Chapter 10: The Unofficial Gym
"Dodge and use Hyper Fang." Austin ordered as he was fighting a random trainer who had a Rattata, with his Raticate.
"Rattata." The boy cried out as his rat was knocked out as Raticate gave a huff of annoyance at fighting another small-fry compared to the Gym.
"How many battles is that now?" Misty asked as she was standing near Brock and Yellow.
"I think it's twelve right now." Brock answered as Austin was speaking to the kid who returned his Rattata.
"Man you're Raticate is tough." The boy said to Austin while Raticate just stood next to Austin.
"Yeah she's a strong Pokemon, your Rattata is tough as well." Austin said before seeing Raticate snort at that. "But you should teach him some diversity, that's something I'll be doing to my Raticate soon."
That caught Raticate's attention as she gave him a surprised look.
"Like what?" The boy asked curious in what Rattata could learn.
"Well Rattata and Raticate's can learn quite the diverse type of moves like Thunderbolt and Ice Beam, although the latter would probably be the hardest to learn and they would need more experience." Austin said rubbing the back of his head. "So just try and experiment and you could teach your Rattata to be prepared for anything."
"Thanks, man I bet you could even beat AJ." The boy said with a smile.
"AJ?" Austin said now recognizing the kid from the show.
"Yeah, he trains savage Pokemon and he built his own Gym down there." The kid said pointing in a direction. "They say he's never lost a single match."
"Never?" Brock asked in surprise as the kid gave a nod.
"Sounds like a good challenge." Austin said looking at Ash. 'What do you think?'
"Well everything else has been different, why not see how AJ is different?" Ash decided with a shrug.
"You sure about that Ash?" Misty asked with a raised brow. "I've heard about this AJ when I was in Cerulean City, he has nearly a hundred wins under his belt."
Brock gave a nod agreeing with her. "And you have nearly fifty from all the battles I remember." He said thinking about the various trainers from Pewter to Cerulean and from there to this place.
"That just makes it more exciting." Austin said with a grin.
He was really getting into doing this.
"Well I guess it would be a good learning experience." Brock said giving a nod.
"I wonder what Pokemon this AJ has?" Yellow mused although she looked worried as she remembered how the kid said that AJ's Pokemon were 'savage'.
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It didn't take too long to find the gym closed off by a wooden gate and fence, showing a huge tent behind it as they saw the scoreboard in front of it.
But what caught Austin and Ash's attention was the score.
Wins: 99 Losses: 1.
'Wait, someone actually beat AJ?!' Austin thought in surprise. "I thought people were saying he was undefeated."
"It could be recent." Brock said sounding confused.
"It must be, it's only been two days since I heard about it." Misty said with a frown.
"Still 99 wins?" Yellow shook her head. "I know that Ash is tough, but he only won half that many."
"But who beat him?" Ash asked wondering how exactly this happened as Austin gave a shrug.
"Are you my next victim?" A new voice asked as they turned to see a trainer with green hair, wearing a red/black shirt and blue shorts, carrying a backpack.
"So you're AJ the Wild Pokemon Trainer." Austin said with a grin, he would be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to the battle.
"That's what they call me and beating chumps like you is my hobby." AJ said as Austin felt his eye twitch at the rhyme. "So are you ready to lose?"
"The battle hasn't even started yet, so don't underestimate me." Austin said as Pikachu had his cheeks spark in anticipation.
The door to the Gym opened up and they walked to the stadium which was almost in shambles from a different fight.
"Sorry about the mess, I didn't get the chance to clean up after that Paul kid was here last week." AJ muttered in disdain as Austin's head snapped towards him.
"Paul?!" Ash asked out loud while Austin's was a bit more controlled.
"Yeah, some punk with purple hair and a Magmar." AJ muttered confirming who it was. "But I don't want to think about him so let's get to our battle chump."
AJ placed his bag down in time for a Butterfree to fly down and grab it. "What's in the bag?" Yellow asked curiously.
"Just some wild Pokemon I just caught." AJ said without a care. "I try to keep enough Pokemon to where I have a good variety with me, I have a bit more in the tent."
"Any chance we can see them after the battle?" Yellow asked with a smile at seeing other Pokemon as AJ gave an indifferent shrug.
"Sure why not?" AJ then turned to Austin. "So who are you going to send out for my 100th win?"
"How many Pokemon?" Austin asked as he got to the Stadium.
"Depends, how many do you have?" AJ asked eyeing the belt where the Pokeballs were.
"Six but one of them isn't a fighter."
"Alright, this will be a Five-On-Five match then." AJ said giving a whistle as a Beedrill flew in with a belt that had five Pokeballs.
Misty gave a shiver at seeing the Beedrill and Yellow took a small step back.
The sight of Yellow taking a step back was a surprise to Austin before remembering how she was chased by the Horde of Beedrill when they met.
