"AAAAHHHHH!"
Screams of fear filled the Santalune Gym.
Ash and Serena were treated to the most horrible sights of their lives... things that shouldn't even be in a gym, or any gallery, for that matter! The photos hung on the walls were filled with scary images of bug Pokemon zoomed in, the absolute worst one being that of a gross closeup shot of a Beedrill's eye.*
The two of them held on to each other in fear, and laughter rang in their ears. They turned around to see Clemont and Bonnie pointing and laughing at them.
"You should have seen yourselves!" Clemont exclaimed, between fits of laughter. "You were so scared!"
"I hope Viola heard that!" Bonnie howled, tears leaking out of her eyes. "They..." She then rolled on the ground."
"Okay, you've had your fun, now let's go!" Ash yelled loudly at them, knowing they couldn't hear him.
"Alright, alright, we're going." Clemont stopped laughing for a moment, but then couldn't help himself and fell to the ground.
"We don't have time for dis!" an irritated Serena complained, grabbing onto a rope that was dangling over a pitfall in the middle of the room. Ash shook in fear as he looked down to see a giant cobweb that was probably supposed to be the ground.
"Serena!" he cried in worry, as she landed on the center, which wiggled up and down. She gazed up at him and smiled.
"It's safe!"
"Alright, if you say so." Ash still wasn't sure, but tightly grabbed the rope, wrapping his arms and legs around it. Turning his head towards the blond siblings, he called, "So long! Don't let the bedbugs bite!" Slowly but surely, he slipped down the rope, stepped one foot on the web, and then fully stood on it. It wobbled a bit, but Serena managed to steady him.
Serena noticed that some of the silk threads were thicker and brighter than others. She stepped on a thin web thread to her right to see what would happen, and it crumbled, then had Ash step on a thick one to his left, which managed to withstand his weight. Their eyes darted around the gym to see which strings were safe.
"So, I guess we're going in a spiral with a few alternate paths," Ash noted, making some finger movements.
"Alright, go for it then!" Serena pushed him towards the path that he pointed at. He had almost tripped, but managed to regain his balance. Every few seconds, they heard what sounded like a camera shutter sound effect.
Meanwhile, Bonnie and Clemont were making their way down. Bonnie had lost her grip and fell on Serena. The web, again, seesawed up and down. Ash had to lie on the thread he was standing on and hold on to it until it stopped.
Bonnie quickly got up. "Sorry, Ash!" She then looked down at her dress to see sticky wads of silk stuck to it. "Ew!"
"How 'bout me?" Serena snapped at the small girl. "I'm the one you landed on!"
Bonnie's eyes widened and her lips pursed, as if about to cry, but Clemont comforted his sister, and carried her up on his back. Serena scoffed at them and turned to Ash, who had recovered and had nearly made it to the area that looked almost like a large photo booth with curtains wrapped around it. Cameras were plastered everywhere. It was the size of an average battlefield, almost as big as the ones Ash had seen on TV.
As he stepped on the wooden floor, he felt a vibration around his wrist. It was only then that he remembered his Pokegear. He quickly took it out to see Misty's name on it. She had called at the perfect time, as she loved bugs.
"Hello? Misty?" Ash answered, putting his mouth closer to the device for her to better hear him.
"Ash! I was wondering if you'd ever pick up! I was worried about you!" Misty told him. "Where are you in Kalos? How is the egg? Did it hatch? Did you give it a nickname? Did you catch any other Pokemon? Are you traveling alone?" Her last question was laced with worry.
"Whoa, slow down there, I can't keep up!" Ash sweat-dropped. "You're going to love this: I'm in Santalune City, and I'm about to take on the gym! The egg hatched into a Larvesta without a nickname! My other Pokemon are a Pikachu, and a Froakie. I'm traveling with a friend of mine I met in a camp years ago, a gym leader, and his little sister! Uh, Misty? You still there?"
She laughed in the background. "And you were telling me to slow down! What's the interior of the gym like?"
"You're not gonna believe it." Ash tried to find the right words to describe it without it sounding too unbelievable.
