Ash and Tucker took their places on opposing sides of the water arena. Though water Pokemon were completely removed from the gym's battle scheme, the swimming pool still remained assembled and undamaged.

"Hey boy!" Tucker called out for Ash. "That's a mighty fine Pikachu you got there…the swift and robust qualities of an electric-type! That's my kind of Pokemon!"

The Pikachu on his shoulder was about to respond with one of his happy 'pika's!' until Ash shushed him.

"Don't let him flatter you, Pikachu…he's enemy numero uno," Ash reminded him.

Pikachu snapped out of it and went back to glowering at Tucker as he drew sparks from his cheeks, signaling to Ash that he was ready for battle. But Ash pulled him back.

"Daisy…Violet…Lily…can you one of you lend me a water Pokemon for me to use?" Ash asked serenely, though he did not look at them as he centered all his attention to Tucker.

Although he preferred any, Daisy was the only one to break free from the anguish that came from Tucker's previous comments. "A water po…sure. Which one?"

"It doesn't matter…just get one please."

Violet returned to the room she once was and rushed back in no less than five seconds. But during that short span, the suspense continued to rise as Ash maintained his 'tough-guy' demeanor.

"Here Ash…catch!" Violet warned as she pitched Ash a pokeball.

Ash caught the ball smoothly in one hand and motioned it to Tucker. "The Pokemon in this ball will prove to you that water Pokemon are not what you say they are! I swear I'm gonna kick your…"

But Ash's tirade was interrupted with the sound of three powerful vacuums that began to consume the pool water at an alarming rate.

"Hey what are you doing? This isn't fair!" Ash retaliated, seeing his environmental advantage drain away into the enormous battery-powered hoses.

"My gym, my rules." Tucker countered, playing with the ends of his mustache like a toy only he would find amusing.

Ash consented to the cheater, however, believing this battle would be short no matter how much of a disadvantage he had. He did place in the top 8 of the Hoenn League after all. Although Ash didn't win the grand prize, there was no way he could lose to some unknown man whose resum'e probably wasn't nearly as polished as the scalp on his shiny bald head. Any Pokemon Tucker owned couldn't possibly be that good.

"Go Venusaur!" Tucker shouted as a giant plant creature surfaced from his pokeball.

"A-A…Venusaur?!" Ash said in surprise. "Well…this is gonna be a challenge!" Ash winded up his arm after flipping his cap around as he announced, "Pokemon, I choose you!"

The pokeball hit the ground of the empty pool and a beam of white light shot out of it as it opened. The light began to form its shape as Ash was about to discover what kind of Pokemon he was going to battle with. The Pokemon now started to reveal some color as it shouted its battle cry. All the sisters – including the broken-spirited Misty – reacted with a single throat-drying gasp and Ash pulled on his hair in pure frustration when they saw that the surprise pokeball contained…a Psyduck.

Daisy stepped onto a platform to perform her duties as gym referee. "This match will be between Tucker's Venusaur...and Ash's Psyduck! The winner of this match will retain the Cerulean Gym!"

"Why!? Why oh why!? Any Pokemon but Psyduck!" Ash gritted his teeth as he was on the verge of crying.

Depending on how a person might look at it, the absence of water wasn't a disadvantage for Ash after all. Water would have to mean swimming. And swimming wasn't exactly Psyduck's forte. As long as Psyduck wasn't immobilized – as he would with water – Ash might have a chance.

"Is that the almighty water Pokemon that's going to teach me a lesson?" said Tucker sarcastically, "Oh…I'm scared to my knees!" The Venusaur was also laughing.

Ash gave a heavy sigh. He knew that he needed to cope with Psyduck if he ever planned on winning.

"Psyduck! I'm gonna need you to battle, okay?" Ash said very slowly in order to make Psyduck understand.

Psyduck just replied with a tilt of the head. Ash face-faulted.

"Psyduck! Look over there!" Ash pointed to a helpless-looking Misty, "If you won't do it for me...then do it for her! Okay?"

The confused Pokemon narrowed his eyes implying that he was at least willing to battle as he confronted the Venusaur. Although Psyduck was a dunce and a wimp, he would do anything to make Misty happy. Ash was relieved that Psyduck was listening, but he was still worried about the difference in strength between the two Pokemon.

