@Scytherwolf; @Soups;


Episode 63: Cream of the Croagunk Crop!

"Pastoria City...the town that lives with the Great Marsh--five miles." Brock reported as the group made their way down the road.

He showed the group a picture of a large muscular man wearing wrestling garb, including a feathery blue mask. "In addition to being the city's Gym Leader, many more know Wake from the wrestling scene, where his iconic blue feathered mask and theme song have become legendary. It is also not unheard of for him to also answer to his ring name, Crasher Wake."

Dawn balked as she heard a powerful voice singing The ring is my roiling sea! The towering waves shaped me... "Speak of Darkrai..."

Ash motioned for the group to follow him down another pathway, where they found a familiar man in wrestling garb singing as he cleared away some trees and brush. Crash! Crash! Crasher Wake!
Crash! Crash! Crasher Wake!
I'm the tidal wave of power to wash you away!
Put out the fire, Crasher Wake!
Run from electricity, Crasher Wake!
Ah, ah, aaaah!
The ring is my sea.

He noticed the group watching him. "Oh, hello! Were you maybe coming to town to visit?"

"We were." Dawn replied.

"I've heard a lot about your exploits in the ring and in the Gym, Wake..." Ash began as he stepped out of the brush. "I'm Ash, and I've journeyed from afar to see if your power in the Gym is as great as people say."

Wake thought for a moment. "I would be happy to battle you, Ash, but at the moment I have some business to attend to. Would you three like to come with me?"

"Yeah!" the group chorused at almost the same time.

"Come on--we can take a shortcut through the Great Marsh." Wake motioned for the group to follow him.

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"The Great Marsh is similar to the Safari Zones across the world." Wake explained as the tram whirred past the various forests and marshes. "But what Pokemon you'll see on any given day is a surprise. If you want to make a run through the Marsh, it's 500 credits a pop."

He smiled as the tram stopped. "But that's not where we're going. Our destination is deep within the marsh, in an out of the way spot most trainers on a run don't get to see.

Dawn noticed the sun was setting. "Wow...it took us all day to get here?"

"The marsh is a big place, lass." Wave smiled as he cleared the brush. "So if you plan on running through it, plan the day accordingly."

The group arrived in an open field some time later. "And here we are!" Wake smiled.

"But, we're in the middle of nowhere..." Ash began.

He gasped when he saw what seemed like hundreds of yellow eyes surrounding him! "D-did we just walk into a monster den?"

"Not at all--you're seeing the marsh's many resident Croagunks." Wake assured Ash. Sure enough, millions of Croagunks hopped out from the wetlands and grasslands towards a large hollow log."

"Let's follow them!" Dawn suggested, following Wake and the Croagunks into the log.

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"Wow..." Ash gasped as the group emerged from the log to find all the Croagunks and thousands of people all gathered around a huge temple.

"Welcome to the Pastoria Croagunk Festival, everyone." Wake smiled. "Since ancient times, Croagunk has been seen as a symbol of wisdom and cleverness. One of the festival's ancient traditions is the Fantasy Stage, with the winner becoming Lorekeeper of the Great Marsh."

"Sounds fun!" Brock smiled as he showed Wake his one Miracle Jewel. "Where do I sign up?"

"Signups are over there." Wake pointed out a table near the gaming alley. "You still have time if you want to try and impress the Croagunks with your tales!"

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"These aren't half bad!" Dawn raved as she bit into an iced Croagunk shaped cookie.

"Neither are some of these tellers." Ash smiled as he watched the red and gold clad girl currently on the stage. "Brock has some competition!"

The Croaguaks croaking in approval of the girl's story snapped both Ash and Dawn to attention. "The Croagunks seemed to like that tale..." Wake smiled as he looked at a meter that measured how well a story did based on the Croagunk's reactions.

He checked the list of competitors. "Up next is competitor number K-42207, performing the tale 'The King of the Waterfall'."

[You can do it, Coach!] Kage croaked as Brock made his way onstage, to 'oohs' and 'ah's from the crowd at his beautiful costume.

"I wouldn't miss Brock telling for the world!" Dawn agreed.

On the stage, Brock took a deep breath and let it go before telling the crowd "Once upon a time something happened. If it hadn't happened, it wouldn't be told."

With that, he began "There was once a young king of a far away land--we'll call him Dolan--who had tired of the hobbies he had enjoyed, and wanted to do something he had never done before. As he pondered this, he got the idea to play chess with the goblin that lived near his castle."

