Gym Battles Redone

And so the seventh chapter of this gymnastic sensation remake is here! Nothing much to say, things flowing smoothly over here. In fact, you should expect the first chapter of Unexpected Twist' sequel named "A Legend's Journey" by next week.

So enjoy this chapter!


Chapter 7: Liza and Tate

Mossdeep City gym was bustling with activity. Ash Ketchum was back on the game, his electric starter Pikachu next to him as usual. In the stances, his travelling companions May, Max and Brock waited for the battle to commence. The arena for the day was very unique, with ten-meter wide planetoids hovering close to the ceiling. The city was widely known for always exploring the stars and the mysteries hidden in space. So it was obvious that the gym leaders, children to the founder of the Mossdeep Space Centre also themed themselves for space while choosing Pokemon that were not only the Psychic type but also related to the stars above.

The thirteen-year-old trainer from Kanto folded his cap preparing for the match of the day. The last couple of weeks since his last gym battle would have been called monotonous by many. But not by him. As he spent time training more of his Pokemon, despite no new additions made to the overall roster. All of Ash's Pokemon's strength was put to the test when the two evil organisations of Hoenn, Team Magma and Team Aqua attempted to one up each other by controlling the slumbering Legendary Pokemon they each craved for, Groudon for Magma to expand the land masses and Kyogre for Aqua to drown the world under the massive tidal waves.

Sadly, team Aqua was the resulting winner after an infiltrated agent managed to awaken the lord of the Oceans Kyogre, who proceeded to destroy the secret base of his Magma captors. During the resulting skirmish against the many grunts to escape the destruction, Ash's Swablu found the strength to evolve into a beautiful Altaria. With one devastating Perish Song, the pack of Mightyenas and their trainers were put down to rest. Things would have ended badly for all them with the leader of Team Aqua Archie ordering the Sea Basin Pokemon to use its powers to sink the island with not only Ash and his companions in it but also Team Magma and the members of Team Aqua. Ash, however, was not going to let that happen.

After he successfully stole the Blue Orb from Maxie, Team Magma's leader, the seasoned trainer was granted the power to control the mighty Continent Pokemon Groudon. Despite the orb fusing inside Ash's body, the teenager found out that his will and resolve were just as unwavering as his Pokemon's and his sanity remained strong. Commanding the Continent Pokemon alongside his own team tipped the scale in Ash's favour against the fluctuating weather and the constant rampage of the ocean waves, as Groudon and Kyogre made the landscape shift with massive tremors and chasms swallowing the oceans and tsunamis colliding with the flank of the island in the attempt to overpower each other. The timing arrival of Lance, Champion of Kanto and Johto had proved to be the decisive edge as he was able to use his shiny Gyarados to take down the distracted leader of Team Aqua, whose mind had long succumbed to the Red Orb. After the two rival legends parted ways, the orb inside Ash was released and destroyed.

As hectic as that sounded the teenager from Pallet Town was way too used to such events. If they didn't happen, he actually worried.

Digression aside, the trainer in black jacket was standing on his side of the field his two rivals of the day opposite to him smiling. Dressed in space jumpsuits a girl and a boy, both teenagers barely Ash's age were ready to battle.

"This is a double battle between the Mossdeep City gym leaders Liza and Tate against the challenger Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. There's no substitution and the only winner is declared when the two Pokemon of either side has been knocked out," The referee and also the gym leader's mother Rachel called out the instructions of the match. "Now release your two Pokemon!"

"Solrock, you are up!" The younger brother Tate called out his Pokemon. His partner was a maroon-coloured rock-made Pokemon floating. It had five sharp edges and small chunks of yellowish cobalt.

"My Lunatone, come out!" The elder sister Liza sent her own hovering Pokemon. Her companion was a quarter Moon-shaped white Pokemon with red eyes and a very pointy beak. It also had the same unique craters found in the real Moon.

"Combusken, Corphish, I choose you!" The raven-haired challenger threw his two Pokeballs into the arena. The second stage Fire Pokemon and first stage Water Pokemon appeared on the battlefield. Despite the rather weird room filled with many planets hanging around the ceiling, Combusken and Corphish looked not fazed in the least.

