Poke-Odyssey 2001 chapter 24 Virtual Reality Check In our last chapter, Cameron and friends met Neil, the eighth and final gym leader. He explained that his town and gym were destroyed by a huge meteorite, but luckily, his gym was moved to a floating space station in, get this, outer space!!! Neil invited them aboard his rocket Moltres 13 and they blasted off unaware that Team Rocket had snuck aboard. Luckily, they found out about the Rockets in the rocketworks so they defeated them and put them all in an escape pod that sent our villains back to Earth. Now we find the mighty Moltres 13 entering the docking bay of the impressive Space Station Relish. Enough narrating, now on with the story. PANT PANT PANT!!! "Here we are kids", smiled Neil as he and our heroes stepped out of the rocket and looked around the docking bay. "My little home away from home." "It looks so cool!" said Cameron as he saw all the different looking space vehicles getting worked on by mechanics along with Clefaries assisting them with the tools. "Hi Neil!" called out all the workers. "Nice to see you all again", smiled Neil giving his friends a big thumb's up!" "I feel like I'm in a sci-fi flick!" said Ash. "You look like you came from one too!" teased Misty. "But how come we're not floating like we did in the rocket?" asked Tracey. "That's because this station's equipped with gravity generators", said Neil. "Only certain rooms in here are gravity free." "Even though it is fun to float around sometimes", said Reiko. "I also like keeping my ninja boots on the ground just like the Bellsprout that refuses to get itself yanked out." "I noticed you got lots of Clefaries around this place", said Ash. "Yes, Clefaries are very helpful and likable around here", said Neil. "Mainly because people believe Clefaries once came from the moon." "That's what my foster scientist father, Seymour believes", said Cameron. "Boy, I'd bet he'd love to visit this place. It would be a neat second honeymoon for him and Jenny." "Maybe he can", said Neil. "We love it when scientists visit here. Is he any good?" "Yes he is!" said Cameron. "Seymour spent his whole life studying about the moon and the wonders that may have come from it. And he owns a Clefairy and a Clefable too." "Excellent!" smiled Neil as he handed Cameron a small paper. "This here's my Earth phone number", he smiled. "Have him call me sometime." "Okay, thanks", smiled Cameron. * * * * * * Soon, Neil was leading our heroes through a strip that looked like an indoor mall with lots of people and even kids in space jumpsuits walking in and out buying lots of cool space-like stuff. "This place would put the sci-fi conventions we had back in Trenton to shame", smiled Cameron. "They're just some small shops to provide needs for the employees and their families living here", said Neil. "Most of them once lived in the sadly destroyed town of Relish. But I invited some of them here to start up sort of a new Relish Town. Only difference is that there're stars out 24 hours a day." "Just look at this!" said Ash as he eyed something in a store window. It was a glowing tube-like lamp with red and yellow liquid dancing around. "Is this some kind of alien in a pod?" "No, that's just a lava lamp", laughed Neil. "They've been around since the 70s." "The 70s of which planet?" asked Ash while being mesmerized by the pretty flowing colors. "Heavy sigh!" groaned Misty as she grabbed Ash away from the window and they continued on. "Do you have any aliens living here?" asked Cameron. "Of course not!" laughed Neil. "There still hasn't been proof that there are other life forms out there in this universe." "Silly Came-chan", said Reiko. "Like the Koffing that gets dark clouds in its brain from keeping it in too long. You should really get your heads out of the clouds too. Imagine, aliens working here! HA HA!" "Well Moonray", said Cameron. "What do you call that?!" And he pointed to something small on the ground. It was a little gray creature with a huge smiling head, tiny gray body with no arms, little feet, a flat tail, and purple antennas sticking out of its cheeks. "WOOP! WOOP!" it replied in a cute voice. "WHAT PLANTET DID THAT COME FROM?!" cried Misty as the little alien rubbed its slimy body up against Misty's ankle. "Relax Misty", smiled Tracey. "That's not an alien. It's a Wooper. A pre-evolution of those Quagsires we saw in Sauerkraut." "Wooper?" asked Cameron as he took out his Dex. "WOOPER: the water fish Pokemon", replied Dextra. "This Pokemon lives in cold water. It will leave the water to search for food when it gets cold outside." "You mean it's actually a water Pokemon?" smiled Misty