===Episode 3: The Battle For Pokemon===

	Ash looked around.  The forest looked a bit more... oh, he had to admit 
it.  It was spooky.  It wasn't exactly early in the day.  In fact, it 
was very late evening, but camping out was easier than spending money to 
stay in a motel.
	When the trainer that Professor Oak had sent after him hadn't shown up 
in four hours, Ash called Professor Oak to tell him where they were 
going while Misty told the Nurse where they were headed in case the 
trainer showed up.  After that, they began heading towards Pewter City, 
via Viridian Forest.  So far, it had been uneventful.  Suddenly, Misty 
yelped and clutched Ash tightly.
	"What is it?!" Ash asked.
	"THERE!" Misty cried, pointing at something.
	Ash looked down at it.  It was a Bug pokemon.  He opened his Pokedex 
and scanned the small green and yellow pokemon.  The Pokedex came up 
with the name 'Caterpie'.  Ash dropped a pokeball on it.  The ball 
sucked up the Caterpie easily.  After about three seconds, the ball 
looked about the same as it did before he used it.
	"There.  All gone." Ash told Misty.
	"You caught it?" Misty asked.
	"Yep.  Just a Caterpie, though." Ash said, picking up the pokeball.
	Pidgey and Pikachu examined the pokeball containing Caterpie.
	"Oh, whew..." Misty said, relaxing.
	"Hey!  That Caterpie was MINE!" an irate young boy declared, stepping 
out of the bushes onto the path.
	"Sorry, but I caught it fair and square.  And as you know, finders 
keepers, losers weepers." Ash said, shrugging.
	"All right, you arrogant... I'll show you!  WEEDLE!" the young boy 
declared, throwing a pokeball.
	Out came a yellowish pokemon that resembled Caterpie, except for the 
fact that it had a purple nose and a needle on it's forehead.  Ash 
scanned it briefly.
	"If you really want to fight, I'll be glad to oblige.  Pidgey..." Ash 
said, turning to the bird pokemon.
	Pidgey launched forward.
	"ACK!  NO!!" the little snot cried as Pidgey began pounding the snot 
out of his Weedle.
	The kid quickly drew his Weedle back to it's pokeball.
	"Hmph.  You should know better than to pick a fight with anyone who has 
more brains than you." Ash declared arrogantly.
	"Shut up!" the bug-catching squirt growled.
	"Wanna try again?  I won't even use Pidgey." Ash offered, calling 
Pidgey back to his shoulder.
	"GRRR!  FINE!  WEEDLE 2!" the kid yelled tossing another pokeball, this 
one containing a different Weedle.
	Misty sat down and took out a pair of headphones and a CD player.  She 
put them on and hit play on her CD player.
	"Pikachu, feel up to toasting a Weedle?" Ash asked.
	"Piiiika!" Pikachu declared.
	"All right, do your stuff." Ash told Pikachu.
	"PIIIIIIIKAAAAAACHUUUUUUUU!" Pikachu cried, letting loose a powerful 
Thundershock.
	Weedle 2 took the powerful blast, wavered, then collapsed.
	"GRRR!! I'm not finished!" the kid said, using his pokeball to draw 
Weedle 2 back.
	"%...despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage...%" Misty 
sang.
	"Fine.  Caterpie, it's high-time you got some experience." Ash said, 
taking his newly-occupied pokeball and throwing it as Pikachu returned 
to his side.
	"WEEDLE 3!" the kid cried, throwing his last pokeball.
	The third Weedle appeared as Caterpie appeared.
	"Caterpie!  Tackle it!" Ash called out.
	Caterpie launched forward, slamming into Weedle 3's torso, sending the 
Weedle tumbling backwards to hit a tree and pass out.
	"GRRRR!!!  FINE!  KEEP THE STUPID THING!" the snotty brat declared, 
