Me: I'm back with another chapter.
Ash, May: Welcome back.
Me: Thank you. At least I know someone missed me.
Random Snorlax: (snoring as a bubble pops out of his nose saying "She doesn't own Pokémon")
Me: Darn, you know it's right.
Ash: Sadly.
May: Yeah.
Me: Let's get this story started, people. (AN/think of the chapter titles as the titles of movies or something)
Chapter 11: Training All or Nothing
Rose, Max, and Molly woke up bright and early. Molly ran outside with her pokéballs tossing them out and calling their names. Rose and Max followed suit. Soon all the Pokémon were out ready for battle. Everyone of the trainers, except Heather and May, were excited and ready for training. Um…maybe Ash is an exception too.
"Let's go Treecko and Ralts." The two Pokémon appeared in a flash of light. As Max called them out. He was going to train against Rose for a while.
"Let's go Zippy and Spark." Rose called as her lizard and mouse emerged. Spark, her Pikachu, flexed her paws in a battle like way while Zippy, her Charmander, lazily yawned.
"Treecko try a Pound attack on Pikachu, Ralts use Sing on Charmander." Max called.
"Zippy, in the air." Max stared at her with a perplexed look, as did Charmander.
"Um, I hope you know that Charmander cannot fly, Rose."
Rose looked sheepishly at the two. "Right, I knew that." She said. "Zippy use Heal." Max groaned and slapped his head.
"Zippy hasn't even been attacked yet. Also, Zippy doesn't know Heal."
"I know that." She said frustrated. "Cry Zippo." Zippo looked at her confused, but began bawling like a baby. The Ralts stopped in his tracks, before he could even sing. He covered his…head in an attempt to stop the crying.
"Alright, while her guard is down. Treecko use Pound on Pikachu." Treecko jumped up and swung his tail, slapping the small mouse in her face.
"Spark, get up." Spark rose to her feet, staggering slightly. "Spark use Thunderbolt." Spark jumped up, sparks flying from her cheeks, and used a Thunderbolt on the grass Pokémon. He smirked and dodged, flicking his tail tauntingly in her face.
"Electric types aren't extremely good against grass types." Max commented. Rose smirked. She wagged her finger in his face.
"That's where you're wrong Max. I've been traveling with you long enough to know that I can so beat a grass type with my cute little Pikachu.
Max shrugged. "Whatever. Continue the battle."
"Gladly. Spark use Tail Whip on Ralts. Zippy use Ember on Treecko."
"Treecko dodge. Ralts Confusion."
The gecko dodged as small flames were shot at it. The mouse ran towards the psychic type and was about to wag her tail, when she was shot back by a Confusion attack.
Treecko glared at the mouse and lizard as they glared back. Treecko ran at the lizard and slammed his tail into its head. The lizard staggered a bit before pushing back with its claws, slicing Treecko slightly. "Guys this isn't time to be fighting without commands." Rose called to the bickering Pokémon.
"Cko." Treecko slammed his tail hard into Charmander who went spiraling backwards, releasing a stream of flame at the unsuspecting gecko.
"Treecko." Max screamed, as the Ember shot down his Pokémon. The charred gecko looked up, exasperated, before fainting.
"Treecko is down and out for the count. The first match goes to Rose and her Zippy." Zippy smirked and carelessly tossed some fire into the air. The children ran out of the way as the fire rained down.
"What was that?" Molly and Rose asked, startled.
"That was the first time I've ever seen it used in battle, but that was a Fire Rain. It charges up fire power by raining down fire. Though it is highly dangerous, it is a new ability of Charmander." Max said. His eyes were gazing with amazement and wonder at the small lizard. It carelessly yawned and smirked.
"Well then let's continue this match. Charmander and Pikachu VS Ralts." Molly called.
"Zippy Scratch. Spark, use your Thunderbolt."
The mouse jumped up and launched a Thunderbolt while the lizard ran at it with its claws bared.
"Dodge it with a Protect, Ralts."
Ralts put up a barrier to stop the two attacks. The attacks bounced off carelessly leaving two stunned Pokémon.
"Wow, that's really neat Max." Rose commented.
"Ralts use Confusion." Ralt's eyes glowed blue as he launched the two Pokémon into the air. The Pokémon were sent flying into a tree nearby. Crashing into each other, the two landed with swirls in their eyes.
"Max is the winner of the match and the entire battle." Molly said, with wide-eyes.
