Talent Showdown

by Tracey West

  “No!” Ash cried. He burst into the building.

  Jessie stood onstage in a glittery evening gown. She played a tune on the shiny gold flute. Behind her, Lickitung plunked the piano keys with its long slimey tongue.

  All over the theater, Pokémon moved toward Jessie.

  The singing Charmander and Pikachu hopped up onstage.

  The Exeggutor that juggled with its feet followed behind it.

  The karate-chopping Machop jumped up next to Jessie.

  Ash recognized Gary’s Pokémon, too. His Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise stomped out onto the stage.

  One by one, the Pokémon followed the sound of the flute.

  And one by one, they disappeared through a trapdoor in the floor of the stage!

  Ash looked at the audience members, who sat frozen in their seats.

  “Why don’t you stop them?” Ash asked.

  “We can’t get up!” one man replied. “We’re stuck!”

  Ash heard a laugh behind him. It was James and Meowth. James held a large spray gun. Meowth stood at his side.

  “Meowth!” said Meowth. “Our act is so good, the audience is glued to their seats!”

  “It was so easy,” James said. “All it took was a little squirt of super-sticky stuff before the show started!”

  “Well I’m not stuck to anything,” Ash said. He ran down the aisle. Pikachu had almost reached the stage. Ash had to think of something fast.

  “Ash! Try singing!”

  Ash looked up. It was Misty. She, Brock, and the other performers were trapped in a cage behind the stage.

  “Right!” Ash said. His singing had worked before, at the campsite.

  “La la la la la!” Ash shrieked in his terrible voice.

  Jessie glared at him. She stepped closer to the microphone.

  The flute sound swelled through the auditorium, drowning out Ash’s voice.

  Sally’s Seel climbed up to the stage, caught in the flute spell once again.

  Pikachu followed right behind it.

  Ash tried to stay calm. He needed a solution. Fast.

  Ash threw a Poké Ball onto the stage. A huge Pokémon that looked like a round, plump bear appeared and landed with a thud.

  James laughed. “That sleepy Snorlax won’t do you any good,” he said. “No Pokémon can escape the powers of Jessie’s Fabulous Flute!”

  “That’s just what I’m hoping!” Ash said.

  Meowth and James exchanged confused glances.

  Snorlax smiled when it heard the flute. It waddled over to Jessie.

  “Come on,” Ash said under his breath.

  Snorlax took one slow step. Then another.

  Then it stepped into the trapdoor.

  But Snorlax was too big to fit through. It blocked the door!

  “All right, Snorlax!” Ash cried.

  Angry, Jessie stopped playing.

  “Get that pudgy Pokémon off our trap!” she yelled to James and Meowth.

  The two Pokémon thieves ran onstage. They pushed and shoved Snorlax, who was happily humming a little tune. Snorlax wouldn’t budge.

  Jessie glared at Ash. “You think you’ve won. But as long as I have this flute, I can get any Pokémon I want!”

  “You’re right,” Ash said. He turned to Pikachu, who was coming out of the flute’s spell. “Pikachu, use your Agility! Get that flute, fast!”

  Pikachu ran up to the stage. It ran in circles around Jessie. She held the flute tightly. But Pikachu’s attack was making her dizzy. She started to lose her grip.

  Then Pikachu leaped up, ready to grab the gold flute from Jessie’s hands.

  Slurp! Lickitung’s sticky pink tongue shot out and grabbed the flute before Pikachu could get it.

  “Good work, Lickitung!” Jessie said, regaining her balance.

  “Pikachu, use your Thunder Bolt!” Ash commanded.

  “Pikachuuuuuuu!” Pikachu aimed a white-hot blast of electric energy at Lickitung.

  The pink Pokémon reeled from the shock. It tottered back and forth.

  “Get the flute when Lickitung faints, Pikachu,” Ash called out.

  “Not so fast,” James said. “Victreebel, go!”

  James threw a Poké Ball, releasing a yellow Pokémon that looked like a giant man-eating plant.

  Victreebel leaned over and trapped James in its mouth in one gulp.

  “Not me!” James cried from inside the Pokémon. He kicked his legs wildly in the air. “Get that flute from Lickitung!”

  Victreebel released James and hopped over to Lickitung. Before Pikachu could grab the flute, Victreebel swallowed the instrument.

  James grinned. “Now you’ll never get that flute away from Team Rocket!” he said.

  Ash had another idea.

  “I can still battle you,” Ash said, ready to throw a new Poké Ball. “Why don’t you call out your Weezing? You’re going to need all the help you can get.”

  “Why not?” said James. He threw a Poké Ball, and out popped a Poison-type Pokémon that looked like a black cloud with two heads.

  Ash’s Poké Ball flew through the air. In a flash, Charizard, a combination Fire- and Flying-type Pokémon appeared. Charizard looked like a big lizard with strong wings and a flaming tail.