as she bent down and patted the little Pokemon. "WOOP! WOOP!" it cooed. "Aw, how cute!" she smiled. "Weren't you totally freaked when you first saw it?" asked Ash. "Now that I know it's a water Pokemon and not an alien, I now kind of like it", smiled Misty. "I thought Woopers only live near ponds and streams", said Tracey. "What's one doing in outer space?" "Most the kids who live here love to own and train Woopers", said Neil. "It's because they resemble aliens." "WHOOPIE!" called out a little girl's voice. A little 6 year old girl with a small rocketpack on her back flew up to them. "There you are you naughty baby!" scolded the girl as she took the Wooper away from Misty. "Is this little cutie yours?" asked Misty. "Yeah", said the girl. "Whoopie just loves to run around the place whenever I'm not looking. Come on Whoopie. I've prepared a bathtub of cold water just for you. Bye everyone!" "WOOP! WOOP!" said Whoopie as it waved goodbye to Misty with its tail. "Ah, here we are!" smiled Neil as he came to a place with a huge closed door. "This is where my gym is." "Does that mean we can start battling?" asked Cameron. "No, not today", said Neil. "My Porygon 2 needs to recover from navigating through many miles of space. We'll have our match tomorrow morning at 8 o'clock. In the meantime, you can spend the night in that Pokemon center across from my gym and feel free to look around the space station while you're at it. See you all tomorrow." And he pushed a button on a small door marked, Gym Leader's Entrance Only. The door slid opened while Neil stepped through it and waved goodnight to everyone as the door closed itself. * * * * * * "Hello there", said a Nurse Joy as our heroes walked into the station's Pokemon center. "Welcome to the Space Station Relish Pokemon center." "Hi!" said Cameron as he handed her a tray that contained his Pokeballs and Sandy. "I'm going to be battling Neil tomorrow and I'd to have my Pokemon all well and active until that time comes." "Why of course", smiled Joy. "That's what Pokemon centers are here for." And she picked up Sandy and rubbed her nose against his cute sandy one. "You're such a cute little shrew!" smiled Joy. "Shrew!" smiled Sandy while blushing. "It's very rare that I get to treat a Pokemon like Sandshrew", smiled Joy. "Lately, the people who live on this station bring me Clefaries and Woopers to treat. I hope you got some interesting ones in these balls too." "Yes I do", said Cameron looking at the Level Ball wondering what Joy will think of his amazing Scaleon. "I'll treat them right away", said Joy as she put Sandy back on the tray and picked it up. "You can pick them up bright and early tomorrow morning." "Thank you", smiled Cameron as he gave Sandy a pat on the head. "Goodnight Sandy", he smiled. "You get plenty of rest tonight. It'll be a big morning for you and your Pokepals." "Shrew!" smiled Sandy as he gave Cameron a slurp on the cheek and then Nurse Joy took him and the Pokeballs into the back room. Ash, Misty, and Tracey went off to explore the neat places the station had while Cameron looked out the huge windows of the station's Pokemon center. There were millions of pretty stars along with a spectacular sight. There in front of Cameron's eyes was the moon. Since the station was very close to the moon, it looked like a huge ball of cheese floating right in front of him. "It's like I can almost reach out and touch it!" smiled Cameron as he pointed his finger to the window imagining that he was scooping out some cottage cheese and tasting it. Then he felt his arms get pinned down for some pretty golden hands with lavender sleeves had put him in a wrap attack. "Moonray?!" he asked while smiling. "Like the Rattata that eyes a huge ball of cheese unaware that an Ekans will seize him", said Reiko. "You are my most favorite prey!" And she gave him a kiss on the neck while Cameron started to blush. "What about Growlithe?" asked Cameron. "He's gonna bite your shins if he sees you doing this to me." "Do not worry about my annoying prison guard", smiled Reiko as she turned Cameron around while still clutching onto him. Cameron saw Growlithe having a conversation with another Growlithe who had on a sash that read, Space Station Relish Growlithe Patrol. "Is that what I think I see in Growlithe's eyes?" asked Cameron. Sure enough, Growlithe had hearts in his eyes for this SSR Growlithe was indeed a female. "Like the mother Butterfree that distracts a Pidgey so her Caterpies won't get harmed. That lady Growlithe will keep him distracted so we can have a little quality time together." Cooed Reiko. "But why isn't an Officer Jenny watching over