Chapter 8
The School Of Hard Knocks
It has been 2 days since the Ketchum brothers battled the Oak brothers and things were looking pretty good for them.
Yesterday during training, Red helped Sandshrew learn Dig which could help in battle when wanting to escape or land an attack. It took about an hour learn it but now little Sandshrew knows Dig, thanks to some serious training.
Today the team was resting on Route 26 to have lunch. The girls were setting the plates and cups on the blanket they were going to sit on, Brock was cooking lunch, and The Ketchums and their Pokemon were gathering fire wood so the fire would cook the food faster.
"Find anymore wood guys?" asked Red as he called out to Sandshrew and Pidgey. "How about his one Red" asked Sandshrew as he held up a piece of wood that was about the size of Pidgey. "Looks good buddy, let's find some more" replied the trainer.
While Red and his Pokemon were gathering fire wood, Ash and his Pokemon were at another location doing the same.
"Hey Ash, will this do?" asked Pikachu as he held up a 30cm long piece of wood, Ash took a good look and came to an answer, "That looks great buddy, good job".
Pikachu smiled, he and the other had gathered 13 pieces of wood for the fire and it looked like lot.
"Should we head back to the others now?" asked Butterfree, "Sounds like a good idea. We collected enough wood anyway, let's go" said Ash.
The trainer and his three Pokemon walked through the forest carrying the wood for the fire. While the Pokemon were thinking about how good Brock's Pokemon food cooking was going to be, Ash was thinking about how his next gym battle will go. He has already battled the first two which are now his traveling friends, but when he was little he always through that gym battles were going to be hard, and he was right. But thanks to his mother, Professor Oak, and the book that Brock got at Cerulean City, which he had been studying, he now knows a lot about Pokemon and their strengths and weaknesses. He was really proud that all the training he an the others did helped him in a few battles. He couldn't wait until he caught another Pokemon.
"You Ash, I'm in the mood for a battle right now" informed Pikachu, "We'll have a battle with the others after we have lunch, how dose that sound?" the trainer asked, "Great, I'll be able to power up my attacks." answered the electric mouse Pokemon.
(5 Minutes Later)
Ash and his Pokemon were walking for a while in the woods until they saw something tha caught they're attention.
There was a big clearing in the forest, and in that clearing there was a school.
"What's a school doing in the middle of the forest?" Ash wondered, "It must be privat since its in a forest in the first place" answered Pidgeotto. "Let's check it out!" suggested Ash.
Ash, Pikachu, Pidgeotto, and Butterfree, put the fire wood down and walked into the school area to take a look around.
The school was pretty nice, it was big, had a battlefield for battles, and the clearing was really big for kids to play around.
"This Place is pretty good. I wonder what kind of things about Pokemon they teach here?" Ash wondered, "They must teach a lot of good things if its that big" replied Pidgeotto looking at the size of the building.
"Hey guys, I see some kids over there" informed Pikachu, Ash and the others looked at where Pikachu was poniting.
There was a group of kids near one of the doors of the school. They saw four boys standing around a young boy on a treadmill, one of the boys asked the younger one a question about Pidgeys.
"Ok, what level dose a Pidgey learn Sand Attack at?" asked one of the older boys. The younger one on the treadmill thought for a moment and then gave an answer, "Level 19". Before he could said anything else, the boy who asked him that question pushed him off the treadmill, "No you idiot, its level 5" he corrected in a rude voice. "Your hopeless, you'll never make it to the Pokemon League" said one of the other boys. They all walked away leaving the younger one on his own.
Ash was surprised that what happened, just because the boy got one question wrong the others push him. He and his Pokemon rushed over to see if the boy was alright.
"Are you ok?" asked Ash, the boy looked at him and answered, " I'm fine, that happens to me a lot" he said. "I'm Joe by the way" he introduced himself, "My name is Ash" replied the young trainer.
Ash helped Joe clean off his clothes and the dust. "Why did you let them push you like that?" asked Ash, "They were helping me with my knowledge on Pidgeys" Joe answered. Ash was a bit surprised when Joe said the word 'helping'. "That's not what I called help, I call that being jerks" Ash reasoned "If they were really helping then they would correct you on you mistake instead of pushing you and insulating for a wrong answer". "Your right, I guess that would sound more like help" replied Joe.
"Hey Joe, care to join me and my friends for lunch? Its not far from here" asked Ash. Joe took a minute to think and then answered, "Sure, I'll join you" he said. Ash, his Pokemon, and Joe all left to go for the rest of the team. Joe offered to help Ash with the fire wood, which Ash agreed to since it was getting hard to carry most of it on his own.
