Hey guys, what's up? Yeah, another chapter already. I just had the extra time as it would turn out. I'm glad to receive some extra feedback, a lot of the ideas are currently being taken into consideration. So are you ready for another chapter? Keep reading then!

Chapter 8: Everybody was Cianwood Fighting

Just as soon as Ash had won his first battle against the Johto Region gyms, he was given guidance of where the next two closest gyms would be waiting for him. In Cianwood City the next gym would be waiting for him, but it required another short boat trip that Ash and his friends would have to take. Out of everyone, Ash was the only one who had a flying type that would be able to handle a long distance with two humans on his back. Any more would have resulted in an uncomfortable Charizard.

Fortunately the day after the victory against Jasmine offered Ash a chance to take a short voyage across the body of water the Whirl Islands occupied. Will looked out to the sea when he commented, "I suppose that this will be our incentive to try and find more versatile Pokémon. We won't be so fortunate if we continue this way."

Ash leaned on the rail of the bow when he agreed, "I should try and make catching more Pokémon my goal. With Karen here I guess I'll have to really push myself to get a Sylveon like I planned. And if I'm going to win against any other gyms I'll need to prepare rather than going in haphazardly."

"An excellent idea. It is certainly a good start if you ever plan on facing Karen in some way."

"Not only that, but I should try and get more different types so that I'm not put in some kind of disadvantage later on. I've probably only started to get a well-rounded team."

"It can be a difficult situation Ash. If you are ever planning on accepting the offer to become an Elite Four member, you will be made to specialize in a particular type."

"You think I'll have that opportunity some day?"

"Winning one League does make you worthy of consideration. Of course even then you might have to ask yourself if that is the only thing you could accept. Only Champions have the luxury of working with the form of diversity that you are probably aiming for. And reaching that ambition does take much more qualification than you currently have."

"We're supposed to win five Leagues in order to qualify as Champions in our respective regions right? If you know that then what made people like you and Karen decide to become Elite Four members?"

"For some trainers it is simply a matter of preference. Trainers such as myself simply enjoy excelling at a particular type of Pokémon and we just happen to over qualify as gym leaders. Besides it is a great challenge to face so many of the world's most powerful trainers, one that most people do not accomplish. For all we know you may be that special one who will accomplish that seemingly impossible task."

Ash wasn't dissuaded from the path in front of him when he confirmed, "That is my goal Will. To be that very best. I guess I could try to specialize in one type like others have but I just have a hard time thinking that I'll be able to win against everyone if I do that."

Will stretched his hands behind his head when he conceded, "Well it's not so bad of a life really. It's not bad being able to have as much recognition as we do, but perhaps for someone like you it simply isn't fulfilling enough of an existence."

Ash agreed, "Yeah. Besides there's way too much for me to go out and see for me to just stop now."

Espeon looked on the two from the top of the boat when she commented, "Well it would seem that some men just do put a childish form of adventure ahead of what they currently face."

Pikachu agreed, "That's Ash alright. He knows what he wants to achieve and he doesn't plan on letting anyone stop him."

"Even when he has a bit of a relationship quandary to resolve?"

"Well there's a time and place for everything, but it doesn't seem like he wants to think about that now. I think it's really all just a matter of having hormones acting up, there probably won't be much to follow."

"That certainly does open the question of whether or not his feelings will get in the way of his fighting skills. Regardless this will be an interesting progression."

The boat trip had finished and Ash was able to set shore on the shore side city of Cianwood City. As soon as Ash stepped off to take in his location he recognized the gym he was soon to challenge just a brief walk away from him. "There's the gym guys. We're about to see another big victory for me."

Will agreed, "Quite possibly one of the only areas where we leave Karen at a disadvantage. It will be interesting to see how you act from start to finish Ash."

Karen pointed out the obvious, "Type advantage doesn't even play much of a factor here. Right now you're just about to get your opportunity to study Ash here."

Mew floated next to Ash when she reminded, "You aren't at a total disadvantage. You have me as your secret weapon after all."

