A/N: Sorry for not updating this sooner, I've been too distracted to write this chapter and I had to force myself to start it. Oh and I also apologize for my relatively short chapters for this story; I'm a lazy son of a gun. XD

Chapter 3: Gettin' to the Poison Point!

It was a tense situation on the Pewter City Gym battlefield as Trapinch and Onix were staring one another down, waiting for someone to launch their attack first. Trapinch eyed the large Pokémon up and down, sizing him up this time. It was slow on land, much like himself, and relatively fast underground as well. Though, as he learned earlier, Onix couldn't hide and blend in with the dirt like he could. This gave him an edge, he realized, and he was going to use it.

Trapinch snapped to attention when he heard Ash call out a command.

"Alright Trapinch," Ash started, "let's use that Dig and Faint Attack combo we've been working on!"

"Trap!" the little Pokémon cried out before going underground once again. Onix looked around the field trying to determine where Trapinch was at that moment.

'Another move I've never heard of...' Brock thought to himself. 'It doesn't sound too strong, but I won't let our guard down. I already underestimated that Pokémon once and I won't do it again!'

"Onix, keep your guard up," Brock ordered his Pokémon. The rock snake gave no inclination that it heard his trainer, but it did curl up a bit into a defensive position. A few seconds later Trapinch popped out of the ground unseen and slammed into Onix from the right side before going back under the gym floor. Onix reared up and roared in pain from both the super effective attack combined with the neutral one. Trapinch repeated the attack from all angles for a couple of minutes before Brock got desperate.

"Onix, use Rock Throw and cover the entire field!" Brock shouted out. Onix, panting from all the attacks it was pelted with, raised its front body and tail in the air before slamming down on the floor, causing a small earthquake to erupt. It shattered all the large rocks on the field, sending them scattering. In a matter of seconds, the entire battlefield was covered in rocks, preventing Trapinch from easily escaping.

"No! Trapinch, hurry and get out of the ground!" Ash shouted out to his Pokémon. Trapinch managed to find a wide enough gap between the rocks to slowly dig his way out. He came out of the ground panting and covered in wounds. 'Gggggrrrrr, that small earthquake Onix caused damaged Trapinch a lot! What to do, what to do?' Ash thought, but while he was thinking, Brock issued out another command. This one, however, would help out Ash and Trapinch instead of hurting them.

"Now, use Bind, Onix," Brock told his Pokémon calmly. The teen gym leader shook his head and gave a small chuckle. 'This match is over. I do have to admit though, they sure put up a good fight.' Brock thought as he watched his first Pokémon grab the exhausted Trapinch in its coils and begin to squeeze it.

"TRAP!" The Ant Pit Pokémon screamed in pain. He tried to wriggle free from the rock snake's tight grip, but it just made the pain worse.

Ash felt like crying when he both saw and felt his Pokemon's pain. 'What do I do? I can't recall him because of that attack and he can hardly move around. He's in so much pain right now... Wait a minute! A Trapinch's jaws can crush boulders easily! Although an Onix's rock body is tougher than an ordinary rock, it should still do some massive damage to it!'

"Trapinch, use Crunch, now!" Ash ordered. Trapinch heard his trainer's order and opened his large jaws as they turned a deep purple color. Gathering a bit more energy to make the attack even more painful for his foe, he finally bit down on a segment of Onix's body. A large crack spread through the segment and Onix roared so loudly from the pain of the attack and the injury from it, that the entire gym vibrated from the noise.

All the people outside the gym who were passing by stopped and stared at the gym when they heard the noise from within.

Back inside on the battlefield, Brock's Onix finally let go of Trapinch and fell on to the floor, unconscious. Silence reigned in the gym for a few moments before both trainers saw Trapinch emerge from underneath Onix, panting heavily.

Brock recalled his Onix with a look of shock on his face. He looked down at the PokeBall in his hand and thought 'What... Just happened?'

Meanwhile, Ash had run out on to the battlefield and picked up Trapinch, hugging him gently. "You did it! You won us the match Trapinch! I am so proud of you!" Ash excitedly exclaimed to his Pokémon.

"Trap... Trap..." Trapinch cried out softly, with tears running down his face. Finally, he felt truly loved and appreciated by his trainer. Even his old trainer never congratulated him on any of his wins. It was always "pathetic" or "was that the best you could do?" The sadness and despair that still slightly lingered in his heart and soul, finally receded for the first time in many months. He finally felt free and happy. Happy to live and happy to love. The heavy weight he carried was no more.

