Chapter 171: The Fuchsia Gym and the Ninja Girl
Author: Samsung Charmander
Fuchsia City.
After leaving Ore Town and crossing through the misty forest, Ash and his group successfully reached their destination.
Ash placed the Thunder Stone, Fire Stone, and Water Stone he had obtained from the four Eevee brothers into his backpack. His eyes were full of battle intent as he looked at the landmark sign for Fuchsia City.
It's worth mentioning that back in Ore Town, after seeing Ash's Pikachu so cleanly defeat his older brother's Raichu, the fourth brother, Taiichi, found immense courage. He finally told his three older brothers about his desire to start training with an Eevee and received their approval, leading to a happy ending for everyone.
Ash had also obtained the three elemental evolution stones. He planned to find a day to see if he could use these three stones to get closer to his Eevee.
After all, his team for the Pokémon revolution was shaping up nicely; only his Eevee's mindset was still a bit wayward.
Fuchsia City.
It was less of a city and more of a town. The area wasn't very large, resembling a rural town covered in vast greenery. Unlike the man-made landscaping of Celadon City, this was simply a wild, untamed area.
*Beep.* "This is an unremarkable city with nothing much to see. The Fuchsia Gym is located in the southwest of Fuchsia City, and to the northwest, the city connects to a Safari Zone."
The Pokédex was introducing the landmarks of Fuchsia City to the group. As it said, besides a Gym and a Safari Zone, the city had basically nothing else, making it an overlooked place in the Kanto Region.
Although he was very interested in the Safari Zone, Ash reined in his playful mood and pulled the other two along, heading toward the city's southwest.
After walking for less than ten minutes, the three could already see a building in the distance. It was an old, traditional-style courtyard. In the center was a large house with wooden beams and a tiled roof, surrounded by square walls.
The area further out looked like a suburban wilderness, not at all like the inside of a city.
"That should be the Fuchsia Gym. I've heard there are ninjas inside," Brock explained.
Hearing this, Ash's eyes lit up. Boys are very interested in ninjas, after all. He quickly grabbed the other two and continued forward.
"Hey, they say this is the Fuchsia Gym?"
"Then we can set up an ambush here and launch a surprise attack on the twerps later."
"Right, right! And while we're at it, we can steal all the precious Pokémon in the Fuchsia Gym, meow."
Three figures appeared on a tiled roof, whispering to each other as if plotting something big. It was none other than the Team Rocket Trio.
They had arrived half a day before Ash's group, sneaking into the Gym in advance. They were planning to launch a surprise attack on them here.
CRASH!!
Unexpectedly, the old tiled roof couldn't bear their weight and a hole burst open. The three of them fell, completely unprepared, through the hole and into the Gym.
"Oww, that hurts..."
"Hey, Jessie! I told you not to eat so much for lunch, meow!"
"What are you talking about? I only ate a billion bowls of rice. That's a standard portion for an actress!"
The trio brushed the dust and wood splinters off themselves. They had planned to ambush from the outside, but instead, they had ended up right inside the Gym.
"Be careful. I've heard that this Gym has been home to mysterious ninjas for generations. We can't be careless," James warned cautiously, sizing up their surroundings.
They were in a wooden corridor. You had to walk lightly, otherwise the floorboards would make a "creak, creak" sound.
"Ninjas? In that case, let's split into one group and steal all the Pokémon in here first!"
Jessie puffed out her chest and declared with righteous indignation.
The other two didn't even have time to correct her grammatically incorrect phrase "split into one group" before a square hole suddenly opened in the ceiling above them. With a "thud," a spherical object dropped down.
Half red and half white, it looked somewhat similar to a Poké Ball.
"What's this? Oh, it's just a Voltorb."
"We in Team Rocket have no need for such a common Pokémon."
Jessie and James sneered, taunting it with disdain.
The words had barely left their mouths when the Voltorb frowned. A brilliant white light burst from its body as violent energy was madly released.
BOOM!!
A terrifying explosion blasted the Team Rocket Trio in the face, charring them black.
"Thud!"
"Thud!"
"Thud!"
Three more Voltorbs dropped from the ceiling in succession, their expressions hostile.
Team Rocket: "!"
Danger!
Without even checking where they were going, the three tacitly turned and fled in the opposite direction.
BOOM!! BOOM!! The Voltorbs exploded!!
But true protagonists never look at explosions behind them!
Three minutes later, amidst flames and the sound of explosions, the Team Rocket Trio entered a room. But before they could even catch their breath, something strange happened in this room too.
SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!!
Dozens of shuriken came flying from an unknown location, forcing the trio to dodge frantically, their bodies continually retreating.
*Thud.*
The three were forced back against a wall, and only then did the shuriken stop for a moment.
*Creaak!*
The wall they were pressed against suddenly flipped backward, folding over to the other side.
And the trio, carried by the momentum, appeared in another room.
Over and over, like an Infinite Tsukuyomi, every corridor and room was a house of traps. This cycle continued for thirty minutes before the trio finally stopped moving.
"It stopped..."
"This house is insane..."
"What the Farfetch'd, meow."
The three, completely worn out, collapsed on the floor, panting heavily.
"Intruders, who are you!"
A clear, low shout came from one side of the room. The trio subconsciously looked up.
Taking a closer look, they saw a girl of about 12 or 13, looking slightly older than Ash and his friends. She had beautiful, medium-length purple hair tied up in a pineapple-style ponytail, and her features were attractive and sharp.
She wore a tight, black, short-sleeved cloth shirt and loose, black training pants. A long, thin pink scarf was tied around her neck, fluttering as if moved by an unseen wind, giving her a very dashing look.
"A ni-ninja?"
The trio was startled. The girl's attire was identical to the ninjas they'd seen on TV, though the pink scarf was a bit flashy.
"Wait a second."
"Did she just say something?"
"She did say something. Even if she is a ninja, we can't be polite, meow."
With that, the Team Rocket Trio forced their aching bodies up. With a *swoosh*, they stood, and their aura instantly soared, causing even the air around them to freeze!
Ninja Girl: "?"
"Heh heh, did we hear someone ask 'who are you'?"
"Since you've mercifully asked the question!"
"Then we shall answer in all sincerity!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Meowth of the Meowth-thingy!"
"We're Team Rocket, blasting off across the galaxy!"
"A white hole, a white tomorrow awaits us!"
"That's right, meow!"
The three struck a cool pose on the spot. It seemed as if the very heavens responded to their movements, as a sparkling, *bling-bling* golden light shone around the house.
"Team Rocket?!"
The purple-haired Ninja Girl was stunned for a moment, then her brow furrowed and a fierce light gleamed in her eyes, as if she had just met a mortal enemy. She fiercely threw out a Poké Ball.
"Team Rocket, I want you dead!!" she roared.
The trio: "?"
Why is the plot progressing so fast?
(end of chapter)