Enjoy.
"I'm Gary Oak, the Gym Leader of Viridian City," Ash's old rival announced, standing at the other end of the stadium. "And you are...?"
"U-uh," Ash stammered, "I-I'm Red! And I challenge you!"
The newly appointed Gym Leader gave his opponent a suspicious glance before shaking his head and brushing his thoughts aside.
"You remind me of one of my old friends," the other Pallet Town-native remarked. "Heck, you even sound like him. But I'm pretty sure his eyes aren't blue, and he wouldn't go anywhere without his little Pikachu and Pokemon League cap. Oh, and his hair is absolutely horrible."
The Trainer narrowed his eyes, confused. Gary was getting off-topic. Ash doubted that any Gym Leader he knew would go on a tangent like that, even on their first day.
Plus, his hairstyle wasn't that bad…
"He called me a 'little Pikachu,'" an annoyed whisper came from the challenger's bag, making the teen chuckle softly in amusement.
"Anyway, let me explain my rules."
Ash nodded.
"First, how many Badges do you have?" Gary asked. "It affects the Pokemon I use, and I prefer not to underestimate anyone."
The Trainer froze. He wasn't prepared for this question and wasn't even sure that it was supposed to be asked. Has any Gym Leader done that before? Maybe one or two...
"Ummm, I...just arrived from—" Ash began to explain, but was cut off by the other teen.
"I see. Well, it'll be a three-on-three battle, with no substitutions for the Gym Leader, me, but I'll give you some slack on that."
The Trainer was confused. What was that supposed to mean?
"I'll send out my Pokemon first as well, to give you an advantage. Umbreon, go!"
Ash recognized the Dark-Type, realizing that he would be a tough opponent for Vivi. Nonetheless, he took a Pokeball from his belt and threw it onto the battlefield.
"Sylveon! I'm counting on you!"
Instantly, Vivi emerged from her ball, feeling at her surroundings with her ribbons. The Gym Leader's eyes widened slightly, and it became clear that he'd never seen the Fairy-Type in person before.
"A-Red?" Vivi asked.
"Yes?" the Trainer replied, using his Aura.
"I'm ready. Let's go...kick some butt."
"Alright. Don't forget to watch Umbreon's moves in order to learn some of your own," Ash reminded the Intertwining Pokemon.
"I will!"
"Okay," the referee yelled from a podium in the center of the room, waving two flags. "Begin!"
"First move goes to you, Red!" Gary announced, feeling confident. His challenger might look like Ash, but he was pretty sure his childhood friend didn't have a Sylveon. Or would ever agree to wear a hat like that. Or would even think about wearing black as a fashion choice. But those gloves seemed a little too familiar...
"Attract!" the challenger shouted.
It worked wonders of Gary's Umbreon. In a few seconds, his Pokemon was completely infatuated with Sylveon, making the Gym Leader ask himself, 'How did Red know that Umbreon's a guy? He hasn't seen him up close or anything, and no one uses Attract as an initiating move anymore, 'cause it sucks.'
"Okay!" the Pokemon Researcher shouted. "Now let's really start to battle! Umbreon! Use Double Team!"
Since there was no actual attack towards Sylveon, Gary's Pokemon thought it was just showing off to the Fairy-Type and complied eagerly.
"Sylveon, use Fairy Wind!" the challenger cried out, and immediately, the Gym Leader knew he had underestimated his opponent. A powerful gust of dust and air blew over the entire field, making both the Humans and Pokemon in the room grab onto their caps and loose clothing in an attempt to steady themselves. Only a certain Intertwining Pokemon remained unfazed.
The Pokemon Researcher's previous battle had ended too quickly because Gary had overestimated the young girl with only a badge from Pewter City.
Now he was going to lose because a newbie Trainer used a move he'd never seen in his life.
"Sylveon, Swift!" the challenger commanded.
"Shadow Ball!"
Being a Gym Leader wasn't going well. Misty had told him that she was shaky when she first started, but Gary thought the girl was just saying that to be nice.
