Tale 84: How an Arcanine Defeated Tornadus (Brock)

(real tale: Schippeitaro)

"Once a priest was traveling across the land, and came to a village where everyone was making rice balls." Brock begins. "One house, however, was not."

"Why not?" Ash is intrigued.

"When the priest approached the house to get a closer look, he heard crying inside the house." Brock explains. "It turned out the members of that household were crying because they had to offer their only daughter as tribute to Tornadus. If Tornadus was not appeased with a sacrifice of a young girl with pure heart every year, he would send storms that would ruin the city and its fields."

"This sounds like 'Hikari Slays the Seviper'" Misty notes.

"You could argue that this tale is similar--I learned it in Driftveil while I was in the area for the Pokemon World Tournament." Brock reminds Misty. "You were with me, remember?"

"Oh yeah..." Misty smiles as the memory returns to her. "My matches somehow always ended up before yours, and so you were gathering stories to pass the time waiting for your matches."

"Go on then--then what happened?" Melody urges Brock to go on.

Brock thinks as to where he is in the tale before continuing "But the whole family loved their daughter very much, and it pained them that she had to be offered to Tornadus. The priest decided to offer himself in the girl's place, and immediately set out for the eastern mountains, where Tornadus dwelled."

"Pini?" Happini asks.

"He hid inside a hollow tree until night fell." Brock tells Happini. "As the moon rose, he heard Tornadus and a group of evil spirits all singing..." He pauses to sing Don't let him hear this, don't let him hear that, don't let Shoten hear! Shoten of Tachibana, don't him hear!

He continues "The priest concluded that Tornadus and the monsters feared whoever or whatever Shoten was. After telling the family what he had learned, the priest departed to the city of Tachibana."

"So, who was Shoten?" Misty wonders.

"When he got there, he asked the people of Tachibana if there was anyone named Shoten, but the townsfolk had no clue what the priest meant." Brock goes on. "Then, he spotted an Arcanine, who happened to be named Shoten!"

"So THAT's what Shoten was!" Ash muses when he makes the connection.

[Shoten was not a who, but a what.] Mai agrees.

"The Arcanine's owner agreed to let the priest borrow his Pokemon, and the priest set out for the village." Brock continues. "Meanwhile, the people of the village were growing anxious as the day of the sacrifice neared. Some worried about the family's reaction, while others worried about what Tornadus would do if he wasn't appeased."

He takes his guitar and starts a tense melody. "The family, however, was still hopeful that the priest would return, even though they continued with the preparation for the sacrifice."

"Pika?" Pikachu sparks excitedly in anticipation of a battle.

"Just before they left to take the girl to the shrine, the priest returned with the Arcanine, and both of them climbed inside the box." Brock continues as he speeds up his song. "As soon as the villagers left the box at the shrine, they ran away. Tornadus and the monsters inspected the box, singing the song all the while."

He then sings as he plays a playful melody Don't let him hear this, don't let him hear that, don't let Shoten hear! Shoten of Tachibana, don't him hear!

He stops the song to interject "When Tornadus opened the box, the priest and the Arcanine attacked!"

Ash leads the clapping as Brock plays the Zelda theme for effect. After a while, the song begins to slow. "After a long battle, they emerged victorious..." Brock plays the Zelda got item stinger for effect. "and returned to a hero's welcome. That village never had to sacrifice another girl again."

Ash leads the applause as Brock takes a bow...