that Growlithe?" asked Cameron. "Do they just let Growlithes roam free on this space station unsupervised?" "Yes", smiled Reiko. "I've learned from Nurse Joy that hardly any crimes happen here on this station. So they just have a few Growlithes partrol the place unsupervised just in case something does happen." "Why that's great!" smiled Cameron as he approached the two dogs. "Uh, Growlithe", asked Cameron. "Is it okay if Reiko and I go exploring around the station for a while?" "Growl, Gr", said Growlithe which meant, "Yeah, whatever!" And he went back to admiring the pretty girl Growlithe. As Cameron and Reiko left the Pokemon center holding arms, Growlithe walked behind the girl Growlithe and started to sniff her... (Uh, let's just cut to the next scene, okay?) * * * * * * We find Cameron and Reiko sitting at a table in a place called the Cosmic Cafe. Cameron had ordered the steak and fries while Reiko ordered sushi. "This is so pleasant Came-chan!" sighed Reiko as she took Cameron's hand. "Our very first date!" "Yes", smiled Cameron. "Come to think of it. This is our official first date!" And it was true. For when Cameron and Reiko first fell in love, Reiko was a Rocket outlaw unable to show any affection for him fearing it might put him in danger. Then there were the times Cameron visited Reiko in jail, but it didn't seem like a date talking through a wired window. Sure they had traveled all through Ryooku together, but Cameron's other friends traveled with them, not to mention a pesky Growlithe who didn't trust Reiko enough to let them be close. But now this dinner in this out-of-this-world restaurant proved it was the official first date of Cameron and Reiko. "Came-chan", asked Reiko in a serious voice. "Do you remember the day we first met?" "Uh, yes I do", said Cameron nervously. "It was in Brock's old house. Team Rocket held his family and our friends hostage and you appeared and tied me up." "Were you scared of me when I did that?" asked Reiko with a shaky frown. "Well", stuttered Cameron. "I admit at first I was a little scared of you. But anyone would be if they were taken prisoner by a ninja." "I am truly sorry", said Reiko bowing her head in shame. "I wish we could've first met in better circumstances." "That's okay Moonray", smiled Cameron as he touched her chin and tilted her head back up. "When I first met you, you had your beauty hidden under a ninja's mask. It was when we were stranded on that island of Machokes I got a good look at your outer and your inner beauty. Even though we were taken prisoner by those Machokes and locked up together. It was still a memorable moment for me for I started falling in love with you." Reiko thought silently for a moment and remembered that big turning point in her life. Holding Cameron in fear with her ear against his chest listening to his kind heart beating. She suddenly felt some kind of safe security when she was in this boy's arms. "And I fell in love with you too Came-chan", smiled Reiko as she placed her hands onto his. "Like the Charizard that melts away polar ice caps, you've melted the black ice that kept my heart frozen and bitter. Arigato my love!" Cameron and Reiko silently smiled while looking at each other passionately. Then they came back to reality when the waiter put their dishes down right in front of them. "Oh, thank you", said Cameron blushing. "Hai, arigato", said Reiko politely. "I can wait to dig into this steak", said Cameron as he put his napkin in his lap. "I wonder why there are no chopsticks?" asked Reiko as she looked around and found no utensils anywhere. Not even a knife, fork, or spoon. "Maybe they're under these covers along with our food", said Cameron as he lifted up the metal cover from his plate while Reiko did the same with hers. They were surprised at what they found. Cameron had two plastic squeeze tubes on his plate and Reiko had one. "Is this toothpaste?" gasped Reiko. "I don't think so", said Cameron as he picked up his tubes. One had the word fries on it and the other had the word T-bone steak on it. Cameron undid the top from the steak tube and squirted it on his plate. Out came some brown looking paste. "Do they expect us to brush our teeth with this stuff?" demanded Reiko. "For I left my toothbrush back at the Pokemon center!" "No, this is what astronauts eat when they go up in space for many days", said Cameron. "They take food in paste form with them. I guess we eat it like this." He squirted some steak paste on his index finger, then squirted some fry paste on top of it. It was golden with some salt and grease mixed into it. "At least I won't have to worry about choking on a T-bone