"Who is that?" Bonnie wondered, as Ash started to describe what he saw.
"He said the name 'Misty'," Clemont informed her.
"...And that's pretty much it! I don't see Viola anywhere..." Ash concluded.
"Over here!" a young adult-sounding female voice called from the opposite side, moving from her place behind a large camera tripod. The sandy blonde beauty was wearing a white blouse exposing part of her stomach, dark green pants with white cuffs, and black boots. Her dark green eyes glinted at Ash, and with a bright smile, said, "Sorry, I didn't want to interrupt anything." She had a small camera strapped around her arm, and another, larger one around her neck. The big one had a Poke Ball on the lens.
"Gotta go! I'll catch ya later!" Ash said to Misty, ending the call and unrolling his jacket sleeve back over the watch before Viola could really inspect him.
"So, my gallery didn't scare you out of your wits, huh?" Viola taunted.
"Nope!" Ash's expression became more focused.
"Oh, really?" Viola took out a picture from her pocket and showed it off to him. It displayed Ash and Serena holding each other.
"H-Hey, how'd you ge - "
Ash's cries were overshadowed by Serena's. "WHEN THIS IS OVER, I'LL COME OVER THERE AND RIP YOU APART!"
Viola turned at the direction where she heard her voice. "Clemont! Bonnie! I didn't see you two!"
"Good evening, Miss Viola," Bonnie recited, dipping her head down.
"Sure is nice seeing you here!" Clemont exclaimed, a slight blush on his face.
"Well, of course! Why wouldn't I be at my own gym?" Viola gave him an amused smile, and he suddenly developed an interest in the spider web. Bonnie and Serena giggled quietly at him.
"If you thought my gallery of bugs was scary." The Poke Ball in Viola's huge camera shot forward at Ash and opened up to reveal a blue, round-bodied bug with four skinny legs, and a yellow cap on its head with an antenna. It also had blush marks on its face, not unlike Clemont.
Ash scanned it with his Pokedex. This time, it didn't make a wisecrack. "Surskit, the Pond Skater Pokémon. Surskit inhabits ponds, rivers, and similar wetlands. They move about as though skating the water surface. Type: Water/Bug."
"Let's see how good it is against Pikachu," Ash said to himself. "I choose you!" Out came the electric mouse, though it seemed more like it was ready to play than battle. "Pikachu, this is your first gym battle, are you up for it?"
Pikachu nodded its head, then went behind Ash and attempted to push him into the field. Everyone sweat dropped at its antics. Ash made a bunch of negative symbols with his hands.
"Pikachu, no. You're the one battling," Ash reminded it. Pikachu took its place back in front of Surskit, this time on all fours. Deciding to play it safe, he asked Viola to have the first move.
"Why, thank you, dear!" she gushed. "Surskit, Bubble Beam!"
It skated across the field and shot multiple sparkling blue bubbles at Pikachu, who stared at them in awe.
"Agility!" Ash countered quickly, and his Pikachu zigzagged away from the bubbles. When the bubbles stopped coming, Pikachu was running much faster than before. Surskit's eyes couldn't keep up with its movements. "Great job so far! Use Quick Attack!"
To say that Ash was elated as Pikachu rammed into Surskit from behind was an understatement. Granted, the battle had only just begun, but he didn't expect to get in a good hit this early into the match.
Viola went back behind her tripod and prepared to snap a photo. "Let's see a picture perfect Ice Beam!"
Ash's eyes widened in fear. "Get away from it and try and get in a Thundershock!"
Pikachu swerved through the beams of ice, most of them with ease, though a few almost managed to hit it. "Pikachu, now!" Its trainer commanded, and it released electricity from its body for a direct hit at its opponent. However, when it tried to follow Ash's next order, it slipped and slid on the ice floor created by all of the missed Ice Beams.
"Oh, no!" Ash desperately reached for a Poke Ball, and prepared to recall Pikachu.
"Infestation!"
