Chapter 23: Cora Joy vs. The Poisonous Ninja Master
After dealing with the Diglett, the group continued to find the Fuchsia Gym. But finding the gym was not easy.
"Man, I didn't think that the Fuchsia gym would be so hard to find." Mairin complained.
"You said it." Misty agreed.
"Just why would someone build a gym all the way out here?" Ash questioned.
"Why don't we take a break?" Brock suggested and spotted a small waterfall, "And look there's a small waterfall over there."
Everyone nodded.
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The gang all had their Pokémon out. They were all relaxing after the long walk they had. At the moment, Brock was brushing Vulpix's fur with a brush.
"Hey Ash, Cora," Misty said, "have you decided which Pokémon to use?"
"Fuchsia Gym uses Poison types, so I've figured to use Kilala (Shiny Espeon), Yuki (Female Meowstic) and one of my Nidoran's." Cora replied while looking at her phone, trying to the Fuchsia Gym.
"I like that idea." Brock commented.
"Besides Poison vs Poison can work." Alain added.
"Who's Yuki?" Ash asked.
"You'll see." Cora teased.
Ash pouted.
Cora glanced over at Jackal (Shiny Lucario) who looking at the trees. 'Jackal, what's wrong?'
'(I sense that a Pokémon is watching us.)' Jackal replied.
'A Pokémon, why?' Cora asked.
'(Don't know. But I'll keep an eye on it.)' Jackal told her.
'Okay.' Cora nodded.
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After their break, they started preparing to continue search for the Gym.
"Let's head off," Cora said after getting all of their Pokémon back into their Pokéballs, except Kilala, Jackal, Chespie, Pikachu, and Psyduck.
"Wait a minute, let's wait for Psyduck." Misty said as they looked over at her Psyduck, who was drinking water from the lake.
"Psyduck, cold water can make headache even worse." Misty advised and Cora looked over to see Psyduck was now standing near them. It looked at Misty with a blank stare and held its head.
"Sometimes I just look at that Psyduck's face and I get a headache." Misty complained with annoyance.
"Come on guys, we better get going." Cora said as they headed towards the gym.
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"According to my phone, the Fuchsia City Gym is," Cora pointed at the mansion in front of them, "right here."
"That's odd. Why is there an old mansion in the middle of nowhere?" Misty asked.
"I don't know. This place seems kind of spooky." Brock replied.
"Are you sure that this is the Fuchsia Gym?" Ash asked.
"Well that's what the map on my phone says." Cora stated and put her phone away.
"Anyways, let's be careful once we go in, there's no telling what's in there." Alain advised.
Brock nodded, "That's true."
The gang decided to enter the building that seems to be the Fuchsia Gym.
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The gang was walking down a corridor. The weird thing about it was that no one was around.
"Why does it seem like no one lives here?" Misty stopped and leaned against the wall when... "WAH!" She fell through a wall.
"Misty!" Cora, Alain, Mairin, Ash, Brock and the Pokémon exclaimed when they noticed one person from their group was missing.
Brock banged slightly on the wall, "It's a secret door." He stated.
"Secret door?" Mairin questioned.
"Yeah," Brock nodded and banged on the door lightly, "When you push the wall, it moves forward like a door."
They found Misty on the other side of the wall, pouting or frowning on the ground.
"What kind of place is this?" Misty asked.
"Well it's definitely not normal, considering that there's a secret door." Alain replied.
"Venonat (Hello)."
Everyone looked to see a purple Pokémon with red eyes and antennas on its head.
Cora blinked, "A Venonat?" She took out her phone and scanned the Pokémon:
[Venonat, the insect Pokémon. Its eyes act as radar, enabling it to be active in darkness. It is attracted by light at night.]
Misty shuddered as Venonat was a bug Pokémon.
"What's a Venonat doing here?" Brock asked.
Cora walked up to Venonat and knelt down in front of it, "Excuse me, we're looking for the Fuchsia gym leader. I'm hoping to have a gym battle with him. Do you know where he is?"
Venonat nodded, "Veno, Venonat. (Yes, follow me please.)" It said.
Cora stood up and followed the Venonat with Alain, Brock, Mairin, Misty, Ash and the Pokémon behind her.
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Cora knew that the Venonat was probably guiding them around the traps that were set up and led them to a safer direction. They arrived at what looked like a dojo.
Cora looked around, "This is impressive."
"Yeah." Alain, Ash and Brock agreed.
"But is anyone actually here?" Mairin asked.