Sabrina commented, "Mew might be right, but you don't want to come off as completely reliant on one in particular do you Ash?"

Ash shook his head when he agreed, "It wouldn't be fair on the other gym leaders either. I'm just trying to give my all as a trainer."

Sabrina followed next to him when she encouraged, "Then I'm looking forward to the display you have in store for us."

The four entered the gym where a wide open space was visible for all who entered. In the middle of it, one middle-aged man was taking on three younger men who were engaged in a spar. There weren't any Pokémon in sight but the display was similar to that of powerful fighting type Pokémon offering devastating blows. Even with the odds against the middle-aged man, he gave several sweeps of his legs and powerful punches that broke through the collective guards.

Only a short period had passed before the middle-aged man stood standing among his defeated opponents when he spoke, "Yoshi. Work on strengthening your block. Lao. Your blocks are too slow to meet with any strikes. Lung. I must remind you to use your hips when you prepare to strike with your kicks."

The three men agreed in unison, "Yes Master Chuck…"

Ash walked up to his side of the arena when he asked, "So I take it you are the gym leader here?"

Chuck looked up to notice the young man who had just entered and greeted, "Welcome young trainer. I assume that you have arrived just in time to see my display of power just now. Are you terrified already?"

Ash shook his head when he answered, "If I was here to fight you personally I might be shaking right now. But that demonstration doesn't have much to do with Pokémon."

"Not much to do with Pokémon? Err… good point. Well I'm about to demonstrate how capable I am! I see that you are the mighty Ash Ketchum of Kanto who I've been warned about. Looks like I'm just going to teach you a lesson about how far apart you and I really are kid!"

Ash accepted the challenge when he brought his hand to his Pokéball before agreeing, "Well I hope you're more about strength than you are about show."

Will watch on in fascination when he observed, "Fascinating. His power already seems to be manifesting."

Sabrina asked, "So this is what you were hoping to see happen?"

Will nodded, "This unique boy is showing the early stages of promise. That is for certain."

Yoshi rushed his way to the center edge of the arena when he announced, "All participants. We are now witnessing a two-on-two gym battle between Gym Leader Chuck Norris and the challenger Ash Ketchum, Kanto Champion. Ready... Fight!"

Both trainers reached for a Pokéball as they prepared for a mighty battle. Chuck was the first to announce, "Go! Poliwrath!"

Ash was next when he announced, "Go! Dragonite!"

At the center of the arena, a Poliwrath and a Dragonite faced one another in a determined stare down. Dragonite was nearly twice Poliwrath's size, but his opponent was not intimidated as he rolled his shoulders waiting for Chuck's order. Chuck broke the brief stare when he ordered, "Poliwrath! Beat it with Submission!"

Poliwrath ran forward with his arms stretched forward as Ash ordered, "Dragonite! Fly up and hit him with Slam!"

Dragonite waited for the opportune moment as Poliwrath made a leap forward with his hands forward, but as soon as he began to descend Dragonite flew upwards to allow Poliwrath to hit the ground face first. Unfinished with his action, Dragonite brought his elbow into a diving elbow drop before making contact with Poliwrath's back.

Poliwrath sprung to life as the weight of the attack forced him up and quickly slid out of the hold. He was beaten heavily by having such a mighty blow making contact with him, but he managed to keep his form composed before preparing for another attack. Chuck ordered, "Don't give up so easily Poliwrath! Demonstrate you power with Dynamic Punch!"

At Chuck's order, Poliwrath's fists glowed white before he ran forward with an even mightier force to prepare to deal damage. Ash wasn't intimidated though when he ordered, "Dragonite! Hurricane!" Dragonite's wings glowed a light blue before he flapped his wings forward towards Poliwrath. Although Poliwrath was prepared to make contact with Dragonite, he found himself cut short from the opportunity when he no longer had any forward lunge from his jump. It became even worse when he saw himself being pushed backwards before being forced back with an even mightier force than his jump. The attack was complete when Poliwrath was forced back so hard that his back hit the wall behind Chuck with a mighty crash.

