Journey to the Orange Islands Read online

  Ash didn’t think twice. He followed Misty up the ladder. Pikachu and Brock were right behind him.

  Togepi kept walking along the steel beam next to the hole Weezing had torn in the canvas. There was nothing between Togepi and the storm raging outside.

  Misty climbed up the stairs, determined to save Togepi.

  “Misty, you can’t go out there!” Ash said.

  “I know,” Misty replied. “But Bulbasaur can help me keep my balance.”

  “Right,”Ash said. He took out Bulbasaur and released it. “Bulbasaur, I choose you!”

  A Grass- and Poison-type Pokémon that looked like a small dinosaur with a plant bulb on its back appeared.

  “Bulbasaur, use your Vine Whip to save Misty,” Ash commanded.

  “Bulbasaur!” the Pokémon replied. The plant bulb on its back opened up, and two long green vines shot out. The vines snaked up and wrapped around Misty.

  With Bulbasaur keeping her steady, Misty tiptoed out onto the steel beam. She took one small step after another. Rain and wind lashed at her face.

  Ash held his breath. Togepi was just a few feet away.

  “Come on, Togepi,” Misty pleaded.

  Suddenly, something small and white jumped between Misty and Togepi.

  The ghost!

  Before Misty could react, a strong gust of wind blew. Something white fluttered off the ghost. Ash thought it looked like a sheet.

  And underneath the sheet was … Jigglypuff!

  Ash didn’t know whether or not to be relieved at the sight of Jigglypuff. The round pink Pokémon wasn’t as scary as a ghost, but it was just as troublesome. Jigglypuff loved to sing, and its song put anyone who heard it right to sleep.

  Jigglypuff was happy to have an audience. It hopped up and down. It took a deep breath, like it always did when it was about to sing.

  “Jigglypuff, no!” Misty cried.

  Ash covered his ears. What else could happen?

  A loud groan answered his question. The blimp was out of control again. The huge airship tilted forward sharply.

  Ash and Brock each grabbed hold of a ladder. Pikachu clung to Ash’s back.

  On the beam above, Misty leaned forward and quickly scooped up Togepi. Bulbasaur’s strong vines kept Misty from falling off the beam.

  Team Rocket wasn’t so lucky. They lost their balance. Jessie, James, and Meowth were thrown out of the opening in the blimp. Desperately, Jessie grabbed onto the torn canvas. A large piece of canvas ripped off the blimp and ballooned over Team Rocket like a parachute.

  Jigglypuff lost its balance, too. The Pokémon stumbled off the beam, then gently landed on top of Team Rocket’s parachute and continued its song.

  The blimp passed through the storm cloud. A clear blue sky peeked through the hole in the canvas.

  “It looks like our problems are over,” Ash said, relieved. “Team Rocket is gone. The ghost turned out to be Jigglypuff. We’ve got nothing to worry about.”

  “Don’t be so sure,” Brock said. “Remember, there’s no one piloting this thing!”

  “Right!” Ash said. He scrambled down the ladder.

  Pikachu, Brock, and Misty followed Ash through the blimp. Finally, Ash saw a door marked CONTROL ROOM and burst in.

  A control panel with all kinds of buttons and levers sat in the center of the room. A large window showed the view from the front of the blimp. The blimp was moving swiftly through the air. Through the window, Ash saw a sandy beach dotted with palm trees.

  “That must be Valencia Island,” Ash said. “But how do we get there?”

  “I don’t think we have to worry about that,” Brock said. “Hang on!”

  Ash grabbed onto the control panel as the blimp took a nosedive.

  Through the window, Ash saw the island get closer and closer with each passing second.

  “Oh, no!” Ash yelled. “We’re going to crash!”

  Ash closed his eyes and braced for the impact.

  The blimp shook violently.

  Wham! The airship skidded onto the sandy beach. Ash gripped the control panel tightly. He tried to hang on as the blimp raced along the sand.

  Then suddenly, the blimp crashed to a stop. Ash cautiously opened his eyes and looked out the window. They had collided with a cluster of palm trees.

  “Is everybody all right?” Ash asked.

  “Fine,” Brock said, standing up.

  “I’m okay,” Misty said. “Togepi, too.”