withdrawing his last Weedle and running off.
	"That brat needed a lesson." Misty declared, glaring after the 
bug-catcher as she took off her headphones.
	"Great going, you guys.  Poke-treats all around." Ash said, handing out 
the snacks (Author's Note: You've no doubt been wondering where these 
things come from.  I figured that, like dog and cat treats, an industry 
would start up for making special pokemon treats.  The generic ones are 
best described as sticks of gum, only you can't use them to blow 
bubbles).
	"Um, can you send that Caterpie away?  It's giving me the creeps." 
Misty said, inching away from the Caterpie.
	"Why?  After catching weird pokemon like Poliwag and Staryu, I'd think 
you'd be used to unusual pokemon." Ash commented.
	"It's not that.  It's just that.... I don't like bugs.  At all." Misty 
said, backing off more.
	"Roooo?" Caterpie asked.
	"Eewww..." Misty murmurred.
	"Ah, come on.  It's a pokemon." Ash said.
	"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I have to like it." Misty responded.
	"Sorry, Caterpie." Ash said, bringing Caterpie back into the pokeball.
	"Piiiii..." Pikachu said, looking longingly at the spot where Caterpie 
had been.
	"Don't worry.  Caterpie's still our friend.  But, we don't wanna scare 
Misty." Ash told Pikachu, before leaning close, "I'll let him out later 
tonight."
	Pikachu nodded.
	"I'm not scared!  I'm just creeped out by it." Misty complained.
	Ash rolled his eyes.
	"All right, let's get going." Ash declared, standing up.
	"Not so fast, punk!" came the sharp bark of the whiny kid.
	"What is it now?" Ash asked, turning to see the whiny kid and three 
more kids.
	"You're in trouble now!  I've got my friends and they've got tougher 
pokemon!" the whiny kid laughed.
	"Tougher or weaker, you're still going to lose." Ash said, 
confidentally.
	"Ash, are you sure?  Your pokemon might be getting tired." Misty said, 
getting worried.
	"It's okay.  They didn't even break a sweat beating those weak Weedles, 
right?" Ash asked.
	"Piiiika!" Pikachu declared, puffing up as she assumed a proud pose.
	"Wark!" Pidgey joined in.
	"HA!  We aren't going to play by tournament rules!" a boy declared, 
throwing three pokeballs, revealing a Caterpie and two Weedles.
	The other two kids threw four pokeballs each, revealing two more 
Caterpies, a Pikachu and five Weedles.
	"HEY!  That's cheating!" Misty said.
	"Don't worry.  Caterpie, Koffing, come on out!  We're going to beat 
these guys, just like before." Ash said.
	"Then I'll help.  EKANS!  STARYU!  POLIWAG!" Misty declared, tossing 
three pokeballs of her own.
	"It's still seven to eleven.  We'll win for sure!" the whiny kid 
declared, folding his arms across chest.
	"WRONG!  It'll be NINE to eleven!" came a mysterious voice.
	Ash was beginning to hate mysterious voices.
	"SQUIRT!  NIBBLER!  GO!" the mysterious voice declared.
	A Squirtle and a female Nidoran raced into the open.
	"HAHAHAHAHA!  The supreme justice of the Pokemon-Avenger is assured!" 
came the mysterious voice as a girl in an outfit that was made out of 
Pokemon bedsheets.
	"Pokemon-Avenger?" Ash and Misty asked in unison.
	"ATTAAAAAAAAACK!" the brats declared.
	The fight was over before it began.  No sooner had the enemy Pikachu 
been defeated by Ash's Pikachu than the other enemy pokemon were beaten.
	"HAHAHAHA!  VICTORY!" cried the mystery girl.
	"Is it just me or is she a tad screwy?" Misty asked.
	"......." Ash answered, nodding.