"Yay we did it Ralts." Max said hugging the small Pokémon. It smiled and flashed a grin at him.
"Rose, you're competing today aren't you?" Max asked walking over to her. She shook her head. "Nope. I'm going to stick to just raising my Pokémon in practice battles. I think I'll be a breeder like Heather, rather than a trainer like you guys."
"Wow. Good decision then Rose." Max said smiling. "Wish us luck during our gym battle."
Rose shook Max's hands. "It's a deal Max. I'll be cheering the loudest." She said laughing slightly. Molly gave a small grunt as she looked at the two. Molly was just about to mutter when she heard a voice behind her. At first, she assumed it was the wind, then she realized it was Heather's telepathy. "You like him, I know you do."
Molly blushed. She did like Max, but was too afraid to admit it, thinking that Rose did too.
"Hey Molly, good job being the referee." Max commented. She turned a light pink and smiled at him.
"Thanks Max." She said as the pink subsided.
Heather, May, and Ash were just walking out of the center. The three smiled at the younger three. Brendan was tagging behind, yawning. He looked at them and gave a small wave before acting like he was yawning and putting his arm around Heather.
"Hey sweetie." Brendan said smiling. Heather blushed.
"Um, hi Brendan." Heather said. She turned towards her siblings and their friend. The three were laughing as Molly picked up her backpack and headed next to Heather. She tugged on Heather's sleeve and whispered in her ear, "You like him so it makes no difference if I like Max." Heather blushed more. "I do not." "Do too." She whispered back smiling.
Molly skipped over to Ash, who was holding onto May's arm. "I'm keeping you out of danger." He said smiling. May blushed. Molly looked at them and laughed. "Lovers." She said smirking. The two glared daggers at her, before gazing at each other and blushing.
Molly walked beside Max and held his hand. "Come on Max, let's go get you ready for your big battle."
"I have to go get my Pokémon healed first." Max said, rushing into the center. Molly sighed. An attempt at making him notice her had only made him ignore.
"Well guys, let's get ready for my match." Ash said, his eyes going up in flames. Heather and the others burst into laughter. He sure was excited. Max came running out, pokéballs in hands. "Ready." He called.
The three were about to walk further when they heard a rustling in the bushes, to Ash's left. He walked over, slightly shocked, and reached down into the bushes. He found a small Pokémon that was on its side, rolling with pain. Ash scanned it with his Pokédex.
Skeeter, the quick rat Pokémon. It charges power by kicking its hind paws. The teeth on this Pokémon can chomp through even the thickest steel.
Ash closed his Pokédex and looked at the small rat. It was blue with a silvery tail and marks on its paws. It looked like it had put up a tough battle. Just as Ash was about to turn around a group of angry Vigoroth came charging out of the bushes behind him. They were glaring and swinging their claws, looking at the small rat. Pikachu jumped from Ash's shoulders and shocked them, attempting to scare them away.
The Pokémon stomped away, slightly dazed. Ash sighed as he cuddled the small rat. It looked up at him with its small eyes. "Come on Skeeter, you look hurt." Ash said, placing the Pokémon inside his jacket. It looked up weakly before snuggling into his jacket.
Pikachu jumped onto Ash's head as the two ran into the Pokémon center to get Skeeter healed. The others followed anxiously. Ash handed it to Nurse Joy and watched as she wheeled it away. They watched as the light lit up and then shut off, signaling it was healed.
"Your Skeeter will be just fine. A nice rest did her good." Ash looked at Pikachu, so this Skeeter was a girl. He walked into the room and found the small rat sitting up, its tiny teeth rubbing together making a harmonic noise. "Skee skeet skeeter skeee." It chanted. It jumped into Ash's arms. The rat nuzzled him, as if saying it wanted to be his Pokémon.
"Do you want to be my Pokémon Skeeter?" The rat looked up smiling brightly. Ash grinned. "We caught a Skeeter and just in time for my battle too." Ash said. Pikachu gave a "pikapi." In response.
Ash and the others walked out of the center, Skeeter residing on his head, and were heading for the gym when they noticed all the Pokémon around. A Sandshrew was burrowing a tunnel nearby. A Stantler was licking up some berries in the forest. Skarmory, Pidgey and Meranix were nesting in the trees around them. Ash looked at the fiery bird in envy.
Iceix were running in circles close to their almost twins, Vulpix. The Pokémon were bustling about while the trainers looked on in wonder. Everything was so calm around there that is until our favorite villains appeared.
"Look a trainer over there."