Shaking his head, Austin pulled out a Pokeball. "Fearow take the field!"
Yellow, Brock and Misty gave Austin a look of surprise. "What are you doing?" Ash asked looking at him as Pikachu gave a cry of surprise..
'I'm hoping Fearow will listen if he hears how many wins this guy has.'
"Fear!" Fearow cried out as he stretched his wings, looking around.
"Not a bad Pokemon." AJ complimented as he sent a Pokeball flying. "But it won't be enough."
Instead of a Sandshrew like Austin was expecting, AJ sent out a Rhyhorn much to their surprise.
"Fearow, this guy has nearly a hundred wins so this will be a tough battle-." Austin began only for Fearow to take to the sky and dive in, his wings glowing.
"I had a feeling that would happen." Brock muttered as Fearow just began to disobey.
"I know you guys said that he was having trouble but I didn't think it was this bad." Misty said as she remembered the temperamental Spearow that Austin had in Viridian City.
"Wow, can't even control your own Pokemon, chump?" AJ taunted as he had a whip out to everyone's surprise and he smacked the ground with it. "Rhyhorn use Smack Down!"
Rhyhorn just calmly ducked and slammed a foot on the ground causing a rock to fly up and smack Fearow in the face, causing him to crash to the ground.
"Fearow, come on we need to work together-." Austin tried only for Fearow to cry out defiantly and got up to do a Fury Attack.
"Finish it with Rock Blast." AJ said as Rhyhorn gave a cry and fired an orb that shot out of its mouth at the Fearow,knocking him out. "That was pathetic."
"Return." Austin said with a sigh before he looked at the Pokeball with some sadness
He didn't know if Fearow will ever listen to him again.
"So do any of your Pokemon obey you or are you that terrible of a trainer?" AJ asked causing Austin to glare as he took out a Pokeball.
"Raticate go." Raticate gave a cry as she appeared. "Careful, this Rhyhorn took Fearow down easily."
Raticate gave a nod as AJ just scoffed.
"At least use something I haven't beaten before." AJ muttered before giving a command. "Take Down."
Rhyhorn began running at Raticate who was on all fours, snarling. "Wait for it." Austin said as Rhyhorn got closer. "... Now, use Burrow!"
Raticate dove into the ground right as Rhyhorn missed before diving out at a quick speed, causing Rhyhorn to fly into the air.
"What?!" AJ asked in shock before quickly overcoming the surprise. "Use Earthquake as you come down."
"Sword Strike!" Austin ordered as Raticate jumped up to do so, but Rhyhorn used his head to slam Raticate into the ground before landing causing the ground to shake as Raticate was sent flying.
Struggling to push herself up, Raticate saw the Rhyhorn running at her with a Take Down.
Austin was at a loss before remembering a certain move that Raticate knew and he didn't try it. "Attract!"
Raticate frowned before focusing as pink energy shot from her hitting the Rhyhorn who shook his head in confusion before seeing Raticate in a whole different light as his eyes began to sparkle at her.
"Rhyhorn, snap out of it!" AJ shouted in irritation as the Rhyhorn was now drooling.
"Smart move, now Rhyhorn is in a trance." Brock said seeing what Austin did.
"But how did he know that Rhyhorn was a boy?" Misty asked in surprise.
"Simple really." Austin said with a grin. "The male Rhyhorn eyes are big while the female ones are a lot smaller."
"And you know that how?!" Ash asked in shock as he remembered how Austin said there were no Pokemon in his world.
'Remember, how I said my brother called me the fountain of useless Pokemon knowledge.' Austin reminded him with his grin now a smirk. 'Not so useless now huh?'
"Come on Rhyhorn!" AJ cried out again. "Drill Run, Megahorn, something!"
"Finish this with Sword Strike!" Austin said as Raticate ran forward and slammed her steel tail right into Rhyhorn causing his face to crack as he went down hard.
Seeing how Rhyhorn was unconscious, AJ returned it with a frown. "Cheap trick." He said to Austin.
"It's called Strategy,there are no cheap tricks." Austin called back.
"Well how will you deal with this?!" AJ sent out a monkey that had a pig nose with giant brown boxing gloves.
"Mape!" Primeape shouted as it slammed its fists together.
Austin frowned as this was one of the Pokemon he couldn't tell was a Male or a Female.
Plus he was at a disadvantage, so he calmly returned Raticate. "Thanks, I'll save you for a different fight." He said feeling some warmth from the ball before pulling out another Pokeball. "Butterfree take the field."
"Fweh!" Butterfree gave a cry as he landed.
Almost in response, Kitty came out of her Pokeball with a cry causing Misty to jump and move back.
"Kitty, do you want to watch Butterfree fight?" Yellow asked curiously as Kitty gave a nod.
"I'll just stay over here." Misty said not wanting to be near the Weedle as she took up position on the other side of Brock.