	Later, Ash and Misty watched as the mystery girl dug into the soup that 
Misty had made.
	"It's GOOOD!" the mystery girl exclaimed.
	"It's canned." Misty muttered.
	"It's still good!" the girl declared.
	"Let me guess, you were told to come this way by Professor Oak." Ash 
commented, recalling her face from the gate.
	The mystery girl gasped.
	"How did you know?!" she asked.
	"Just a guess.  Professor Oak also probably told you to let a boy named 
'Ash' teach you about pokemon, right?" Ash asked.
	"You're amaaaaazing!  Who are you?" the girl asked.
	"I'm Ash." Ash answered.
	"WOW!  No wonder Professor Oak told me to find you immediately!  I'm 
Shelly, also known as the POKEMON-AVENGER!" Shelly said, striking a 
dramatic pose.  The female Nidoran and Squirtle began cheering wildly 
and dancing about.
	Ash, Misty, Pikachu and Pidgey exchanged glances before rolling their 
eyes.
	"ANYway, so what don't you know about pokemon?  I mean, you know enough 
to have caught a female Nidoran." Ash began.
	"What, her?  No, my parents bought her as a going-away present." Shelly 
answered.
	"Okay, so what did you need to know?" Ash asked.
	"How these things work and a whole bunch of other things." Shelly said, 
holding up a pokeball and her pokedex.
	Ash and Misty sighed in unison.