(2 Minutes Later)
The boys and the Pokemon found they way back to the team, who were ready for lunch.
"Hey Ash, glad you made...it?" said a confused Misty when she saw Joe with him. "Who's your friend, Ash?" she asked, "Guys this is Joe, is it alright if he joins us for lunch?" he asked, "Sure, I made enough for everyone including an extra guest" said Brock.
The team along with Joe and his Pokemon Weepinbell were enjoying lunch while Ash told his Friends about the School and how he met Joe.
Joe in formed them that the School was called Pokemon Tech. "Pokemon Tech is a boarding school where you learn about Pokemon" said Joe "and there you can earn the gym badges by graduating without travelling to get them". Red thought for a minute and then came up with a suggestion, "Why don't you look at the book we got while we were in Cerulean City, its really helpful". Red handed the book to Joe and he opened it up for him to see.
When Joe saw the information that the book had he was amazed, this book showed the Pokemon evolutions, the move a Pokemon can learn by levelling up or using TM's, and what level they learn each move at.
Without thinking, Joe took out a bunch of post its and started writing down as much information that he could about what the book said.
The rest of the team just watched as Joe wrote post it after post it of page after page of the book.
While Joe was distracted by writing, Ash, Red, and Leaf used their Pokedexes to scan Weepinbell.
Weepinbeel
The Flycatcher Pokemon: It spits out Poison Powder to immobilize the enemy and then finishes with a spray of Acid.
(23 Minutes Later)
Joe had ran out of post its but was ok with it because of how much information he got from the book. "This is great, now I can study with this Post its. Thanks you guys" he said. "You welcome, Joe" replied Leaf.
Joe then spended 5 minutes studying the post its to memorize the information that that book said. The trainers watched him as he kept on reading the post its, Ash thought at going to a school like Pokemon Tech was a good idea to learn about Pokemon, but free access to the Pokemon League if you graduate, that he didn't like.
"Said Joe, may we come with you to see Pokemon Tech, I think I want to check it out" asked Ash. "Sure I don't mind" answered Joe.
The team packed up their things and returned their Pokemon to the Pokeballs, except Pikachu who ran up and stayed on Ash's shoulder. "Ash why do you let Pikachu ride on you shoulder like that?" asked Joe, "It's because Pikachu doesn't like his Pokeball, so I let him ride on my shoulder so he doesn't have to go inside!" answered to young Pallet Town trainer. "But Pikachu needs to be in his Pokeball at all time, that's what I learned at Pokemon Tech" replied Joe, "Pikachu doesn't like his Pokeball so I have no right to force him if he doesn't want to. Didn't they teach you that you should respect your Pokemon in order to be a good trainer ?" asked Ash, "No, they never taught me any of that" Joe replied.
The team was not help with what they heard. A school that teaches how to be a trainer, but not to respect their Pokemon. Now the trainers really wanted to get a look at this school, Joe lead the way back to Pokemon Tech.
(2 Minutes Later)
The Team arrived back at the clearing with the school in sight. The other team members were amazed that the size of the school, it was really big, just like Ash said.
"Say Joe, you said something about the students getting badges and acsees to the Pokemon League once you graduate, right?" asked Ash
"That's right. I still only have two badges so for" he answered. He then showed the team a machine in that can show he can easily beat a water type of Cerulean City with his Weepinbell. The others thought that this was really lazy and incorrect. To become a Pokemon trainer, the trainer needs to have a Pokemon to begin with, catch more, train them to become stronger, and battle the gym leaders to earn the badges. This was not how it should be done.
Misty was very cross about this, she think that she should show Joe the real way to earn a Pokemon League gym badge. "Joe listen, this isn't how a real Pokemon trainer learns how to train Pokemon, a real trainer travels the region and catches Pokemon to train them and challenge the gyms in person" she explained. I challenge you to a real Pokemon battle!" she said, Joe accepted the challenge.
The school had its own battlefelid for the students to have battles on, which was perfect for Misty and Joe's battle.
"Misty calls Starmie" said the Cerulean City gym leader. Starmie appeared on the battlefield ready to fight. "Ok, I choose Weepinbell" called Joe Ashe released Weepinbell on to the battlefield.