Ash aimed the recall beam at Pikachu. At that moment, Surskit summoned small bugs from its mouth to quickly gather around Pikachu and make it itchy. Ash thought the move looked familiar, before realizing that it was the same move that infected everyone back when he tried to catch that wild Goomy. The beam hit Pikachu, but didn't recall it. Panic filled Ash's head as Viola followed up on her previous move.
"Now, Surskit, Double Team!"
Surskit slid on the ice around Pikachu, a lot faster than Ash had ever seen Pikachu go. It almost seemed like there were multiple Surskit... wait, there actually were. How was Ash to get rid of them? He couldn't switch out, he couldn't move on ice, he couldn't hit them, he couldn't get rid of the bugs on Pikachu, he couldn't scare - that's it!
"Growl, Pikachu!" Ash watched as a squeaky growl escaped his Pikachu's mouth. The small bugs on the lower half of its body scattered away from him, and the false images of Surskit began to dissipate one by one. That was two problems taken care of, but he still had to deal with the ice, and Viola wasted no time reminding him.
"We have other ways to slow you down! Icy Wind!"
Surskit kept its distance from Pikachu and blew a chilling wind with light blue sparkles at Ash's Pokemon. Pikachu frantically slid to the left, but the attack still caught it. It shivered as the wind chilled it to the bone.
"Okay, Pikachu, return!" Ash, again, tried to recall it, but Surskit spewed thick white clouds of mist from its mouth that prevented him from seeing exactly where he was.
"Fell Stinger!" Viola crowed with excitement.
Ash didn't know what that move was, and it looked he wouldn't be finding out now, thanks to the vision-obscuring mist. All he could hear was the sound of Surskit's legs skating on the icy battlefield.
"Pikachu, listen to me! This might sound crazy, but it's our only shot at victory! Thundershock on the ground!" Ash gritted his teeth
"Piiii... ka... CHUUUUU!"
An explosion near the middle of the battlefield sounded off, picking up some dust and blowing away some of the mist. Surskit's high-pitched cry was heard, and the dust cleared to reveal the ice under Pikachu gone. Ice chunks were headed towards Surskit, who was sent flying back from the impact of the Thunderbolt on the field.
"Remove them with String Shot!" Viola yelled in urgency. It secreted wads of string from its mouth to remove the ice that was heading towards it.
Ash had Pikachu jump on one of the pieces so that when Surskit tried to lift it away with its strings, it would be too heavy. Right as the projectile hit its victim, Pikachu jumped off of it and tilted its body down to face it.
"Thundershock again!"
Another jolt of lightning struck the pesky bug. Viola gasped in worry: Any attack would be overpowered by Pikachu at the angle it was in. She had no choice but to watch as her Surskit fainted from the super-effective attack. A camera on her side ejected a photo of her fallen Pokemon.
Ash praised his Pikachu for a job well done, and was able to recall it this time.
"Not bad, but this one's worth a thousand words!" Viola replaced her Surskit with a butterfly with multicolored wings that looked almost pixelated. All cameras focused on it as it flew over and around the field.
"Her star Pokemon..." Clemont said in awe.
"It's beautiful!" praised Bonnie. "I want one too!"
Serena folded her arms, not the least bit impressed with what she saw.
Ash took a minute to decide which Pokemon he would use. Larvesta had the type advantage, but Froakie had more aerial mobility, which would render most of Vivillon's flying capabilities useless. First, Ash scanned the Pokemon in front of him.
"Vivillon, the Scale Pokémon. Vivillon are skillfully able to find a source of water. It has been said that you'll find a spring if you follow a Vivillon. Why don't you follow it and see if you find an indoor spring?"
Ash routinely pocketed it and threw the Poke Ball containing Larvesta on a part of the battlefield that wasn't iced. It timidly observed its icy surroundings and shuddered a bit.
"It's alright, Larvesta, you can trust me. I'll be with you all the way," Ash assured it soothingly. Larvesta stared up at its airborne adversary, all traces of fear disappearing. "Larvesta, start off with Ember!" Ash instructed, as its five fire-like horns lit up and sent small embers up at Vivillon. The butterfly swerved around the attack with one flap of its wings, to Ash's shock.