Austin raised a brow at that before AJ took advantage of his momentary distraction. "Power-up Punch!"
'Power-up what?!' Austin thought not sure what that was before he gave his command. "Block with Confusion!"
"Fweh!" Butterfree caught the Primeape in a psychic field before AJ smirked.
"Night Slash!"
Primeape broke free of the Psychic attack with the Dark Move and caused the dark energy to slam into Butterfree, sending him flying back before he righted himself.
"Now Smack Down!"
Seeing how he was trying to ground Butterfree with the various rocks, Austin ordered a Confusion to grab a rock being thrown and smack the others away before sending the rock flying back, but Primeape smashed through it with Rock Smash.
AJ then ordered a Bulk-Up as Primeape began to increase its stats.
"Butterfree and Primeape are evenly matched." Yellow said a little worried as Kitty was watching the fight.
"Butterfree has the advantage but it could go either way with how well AJ trained his Primeape." Brock agreed as he saw Butterfree going for a Gust, but Primeape plowed through it.
"Fire Punch!" AJ called out as Primeape gave a cry and shot forward, his fist igniting.
'Oh man, AJ is definitely better than the Anime showed him to be.' Austin thought wondering if he shouldn't even be surprised anymore at this point.
Butterfree went to dodge, but the Primeape was too quick for him and slammed him into the ground where he struggled to get up, only for flames to ignite, showing that he was burnt.
"Butterfree, return!" Austin called out as he recalled the Bug Pokemon, basically forfeiting him.
"Bring out my next victim." AJ said with a smirk as Primeape did some mock punches.
'I'll show you a victim.' Austin thought a little angered by how this guy was treating his team.
Ever since Fearow stopped listening, Austin has worked hard to bond with the team and he has grown close to them, so hearing this guy calling them victims was beginning to piss him off.
"Austin, calm down-." Ash tried to say only for Austin to send Pidgeotto out who gave a cry as she flew around the field.
"Don't think you're safe in the sky." AJ said snapping his whip. "Smack Down."
"Twister!" Austin shouted as Pidgeotto managed to knock the rocks down. "Now Gust!"
Pidgeotto gave a chirp as she created another wind storm as the Primeape was struggling to stay on the field before it was blown back as Pidgeotto finished it with a Quick Attack.
"Mape." Primeape uttered as he was on the ground, too dizzy to continue.
"They're tied now." Yellow said as she was a little worried by how Austin was acting.
"Yeah, but Ash only has one Pokemon who hasn't fought while AJ has three, so he'll be hard pressed if he wins." Brock commented. "Not to mention how AJ is pushing Ash's buttons in this fight."
"Austin you need to calm down." Ash said forcefully causing Austin to shake his head.
'Right, right.' Austin thought with a wince. 'Sorry.'
"What's with you?" Ash asked with a raised brow. "I've never seen you that angry."
'Back home I hated it whenever someone messed with my friends and hearing this guy call our team chumps and calling us weak, it just got to me.' Austin thought as Ash gave a thoughtful nod.
"Yeah, I know what you mean." Ash said looking back to the field as AJ sent out his third Pokemon.
It was Sandshrew.
"Careful Pidgeotto." Austin said on the cautious side now. "Just because ground types don't affect flying doesn't mean he might not have anything that can hurt you."
Pidgeotto gave a nod as AJ smirked and cracked his whip.
Sandshrew moved without AJ saying anything.
'Right, he control's Sandshrew with a crack of his whip.' Austin thought as Sandshrew shot to the air in a ball.
"Quick Attack to dodge." Austin called out as Pidgeotto blurred to another part of the field as Sandshrew missed. "Now Steel Wing!"
AJ just cracked his whip again as Sandshrew landed and he uncurled as Pidgeotto shot in with her wings glowing. "Rock Slide!"
Austin's eyes widened. "Pidgeotto get out of there-." But he was too late as Sandshrew gave a cry and slammed his paws on the ground, the rocks shooting out and slamming into Pidgeotto knocking her out.
"I'll admit you're better than the other chumps that I face." AJ said with a smirk. "Usually they can never make it past my first Pokemon, but you're still a chump."
Giving a glare, Austin returned Pidgeotto. "You did a great job Pidgeotto, take a rest."
With that he sent Raticate back out who looked tired but still ready to fight.
'Hopefully Raticate can knock Sandshrew out so Pikachu won't have to face him.' Austin thought with a calculating look. 'Pikachu might stand a chance with Sword Strike, but he would still be at a disadvantage against the ground moves.'
AJ cracked his whip again as Sandshrew shot in, his arms glowing.
'Brick Break.' Austin thought remembering how Scyther used that move.
"Wait for it." Ash said seeing how Sandshrew was moving. "Wait… Now!"
