a huge cottonball 
on them. "JUMP!" it squeaked.

"Think of all the underwear I could knit Ash with all that cotton", said Mrs. 
Ketchum as Cameron activated his Dex again.

"JUMPLUFF: the cottonweed Pokemon.  The evolved form of Skiploom", replied 
Dextra. "Jumpluff drifts on seasonal winds and spreads its cotton-like spores 
all over the world to make more offspring."

"Okay Sandy, get back here!" said Cameron not wanting Sandy to battle this new 
grass-type.  Sandy quickly galloped back up onto the stand as Cameron released 
his Crobat.

"Okay Jumpluff", said AJ. "Pound that bat with your pay day attack!" 

"JUMP!" said Jumpluff as it started waving its branches around and gold coins 
started flying out of its cottonballs like huge wooly purses.  "BAT!" cried 
Batty as she felt the currency of the coins hit her hard.

"I guess money doesn't grow on trees after all", said Brock. "Just on Jumpluffs."

"After I win this match, feel free to help yourselves to all this money!" 
called out AJ as the crowd cheered while poor Batty kept getting hit with coins.

"How sadistic can this guy be?" growled Jessie as she tried to reach for those 
coins but couldn't for she was still locked up along with her other two 
teammates.

"Meowth", growled James. "If that dumb weed can learn pay day, why can't you?!"

"Because I'm no branch executive?" said Meowth.  Jessie and James just whacked 
him for that bad pun.

"Batty!" called out Cameron. "Avoid those pennies from heck with a fly attack!" 
Batty complied by soaring high up in the air and swooping down at Jumpluff 
dodging all the incoming coins and cutting off all three of its cotton branches. 
"Pluff?" cried Jumpluff as it looked at its pruned appendages.

"It looks like that bush has gone bankrupt", said Stella.

"Just use you synthesis power Jumpluff", called out AJ.  Jumpluff smiled and 
concentrated.  Suddenly three new cottonballs popped right out of Jumpluff's 
branches as if they were never cut off. "Now give it your cotton spore!" 
commanded AJ as Jumpluff sprayed some spores on Batty causing her to get 
trapped in a cotton ball then plop down onto the field.

"Oh no!" thought Cameron as he saw Batty trying her best to squirm free from 
her cotton prison.

"Now release a solarbeam Jumpluff!" commanded AJ.  Jumpluff started 
concentrating while absorbing lots of sunlight through its body.

"Quick Batty, use your hyper beam!" cried Cameron.  Batty stopped struggling 
and started to charge herself up as well.  Soon, both Pokemon had released 
their beams.  But hyper beams were a lot more powerful than solarbeams and the 
hyper beam Batty released blasted her free from the cotton ball, cut through 
the solarbeam, and hit Jumpluff right in the face.  "JUUUUMP!" cried Jumpluff 
as it fainted and Jumpluff's picture faded from the screen.

"So you've defeated 3 of my Pokemon so far", said AJ. "Not impressed.  Those 
were just my rookies.  Now I get to break out my champion fighters!  Now it's 
time for your Pokemon to start fading off the board!  Go Magcargo!" and AJ 
released a huge snail made of bubbly lava with a black cracked stone for a 
shell. "MAAGG!" said the snail in a monstrous voice as Cameron activated his 
Dex.

"MAGCARGO: the evolved form of Slugma", replied Dextra. "The shell on 
Magcargo's back is just skin that has cooled and hardened.  It breaks easily 
with a slight touch."

"Okay Batty", said Cameron. "Confuse that snail with a confuse ray!  Batty?  Uh, 
Batty?" But Batty just sat there on the field unmoving for she was still 
recharging from that hyper beam attack.

"Now's your chance Magcargo", said AJ, "Flamethrower attack!" Magcargo blasted 
some fire at Batty causing her to faint.  Then the picture of Crobat faded out.

"Poor Batty!" cried Cameron as he pulled the defeated Crobat back into her ball 
as the announcer shouted. "Fusterman's first Pokemon has been defeated!"

"GRRRRR!" growled Reiko just wanting to dump a whole mound of salt on that 
snail along with that announcer for making that announcement.

