Journey to the Orange Islands Read online

  I want to be the very best there ever was

  To beat all the rest, yeah, that’s my cause

  Catch ’em, Catch ’em, Gotta catch ’em all

  Pokémon I’ll search across the land

  Look far and wide

  Release from my hand

  The power that’s inside

  Catch ’em, Catch ’em, Gotta catch ’em all Pokémon!

  Gotta catch ’em all, Gotta catch ’em all

  Gotta catch ’em all, Gotta catch ’em all

  At least one hundred and fifty or more to see

  To be a Pokémon Master is my destiny

  Catch ’em, Catch ’em, Gotta catch ’em all

  Gotta catch ’em all, Pokémon! (repeat three times)

  Here’s the next 32 Pokémon.

  Catch the next book, The Four-Star Challenge,

  for more of the Poké Rap.

  Electrode, Diglett, Nidoran, Mankey

  Venusaur,Rattata, Fearow, Pidgey

  Seaking, Jolteon, Dragonite, Gastly

  Ponyta, Vaporeon, Poliwrath, Butterfree

  Venomoth, Poliwag, Nidorino, Golduck

  Ivysaur, Grimer, Victreebel, Moltres

  Nidoking, Farfetch’d, Abra, Jigglypuff

  Kingler, Rhyhorn, Clefable, Wigglytuff

  Words and Music by Tamara Loeffler and John Siegler

  Copyright © 1999 Pikachu Music (BMI)

  Worldwide rights for Pikachu Music administered by Cherry River Music Co. (BMI)

  All Rights Reserved  Used by Permission

  Contents

  Title Page

  Chapter 1: A New Journey

  Chapter 2: Too Good to Be True?

  Chapter 3: A Scare in the Air

  Chapter 4: Battle on the Blimp

  Chapter 5: The GS Ball

  Chapter 6: Vileplume

  Chapter 7: Farewell to a Friend

  Chapter 8: Battle on the Beach

  Chapter 9: The Lost Lapras

  Chapter 10: Save Lapras

  About the Author

  Sneak Peek

  Copyright

  “Ash, I need you to run a very important errand for me,” Professor Oak said.

  Ash Ketchum beamed. Here he was back in Pallet Town in the lab of Professor Oak, one of the world’s greatest Pokémon experts. He was surrounded by his best friends, Misty and Brock. Pikachu, his favorite Pokémon, sat on his shoulder. And now Professor Oak was going to entrust him with an important mission. Ash felt proud.

  “Of course, I asked my grandson Gary to go,” Professor Oak said, “but he was busy with another Pokémon adventure.”

  Ash cringed. He should have guessed he was second choice after Gary. Gary began his Pokémon training at the same time as Ash and was Ash’s top rival.

  “What’s the errand?” Misty asked. Togepi, Misty’s baby Pokémon, played with her orange hair as she spoke.

  “I need you to travel to Valencia Island in the Orange Archipelago,” Professor Oak said.

  “The Archipela-who?” Ash asked, confused.

  But Misty and Brock looked excited.

  “Valencia! It’s beautiful there,” Misty said.

  “Yeah,” Brock said. “And there are lots of girls on the beach.”

  “My friend Professor Ivy works there,” the professor continued. “She recently acquired a mysterious Poké Ball. I’d like you to bring it to me so that I can study it.”

  “Can’t you just have her transport it to you like any other Poké Ball, Professor?” Misty asked. Trainers from Pallet Town often transported Pokémon in their Poké Balls to Professor Oak’s lab. Because Trainers can only carry six Pokémon at a time, Professor Oak helped them raise any extra Pokémon they caught.

  “We’ve tried to transport the Poké Ball, but it doesn’t work,” Professor Oak said. “That’s one of the reasons it’s so mysterious.”

  Ash liked the sound of that. “Of course I’ll go, Professor,” he said.

  “Me, too,” said Misty and Brock together.

  Professor Oak smiled. “Wonderful!” he said. “I know I can count on all of you.”