"Vivillon, Gust," Viola said in a monotone voice. She didn't seem much into the battle anymore, and just watched as Vivillon beat its wings multiple times and created a small tornado of wind. It picked up ice shards on its way to Larvesta.
"Flame Charge out of the way!" cried Ash in desperation.
The Torch Pokemon wreathed itself in flames and zipped to the side, narrowly avoiding the fierce attack. Fortunately, the fire-typed attack was too weak to melt the water below it, but was just strong enough so that it wouldn't slip. The tornado dissipated and the ice chunks fell all around the battlefield.
"Powder."
The Bug/Flying-type released pink specks of powder from its wings and coated Larvesta in them. Larvesta's attack immediately blew up on it, not only rendering the attack useless, but damaging it. Larvesta crawled back up on its legs in pain, a few singe marks on its white fur, and a few particles of powder remaining on its body.
"So, what are you going to do without your fire moves?" Viola asked Ash.
Ash stared down at the field intensely. He knew he should have used Froakie! Now with Larvesta's type advantage nullified, he stood no chance. If he had been allowed to use his full team, he might have had a chance, but this was a two-on-two battle. He knew that if he tried to switch Larvesta out, Vivillon would just use Infestation to prevent him from doing so. Its bug type attacks wouldn't do much good. Pikachu was likely still tiring from its battle with Surskit. What was he to do? It was just hopeless... if he threw in the towel, he could at least save himself the -
"Ashy! Don't let her beat you! It aint over 'til you getchur badge!" Serena shouted from the sidelines. "Beat her into the ground and take it from her so we can leave this bug-infested heap!"
"She's right for one time!" Bonnie added. "Go! Go! GO!"
"You can't put your training to waste! Show her all you've learned!" Clemont yelled.
Ash's head moved back up at Vivillon, and suddenly, things didn't seem so impossible anymore. "I've got it..." he whispered, and then raised his voice. "String Shot!"
Larvesta spit a thread of string from its mouth at Vivillon, who flew below the move, which landed harmlessly on the ground. Larvesta crawled towards it in an attempt to ram into it, but the Larvesta crawled towards it and attempted to ram into it, but the flier just swerved above the Pokemon. Vivillon's wings blew the remaining powder away from Larvesta and into Ash's face. He shook them off and sneezed.
"Not bad, Ash! But the gloves are off now!" Viola seemed more interested in the battle now than she ever had. "Time to kick things up a notch with Supersonic!"
Her prized Pokemon gave off a loud, high pitched screech that emitted supersonic waves that looked and sounded more like a Hyper Voice attack that Ash had seen countless times in televised league matches. Everyone had to cover their ears aside from Viola, who seemed to be used to it. The icy battlefield shattered, and the screeches rang through Larvesta's ears. When the move wore off, Larvesta writhed about in a heap.
"Don't panic! Just have a calm mind!" Ash coached, as it stood in place for a few minutes, then hummed quietly. Its eyes remained closed.
"Vivillon, Quiver Dance before it tries anything!" Viola instructed.
Vivillon flew around in an erratic pattern to try and catch its opponent off guard.
"Use your foresight to tie it up with another string shot!" Ash hoped that Viola didn't catch his hidden order.
The tension only grew thicker as another wad of string spewed out of Larvesta's mouth, getting closer to Vivillon... and closer... Vivillon flew above it... the string curved and wrapped around its left wing. Ash breathed a sigh of relief, while the others were slack-jawed.
"N-No way!" Viola stuttered. H-How did he do t-that?! No matter, I'll just force it off! "Swing it away!"
With only one usable wing, Vivillon found it tough to actually try and carry Larvesta, but it managed it, albeit barely. Strategies formulated in Ash's mind.
"String Shot!" Ash's Larvesta repeated its previous action, this thread sticking on one of Vivillon's antennas.
"Poison Powder with your free wing!"
Vivillon's untied wing released a thick cloud of poison towards Larvesta. Ash smiled, things were going better than he expected.