"You did your best Batty", said Cameron. "But I think Slowie would do better 
against this fire-type." And he released his Slowking back onto the field. 
"Slow?" asked Slowie who still had his crown over his eyes. Then lifted it back 
up and was looking at the boiling face of Magcargo.

"Magcargo, call on your sunny day power!" called out AJ.  Magcargo concentrated 
and the sun suddenly started shining really bright.  Everyone in the stands 
took out their sunglasses while Cameron had his cap to protect his eyes.  Even 
Sandy took out a pair of cute little sunglasses.  Slowie quickly recovered his 
eyes with his crown while Magcargo looked like it was getting hotter.

"Quick Slowie, douse that Magcargo with your surf attack!" cried Cameron. 
"SLOW!" said Slowie as he released a wave right at Magcargo, but all that water 
just turned into clouds of steam the minute it touched Magcargo's red boiling 
skin.

"What just happened?!" gasped Cameron surprised that the surf attack didn't 
work. "Slow?" said Slowie as he lifted his crown and was surprised as well.

"Thank the power of sunny day", scoffed AJ. "Magcargo now has the power of the 
very sun.  Show 'em with a fire blast Maggy-Baby!" "CAAAAR!" growled Magcargo 
as it released a huge clump of fire right at poor Slowie charring him just like 
how Batty got charred.  Then Slowie's picture faded from the board for Cameron's 
second Pokemon had been defeated.

"Not again!" cried Cameron as he pulled the singed Slowking back into his ball.

"I'm starting to like this AJ human", said Meowth as he and Team Rocket watched 
delightfully at AJ making a fool of Cameron and his Pokemon.

"Do you want to give it a go Sandy?" asked Cameron. "Ground attacks are also 
strong against fire."

"Shrew!" said Sandy with rage in his eyes as he ran back out onto the field 
wanting to get revenge for Batty and Slowie.

"Give 'em another fire blast Magcargo!" called out AJ.  

"Send out a sandstorm Sandy!" called out Cameron. "SHREW!" cried Sandy as he 
blasted a huge sandstorm at Magcargo before it could launch its fire blast.

"It's just like when he beat my Arcanine", thought Gary remembering that time 
he and Cameron were battling in the Indigo League.  Soon the storm cleared and 
everyone became surprised when they saw Magcargo.  Its body was completely 
covered with sand with no trace of red lava anywhere. "MAG!" moaned the snail 
who was unable to launch any fire attacks.

"Sandy would make a great member of the Pallet firefighting squad", thought 
Jenny.

"You may not have any firepower left, but you still have some other features 
Magcargo", called out AJ. "Use your rollout attack!"

"MAAAGG!" growled Magcargo as it started rolling like a huge bowling ball at 
Sandy. "Shrew!" cried Sandy as he jumped into the air and landed on the rolling 
rock like a clown in the circus.

"Magcargo can keep rolling for hours!" laughed AJ. "Your Sandshrew will be too 
pooped to fight by the time Magcargo stops!"

"I gotta think of something!" said Cameron as he saw Sandy still trying to keep 
his balance on the rolling snail.  Then he remembered what Dextra said about 
Magcargo's shell being brittle and saw bits of ash falling off of Magcargo.

"I'm not on Magcargo Mr. Narrator", said Ash. "Sandy is.  And what do you mean 
by bits of me falling off?!"

"ARRRGH!" said me falling backwards.

"Okay Sandy!" said Cameron who now had an idea. "Try using a rock smash attack!"

"SHREW!" said Sandy as he made a fist with his foot and kicked right through 
the rolling shell, causing Magcargo to stop and crumble into bits of ash, rock, 
and sand.

"Magcargo!  Are you all right?!" cried AJ. "CAAAR!" moaned Magcargo as its sand 
covered head closed both its eyes and fainted while the picture of Magcargo 
faded.

"No one's ever defeated my Magcargo!" gasped AJ as he pulled the damaged snail 
back into its Pokeball. "Maybe I shouldn't estimate you after all Mr. Fusterman.  
No matter, because nothing can defeat my master of water, Azumarill!" and he 
released a huge blue rabbit with a long tail with a blue ball at the end. "AZU!" 
it said in a squeaky voice while Cameron activated his Dex.

"AZUMARILL: the aquarabbit Pokemon.  The evolved form of Marill", replied 
Dextra. "When Azumarill plays in the water, it rolls up its elongated ears to 
prevent their insides form getting wet."

