@Scytherwolf;

@Charles Legend;

After a holiday hiatus, let's continue our remixed Johto adventure!

Episode 35: Tricks of the Trade (part 1)

"Finally glad to see something other than forest!" Ash smiled as he Misty, and Brock emerged from Ilex Forest onto a stretch of coastline.

"I'll say--beach views are beautiful!" Misty agreed.

She braced herself for Michelle to pop out of her Poke Ball, but when the Golduck didn't appear, she heaved a sigh of relief. "Thought Michelle was going to come out for a minute there--she's always loved the beach."

"Still comes out of her Poke Ball without being asked?" Brock grinned.

"Not so much anymore--mainly if she's excited or senses something interesting outside." Misty replied as the group rounded the corner to a picnic area, where a boy with dull green hair was enjoying a meal while a blue blob-like Pokemon stood guard.

Interesting Pokemon... Ash mused as he pulled out Dexter to read up on the blob Pokemon:

"Wobbufett, the patient Pokemon. It does nothing but endure attacks - it won't attack on its own." Dexter explained. "However, it won't endure an attack on its tail. When that happens, the Wobbufett will try to take the foe with it using Destiny Bond."

"Oh my..." Misty gasped. "What does that do?"

"Basically, If the user faints, the opponent will also faint." the boy explained as he dusted sandwich crumbs from his shirt. "I'm Benny, and this is Sahana, my Wobbufett." he explained, gesturing to the blob Pokemon.

[All-l-l-l is-well!] the Wobbufett announced in reply.

"Nice to meet you...I'm Ash, and these are my friends Misty...." Misty waved hello. "...and Brock." Brock waved hello before finding an empty table close to Benny so the two groups could easily visit.

"Pleased to meet you guys." Benny smiled. "We're going to the Pokémon Swap Meet--hopefully I can find someone to trade Sahana to while I'm there."

"In fact, the Pokemon Swap Meet is one of the largest gatherings for Pokemon trading in the world." Brock explained as he showed the group a picture of two people trading in the guidebook's chapter on the Swap Meet. "People come from all over the world to trade, not just Johto."

"But I don't get why you would want to trade your Wobbufett if you clearly love him..." Misty mused as Benny hugged his Wobbufett.

"Don't get me wrong, I love Sahana, and I've trained him hard." Benny assured Misty as he cleaned up the remains of his picnic. "But now I'd like a different Pokémon to train."

"That's fair, I guess." Misty smiled. "We'll go with you two into town, if you'd like."

"Sure--I'd love the company." Benny replied as he motioned for the Wobbufett to follow him.

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Singin' in the rain...we're singin' in the rain... James sang as he hosed down a massive pitcher-plant like Pokemon, who seemed to be enjoying the water spray.

"I don't think Shita would enjoy water..." Jessie mused as she groomed a pink mammalian Pokemon with a long tongue. "He has his tongue to bathe himself, but I am more than capable of defending his dignity if you get him wet!" She brandished a massive water gun to prove her point.

"Really?" James pointed the hose at the Lickitung. "Shall we test that hypothesis?"

"Guys!" Meowth called, defusing the impending water fight. "Check out dis poster here!"

Both Jessie and James forgot about their water fight and hurried over to the light pole Meowth was pointing out, where a poster advertising the Pokemon Swap Meet was displayed. "Today--Pokemon Swap Meet..." James read.

"Come trade for Pokemon from around the seven regions and beyond...games for the kids, and prizes..." Jessie read.

"How bout it? Wanna try and swipe some exotic Pokemon?" Meowth offered. "We may have an opportunity to swipe sometin' even rarer and more valuable dan Hat-boy's Pikachu!"

"Then what are we waiting for?" James eagerly led the charge into town, excited about stealing an exotic Pokemon.

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Meanwhile, as the group and Benny rounded the corner leading into town, Brock suddenly felt the ground start to rumble. "Are we anywhere close to a fault line?"