"It would seem my Venonat decided to lead you the safe way here." A female voice spoke suddenly making them look forward to see a woman with long green hair that was in a ponytail wearing a kunoichi ninja uniform, which was pink.
Cora knew that this woman was Aya, sister to the gym leader, Koga.
Brock had hearts in his eyes, "Hello~" as if using teleportation, he was in front of her taking her hand in his, "Hi my name is Brock, and I was wondering if you would like to go for a stroll~"
Then Misty grabbed Brock by the ear, "How about you and I go for a walk?" She suggested as she dragged him away.
"Sorry about that. My name is Cora Joy and this is Kilala and Jackal." Cora greeted.
The two Pokémon spoke out in greeting.
"My name's Alain and this is my little sister, Mairin." Alain introduced.
"And this is Chespie." Mairin smiled.
Chespie smiled as he waved at Aya, "Chespin!"
"I'm Ash Ketchum and this is my partner, Pikachu!" Ash introduced himself and Pikachu.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu chirped.
Cora turned and pointed at Misty and Brock, "The girl who grabbed Brock by his ear is Misty."
"I see." Aya said, "So why are you all here?"
"Well, I'm hoping to battle Koga the Fuchsia Gym leader for a badge." Cora replied.
"Me too!" Ash added, happily.
"Then so you shall, young lady and young man." A masculine voice spoke.
The gang looked around but didn't see anyone, suddenly a man who was upside down appeared behind Misty, "Welcome." He introduced.
Misty screamed and jumped in Brock's arms, "Wh-wh-what?!"
The man set himself upright and bowed apologetically, "My apologies, it was not my intention to scare you."
The man had spiky black hair and eyes and wore a blue ninja uniform with a long red scarf wrapped around his neck.
Brock put Misty down, "It's okay, you must be the gym leader Koga."
Koga nodded, "Indeed I am," Then he turned to Cora and grinned, "I sense a real fighting spirit in you, if you defeat me, you will earn the Soul Badge."
Cora smiled, "Thank you."
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They were at the battle arena while Alain, Mairin, Misty, Ash and Brock were sitting in the sidelines along with the Pokémon.
Aya acted as referee, "This will be a three-on-three battle between Gym leader Koga and challenger Cora. Are both sides ready to battle?"
Koga and Cora nodded.
"Battle begin!"
"Go Venonat!" Koga called out.
"Venonat!" Venonat appeared on the field.
"Okay," Cora took out a Pokéball, "Juno, I choose you!" Cora's female Nidoran got her teeth ready to fight. "Juno, use Poison Fang!"
Juno's fangs turned purple, and she charged at Venonat to bite it.
"Dodge Venonat." Venonat dodged before Juno could do that.
"Venonat use Stun Spore!" Koga ordered.
"Use Protect and then Quick Super Fang!" Cora countered.
Juno projected a green colored barrier before Venonat's Stun Spore could hit her. Then Juno appeared behind Venonat and her teeth turned white and bit down on Venonat really hard which made it cry out in pain.
"Use Psybeam!" Koga yelled.
Venonat released a multi-colored beam from its eyes.
"Protect and use Poison Sting." Cora ordered.
Juno projected a green colored barrier which protected her. Then she fired purple darts, from her mouth, at Venonat. After the Poison Sting hit Venonat, it started to look sick and was going purple in the face. Then Venonat passed out.
"Venonat is unable to battle. The victory goes to Nidoran." Aya announced.
Suddenly Juno began to glow and then turned into a bigger version of herself.
Cora scanned her female Nidoran's new form:
[Nidorina, the poison pin Pokémon. The evolve form of Nidoran. When it senses danger, it raises all the barbs on its body. These barbs grow slower than Nidorino's.]
"Interesting." Koga said.
"Good job." Cora praised Juno as she gave her a petting for winning who smiled at the affection.
Koga returned his Venonat, "You've done great. Get some rest."
Cora returned Juno and took out another Pokéball, "Let's go Yuki!" She released her female Meowstic who was ready to fight.
"Meowstic." Yuki said.
"Venonat." Koga released his second Pokémon.
"Another Venonat? Does the Fuchsia Gym worship Venonat's or something like that?" Cora questioned, brow arched.
Koga grinned, "Not quite."
Suddenly Venonat started to glow. It grew from a puff ball to a giant moth.
Cora looked at the phone:
[Venomoth, the poison moth Pokémon. The evolved form of Venonat. It flutters its wings to scatter dust like scales. The scales leach toxins if they contact skin.]