Chuck became desperate again when he ordered, "Don't go down so easily! Hydro Pump!" Poliwrath forced himself from the wall before summoning a mighty stream of water from his mouth.

Ash was prepared however when he ordered, "Finish him with Dragon Breath!" As the order was given, the ground erupted as a yellow blast made contact with Poliwrath's attack and gave another blow to his opponent. Poliwrath was so stricken this time that he flew into the wall again, this time straight through and out of the gym.

Chuck checked the remains of the wall when he saw Poliwrath's eyes as offering the same pattern that his mouth usually gave. He sighed when he offered, "We will train harder later on. Return." Poliwrath returned to his Pokéball before Chuck turned to see Dragonite being returned to his trainer. Chuck nodded when he commented, "Not a bad one Ash. However this is only half of the battle and you will see how much you must learn."

Ash prepared to bring out another Pokémon when he challenged, "Let's see if you can live up to that challenge."

Chuck grabbed for his other Pokéball when he announced, "Achieve victory! Machamp!"

Ash made the same motion when he announced, "Go! Nidoqueen!"

As both trainers prepared their Pokémon, Nidoqueen roared with power at the summoning while Machamp tightened his four arms in preparation for the battle at hand. Chuck was quick when he ordered, "Don't offer any room! Cross Chop!"

Machamp ran forward with his four arms prepared for two mighty chops when Ash ordered, "Nidoqueen! Use Superpower!"

"Make sure to block the upper attack!" Ash telepathically told Nidoqueen.

Nidoqueen accepted, "Got it!"

Unaware of the psychic conversation, Chuck laughed when he boasted, "Your counterattack won't mean anything when you have to deal with twice the power!" Right on cue though, Nidoqueen brought her forearms above her head when her body was surrounded in a light blue aura. With a stomp of her right foot, Nidoqueen summoned a large rock that flew into the chest of Machamp. Before his other two arms could make a real hit on Nidoqueen, Machamp flew back with some of the wind blown out of his gut. He stepped back as he brought two of his arms to his gut to recover from the blow but his other two arms remained at the ready as they prepared for another potential attack.

Ash used the opportunity to order, "Now hit him back with Double Kick!"

Chuck heard the order when he ordered, "Machamp! Attack with Dual Chop!"

Nidoqueen leapt into the air as she lunged forward with both of her legs attacking Machamp's weakened arms holding to his gut but the two chops of his remaining arms managed to hit both of Nidoqueen's plated sides. This brought the female drill Pokémon to the ground before Chuck ordered, "Now is the time! Finish with Vital Throw!"

Ash was prepared for Nidoqueen's fumble when he ordered, "Hit him with Aqua Tail!" Nidoqueen's tail was covered in water before she prepared a mighty slash with her open limb. Before Machamp could grab hold of the tail, his hand was smacked away and thumped violently from the damage done.

Machamp was busy attending to his injury before Ash ordered, "Now! Hit him with Smack Down!" Nidoqueen heard the order and pulled a mighty stone from the earth beneath before leaping into the air and throwing it down with a mighty crash right on Machamp's head. Machamp was utterly defeated as the concussion to his head rendered him to fall to the floor on his back with his arms spread out.

Chuck was astonished by the sight of his Pokémon defeated in such a matter to the point of where Yoshi in the middle of it stuttered, "Um… All of the gym leader's Pokémon have been defeated! Ash Ketchum is the winner!" Lao and Lung began to pray for Yoshi's safety at those words while Chuck returned his defeated Machamp to his Pokéball.

Chuck shook his head when he admitted, "I lost. How about that. It would seem that you are indeed worthy of the praise that surrounds you Ash Ketchum."

Ash met Chuck in the center of the arena as he patted Nidoqueen's head and shook the gym leader's hand to thank, "That wasn't a bad match at all. It looks like I might need to really work if I want to be undefeated or not have any weaknesses."