eating this stuff", he smiled. Then Cameron sucked the steak and fry combination from his finger, let it dance around in his mouth, then swallow it. "How was it?" asked Reiko. "Not bad", said Cameron. "It almost tastes like the real thing. But I think they should squeeze the steak and fry pastes in the same tube. That would make it extra good!" Reiko slowly picked up her sushi tube and studied it. "My ninja ancestors would probably slice the manufactures to death if they knew they did this to sushi." She said as she squirted some of the sushi paste on her tongue and gulped it. "How is it?" asked Cameron. "Not bad", said Reiko. "Want to try some?" "No thank you", said Cameron. "That there's your own special sushi tube. I insist you have it all", He smiled for Cameron didn't really like sushi, neither in paste or real forms. * * * * * * Cameron and Reiko were now seen walking around the station munching on what looked like brown, white, and pink striped styrofoam cubes. "Now I have seen everything", said Reiko looking at her cube. "Ice cream that is not frozen and will not melt in your hand neither." "And you don't have to worry about frozen headaches neither", smiled Cameron as he finished off his treat while dusting ice cream crumbs off his shirt. "I wonder if I'll ever go back to Earth food again", laughed Cameron. "Look Came-chan!" said Reiko as she dragged him over to a room marked. VR Chamber. "What do you supposed VR means? Victorious Reiko I hope." "Not really", said Cameron. "WHAT?!!" sneered Reiko looking mean eyed at Cameron. "I'm not saying you're not victorious my Moonray", said Cameron sweating. "VR actually stands for virtual reality." "That's right", said a guy standing in front of a ticket booth. "This is a virtual reality chamber. For a fee, you can step inside and enter an imaginary world to escape the stresses and worries of the real world. But only for a half-hour though. If you want to stay longer, or forever. You'd better hand over your life savings. Heh heh!" "What do you say Moonray?" smiled Cameron as he took out his Pokedex ready to do some spending. "Oh, Came-chan!" sighed Reiko as her red mad eyes turned into red hearts. * * * * * * Cameron and Reiko were now in a breathtaking place they thought they would never be in. They were floating in outer space. But in a VR simulated version of space though. There were also other people in there too. Mainly couples just like them. And it looked like Ash and Misty were in there too compassionately holding each other. "Oh, Came-chan!" smiled Reiko as she started doing ninja flips in the blackness of space. "Just being here in the starry night sky is a ninja's dream come true. Arigato my Came-chan for making it happen!" "You deserve it my love", smiled Cameron as he tried to float after her, but he wasn't as graceful as Reiko and he kept floating upside-down in all directions bumping into other couples. "Excuse me", said Cameron humbly as he backed away, but then bumped into someone else. "Oops, sorry again!" said Cameron blushing. But then he felt some hands turn him around and put him in a strong hold. "Like the prey that escapes the Tentacruel's wrath, but ends up getting recaptured by its extended tendril. I will not forbid you to escape from me, prisoner!" Smiled Reiko as she called him the name she used when they first met. Cameron was about to speak until Reiko silenced him with a kiss. Then Cameron managed to pull his arms free so he could hug his love back. They both just floated there in space as they looked at each other's faces. Reiko's black hair still shone beautifully in the moonlight and the stars reflected off Cameron's blonde hair and glasses making him look almost like an angel. "Hey, look at that!" called out someone. Cameron and Reiko stopped looking at each other and saw another spectacular sight. Lines were slowly getting drawn on the stars forming constellations. First appeared a Mareep, then a Tauros, then a Krabby, a Persian, a Gligar, a Growlithe, a Teddiursa, an, Ursaring, and two Magikarps. "This is so ultra cool!" smiled Cameron as he continued holding Reiko. "Hai!" whispered Reiko as she leaned her head against his chest. "I've visited this VR Chamber many times and I've never seen this happen before", said a guy. "I wonder why?" The reason was that Tracey was in the VR chamber as well and he let his Smeargle out his Pokeball. Smeargle was using its paintbrush tail to connect all the stars together thinking it was the world's biggest connect-the-dots page. "No Smeargle! You might get us kicked out of here!" cried Tracey as he tried his best to swim after his little astral