With that, the little Pokémon fell fast asleep, safe in the knowledge that he had made his trainer proud and happy and that he had done himself proud.

TDTDTDTDTDTDTDTDTDT

Ash looked down at his Pokémon with a sad, yet happy, smile. For the three weeks he had known his first Pokémon, the young trainer had felt something was weighing heavily upon his Pokémon's heart and mind. What, he didn't understand. Until just now, that is. He felt the pain and sadness disappear from his Pokémon the minute he uttered the words "proud of you." He understood now what Trapinch's old trainer did to him and he vowed that the day he met the jerk, he would pay for what he did to his precious partner. No one, person or Pokemon, deserved to be treated like they weren't worth anything in this world. To be looked down upon and treated like vermin was just as bad, if not worse, than any physical abuse a living creature could endure, in Ash's opinion. Healing physical scars was easy. Mental scars took far longer to heal, if they could be healed. He knew from experience with Gary Oak, but he at least had his mother there for him.

Ash was just glad his Pokémon finally healed and could now move on in life, putting the past behind him. At least for now.

He returned Trapinch to his PokeBall for some rest and was broken out of his thoughts when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Ash turned around and saw Brock there, with a smile on his face.

"That was some battle Ash, thank you," Brock said.

"Yes, it was. It made me realize that we have to train far harder from now on if we want to continue winning. So I have to thank you for this battle," Ash responded, holding out his hand for Brock to shake. Brock grasped it and gave a friendly handshake to an awesome battle. He let go and rummaged around in one of his pockets before pulling something out. He held the item outstretched in his hand toward Ash.

"Here, you definitely earned this Boulder Badge. I learned as much from you as you learned from me," Brock told Ash.

Ash took the gray and ordinary badge with a "thank you" and clipped it to the inside of his jacket. He returned his attention to Brock when he heard the teen hum, and saw that he was looking off into the distance at nothing.

"You know," Brock started to say, "I never wanted to be a gym leader or a trainer. My real passion has always been to travel and to become the world's greatest Pokémon breeder. Taking care of Pokémon is something I prefer over battling."

"Then why don't you come with me Brock? We could travel together!" Ash suggested. Brock simply shook his head and sighed.

"I wish I could, but I can't. I have to take care of the gym and my younger siblings while my parents are away," Brock stated.

"Oh..." Ash sighed. He was disappointed that he wouldn't be getting a traveling partner, but "them's the breaks" his father always said. "Hey, if you ever manage to get out and travel, we might meet up. Who knows?"

"Yeah, it's highly likely that we would if I ever get to," Brock said. "Anyway, I have to get home and fix lunch for my siblings after closing the gym for the afternoon and healing Onix at the Pokémon Center. Come on, I'll walk you out." With that, he turned toward the front doors and started walking to them. Ash followed.

TDTDTDTDTDTDTDTDTDT

"Goodbye Ash, and good luck on your journey," Brock told the young raven-haired trainer outside the Pokémon Center before he turned and headed toward the outskirts of the city.

"Thanks Brock, and good luck to you on becoming a Pokémon breeder!" Ash called out to the teen as he walked away. Brock turned around and waved before continuing on home. Ash exhaled a breath of air and turned his head to look at a now healthy Trapinch on his shoulder.

"Well buddy, what do you say we continue on?" Ash asked his Pokémon friend.

"Trap!" The Pokémon nodded. Ash smiled and pulled out a folded up map from his pocket. Unfolding it and straightening it as much as he could, he looked it over.

"Hm... If we go towards Route 3, it'll lead us to Mt. Moon and from there, Cerulean City. But that's a Water type gym, and while I have total confidence in you Trapinch, I don't feel as confident or comfortable going up against a gym that you are weak to without other Pokémon." Trapinch looked a bit sad at this, but perked up again when Ash continued. "Instead, we'll take the southern route out of the city and take Diglett's Tunnel to Vermilion. There's an Electric type gym there, it'll be perfect! After that, we'll swing back around and head up to Cerulean. By then we should have at least two new team members. What do you think, buddy?"

Trapinch nodded his head vigorously at the plan. He was very happy with it. His trainer was right of course; their prospects of winning against a Water type gym were zero to none at this point. If he could evolve, he knew he could stand up to Water types much better, but he had a feeling evolution, for him, was far away.