  “I’ll even let you go first,” Ash said.

  “How nice of you,” James said. “Weezing, Smog!”

  “Weezing,” replied the Pokémon in a deep voice. Weezing started belching out puffs of poison smog.

  The black smog filled the stage. Everyone began to cough and choke.

  Even Victreebel.

  Victreebel coughed so hard, the flute popped out of its mouth.

  Ash couldn’t see anything through the smoke, but he heard the flute clatter to the ground. That’s what he was waiting for.

  “Charizard, flap your wings!” Ash said. “Get rid of this smog.”

  Charizard didn’t usually obey Ash so quickly, but he wanted to clear the air just as much as Ash did. The Pokémon flapped its powerful wings, and soon the toxic smog was gone.

  Ash quickly picked up the flute. He threw it at Charizard’s feet.

  “Charizard, melt that flute!” Ash said.

  “Noooo!” Jessie yelled.

  Charizard obeyed with a red-hot stream of fire aimed right at the flute. In seconds, the gold flute was reduced to a pile of steaming metal.

  “Good work, Ash!” yelled Brock from backstage. “That was smart, using Team Rocket’s own Pokémon against them.”

  Meowth gulped. “Something tells me this show is over!”

  “That’s right!” Ash said. He threw out a Poké Ball. “Snorlax, return!”

  The big Pokémon disappeared, leaving the trapdoor open once again. The trapped Pokémon climbed out of the pit. They surrounded Team Rocket, angry looks on their faces.

  At the same time, Misty and the others escaped from the metal cage backstage. The Trainers stood behind their Pokémon.

  “It’s time for us to exit — stage right!” Jessie said. She tried to run away.

  It was no use. All the Trainers began to shout at once, giving orders to their Pokémon.

  Sally’s Seel spun Meowth around on its nose as though Meowth were a ball.

  The Machop karate-chopped Victreebel.

  The juggling Exeggutor threw James up and down with its big, strong feet.

  Gary’s Blastoise and Misty’s Horsea squirted Weezing, soaking the Poison-type Pokémon.

  Gary’s Venusaur tied up Lickitung’s troublesome tongue in its thick green vines.

  Jessie ran from Ash’s Charizard, as it tried to singe her with a fiery blast.

  Soon Team Rocket sat in a tired heap in the middle of the stage.

  “Now for the grand finale!” Ash yelled. He turned to his Pikachu and the Pikachu who sang with Charmander. “Give these guys a double blast!”

  “Pikachu!” said the two Pokémon together. Sparks sizzled on their red cheeks.

  Both Pikachu closed their eyes, focusing their
energy on one giant Thunder Blast.

  Boom! Huge waves of electricity slammed into Team Rocket. The blast sent them flying up at super speed. They crashed through the ceiling of the theater, and flew off into the sky.

  “Looks like it’s curtains for Team Rocket!”

  The audience cheered wildly. Onstage, the Trainers and their Pokémon hugged one another.

  Ash picked up Pikachu. “We did it, Pikachu!” he said. “You’re the best.”

  Gary walked up to Ash. “Not bad, Ash,” Gary said, grudgingly. He avoided Ash’s eyes. “I guess I have to thank you for saving my Pokémon.”

  “You’re welcome,” Ash said, a little surprised. Maybe Gary wasn’t so bad after all.

  Misty and Brock walked across the ruined stage, which was covered with dust, wood, and plaster from the ceiling.

  “I’m sorry, Ash,” Misty said. “Brock and I had to do the act without you.”

  “Mr. Sullivan made us go on,” Brock explained.

  Ash shrugged. “That’s okay,” he said. “You guys were right. This contest isn’t so important. I’m just glad I didn’t lose Pikachu today.” He gave Pikachu a squeeze.

  “Pika!” said Pikachu happily.

  Mr. Sullivan stepped out onto the stage, holding a silver trophy in one hand. He picked up the microphone, which had toppled over during the battle.

  “May I have your attention please!” said the emcee. The audience settled down. “I think from the sound of your applause that we have a winner for our competition. It’s Ash and his Pokémon!”

  Ash was confused. “Me? What did I do?”

  Mr. Sullivan grabbed Ash by the sleeve and brought him up to the front of the stage.

  “It took real talent to do what you did, Ash,” said Mr. Sullivan. He handed the trophy to Ash. “You saved all of the Pokémon.”

  The audience applauded again.

  “Yay, Ash!” yelled Misty and Brock.

  Mr. Sullivan turned to Brock. “I still think you’re a very talented young man. If you’re interested, I could fix you up with a recording contract. You could be a star!”

  Brock blushed. “No thanks,” he said. “I’ll stick to singing while I’m washing dishes.”

  Ash handed Pikachu the trophy. “This belongs to you, Pikachu,” he said. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

  “Pikachu!” said the yellow Pokémon.