"Quick Attack to jump over him and use Hyper Fang!" Austin ordered as Raticate barely dodged by using the speed to jump high into the air as Sandshrew slammed the Brick Break into the ground before she shot in, using her fangs to clamp onto the Sandshrew.
'Rattata's can break stone with their fangs, Raticates are probably overkill right now.' Austin thought as Sandshrew was doing everything, trying to get Raticate to let go.
"Now Sucker Punch!"
All Sandshrew saw was a blur before he was sent flying back, but he still got up.
"Attract-."
"Not this time!" AJ cracked his whip as Sandshrew dug into the ground.
"Follow with Burrow!" Austin ordered as Raticate dug as well and both of them were silent as they waited for their Pokemon to come out.
Finally after what seemed like forever, they both came out with Raticate hanging off of Sandshrew's tail with her fangs, only for Sandshrew to use that to his advantage and spin around, slamming Raticate against the ground causing her to cry out in pain, before a Brick Break slammed right across her face knocking her out.
Sandshrew landed on the ground a little worse for wear but still okay as Austin returned Raticate.
"Thank you for doing so well." Austin said to Raticate before looking down. "You ready buddy?"
"Chu." Pikachu looked a little unsure as Austin winced, seeing how Pikachu while he battled for Austin quite a bit he wasn't as dedicated as he became after fighting Surge in Canon.
"Pikachu I know you'll be at a disadvantage but if you don't then everything the others did in this fight would've been for nothing." Austin said causing Pikachu to stop and think as he remembered how hard the others fought, even Fearow fought with his all despite not listening to Austin.
Getting a determined look, Pikachu ran out to the field as his cheeks began sparking, ready to fight.
"I hope Ash knows what he's doing." Misty said a little concerned because she didn't want to see Pikachu injured.
"He probably has a strategy ready to make a comeback." Brock said giving a nod as he remembered how Austin always found a way to surprise people in a fight.
"But I don't get it." Yellow said tilting her head as they watched Pikachu and Sandshrew staring each other down. "AJ has nearly a hundred wins while Ash has almost fifty, shouldn't AJ be the stronger one here?"
"Normally yes but AJ said he has a lot of Pokemon, so he most likely switches in each battle." Brock said to Yellow seeing how she asked that. "While Ash is using the same team he's had for awhile. It's basically Quality vs Quantity here, so despite having more wins, AJ is evenly matched with Ash because of how many Pokemon he uses in battling."
AJ finally had enough of the glaring match and cracked his whip causing Sandshrew to move quickly.
Pikachu responded with a Quick Attack to move around Sandshrew who was attempting to use Poison Sting to catch Pikachu and poison him.
'Okay Electric Attacks are out, so I need to be creative.' Austin thought as he tried to look for an opening.
Pikachu kept moving dodging each purple needle before Austin gave an order.
"Keep on the move and use Iron Tail whenever you see an opening."
Pikachu gave a nod and shot in, smacking Sandshrew with an Iron Tail before retreating as he tried to do a Brick Break, using his speed to his advantage.
AJ gritted his teeth as this happened a few more times before smacking his whip on the ground with more force than usual causing Sandshrew to kick sand up attempting to do Sand Tomb as the field began to swirl, one of them catching Pikachu as he got his foot stuck.
With that done, Sandshrew used Swift and the barrage of stars caused Pikachu to cry out in pain as he was sent rolling before he came in with a rollout.
"Block with Iron Tail!"
Pikachu's tail glowed and caught Sandshrew mid rollout before he swung with all his strength causing Sandshrew to hit the ground hard as he was pushing himself up.
"Enough." AJ said finally giving out a vocal order. "Fissure!"
Austin's eyes widened as Sandshrew slammed a paw on the ground causing it to open up. "Pikachu avoid that at all costs!" He shouted knowing it was a One-Hit KO move.
Pikachu had a hard time following that with his foot stuck but he barely got out of the Sand Tomb and dove out of the way as Fissure sailed past it and nearly caught Austin who had to jump to the side.
But Pikachu didn't see the Rollout coming until it slammed into him and he landed by Austin's feet, too exhausted to go on.
AJ smirked. "And that's that." He said straightening his whip as Sandshrew had a smug look.
Austin knelt down and picked Pikachu up, surprised that he lost.
He hasn't lost since Mt. Moon against Arianna and here he lost to AJ-.
"You lasted alot longer than I did." Ash spoke up breaking Austin's thoughts.
"Hey is Pikachu alright?" Yellow asked as everyone ran up.
"He'll be fine after some rest, won't you buddy?" Austin asked as Pikachu opened his eyes and gave a nod.
Yellow looked worried for him but she gave a nod, knowing that even if she offered Austin wouldn't have her heal Pikachu unless it was bad.
While they were in Cerulean City, Brock and Austin spoke with her about keeping her abilities a secret, especially considering what would happen if Team Rocket found out about them.