  “Pika!” replied Pikachu.

  They checked to make sure their Poké Balls were safe.

  “Great,” Ash said. “Then let’s get out of this wreck.”

  The friends climbed out of the broken airship and onto the beach. Ash saw that a long trail lined by trees edged the coastline.

  “Let’s go,” Ash said, hoisting his knapsack on his back.

  “Where exactly are we going?” Misty asked.

  Ash stopped. “Uh, don’t you guys know where Professor Ivy’s lab is?” he asked.

  Misty and Brock shook their heads.

  Ash sighed. “I guess we’ll have to walk until we find something.”

  Misty, Brock, and Pikachu followed Ash down the trail. They walked for awhile, with nothing but blue ocean and palm trees in sight. Ash was beginning to get discouraged when Pikachu piped up.

  “Pika!” said the Pokémon, pointing excitedly.

  Ash looked. Through the trees he saw a small building made of bamboo. A carved wooden Poké Ball hung over the door.

  “Looks like a Pokémon Center,” Ash said.

  The friends left the trail and walked into the building. A red-haired woman in a nurse’s uniform stood behind a desk.

  “Welcome to the Pokémon Center,” she said. “I’m Nurse Joy.”

  “Some things never change,” Ash said. So far, there was a Nurse Joy in every Pokémon Center he had visited. They all looked alike.

  “Can you tell us how to get to Professor Ivy’s laboratory?” Ash asked.

  “It’s very easy,” Nurse Joy replied. “Just go out of the Pokémon Center, make the first left, and it’s the big white building at the end of the road.”

  “Thanks!” Ash said.

  They followed Nurse Joy’s directions and soon found themselves in front of Professor Ivy’s lab. The front door was wide open.

  “Is anybody home?” Ash asked. He cautiously stepped inside.

  “It looks empty,” Brock remarked, following Ash into the room. “We’d better — ow!”

  A wooden trapdoor opened, smacking Brock in the head.

  Three teenage girls popped their heads out of the doorway.

  The girls looked a lot alike. They all had curly hair tied in ponytails, and they all wore glasses. Each wore a bright tropical shirt in a different color.

  The girls stepped out of the trapdoor.

  “I’m Charity,” said the girl in the orange shirt.

  “I’m Faith,” said the girl in the pink shirt.

  “I’m Hope,” said the girl in the green shirt. “And who are you?”

  “We came here to see Professor Ivy,” Brock said, smiling at the girls and rubbing his head in pain.

  “Professor Oak from Pallet Town sent us,” Ash added.

  “Professor Ivy is out in the bay,” Charity said.

  “Follow us!” the girls said together.

  The three girls led Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu through the building to a back door. The door opened onto a sandy trail that led to the ocean.

  Waves crashed on the shore of the empty beach.

  “Where’s Professor Ivy?” Ash asked.

  A loud roar answered him. A giant blue Pokémon that looked like a sea serpent rose out of the ocean.

  “A Gyarados!” Ash cried in shock.

  Then Ash noticed something unusual about the Gyarados. A woman rode on its back. She had short brown hair.

  The Gyarados gracefully swam to shore. The woman climbed off its back and patted its neck. “Very good, Gyarados,” she said.


  Ash couldn’t believe it. Every Gyarados he had ever met was fierce and wild. He couldn’t imagine anyone taming one like that.

  “Professor Ivy,” Charity said. “Three friends of Professor Oak are here.”

  Professor Ivy put on a white lab coat and smiled.

  “Pleased to meet you,” she said, holding out her hand.

  Brock blushed.

  “Professor Oak sent us to pick up that new Poké Ball you found,” Ash said.

  “Of course,” Professor Ivy said. “I’ll take you to it.”

  Ash and the others followed the professor to a lab inside the building. A Poké Ball sat on a metal table. It didn’t look like the red-and-white Poké Balls Ash was used to. This one was half gold and half silver. And there was some kind of writing carved into it. Ash squinted to read it.

  “If you look closely, you can see the letters G and S,” Professor Ivy said. “That’s why we decided to call it the GS Ball.”

  “We heard you can’t transport it,” Brock said.

  “True,” Professor Ivy answered. “Would you like a demonstration?”