artist. * * * * * * The next morning at eight, we find our heroes looking through a huge window that looked like a huge white room. Cameron and Sandy were on one side and Neil was on the other one. "So how did you find my little space station world?" asked Neil smiling. "It was the best", smiled Cameron. "I don't think I ever had such a great time in all my life!" "Well now it's time for the more serious side of my station", said Neil now with a serious frown. "The Pokemon match! We'll be using four Pokemon each, no time limit." And he pushed a button on his remote and Cameron and Sandy suddenly found themselves standing on the moon's surface. "How did they get on the moon so fast?!" gasped Ash as he saw through the window where his friends had ended up. "It's just probably another VR simulation", said Tracey still miffed about getting kicked out of that VR Chamber last night. "It looks like we get to battle on the moon Sandy", said Cameron. "What do you think of that?" "Shrew!" gasped Sandy as he peeked into a small crater of darkness. "Let the match begin!" said Neil. "Clefable, I choose you first!" And he released a huge fairy Pokemon that cooed out, "Clefable!" "Okay Sandy", said Cameron. "Try blinding it with your sandstorm!" "Clefable, use light screen!" commanded Neil. Just as Sandy had released his sandstorm, Clefable had created a glowing wall in front of itself blocking away all the incoming sand. "Nice work Clefable", said Neil. "Now try out your metronome!" "Clefable!" smiled Clefable as it wiggled its fingers around getting ready to start up a surprise attack. "Better brace yourself Sandy", said Cameron nervously. "Metronome can either be a harmless attack like splash or a powerful attack like hydro pump." "Shrew", said Sandy cautiously. Then Clefeable had released a rock slide attack that consisted of glowing moonstones. "Okay Sandy", smiled Cameron. "You can handle this with your rock smash!" "SHREW!" shouted Sandy as he made two fists and started smashing all the approaching rocks into moonrubble one by one. Then once he got close enough, he socked Clefable right in the tummy knocking it out. "Way to go Sandy!" smiled Cameron. "Shrew!" said Sandy while making his victory sign. "You did your best Clefable", said Neil as he called it back into its Pokeball. "Well Cameron, your Sandsrhew seems to handle living on the moon nicely, but can he stand the harsh coldness of Pluto?!" And he pushed another button and the moon scene changed into a planet of snow and ice. "Fighting on Pluto?!" gasped Reiko. "Growl?" asked Growlithe as he looked around wondering if his favorite cartoon dog was actually here. "BRRRR!" said Cameron as he started shaking. "I thought this was just a simulation. Why is it freezing in here?!" "Shrew?!" replied Sandy while shaking. "Because that there on the ground is real snow", smiled Neil. "I want you and your Pokemon to get the sensation you're really on Pluto. Kind of like biting into a Peppermint Patty, huh?" Then he took out a Pokeball and released a Wooper. "WOOP WOOP!" it said while dancing around. "Okay Wooper, use your water gun attack!" said Neil. "Quick Sandy, start digging!" cried Cameron. "SHREW!" shouted Sandy as he started digging through the snow just as Wooper's water gun had missed him and hit Cameron's face. "BRRRR!" he said for getting hit with water in a cold place was definitely no day at the beach. "Wooper, dig after him!" said Neil. "WOOP!" said Wooper as it started using its legs and tail to dig into the snow after its opponent. "Quick Sandy!" cried Cameron. "Get out of that snow before Wooper gets you!" But Sandy did come out of the snow, but not in a way Cameron had hoped. Sandy was curled up bouncing on top of a huge spout spraying out from the snow. "SHREW!" cried Sandy in wet cold pain. "WOOP!" shouted Wooper as it jumped out from the snow and squirted poor Sandy back into Cameron's arms. "Sandy, are you all right?" asked Cameron as he tried to dry the poor Sandshrew off with his shirt. "Shrew!" said Sandy in a shivery voice. "Here, you can get warmed up and dry in your Pokeball", said Cameron as he put Sandy back in his ball. Then started shivering even more for he was now wearing a wet shirt in this cold simulation. "Which is the reason I always go into the battle in my trusty jumpsuit", said Neil. "But don't worry kid. You'll be thankful you're all wet once you make it to the final simulation. That is if you can make it that far. You got three more Pokemon left to use!" "All right", said Cameron who had stopped shivering and took out another ball. "Elekid, I choose you!" and he released the electric kid right in front of the smiling Wooper. "Elekid, use thunderbolt!" commanded Cameron. "Bri!" said Elekid as he fired a thunderbolt at Wooper, but the little water Pokemon didn't get shocked at all. It just stood there still feeling very happy. "Bri?" gasped Elekid. "What the...?" gasped Cameron. "I thought Wooper was a water Pokemon? Why didn't electricity shock it?" "Because Wooper is a ground-type also", laughed Neil. "Electriciy can't harm this particular water Pokemon. Wooper, use your mist attack!" "WOOP!" said Wooper as it sprayed a thick cold fog all over the place causing Cameron and Elekid not to see anything. "BRI?!" cried Elekid. "Nice job Wooper", said Neil. "Now use your slam attack!" "WOOP!" called out Wooper in a cute, but violent sounding voice. "BRIIII!" cried Elekid in a not so cute painful sounding voice. "KID!" cried Cameron as he saw an image in the mist. It looked like Wooper who had its tail wrapped around Elekid's leg and was slamming him around in the snow. "Quick Kid! Use the biggest flash attack you can come up with!" cried Cameron. "BRRRIIIII!" cried Elekid who suddenly lit up the entire room dissolving all the mist and causing Wooper to cry out in pain for he became totally blinded. "OH NO!" cried Neil who found himself blinded as well. "Okay Kid", said Cameron who had his eyes closed so the flash wouldn't blind him. "Finish Wooper off with a headbutt!" Elekid smiled as he ran at full speed and butted Wooper right in the stomach back at Neil's feet. "Woop!" cried Wooper and then fainted. Neil, who had just rubbed his eyes to get his vision back, saw his defeated Wooper lying in the snow. "Sorry about that", said Cameron. "I didn't mean to blind you." "No harm done", smiled Neil as he pulled Wooper back in its ball. "I know now to wear goggles whenever I have any future matches with trainers like you." Then he pushed another button and the snow disappeared and Neil, Cameron, and Elekid were in yet another simulation. They were floating around in space just like the VR Chamber Cameron and Reiko had visited, only there were a million more stars. "It smells like vanilla shake in here!" said Cameron. "Just something to make you feel like you're in the Milky Way", laughed Neil as he took out his third Pokeball. "Go Forretress!" he shouted and released what looked like a huge silver ball with huge pink eyes and pink knobs on each side. "It's a UFO!" gasped Misty. "No, that's actually a Forretress!" said Tracey as they watched Cameron activate his Dex. "FORRETRESS: the evolved form of Pineco", replied Dextra. "Forretress's entire body is shielded by a steel-hard shell. What lurks inside this powerful armor is a mystery." "They're wouldn't happen to be any little green men lurking around in there?" asked Cameron. "Not that I know of", laughed Neil. "But my Forretress can sure fight like a UFO. Forretress shoot out some spikes now!" Forretress then started to spin around releasing a bunch of sharp spikes right at Elekid. "Use thunderbolt to fry those spikes!" called out Cameron. "BRI!" shouted Elekid as he fired a thunderbolt causing the incoming spikes to dissolve then shocking Forretress as well. "That's good Kid!" smiled Cameron. "Now while its shocked, give it a bunch of non-stop thunderpunches!" Elekid smiled and approached the stunned Forretress. Then Elekid made some sparking fists and started thunderpunching the unmoving Forretress causing its metal shell to sparkle really pretty. "Why isn't Neil ordering Forretress to attack back?" asked Ash. "Unless this is part of Neil's strategy", said Tracey looking at the sneaky smile on Neil's face. "Okay Forretress", said Neil. "You've got enough juice in you. Now release a bide attack!" "BIDE?!!" gasped Cameron for he remembered what this attack does. Forretress suddenly started to glow a powerful white color and then released all the electricity that Elekid had punched into it. "BRRRIIII!" cried Elekid as he got blasted back and landed unconscious into Cameron's arms. "My poor little Kid!" cried Cameron as he put the defeated Elekid back into his ball then took out his third ball. "Okay Scaleon, it's up to you now!" and he released his huge dragon Pokemon right in front of Forretress. "So you've managed to catch a legendary Scaleon, huh?" said Neil in an impressed voice. "Too bad my Forretress will turn it into luggage. Forretress, release some more spikes." "FOR!" said Forretress as it fired some more spikes into Scaleon's hind legs. But luckily, Scaleon's tough scales protected herself from the spikes. She just pulled out a woman's razor and started shaving the spikes off her legs while Cameron looked puzzled. "That's pretty neat", said