Chuck took out his badge from his pocket when he told Ash, "That is a worthy ambition. One that I aim to achieve one day myself. However it would seem that you remind me that I have a way to go as well. With that reminder you offer me Ash, I present you with the Storm Badge."

Ash smiled when he took the second badge of the Johto region to his undershirt and thanked, "It won't be too long before I'm in the League. I hope you achieve your dream of becoming stronger."

Chuck grinned, "I sure will! From now on I plan on training 24 hours a day! And that goes for a certain someone who has some very important improvements to make!" Yoshi, Lao, and Lung all cowered at the mention as they heard their master's announcement. They were about to have a very long regimen ahead of them.

Ash and his friends made their way back to the docks when they prepared for another voyage. Karen looked back on the city to comment, "It's too bad we had to hit and run so fast. This place has such a nice shore to enjoy too."

Sabrina looked on the idyllic shore when she accepted, "It would be a nice place to visit on a vacation if we ever had time."

Karen smiled when she asked, "Not enough to try and convince us to stay for a little while? What's wrong? Need to prepare yourself a little more before you let Ash see you dressed that way?" Sabrina glared while Karen laughed at the result.

Ash and Will looked out to the water that was home to the Whirl Islands when Ash asked, "So did you manage to learn everything that you wanted to from that battle?"

Will answered, "A fair amount of it at least. I don't think I can say I fully comprehend it but I think I could come to more conclusive results with a few more battles. I will at least offer that I do in fact have the foundation of what could be a very interesting theory."

"What would that be?"

"It is just as I had proposed earlier. It would seem that you are a capable psychic user because of your character. Rather than cutting yourself off completely, it would seem that you are more capable because you are so driven. Being able to communicate with your Pokémon in such a way that you could even cut others off-guard from their strategies is something that is to be praised to say the least."

"Yeah. Not the first time and it probably won't be the last either. When we get to Goldenrod I guess we'll be able to decide for sure if I'm ready for another gym battle."

"I bit of an unrelated subject. I would have to point that it is something that you and Sabrina are both among the first of your kind to achieve. Just take a glance at her."

Ash turned around to see Sabrina still pouting at Karen's joke. Onlookers could call it the portrait of a jealous girlfriend, but Ash could sense the deeper manifestations within Sabrina as he observed her. "She could practically tear apart a whole town if she wasn't able to control herself."

Will nodded at Ash's observation when he told him, "It is a bit of a common theme that a bond such as yours is a very powerful one. As new as it may be, it certainly goes to show that it is indeed very genuine. If left unchecked however it could break a certain balancing point. I imagine that Karen might end up pushing Sabrina to a breaking point."

Ash rubbed his temples when he asked, "Am I really being asked to handle a situation like this? How does this sort of thing happen anyway?"

Will patted Ash's shoulder when he offered, "I wouldn't worry about such a triviality Ash. From everything I've known about Karen she has always wanted siblings and it would seem that she enjoys treating Sabrina as a little sister. I suppose it is up to you if you want to have a simple "brother-sister" relationship with her."

Ash was jolted up at the implication when he asked, "Seriously? You know… about that?"

Will nodded, "It's hard not to Ash. Karen is a fine woman once you actually get to know her, but I would imagine that pursuing her in the traditional way is going to be a bit of an obstacle to say the least."

Ash tensed up even further when he asked, "You aren't going to tell me just to drop what I think of her? Come on, I have to get her off my mind somehow."

Will shook his head when he told him, "I can't tell you what to think Ash. It's up to you to determine that Sabrina is the only one for you. There might be alternatives laid out before you, but it will be your choice in the end."

Ash checked behind him to see Sabrina and Karen were still doing their own gazing of the water before them. Ash crossed his arms when he told Will, "Well a lot of help you are. I'm just lucky they aren't paying attention to us right now. How much longer is it before the ship gets here?"

Will looked at the nearby maritime schedule when he answered, "It shouldn't be long. We'll probably be in Goldenrod by the time night falls. I'd say you made a fair amount of progress already Ash, and a rest will be very well earned at this point. Really, two gyms in one day? Most trainers would dread the idea."