"Harden!" he told his Pokemon. It stiffened its muscles as a faint glow shined over it. Gravity did the work for it as it was pulled down to the ground alongside Vivillon, who was flailing around helplessly. It actually ended up going inside of the poison cloud, before getting slammed into the ground. "Ember!"
The boost from the earlier Calm Mind ensured that Larvesta's next attack was stronger than usual, a few balls of fire about its own size shooting at the crippled bug-type. Vivillon cried in pain as each of the attacks hit it; even its stat increase from Quiver Dance didn't much help. It tried to ascend away from the blaze-covered Larvesta, which was preparing to ram into it, but poison got the best of it, and it ended up taking the hit.
Viola stood there wordlessly as the camera on her side snapped a photo of her fainted Pokemon.
Ash examined his surroundings for a few seconds, then down at Larvesta, who was pretty battered up. "Did I... did I win? I did it! I beat my first gym battle!" Larvesta was too tired to properly celebrate, and so collapsed in a heap. Ash came to it and picked it up gently. His friends then rushed over to him.
"I didn't doubt ya for a second!" Clemont cheered, giving him a back pat. "I knew you'd do it!"
Bonnie gave Ash a hug, and Serena outdid her with a bigger one. Viola tossed something small to Ash. He caught it with his teeth, then took a look at it. It was a light brown symbol that looked like a bug's face from a top-down view. Its glowing green eyes stared into Ash's.
"So how's Joltik?" Clemont wanted to know. Bonnie shivered at the mention of it, and Viola simply handed Clemont a Poke Ball. She then looked at Ash and asked for his contact information.
Clemont decided to save him the embarrassment of not owning a Holocaster, "I can always inform him if you ever want a rematch."
Serena decided to leave now and tried to leave the gym the same way they got here, but the silk thread fell under her weight, not being nearly as sturdy as before. Ash immediately dived after her and grabbed her arm, then hoisted her up with all of his strength with the help of the others. An ocean blue pair of eyes met two chocolate brown eyes for a few moments. Bonnie gathered a few pictures and placed them in her pocket.
"Could have just used the exit." The curtain behind Viola opened up to reveal that it led back to the gallery.
"I'll be back tomorrow for my battle!" Serena declared as the group of four went through the open curtain and out of the gym.
The rest of the night was relatively uneventful as they went to the Pokemon Center, ate dinner, and headed to sleep (Ash slept in late from having spent a while admiring his gym badge). The next day wasn't much more notable. Serena's gym battle was pretty boring in comparison to Ash's, and she won her gym badge quite easily. Then, Bonnie went to a trainer's school in the city. She befriended a few Pokemon and learned about type advantages and status conditions, but besides that, nothing got done.
Afterwards, they headed to the Santalune Forest. The grass was much longer than that of the average route. The large trees prevented much sunlight from shining on the forest, though a few spots of light still got through. Bushes and other plans on the sides rustled from the wind blowing. Except for a few hikers and bug enthusiasts, the area was quite empty.
"We've got em now," a deep voice announced from Bonnie's side. She immediately whirled her head to the wooden sign, but it remained an inanimate object.
"Did you hear that?" she asked, a bit scared now.
The bushes rustled again, much louder than usual, and this time it seemed to be coming from behind them.
"Let's go, now!" Bonnie shrieked, making a run for it, but a pair of arms grabbed her. "EEK!"
"Bonnie!" Clemont ran to her direction, and the sign fell over to reveal a dark-haired man wearing a tuxedo with two shades of brown and black dress shoes. The defining feature of his outfit was his light purple tie. Out of the bushes came cops, as well as a row of dark brown cubs with fiery mohawks between their large ears. The hikers and bug catchers they had seen earlier had turned out to be cops in disguise.
"Wait! What'd we do?!" Serena demanded to know. Bonnie cried hysterically, and Clemont tried to get the man to let go of her. Ash was lost in his thoughts. They hadn't done anything and they already had people after them. This day couldn't get any worse.
They had all circled around the four menacingly, their Pokemon taking the forefront. "You four are under arrest, courtesy of the International Police."
*Original image by FinnAkira, I just zoomed it in. Link to said image: i. imgur 0Y5rSD8. png? 1