"You know, I think you look better without all of the makeup and extra stuff. Your blue hair is much prettier than the wig."
"My, quite the charmer, aren't you?" Erika said.
Ash shrugged. "I say it as I see it. Let's get started. Pidgeotto, battle stance!"
"Well, this may be a problem. Tangela, your turn! Stun Spore!"
The cloud of yellow spores shot towards Pidgeotto. Pidgeotto evaded easily enough, having practiced dodging the move, not only by itself, but boosted by a Gust as well.
"Air Cutter, Pidgeotto!"
Erika smirked. "Tangela, Shock Wave!"
The yellow bolt of lightning shot from Tangela's vines, speeding towards Pidgeotto and ready to chase if necessary. It dispersed the blades of wind easily.
"Well, you can't dodge that one, but," Ash smirked, "Steel Wing and redirect!"
Pidgeotto's wings glowed silver and he aligned himself vertically, stabbing a wing into the ground. The electricity stuck him and he grunted, but soon enough the energy drained into the ground.
"What?!" Erika shouted in surprise.
"Finish it! Air Slash, Pidgeotto!"
He flapped his wings furiously and threw a flurry of wind razor blades. They slammed into Tangela, knocking it out. Pidgeotto cried out in victory, a glow engulfing his body as he evolved.
"Alright! About time!" he shouted, flapping his now larger wings strongly.
"Congratulations, Pidgeot!" Ash's other Pokémon shouted. Charmeleon, Ivysaur, and Wartortle were pumped up. Gengar and Pidgeot were in their final evolutionary states now. They'd also heard that Krabby had been training hard and evolved into a Kingler. They were all eager to evolve as well and just needed a good battle.
"Great job, buddy. Take a break. Pikachu, you're up for the next two," he called to his best friend.
"What, really? Awesome! It's been a while," Pikachu said, eager to fight.
The other Pokémon just shook their heads. Pikachu didn't get used too much in trainer battles. He was simply too strong for most trainers. Pikachu could still take any four of them on in a fight if both he and Ash were serious.
"I'd lecture you on the effectiveness of Electric-Types against Grass-Types, but I imagine that doesn't apply to you. Victreebel, your turn!"
"We'll make the first move. Pikachu, Agility and Double Team!"
Erika groaned as the mouse Pokémon set off into movement. He immediately flickered out of vision, leaving after-images with his speed. The effect of Double Team got even more confusing to Victreebel as even the body doubles were moving at high speeds.
"We need to decrease his mobility! Victreebel, Acid!"
The purple liquid splotched over the field, trying to cut off Pikachu as he moved.
"No point in playing games, Electro Ball!"
"We need to inflict some damage! Leaf Tornado!"
The area filled with yellow orbs simultaneously tossed at Victreebel. He quickly whirled up a tornado of leaves to try to hit Pikachu. Direct hit. The giant plant fainted from the immense explosion and pain from the high-speed electric ball slamming into him.
Pikachu clicked his teeth as a few leaves cut him, but didn't sustain major damage. He returned to Ash and prepared for the next battle.
Erika nodded. "Good job, Victreebel. Alright then, the last battle. It's up to you, Gloom! Stun Spore and Sleep Spore all around!"
The Weed Pokémon shook its head and clouds of green and yellow erupted onto the field, locking up the area.
"Now, Sludge Bomb!"
"Light Screen, Pikachu!" A dazzling rainbow-colored wall came into existence in front of Pikachu, stopping the poison projectile.
"Pikachu, Iron Tail and Quick Attack!"
He quickly dashed into melee range in a second and slammed his glowing tail into Gloom, knocking it into the ground.
"Return, Gloom. You did well," she said, recalling her favorite Pokémon. "Well, it was a good battle, Ash," Erika said with a smile, walking over to the trainer. "Here is your Rainbow Badge."
Ash took it with a thankful nod and clipped it next to the rest. "Just three more now. Thank you for the battle, Erica. Do you mind if I use your field for something?"
The bluenette shook her head, "No, go ahead."
Misty and Brock tilted their heads. "What are you doing, Ash?" Misty asked.
"Battling exercise. Gengar, Pidgeot, join Pikachu please. Charmeleon, Ivysaur, Wartortle, on the other side with me."
The Pokémon all glanced at each other and nodded. They took their positions.