"Tracey?" asked Misty with stars in her eyes. "Does this mean your Marill could 
evolve into an Azumarill someday?"

"I suppose it could", said Tracey as he released his Marill. "Marill", he asked. 
"How would you like to see your evolved form in battle?"

"Marill!" squealed Marill with delight as she jumped into Tracey's lap and 
started clapping her hands.

"Shouldn't she be cheering for Came-chan's team instead of Azumarill?" asked 
Reiko sternly.

"Okay Azumarill, start off with a rain dance", commanded AJ. "ZU!" said 
Azumarill as she started doing a funky dance while dark clouds formed in the 
sky.  Everyone removed their sunglasses and took out their umbrellas for they 
were all familiar with Azumarill's rain dance attack.  Suddenly, it started to 
drizzle and Sandy could feel little droplets on his sandy skin.

"SHREW!" cried Sandy as he ran back up the stand and got under Cameron's legs. 
"Here Sandy", said Cameron as he took off his hat and placed it over Sandy just 
as the rain got heavier. "You'll be safe under here."

"It looks like you're too busy babying your Pokemon to continue battling!" 
laughed AJ as he stood there as the rain poured down on him. "Why don't you 
just go home before you catch a cold?!  You're not wearing your pink galoshes.  
HA HA HA!"

Cameron became enraged and released his Vileplume onto the wet field.  When 
Reiko saw this, she released her Bellossom so she could watch her boyfriend in 
action. "BELL!" called out Bellossom as she blew as kiss to VP. "VILE?" smiled 
VP for he couldn't see well in the rain, but he could hear his love's cute voice.

"Okay VP!" called out Cameron. "Why don't you remove all this rain with a giga 
drain?!" VP nodded and started sucking the entire rainstorm dry.  Soon the 
bright sun came out and everyone put down their umbrellas so they could see the 
Vileplume and Azumarill getting ready to battle face to face.

"MARILL!" Marill cheered for Azumarill. "BELL!" Bellossom cheered for VP.  
Then Marill and Bellossom looked at each other mean-eyed while their masters 
tried to hold them back.

"Okay VP, use your sleep powder!" commanded Cameron.

"Azumarill, use your icy wind!" commanded AJ.  Just as VP had released his 
sleep powder, Azumarill blew a cold blue wind pushing the powder back at VP.  
Suddenly icicles formed on VP's petals and it started shivering while yawning.  
Then he fell right to sleep as the effects of the icy wind defeated him causing 
the picture of the Vileplume to fade out.

"Oh no!" cried Cameron as he sucked his poor sleepy frozen flower back into his 
ball while Bellossom felt sorry for her love while Marill cheered for 
Azumarill's victory.

"It looks like I knocked out half your team!" laughed AJ. "Now you got three 
more which will become zeroes when my team finishes with them!"

"Oh yeah!" grumbled Cameron. "We'll see.  Buzz, I choose you again!" And he 
released his Electabuzz back onto the field who was now wide awake from that 
hypnosis attack. "Buzz, use your thunderpunch!" commanded Cameron.

"BUZZ, EL BUZZ!" shouted Buzz as he made his sparking fist and was about to 
punch Azumarill until AJ called out. "Azumarill, use attract!"

"ZU!" smiled Azumarill as it winked its eye and sent a whole flock of hearts at 
Buzz.  Buzz suddenly put down his fist and started smiling goofily at the 
beautiful blue bunny. "Buzz!" he said in a cool easy-going voice.

"Buzz, what are you doing?!" cried Cameron as Buzz started lying on the field 
with huge hearts in his eyes.

"Your Electabuzz must be a male", laughed AJ, "Because once my female Azumarill 
launches her attract attack, no man will dare hurt her.  But she can still hurt 
them.  Azumarill, use your surf attack!"

"ZUUUU!" shouted Azumarill as she released a huge wave catching Buzz in its 
watery grip causing him to drown while spitting out little heart-shaped bubbles.  
Once the wave faded, Buzz's picture on the board faded as well.