Intrigued murmurs filled the air. "But though King Dolan was young and eager, he was also prudent, and his father had always told him to be very careful in dealing with fey and spirits, both good and bad." Brock explained. "So before going to the goblin's cave, King Dolan sought out an old wizard that lived in the country."

"I want to play a game of chess with the goblin near my castle." he explained in a higher pitched version of himself for Dolan.

"Do you, now? If you value your life, you will play with someone else." he cautioned in character as an older man, to some bemused giggles.

"No; I will play with the goblin." he vowed as King Dolan.

"Well, if you must, I won't try to stop you. But if you do win a game, ask as a prize the girl that stands behind the door." he instructed as the wizard.

As himself, he went on "So before the sun rose, King Dolan got up and went to the goblin's cave."

"What has brought you here today, milord? But I welcome you all the same, and more welcome will you be if you will play chess with me." he grins in a nasaly voice for the goblin, to the crowd's bemusement.

As himself, he continued "King Dolan agreed, and the game began."

He explained to the crowd "Now, chess in this land was not like chess as we know it in our world, but closer to games like Othello or Spot."

"Oh"s went up at this. "King Dolan took the red pieces, and the goblin took the blue ones." Brock went on. "Sometimes it seemed as if one would win, and sometimes the other, but in the end King Dolan won by capturing all the goblin's pieces. When the goblin asked what he wanted as a prize, King Dolan insisted on the girl that stood behind the door--we'll call her Anya. He took her home, cleaned all the dust, ash, and sweat from her, and gave her clothes fit for a queen. When she emerged, she was one of the most beautiful women in the world."

He smiled. "It goes without saying they were soon married."

"Aw"s and happy sighs from the Croagunks filled the air, but the smile on Brock's face was a signal he had more to tell. "The next day, before the sun rose, King Dolan sprang from his bed, and told his wife he wanted to play another game of chess with the goblin."

"If you win that game, accept nothing for your prize but the shining Ponyta in the wooden shed." he instructed in a mimic of Dawn for Queen Anya.

He continued as himself "So King Dolan and the goblin played another game of chess, and King Dolan won the Ponyta handily."

More intrigued murmurs went up as Brock went on "On the third day King Dolan got up before dawn, and as soon as he had eaten breakfast he prepared to go out, when his wife stopped him."

"I would rather that you did not play with the goblin, for even though you have won twice, one day he will win, and then he will put some kind of curse upon you." he warned as Queen Anya.

"I'm impressed Brock's learned how to mimic my voice..." Dawn admitted over the fearful murmurs.

"He just has a knack for mimicry--he learned to do me after only hearing me once, he's that good." Ash smiled.

[Pipe down, you two! Coach is performing!] Kage hissed.

"King Dolan requested one last game, and departed for the goblin's cave." Brock intoned from the stage. "But whether it was nerves or overconfidence, I'm not sure, but the goblin won the third game."

Even the Croagunks gasped at this. "I'll be willing to spare your life if you do not get for me the Sword of Light that hangs in the house of the king of the giants." he explains as the goblin.

As himself, Brock went on "King Dolan agreed, but as he trudged home, he wondered how in the world he would accomplish such a task. Queen Anya seemed to know what had happened long before her beloved arrived, and when she had heard the whole story, she said..."

"That is nothing to grieve about. You have the best wife anyone could ask for, and the best Ponyta in the world. Only do as I tell you, and all will be well." he assures the jittery crowd as Queen Anya.

As himself, Brock went on "King Dolan was still sleeping when Queen Anya got up to get everything ready for her husband’s journey. The first place she went to was the stable, where she fed and watered the shining Ponyta--who was none other than the Legendary shining Ponyta Epona--and put the saddle on. Most people thought this saddle was made of wood, and did not see the little sparkles of gold and silver hidden in it. She then led Epona down before the castle gate, where King Dolan waited.

"Good luck to you, and may you be victorious in all your battles." he smiles as Queen Anya. "Take Epona's advice, and heed it well."

The crowd buzzed with excitement as Brock continued "And so, King Dolan set out on his journey, and the wind went on before Epona. But Epona never stopped nor looked behind, until in the dark of the night she reached the castle of the king of the giants."

"Here we are." he smiled in a mimic of Misty for Epona. "You will find the Sword of Light in the king’s chamber. If it comes to you without scrape or sound, it accepts you as its master. At this hour the king is eating dinner, and the room is empty, so no one will see you. The sword has a knob at the pommel--when you grasp it, draw it softly out of its sheath. I will be under the window."

