The Princess and The Togepi

    On the way to Fall Arbor town our heroes stop at a lake to meet an old friend - Misty!  She's in Hoenn to go to a Togepi festival and she wants them to go as her guests!

    Unfortunately Team Rocket, in disguise, grab Misty and Togepi and take off in a blimp.  The rest grab on to a convenient rope - which starts another of "May's expeditions"  They climb inside the blimp as it heads for he desert, crossing straight through a sandstorm!  Once they get through they land in the beautiful Mirage Kingdom.  Everyone is reunited and Team Rocket is revealed.  They're after Togepi!

    A strange man shows up, evidently Team Rocket is working for him.  He is Colonel Hansen and he needs a Togepi... though we don't know why.  When they refuse he sends out a shedinja and two ninjask to attack.  Misty's a little freaked out since all three are bug pokemon.  Ash asks Max to take the girls away while he and Brock fight.

    Hansen sends shedinja after them with orders not to let Togepi near the royal family.  They head into a fancy hedge maze (we saw this maze from the air as they approached, and a girl in a fancy dress is there... my guess, royal family...)  Faced with Shedinja, Misty has Corfish attack.  During the battle Togepi is knocked away into a fountain where the girl we saw earlier finds it.  She is the princess and she is very happy to see togepi.

    Back at the battle with Hansen things aren't going well... Hansen gets away.  

    The Royal family now has togepi.  Evidently they need it for some sort of succession ceremony.  Misty, May, and Max show up and demand Togepi. Hansen appears, insisting that they are intruders. But the king sends Hansen away so that they can talk.  Just then Ash and Brock show up.

    Apparently Hansen has been causing trouble in the kingdom so the king decides to send Misty and the rest away before they get hurt.  But Misty insists on knowing why they needed Togepi first.

    It seems Mirage Kingdom worships togepi and the ruler must find a togepi to prove they can rule.  The next day the princess is supposed to ascend to the throne, but she doesn't have a Togepi.  That's why Hansen was trying to steal one, so that he could ascend himself.

    Brock 'volunteers' to help, but Misty holds him back.  Misty really wants to help too but the Princess, Sara, won't allow it because of the danger.  As the group is about to leave they see a mirage above the temple.  It is the temple upside-down  and togepi seems drawn to it.  Togepi is stopped by Shedinja.  We end with a battle... shedinja vs. Pikachu... TBC... 

    Location: the Mirage Kingdom

    Notes:     I apologize on my awful spelling of town names and pokemon... I should see if one of my brothers has a game guide and try to look them up...

                 I'm hatin' Misty's new clothes...

                 Misty actually listens when Ash tells her to go hide!

                 The clothes of the people in Mirage Kingdom all have togepi patterns on them...

                 Yay!  Misty grabs Brock's ear to pull him away from the girl, just like old times!  And May and Max comment that they like her style ~.^