"A bunch of them in quite a few pairs."
"It's time to steal with our brand new phrase."
"You may get tired of these someday."
"Jessie."
"James."
"Putting the twerps in their place."
"We're Team Rocket in a new time and place."
"Meowth that's great."
"Team Rocket." May yelled clenching her fists. "What do you want?"
Jessie cackled. "Well by our new phrase I thought you'd know that we, of coarse, are here for your Pokémon."
"Will you guys ever give up?" Ash asked, clenching his fists. "You can't have Pikachu."
"Oh, but what makes you think Pikachu is what we want?" Jessie asked smirking.
"But of coarse, we're after the girls' Pokémon today." James added smirking.
"We're going to make dough off of them and their Pokémon with our new machine." (Cue awesome theme music) "The Robot Mecha Armada 3,000 with 10 times the sucking power of our other machines and at least 3 times that much space." The three jumped in the machine while Jessie flicked a switch. The machine turned on and began sucking at the children at top speed. First it grabbed May, then Rose, then Molly and in attempt to get Heather, they lost control.
The machine began spinning and twirling the sucking arms. May could be seen, under the two younger girls, as the machine was about to explode. "Get them out of there." Heather called, sending out her trusty Bakufun. He slammed into the machine's capsule and broke it, freeing Molly, and Rose. The elder girl was struggling to get out when the machine started to rock, signaling it would blow up soon. Ash reached out his hand, and May grabbed it, clutching it tightly.
There was a large explosion as Ash freed May, who was crying at how she was almost sent flying from the blast. The machine blew up and Team Rocket went "blasting off" again.
"It's alright." Ash soothed, rubbing May's back. She buried her head into his chest as he rubbed her back. Skeeter jumped down from his head, screeching in hatred at the charred figures that went flying over the horizon. They had nearly killed/harmed an innocent person. "Let's go get my gym badge and put this behind us." Ash said, wiping the tears from May's eyes. She nodded and the group set out for the gym.
GymAsh walked bravely into the gym. "Hello, we've come here for a badge." Ash called into the darkness. The lights flickered on and a man was revealed, cracking his knuckles.
"Yeah, you came to the right place dude." He said. "My name's Knuckles. I'm the gym leader here." He slammed his feet into the ground, stomping them. "I use the Pokémon of the ground like element. Hooha." He shouted. Rose stood by Max, clutching his shoulders in fear.
"My name is Ash Ketchum. I come from the town of Pallet and I hereby challenge you to a match, Knuckles." Pikachu and Skeeter jumped down.
"What puny Pokémon that are completely and totally worthless for this match." He said laughing. "Unless your Pokémon fly, I doubt you'll win this easily."
"We'll see about that." Ash said.
"Well in that case, let's get started." Knuckles shouted. Ash smirked. "The rules are we use three Pokémon each." Knuckles shouted. "No time limit. First one with all or most Pokémon standing wins. Hooha." He stamped his foot as Ash groaned.
"I only have two Pokémon." He sighed.
"Just two? How pathetic. You must be a waste of time."
"I am not. I have plenty of Pokémon, I just left them all at home."
"That's why you carry a lot of Pokémon at a time in this region. Because you are tested. Hooha." Knuckles shouted.
"Well I'm not giving up yet. We've come to far to lose." Ash shouted. He turned to Heather and dropped down in front of her. "Please let me use a Pokémon for this match. Please."
"I will, but I doubt they'll listen to you." Heather said. She tossed him a pokéball with a glittery appearance.
"What is this?" Ash asked. He tossed it to the ground and a cute-eyed Spheal appeared. "Awesome. I've never had a Spheal." He called. Spheal looked at him slightly confused. Heather knelt by it.
"Spheal, girl, this is Ash and he needs to use you in this battle for a badge. You can trust him girl." The Spheal nodded and rolled towards Knuckles.
"So you're going to borrow a Pokémon. You make me laugh. Ah well, if you can't win with that, too bad too sad." He held up a pokéball. "Go Basheon." A fox like Pokémon with a horn on its head appeared. Ash held up his Pokédex and it whirred.
Basheon the rock fox Pokémon. It is said to evolve from Eevee with the hard stone. Its power mostly comes from the horn on its head. It is of the ground type.
"Alright let's go Skeeter." The rat stood ready for battle. She gnawed her teeth, making a static like power shoot through. "Skeeter use Headbutt." The rat charged at the strong looking Eevee stage. It slammed its head into the Pokémon's head, only to be shot backwards by its horn.