"Poor Buzz!" said Cameron as he pulled his lovesick and lovestruck soldier back 
into his ball. "It looks like I'll have to call out the big gal!" said Cameron 
as he took out his Level Ball. "Go Scaleon!" and he released the huge dragon 
while the crowd looked amazed at this rare legendary beast.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" called out the announcer. "Fusterman has just released 
the rare, never-before seen in this era Pokemon, Scaleon.  This is totally 
amazing!  And since we don't have an actual photo of a Scaleon for our board, a 
drawing will be provided by Zeus's eight-year-old daugther, Maggie." And on the 
board appeared a crayon drawing of Scaleon. "SCALE?" smiled Scaleon impressed 
with the drawing and how the artist stayed in the lines.

"You may be legendary", shouted AJ. "But my Azumarill will make you extinct 
again!  Attract attack again!" Azumarill released her magic hearts again, but 
they didn't affect Scaleon one bit. "What the...?" gasped AJ while Azumarill 
gasped too.

"My Scaleon's a female too!" smiled Cameron. "So your female rabbit's attract 
power doesn't seem so attractive.  Scaleon, blow that bunny some kisses with 
your dragonbreath!" "SCALE!" shouted Scaleon as she blew some blue flames at 
Azumarill. 

"Quick Azumarill, use icy wind again!" cried AJ.  But Azumarill couldn't for 
she was too paralyzed to even blow out a cold breath of air.  Then she fainted 
and the picture on the board faded while Tracey's Marill hung her head down in 
disappointment while Reiko's Bellossom cheered.

"This is almost a miracle!" said the announcer as the crowd went wild. "Five of 
our champion's Pokemon have been defeated.  This has never happened before!  
Now AJ has only one Pokemon left to use, and you all know who that'll be?"

"SANDSLASH!" shouted the crowd.

"You got that right!" smiled AJ as he called back Azumarill and released that 
familiar feisty Sandslash onto the field. "SLASH!" shouted Sandslash as it 
started swinging its huge front claws around getting ready to make some 
Poke-pasta!"

"Scaleon", said Cameron. "I don't want you to underestimate this Sandslash, it 
can be a really tough opponent.  So let's try your most powerful dragonrage 
attack!" "SCALE!" said Scaleon as she created a typhoon around Sandslash, but 
the prickly mouse just stuck its claws into the ground causing it not to budge 
even though the typhoon seemed really powerful.

"Neither rain, wind, nor dragonrage attacks can prevent my Sandslash from 
leaving a battle", laughed AJ as the typhoon ceased. "Go ahead and call out 
another attack, we dare you!"

"Uh, okay Scaleon", said Cameron hoping this would work. "Release your 
waterfall attack!" Scaleon got under the unbudging Sandslash and doused it with 
a huge waterfall attack.  But all that water didn't drench Sandslash one bit.  
It just shook the water all off while Scaleon backed away surprised.

"I told you my Sandslash is strong against water attacks!" laughed AJ. "Even 
powerful ones like waterfall.  It's now time to attack Sandslash.  Use fissure!" 
"SLASH!" shouted Sandslash as it slammed a claw into the ground causing a 
powerful bolt to race through the ground heading right for Scaleon.

"Scaleon, get out of the way!" cried Cameron.  But Scaleon was so big that she 
couldn't escape the fissure attack.  The ground exploded and Scaleon was 
launched up into the air and landed onto the field unconscious.  And the 
drawing of the Scaleon faded out while Cameron's jaw fell open.

"No wonder why AJ's always the champion!" said the announcer. "The way he 
trained that Sandslash to defeat the all powerful Scaleon is just breathtaking!  
Now both he and Fusterman each got only one Pokemon left to use.  Who will win?"

"It's up to you Sandy", said Cameron. "You're all that I have left. Are you 
sure you want to take on Sandslash?  It looks like a powerful sandcastle of 
artillery."

"Sandshrew!" said Sandy as he saluted his master and ran out into the field.  
Both of the mice bowed to each other in respect.

"Go get that little pipsqueak Sandslash!" shouted James.

"Yeah!" shouted Meowth, "Make him pay for putting out my eye.  Slash out both 
his eyes!"

"You'd better win or I'll turn you into Sand-slush!" growled Jessie.

"If a huge Scaleon couldn't defeat my Sandslash, what makes you think a puny 
unevolved Sandshrew would do any better?!" laughed AJ.