"Starmie, use Water Gun" called Misty. The starfish Pokemon shot a blast of water out at Weepinbell, "Dogde it!" called Joe, Weepinbell suscceful dodged the Water Gun. "Vine Whip" said Joe, Weepinbell grew vine from the back of his head and started to wave them around in the are trying to hit Starmie, Misty on the other hand had other plans. "Water Gun, repeatedly" said Misty, Starmie was now shooting Water Guns at the Vines that were coming close to her, she shot everyone of them and then blasted Weepinbell with another Water Gun. That last Water Gun was so powerful, it knocked Weepinbell out and caused him to faint.
"What. No one, how did my grass type lose to a water type so easily?" asked Joe in shock by the results of the battle.
"It's because your Weepinbell isn't as strong as that Starmie, it's at a higher level than your grass type" said a voice from behind the gang
When they turned around to look who it is, they saw a pretty girl that had brown hard and was with the four boys that Ash saw earlier.
"Who are you?" asked Leaf. "I'm Giselle, Pokemon Tech's top student" she answered "What are people like you doing here?" she asked, "We were just pasting by and found this, so we came to take a look" answered Ash. "Than you better leave soon, since you aren't skilled enough to be here like me" she bragged. "Hey we can look around this place if we want" argued Ash "And we are good trainers, you shouldn't say that about anyone before you get to know them". "Look kid, you still have a lot to learn about being a trainer before you think about entering the Indigo League" replied Giselle. The team did not like being treated like that and Misty was the most annoyed of all, she was never the type who could take an insult lightly. "Ok miss perfect, if you such a great trainer than why don't you prove it in a battle, right now" challenged Misty, "Sounds good to me" Giselle replied cockily.
The two girls stood on opposite sides of the battlefield ready to get things started. Misty kept Starmie out while Giselle released her Pokemon. "Go Graveler" she called as out came a rock type Pokemon. It liked a bit like a Geodude with legs and it had smaller rocks around his body.
Red took out his Pokedex to scan this rock type.
Graveler
The Rock Pokemon: And the evolved form of Geodude. It rolls down slopes to move. It rolls over any obstacle without slowing down or changing direction.
"A rock type huh" said Brock "Well this wouldn't last too long with Misty using Starmie" he explained.
"Starmie, use Water Gun" said Misty. Starmie shot a blast of water that was heading towards Graveler, but Giselle didn't tell him to do anything. When the attack hit, everyone thought that Graveler had taken a lot of damage, but when the Water Gun stopped Graveler was just fine. "Now it's our turn. Graveler, Tackle" called Giselle, Graveler ran up to Starmie and with just one hit Starmie fanited.
The team was surprised by this, but Misty was even more surprised than all of her friends put together. Her water type was beaten by a rock type. She had the advantage but still lose, she know that this mean she still had a lot of training to do.
"You see Joe, I won because I had a Pokemon that was much stronger and had a higher power level than Starmie" Bragged Giselle.
Ash was not going to sit around and let Giselle act like she knows all about Pokemon just because she beat one with a type disadvantage.
"You know there's more to battling than just having type advantages and levels" he called. "And who are you?" Giselle asked, "I'm Ash, and I'm a trainer who thinks that you still have a lot to learn about Pokemon" he answered.
Giselle thought for a moment and asked, "How many badges do you have, how many Pokemon do you have, and how long have you been a trainer?" she asked. "I have two badges, I have three Pokemon, and I've been a trainer for about a week or so" he answered. When Giselle heard this she laughed at what Ash just told her, she throught that a trainer like his was weak. "Ha, your too weak to be a trainer yet" she laughed, "I'm training to get stronger, that's was Pokemon trainers do" he informed. "You should have studied a bit before leaving on a journey" teased Giselle, "I did study Pokemon a bit, and I've learned a lot in just a week" he replied, "To prove it, how about we have a battle?" he asked, "I accept" she answered.
The two of them were on opposite ends of the battlefield ready for a good battle. Giselle threw a Pokeball and called out another Pokemon "Go Cubone" she called. The Pokemon had a skull on it's head and was holding a bone in it's hands.
Ash scanned it with his Pokedex.
Cubone
The Lonely Pokemon: Because it never removes its skull helmet, no one has ever seen this Pokemon's real face.
"It says that this is a ground type" said Ash. He looked at Pikachu and asked " You want to fight a ground type?", "You bet, I'll get stronger if I go up against him" he replied as he climbed down Ash's shoulder. When Giselle saw Pikachu she laughed because of Ash's decision. "Your using a electric type against my ground type, this we'll be easy" she said, "Never underestimate the type your going up against" said Ash, he really wanted to beat Giselle a and teach her a lesson on being arrogant.