Ash sighed when he added, "Unfortunately I wish that's what I was worried about." He turned to the other side of the dock when he saw the other group that was following him. Mew, Espeon, and Pikachu were all gathered into a small huddle that Ash was able to overhear.

Espeon asked, "So it's fully out of the bag, it looks like Ash is interested in the silver lady. How bad do you think it's affecting him?"

Pikachu bragged, "Not enough for him to lose. That's for sure."

Mew entered the conversation, "There is something quite special about Ash however. If he isn't careful it could even prove to be a detriment in some way."

Pikachu was interested by the warning when he asked, "Are you saying that the idea of having more than just one lady is something conflicting in him? In what way is that supposed to be a bad thing?"

Mew nodded, "It is a bit of a conflict for humans as of right now. The idea of having more than just one mate is not something they are comfortable with discussing. However from my experience, regardless of what sort of norms we all set up for ourselves, biology in the end tends to have the upper hand in anything."

Espeon asked, "So you think that Ash will eventually give way to his more base instincts is what you're saying?"

Mew offered an analogy, "Ask yourself this. If you were the only male of your kind, would you truly want to limit yourself to just one mate?"

It was here that Ash blocked himself out of the conversation but Espeon continued, "You think humans will put up with that sort of thing? You make it sound as though there wasn't much of a difference between us Pokémon and them."

Mew giggled when she commented, "It's just a natural thing. It's something that's happened many times before and will probably happen many times after today. The good news is that humans are just as apt to change as we are, so I don't think we'll have to wait too long to see Ash make that sort of decision."

Pikachu added, "Boy you seem to be okay with something like this. Does watching over eternity like that really give you the ability to see subjects like that in such a context?"

Mew nodded, "Oh yes. Espeon here might not see it as such a pleasant idea, but when you watch over the world like I do and notice how lifeforms such as us behave over time, it all boils down to patterns at points. I'm just lucky to see this one happen up close."

Espeon shrugged at the observation when she commented, "The only question that leaves is just how well Sabrina will handle being placed next to another female. Ash better have enough of a spine to handle more than just one woman if he's going to do… all of that."

Pikachu walked up to Espeon when he offered, "I can tell you this much, I sure am. At least once I get started." Espeon gave Pikachu a stink eye at the flirt as he backed away with, "Just kidding, just kidding! I'm not that much in a hurry!"

Despite the friendship that had developed between the companions since the start of the journey through Johto, the tension that had been building since its beginning had far from subsided completely. Ash still had thoughts of being attracted to Karen despite not knowing too much about her. Even getting past that barrier he still had Sabrina to handle when he was thinking about it. He had the Pokémon and he had the brains, but he started to feel as though he was losing the guts that would make him press forward with such a conundrum. "Man. Becoming a Pokémon Master is not as simple as I thought it was going to be." Ash lamented to himself.

Notes on Chapter 8:

And as expected, Ash Ketchum has officially won his second Johto Badge! So far we're about a quarter of the way through before even more exciting adventures begin.

You might notice that Ash is pretty conflicted about his attraction to Karen right now. I have a bit of a goal to make the harem concept seem semi-realistic. Most guys would probably be uneasy towards the idea of having more than one woman to take care of, especially when they're all together and might have a bit of conflict among one another. So naturally Ash is going to have a bit of a conflict especially since it wasn't practiced so often in the Pokémon world (that I know of). Once this concept is eased in, it's basically going to be a situation of getting different woman to all care about one another after that.

Another bit of slow moving progress, just what sort of power do Ash and Sabrina have? The world only hopes to learn…

I planned on having the three cities of Olivine, Cianwood, and Goldenrod grouped together and done this quickly in this sequence since they're all so close. Once Goldenrod is taken care of I'm hoping you'll get to enjoy an interesting take on a particular story and then finally get to some Pokémon catching. Seriously Sabrina and the others need it.

Until then, I look forward to seeing you all next chapter.