Ash knew that just like Winona, letting these two siblings get the advantage of being air-bound was a grave mistake. He knew that Flying-type Pokemon would do well in such an odd field. But it was also clearly obvious that sending out a Flying-type against Rock-type Pokemon was a very bad call.

"Lunatone and Solrock vs Combusken and Corphish, begin!" The referee Rachel said initiating the match.

"Combusken use Dig, Corphish Ice Beam!" Ash started boisterously hoping one of his many strategies would work. The Fire Chicken got underground almost instantaneously as his Water partner unleashed the three-arc freezing beam from one of its pincers.

The science siblings were taking aback by such hastiness. Usually they could work a clever plan around someone so cocky. But Ash was obviously not going to let them take the lead so easily.

"Light Screen!" Liza countered. Lunatone's eyes glow in blue creating the protective cubic barrier around the two space Pokemon. The long-range attack hit its mark but thanks to the defence, all the following special attacks had been cut in half.

Ash grinned. So far so good.

"Come out with Brick Break!" The older teenager ordered. His dual-type Pokemon bursted from the soil with his claws glowing in white. His upward slash not only hit Lunatone but also created a shattering noise of glass around the two Psychic-type Pokemon. Thanks the Fighting move, the defence had literally crumbled.

"Use Psychic on Combusken and send him flying!" Tate ordered hoping to catch a break and start their own offensive maneuvers before Ash pushed them into defence again. The Sun Pokemon glared at the Fire starter, its eyes coming alive with bluish color. The psychic aura covered Combusken, who grunted in discomfort until been flung straight into one of the many hovering fake planetoids of the arena. The Fire Pokemon landed creating a perfect silhouette of its body. However, Ash knew that his Pokemon, despite taking effective damage would work through it just fine. That was the point of so much training.

"Corphish, Water Pulse on Lunatone!" The seasoned trainer voiced his next order, Corphish raising its two pincers and amassing a meter-wide ball of hyper-pressure water. With one enemy distracted and the other injured, then Ash knew exactly who to attack. As the old saying said, divide and conquer. The still shaking Lunar Pokemon was met head on with an orb of super compressed water, which sent it hurling into a wall with a cry of pain by the effective damage.

"Lunatone, get up!" The female leader pleaded to her Pokemon, who could only grunt in discomfort. The aftershocks of the attack were not leaving yet.

"Okay Combusken, Sky Uppercut!" Ash's voice brought the gym leader siblings back to their current predicament. Combusken, standing upside down on the planetoid thanks to its talons, shot downwards with a propelling of his powerful legs. But Ash was not going to just leave it at that, "Corphish, help him out with Crabhammer!" The Lobster Pokemon jump right from behind his partner and using his glowing pincer, he hit the taloned feet of the Fire Pokemon. This had the effect of instantly doubling the charging speed.

"Solrock use Psychic again!" Tate ordered, hoping to gain enough leverage so that her sister's Pokemon could recover. Ash knew that the Solar Pokemon was not going to have enough time to both counter and defend the Moon Pokemon. And with Lunatone still unreactive, it was time to finish this as swiftly as possible. So it was time for the ultimate combo.

But not on Lunatone.

"Combusken, send Solrock to Corphish!" The order was met with shock from the gym leaders and a mighty cry of power from the Fire-type. By the time of the two seconds it took Solrock to prepare its mind move, The Fire starter was already flying behind him out of range. The hasty hundred and eighty turnaround was something completely unexpected for gym Leader and Pokemon alike. With the glowing claws from his hand, the Fire Chicken sent the shocked Solrock careening into the opposite side of the field leaving cuts on the back of it.

Directly into the pincers of a smirking Water Pokemon.

"Corphish, finish Solrock with your double Crabhammer/Knock Off!" Ash ordered, taking a page from May's contest tactics. He would thank her later for such a powerful dual move. The left pincer started shining with white light. A black aura of energy spread over Corphish's right pincer as he double-slammed them on the upper side of the incoming Rock Pokemon's body. The Sun Pokemon cried out a mighty 'sol' in white pain when its body was pressed hard into the ground by the two very effective moves. A crater three feet deep was his current make-shift grave. The Psychic type never moved again, his eyes now swirly.

"Solrock is unable to battle!" The referee said. However, the battle hadn't stopped as the rules dictated that the two Pokemon had to be defeated. Tate recalled his Pokemon a bit downhearted.