"Oh great." Cora muttered, frowning.
"Venomoth, use Stun Spore." Koga ordered.
Venomoth flapped its wings, releasing some golden powder towards Yuki.
"Yuki, Protect!" Yuki projected a green colored barrier in front of her, protecting her from Venomoth's attack.
"Now use Psybeam!" Yuki launched her attack at Venomoth which slammed into Venomoth's stomach, making it fall onto the floor.
"Venomoth!" Koga cried out, "You alright?"
Venomoth shook its head and flapped its wings, getting back in the air.
"Venomoth, use Poison Powder." Venomoth flapped its wings and a purple-colored powder started to spread from them.
"Shadow Ball!" Yuki formed a sphere of dark energy in front of her and threw it towards Venomoth which slammed into Venomoth and made it fall to the floor.
BOOM!
Suddenly half of the ceiling collapsed, luckily not above them and only in front of them.
"What is that?!" Cora asked when she saw a green, orange, and black striped curtain in front of them.
When the screen slid to the side, two umbrellas were opened in front of the person.
"Welcome to the show." Two familiar yet annoying voices said.
"Team Rocket." Mairin groaned.
"Now let our ancient performance begin." Jessie announced, "Prepare for trouble."
James grunted rapidly, "Make it double."
Jessie moved her umbrella to reveal a kabuki costume and makeup, "To protect the world from devastation."
James moved his umbrella up to reveal him also wearing a kabuki costume and make up, "To unite all people within our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To extend our reaches to the stars above-"
"Kilala, Psybeam!" Cora ordered.
Kilala launched her attack and Team Rocket was sent flying through the roof and into the sky.
"That twerp interrupted our motto again!" Jessie seethed.
"Too bad. I was so excited to do our performance." James whined.
"The curtain was drawn way too early for that." Meowth added.
The trio sighed.
"LOOKS LIKE TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAIN!" Team Rocket screamed as they disappeared into the sky.
DING!
The gang sighed in relief when they could no longer see Team Rocket.
"Their motto is so annoying." Mairin commented.
"Hasn't change at all." Brock added.
"Yeah." Alain agreed.
"Are you sure that was Team Rocket?" Koga asked.
"Yes, it was. That trio of clowns have been after our Pokémon since we first met them." Cora replied.
"I've heard that they're very ruthless." Aya commented.
"Well, we haven't met that kind yet." Cora stated.
"Cora, the battle." Alain reminded everyone.
"Right. We haven't finished our match, Koga." Cora said.
Koga agreed, "Indeed."
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Everyone was outside for the battle. Koga and Cora were facing each other.
"Go Kilala!" Cora ordered.
Kilala the shiny Espeon in front of Cora and ready to fight.
Koga held a Pokéball, "Then I will choose..." He threw it up, "Golbat!"
Golbat is a large, blue bat-like Pokémon with purple wing membranes. It has small, slit pupiled eyes, tiny triangular ears with purple insides, and a massive mouth with two fangs in each jaw. It has short legs with long feet.
"Golbat?" Cora asked as she held her phone.
[Golbat, the Bat Pokémon. The evolved form of Zubat. It has four sharp fangs and emits supersonic waves more powerful than Zubat's.]
Golbat was flying back and forth in front of Kilala.
"Be careful with this one, Kilala." Cora warned.
"Golbat, Wing Attack." Koga ordered.
Golbat's wings glowed and drove down, ready to strike Kilala with its wings.
"Use Double Team!" Cora countered.
Kilala created copies of herself which made Golbat miss the real one.
"Now use Thunder Shock!" Cora ordered.
Kilala launched her electrical attack and zapped Golbat who effected by the attack, but still flying.
"Golbat, use your Screech attack." Koga commanded.
Golbat opened its mouth wider and released thin yellow circles from its mouth, causing a loud, piercing noise, making Kilala and all of them cover their ears.
"Ooh, I can't stand that noise." Mairin complained.
"Ah! I'm getting goose bumps." Brock held his arms around himself in fright.
"Kilala, Flamethrower!" Cora called.
The noise stopped as Kilala used the fire type attack, making Golbat stop and dodge the attacks as Kilala kept trying to hit it with her Flamethrower, which she finally did when Golbat's wing got hit by the flames.
"Okay, finish it off with Psybeam!" Cora said.
The green gem on Kilala's forehead shines and it releases a multicolored beam from it, hitting Golbat right in the stomach.
"Golbat!" Koga called before Golbat was and soon fell to the ground, unconscious.