So with Misty around, until they decided she was trustworthy she wouldn't be able to use them unless it was an emergency.
Although she was confused when Austin didn't look too concerned about Misty knowing.
Misty and Brock went to say something but AJ walked up to them with a thoughtful look before he gave a nod. "Not bad for a chump." He finally said before gesturing to his tent. "Now y'all wanted to see my Pokemon right?"
The others gave a nod as Austin sighed before grinning. "Sure why not?"
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Everyone had wide eyes as they walked in, showing that a Butterfree and Beedrill were sparring in mid air while Rattata's were jumping and running around each other and he had a Machop and some Bellsprout's training in the background.
All of them were wearing harnesses on their bodies, much to everyone's surprise.
"This is how you train them?" Misty asked at seeing it.
"Yup, I want them to succeed so I don't hold anything back and they become stronger as a result." AJ said with a nod.
"They're in pretty good shape, what type of Pokemon food do you give them?" Brock asked as he saw how they all trained.
"My very own recipe." AJ said opening a cabinet to show rows upon rows of Pokemon food. "To get the results we want I have to carefully monitor their diets, of course the recipe is secret."
"Well of course, I make my own Pokemon food too." Brock said as he sent his Pokemon out causing AJ to look at them before giving a nod.
"You care for them and they're strong." AJ commented at seeing them before looking at the others. "So fairs fair, you saw my Pokemon, can I see all of yours?"
Misty and Yellow looked at each other before sending their Pokemon out.
Staryu, Starmie, Dody and Clefy all cried out as they came out of the Pokeball's, while Kitty squirmed back towards Dody and Clefy.
"The two Water Pokemon are tough, but these three are still lacking." AJ said seeing Yellow's Pokemon before frowning. "How long have you had this Weedle?"
"Two Months." Yellow said causing AJ to raise a brow.
"That long and she's still a Weedle? They usually evolve after a week or two." AJ commented with a raised brow.
"Yeah, we haven't exactly figured that out either." Austin said as he and Brock were worried about that themselves.
"Okay Ash right?" AJ looked at him. "Now let me see your Pokemon since we've had our battle."
Austin gave a nod as he sent his team out, although he hesitated on Fearow.
Everyone cried out as they were released, all of them tired except for Scyther as Pikachu jumped off of Austin's shoulder and ran out with them.
AJ gave a nod. "They're all pretty well trained-." He began before stopping in surprise at the Scyther who glared at him. "Wait, I know this Scyther!"
That caught everyone's attention. "You do?" Austin asked in surprise.
"Yeah it belonged to that Paul kid who battled me, the only Pokemon of his I was able to take down was his Scyther." AJ said causing Scyther to snarl. "But I'm confused why didn't you try to use him in our battle?"
"I recently caught him and I promised Scyther I wouldn't use him for a battle unless he wanted to fight." Austin said with a smile before he frowned. 'So Scyther belonged to Paul?'
Fearow who never met Scyther gave a cry as Scyther brandished his blades.
"Whoa, no fighting you two." Austin said a little worried.
"That Fearow is a handful." AJ commented with a raised brow. "How long have you had it?"
"Since my first day as a trainer, he stopped listening when he evolved." Austin said some sadness in his tone.
Fearow just ignored them and looked away.
"Well, all you all have some good Pokemon." AJ said looking them over. "Of course mine are better."
Fearow opened his eyes and cawed, taking offense to that.
"But I better get packed up." AJ said with his arms crossed as a bell rang. "Alright you wimps get a fifteen minute break."
"Packed up?" Misty gave him a look. "For what?"
"I made it a goal to get a hundred wins before I go collecting badges." AJ revealed. "That way my team and I would be prepared for anything."
"Sounds like a good training exercise." Austin commented with a grin. "Although I am not patient enough to try it."
"Chu!" Austin looked down to see that Pikachu put on one of the training harnesses and curled up into a ball.
"Pikachu." Austin looked at AJ as he couldn't get the thing unhooked. "Uh can I get a little help?"
"Hold on a minute." AJ said as he fiddled with it.
Yellow however looked at everyone's Pokemon and thought about how AJ said her's were lacking.
As if sensing her thoughts, Kitty squirmed next to her leg and rubbed against it, causing her to smile and pick her up.
"I'm fine Kitty." Yellow said with a sad smile.
She didn't like the idea of her friends getting hurt, that was why she needed to get better at battling.
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It was night time as everyone was asleep.
It was late as AJ offered for them to spend the night there until they left the next morning with all the Pokemon out.
Scyther was quiet as he watched everyone.
Besides the Fearow, he could see the other Pokemon sleeping near his new trainer and he could see it was the same with the other humans.
"Ther." Scyther muttered as it thought about what it witnessed inside the Pokeball.
This human that caught him, he kept his promise about not including him in any battles the last few days but that wasn't what surprised him.