Cameron. "Now how about trapping Forretress with your dragonrage?" "SCALE!" shouted Scaleon as she created a typhoon causing Forretress to spin around her like a satellite orbiting a scaly planet. "Good job Scaleon!" called out Cameron. "Now catch it and use your strength attack!" Scaleon reached out her front claws and caught Forretress. Then she started to squeeze the steel orb causing its armor to crack a little. "Forgive me for making you do this Forretress", called out Neil. "But use your explosion attack!" "FOOORR!" growled Forretress as it started to glow again while Scaleon looked down at it with a nervous face. Then an explosion happened and smoke covered the room. "SCALEON!" cried Cameron as the smoke cleared and he saw both Forretress and Scaleon floating in space unconscious. "Well kid, it looks like both our number threes have been K.O.ed", said Neil as he pulled his Pokemon back into its ball while Cameron did the same. "Now we each have one Pokemon left to use. Let's see how hot you are. And I mean that literally where we're going!" And he started up his final simulation. This time Cameron and Neil were standing on a hot surface with flames dancing around. "Welcome to the sun son!" laughed Neil. "OUCH! OW! OW! OW!" cried Cameron as he started dancing around trying to keep the soles of his feet off the boiling surface. "Relax kid", laughed Neil. "I keep telling you, all of this is just a simulation. Only the heat you're feeling in here is real." "You're telling me!" puffed Cameron as he stopped dancing and started fanning himself with his hat and was thankful that he was wearing a wet shirt. "Presenting my champion warrior and part-time navigator", shouted Neil. "Porygon 2!" And he released the same robot parrot that had navigated Neil's rocket to this station. "Okay Slowie, you're my last chance!" said Cameron as he released his Slowking onto the sun's surface. "SLOW!" cried Slowie as he started dancing around thinking the sun was burning his feet also. "No Slowie, it's okay", said Cameron. "See, my feet aren't burning so yours isn't either." "Slow?" said Slowie as he looked down at his master's sneakers and saw that they weren't melted at all. "Slow!" smiled Slowie as he faced Porygon 2, tilted his crown down, and put on his battle face. "That's my Slowie", said Cameron. "Now use your blizzard attack!" "#2, convert to a fire-type!" commanded Neil. "The Porygon started to burst into flames just as Slowie had released his blizzard. The fire just melted all the snow and ice away leaving #2 unharmed. "Now give it your tri-attack!" said Neil. "PORYGON!" said #2 as it released a triangle made of fire, ice, and electricity. "SLOW!" cried Slowie as the triangle burned, chilled, and shocked him like crazy. "SLOWIE!" cried Cameron as he steadied his shaken up Slowking. "What was that?!" cried Cameron. "I've never seen a tri-attack do that before!" "You've obviously never seen an upgraded version of tri-attack", said Neil. "Care to forfeit now?" "SLOW!" said Slowie as he got back up and approached #2. "You still want to continue battling?" asked Cameron. "Bring it on!" said Slowie. Cameron became amazed that his Slowking had learned some more words, but then got his mind back on the battle. "Okay Slowie, give it your psychic attack!" he commanded. "Now convert to dark-type #2", said Neil. Just as Slowie had released his psychic power, #2 suddenly turned a pitch black and was unaffected by the powerful psychic attack. "Good work", said Neil. "Now lock on and fire a zap cannon!" #2 looked at Slowie with a target eye and then fired a sparking cannonball at Slowie. "Quick Slowie. Get out of the way!" cried Cameron. "Slow!" said Slowie as he started running all over the place but the zap cannon slowly followed him like a guided missile. "Tell your Slowking to save his breath", laughed Neil. "Cause once #2 has locked onto its target. There's no escaping what so ever!" "There's gotta be a way!" thought Cameron as he saw Slowie running for his life while the zap cannon followed him. "I got it!" said Cameron. "Slowie! Climb over Porygon #2 and get behind it!" "Slow!" nodded Slowie as he quickly grabbed #2's beak and climbed right behind the robot parrot. Then Slowie grabbed #2 and faced it right in front of the incoming zap cannon. "Quick #2!" cried Neil. "Convert to a ground-type!" #2 then turned into a sandy brown color just as the zap cannon hit it not shocking it one bit. "You're pretty clever", smiled Neil. "But not clever enough I'm afraid." "That's what you think", smiled Cameron wickedly. "Slowie, surfs up!" "WHAT?!" gasped Neil. Slowie had released a huge tidal wave from its mouth