Pokémon The Johto Journeys: Tough Enough

Chapter 11: Giant Robot Noctowl

                “I caught it! I caught it!” Dr. Wiseman sang as he danced around the Noctowl.

                Ash thought Dr. Wiseman was acting kind of strange. Then Dr. Wiseman bent down and started to pick up a rock.

                “Boy, this Noctowl is really heavy,” Dr. Wiseman said.

                “He must have been hypnotized by the Noctowl when he went to capture it,” Brock said.

                “Where is Noctowl?” Ash wondered. While Ash was watching Dr. Wiseman, Noctowl disappeared.

                Misty pointed into the woods. “There it is!”

                Noctowl was wobbling around, still confused by the Hypnosis Attack.

                Ash rushed up behind it. Noctowl turned around and gave an angry cry.

                “Be careful, Ash,” Brock warned. “It must feel threatened.”

                Before could Ash could plan his next move, a strong wind swept through the forest. It almost blew the cap off of his head.

                The wind snapped Dr. Wiseman out of his Hypnosis. “What’s going on?” he asked.

                The wind grew stronger, and something big came crashing through the trees.

                “Prepare for trouble!” shrieked a voice.

                “Make it double!” added another.

                Ash looked up. The voices belonged to Jessie and James of Team Rocket. They were talking through the microphones and piloting a giant robot shaped like a Noctowl. Team Rocket had tied a red balloon to each side of the robot’s head to float the robot into the forest. The strong wind was caused by air escaping from the balloons as the robot landed.

                “We’ll take the Noctowl as a nice little present for our Boss,” Meowth said, from his position at the control panel.

                Dr. Wiseman seemed impressed. “You mean you built this huge machine to catch one little Pokémon? I like it!”

                “We put our all into catching any Pokémon, no matter how small,” James said proudly. “That’s the Team Rocket philosophy.”

                “You should use your Pokémon to battle fair and square,” said Brock. “That’s the philosophy of a real Pokémon trainer.”

                Meowth grinned. “Make no mistake. We’re not Pokémon trainers. We’re Team Rocket! And now we’ll catch that Noctowl.” The talking Pokémon reached for a lever on the control panel.

                “Not so fast!” Ash cried. “Pikachu, Thunderbolt!”

                Pikachu obeyed right away. It hurled a powerful bolt of sizzling electricity at the robot.

                But the bolt hit the robot’s metal surface and bounced right back into the ground.

                “The body of this machine is covered with a special coating,” James said. “Pikachu’s electric attacks won’t work!”

                Ash was getting angry now. He threw out two more Poké Balls.

                “Go Cyndaquil! Go Totodile!” he yelled. The Pokémon burst onto the scene in a blaze of light.

                But before he could use his Fire Pokémon and Water Pokémon, Meowth began pressing buttons. The two red balloons inflated quickly. Then he pressed another button, and the balloons deflated again. The wind knocked Cyndaquil and Totodile off of their feet. The Noctowl went flying backward, too. It looked hurt.

                In the confusion, Dr. Wiseman grabbed Noctowl in his arms and started to run away.

                “Hey, that’s not fair!” Ash cried.

                “He thinks he can beat Team Rocket?” James was shocked. “We’ll show him!”

                Meowth hit some more buttons, and two metal legs extended from the bottom of the Noctowl robot. Each leg had a sharp set of metal claws on the end.

                Ash watched, helpless, as one claw grabbed Dr. Wiseman by the back of his jacket. Dr. Wiseman lost his grip on Noctowl, but the Pokémon was quickly grabbed by the other metal claw. Then the robot begins to lift off.

                Ash thought fast. He threw out another Poké Ball and Bulbasaur popped out. The blue-green Grass Pokémon had a large plant bulb on top of its back.

                “Bulbasaur! Chikorita! Use Vine Whip to stop the robot!” Ash yelled.l

                Thick green vines launched from the two Pokémon. They wrapped around the giant robot, keeping it from flying away.

                “I’ll help you, Noctowl!” Ash cried. He climbed up a tree. When he was at the same height as the claw that held Noctowl, he leaped off.

                Wham! Ash landed on the shiny metal claw. Noctowl was struggling to escape. Ash tried to pry the metal part. It wasn’t easy. The claw was tightly clamped.

                “You can’t do it, twerp,” Jessie taunted him.

                “Don’t waste your strength, kid,” said Meowth. “Give up!”

                Team Rocket’s comments only made Ash try harder. He pried at the claw with all his might. Noctowl struggled to find an opening.

                Then, finally, Ash managed to squeeze open the claw just enough for Noctowl to escape. The Pokémon flew out and landed in a tree next to Ash’s Pokémon.

                Meowth scowled. “I’ll show him!” it cried. It pressed a lever, and the claw moved, sending Ash flying into a clump of bushes.

                Ash had the wind knocked out of him, but he was fine. When he stood up, he saw Noctowl screeching something to Cyndaquil, Totodile, and Pikachu.

                Cyndaquil nodded and ran up to the robot. It shot a burning stream of fire at the metal monster.

                “I think Cyndaquil is following Noctowl’s plan,” Brock remarked, amazed.

                Up in the control booth, Team Rocket just chuckled. “We can take all the fire you can give us,” Jessie said confidently.

                Noctowl’s head twisted from side to side. Then it hooted at Totodile.

                Cyndaquil stepped aside, and Totodile squirted the hot metal with a powerful stream of cold water. Ash was starting to get Noctowl’s plan.

                “Our special metal coating is cracking!” Meowth shrieked.

                “Now I see,” said Brock. “Spraying cold water on heated metal…”

                “Will make it crack, no matter how special it is,” Misty said.

                They were right. A huge seam cracked open in the middle of the robot. The machine’s inner workings were exposed.

                Ash knew just what to do to finish the job.

                “Pikachu, aim a Thunderbolt at the crack!” he cried.