What surprised him was the fact that he didn't say anything harsh to his Pokemon when they lost, heck not even when the Fearow disrespected him he didn't say anything to Fearow and he saw the human attempt to befriend the stubborn bird earlier.
'Pathetic, you couldn't beat a Bellsprout.' A harsh voice cut through Scyther's thoughts as he remembered his last trainer who worked him to the bone in training in order to keep up with his other Pokemon but it lost battle after battle with him, earning scorn and annoyance from the boy.
It was… Weird in how different this boy was from the last one.
"Chu?" Scyther looked to see the electric rodent that he battled walking up to him.
"Scy." Scyther looked away as he thought about something and asked Pikachu how he got to know the trainer.
What Scyther heard surprised him even further.
This rodent hated the human at first, going as far as electrocuting him before attempting to run away when it ran into a Spearow, the very same Fearow that was nearby.
And when a flock surrounded the two, this human caused them all to chase him in order to keep the rodent safe.
"Ther?" Scyther gave Pikachu a shocked look that the human had enough patience for that as Pikachu gave a smile before another thought struck the mantis.
How the heck did this human survive being electrocuted by the rodent?
Now interested in who exactly his new trainer was, Scyther gave him an analyzing look before giving a nod. "Ther." He said to Pikachu whose ears lit up.
Scyther was willing to battle.
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Austin blinked as he woke up to see Scyther hovering over him. "Wha?" He yawned as he shifted with Raticate, Butterfree and Pidgeotto grumbling. "Scyther, what is it?"
"Ther, Scy!" Scyther made some slashing motions, in a direction away from Austin to avoid injuring him, as he nodded to the Pokeball on his belt.
"I think Scyther is agreeing to battle for you." Ash said as Austin blinked.
"Wait you want to battle with me?" Austin asked in surprise as Scyther gave a nod of confirmation. "Alright."
Unknown to them, Fearow was watching with a hint of distaste and he turned away.
"Okay let's get some training in before the others wake up." Austin said getting out of the sleeping bag as he looked around before seeing that Fearow was awake. "Hey Fearow, want to join in?"
"Row." Fearow cawed not looking at him.
Pikachu glared at Fearow, obviously having enough as he remembered how Austin has been trying to connect with him.
"It's fine Pikachu, someday I'll get through to him." Austin said as he turned to Scyther. "But who to train you with-."
Austin felt something squirming against his leg and he looked down to see Kitty who gave Scyther a challenging look.
"You want to battle?" He asked more surprised as Kitty gave a nod.
Scyther raised a brow, but he looked intrigued.
"Well…" Austin looked over to see Yellow was still sleeping. "You should ask Yellow."
Kitty made a series of grunts and noises as she shook her head.
She wanted to get stronger in order to protect Yellow and knew Yellow was having hesitation in battling enough to let her evolve.
Kitty was close, she just needed a push.
"Well… Okay." Austin said giving a nod even though he wasn't too sure about this.
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Austin stood next to Scyther on AJ's battlefield as Kitty stood alone on the other side, the only spectators were his Pokemon.
Pikachu, Pidgeotto, Butterfree and Raticate were watching as they were wondering how long this battle would take.
"Alright Scyther let's give it our best." Austin said before looking at Kitty. "You give your best too Kitty."
Kitty gave a nod as Scyther got ready.
Pikachu ran to one side and had a paw in the air. "Pika Pi?" Pikachu called out as if he was a referee, before swinging the paw down.
Kitty wasted no time in launching a barrage of Poison Stings that Scyther avoided with Agility as he was all over the place with Kitty looking around.
"Now use Aerial Ace." Austin said not letting up as the move was more powerful combined with Agility.
Kitty however has gotten used to quick enemies due to watching all the battles and used a String Shot to pull herself out of harm's way, leaving a small string trap where she was as Scyther flew into it causing him to get stuck much to his chagrin.
That was when she fired a Poison Sting, hitting him and he cried out in pain despite not being poisoned.
Butterfree recognized how Kitty moved out of the way as he did in the Pewter Gym before Scyther finally broke free and used Quick Attack to slam into Kitty, sending her flying.
Rolling on the ground as Austin ordered a Wing Attack, Kitty used Poison String, netting the Scyther as the poison barbs sunk in, poisoning him this time.
"Scyther are you okay?" Austin called out as Scyther gave a cry of confirmation.
"Rati?" Raticate looked at Butterfree as if to ask what he was teaching that Bug as she knew how the Butterfree was Kitty's usual sparring partner.
"Fweh." Butterfree gave an insect equivalent of a shrug before Kitty used String Shot to reel herself in, slamming the stinger into Scyther causing him to cry out as he was on one knee panting.
Scyther was annoyed.
He wanted to battle to prove his strength and a Weedle of all things was kicking his butt… Would his new trainer abandon him if he lost here? There's no doubt that his old trainer would just release him right here for this embarrassment.