"Corphish, Aqua Jet!" Ash called out his next order. His Lobster Pokemon's body was swallowed by a column of icy-blue water. Corphish shot forward, a pillar of liquid pushing him from his parting point.

"Use Reflect!" Lisa countered, hoping she could at least bring one of the two Pokemon down. Her bruised Pokemon responded with its full power no less, creating another crystalline-like defence. This time, however, it would reduce the effectiveness of physical moves.

If she had used the move alongside her brother earlier on the match, the two would have been shattered by Combusken.

"Hold on!" Liza thought to herself suddenly realising something. Did Ash know her Pokemon could use that move to compliment her brother's Light Screen? Or he was going by a guess that her Lunatone had that move?

The fact Ash was smiling should have been the clue that the gym leader had been lured into the Pyroar's mouth.

"Move up!" Ash ordered with no lack of confidence. Corphish suddenly manoeuvred into the ceiling, shocking Lisa. And leaving her Pokemon wide open for another attack. "Combusken, Brick Break!" The Chicken Pokemon shot forward with blurring speeds, his claw again glowing bright blue. The Fighting type move came down like a ton of bricks. It not only shattered the amplified defence but also sent the Rock-type reeling by the backlash of a devastating move.

If the move literally meant 'to shatter brick', then Lunatone was rather lucky its body was so much stronger than regular stone. Otherwise, Ash would have been legally charged by second degree Pokemon murder.

"Now Corphish, finish this!" The trainer from Kanto commanded again. The lobster Pokemon came down with massive momentum accumulated, slamming its water-shrouded body into the unsuspecting Lunar Pokemon. Already worn out by the barrage of moves it was forced to take, Lunatone could only cry out a weak 'lu' before dropping down into the dusty ground also with swirly eyes.

"Lunatone is unable to battle. Combusken and Corphish win. The winner of the match is Ash Ketchum!" The referee said. Liza recalled her psychic Pokemon with a sigh of defeat and a weak smile alongside her brother.

"You pulled some serious tactics back there," Tate said towards the winner of the match. "Imagine if you had created some sort of fire armor for Combusken?"

Ash raised an eyebrow. What kind of strategy was that? By the glare Liza was giving her brother, she was on Ash's side.

"Do you know how stupid that sounds?" The elder sibling asked her brother rhetorically. After a sigh to calm herself, Liza sent her hands forward with a small box. "Here Ash, this is your new Mind Badge." Ash claimed the newest symbol with a massive grin.

One left.


Meanwhile on the stances, Brock looked rather happy. So did May. Max, not so much.

"How long was that battle?" May asked her brother with a taunting voice. The kid with glasses mumbled a verily audible answer.

"Nine minutes." Max growled. Ever since Winona's gym battle, the travelling companions had begun betting polls to see how long the next gym battle would take. Max had foolishly bet on the ten minute mark and higher. And by the Rock-type gym leader and the contestant's happy grins, it was obvious who had won.

Sadly, Max was not a legal trainer and didn't have money of his own. So May had lent him. But if he were to loose, the younger brother would have to do all of May's chores back home after their journey through Hoenn was over. And by the looks of it, the list was piling up on him.

The ten year-old couldn't believe it. He knew that Ash was a very powerful training. But not to such a massive degree. It was like an Elite Four was playing around with the gym leaders just for giggles.

One thing for certain, however, was that Ash was going to definitely take more than ten minutes in the next battle. As it was the last Gym battle then it only merited fighting against the strongest rivals, right?

It was at that moment that Max should have known…he fucked up.


Notes from Chapter 7:

And Ash wins again. Seriously, anyhow is still shocked? We have three more regions so get used to this quickly. Because Ash will pull even more humiliating defeats as his Pokemon grow stronger.

As you have guessed, the events with Team Aqua and Magma and the orbs and Groudon and Kyogre happened but were much different.

Yes, a slight jab at the Thunder Armor. I liked it but it would have been better against Water types and not Rock types. And it would have been better if Ash had used Grovile and Corphish instead of Swellow and Pikachu.

Sorry, couldn't resist at the end. Just a bit of side along fun.


One gym remains in Ash's way to complete Hoenn. Will he claim victory just as easily? Find out on the next chapter!