"Gengar, Pidgeot, Pikachu, attack freely. I'll be aiding the other three mentally." The trio nodded. "Charmeleon vs. Pikachu, Gengar vs. Wartortle, Pidgeot vs. Ivysaur."
"Mentally?" Erika asked, the rest of her assistants also curious.
Brock nodded. "He doesn't use it much, but he can also connect to his Pokémon telekinetically, like Sabrina. That way he can relay orders without delay."
"Why doesn't he use that tactic in official battles?" Erika asked.
"Ash is just too nice," Misty stated. "Unless he absolutely needs to, he considers it unfair."
Pikachu immediately jumped into action, starting off with a Quick Attack. Charmeleon's eyes glowed red with Scary Face, slightly intimidating Pikachu and decreasing the mouse's speed. He used Fire Spin on himself, becoming engulfed in a tornado of flame and blocking Pikachu from getting close to him.
Pikachu dug into the ground and Charmeleon immediately jumped after him, throwing a Flamethrower into the whole. Pikachu quickly re-emerged, dodging the erupting flames and flickered out of vision. He generated an Electro Ball and tossed it at Charmeleon. Charmeleon launched a Dragon Pulse to counter, but took an Iron Tail to the back as Pikachu made use of the window of vulnerability, planting the lizard into the ground.
Gengar launched a Shadow Ball at her opponent, colliding with a counter Water Pulse. Wartortle retreated into his shell and used Aqua Jet to ram into Gengar. She winded her fist back and slammed a Thunder Punch right into Wartortle, knocking him back. Electricity crackled over Wartortle's body. Paralysis had been inflicted.
He opened his mouth and shot a stream of boiling water at Gengar, who dodged easily enough. She floated in front of and held her arms apart. Two red orbs appeared. She merged the two orbs and shot a red beam at Wartortle from the orb. He fell asleep. Gengar stood back and a shadow version stepped out and flew through Wartortle. He cried out in pain.
Ivysaur rolled to the side as Air Cutters rained down towards him. He suddenly stopped and erected a Light Screen to stop the barrage, launching a Razor Leaf attack to throw Pidgeot off. The large bird maneuver out of the way and sent a large Gust towards Ivysaur. Ivysaur used his vines to ground himself and gritted his teeth.
His bulb opened up and shot a beam of energy into the sky, intensifying the sunlight. Ivysaur quickly charged a Solar Beam and shot it at Pidgeot. The bird daringly flew directly towards the attack before spinning, narrowly evading the attack. He slammed a Wing Attack into Ivysaur's face and planted him into the ground.
"Dear Arceus…his Pokémon are all that strong?" Erika said in awe. It was rather spectacular. "They move flawlessly as well…I see that verbal commands are more of a handicap for them…"
Misty and Brock nodded, but three sights drew their attention back to the field. All three starter Pokémon were finally evolving now. Ash was grinning madly.
Charizard, Venusaur, and Blastoise emerged from their various positions with loud roars of joy. "Alright! We did it!" they shouted simultaneously. They turned towards each other and grinned.
"Dude, you've got wings! That's awesome!" Venusaur shouted.
"Look at Venusaur! He's got a flower on his back!" Charizard laughed.
"Really mature, Charizard. Nice cannons, Blastoise," Venusaur smirked.
"Alright guys, let's finish this up with a bang!" Ash shouted, pumping his fist in the air.
Pidgeotto charged a Hyper Beam from his mouth.
Pikachu charged up, an aura of electricity readying for a Thunder.
Gengar generated a Shadow Ball in both hands.
Charizard took a deep breath and got ready for a Fire Blast.
Blastoise readied his cannons for two Water Pulses.
Venusaur charged another Solar Beam.
Brock, Misty, and Erika's eyes widened as they ducked. The moves shot and collided in the middle of the field, resulting in a large boom. Ash laughed loudly, clapping at the spectacle.
…..
Ash, Misty, and Brock departed from Celadon City a few days later. Ash had spent some time helping Erika and her employees with taking care of the Pokémon at the gym in apology for the commotion he had caused. They left on good terms.
Ash detected a large psychic presence in one of the towns and decided to investigate. They found that children had been missing for a few days now. Ash located the psychic signal and found out that a group of people were using Hypno as a solution to their insomnia. Ash scolded them all and asked the Drowzee to cancel out Hypno's effects on the Pokémon in the Pokémon Center and the children, who had been affected into believing they were Pokémon. With that problem solved, the group left the town. A Psyduck followed them out and Misty hesitated with catching it, but Ash convinced her to bring it along, promising to help her train it.
Brock found his own inspiration along the way when they met a famous Pokémon breeder named Suzy. She noticed the healthy state of the group's Pokémon and was impressed with Ash and Brock's food-making abilities. They had a long discussion over Pokémon care while Misty listened intently. Ash and Brock both got along splendidly with her Vulpix, which she was surprised by, even more so when she learned Ash's ability to communicate with Pokémon. Brock asked to become her apprentice in Pokémon breeding, but she stated that she still had much to learn.
"Your friend Ash is a good example of knowledge that I have yet to become aware of," Suzy stated. "I might be famous for my own success in releasing a Pokémon's inner beauty and keeping them healthy, I didn't know that you could use berries in such ways to stimulate them further. You both have actually taught me a lot."
After that, Suzy decided she was going to close her salon and travel around more. She asked Brock and Ash to take care of her Vulpix, seeing how the vixen actually liked them, but Ash declined the offer.
"Like you've said before, close personal relationships are the most important thing in raising a Pokémon, Suzy. I think Vulpix would grow the best with you, Suzy."
Suzy had her mouth slightly open in surprise, but it changed to a smile. "…You're right, Ash. Thank you both. Good luck on your journey!"
The group departed soon enough, though Brock was slightly regretful at not getting the apprenticeship he wanted.
"Don't mind it, Brock. I'm sure you'll still become a brilliant breeder without a teacher to guide you. I know you can do it."
Brock cheered up with those words. They resumed their journey to Fuchsia City. Pidgeot swapped out with Kingler, happy to go see Fearow again.
They eventually reached Gringey City. The city was dark and gloomy, with all of the lights off. After some wandering around, they found out that some Grimer and a Muk overran the power plant. The gang went off to help with the situation, eventually finding some of the employees and helping them drive off the hordes of Pokémon, redirecting the swarms of Pokémon to a different place to occupy. Ash found the Muk and caught it, sending it back to the Ranch.
'I should probably call about that soon,' Ash thought, feeling sorry for Professor Oak and the former Rocket trio.
Misty, Brock, and Ash encountered a small incident concerning construction on the home of some Diglett and Dugtrio, which was solved promptly with Ash's ability to just talk to them and find the problem. Construction was cancelled when the workers found out that they were building on the Pokémon's homes. On the bright side, the various trainers that were initially hired to guard the site were good battle partners for Brock and Misty.
Horsea evolved to Seadra and Geodude to Graveler. Psyduck was actually performing much better than Misty expected, which she apologized for. Ash spent a lot of time with Psyduck inside of his mind and eventually solved his constant headache problem. He had immense psychic potential, but the same potential caused the ambient head pain that he felt and was only released when he went over the pain threshold.
Upon reaching Fuchsia City, Ash was interested upon hearing some rumors about the style of gym. They headed to the outskirts of Fuchsia City to find the gym. The Ninja Mansion.
"Hello, is anyone here?" Ash called out.
Misty leaned against the wall, only to fall into a secret room. "Ow!"
Ash turned to see the regular-looking wall. He raised an eyebrow and pushed it open, rotating the secret door open. "Interesting…I guess that's why they called this the Ninja Mansion."
A Venonat walked out from the back of the room. "Hello!"
"Hi there. Do you happen to know where the gym leader is?"
It nodded, ran past the trio, out of the secret room, and into the hallway. "This way!"
Ash nodded and started to follow it deeper into the mansion. When it started running, the group jogged to catch up. Ash suddenly stopped and held the others back after they got a few steps in. He looked at the ground and stomped, sliding open a panel with a Voltorb in it.
"Well, that's kind of dangerous. Come on, let's keep going."
They walked up a staircase and looked around for the little bug Pokémon.
"Look, over there," Misty pointed. It was standing at the opposite side of the hallway.
Ash looked suspiciously at the long corridor. He walked forward slowly and his hands met a clear glass panel blocking the way. He looked back to the other two and walked past them, checking behind them.
"Looks like we're stuck in here for now," Ash said.
"We should try to get out of here. It might be some sort of trap," Brock said in concern.
Ash waved him off. "I don't feel any ill intent like that in this mansion…it seems to be more of a test."
"Hey, this way!"
Ash turned to see Venonat holding another secret turning door open for them. Ash looked back to the other two and they nodded, following him in.
He heard something whirring in the air. The trio saw a few projectiles flying towards them and Misty put her hands over her head and ducked. Ash quickly grabbed the objects out of mid-air, knocking away the lower down ones. He raised an eyebrow.
"Shuriken?" Ash tossed them at the ceiling. A figure dropped down quickly to dodge. "Those are dangerous, you know."
"Yet you seem to wield them just as easily as I. You're rather strange…" A woman with green, long hair and a pink kunoichi outfit on stood up from her crouched position. "Born in darkness, living in darkness, such is the fate of the ninja. I am Aya, the kunoichi."
"Isn't pink too bright of a color for a ninja?" Misty asked.
"I didn't ask for fashion advice," Aya snapped back. "Now then, I'd rather make fun of you for a clumsy attempt to get past our traps, but you passed perfectly."
A Voltorb rolled into the middle of the room and used Smokescreen, obscuring the room.
"You've still got a lot to learn, Aya." A man stood on the opposite side of the room, coming out of the smoke.
"I am sorry, honored brother. I have failed you," Aya said, taking a knee before the man.
Ash watched the new arrival with curiosity. 'Either standards for shinobi are poor or our shinobi were just plain strange,' Ash thought to himself. "You must be Koga, the gym leader of Fuchsia City."
"Yes, I am. I assume that you are here to challenge me to a battle?" Koga asked.
"Of course. Is this the battleground that we will use?"
"That is correct. Shall we start? My Pokémon will be Venonat," Koga stated briskly, releasing his own bug Pokémon.
Ash nodded. "Alright then. Kingler, battle ready!"
The crab emerged from his Pokéball, a good foot taller than the usual size for his species. "Hi Ash! Pleasure to be finally battling alongside you!" he said happily, clicking his claws.
Ash smiled and hugged the large crab. "I feel the same. I'm sorry for not bringing you out sooner, Kingler. I'm still trying to work out how to switch out Pokémon."
Kingler smiled with his eyes closed in understanding. "Oh, we understand, don't worry about it! The first few Pokémon that a trainer catches in a region tend to be the ones that they are most comfortable with, which sadly leads to a majority of trainers under-using the rest of their Pokémon that are immediately sent to storage! However, even though we are left at the ranch, the others and I never feel under-used! You have Lucario training us, after all, and treat us well when we are taken!"
Ash smiled back at the crab in thanks. "Looks like the Professor's been rubbing off on you. Intelligent and mellow as he is."
"Yes, but we get all of our determination and kindness from you!"
"Right," Ash said. He turned back to Koga. "Sorry about that, just a little talk."
"I don't mind. Let's begin. A ninja should always strike first and use the element of surprise!"
As he said that, Venonat evolved into Venomoth. "Venomoth, Stun Spore!"
"Bubblebeam and disperse it. Follow with Mud Shot and ground him!"
The stream of bubbles broke apart the cloud of spores and a large glob of mud followed, smacking into Venomoth and putting him to the ground.
"Vice Grip!" Ash called out. Kingler dashed over with speed that seemed too fast for his size and gripped onto the moth, clamping his claws shut. Venomoth fainted from the pressure.
"Venomoth, return! Golbat, I choose you! Strike, with Wing Attack!"
"That won't be working very well. Kingler, Harden!"
Golbat's wings clanged against Kingler's armored body, not affecting the tough crab much.
"Golbat, Sludge Bomb!"
"Kingler, Rock Slide!"
The crab hurled suddenly materialized large boulders at Golbat, breaking the projectiles of sludge. The rocks rearranged themselves around the flying bat in a circular formation before coming together and slamming into Golbat. The bat fell to the ground with swirls in its eyes.
Koga walked over to Ash, a smile on his face. "A brilliant battle. Here," he said, opening up a scroll, "the Soul Badge." Ash took the heart-shaped badge.
"You have shown me that we have much to learn in the way of battling. Come Aya, we have more training to do!"
"Yes, brother!"
Ash and Misty waved goodbye, dragging along Brock, who hadn't had the chance to hit on Aya. They left for Cinnabar Island.
…..
The group arrived on Cinnabar Island around two weeks later, having stopped by a lot of places to help with multiple small problems.
Along the way, they had obtained another egg to take care of. Misty held onto it since Ash already had his own. Eventually, the egg hatched into a Togepi, which marked Misty as her mother.
For some reason, they felt like they arrived on Cinnabar Island more quickly than they were supposed to.
After wandering around in the crowds of tourists for a long time, they came across a strange man. He was wearing circular black glasses and wearing a green bead necklace.
"These tourists have ruined the island!" he shouted energetically.
Ash raised an eyebrow and tapped the man's shoulder. "Hi, I was wondering, do you know where the Cinnabar Gym is?"
Ash felt a spike of emotion in the old man. "Well, it's-"
"You're the gym leader, aren't you? Blaine?"
The man's expression turned to shock. "How did you figure it out?"
"Well, I didn't know for sure until just now. I'm also a psychic, so when your emotions spiked abnormally when I mentioned looking for the gym, I figured you were the gym leader," Ash explained.
Blaine hung his head in defeat. "Oh, well, that stinks. I was hoping to lead you through a whole riddle path to the gym, but I guess we can just get right to the battle."
Blaine led the trio to the hot springs of an inn in the mountains. He pushed down the Gyarados statue on one side of the spring, opening a secret passage. They walked down the staircase and into a hot cave, the metal door in their way swinging open. They came into a battle arena hanging above a pit of lava, with two rock pillars on each side for you to walk onto the field.
Ash sweat dropped. "This is probably the most dangerous field I've ever seen for a battle."
Blaine just laughed and walked over to the opposite side, taking his place on the battlefield. "Don't mind it and come on! 3 on 3, let's go!"
Ash stepped onto his platform. "Blastoise, battle ready!"
"Ninetales, go! Fire-Type attacks won't work very well, so Extrasensory!"
Her eyes glowed golden and her tails started to whip around. She shot a rainbow-colored beam that was filled with crescents straight at Blastoise.
"Overpower it with a Hydro Pump!"
Blastoise's cannons primed and soon fired, launching the two ferocious jets of water right into the beam of psychic energy. The bursts of water broke through, slamming to Ninetales and drenching it with water. She fainted from the single hit.
"Return, Ninetales. For my next Pokémon, I choose Rhydon!"
"Come back, Blastoise. Venusaur, you're up!"
"Rhydon, take him out immediately with Horn Drill!"
"Don't give him a chance, Venusaur. Petal Dance!"
Pink petals flew out from Venusaur's flower and flew towards the charging Rhydon. Knowing that Rhydon didn't have any moves effective against Venusaur, Blaine went for a one-hit knockout and hoped Rhydon would be able to tank the damage. He was not. The large drill Pokémon collapsed to the ground, covered in petals.
"Return, Rhydon! Magmar, it's up to you!"
"Good job, Venusaur. Charizard, battle ready!"
The flame Pokémon moved into the arena, roaring a Flamethrower into the sky. "I'm all fired up!"
"Alright then. Show them why you're called the Spitfire Pokémon. Magmar, Fire Blast!"
"You won't lose to him in pure power, Charizard! Fire Blast, as well!"
Both Pokémon launched their Fire Blast simultaneously but when they collided, Charizard's attack consumed Magmar's and sped towards him.
"Dodge!"
Magmar rolled out of the way as the move exploded onto the ground.
"Dragon Dance, Charizard. Then, finish him off with Dragon Rush!"
Charizard quickly went through the motions for Dragon Dance before charging in. Blue light engulfed his body as he sped towards Magmar. The energy took on the shape of an intimidating dragon and slammed into Magmar full-force.
Blaine returned Magmar to his Pokéball and walked over to Ash. "Well, congratulations Ash. I'd give you a riddle, but I don't think you'd like that very much. Here's your Volcano Badge! You've earned it!"
"Thank you Blaine," Ash said, bowing in gratitude. "We'll be leaving now, I need to get to Viridian City."
Blaine nodded and the trio left immediately.
…..
A/N: That's the end of my completed chapters for Dimensions. I'm not sure when I'll be able to return to this story, but when I do, I'll notify you guys somehow. For now, this is discontinued and Harry Potter: Divergent Paths is my main project.