"We'll take the Underground Path to bypass Saffron for the time being when we leave Vermilion City." With that, Ash folded up his map again and put it in his pocket. He turned to the direction he entered the city in, and headed out.

Half an hour later and he and Trapinch were on the path that led directly to the entrance of Diglett's Tunnel. Ash stopped walking in the middle of the path when he heard rustling in a nearby bush.

"Trapinch, you hear that?" Ash whispered to the Pokémon on his shoulder. Trapinch nodded and focused a sharp gaze on the bush that was making the noise. Five seconds later and something small and purple, with large ears and spikes down its back, jumped out from the bush. It turned and faced Ash and Trapinch and got into a fighting stance.

"Ne ne," the wild Pokémon cried.

Ash looked at the Pokémon and blinked before he realized what it was. "Oh cool, a male Nidoran! Not necessarily a Dragon type, but it's still one of my favorites! OK Trapinch, get ready to battle!" Ash told his partner. Trapinch jumped off of his trainer's shoulders and faced the wild Nidoran, getting into a fighting position as well. Both Pokémon stared at each other before the Nidoran charged at Trapinch, its head bowed so that the horn was facing forward.

"That's Horn Attack! OK Trapinch, we have to be careful here or it might poison you if it manages to hit you. Underground, now!" Ash ordered Trapinch. Trapinch jumped before diving under the dirt and out of the line of fire. Nidoran slid to a stop and looked around confused.

"Now, use Sand Tomb from underground," Ash said and he saw what looked like a whirlpool of Earth form underneath the Nidoran, trapping half of its body under the ground. It cried out and began to swing its front legs around, trying to break free. Trapinch came out of the ground at this point and landed in front of the helpless Pokémon struggling to get free.

"Alright, finish it off with Sand-Attack!" Trapinch turned around, his back end now facing the Nidoran, and began to furiously kick up dust with his back legs. The wild Nidoran began to cough and sneeze as dust and dirt flew up its nose and mouth.

"Alright, that's enough. Good job!" Trapinch smiled at the compliment before returning to Ash's side. The young trainer then pulled out an empty PokeBall and chucked it at the Nidoran, who at that point was resigned to being captured. It was sucked into the ball and only shook three times before falling still with a "ding." Ash threw his hands into the air and gave a whoop of joy before running over to pick the PokeBall off of the ground. He walked back over to Trapinch and placed him on his shoulders once more.

"We got ourselves a new friend, buddy!" Ash exclaimed. Trapinch let out a cry of happiness at this. He was getting rather tired of being the only Pokémon. While he loved Ash, he did miss having some Poke Pals to talk to.

"Come on, let's get to Vermilion as quickly as possible. We need to get some training in before we face anymore gyms." Straightening his hat, he walked over to the large entrance to Diglett's Tunnel thirty feet in front of him. He looked down into the hole and whistled.

"No wonder people rarely take this thing," Ash said. Trapinch could only nod in agreement. "Come on, let's get going." Grabbing a hold of the ladder, he carefully climbed down it to the bottom. Once at the bottom, Ash looked forward and noticed the glowing, blue crystals that lined the walls and ceiling.

"Wow, this is beautiful," Ash murmured.

"Tra~p..." Trapinch agreed in wonder.

TDTDTDTDTDTDTDTDTDT

Two, long, and dirty hours later Ash and Trapinch emerged from the long tunnel. Both quickly closed their eyes and winced in pain as the sudden sunlight hurt their eyes.

"Yeah, won't be taking that tunnel again for a loooooong time," Ash stated as he looked down at his filthy clothes. He winced at the sight of them. "Yup, definitely won't." Trapinch was still trying to get the spots out of his eyes so didn't respond.

The young trainer pulled out his map and looked at it. "Looks like Vermilion is only a mile from here. Thank goodness!" he mumbled to himself before putting the map away again.

"Come on, the quicker we get there, the quicker we can get cleaned up and get a nice clean room at the Pokémon Center to stay at." Trapinch nodded eagerly at that as Ash turned and headed into the direction of Vermilion City.

End Chapter 3

A/N: Well, there's the end of chapter 3. Hope you enjoyed it! In chapter 4 Ash trains his Pokémon and takes on the Vermilion gym!

Oh and a cookie to whoever gets the glowing crystals in a cave reference.