	Jessie sighed as she looked down at the stew.  Normally, she'd send the 
Meowth formerly known as Meowth to fish for food or they'd eat at a high 
class resturaunt.  However, Ben didn't have the kind of money necessary 
to go eat at those kinds of resturaunts and Fox was busy helping Ben set 
up the tents.  It wasn't often that she'd have to cook.  Of course, she 
had never been under the supervision of a boy before.
	He was better than the rest of Team Rocket.  He was kind to pokemon, 
even if he didn't entirely trust them, he was nice to her despite the 
fact that her business had once been stealing pokemon, and he had even 
given her two pokeballs.  They only contained Nidorans (one male, one 
female), but still, that he trusted her enough to hold them made her 
feel better.  Not only that, but he had even bothered to buy her some 
new clothes.  The new sweater and jeans she was wearing were a lot less 
conspicious than the embarrassing outift James had forced her to wear.  
Not to mention that it sucked when it came to keep her warm.  James's 
outfit at least kept him from shivering at every cold breeze.  (not to 
mention he could generate his OWN breeze)  He said it was the regulation 
outfit for every girl in Team Rocket, though she knew he was drooling at 
her behind her back.
	Team Rocket brought back bad memories.  Sure, there had been a lot of 
fun getting money and blowing it all on good food, new clothes and such, 
but there had been far more hollering, verbal abuse, guns being fired at 
them by police and other hazards that had made the job less than 
desirable.  James had been the only one to actually enjoy that.
	James brought even worse memories back.  He had been the one to 
convince her to join Team Rocket.  And he had given her Ekans, her first 
pokemon, so she thought of him as the kindest person she knew.  At the 
time, of course, because that was before they met Meowth.... Fox.
	Fox had been incredibly intelligent.  He had even been able to speak 
three different languages and could bring in the cash when fighting wild 
pokemon.  And Fox had been a lot nicer.  Polite too.  James began to 
look more like a normal person.  Until they started getting shot at.  
Then, his cruelty began showing itself to her.  Even if they hadn't 
gotten caught, Jessie knew she was going to begin hating James for ever 
bringing her into the world of chaos that he enjoyed.
	Her mind returned to Ben.  More precisely, his pokemon.  From what 
little he had told her of himself, he had had Bambi, his Rattata, for 
years.  She was his strongest pokemon.  She had also helped him with 
other things, but he didn't exactly elaborate on that part.  Jessie 
removed herself from her memories and returned to the present.
	His bulbasaur, Shamrock, was sleeping peacefully next to a tree.  Bambi 
was staring intently at the stew.  And Pen-Pen, his pidgey, was sleeping 
in a nearby tree.  Normally for Jessie, if a pokemon was out of it's 
pokeball, it was busy fighting.  If it wasn't fighting, it was in the 
pokeball.  Ben took different approaches to pokemon.  A pokemon is only 
in a pokeball if it wanted to be.  And none of Ben's pokemon wanted to 
be in pokeballs.
	"That's that.  So, dinner ready?" Ben asked, turning back to Jessie.
	"Almost." Jessie answered.
	"Hey, I've been meaning to ask.  Aren't you a little mad about being 
beaten?  I mean it's only been about six hours since you got caught." 
Ben commented.
	"You have no idea of what the idea of going to prison can do to you." 
Jessie answered.
	"...... you're right." Ben responded.
	Jessie spoon out the stew into four bowls.  Pen-Pen and Shamrock caught 
their own food earlier, so they didn't need to eat.  Bambi, Fox, Ben and 
Jessie, however, had not.
	"So, about the Nidoran you gave me.  What are their names?" Jessie 
asked.
	"I don't know.  I caught 'em before entering the city and I still 
haven't thought of appropriate names for them.  Why don't you name 
them?" Ben asked, before beginning to eat.
	Jessie looked at the pokeballs next to her that contained the Nidoran.  
She wasn't sure she wanted to be naming them.  She'd be tempted to name 
on Jessie and the other, inevitably, James.
	"How about naming one Jessie and the other... Casio!" Ben suggested.
	"Casio?!" Fox and Jessie asked.
	"Sure, after the old Casio keyboards." Ben stated.
	"And what, praytell, do Casio keyboards have ta do with Nidoran?" Fox 
inquired.
	"A lot.  The first pokemon cry ever recorded happened to be the male 
Nidoran and it was the first to be put onto a Casio keyboard." Ben 
explained, using the part of his brain that recorded otherwise useless 
information.
	"But what sense does it make to name da male Nidoran after dat loser 
company?  I say we name it Meowth!" Fox declared.
	"Mason." Jessie declared.
	"Huh?" Ben asked.
	"WHAAA?!" Fox demanded.
	"The 'm' and the 'o' from Meowth, the 'a' and the 's' from Casio and 
the 'n' from Ben." Jessie responded.
	"I guess it's an okay name.  But wouldn't it serve a Rock pokemon 
more?" Ben inquired.
	"No, I like it.  Mason and Jessy." Jessie answered.
	"So, where are we headed?" Ben asked, before he resumed eating.
	"Mount Moon.  The rest of Team Rocket bring their catches there.  We 
can probably get about sixty pokemon if we get there within the next few 
days." Jessie explained.
	"Good.  The more pokemon we free the-hey, wait a minute!  I thought you 
and James were Team Rocket!" Ben said.
	"Well, we're part of it.  We were on special assignment to capture all 
rare or special pokemon.  The rest of Team Rocket focuses on generic 
capture of pokemon, special pokemon training disks and anything more 
advanced than what the standard market has." Jessie answered.
	"No offense, but with an organization that big, why were just the two 
of you on special assignment?" Ben asked.
	"I can answer dat," Fox began, "you see, da head honcho knew dat ta 
catch rare or special pokemon would require a small team with an 
incredibly smart leader.  In odder words, me!"
	"How modest." Ben commented.
	"Isn't he?" Jessie asked rheotorically.
	"And to be honest, we weren't da only team set on dat assignment.  We 
were just da only team assigned to dis area." Fox explained.
	"Okay, so since you guys know so much, Fox, I'm putting you in charge 
of thinking of a way to bust up Team Rocket's little syndicate.  Jessie, 
you'll be in charge of leading us to the right locations." Ben answered.
	"Right." Jessie and Fox said in unison.
	"Now, let's get some sleep.  Mt. Moon is quite a walk from here." Ben 
commented.