  Ash and his friends started out on their journey the next morning. Brock carried a pack filled with special Pokémon food. He was tall and muscular. Brock looked tough, but he knew a lot about caring for Pokémon. Misty held Togepi. The tiny Pokémon still wore the colorful eggshell it had hatched from. Pikachu walked alongside Ash. Its lightning-bolt tail bobbed up and down behind its little yellow body. They trekked through the forest in silence, but Ash’s mind was crowded with thoughts.

  Ash was ten years old when he first began his journey as a Pokémon Trainer in Professor Oak’s lab. A lot had happened since then. He had fought Gym Leaders in eight different towns and earned badges from all of them. He had even competed in the Pokémon League, where he finished in the top sixteen. Not bad.

  And most important, he was learning how to become a good Pokémon Trainer. He had caught and trained many different types of Pokémon. Some of them had even evolved into higher forms. Charmander had evolved into Charmeleon and then Charizard. Pidgey, his Flying-type Pokémon, had recently evolved into Pidgeot.

  Ash knew he had made a lot of mistakes along the way. But he was learning more each day. And now Professor Oak had entrusted him with an important mission. He couldn’t wait to get started.

  Ash and his friends walked for hours. Slowly the trees around them began to thin out. In the distance, Ash saw the crystal blue ocean twinkling in the sunlight.

  “All right!” Ash said. “We’ll be on Valencia Island in no time.”

  Brock flipped through a guidebook. He frowned.

  “I’ve got bad news, Ash,” Brock said. “According to this, we’ll have to row a boat for weeks before we get anywhere near the island!”

  “Weeks!” Ash cried.

  Brock flipped through the book. “If we go by blimp, it will take less than a day,” he said. “But the blimp is pretty expensive.”

  Ash turned out his pockets. He had a few coins but not enough for a blimp ride.

  “I wish we had enough money to go by blimp,” Ash said. “Don’t you, Pikachu?”

  “Pika!” The yellow Electric-type Pokémon nodded in agreement.

  Ash sighed. He looked around. There was a small shop down the road.

  “I’d better go buy some food and supplies for our trip,” Ash said.

  Pikachu, Misty, and Brock followed Ash to the store. Ash bought enough snacks to fill his knapsack, then stepped back outside. He hadn’t noticed it before, but two men stood behind a table in front of the store. A banner draped over the table read YOU CAN BE A WINNER!

  One of the men called to Ash. “Bring your register receipt here and take a chance.”

  “You could win a grand prize trip,” the other man said. “A free blimp ride to beautiful Valencia Island!”

  “Did he say blimp?” Brock asked. “This sounds too good to be true.”

  “Who cares?” Ash said. “Let’s try.”

  Ash handed his receipt to the men. One of the men spun a round cage with yellow balls inside. When the cage stopped moving, a single ball fell into the man’s hand.

  He looked at the ball, then at Ash’s receipt.

  “Congratulations!” he said. “You have won our grand prize round trip blimp flight to Valencia Island!”

  Misty and Brock couldn’t believe it.

  “There’s something weird about this,” Misty said.

  “Yeah,” Brock agreed. “Those two seem kind of familiar.”

  Ash didn’t care. “We’re just lucky!” he said. “Let’s get going!”

  The blimp yard was only a short walk away. Ash looked around, wondering what to expect. He
had seen blimps in the sky before. They usually gleamed bright silver.

  But no beautiful silver blimp waited for them. Instead a dirty gray blimp sat in the yard. It looked like it was falling apart.

  Ash saw two men in work uniforms in the blimp yard. He approached them.

  “Is this the blimp to Valencia Island?” Ash asked.

  One of the workers, a short man with a mustache, raised his eyebrows. “You’re not here for a blimp ride, are you?” he asked.

  “Yes, sir,” Ash said. “We won tickets.”

  The other worker looked shocked. “How much are you getting paid?”

  “Paid?” Ash asked. “What do you mean?”

  The worker with the mustache looked around cautiously. “Everyone knows that blimp is haunted,” he said in a loud whisper. “I wouldn’t fly on that thing if you paid me a million bucks!”

  Ash started to reply, but a voice on a loudspeaker filled the air.

  “Attention, please,” the voice blared. “Passengers may now begin boarding the blimp to Valencia Island.”