"Don't you underestimate my Sandy!" called out Cameron. "I'll show you what he 
can do with his most powerful attack.  Sandy, use your sandstorm!" "SHREW!" 
shouted Sandy as he blasted a huge storm of sand and rocks at Sandslash while 
the crowd took out their visors.  But the storm suddenly cleared for Sandslash 
had somehow absorbed the entire sandstorm and was looking stronger than ever. 
"What the...?" gasped Cameron. 

"You should've known that sandstorm attack can't hurt ground Pokemon!" laughed 
AJ. "It just made Sandslash even stronger and given it even more ammo!  
Sandslash, use your rock slide!" "SLASH!" shouted Sandslash as it sent a huge 
pile of sandy boulders at Sandy.

"Quick Sandy, use your rock smash!" cried Cameron. "Shrew!" shouted Sandy as he 
punched all the incoming rocks into sand getting closer and closer to his 
opponent.

"Sandslash, back it off with your slash attack!" shouted AJ. "SLASH!" shouted 
the mighty slasher as it started waving its claws around backing away Sandy. 
"SHREW!" cried Sandy for Sandslash had actually left a small scar on his right 
cheek.

"Sandy, are you okay?" called out a worried Cameron.

"Shrew!" said Sandy in a tough voice as he rubbed his sore cheek until it 
stopped bleeding.

"If only it could've reached his eye!" moaned Meowth.

"Okay Sandslash, it looks like you've got it beaten!" said AJ. "Finish it off 
with your poison sting!" Sandslash turned around and started firing poison 
needles from its quills right at the poor Sandshrew.

"If one of those poison darts hits Sandy's wound, he's done for!" cried Cameron. 
"Quick Sandy!  Escape by digging!"

"SHREW!" shouted Sandy as he started digging for his dear life just as the 
needles missed him.

"Okay Sandslash", said AJ. "I believe this crowd wants to go home sometime soon.  
Let's end this match with another fissure attack!" 

"OH NO!" cried Cameron for he knew that a fissure attack while a Pokemon was 
underground meant serious damage and defeat. "SLAAAAASSSH!" shouted Sandslash 
as it slammed its claw into the ground and the center of the field exploded.

"SHREEEEWWWW!" cried Sandy as he got blasted out of the ground and up into the 
sky.  Cameron and the crowd raised their heads up as they saw the poor little 
Sandshrew go higher and higher.  Sandy looked up and found he was about to hit 
a blimp.  He quickly curled himself up and bounced off the blimp's bottom like 
a rubber ball.  Then the Sandy ball bounced back down on the field, then started 
bouncing off everything from both Cameron's and AJ's stands, to a man's bald 
head, to a woman's huge stomach, to a guy's huge white smile.

Cameron suddenly realized that this was all familiar.  Sandy did the bouncing 
ball thing before when he was battling that big stone Meowth.  Then he smiled 
and shouted. "Sandy, remember that attack you used to defeat Meowth?!"

"SHREW!" smiled Sandy as he waited until he got in the Sandslash's direction.

"Oh no!  Not my other eye!" cried Meowth as he covered his good eye thinking 
that Sandy was gonna repeat that attack on him.

When Sandy saw he was about to bounce off of Sandslash, he uncurled himself and 
made a fist. "Slash?" gasped Sandslash nervously.

"Uh oh!" whispered AJ for he never really trained his Sandslash to be ready for 
this kind of attack.  Then it was over.  Sandy had punched Sandslash in the gut 
causing both of them to get knocked back.  Sandy landed safely in Cameron's 
arms knocking him down while most of Sandslash's quills popped off from that 
powerful blow.  Then a shocked AJ watched as his so-called undefeated Sandslash 
collapsed to the ground unconscious.  Then the picture of the Sandslash faded.

The crowd sat there silently, but then started cheering wildly at this amazing 
triumph. "He's done it!" shouted the announcer in a hyper voice. "For the first 
time ever, our reigning champion AJ has been defeated!  And by the famous hero 
Cameron Fusterman too!  This is history in the making!" And the pictures of AJ's 
Pokemon on the board disappeared and Cameron's Pokemon pictures aligned 
themselves in a horizontal line while a picture of Cameron making a goofy smile 
appeared right above them.

"We did it Sandy!" shouted Cameron in his happiest voice ever. "We won the 
Ryooku League!"