"Horn Drill." Knuckles shouted, slamming his foot on the ground. Basheon's horn glowed a steely color and it charged its horn into the small rat's underbelly.
"Skeeter use Tunnel." Ash cried. Skeeter began digging a tunnel under Basheon's feet it then continued to tunnel as the small fox got stuck in the tunnel. It appeared behind the fox and slammed its head into it. The fox skidded through the tunnel and appeared on Ash's side of the battle field.
"Use that tunnel to your advantage Basheon." The fox crawled into the tunnel, hiding in it. It soon appeared using an Earthquake. The tremors shook the ground, slamming into the rat. It went flying backwards, but wasn't giving up.
"Use Steel Fang." Ash yelled. The rat rubbed its teeth together and bit onto the fox. The teeth sunk into the fox's hard bristly fur, and pierced into its soft underbelly. It let out a yelp and began running, rat attached, in circles. It soon fainted.
"First match goes to Ash and his Skeeter." The referee yelled.
"We did it Skeeter." Ash cried, hugging it.
"Hmph. Tough luck." Knuckles shouted, recalling Basheon. "Let's go Greel." His pokéball snapped open revealing a small eel like Pokémon. The eel was brown with gray spots.
Greel the ground eel Pokémon. It is of the water/ground elements. With its tail it swiftly moves on the ground and in the water.
"Skeeter, can you keep going?" Ash asked. The rat grinned and bared its teeth. "Okay! Use Quick Attack." The rat went flying towards the eel, which used its tail to dodge. The rat, however, was quicker and managed to strike it down.
"Greel get up and use your Muddy Water." Ash looked at the Pokémon with worry on his face 'shit.' He thought. 'If it hits, we're done for.'
"Skeeter, use your speed to dodge." Skeeter looked at Ash and began circling around to dodge the attack that would come. The Muddy Water went into the tunnel that had previously been dug by Skeeter in the first match. The water struck Skeeter, who was on one end of it. "Skeeeeeeeee." It squealed as it was thrown back.
"Skeeter is unable to battle, Greel wins. Knuckles wins round two." The ref shouted.
"Yeah. Hooha. We took down your speed." Knuckles shouted. "Now what will you send out."
"I chose you, Pikachu." Ash shouted, turning towards his mouse. The mouse went flying towards the battlefield, as Ash recalled the rat. "Use your Iron Tail." Pikachu slammed his tail into the eel. The eel staggered a bit.
"Greel, use Sonicboom." The eel shot a Sonicboom at Pikachu, who countered it with its tail.
"Pikachu use Volt Tackle." The electric mouse ran towards the eel, his body glowing with sparks.
"I don't think so." "Use your Sonicboom to counter." The eel launched a Sonicboom as the two Pokémon collided. There was an explosion and when the dust cleared, there lay Pikachu, swirls in his eyes. Greel was staggering from the pain. Greel finally collapsed.
"The Pokémon are both unable to continue. You both win that match. Send out your last Pokémon."
"I chose you Gligar." Knuckles called, returning his Greel.
"I chose you Spheal." Ash shouted. He held Pikachu in his arms. "Spheal use your Ice Beam."
Spheal opened her mouth and shot a stream of ice at the flying scorpion-like Pokémon. It had no time to dodge and its wings were frozen. "Gligar." Knuckles shouted. "Try to fly at it." The gliding Pokémon jumped down, in an attempt to fly at it, but couldn't move because of its wings being frozen. "Shit." Knuckles snarled.
"That's right." Ash laughed. "Use Snow." The Pokémon shot a snow/ice combination attack at the gliding Pokémon. It then launched a Water Pulse, which delivered the final blow. Gligar collapsed to the ground, unable to continue.
"Gligar is out. The winner is Ash Ketchum." The ref shouted. Knuckles recalled his Pokémon and grinned sheepishly. "Well, you won fair and square boy. Here's your badge, the Landslide Badge." Ash picked up the badge and held it in his hands.
"We won the Lanslide badge." Pikachu gave a small squeal of agreement that matched Ash's enthusiasm. The group laughed as Max got prepared for his match.
Ash handed Heather back her Spheal and thanked her. The two shook hands and Ash sat on the bleachers by May, who was cheering loudly. Rose glared at her and cheered louder. Molly sat watching quietly.
"The match between Max of Petalburg and Knuckles is underway. Battle begin." The ref called.