A glow however caused him to break out of his thoughts as Kitty was giving off light.
"Well it's about time." Austin said with a smile as Kitty changed shape before a Kakuna was on the battlefield. "Okay I think we should stop here."
Scyther looked down at that as Kakuna was giving cries of happiness at finally evolving.
As he heard footsteps, Scyther didn't respond until Austin was right next to him. "A little rough around the edges but you did pretty well."
That caused Scyther to give Austin a look of disbelief.
"Look, Kitty there has been training for the last two months." Austin told Scyther as the other Pokemon went over to congratulate the newly evolved Kakuna. "She was quick and small, it's easy to see how she was able to fight you so well, but you are strong in your own right."
"Ther." Scyther looked doubtful as he was giving Austin a new look as if he was seeing him in a different light.
"It's true, you kept Pikachu on his toes and he's the strongest of the team." Austin said to Scyther causing him to look at the rodent who was talking animately with Kitty. "We just need to work on your weaknesses and get more in synch, think you can do that?"
"... Ther." Scyther finally decided as he gave a nod. "Scy!"
"Great, we'll start off by-."
"Ash, what's going on?" Austin stopped as he turned to see that the others woke up and came out to see the battlefield covered in poison barbs, some of them on Scyther, but they were too busy staring at the Kakuna near his team.
"K-Kitty?" Yellow asked in surprise.
"Uh… I can explain?" Austin said a little nervously.
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Thankfully no one held it against him as he explained how Kitty wanted to battle Scyther and although Yellow looked a bit saddened in how Kitty didn't ask her she was happy that the Kakuna got what she wanted.
"You know you're welcome to come with us." Austin offered, remembering how Ash did so in the Anime.
"Thanks, but Sandshrew and I have our own path to follow." AJ said as his Ground Type was next to him the same way as Pikachu and Kitty were out.
As AJ held his hand out, Austin smiled and shook it. "I'll be looking for you at the Indigo Conference."
"You won't have to look hard, just be sure to put up more of a challenge chump." AJ said although his tone told Austin that he was kidding.
"I will." Austin promised as AJ turned and left.
"He's tough but cool." Misty commented as they watched him leave.
"Looks like you found another rival." Brock said, causing Ash to blink as he remembered how this was the only time he ever saw AJ and briefly wondered what happened to him in the original timeline.
"Tough but cool." Yellow said looking down at Kitty who looked back up, Misty cringing away as she saw the bug eyes move. "I think I understand now."
Austin gave a smile before shouldering his backpack as Pikachu jumped back on his shoulder. "Come on, daylight is burning."
With that he took off running as the other cried out for him to wait up.
To Be Continued…
Man this one took a bit, I'm sorry for the wait and I hope you all enjoyed every bit of this chapter.
I'm trying to get the group dynamic going with how they interact since I have four people in this and I hope you like what I have going so far.
Plus there were some interactions between Austin's team that I'll try to show more often as well as the others and Yellow in this chapter had some wonder in what she was going to do.
Scyther is finally listening and he used to belong to Paul, didn't see that coming now did you?
Yes they'll run into Paul sometime soon. Either in Vermillion or Celadon City and I hope you'll like the interactions I'll put between them.
The highlight in this chapter however was the five-on-five battle, I hope you liked it and I hope it showed the improvement I've made in writing fight scenes.
Now it's Review Time
Ultima-Owner: I'm not saying it didn't, I still say it should've been called light.
Sweet Smile: Yeah, the friction between each other was inevitable for both Austin and Ash. I will not reveal why Suicune gave the feather yet, the answer will be revealed in the Johto Arc so please be patient. I think Misty will say something about her bike when they run into the Rocket Trio again.
(Now for the Spanish Part) Sí, la fricción entre unos y otros era inevitable tanto para Austin y Ash. No voy a revelar por qué Suicune dio la pluma, sin embargo, la respuesta se dará a conocer en el Johto Arco así que por favor sea paciente. Creo Misty dirá algo acerca de su bicicleta cuando se encuentran con el Trío Rocket nuevo.
DarkEnigma95: Trust me, it's not just you.
Galeforte: Electric Yo-yo? I'll be sure to look into adding that one as well as the one for Charmander. 1) I have a plan for that. 2) Yes. 3) Possibly. 4) You guessed it. 5) Yes. 6) Probably, probably not.
Guest11: Sorry about that typo, I'll try to fix it soon.
Coldblue: Yeah I'm going to try and have the Pokemon out more in the next few chapters to show some development there but I hope you liked how I revealed more of Scyther's character here. I had her go her own way after getting those pics, they'll meet again soon though. Well I thought I showed a hint of friction in Mt. Moon when they were arguing over interfering with Team Rocket or not. Yeah I was a little disappointed with how the Anime didn't do that either.