"Venusaur, use your earthquake attack!" Tucker said gleefully, looking forward to pulverizing a weak water-type with his supreme grass-type.

The earthquake created fissures on the pool floor, and also made an intense vibration that punished the ears. Ash was trying his hardest to cover his ears with his gloved palms as Psyduck was just trying to regain his balance. But Psyduck simply could not stamp his feet on the ground as he fell backward on his head, almost cracking the skull. The magnitude of the earthquake started to lighten up as tears poured out from Psyduck's eyes. To further his humiliation, he held on to the bruise with both of his hands and started running in circles.

"Misty you have to help me! Please..." Ash asked nervously.

But Misty was in too much distress to respond. It seemed like it was over…until Psyduck's eyes emitted a blue light.

Daisy intruded into Ash's strategy, "Ash…Psyduck has a headache!"

Ash smirked, "Alright…Psyduck use your confusion!"

Just that moment, Tucker's Venusaur was lifted by a psychic power that extended up to fifty feet. The psychic power that supported Venusaur's massive weight suddenly dispersed, letting the nature of gravity complete the finishing move. Boom.

"Yikes…my Venusaur!" Tucker squealed out as the tables have turned on him. "Get up! Get up!"

The Venusaur was badly hurt, but the encouragements of its trainer were enough to motivate it to stand.

"Let's go Psyduck! One more time…" Ash was enjoying himself. He had always admired Psyduck's inner strength, but Misty was always the one who battled with it. He thought it was a nice change for him to battle with the Psyduck that he was so accustomed to seeing.

But Tucker did not panic. Instead, he smiled. "Hold it right there!"

Ash and Psyduck stopped their movements to hear what he had to say.

Tucker continued, "Confusion is a psychic move. If you beat me with a psychic move, you'd be proving absolutely nothing to me about water-types!"

Ash knew Tucker was just stalling his defeat. "You…you coward!" Ash spat out.

"Well I wouldn't blame ya if you attacked me now…seeing how useless water moves are!"

Although the ownership of the Cerulean gym was in jeopardy, it seemed that Tucker's approval for water-types was Ash's first priority. "Grr…have it your way! I'll just beat ya the old fashioned way!" Ash decided. "Psyduck, water gun!"

Psyduck opened its mouth and a small trickle of water poured out that wouldn't even harm a weedle. Ash face-faulted.

"Ash what are you doing!" Misty finally chose to speak. "You missed your chance at the gym! You should have used confusion!"

Ash sneered at Misty's remark, "No way. This guy wants to be beaten by water? Then I'll beat him by water! He said that water-types were 'weak' and 'ugly' in front of your face! So I've decided I'll beat him with what he hates most!"

Misty's eyes widened. "Why is he so hung up on water-types all of a sudden? He's never shown this much appreciation for them before? Unless…he's doing this all for me! It's not that he all of a sudden adores water Pokemon, it's because he knows how much I love them! So he's not battling for the sake of the gym…and it's not that he's trying to get rid of me…he's battling for the sake of my feelings!" Misty thought. She was finally able to decipher something in Ash's thick head.

Then Venusaur used razor leaf on Psyduck and the green projectiles sliced through his skin quite easily.

"Damn Tucker. That explains why he likes Pikachu…and why he has a Venusaur…because they both have an advantage against water-types!" Ash thought.

Ash realized that he was on the losing side now…and the only way he could win was not the way he wanted. But there were no other options. It didn't make sense to lose both his principles and the gym.

"I guess…we'll have to use confusion…" Ash whispered to himself.

"Ash wait!" Misty was standing on her feet now, enlightened and full of confidence. "Tell Psyduck to use his water pulse attack!"

Ash nodded. "Psyduck! Use water pulse now!"

Psyduck still had the strength to stand as a big blue sphere of water began to build up in his beak. The sphere was growing bigger and bigger until it reached about the same size as his head. When it couldn't grow any larger, the stored amount of water was launched directly at Venusaur at high-speed. When it hit, the impact of the sphere immediately pushed Venusaur into Tucker's body and into the hard wall of the gym. The glasses that hid Tucker's eyes were knocked away and Misty let out a gasp when she recognized who he really was.

To Be Continued

Wow I really hate writing battle sequences. It's no wonder not much people do it in their Ash/Misty fics.

Also, what is Tucker's alter-ego?

The next one is the last one...so look out for it!

Gotta Catch Ya Later...