  Ash looked up. A man in a blue pilot’s uniform and a woman in a blue flight attendant’s uniform stood at the top of a stairway leading to the entrance of the blimp.

  Ash climbed the stairs. “What about the ghosts?” Ash asked the pilot.

  “Ghosts?” the pilot asked. “There are no ghosts on this blimp. How silly!”

  “But those men down there said this blimp was haunted,” Misty said from behind Ash.

  The flight attendant laughed. “They’re probably from a rival blimp line. Now get on board!” She roughly pushed Ash and his friends inside.

  They walked down a dim hallway into a large room. The room looked like a dining room, but it was a mess. Dust covered a long table in the center of the room. Torn red curtains drooped on the walls.

  Misty shuddered. “This place sure looks like it’s haunted,” she said.

  Ash shook his head. “Stop worrying. We’ll be on Valencia Island before you know it. I can’t wait to get there!”

  In the next room, the pilot and flight attendant laughed. They took off their blue uniforms to reveal white costumes emblazoned with a red letter R.

  They were Jessie and James from Team Rocket!

  “This is too good to be true,” Jessie said. “First we tricked those twerps into taking tickets from us. Then we convinced them to climb aboard this old blimp. Now we have the perfect opportunity to steal Ash’s Pikachu.”

  “Of course,” James said. “But what were they babbling about? The Boss never said this blimp was haunted.”

  “That wimp Ash is scared of his own shadow Jessie said. “This blimp isn’t haunted. That’s ridiculous.”

  “Meowth! Don’t be so sure!”

  Jessie and James turned. Meowth, their talking Scratch Cat Pokémon, jumped into the room.

  “What are you talking about?” James asked.

  “If this ship isn’t haunted,” Meowth said. “Then who’s piloting the blimp?”

  Panicked, Jessie and James looked out a nearby window.

  “Oh, no!” Jessie cried. “The blimp is taking off!”

  “Cool! We’re on our way,” Ash said as the blimp groaned and rose in the air.

  The blimp rocked back and forth as it moved through the sky.

  Misty held Togepi tightly. “We’re moving, all right. I just don’t like how we’re moving.”

  Ash leaned back in his seat and put his arms behind his head. “Relax, Misty,” he said. “This ride’s going to be — whoaaa!”

  The blimp lurched forward. Ash yelled as he flew off his seat and landed on the floor with a thud. Dazed, he saw Misty and Brock sprawled on the floor next to him. Pikachu rolled across the blimp, just out of his grasp.

  “What’s happening?” Misty screamed.

  “I’m not sure,” Ash answered. “It feels like the blimp is tilted — whoaaa!”

  The blimp rocked again. This time the blimp tilted backward. Ash felt himself sliding across the floor again.

  Crash! They all bumped into the back wall.

  The blimp creaked.

  “Oh, no,” Ash said. “Not again!”

  The blimp started to move. Ash braced for the worst. The blimp tilted again, then straightened. They were level.

  Ash rubbed his head and stood up.

  “Is everyone okay?” he asked.

  “I guess so,” Misty replied. “How are you doing, Toge — ” Misty gasped.

  Ash looked. Instead of Togepi in her arms, there was a pillow!

  “Togepi’s disappeared!” Misty cried.

  While Misty panicked in the main room, Team Rocket panicked in the control room.

  “Can’t you do a better job of flying this thing?” Jessie snarled.

  Meowth furiously pawed through an instruction book.

  “Meowth! I’m doing the best I can,” the Pokémon replied.

  “Well, so far all you’ve done is make me dizzy,” James complained.

  “We’re all right now,” Meowth said.

  James pointed. “Maybe not. Look!”

  A dark storm cloud loomed in front of the ship.

  “We’ve got to do something!” Jessie cried.

  Meowth pointed to a red button on the control panel. “If we press the emergency button, the gas will be let out of the blimp. We’ll land in the ocean.”

  “We can’t mess up this mission,” James said. “The Boss will be so disappointed.”

  Jessie looked thoughtful. “It doesn’t matter,” she said. “As long as we capture Pikachu, the Boss won’t care if we sink this stupid blimp or not.”

  “You’re right, Jessie,” James said. “We’ll be heroes.”

