Pokemon Neo Part 15: Rei and Raichu © 1999-2000 Willow McCall    Sora woke up to hear Aoife chanting “And one, two three four, and two, two three four, and three…”  “What the hell is she doing?” Sora wondered groggily as she sat up in bed.  She saw Aoife on the balcony of their hotel room doing exercises with Chu-Chu.  Sora got up and opened the balcony door.  “Aoife?”  Aoife didn’t stop exercising but turned around.  “Morning, Sora.”  “What’re you doing?” Sora questioned.  “Getting ready for my battle against the Vermilion gym leader,” Aoife said.  “Pika!” Chu-Chu said enthusiastically.  “Why are you stretching, though?” Sora asked.  “You’re not going to be the one battling.”  Aoife stopped momentarily.  “Good question.  Uh…I’m showing Chu-Chu how to do it!”  “I bet this gym leader trains electric Pokemon,” Sora said.  “It would be the best type, what with the power plant right around the corner and the abundance of electric Pokemon here.”  “You think so?” Aoife asked.  “So I’ll use Bellsprout…and the Pokemon I caught in the fields near where you discovered Treagle,” she added, winking.  Sora winked back.  “Oh yeah, that one will be useful.  Well, you better keep exercising.  You might need to train a little before you go.”  She went back inside, where Petra was starting to wake up.  “What time is it?” Petra mumbled.  She checked her watch.  “7:30?  Nooooo, it’s too early…”  “Aoife should get to the gym on time so that she can be one of the first trainers to schedule a match,” Sora said.  “Maybe we better go soon.”  “I don’t wanna,” Petra said, tunneling back under the covers.  “Petra, do you know how many people have probably slept in that bed before you?” Sora asked, trying to rouse Petra out of bed.  “And what they might have been doing, and what might be on the sheets…”  “They wash them, though,” Petra said, not caring who had been there before.  “Whatever,” Sora replied, going off into the bathroom to get ready.        “This must be it,” Aoife said, standing outside the door to the Vermilion Gym, a large yellow building which, if seen from the air, would look like a lightning bolt.  “Ya think?” Sora said sarcastically.  “I mean, with the signs saying ‘GYM’ over it no one would ever know…”  Aoife gave Sora a withering look and headed into the gym.  “Uh, hello?” she called into the darkness.  “Anyone in here?”  “A challenger?” a woman’s voice asked.  “Who are you?”  “I’m…no, wait,” Aoife stopped.  “Tell me who you are.”  “Gladly,” the woman said, stepping into the light.  She had long reddish-blonde hair, brown eyes, and was wearing a black leather jacket, a black skirt and boots.  “I’m Rei, the temporary replacement for the gym leader here, Lt. Surge.”  “Surge, right,” Petra said.  “I’ve heard of him.  Didn’t he go off into the army again?”  “Uh-huh,” Rei nodded.  “I’m taking over while he’s gone.  And this is my Pokemon…Surge’s actually, but for now it’s mine.  Raichu!”  “Rai raiiii!” the brown electric mouse said, leaping forward from behind Rei.  “Piiika!” Chu-Chu said, hiding behind Aoife’s legs.  “A Pikachu?” Rei laughed.  “Puny little things.  They’re no good until they evolve, right, Raichu?”  “Chu,” Raichu nodded.  “Now you tell me who you are,” Rei demanded.  “I’m Aoife Ketchum, from Pallet Town,” she said.  “I already have three badges, and I’m here for my fourth.”  “You’re going to be disappointed then,” Rei said.  “You won’t get a badge.  Not from me.  I’m not a pushover like the other gym leaders you fought must have been.”  “Hey, wait a second!” Petra stepped forward.  “I’m the gym leader of Pewter City and I’m not a pushover!  I gave Aoife the badge because she earned it.”  “Me too!” Sora said.  “I’m the Azure City gym leader, and although I probably couldn’t beat your Raichu there, that doesn’t mean I’m weak.”  “Yeah, right,” Rei snorted.  “I’ll decide that.  Come with me to the arena, children.”  Aoife, although annoyed at Rei degrading her and her friends, stomped off angrily after Rei into the arena.  Once they were in the arena, Sora and Petra sat in the bleachers while a voice over the loudspeaker announced, “Rei, the acting gym leader, versus Aoife, the challenger from Pallet Town.  The gym leader will use two Pokemon, Raichu and Electabuzz.”  “Oh no, not another Electabuzz,” Aoife groaned.  “The challenger, Aoife, may use up to six Pokemon.  Let the battle begin.”  “Okay, Raichu, go!” Rei ordered.  “I choose you!”  Aoife threw out her first Pokeball of the match.  “Bellsprout!”  “Bellsprouts are resistant to electricity,” Rei noted.  “That’s okay, Raichu can still shock it.  Go, Raichu!”  “RAIIIIIIII!” Raichu yelled, using Thundershock on the Bellsprout, who was unhurt after the attack.  “Bellsprout,” it said, flinging Razor Leaf across the arena and giving Raichu a paper cut from the sharp leaves.  “That won’t work,” Rei said.  “Try Thunder, Raichu!”  Raichu used a Thunder attack, which was more powerful than just a Thundershock, and this time Bellsprout was hurt, but not very much.  “Bell…” it whined.  “Keep trying, Bellsprout,” Aoife said.  “Use Stun Spore!”  “Bell!”  Bellsprout straightened up, then started to sprinkle Stun Spore over the electric Pokemon.  “It’s close enough now for you to use Slam, Raichu!” Rei directed.  “Chuuu!” Raichu bellowed, towering over Bellsprout.  It then fell on the grass Pokemon, which then crumpled.  “Bellsprout!” Aoife cried.  “Now what will I do?  None of my others are very good against electric Pokemon…”  “So what will you do next, Aoife?” Rei asked, as Aoife returned Bellsprout.  “Will you forfeit?”  “No,” Aoife said.  “Never!  I’ll never forfeit a match when I might have some chance of winning!  Go, Rattata!”  Aoife used Rattata, Nidoran, Pele, Spearow, even Shellder, and even Chu-Chu, none of whom were strong enough or electricity-resistant enough to stand up to the Raichu.  Even when Pele made Raichu faint, Rei still had Electabuzz as Raichu’s second, and it was Electabuzz who beat her other Pokemon.  “Too bad you lost, Aoife,” Rei said, not sounding sorry at all.  “It’s terrible some people should have so many great Pokemon and some should have only a few pathetic ones, isn’t it?”  Aoife looked like she was holding back tears after her bitter defeat.  “I’ll be back!” she yelled as she ran out of the gym.  “I’ll train and I’ll come back and beat you!”   (Who's that Pokemon?  It's Raichu!)    “Aoife, don’t you want to go back to the hotel?” Sora asked, shivering.  It was getting darker and colder, but still Aoife was out in the fields training her Pokemon.  She had been training all day, only taking short breaks for lunch and dinner.  “No,” Aoife insisted.  “I have to get my Bellsprout up to level 30 so it can beat that Raichu.”  “Aoife…” Petra started.  “NO!” Aoife snapped.  “I’m staying out here.  I have to train.  You guys can go in if you want, but I need to train.”  Sora looked to Petra.  “I guess we better,” she said.  “Come back in when you’re finished, okay, Aoife?”  Aoife nodded.  “Okay, Bellsprout, one more time…”  “It’s kind of sad, really,” Sora said as they went back inside.  “She’s taking it really badly.”  “I would too,” Petra said.  “Rei beat her really badly, and she kept insulting her the whole time.  I think Rei really pushed her buttons a little too much.”  “She didn’t just push her buttons,” Sora said.  “She pushed the big red one that had big ‘DO NOT PUSH’ signs all around.”  Back in the hotel room, Petra looked out the window.  “I can’t even see her,” she worried.  “I hope she’s all right.  I hope she comes in soon.”  “She’ll come in,” Sora said, getting into bed.  “Just wait.  You should get some sleep too.”  “Okay,” Petra resigned, going to bed also, but she couldn’t sleep for a while for worrying about Aoife.        Sora woke up the next day expecting to hear Aoife doing her exercises.  But she wasn’t there.  “Aoife?”  Sora looked around.  “Petra, wake up.  She isn’t back yet.”  “Is she not?” Petra asked, sitting up.  “Oh my god, she’s not here.”  “Why didn’t she come back?” Sora wondered, already starting to get dressed.  “I don’t know,” Petra said, getting ready to go also, “but we have to go look for her.”  They went out into the fields where she had been training, calling her name.  “Aoife!  Aoife, where are you?”  “There’s Chu-Chu!” Sora said, spotting Chu-Chu in a tree nearby, eating an apple.  “Pi?” Chu-Chu looked up.  “Pika!” it cried, waving its paw at its friends.  “Chu-Chu, where’s Aoife?” Petra asked.  “Pika pikachu,” Chu-Chu said, pointing into some bushes near the tree.  Aoife was lying in the bushes, having fallen asleep last night while training.  Petra immediately shook her to wake her up.  “Aoife!”  “Huuuh?” Aoife asked, opening her eyes slowly.  “Aoife!”  Petra was in a frenzy.  “Where were you?  Why didn’t you come in?  Geez, I couldn’t get to sleep until ONE IN THE MORNING because I was so worried…”  Aoife smiled.  “Hey,” she said.  “Look at Bellsprout.”  Petra and Sora looked around, but they couldn’t see Aoife’s Bellsprout anywhere.  “It’s hanging from the tree,” Aoife gave them a hint.  “Ohh, there it is,” Sora said, pointing to a Pokemon hanging from a tree…but it wasn’t a Bellsprout.  It was bell-shaped though, yellowish with green spots, hanging by its stem.  “Is that your Bellsprout?”  “Not anymore,” Aoife grinned.  “Now it’s my WEEPINBELL!”  “It evolved!” Petra said, also grinning.  “That’s fantastic!  Now you’re sure to get that badge, huh?”  Aoife jumped up and grabbed her new Weepinbell from the tree.  “Yep, and I’ll beat that Raichu and Electabuzz!  Come on, let’s go!”  She ran off to the gym, with her friends following her.  “Hey, Rei!”  Aoife opened the door and crept in, then called out into the darkness.  “I’m baaaaaaaaack!”  “You again?” Rei asked, entering the room with Raichu.  “I would have thought you learned your lesson.”  “I did learn my lesson,” Aoife said.  “I learned not to give up, and that’s why I’m here.” She already was running into the arena.  “Come on, let’s go!”  Rei rolled her eyes and followed her into the arena.  “The challenger, Aoife, will use up to six Pokemon,” the announcer said again.  “Let the battle begin!”  “Let’s have a repeat of the last battle, Raichu!” Rei said, pointing Raichu into battle.  “Go, Weepinbell!” Aoife threw in her new grass Pokemon.  “Bell,” it said, but in a more hollow voice than before.  “Weepinbell, Acid now!” Aoife commanded.  “Bell,” Weepinbell said.  “Weep weep!”  It spit acid onto Raichu’s face.  “Raiiii!” Raichu cried in pain, swiping at its eyes with its paws to get the stinging substance off.  “Thundershock, Raichu!” Rei said.  “Churai!”  Raichu performed the attack as Rei had directed it to, but in the wrong direction.  Because the acid blurred its vision, Raichu couldn’t see where Bellsprout was and shocked Rei instead.  “Not…not me…” Rei whimpered.  “All right!” Aoife cheered.  “Now she’ll have to return it.”  When Rei recovered, she did in fact return Raichu.  “Now, Electabuzz!”  “Elec elec!” Electabuzz said, pumping itself up to get ready to attack.  “Use the acid again, Weepinbell!” Aoife said.  But before Weepinbell could even get ready to spit the acid at Electabuzz, Rei had ordered it to use Head Butt, and it bashed into Weepinbell.  Weepinbell went flying, and Aoife quickly recalled it before it could hit the ground.  “Now what?” Aoife asked herself, frustrated, fumbling for another Pokeball.  “Aoife!” Sora called to her from the stands.  “Use Cubone!”  “No coaching from the sidelines!” Rei snapped at her.  “Cubone?” Petra repeated, as she watched Aoife throw one of her Pokeballs.  “Yeah,” Sora said.  “She caught a Cubone in the fields near Azure City.  I don’t think you were there; that was when you were with my sister.”  “Cubone bone!” Cubone said.  “Electabuzz, Thunderbolt!” Rei commanded.  Electabuzz tried to use Thunderbolt on the small Pokemon with the skull on its head, but it just didn’t work.  “Cubone’s a ground Pokemon, Rei,” Aoife said.  “Maybe think before you act next time.  Cubone!  Bonemerang!”  “Cu,” Cubone agreed.  “Boooone!”  It threw the bone that it held in its hand at Electabuzz, and it hit it squarely on the head.  Electabuzz swayed, looking unstable.  Cubone crawled up and poked it, and it promptly fell over.  “Aoife is the winner!” the loudspeakers declared.  “YEAH!” Aoife pumped her fist.  “I got my…Thunder Badge, is it?”  “Yeah, yeah, here’s your Thunder Badge,” Rei said resignedly, handing over the badge to Aoife.  “All right!” Aoife cheered, high-fiveing Cubone.  “Put ‘er there, Cubone!”  “Pika pikachu!” Chu-Chu congratulated Aoife, jumping into her arms.  “Well?” Rei prompted.  “You got your badge, so now go.”  “Fine,” Aoife said.  “Let’s take our business elsewhere, guys.”  After they left the gym, Sora asked, “So where should we go next?”  “Hmm,” Petra looked at their Nav-Comp.  “Lavender Town isn’t too far from here, although it might take us a couple of days, we could get there.”  “Okay!” Aoife agreed.  “Is there a gym there?”  “I think so,” said Sora.  “Okay, so Lavender Town it is!”     Author's Notes In case anyone wants to complain that Aoife always wins, here's proof that she doesn't.  Although I don't see why not, when I played Pokemon Yellow I didn't lose a single match until I got to the Celadon Gym.  But enough about me...man, Aoife's a bad loser, isn't she?  Oh well, maybe she learned a lesson, and that lesson is...I dunno, she probably'd know what it is.  And Cubone are cute, aren't they?  Hehe, I love them.  As for Rei, think Naga from Slayers (minus the laugh, I guess).  That's why Petra didn't like her.  And I don't blame her either.   back