"Cubone use Bone Club" said Giselle, Cubone began running towards Pikachu ready to hit him with his bone. "Quick Attack" called Ash, Pikachu began to run really fast and white aura surrounded his body, when he was close enough he hit Cubone in the stomach which canneled out the Bone Club. "Use Headbutt" called Giselle, since Pikachu was close enough Cubone had no trouble hitting him with Headbutt. "Pikachu, you ok?" asked Ash, "I'm fine Ash, let's keep fighting" replied the mouse Pokemon. "Use Growl" called the Pallet Town trainer, Pikachu opened his mouth and roared out to keep Cubone from attacking again. "Now use Quick Attack again" called Ash, Pikachu again started to run at high speed, when he hit Cubone it caused his opponent to faint.
"What, but how did I lose to an electric type while I had a ground types?" asked Giselle in disbelief. "It's because you were too comfedent and you underestimated me because of the type I used" answered Ash.
"He's right" said Red "Battling isn't just about advantages and levels, its also about finding way to counter and attack with another attack. Plus you need to care about how your Pokemon feel because they have feelings too".
Giselle and the boys were surprised by this. They were never taught anything like this in Pokemon Tech. This battle made them alright that they still have a lot to learn.
"And not just Pokemon, but other people have feelings too, including people who are not as smart as others" said Leaf who was mentioning Joe.
Giselle knew what she had too do now. She walked up to Joe and said "Joe, I'm sorry for being such a jerk and for thinking that I'm better than you when you still had a bit to learn". "We're sorry too Joe" said the boys from earlier. "Its ok, your forgiven" he answered.
After that was done with, Leaf noticed that Joe had a backpack on and a suitcase in his hand. "Hey Joe, what's with the case and the backpack?" asked Leaf. "After seeing how strong you guys are, I called my parents and talked to the principal of the school to tell them that I'm going home. I decided that traveling and learning about Pokemon in preson is more fun, and I'm going to collect badges for the Indigo League in person too" he explained.
"Well then, if your going to the Indigo League than I'll guess we'll see you there than" said Red. "You sure will, and I'll be a lot stronger too" replied Joe.
The team and Pokemon Tech said goodbye to Joe, wishing him good luck on his journey. After that it was time for the trainers to leave as well, they said their goodbyes to Giselle and Pokemon Tech, as they continued their way through Route 26 and Vermillion City.
"I'm glad that we were able to help Giselle change and become more caring of her Pokemon" said Leaf
"Yeah, it was nice that we were able to change someone into a better person" said Misty
"Now if only we could change Blue and Gary, then we'd have our old friends back" complained Red
"Maybe if you guys beat them in a big an important battle they'll go back to the way they used to be, like you told us about your past with them" said Brock
"I hope so Brock. It would be nice to have to old Gary and Blue back" said Ash
The team knew that they were going to face some real challenges on their journey together, but they know that if they watch each others backs than they we'll have a great time. The day was still young and more adventures are soon to come as the journey continues.
To Be Continued...
Hey Everyone, hope that you liked this what I did with this chapter. I'm going to try to make the battles in this story different from the ones in the anime, let me know how I can do that in the reviews.
and to help those who are having trouble remembering what Pokemon the team has read this...
Ash's Pokemon:
Pikachu:
Level 29
Moves it knows: Growl, Tail Whip, Quick Attack, Thunderbolt
Pidgeotto:
Level 24
Moves it knows: Gust, Sand Attack, Quick Attack, Whirlwind
Butterfree:
Level 17
Moves it knows: Confusion, Poison Powder, Sleep Powder
Red's Pokemon:
Charmander:
Level 13
Moves it knows: Growl, Scratch, Ember, Mega Punch
Pidgey:
Level 15
Moves it knows: Gust, Sand Attack, Quick Attack
Beedrill:
Level 17
Moves it knows: Fury Attack, Focus Energy
Sandshrew:
Level 19
Moves it knows: Scratch, Sand Attack, Slash
Leaf's Pokemon:
Bulbasaur:
Level 16
Moves it knows: Growl, Tackle, Leech Seed, Vine Whip
Clefable:
Level 10
Moves it knows: Double Slap, Metronome, Minimize, Sing
Misty's Pokemon:
Staryu:
Level 25
Moves it knows: Tackle, Water Gun, Harden
Starmie:
Level 23
Moves it knows: Tackle, Water Gun, Harden
Brock's Pokemon:
Geodude:
Level 12
Moves it knows: Tackle, Defense Curl
Onix:
Level 16
Moves it knows: Screech, Tackle, Bind
I hoped that helped you remember, if not tell me how I can do a better job at writing or leaving information.
79003car, signing off.