  “Sure,” Ash said. He put the ball on top of a Poké Ball transporter in the lab. Normally, Ash would press a button and the Poké Ball would disappear, transported to another lab. That’s how Pokémon Trainers sent the Pokémon they caught to storage. No Trainer could carry more than six Pokémon at a time.

  Ash put the GS Ball on the transporter pad. He pressed the button. Beams of light hit the ball, but the light crackled sharply on contact. The GS Ball didn’t disappear.

  “We’ve tried to open it,” Professor Ivy said. “We tried buzz saws, hammers, crowbars, hacksaws, power drills, and lasers.”

  “Nothing works!” said the three girls.

  “Wow,” Ash said, staring at the gold-and-silver ball. “This thing really is mysterious.”

  Professor Ivy handed the ball to Ash.

  “You’re right, Ash,” she said. “And now it’s up to you to get it safely to Professor Oak.”

  “I won’t fail you,” Ash said. “We’ll go right now.”

  “Right now?” Brock asked with disappointment in his voice.

  “Don’t be silly,” Professor Ivy said. “It will be dark soon. Stay the night, and I’ll show you some of the work we’re doing here.”

  “We’d love to stay!” Brock said quickly.

  “Then it’s settled,” Professor Ivy said. “Let me show you around while Faith, Hope, and Charity prepare the Pokémon food.”

  Professor Ivy led Ash and the others outdoors to an area near the beach. Besides palm trees, lots of green, leafy plants and brightly colored flowers grew everywhere. Most of the plants looked strange to Ash.

  “So this is all part of your laboratory?” Brock asked the professor.

  “Yes,” she replied. “We need this space for all of the Pokémon. We breed and study so many of them.”

  Ash noticed that Brock looked impressed. His friend’s dream was to learn how to become a great Pokémon breeder, Ash knew. This place must seem like paradise to him.

  A few feet away, Misty was sniffing some big flowers.

  “Just look at these!” Misty said admiringly.

  Ash watched as Misty bent down to look at them more closely, then jumped back.

  The plant began to walk. Startled, Ash realized that it wasn’t a plant at all, but a Pokémon. The Pokémon had a round blue body and walked on two legs. On top of its body was a flower with five round, orange petals. The flowers had strange red markings on them.

  “A Vileplume!” Brock exclaimed.

  Ash took out Dexter, his Pokédex. This handheld computer stored information about all kinds of Pokémon in it. It also served as his Trainer ID. A picture of a Vileplume appeared on the screen. But the Vileplume in his Pokédex had red petals with pink dots on them instead of orange petals with red markings.

  “That’s odd,” Ash said. “This Vileplume looks different from the one in my Pokédex.”

  “Time for dinner!” loud voices cried. Faith, Hope, and Charity wheeled in a cart loaded with bowls of Pokémon food. At their arrival, several Pokémon began to emerge from the trees.

  Ash recognized them. There was a Paras, a Pokémon that looked like a small crab. There were male and female Nidoran, two tough-looking Pokémon with horns on their heads. There was a Weepinbell, a plant-like Pokémon. And there was Raticate, a rat-like Pokémon with sharp teeth. But even though he recognized them, there was something a little different about each of them.

  Instead of yellow dots, the Paras was covered with orange triangles. The female Nidoran was a deeper blue than usual, and the male Nidoran had blue inside its ears instead of green. The Weepinbell was orange instead of its usual yellow. And the Raticate had reddish fur instead of its usual brown fur.

  “Hey, Professor, why do these Pokémon look a little bit different?” Ash asked.

  “It’s because of this island’s tropical climate,” Professor Ivy explained. “The environment creates differences in the Pokémon that we’ve raised here.”

  “You mean you’ve raised all these Pokémon yourself?” Brock asked.

  “That’s right,” Professor Ivy replied. “I’ve dedicated myself to them, and I couldn’t be happier.”

  Ash heard a stirring in one of the trees. A Butterfree, a Flying-type Pokémon that looked like a large butterfly, flew down from a branch and landed on the food cart. It sniffed the food, then flew back up to the branch and moaned slightly. Ash thought it looked weak.

  “That little Butterfree hasn’t eaten a thing in days,” Professor Ivy said.