Cora walked closer to Kilala and knelt down next to her with a smile and hugged her, "We did it!"
Kilala smiled at Cora as Alain, Brock, Mairin, Ash, Misty and the Pokémon walked closer.
Koga returned Golbat into its Pokéball and walked closer with a smile, "You have beaten me, Cora. And you've done it well." He unfolded the map to show the Soul Badge, "This Soul Badge rightfully belongs to you."
Cora stood up and took the badge with a smile. "Thank you," she said and looked at her new badge, "A Soul Badge, all right."
"Espeon (Badge number six!)" Kilala cheered.
Koga looked at his sister, "We both have a lot to learn about battle. We will now train even harder, Aya."
"Yes, brother," Aya agreed with a smile and looked at Cora, "And I hope when we'll meet again, we'll have a battle."
Cora smiled, "Sounds good to me."
Brock suddenly grabbed Aya's hand, "I am more than happy to stay and help you train."
Misty grabbed his collar from behind in annoyance and dragged him away, "Cool off, will you?"
"He's not gonna learn, is he?" Mairin asked.
Cora and Alain exchanged an amused look and chuckled.
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After that, we all said goodbye to Koga, Aya, and their Pokémon before heading out. They also wished Ash luck on his battle with Koga. They stopped by the Pokémon center to get Cora's Pokémon checked up. Once they were all healed, Cora sent Juno and Yuki back to the coral for some rest after their training and battle. After that, they headed towards their next stop which was the Safari Zone.
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Pokémon Obtained:
Cora: Shiny Espeon (Kilala)(F), Shiny Charizard (Nuri)(F), Altaria (Talia)(F), Shiny Lucario (Jackal)(M), Frogadier (Kenji)(M), Pidgeot (Gail)(F), Shiny Gyarados (Rory)(M), Cloyster (Matta)(M), Shiny Starmie (Pyxis)(Genderless), Butterfree (Papilio)(M), Beedrill (Stinger)(M), Nidorina (Juno)(F), Nidoran (Malik)(M), Pikachu (Tama)(F), Clefable (Shayla)(F), Sandslash (Digger)(M), Meloetta (Odele)(F), Chikorita (Kalmia)(F), Shiny Braxien (Rogue)(F), Mienfoo (Mulan)(F), Glaceon (Nieva)(F), Leafeon (Panra)(F), Shiny Gengar (Sypro)(M), Shiny Monferno (Pirro)(M), Galarian Ponyta (Althea)(F), Shiny Chespin (Cybele)(F), Alolan Raichu (Zuma)(M), Rockruff (Romulus)(M), Meowstic (Yuki)(F), Oshawott (Daisho)(M), Kingler (Kuka)(M), Shiny Umbreon (Zunair)(M) Sylveon (Stella)(F), Vaporeon (Kaori)(F), Jolteon (Lyn)(F), Flareon (Egan)(M), Dratini (Scylla)(F), Absol (Twilight)(M), Shiny Scorbunny (Scorch)(M), Popplio (Naia)(F), Alolan Vulpix (Elsa)(F), Pink Butterfree (Momo)(F), Sobble (Mystique)(F), Mankey (Manny)(M), Magnemite (Static)(Genderless)
Alain: Charizard (M), Metagross (Genderless), Tyranitar (M), Weavile (M), Bisharp (M), Unfezant (M), Leafeon (F), Umbreon (M), Chestnaught (M), Malamar (F), Steelix (M), Shiny Gyarados (F), Scyther (M), Golbat (M), Shiny Zorua (Unovan)(M), Frigibax (M), Prinplup (M), Copperajah (F), Lokix (M), Magby (M), Axew (M), Rockruff (M), Rhydon (F), Alakazam (M), Meowstic (M), Sandile (M), Absol (M), Cyndaquil (M), Deino (F) Rookidee (M), Squirtle (M)
Mairin: Chespin (Chespie)(M), Flabébé (Bébé)(F), Gogoat (Grazer)(F), Butterfree (Bira)(F), Parasect (Paxtin)(M), Clefairy (Pixie)(F), Lilligant (Unovan)(Petunia)(F), Swadloon (Evanthe)(F), Thwackey (Biri)(F), Grotle (Aspen)(M), Pansage (Sage)(F), Roserade (Rose)(F), Azumarill (Mary)(F), Skitty (Cathy)(F), Cherubi (Cherry)(F), Maractus (Amaranth)(F), Snivy (Vinicius)(F), Shaymin (Carissa)(F), Squirtle (Kai)(M)
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone