Wildstar93: Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Journey Of An Autistic Trainer! I'm finally back to writing this story at long last, and I'm really sorry for putting it on hold for too long. I had to focus on writing my book, and though it doesn't have the greatest plot, I've tried to make it the best I can make it. I'm not expecting to make it big like Harry Potter or Warrior Cats, but I hope people like it.

So where we last left off, Ash has lost his gym match, because Pikachu's Iron Tail has stopped working. Well, this is the chapter where we'll try and fix that little problem. It won't be instant, so it'll take the rest of the chapter for Pikachu to use Iron Tail properly.

Oh, and I might think of taking down the author's note from the last chapter.

Uploading Date: September 6, 2015

Enjoy!

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Iron Tail

It had only been a few hours since Ash had lost to Brock. He didn't like to lose, but he knew that he and his Pokémon could not beat Brock the way they were now. He was not only down about his defeat, but he was also puzzled.

If Pikachu's Iron Tail had worked against the Beedrill swarm, then what happened during the gym battle? Ash had expected it to work right away, but that was apparently not enough. If they had practiced some more before the battle, then he would have had his first badge by now.

"Are you feeling okay?" Daisy asked Ash. "You've been quiet ever since you lost that gym match."

"I'm fine," Ash said, nudging a pebble with his shoe. "I was just thinking. Why didn't Pikachu's Iron Tail work that time? He did great against the Beedrill!"

"Maybe you just didn't practice enough," Misty suggested. "Why don't you go near Viridian Forest and help Pikachu with Iron Tail?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah. I guess I can. What do you say, Pikachu?" he asked his starter Pokémon.

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed, holding up a ketchup bottle. The Mouse Pokémon had taken to ketchup not too long ago, and even though Ash wasn't fond of it, he would not stop Pikachu from liking it.

So once the Pokémon were checked up a second time, Ash and the two girls went over to the route near Viridian Forest. They did not go in there in fear of disturbing the Beedrill swarm again, sticking close to the outskirts of the forest. To make sure they knew they were out, they stayed behind some trees so that the road back to Pewter City was in sight.

"There's a rock here," Daisy said, pointing to a rock in a clearing. "We can train Pikachu and Eevee here."

"Eevee?" Ash asked.

Misty nodded. "Remember? Daisy's Eevee knows Iron Tail."

"Oh yeah."

"Come out, Eevee!" Daisy said, taking out Eevee's PokéBall. Eevee emerged from the ball and ran around in a circle, squealing with energy.

Once the Evolution Pokémon calmed down, Daisy said, "Eevee, use Iron Tail on that rock, and make sure Pikachu watches."

"Eevee!" Eevee cheered.

Her tail glowed a silvery gray as she ran over to the rock. She jumped up to the air, lurched forward to spin, and slammed her tail down onto the rock. The rock did not break, for it was a very sturdy rock, and Ash noticed lots of claw marks on the surface.

"I think Pokémon sharpen their claws here," he said.

"What in this forest has claws?" Misty asked. "Besides Beedrill."

"Beedrill have drills on their hands," Daisy reminded her. "But maybe they come here to sharpen their drills. So we better make this quick."

Eevee was continuing her assault on the rock with Iron Tail. Pikachu was watching her in awe, eyes wide as Eevee continued with the attack. He stood up before getting down on all fours, a determined look on his face as he charged forward. His tail briefly glowed silvery-gray, but when he tried slamming the rock, the tail went back to yellow.

"Pika!" Pikachu hissed in pain, reeling back and licking his tail.

"That's what happened during the gym battle," Ash remarked. "How come his Iron Tail move didn't work?"

"Probably because it was a new move," Daisy reasoned. "And you can't expect Pikachu to remember a new move right away. Give him some time to learn it from Eevee."

In the meantime, Misty was stretching and saying, "I'm heading back to the Pokémon center. I'm not sticking around for the bugs."

Ash nodded. "Okay. Have fun!"

So Misty packed her stuff up and went out of the clearing, back where they had come from. Once she was gone, Ash couldn't help but sigh in relief. He was sure she would not yell at him anymore, but he was still scared she would the moment she got really ticked off.

"You can't be scared of Misty forever, Ash," Daisy said, noticing the sigh. "I didn't like how she yelled at you, but we're trying to get over it. Focus on now and not then."

"Did you learn that from Professor Oak?" Ash asked with a small smile.

Daisy nodded. "Yep. If you've had Professor Oak as a grandpa, something smart will rub off on you," she replied with a smile. Looking back to the Pokémon, she called, "Eevee, time to take a break!"

Eevee, who had been panting a lot from using Iron Tail a lot, nodded and ran back to her side. Pikachu joined her, also panting, and he looked very disappointed in himself. Ash beckoned for him to jump onto his shoulder while Daisy took out what appeared to be food and medicine.

"Come on out, Beedrill!" she then said, tossing out a ball. Beedrill came out, and Ash was afraid it was going to go after them angrily. Instead, it was buzzing rather calmly and nodded gratefully when Daisy handed it some food.

"You too, guys!" Ash joined in, tossing three balls out. Out came Pidgey, Butterfree, and Nidoran, and they all cheered when they got to their food.

"I think I now why we stopped for a break," Ash said. "It's to relax our minds and the minds of our Pokémon too, right?"

Daisy nodded. "Yes. I learned a lot from my mom," she said. Then, with a blush, she added, "That, and I've been starving since this morning. What time is it?"

Ash checked his watch. "A little past twelve at noon," he reported.

"Good," Daisy said. "Now let's eat."

Thus, the two trainers and their six Pokémon dived into their food. The humans' food consisted of some turkey sandwiches Daisy made, cookies, and some grape juice. As for the Pokémon, they had Pokémon chow that Daisy's mother had made, for she had been a breeder. Ash himself preferred to eat the crust of the sandwich first before finishing it while Pikachu picked up any crumbs to add to the Pokémon food.

Once lunch was over, it was time for battle practice. Ash was going to spar with Daisy, and he was rather surprised to see her using Beedrill and Eevee at the same time. Most of the battles he had seen on T.V. were single battles. There also appeared to be what looked like a necklace with a green berry on it around Eevee's neck; Ash had never really noticed it until now.

"In case Brock's Pokémon use Rock Polish, you need to get your Pokémon countering them with strength," Daisy explained. "Beedrill knows Agility, so he's going to be one of your foes for today. So go ahead and choose your next Pokémon."

"Okay," Ash said, tossing out a ball. "Nidoran, I choose you!"

Nidoran came out of the ball, looking ready to go as he pawed the ground. Pikachu looked around at him before doing the same.

"Beedrill, Agility!" Daisy called. "And Eevee, Iron Tail on Nidoran!"

"Pikachu, dodge to the side!" Ash called. "And Nidoran, Double Kick on Eevee!"

Pikachu waited until Beedril was close enough to him before jumping to the side. Eevee's tail glowed silver and slammed it towards Nidoran, but Nidoran countered each strike with Double Kick. Once Beedrill had gotten close enough, Pikachu's tail started glowing silver.

"Great!" Ash cheered. "Pikachu, Iron Tail!"

So Pikachu tried slamming Beedrill with Iron Tail, but just like before, the attack cancelled out, and his tail ended up harmlessly grazing Beedrill's side. It was the third time this had happened, first with Onix and then with the rock. Ash felt that if Pikachu did not learn Iron Tail quickly, then he would have to keep repeating the gym until he got it right. Either that, or he would have to go through Viridian Forest and catch some more Pokémon.

"You were almost there," Daisy called. "But you'll need to do better than that. Eevee, Quick Attack combined with Iron Tail!"

"Okay then," Ash said. "Pikachu, Quick Attack and try Iron Tail again!"

Pikachu ran over and let his tail glow silver again, reaching Eevee and lashing out with his tail. But just before the tail made contact with Eevee, the silver glow lost its effect, and Pikachu merely gave Eevee a light slap on the face. Apparently noticing this, the Evolution Pokémon noticed this, for she smirked and retaliated with an Iron Tail of her own, slamming it into Pikachu's side.

"Better focus on Nidoran too," Ash said. "Nidoran, Double Kick on Eevee!"

Nidoran darted forward, but Beedrill came to intercept the attack, no-selling it and shrugging it off. Then at a command from Daisy, the drill bee Pokémon started firing a barrage of Poison Stings at Nidoran, distracting him from the match between Pikachu and Eevee. It was not as dangerous as the battle against the wild Beedrill since Daisy's Beedrill was aiming to spar, not kill.

"Pikachu, Iron Tail one more time!" Ash called. "Nidoran, Peck!"

So Pikachu ran forward with his tail glowing while Nidoran pawed the ground and jumped forward, head lowered.

"Eevee, Iron Tail on Pikachu again!" Daisy commanded. "And Beedrill, Agility and then use Poison Sting!"

So Eevee charged forward with Iron Tail again, and Beedrill sped around before firing Poison Stings. Nidoran reached Beedrill and tried jabbing it with his horn, but the Bug-type was too swift to properly jab. As for Pikachu, the Iron Tail was getting completed as he swung it on Eevee, but the tail once again faded back to its regular yellow color when it made contact. To the side, he saw Pidgey and Buttefree practicing without him telling them too; Ash guessed that they decided to just do what their comrades were doing.

"That was really close," Daisy commended Ash. "But I'm getting kinda tired. I think we'll practice more during the night. Why don't we go back to the Pokémon center?"

"Can't we stay out here some more?" Ash protested.

Daisy shook her head, wiping her forehead. "Ash, I'm getting tired, and so are Eevee and Beedrill. And I'm sure your Pokémon are tired too."

Ash looked around. Pikachu was looking exhausted, panting and trying to stand on his feet. Nidoran was also tired, but it was not as tired as Pikachu. Due to their slip-ups in flying, Pidgey and Butterfree were also looking tired from training. Ash did not want to stop training, but he knew Daisy was right. If they were to defeat Brock the next day, then they would have to take breaks during training.

"You're right," he finally conceded. "Let's go back."

So Ash and Daisy recalled their Pokémon while Ash went to pick Pikachu up. The mouse Pokémon was looking tired, but he gave his trainer a smile and a lick on the cheek before settling onto his shoulder.

Once they made it back to Viridian City, they made sure their Pokémon were healed before heading into the Pokémon center lobby. There, Misty was polishing the horn of a red-and-white fish-like Pokémon, whose frilly fins were brushing against its trainer's legs. Ash's Pokédex beeped from his pocket, and he took it out so it could say, "Goldeen is the Goldfish Pokémon. Though it appears very elegant when swimming with fins unfurled, it can jab powerfully with its horn."

"How did training go?" Misty asked, recalling Goldeen into its PokéBall.

"Pikachu's Iron Tail is slowly getting there," Ash said. "But it's not enough."

"But if you give up, then Pikachu won't learn Iron Tail in time," Daisy told him. "We're just going to have to train harder."

Misty stood up from the sofa and said, "There's a stadium at the back of the Pokémon center. If we can go there, Ash, I'll train with you."

Ash nodded, recalling the stadium at the back of the Viridian City center, but he was still a little worried. What if Misty yelled at him for mistakes during training? But he told himself not to worry; as Daisy had said, he needed to stop being scared of the Cerulean City gym leader. He was going to accept the offer of being trained by her.

Though he never got the chance to reply, for a tap on the window made Ash, Pikachu, and the girls look around. A middle-aged man with a short-sleeved yellow shirt, green pants, brown shoes, and a shaggy brown beard was sitting on a rock outside, beckoning them over. They headed outside to greet this man, who had gotten down from the rock. When they got closer to him, Ash saw that he looked a little like someone he had just met recently.

"Who are you?" Ash asked right away. His mother had always taught him to try and know a person before fully trusting them.

"I heard how you battled my son and lost," the man said. "I'm his father Flint, and I was there when I saw you battle him. No wonder he's the gym leader of Pewter City. And you're standing on my merchandise," he added.

"Really? Sorry," Ash said, stepping off of the rock. Now he knew why this man looked familiar. "Why didn't you show yourself earlier?"

Daisy nodded. "Yeah. And did Brock let you into the gym earlier?"

"I don't like drawing too much attention to myself. And I got something that can help out," Flint said, avoiding Daisy's question while holding up a disc. "This here is a Technical Machine, TM for short if you wanna go that way. This one here is a TM for Iron Tail; it's been outdated, but I've been saving this for some sucker to give some of my merchandise a try. So...give it a try, free of charge."

"Um...thanks," Ash said as Pikachu hopped off his shoulder. He took the TM from Flint and asked, "You ready for this, buddy? Ready for it to work this time?"

Pikachu gave a firm nod. "Pika Pikachu!" the electric rodent confirmed.

Ash looked down at the TM, feeling a little more doubtful. "Are you sure? We can continue training if you want."

"Pika!" Pikachu confirmed again.

Feeling a little more confident this time, Ash pressed the TM slightly to Pikachu's forehead. Pikachu grunted from the energy he was absorbing while Misty and Daisy watched on in awe. At last, Ash lifted the TM away, and Pikachu let his tail glow silver before running over to a nearby rock. With a cry, he slammed his tail against the rock, which caused a large dent to appear.

"Wow!" Ash exclaimed. "It left a mark this time!"

"I never really knew TMs worked like that," Daisy said. "I had my Eevee hatched with Iron Tail, but I never knew it was that easy!"

Misty was the only one besides Flint who was not surprised. "It's what happened whenever I gave TMs to trainers who beat me in a gym battle," she said. "Some give the move to a Pokémon right away, while others wait until later."

Ash looked up at her, wanting to stay on her good side. "What TM do you give out?"

"Water Pulse," Misty replied proudly. "It confuses enemies sometimes."

"And Iron Tail weakens a foe's defense," Flint added. "I know you can do this, kid. I can imagine you in the Pokémon League, plowing through whatever comes your way."

Ash did not know about that. He knew he wanted to go up to the Pokémon League once he was trained enough, but he did not know about actually plowing through his enemies.

"Then we'll do it tomorrow," Ash said with a determined look. "We'll use Iron Tail to win the gym this time! I've come this far in my journey, and I'm not gonna quit now."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu added, pumping a paw-fist.

"Hold on a second," Misty said, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Like Daisy said, practice first. Practice makes perfect after all."

Ash agreed. It would take more than just Iron Tail to defeat Brock's Rock-type Pokémon.

"Brock is a very good gym leader," Flint spoke up. "His own talents could take him much further than simply being a local gym leader. But he has his reasons, and he'll just have to do his best to fight you tomorrow, and so do you. And by the way," he added with a smirk, "that'll be a two dollar charge for standing on my rocks."

Everyone groaned.

To be continued...

...

Wildstar93: There we go, folks, and I think I'll leave it off there. This chapter has finally arrived, and the next chapter will be the rematch against Brock. I won't promise that I'll upload everyday, but I promise to do my best. And I hope you all like this chapter. If there is anything wrong with this chapter, let me know, and I'll fix it. I appreciate constructive criticism as long as you're polite about it.

I'm also currently writing another book, called Sam. It tells of a Dalmatian named Sam who lives in a crummy New York City apartment who wishes to go on an adventure. He gets what he wishes for when his owner (a police officer) dies from wounds against a criminal, and he has to live on the streets. There, he meets a wisecracking raccoon and a headstrong husky, and the three make a great journey to Central Park, where they could roam free. But obstacles meet them along the way, including lots of traffic, a gang of dogs out to end them, and Sam's own anger issues.

See ya next time!