  “But we’ve tried five different combinations of nutrients!” Charity said.

  Brock approached the food bowl. He sniffed the food, then grabbed a handful and tasted it. He looked thoughtful.

  “I’ve got it!” Brock said finally.

  Brock rummaged through his knapsack. He pulled out some food containers and began to mix some ingredients in a bowl. Then he sprinkled the food on top of the Pokémon food.

  The Butterfree immediately perked up. It flew back down and started to hungrily eat the food in the bowl.

  “That’s simply amazing!” Professor Ivy said.

  Brock blushed. “I noticed that Butterfree like sweet things, so if you just add some mashed-up berries to their food, they’ll eat up every time.”

  “You know a lot about Pokémon feeding habits,” Professor Ivy said. “I bet I could learn a lot from you.”

  Brock blushed even deeper.

  “Will you teach us all about the different flavors Pokémon like?” Charity asked.

  “Please, Brock!” Faith pleaded.

  “Not now,” Hope said. “We have to decide who gets stuck cooking dinner tonight.”

  Brock’s face lit up. “Cooking? I love to cook!”

  “Then follow us!” said the professor’s three assistants.

  Ash and the others followed Faith, Hope, and Charity into the building and to a living area.

  Ash couldn’t believe it. Piles and piles of dirty dishes filled the kitchen area. In the living room, clothes and empty food wrappers covered the floors and furniture.

  Professor Ivy shrugged. “We get so wrapped up in our Pokémon work that we don’t have time to clean,” she said. “We call this place our little dump.”

  “Dumps are a lot cleaner!” Ash remarked.

  But Brock looked thrilled. He rolled up his sleeves and began to clean the rooms with amazing speed. Professor Ivy and her assistants looked shocked.

  “Brock loves this stuff,” Ash explained. “He spent the last few years at the Pewter City Gym taking care of his nine brothers and sisters.”

  In no time, Brock had the rooms sparkling clean, and a delicious dinner was cooking on the stove. The group hungrily ate the meal, then rolled out their sleeping bags in the living room.

  “Good night,” Professor Ivy said. “I’ve got some more research to do, but I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “P
rofessor Ivy is so nice,” Misty remarked as she snuggled into her sleeping bag. “She’s smart, too.”

  “Yeah,” Ash said, yawning. “This place is great. I’m going to miss it.”

  Brock didn’t say anything. He stared out the window.

  Ash and Misty fell asleep in no time. But Brock couldn’t sleep. He got up and walked to the outdoor lab.

  Brock found Professor Ivy and her assistants crouched behind a leafy bush. Faith held a video camera.

  “Get down, Brock,” Professor Ivy whispered. “We’re studying the Vileplume. They’re nocturnal Pokémon, and at night they all come out and spray their pollen to prevent other Pokémon from entering their territory.”

  A group of six Vileplume were walking through the trees.

  Suddenly, Faith gasped. “Oh, no!” she cried. “Here comes a Raticate!”

  The furry Pokémon was walking right into the Vileplume.

  “Raticate, no!” Professor Ivy yelled. She jumped from behind the bush and covered the Raticate with her body. At the same moment, the Vileplume shot a filmy yellow powder from the flowers on their backs. The pollen covered Professor Ivy. She collapsed to the ground.

  “Save … the … Raticate,” she said weakly.

  “She was trying to protect the Raticate,” Faith said. “The Vileplume’s pollen is poisonous to Pokémon.”

  Brock lifted Professor Ivy in his arms. “It’s poisonous to humans, too,” he said. “We’ve got to get her to the Pokémon Center!”

  “Is Professor Ivy going to be all right?” Ash asked. He sleepily rubbed his eyes. Brock had just woken them all to tell them about Professor Ivy’s encounter with the Vileplume. They stood in the lobby of the Pokémon Center, waiting for news.

  “I think so,” Brock said, but he sounded worried.

  “What exactly happened out there?” Misty asked.

  “The Vileplume were spraying their pollen to mark their territory,” Brock explained. “Professor Ivy tried to save a Raticate from being sprayed, and she got hit with the pollen herself.”

  “Wow! She really cares about Pokémon,” Ash remarked.