"Go Greel." Knuckles called, sending out his Pokémon.
"Get them Treecko." Max shouted. The grass type appeared in a flash of light. "Use Grass Whistle."
Greel fell into a deep sleep. Max smirked. Treecko then used a Bullet Seed. A flurry of seeds rained down on the small Pokémon. It was delivered the final blow from a Pound attack and declared unable to battle. Because Max was a beginner trainer, he was allowed substitutions.
"Alright, return Greel, since you're down and go Sandshrew." The shrew appeared in a flash of light. It hit its chest lightly, smirking at Treecko.
"Treecko, let's go." Max called. "Use Pound." The gecko slammed his tail into the shrew, which skidded across the ground.
"Get out there and use Scratch." Knuckles shouted. The shrew bared his claws, swiping at the gecko. The gecko merrily dodged and used a Bullet Seed followed by a Pound. The shrew staggered to go on. Then the battle got interesting. Both Pokémon lit up and were absorbed in white lights. Treecko now had blades on his arms and had lost his tail. Sandshrew now had more spikes and had sharper claws.
"They evolved." Molly's eyes went wide with shock. "This could be interesting." Heather said smirking.
"Get out there and use your Leaf Blade now." Grovyle, the newly evolved Treecko, used his blades to slash the shrew. The shrew got back up, barely standing and tried to scratch it. Grovyle dodged swiftly and used Pound. The shrew fainted, unable to battle.
"Alright Grovyle." Max cheered. He hugged his newly evolved Pokémon as Knuckles called out his last choice.
"Go Barboach." He cried. The fish appeared swaying back and forth. Max's eyes went wide. He could just call out one Leaf Blade and win. He shrugged.
"Well Grovyle, use Leaf Blade and end this one fast." Grovyle charged at the slow fish (that's right, it's really, really slow) and used a Leaf Blade. His blades sliced through the fish, which was instantly KO'd.
"The match goes to Max from Petalburg." Max nodded and swung his Grovyle into a hug. "You did so great out there buddy." He cheered. Grovyle grinned sheepishly as Max was presented his badge. Ralts and Grovyle stood beside him, cheering him on. Knuckles laughed.
"Well does any of the girlies want to challenge me, the almighty Knuckles, for a badge?"
Molly and Rose shook their heads. "We wanted to, but we both agree we want to be like our sister. We want to be breeders."
"How cute. Well then children, have a safe trip." Knuckles shouted, his hand in a wave.
"Thanks and we will." Ash called. He turned towards Max and the two grinned. "Isn't this great? We got our first badges, you won your first gym battle and your Grovyle even evolved!" Max nodded smiling. His Ralts was perched on his shoulder and his Grovyle walked beside him.
"Guys." A voice called from behind them. "Wait for us." It was, of coarse, May. She was bringing up the rear of the group that was walking. She sighed and panted once she caught up to them. "I know you're excited, but the center was back that way." She sighed.
Max smirked slightly. "Who says we're stopping at the center. We're going to go all the way to the next town, only stopping once. So take your chances on when." Max said. They were nearing a shrubbery that was closer to the next town. May sat down stubbornly.
"We're staying right here and we're going to rest whether you guys want to or not."
"Fine May." Max said grunting. The group gathered around and set up camp. Heather's Bakufun lit a fire while Grovyle and Ralts gathered fire wood. The group set up the fire, unrolled their sleeping bags, and fell asleep. Brendan was laying beside Heather, who laid beside May, who laid beside Ash, who laid beside Molly, who laid beside Rose, who laid beside Max. (that's a mouthful) Everyone was awaiting their next contest/gym battle.
Me: I apologize times a thousand if this seems rushed. I just feel I should post something extremely fast and I hope you all know I stayed up until 10:49 PM to write it.
Ash: Wow that's kind of late, but the latest you've stayed up is 2:00 AM.
May: Yeah, so why do you call this late?
Me: Because this is the latest I've stayed up typing a story, not MSNing my friends.
May and Ash: Oh.
Me: Yeah. So Brendan is still hanging around the guys and I'm having random wishes that I should've totally made Brendan, Gary.
Molly: Wow.
Rose: Mouthful.
Me: Stop eating sugar before bed.
Molly and Rose: Who said we did?
Me: Um…it's all over in your hyper attitude.
Molly: Whoishyperagain?
Me: (sighs)
Rose: I'mnothyperasher.
Me: Just shut up! Happy reading, spread the news if you really, really want this to continue.