"Shrew!" said Sandy in an exhausted voice as he rested happily in his favorite 
human's arms.

"WAY TO GO FELLOW CHAMP!" shouted Ash from the dugout.

"YOU'VE COME A LONG WAY CAM!", squealed Misty.

"THAT'S OUR FRIEND CAMERON!" shouted Brock and Stella together.

"OUR BABY!!" cried Seymour and Jenny as they hugged each other with joy.

"MY BABY'S FRIEND!" cried Mrs. Ketchum happily.

"GOOD SHOW CAMERON!" shouted Bill.

"NOT BAD!" said Gary with a straight face.

"YOU DESERVE IT SON!" shouted Prof. Oak.

"THIS ONE'S FOR YOU!" shouted Tracey as he held up a sketch portrait of Cameron 
and Sandy in their victory spotlight.

"I LOVE YOU MY CAME-CAN!" shouted Reiko with huge hearts in her eyes.

"WE HATE YOU FUSTERMAN!" shouted all three Rockets from their cage.  But they 
were soon silent as the two Jennies clubbed them and started dragging the cage 
away off to the local jail.

AJ just stood there in shock staring at the happy winners, then looked down at 
his defeated Sandslash, which looked very strange to him. "Someone has actually 
beat me!" whispered AJ. "And it really doesn't feel so bad." He smiled and 
pulled Sandslash back into its ball and patted it. "You did your best my old 
friend", smiled AJ.

*      *      *      *      *      *

That evening, there was a big victory party held at the Vinegar Town hotel 
lobby.  Everyone there was having a great time.  Ash and Misty were sitting on 
a lobby couch still in love more than ever.  Brock and Stella were also sitting 
on another couch also looking at each other lovingly.  Brock didn't even turn 
around to look at the pretty showgirls that walked past him.  Mrs. Ketchum, 
Seymour and Pallet Jenny were discussing how proud they were to have sons who 
were both league champions.  Prof. Oak was looking through Tracey's sketchbook 
and became so impressed that he offered a delighted Tracey a job as his 
assistant.  Bill was enjoying a snack of tea and the famous stickybuns that 
were imported from Honeydew.  Gary was at a buffet table eating a dish called 
humble pie which he had seemed to be eating a lot these past years.

All the Pokemon were let out of their Pokeballs so they could enjoy their own 
party outside in the hotel garden.  It was kind of hard to get food from the 
buffet table since Ash's Snorlax kept eating everything he saw, but luckily 
Charizard backed him away with his fire.  VP poured himself and Bellossom a 
couple of glasses of vintage plant food then they toasted to their blossoming 
love.  All the water Pokemon were swimming happily in the hotel's pool, except 
for Golduck who was doing a crazy dog, I mean, duck paddle. "PSY-YAI-YAI-YAI!" 
he cried as Slowie grabbed him and swam him to the shallow end. "Pika,  pi!" 
laughed Pikachu as he was sitting on a small raft with sunglasses and a fruit 
drink in his hand.

Sandy, with a band-aid on his cheek, wasn't with the Pokemon.  He was standing 
right between Cameron and Reiko looking at a proud sight.  It was a photo of 
Cameron holding Sandy with VP, Batty, Slowie, Buzz, and Scaleon standing all 
around him.  And above the photo was a huge slab of cement with Cameron's hand 
print on it, along with the hand, claw, wing, and petal prints of his other 
Pokemon. "Just look at that Sandy", smiled Cameron. "You and your friends 
earned those markings on that stone."

"Shrew!" said Sandy with pride.

"And you earned yours too Came-chan", smiled Reiko. "Like the Pidgeot that 
trains her babies to fly, you've trained and cared for you Pokemon as well.  
And Sandy's obedience and kindness is the proof of that."

"Shrew!" smiled Sandy as he hugged Cameron's leg while Cameron smiled at both 
his champion Pokemon and true love.  Reiko was happy too for protecting Cameron 
every step of the way on his journey, Officer Jenny had convinced the local 
judge to give her a full pardon.  She was now a free girl.  Free from ugly steel 
bars, free from tacky prison uniforms, free from toilets next to your bed, which 
might sound pretty nice if you think about it, and best of all, free from pesky 
Growlithes that like ruining romantic moments.