	The next morning, Misty and Ash began the difficult task of teaching 
Shelly about Pokemon, the Pokeballs and the Pokedex.
	"Ever since the end of the last millenium, pokemon have existed on the 
planet.  However, early pokemon were very difficult to catch because 
pokeballs weren't around to help people catch the pokemon.  It was only 
in the last thirty years that pokeballs were created and used to catch 
pokemon.  Ever since, scientists have been striving to figure out how 
the pokemon evolve and how they came to replace the old animals of the 
wild, like the wolves, bears and lions, not to mention the domesticated 
animals, such as birds, cats and dogs.  Oddly, cows, pigs, fish and 
various forms of plants remained as they were.  Scientists are also 
trying to figure this out.  Now-" Misty began.
	"Misty, stop." Ash said.
	"Huh?  Why?" Misty asked.
	"Look." Ash said, pointing at Shelly, who's eyes were now spirals.  
Squirtle and Nidoran-female looked at her worriedly.
	Ash tapped Shelly on the forehead and she collapsed.
	"History lesson is over." Ash commented.

	"ALL RIGHT!" Ben cheered as Shamrock began glowing with a greenish 
light.  It wasn't long before Shamrock grew in size and the bulb on her 
back opened up to revealed a closed flower.  She was far larger than she 
used to be.  Ben briefly scanned her.
	"It's official, she's an Ivysaur now." Ben said, smiling.
	"That'll be very helpful, especially against the Rocket Pokemon, should 
we get into a fight." Fox said, nodding.
	They walked past the dazed Spearow and continued on their way.

	Once they revived Shelly, Ash started on the important details of 
pokemon.
	"Each pokemon has their advantages and disadvantages, especially when 
it comes to fighting.  Pokemon like Pikachu have special electric 
attacks, while other pokemon like Rattata don't have any special 
attacks.  Pikachu's attacks give him an advantage against water and bird 
pokemon, but leave him at a disadvantage against grass and rock pokemon.  
Meanwhile, Rattata's attack are okay against all of them.  However, 
special pokemon, like ghost pokemon are at an advantage against Rattata, 
because he can't harm them.  Pikachu, on the other hand, CAN harm ghost 
pokemon." Ash explained.
	"Ash?" Misty asked.
	"Yeah?" Ash asked.
	"Look." Misty said, pointing at Shelly, who's eyes were spirals again.
	"........." Ash replied, burying his head in his hands.

	"Whoa, they're growing fast." Ben commented as Pen-Pen evolved into a 
Pidgeyotto and Bambi evolved into a Raticate.  The unconscious pack of 
Spearows that had attacked them were a testament to how hard they had 
been fighting.
	"Hmmm, you're right.  I've never seen pokemon grow so fast in my life." 
Jessie commented, putting away her pokeball containing a spearow.
	"Now, if your Nidorans evolve, I'm going to-" Ben began before the 
Nidorans began glowing.

	"How are we ever going to teach her about pokemon if she keeps passing 
out?" Ash asked.
	"Well, we've been trying to explain it all from what we learned in 
school.  And that always _was_ long-winded.  Maybe if we give her an 
explanation by example." Misty suggested.
	"Yeah, that's probably the best way.  Let's find some pokemon for her 
to catch when she wakes up." Ash suggested.
	"Yeah, that's probably best." Misty said.
	Suddenly, an incredibly loud echo of 
"AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!" shattered the peace and 
quiet atomosphere of the camp.
	"What in the world was that?!" Misty asked.
	"No clue, but it sounded like someone got really mad." Ash replied.

	"It just means you're a good trainer." Jessie commented.
	"Or dat dese wild pokemon are tougher than we dought.  Pokemon get 
stronger faster by fighting strong pokemon.  Maybe dat's why." Fox said.
	"Besides, what's wrong with stronger pokemon?" Jessie asked.
	"Nothing really, but I was going to say that if those Nidoran evolved, 
I was going to scream and I kept my promise." Ben answered.
	With that, they continued on, but Fox and Jessie were exchanging 
glances.