He went on as himself "King Dolan crept along the passage, pausing every now and then to make sure that no one was following him, and entered the king’s chamber. A strange line of light told him where the sword was, and tiptoeing across the room, he grabbed the knob, and drew it slowly out of the sheath. King Dolan's heart was pounding all the while--what if the sword made some noise, and brought all the people in the castle running to see what was the matter. But the sword slid swiftly and silently along the scabbard until only the tip was left touching it. Then a low sound was heard, that sounded like the edge of a knife touching a silver plate, and King Dolan was so startled that he very nearly dropped the knob. He scrambled through the small window, and leaped into the saddle."

"He has heard and he will follow, but we have a good start." he breathlessly tells an imagined person as Epona.

He narrates as he runs across the stage "On they sped, on and on, leaving the wind behind them. But Epona recognized the shining Ponyta, this one male, that the king of the giants rode."

"That shining Ponyta is my brother Lightfoot, and swifter still than I." he explains as Epona. "He will fly past me with a rush. Then you must have your sword ready, and cut off the head of the one who sits on him, as he turns and looks at you. There is no sword in the world that will cut off his head, save for that one."

Brock stopped to retrieve his harp as he continued "All happened as Epona had said, and before the sky was streaked with red he was home again, and Queen Anya was waiting until he arrived. She was happy to see him home, but she only took her harp and sang softly the songs he loved, until he was asleep, soothed and happy."

Even the Croagunks swayed along with the crowd as Brock played "The Fairy's Waltz" on his own harp for effect. "Pretty!" Dawn smiled.

"He must've been practicing hard." Ash agreed.

When the last note died, Brock continued "King Dolan woke up the next day in high spirits, and wanted to travel to the goblin's cave to find out if the spells he had casted on him were broken."

"Be careful, for it is not with a smile as on the other days that he will greet you." he warned as Queen Anya, setting the harp aside as he spoke. "He will meet you with fury, and ask you if you have the sword, and you will reply that you have it. Next he will want to know how you got it, and you must tell him that if it weren't for the knob you wouldn't have gotten it at all. Then he will raise his head to look at the knob, and you must stab him in the chest; but take heed, for if you miss his heart by even a little, then we are both doomed."

He went on "With that, Queen Anya kissed him, and bade him Arceus-speed..."

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"...King Dolan and Queen Anya returned home to a hero's welcome the next day, but they kept the magic jewels with them, in case they ever needed their friends' aid again." Brock finally concluded his tale some time later.

The marsh exploded with cheers, applause, and croaks as Brock took a bow. "Wow! That was amazing!" Dawn raved as the reaction meter zoomed all the way to the top as the Croagunks enthusiastically croaked.

Wake noticed the shining rainbow light at the top of the reaction meter. "Is it fair that number K-42207 is the winner of this years competition?" he asked the crowd as two Croagunks brought him a pillow with an orange plastic jewel on it.

The audience roared in reply. "Very well...the winner of this year's Fantasy Stage is number K-43307--Brock Harrison of Kanto!" The crowd roared as Brock met Wake on the stage to accept the orange jewel.

Wake located Ash and Dawn in the crowd as many in the crowd ran to get food or play more games. "I must say, your friend has real talent!" he smiled. "He should take his tales on the road one day!"

He then noticed Tintri. "Ash...I hereby accept your challenge for a Gym match. But we will battle tomorrow at the earliest--there's still plenty of partying to do tonight."

"Okay!" Ash smiled. "I'm bringing my S game!"

Brock rejoined Ash and Dawn some moments later. [Nicely done, Coach--you've finally got a win yourself!] Kage raved.

"Thanks...now I know how Dawn feels right now." Brock smiled as he put his costume away and dropped the orange jewel into his Miracle Jewel bag. "If Ash wins against Wake tomorrow, he'll be halfway there on the road to the League."

Dawn noticed groups of people playing music around the temple area. "Up for a jam to celebrate your win?" she asked Brock.

"Sure!" Brock smiled. "What tunes do you know?"

"May taught me how to play 'The Swellow's Tail' back at Lake Valor..." Dawn explained as she found her fiddle case and started tuning up.

Once Dawn and Brock were ready, Ash snapped to count off his companions into the timeless tune, Kage drumming on some rocks for percussion all the while...

To Be Continued...