"Hey Fusterman!" called out a voice.  Cameron turned around and saw AJ 
approaching him.  Cameron wondered what he was going to say or do to him since 
he beat him.  AJ just smiled and shook Cameron's hand. "You certainly gave me 
the biggest surprise of my life rookie!" laughed AJ. "Someone actually beat me 
and my Sandslash."

"I'm sorry about what happened to your Sandslash", said Cameron. "Will it be all 
right?"

"Oh sure", laughed AJ. "Sandslash just needs a few days in the Pokemon center 
and it'll be up and slashing again soon.  I tell you, it's gonna be funny 
having my 929th trophy case empty, but I guess new experiences can be 
interesting."

"Say, I haven't seen you get a trophy yet Came-chan", said Reiko.

"You're right Moonray", said Cameron. "After all the excitement, I haven't even 
noticed that."

"Look no further my friend", smiled AJ as he stepped back to make way for the 
Supreme 4 who were approaching Cameron.

"AAHHHUMMM!" said Zeus clearing his throat. "Cameron Fusterman from Pallet 
Town, for your great deeds of determination, courage, ingenuity, and love for 
your Pokemon.  You have earned the victory and the utmost respect from all the 
members of the Ryooku League.  And we are happy to present you this official 
Ryooku League trophy." And he handed Cameron a golden trophy that was in the 
shape of an R with a golden Pokeball in the middle.  Cameron looked at the 
trophy with a tear in his eye while Reiko grabbed him and kissed him while 
everyone he loved cheered for him.  

"Thank you everyone!" said Cameron trying to come up with a speech. "I can't 
believe I actually won first place in something.  This is truly an honor for me.  
And I wouldn't've won this beautiful trophy without the help of my friends 
supporting me, my girlfriend Reiko protecting me from danger, and most 
important, my best friend Sandy and his Pokemon friends who made all of my 
dreams come true!" And he gave Sandy the trophy as he hugged it and made a 
happy. "SHREW!" 

*      *      *      *      *      *

That night, Cameron was in bed in his hotel room thinking about the big day he 
had.  On the left was Sandy curled up beside him sleeping peacefully and on the 
right was his bedside table with his Ryooku League trophy sitting on it.  Cameron 
smiled as he put on his glasses and got out of bed careful not to wake up Sandy.  
He looked in the mirror dressed only in blue jeans and his Pokebelt.  Yes, 
he'll always have those ugly Sandslash scars on his chest, but Sandy now had a
permanent scar on his right cheek so it was kind of like they were scarred for
life brothers.

Cameron smiled as he stepped out into the balcony and saw the bridge they 
crossed to reach Vinegar Town.  Then Cameron noticed something in the water.  
It looked like a huge whale spouting water from its top.  Cameron quickly aimed 
his Dex at the watery mammal.

"Pokemon cannot be identified", replied Dextra. "There are still some Pokemon 
out there that haven't been discovered yet.  It's a big world Cameron, and 
you're free to explore it!"

"Thanks Dextra", smiled Cameron who was no longer surprised by his Pokedex's 
witty speech.  Then Cameron looked at the beautiful full moon and thought about 
his Moonray Reiko.  Just then, a ninja had leapt onto his balcony, grabbed his 
bare shoulders, spun him around, and locked him in a strong hug.

"Like the Stantler that doesn't like living alone, I was feeling lonely tonight.  
Prisoner!" cooed Reiko as she continued hugging Cameron tightly so he couldn't 
escape.  Cameron smiled and managed to pull his arms free and hugged Reiko as 
well.  Then they kissed under the moonlight while a certain whale smiled a huge 
toothy smile, spouted happily, and swam off to explore the seas of the amazing 
Pokemon world.

THE END!

AUTHOR'S FINAL NOTES:

Well, there you have it.  The end of Cameron's Ryooku journey.  I hope you all 
have enjoyed reading my sequel.  And once again, I want to thank all of my fans 
and friends for reading and giving me ideas and encouragement throughout my 
second year of Pokemon fanfic writing.  And another big thanks to God, my 
Heavenly Father, for giving me the strength and power to stick with this series.  
I might write some more fanfics soon, but right now I want to rest up.  
Hopefully, I'll see you again soon.

Sincerely,

Cullen Pittman.  ^_^