	Once Shelly recovered, the group began looking for pokemon.  Pikachu 
found a Kakuna (1) after about three minutes of searching.
	"Okay, watch this." Ash said, taking out a pokeball.
	He threw it at the Kakuna.  The pokeball absorbed it easily.  
Unfortunately, the Kakuna managed to struggle free (2).
	"..... at least the pokeball didn't break." Ash commented, picking his 
pokeball back up.
	"So what was I supposed to watch?" Shelly asked.
	".............. I guess, it's just not weak enough to be contained." 
Ash said, nudging Pikachu to zap it.
	"Piii?" Pikachu asked.
	"Zap it with a Thundershock." Ash instructed.
	"Pika!" Pikachu answered.
	Pikachu raced forward and leapt up into the air.  The Kakuna followed 
Pikachu's movemnts with it's eyes, but could do nothing about Pikachu's 
attack.
	"PIIIIIIKAAAAAAAACHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!" Pikachu cried, shocking the 
Kakuna.
	The Kakuna's eyes became swirls as Ash pulled out his pokeball and 
threw it at the Kakuna again.  It struck the Kakuna and absorbed it.  
After three seconds, the pokeball had returned to normal.
	"As I was saying, tossing a pokeball at a pokemon is the easist way to 
catch it." Ash said.
	"However, a lot of wild pokemon don't like being caught and will resist 
capture if they can.  Some pokemon can be exhuasted, beaten, paralyzed, 
poisoned AND burnt and STILL resist capture.  Got it?" Misty asked.
	"Wow!  THAT'S how those things work!" Shelly answered.
	"You didn't know?" Ash asked.
	"I thought they were magic balls that ate pokemon and spit them back 
up." Shelly answered.
	"..........................." Ash and Misty replied.
	"I also thought that they flew by themselves!" Shelly added..
	"........................................" Ash and Misty responded.

	A rock fell past Ben's head.  He glanced back and down.  There wasn't 
even an echo of it hitting another rock.  He gulped and focused on 
climbing upwards after Jessie (3).  He scrambled onto the next ledge 
where Jessie was resting.  Pen-Pen set Fox down next to them and perched 
on a nearby branch.
	"How much further?" Ben asked in a low tone.
	"Not much further.  About another ledge or so.  The ledge that we used 
was made extremely large so that various balloons and other vehicles 
could reach it." Jessie answered in the same hushed tone.
	Ben nodded.
	"Good.  Hey, Fox, got any ideas on how we bust in without getting 
noticed?" Ben asked.
	"There'll probably be some guards near the entrance and they'll alert 
everyone inside.  I got some ideas, but we'll need the help of some 
Geodudes." Fox answered.
	"Hmmmmm?" Ben and Jessie asked.
	Fox grinned evilly.

	"YAAAY!  I got a Pikachu!" Shelly cheered.
	"So what are you going to call it?" Misty asked.
	"ZAPPY!" Shelly cried.
	"......................" Misty and Ash just stood there, sighing as 
they put their heads into their hands.