  Ash turned to his friends. “This was fun. But you know what I think we should do now?”

  “What?” asked Misty and Brock.

  Ash smiled.

  “I think we need to take our act back on the road!”

  Tracey West has been writing books for more than twenty years. She enjoys reading comic books, watching cartoons, and taking long walks in the woods (looking for wild Pokémon). She lives in a small town in New York with her family and pets.

  When Psyduck evolves into Golduck, Misty is thrilled! Golduck is the fastest swimmer of all. Besides, training Psyduck was one big headache. Psyduck was totally clueless and clumsy, except when it got a headache. Then its attacks were unstoppable — especially against Team Rocket! But is Golduck about to give Misty a big surprise?

  Get the inside scoop on Misty and Psyduck from their first hypnotic encounter to their biggest battles ever.

  Turn the page for a sneak peek at another Pokémon adventure, Psyduck Ducks Out!

  “This looks like the perfect place to stop and camp for the night,” said Misty. She looked around. She and her friends Ash and Brock had spent the day hiking through a forest. Now they had reached a grassy clearing. A stream and some fruit trees were nearby.

  “I don’t know, Misty,” Ash replied. “I was hoping we’d make it to the next town today. I want to battle with the town’s Gym Leader for a badge.”

  “Pika, pika,” Ash’s Pikachu protested.

  “I guess we could use a rest,” Ash agreed.

  Misty smiled at the little yellow Pokémon. Pikachu always cheered her up. Plus, it was a great playmate for Misty’s Togepi. The baby Pokémon had hatched not long ago. It was so young that the bottom half of its shell was still attached to it. Togepi loved to play with Pikachu.

  Misty and her friends began to set up camp. “We’re right in the middle of nowhere,” Ash complained.

  Misty grinned. “Don’t worry, Ash. We won’t be here long. Besides, we might even spot some rare Pokémon.”

  Misty was used to Ash’s grumbling. Ash was always looking for Pokémon to capture. He hated to waste time in the middle of nowhere.

  Misty knew Ash pretty well by now. She had joined him on his Pokémon journey when he was first starting out. They’d had lots of adventures so far. They’d made some new friends, like Brock and Tracey — both boys were older and gave Ash and Misty a lot of great advice about training Pokémon. And they’d caught new Pokémon, too. Misty now had Staryu, Starmie, Goldeen, Horsea, Psyduck, and Togepi.

  Ash hoped to capture all the different kinds of Pokémon in the world. He dreamed of becoming a Pokémon Master. Misty specialized in Water Pokémon. She loved the way they could float and swim and dive in the water. The way they waddled around on land was really cute, too!

  “Togi! Togi!” Togepi cried. Its stomach gurgled.

  “Oh, you’re hungry!” Misty said. She scanned the clearing. Some juicy, ripe apples hung on the top of a tall tree. But how could she get them? Then it came to her. Her Staryu could do it. Staryu was a star-shaped Pokémon with a red gem in its center. Maybe Staryu could slice the fruit off the trees with its sharp points.

  Misty reached into her backpack. She dug out a red-and-white Poké Ball. “Staryu, I choose you!” Misty called.

  An orange ducklike Pokémon emerged from the Poké Ball instead of Staryu. “Psyduck,” it croaked as it waddled toward Misty.

  “Oh, Psyduck,” Misty groaned, “not again!”

  Ash snorted with laughter. “Gee, Misty, you’re a great Pokémon Trainer. You’ve almost taught Psyduck its own name!”

  Most of Misty’s Water-type Pokémon were smart and talented. But her Psyduck was always getting lost or confused. Misty knew Psyduck tried hard. But it could really get on her nerves sometimes.

  “I don’t know what I’m going to do with Psyduck,” Misty complained. “Sometimes I wonder why I keep it with me!”

  “You and Psyduck have been through a lot together,” Brock reminded Misty.

  “Yeah,” Ash added. “Psyduck’s even helped us out of some serious trouble.”

  “I guess you’re right,” Misty said. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to look for some fruit that’s easier to reach.”

  Misty walked into the woods. Her friends’ words rang in her mind. She and Psyduck had been through a lot together. Psyduck might be frustating at times, but it was also loyal. In fact, Misty remembered she had never actually caught Psyduck. The confused orange Pokemon had caught her. It all started when Misty, Ash, and Brock found themselves in a strange new city…

  Journey to the Orange Islands

  Secret of the Pink Pokémon

  The Four-Star Challenge

  Scyther, Heart of a Champion

  Race to Danger

  Talent Showdown

  Psyduck Ducks Out

  Thundershock in Pummelo Stadium

  ©2021 Pokémon. ©1997–1998 Nintendo, Creatures, GAME FREAK, TV Tokyo, ShoPro, JR Kikaku. TM, ® Nintendo.

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  First printing 2017

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