Now for your Questions. 1) Yes-well not those specific types but he will catch some. No reality warping ones though. 2) Huh that's an interesting one. 3) Well Pokemon evolving has something to do with the trainer, like in the Manga Yellow didn't evolve any of her Pokemon until the end so Kitty fighting by herself allowed her to evolve in this chapter. 4) Maybe all in one to both get it out of the way as well as to have those three join the story. 5) I'll try to add that in. 6) I think that showed in this chapter. 7) Oh they'll be stronger I can promise that one. 8) Possibly. 9) Maybe. 10) They'll meet up eventually. 11) Eventually yes.
Nightmaster000: Actually the Jigglypuff in the Anime is Blue's Jigglypuff in this story, I honestly wondered what happened to her in the show as a kid.
Milkshakesw: Haha thank you and I will not answer on if Yellow will be permanent or not because I may have her leave for a bit in the future, maybe after Johto or something like that. But she won't be completely written out of the story, hell I'm going to try and have Tracey in more as well.
Ddragon21: Well the ending isn't for awhile so who knows what will happen, but you're right it would be sad.
M1551INGO: I won't say for now.
DannyPhantom619: Yes it is, haha celebrity status. Mega Evolution will come in Hoenn.
The Richmaster: Thank you but as for the feather it won't be revealed why he has it until Johto.
Guest12: Thank you and sorry for the wait on this chapter.
Austin's Pokemon Team
Pikachu (M) Ability: Static. Moves: Thundershock, Growl, Tail Whip, Quick Attack Iron Tail, Electro-Ball and Thunderbolt.
*Combo* Ion Tail (Iron Tail and Electro Ball), Sword Strike (Iron Tail and Quick Attack), Electric Impact (Thunderbolt and Quick Attack) and Counter-Shield (Electric-Style)
Fearow (M) Ability: Keen Eye. Moves: Peck, Leer, Focus Energy, Fury Attack, Aerial Ace, Steel Wing and Mirror Move.
*Combo* Aerial Wing (Aerial Ace and Steel Wing)
Raticate (F) Ability: Guts. Moves: Tackle, Tail Whip, Quick Attack, Focus Energy, Iron Tail, Dig, Hyper Fang, Sucker Punch and Attract.
*Combo* Sword Strike (Iron Tail and Quick Attack), Burrow (Dig and Quick Attack)
Butterfree (M) Ability: Tinted Lens. Moves: Tackle, String Shot, Bug Bite, Harden, Confusion, Poison Powder, Sleep Powder, Stun Spore and Gust.
Pidgeotto (F) Ability: Tangled Feet. Moves: Tackle, Sand Attack, Gust, Quick Attack, Steel Wing and Twister.
Scyther (M) Ability: Technician. Moves: Wing Attack, Quick Attack, Slash, Brick Break, Aerial Ace, Agility and Fury Cutter.
Pokemon used to Own.
Weedle (F) *Given to Yellow in Chapter 04: Viridian Forest Part 2*
Caterpie/Metapod *Evolved in Chapter 05: Pewter Showdown* *Evolved in the same Chapter from Metapod*
Spearow *Evolved in Chapter 07: Challenge of the Nugget Bridge*
Rattata *Evolved in Chapter 09: The Sensational Gym Battle*
Pokemon Seen: 43
Pokemon Owned: 11
Badges Obtained: Boulder Badge and Cascade Badge.
Yellow's Pokemon Team.
Kakuna (Kitty) (F) Ability: Shed Skin. Moves: Poison Sting, String Shot and Harden.
*Combo* Poison String (Poison Sting and String Shot)
Doduo (Dody) (M) Ability: Run Away Moves: Growl, Peck, Quick Attack, Fury Attack, Rage and Pursuit.
Clefairy (Clefy) (M) Ability: Magic Guard. Moves: Pound, Growl, Sing, Disarming Voice, Magical Leaf, Double Slap, Defense Curl and Wake-Up Slap.
Pokemon Used to Own.
Weedle *Evolved in Chapter 10: The Unofficial Gym*
Brock's Pokemon Team.
Onix (M) Ability: Rock Head. Moves: Bind, Tackle, Harden, Mud Sport, Curse, Rock Throw, Rock Tomb and Rage.
Geodude (M) Ability: Sand Veil Moves: Defense Curl, Tackle, Mud Sport, Rock Polish, Rollout, Rock Tomb and Magnitude.
Zubat (F) Ability: Infiltrator. Moves: Leech Life, Supersonic, Astonish, Bite, Wing Attack, Confuse Ray and Air Cutter.
Misty's Pokemon Team.
Staryu (M) Ability: Natural Cure Moves: Rapid Spin, Water Gun, Water Pulse and Swift.
Starmie (F) Ability: Analytic. Moves: Psyshock, Power Gem and Thunderbolt.
Alright, this is Spidey Signing Out!