	"Got the plan?" Fox asked.
	The Geodudes nodded.
	"Right, good luck." Fox declared.
	The Geodudes began rolling down the mountain.  No sooner had two passed 
the passageway that Rockets were in than the guards cried out and leapt 
for safety, not wanting to get caught in a cave-in.  The Geodudes made 
short work of the guards and quickly searched them for pokeballs.  They 
handed everything they found to Fox, who handed them to Jessie to hold 
onto.
	"What's going on out he- Jessie, Meowth.  Explain yourselves." demanded 
the confident voice of a strong man.
	Ben, Jessie and Fox turned to see the leader of Team Rocket, Giovanni, 
exiting the cave.
	"G-g-g-GIOVANNI!  What are you doing here?!" Jessie asked, her face 
growing deathly pale.
	"I asked a question, Jessie.  What's going on?" Giovanni demanded.
	Jessie couldn't muster any confidence to answer.
	"We're working independently!" Fox managed to say.
	"Oh really?" Giovanni asked.
	"All right, mister, I don't know who are, nor do I care.  But if you're 
with Team Rocket, you're going down." Ben declared.
	"Oh?  How amusing.  How about a little pokemon fight?  Winner takes the 
pokemon within this cave.  Loser leaves, never to return to this place, 
ever again." Giovanni offered, smiling to himself.
	"Fine." Ben declared.
	Jessie snapped out of her shock and realized what had just happened.
	"Ben, no!  Giovanni has incredibly powerful pokemon!" Jessie hissed.
	"I've got some tricks up my sleeve too." Ben hissed back.
	"Just one pokemon." Giovanni said.
	"All right." Ben answered.
	"His pokemon are of the ground variety.  Absolutely none can fly." Fox 
whispered.
	"Pen-Pen.  Get ready for a fight." Ben warned as his loyal pidgeyotto 
landed in front of him.
	"Rhydon.  Get rid of that flying pest." Giovanni declared, letting the 
massive pokemon free.
	"Pen-Pen!  Special Technique!" Ben cried.
	Pen-Pen took to the air and flew above the clouds.
	"Looks like your pokemon went bye-bye." Giovanni laughed.
	"Looks that way, doesn't it?" Ben answered, grinning.
	*THOOM*  Giovanni's Rhydon cried out as it was slammed sideways.  
Pen-Pen flew up into the air again and vanished into the clouds.  The 
Rhydon struggled back to it's feet. (4)
	"WHAT THE HELL?!" Giovanni declared.
	*THOOM*  The Rhydon was sent crashing in the other direction.  It 
bellowed in pain.
	"Oh, just a little special technique Pen-Pen knows." Ben answered.
	"You cheat!" Giovanni growled.
	"This isn't cheating.  It's an attack.  It's not MY fault your pokemon 
can't counter-attack in time." Ben responded as Rhydon was once again 
sent crashing backwards.
	The Rhydon let out a weak cry and collapsed, beaten.
	"YOU USELESS PIECE OF CRAP!" Giovanni roared, drawing the pokemon back 
into it's pokeball.
	He turned back to Ben.
	"You've beaten me, but I never said anything about Team Rocket leaving 
here.  Good luck, ya little snot." Giovanni said, snorting as he left.
	Six members of Team Rocket raced out of the tunnel and launched 
pokemon. Ben and Jessie's pokemon met the Rockets' pokemon and began 
battling them as Jessie walked around and began beating the crap out of 
the Rockets.  Ben watched her and blinked.
	"No wonder you were chosen for the special assignment." Ben answered.
	Jessie dusted off her hands and smirked.

	"I don't think I've got it." Shelly said.
	Ash sighed again.
	"All right, your pokemon attack it and weaken it.  Then, you toss a 
pokeball and capture it." Ash answered.
	"......... I still don't understand." Shelly answered.
	Misty was already sleeping as were the pokemon.  Ash wanted to go to 
bed, but Shelly wanted to understand and Ash knew he wouldn't be able to 
sleep knowing that she was still clueless on how to catch pokemon.  He 
tried again with another approach.
	"Okay, Squirt attacks Kakuna.  Kakuna starts out strong-" Ash began 
narrating.
	Shelly gasped.
	"But Squirt comes back.  Kakuna is weak.  You pull out a pokeball and 
throw it.  It catches Kakuna.  You now have Kakuna!" Ash said.
	"YAAAAAAAAAAAY!" Shelly cried.
	"Now do you understand?" Ash asked.
	"KAKUNA!  KAKUNA!  KAKUNA!  KAKUNA!" Shelly cheered, dancing around.
	Squirt and Nibbler woke up and began dancing too.  Ash sighed and felt 
like crying.  At least she understood.

===============================================================================================

(1) - Weedle's first evolution.  It's a yellowish stake-shaped pokemon 
that has an incredibly tough hide that can harden it's shell to defend 
itself against all but the most persistant of predators.  Caterpie's 
first evolution is Metapod which is a green boomerang-shaped pokemon.
(2) - This is unusual because all Kakunas and Metapods can do is harden 
their shells, they can't move on their own.  In combat, save for 
exhausting pokemon, they are virtually useless.
(3) - Thus proving Ben was more mature than his age as he spent most of 
the trip staring up Jessie's mini-skirt.
(4) - The technique Ben has taught his Pidgeyotto is Fly.  Basically, 
flying pokemon taught this technique will fly up out of the enemy 
pokemon's range.  After a round, the flying pokemon swoops down and 
slams into the enemy pokemon.  If you do this often enough, you can 
thrash a pokemon twice as powerful as your pokemon.

	Well, that's the end of chapter 3!  See you again in Chapter 4: Pewter 
City!
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