"That's no earthquake, that's a Tauros stampede!" Benny called before shepherding the Trio and Sahana to the side of the road, moments before a herd of Tauros and people came thundering down the road, to the roar of the crowd.

"What's going on?" Ash wondered as he watched the hundreds of Tauros pass by.

"This is one of the events that happen every year at the Swap Meet." a man explained. "Anyone who touches one of the Tauros's horns gets a trophy from the mayor."

"Wow!" Ash gasped before reaching out his hand into the thundering herd in an attempt to touch one of the Tauros. "If I can just...reach...."

A THWAP! and a cry of pain alerted the others that Ash had been unsuccessful in touching a Tauros horn. "I'll do my best to ease the bleeding, one of you should find a Pokemon Center." Brock instructed the others as he removed Ash's right glove and examined the bleeding gash on Ash's right hand.

"Ow...it hurts..." Ash winced as Brock studied the gaping scratch on his hand.

"You're lucky this wasn't worse..." Brock explained as he carefully wrapped Ash's hand in gauze. "You could've gotten your hand ripped off, if not permanently damaged."

Just then, Misty returned. "I've got Benny checking in for trading, and located the Pokemon Center." she reported. "Judging from that gash, it may need an expert to look at it."

"Come on--let's go get this wound treated." Brock assured Ash as he followed Misty towards the Pokemon Center.

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"The good news is, your wound did not break the skin too deeply." Nurse Joy explained as she gently massaged some anti bacterial gel on Ash's scratch. "It would still be a good idea to put some silver gauze on it to speed up the healing process."

"Silver?" Misty wondered as Nurse Joy carefully bandaged Ash's wound with some shiny silver gauze.

"Silver has been shown to help the treatment of infected wounds and wounds with a risk of infection." Nurse Joy explained before addressing Ash. "Next time, I would not recommend reaching out to touch a Tauros horn." she warned as she made sure the shiny bandage was on securely and Ash's glove could fit over it.

"Point duly noted." Ash replied as he admired how his silver bandage glittered in the light.

"Although if you want, a safer alternative would be entering your Tauros in the Charger Cup." Nurse Joy went on. "There's still time to enter--the Tauros stampede you saw before was headed for the Seaside Stadium, at the north part of town."

"Maybe I'll try that while my wound heals." Ash smiled. "Thanks, Nurse Joy!"

Misty was just as glad, although for a different reason. That's a first, Brock didn't attempt to serenade Nurse Joy with a stupid love song. she smiled as Ash located a phone and started dialing Prof. Oak's number.

"Hello?" the image of Prof. Oak began. "You caught me just as I was about to give one of the Squirtles a bath..." he explained as he filled a small washtub for a waiting Squritle.

"Hi, Professor--we're in a little seaside town where there's a Tauros competition--so could you send over one of my herd so I can try it?" Ash explained. "I also learned the hard way not to touch their horns..." he explained as he showed Prof. Oak his silver bandage.

"Oh my..." Prof. Oak gasped when he saw the silver bandage. "I've never seen a bandage like that before...."

"They say silver infused bandages prevent infection." Ash replied. "As to which of the herd I want, Venti's my best one for battle."

"All right, let me get this Squirtle settled, and I'll send Venti over." Prof. Oak replied before the call ended.

"Have I told you that naming your herd 'one' to 'thirty' in Italian was a clever idea?" Brock grinned as the Poke Ball containing the Tauros materialized in the nearby transfer machine.

"Yes, you have--multiple times." Ash smiled as he went to retrieve his Tauros.

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"Is there no one among you who would challenge our champion Fernando and earn the Charger Cup?" the emcee announced as a dull purple haired boy and his Tauros looked out into the crowd for any challengers. "This will separate the men from the boys, the women from the girls, if one of you would step forward and challenge Dusty."

"I am Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, and I will challenge Dusty!" Ash announced as he made a heroic jump into the arena, gracefully landing on the Silver sideline as Venti trotted into the arena.

"A new challenger has arrived!" the emcee announced, to thunderous cheers...

To Be Continued...