  “So let’s forget about steering this blimp, and let’s start stealing Pikachu!” Jessie cried.

  While Team Rocket raced off to find Pikachu, Ash and his friends raced around trying to find Togepi.

  * * *

  Their search took them inside the frame of the blimp. Metal beams and staircases surrounded them. It reminded Ash of a big skeleton.

  “What would Togepi be doing in a creepy place like this?” Ash asked.

  “It’s the only place we haven’t looked yet,” Brock said.

  Misty looked worried. “Togepi! Where are you?”

  Ash strained to see in the dim light. Togepi was nowhere in sight.

  Then something darted across one of the metal beams.

  Something small.

  “Hey, did you guys see that?” Ash asked.

  Misty nodded. “Maybe it was Togepi!”

  Ash chased after the figure. His friends followed.

  There it was again. A small flash of white.

  Ash climbed one of the ladders. He could see the figure more clearly now on one of the beams below.

  “There it is!” Ash yelled.

  Misty, Brock, and Pikachu crowded around Ash.

  “Togepi?” Misty asked.

  Thunder boomed. A flash of lightning lit up the area.

  The figure wasn’t Togepi. It was all white, with a flowing body, no face, and arms extended in front of it.

  “A ghost!” Ash cried.

  “I guess this blimp really is haunted,” Brock said.

  Ash watched in disbelief as the ghost floated away.

  “This whole blimp must be full of ghosts,” Ash said. “I think we should try to get off this thing.”

  “We can’t get off,” Brock pointed out. “We’re a mile above the ground.”

  Misty shook her head. “I’m not leaving here without Togepi,” she said. “I’ll battle ghosts or anybody else if I have to!”

  “That’s our cue!” a voice cried.

  Ash spun around.

  The voice belonged to Jessie of Team Rocket. She, James, and Meowth had climbed down a ladder and entered the frame of the blimp.

  “Not again!” Ash groaned. Team Rocket was always setting traps to try to steal Pikachu from him. Ash couldn’t believe he had fallen into another one.


  Misty was angry. “We have more important things to worry about now,” she told them. “So go away!”

  “We’re not going anywhere!” James replied.

  “And you’re not going anywhere, either,” Jessie snarled.

  Meowth glared at Ash. “Nobody’s leaving this balloon until we get what we want!” Meowth threatened. “Now hand over that Pikachu!”

  Jessie took a red-and-white Poké Ball from her belt.

  “Arbok, go!” she cried, tossing the ball in the air.

  James threw a Poké Ball, too.

  “Weezing, showtime!” he yelled.

  A bright flash of light filled the blimp, and two Pokémon appeared. Arbok, Jessie’s Pokémon, looked like a large purple snake. Weezing, a Poison-type Pokémon, looked like a dark cloud of gas with two heads.

  “Arbok, use your Bite attack!” Jessie commanded.

  Ash reacted quickly.

  “Pikachu, Thundershock now!” he ordered.

  Pikachu didn’t hesitate. The yellow Pokémon built up an electric charge in its body, then released it into the air.

  The shock tore through Arbok. But sparks also hit the metal frame of the blimp. Everyone touching the frame got shocked, too.

  “Ash, you can’t use shock attacks in a blimp!” Misty yelled.

  “Good point,” Ash admitted.

  “No problem,” Brock said. “Geodude, go!”

  Brock threw a Poké Ball, and a Pokémon that looked like a small boulder with two small, muscular arms appeared.

  Weezing flew through the air, headed straight for Geodude. Geodude jumped up. It grabbed Weezing like a basketball and threw the Poison-type Pokémon with all its might.

  Weezing crashed into the canvas wall covering the blimp, tearing a jagged hole in the material. Through the hole, Ash could see a wild storm raging outside.

  It was all too much. A ghost. A Team Rocket attack. And now a storm. Ash didn’t know what to worry about first.

  “Togepi!” Misty yelled.

  Ash looked. He had forgotten all about Togepi. The tiny Pokémon was toddling along on one of the high steel beams that held the blimp together.

  “Let’s go!” Misty said. She climbed up one of the ladders to get Togepi.