soaking #2 to death. And since it was converted to a ground-type, #2 was easily defeated. Then the sun simulation turned off and Cameron, Neil, and their Pokemon found themselves back in the white room for the match was over. "You did it Slowie!" smiled Cameron as he ran over and hugged the champion of the day. "You've defeated Neil's last Pokemon!" "I'll say!" smiled Slowie as he winked his eye. All of Cameron's friends were outside the window cheering for he had defeated the eighth and final gym leader while Neil looked down at his soaked Porygon 2 then pulled it back into its ball. Then he approached Cameron, reached into his jumpsuit and pulled out something. "Cameron Fusterman from Earth", said Neil. "For challenging and defeating all of my little masters of the universe, I present you with the Galaxy Badge. Congratulations Earth boy!" and he handed Cameron a purple badge that was in the shape of Saturn covered with little golden stars. "Thank you", said Cameron bowing to him. "That was the most awesome Pokemon battle I've ever been in!" Then he took the badge and showed it to his friends who were looking through the window. "Hey everyone!" he said with pride. "I won a Galaxy Badge! The final Ryooku badge!" "Like the Ledyba that develops its final spot and truly becomes an adult. My Came-chan has come of age as well!" sighed Reiko with a huge happy smile and stars in her red eyes. * * * * * * Later, we see the rocketship known as Moltres 13 heading back to Earth and landing on the meteorite that our heroes first met Neil. Then a door opened, an escalator popped out and Neil and our heroes came out of the rocket and set their feet back on Earth soil. "Shrew!" smiled Sandy as he jumped out of Cameron's arms and started hugging the dirt while dirty hearts danced around him. "Yes Sandy, you're home sweet home!" smiled Cameron. "Even though I'm gonna miss that neat space station, it's still great to be back on good old Earth", smiled Ash. "You're right Ashy", sighed Misty. "The Earth would not be so pretty anymore if I had left it." "Oh brother!" thought Ash. "Growl!" smiled Growlithe for he loved being back on Earth too. He wasn't too disappointed about leaving that girl Growlithe on the station behind, for it turned out neither one of them really had anything in common. So Growlithe went back to ruining Cameron's and Reiko's romance fun. "Came-chan, can you show me all of your badges again please?" asked Reiko. "Certainly Moonray", smiled Cameron as he opened up his Pokedex, pulled open a slot, and showed Reiko the eight Ryooku badges he earned. The Vine Badge, The Pyramid Badge, The Harvest Badge, The Metro Badge, The Ocean Badge, The Snow Badge, The Peak Badge, and finally the Galaxy Badge. "Well, you did it Cameron", smiled Tracey. "You've earned all eight badges. Now you're qualified to compete in the Ryooku League!" "That's right!" smiled Cameron. "But where do I go to do that?" "Just cross that bridge over there", said Neil as he pointed south to a bridge that led to a town. "That will take you to Vinegar Town where the Ryooku League HQ is located. If you can defeat all the members there, you'll have it made." "Thank you Neil", smiled Cameron as he shook his hand. "It was a pleasure getting to know you and battling you." "My pleasure kid", smiled Neil as he ruffled Cameron's cap and hair. * * * * * * Under the bridge, we see a rocket escape pod bobbing in the water. And out of it popped three dizzy villains. "I wish we could've made a more softer splashdown!" whined James. "You mean like on your soft head?" moaned Meowth. "It's all water under the bridge!" said Jessie. "Yes, there's water under that bridge", said Meowth. "So?" "That's not what I meant kitty litter brain!" growled Jessie, but then she looked up at the bridge and started smiling wickedly again. "But look who's crossing it!" James and Meowth looked up too and saw our heroes walking on the bridge to the other side while singing and humming the song, Stand By Me. "Oh, we'll stand by you twerps!" grumbled Jessie. "We'll keep standing by you until we do away with all of you forever. HA HA HA HA!" laughed Jessie along with the other Rockets. Then the escape pod started to sink into the water while the Rockets continued to laugh until all you see were bubbles floating out. TO BE CONTINUED AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well, Cameron's done it. He's won all eight Ryooku Badges and now he's going off to battle in the Ryooku League. Will he become victorious or will he be defeated? Or will Team Rocket try to ruin his dreams? For the answers to these questions, stay tuned for the next chapter. ^_^