Man Pokémon
During the two days and one night they spent resting and hanging around on Mandarin Island, Ash, Misty, and Tracey still failed to run into Annie as they had hoped. They had no choice but to pay their own way, making do with some cheap food and barely managing to book a room for the night.
Still, although they hadn't found Annie, they had gained something else.
Ash's Squirtle had spent a day training, competing, and working alongside the island's Wartortle firefighting squad. After successfully putting out two major fires and rescuing quite a few people, Squirtle had made remarkable improvements in using Water Gun, as well as in its other abilities and techniques. Perhaps that counted as an unexpected bonus?
Of course, the tireless troublemakers of Team Rocket had inevitably shown up to interfere and attack, doing things like capturing the Wartortle firefighting squad along with Squirtle.
But, as always, those villains had failed in the end.
Then, once everyone had finished resting, they learned from the fire chief that the last of the Orange League's Southern Cross gyms was on Kumquat Island, a tourist destination with more visitors than anywhere else. Without further delay, they set off west on their well-rested, energetic Lapras, hoping to get that fourth Orange League badge as soon as possible.
However...
What Ash, Misty, and Tracey could never have expected was that, just as they arrived on Kumquat Island and stepped onto its tourist-packed beach, famous for seafood dishes and hot springs said to beautify the skin, the incorrigible Team Rocket appeared again and brought everyone an enormous amount of trouble.
An enormous, Godzilla-like Rhydon appeared on the beach. It looked like Pokémon number #0112, Rhydon, but this gigantic monster was built entirely of steel. Almost instantly, it threw the tourists