"Umbreon, Screech!" the teen suddenly shouted in response to a carefully-placed Dig, forgetting that his opponent had...how many badges again? Darnit. Gary had gotten ahead of himself again. But why did he call out Screech, of all possible moves? It was saved only for people like Ash.
Vivi knew what to do. His new Trainer continued to educate the Fairy-Type about Gary's Umbreon throughout the battle, preparing her for the common tactics that the Dark-Type was known to use. Shadow Ball wasn't a problem, but some of Umbreon's other moves...ouch.
"Moonblast!" Ash commanded, and Vivi didn't waste any time, understanding that the Moonlight Pokemon would be hard to defeat, especially after having many more years of experience than Sylveon did.
"Alright," the teen used his Aura to communicate, "add in a Fairy Wind! Now Dodge!"
But the Fairy-Type began to feel a little worried. Ash was getting carried away, and Vivi knew it. Her opponent, an Umbreon, knew that his Trainer was also overdoing it a little as well.
"Toxic!"
Toxic? Oh, that crossed the line.
A wink from her Trainer was all it took for the Intertwining Pokemon to understand.
"Dodge with Quick Attack! Then, Hyper Beam!"
One part of Gary's brain told him to stop before he blew up his Gym. The other part...was edging him to fight harder.
Of course, the Gym Leader loved a challenge, and couldn't back down.
When he saw that Hyper Beam, the Pokemon Researcher narrowed his eyes.
He did not just...oh, but he did.
"Umbreon! Hyper Beam it right back!"
"Double Team, and Moonblast!" Ash shouted.
"Dig and wait for my signal!" Gary yelled, equally loud.
"Use Toxic into that hole!"
"Don't you dare! Psychic that Toxic out back at that Sylveon!"
"What do you mean, 'don't you dare?!' Double Team and Quick Attack at the same time! Add Toxic to the mix!"
Pikachu had slipped out of Ash's bag and was watching the battle from the shadows of the room. Both of the battling Pokemon were tired but still eager to fight, especially Vivi, who couldn't stand the thought of losing her first Gym Battle.
"Echoed Voice! Repeat!"
"Light Screen! Protect! Moonblast!"
"Umbreon! Yaw-"
"Misty Terrain!"
"You suck! Echoed Voice!"
Yes, Pikachu was enjoying the show. Although he did think they were taking it a bit far…
Nah.
In the lobby, many Trainers were wondering why the battle was taking so long. And why there screaming and explosions from the stadium echoed throughout the Gym. Occasionally, a loud thump could be heard against the door to the battlefield, scaring a few of his challengers.
"I hope Red isn't getting beaten up," Raimund wondered aloud to a nearby dark-skinned, puffy-haired Unovian girl.
"Hyper Beam!"
"Hyper Beam it back!"
Pikachu was joined by Gary's Arcanine, who had let herself out of her Trainer's Pokeball once she figured that the teen wouldn't even notice her disappearance. The two Pokemon greeted each other cordially and sat in silence before Arcanine brought up the question on her mind.
"Do you think Gary knows he's battling Ash?"
Pikachu shook his head, smirking. "He just knows that his Shadow Ball isn't going to work."
At this, the Fire-Type sighed. "Gary Oak, you're an idiot."
"Tell me about it, but Ash is the dumbest of them all."
"No, Gary's pretty bad. You should've seen him when he was a rookie. Way worse than your Trainer, if you ask me. Reminds me of that time when he went against a Bug-Type Trainer with his Squirtle—"
"Oh I don't believe it. He was pretty strong, and actually knew that putting a Pikachu up against a Sandshrew isn't a very good idea."
"He tried putting me up against a Kingdra once! I almost fainted before Gary finally realized that he needed to capture that thing!"
"In Unova, we literally lost to every beginner Trainer there was. I admit, both of us were a bit busy being lightheaded from the pollution, but he put his Oshawott against a Pansage!"
"What's an Oshawott? Or a Pansage?"
"Nevermind," Pikachu replied, smirking playfully. "Just admit that Ash is dumber than Gary."
"He called me 'honey' back then. Who calls their Pokemon-"
"Just admit it."
"You admit it."
Ash finally realized that Vivi was getting tired. He quickly returned the fatigued Sylveon and sent out his Ground and Dragon-Type.
"Go, Gible!" he shouted.
"Blastoise!" the Gym Leader called out to his Starter, forgetting that he wasn't supposed to switch out his Pokemon. The referee was about to make a call but decided against it. The guy on the other side of the battlefield probably wasn't looking for a badge in the first place from the way they were battling. Plus, both the challenger and the Gym Leader had broken a few rules already.
"Gible, Dig!"
"Hydro Pump right in that hole!"
Analyzing the situation, Ash came up with another strategy. "Lead that hole straight to Blastoise! He's right in front of you! Now, up!"
"Move, Blastoise! Actually, use Brick Break below! And Hydro Pump! And everything else!"
"Make this hit, Gible! Now Quick Attack! Double Edge! Dragon Rush! Draco Meteor!"
"Now!"
"Now!"
There was a large explosion engulfed in a flash of light.
"Do you think they realize that they're using more than four moves each per Pokemon in an official Pokemon League battle?" Pikachu asked Arcanine, who shook her head.
"Not a chance."
"Do you think Gary realized that he just switched out his Pokemon?"
"Nah."
"Do you think the referee knows?"
"Judging by his face, yep."
Gabite knew he couldn't fail Ash now. He had evolved to get stronger. Now, he will defeat the Blastoise in front of him.
"Good job, Gabite! Congrats on evolving! Now, Iron Tail!" His Trainer commanded him.
"Blastoise, Hydro Cannon!"
Gabite felt a move waiting to be used. Yes, he had learned a new move. And it was time to use it. Oh yes, it was.
"What is it?" Ash yelled as Gabite just stood there.
"EARTHQUAKE!" the newly-evolved Pokemon shouted.
"Blastoise, do a-"
"EARTHQUAKE!"
"Use your cannons to-"
"EARTHQUAKE!"
The Water-Type couldn't hear any instructions over the rumbling on the ground. Both Trainers quickly changed their stances to brave through the powerful attack.
"EARTHQUAKE!"
Blastoise promptly fainted.
"Gabite, take a break," Ash called out to his Pokemon.
"Umbreon!"
"Come on out, Sylveon!"
As Vivi came back out in her Fairy-Type form, she looked back at Ash, whose demeanor had changed from friendly but bold to determined and analytical during the battle. The Trainer's hair was brushed aside, and his entire body was sweating profusely. But despite this, the teen seemed completely sure of himself and ready to fight. He was way different than when he was only training.
And Vivi understood her new Trainer's reasonings. How her power was a gift and how she was special in her own way.
Battling was awesome.
"Hyper-" the Gym Leader commanded but was cut off by shouting.
"Quick Attack! Giga Impact!"
Another explosion commenced.
"This is what I get for researching instead of training," Gary muttered to himself, squeezing the red and white capsule tightly. "Arcanine, Fire…Spin!"
He realized that his Pokeball was empty as soon as he threw it.
"Wow, this is an embarrassment," the Gym Leader chuckled, scratching his head.
"Uh, Gary?" Red asked. "Is that your Arcanine over there, having a conversation with my Pikachu?"
"Uh, yes."
"Gary?"
"Yeah?"
"Your Gym's totally destroyed. Sorry about that, by the way. You have a long line of Trainers waiting."
Gary froze a little, remembering his status as a Gym Leader, then groaned in slight despair. He would deal with it later.
"Anyway," the Pokemon Researcher spoke, "you needed an Earth Badge, right? We'll have to shorten the next battle then."
"Nah, I have one already," the Trainer nonchalantly shrugged, surprising the Gym Leader. "Actually, I only battled you because I wanted to look around the Gym later. There's something I want to check."
"Oh. Then after these challengers leave, I'll be right with you. Do you want to wait in the lobby, Red? Or meet up another time?"
"Actually, call me…"
The challenger took off his hat, and changed his eye color back to its normal color.
"Ash Ketchum, you are dead," Gary said.
"Tell me something I don't know."
"You've gone missing for months, and no one knows where you are. You haven't been on the news in forever, and no one even knew what region you were in!"
"Yeah. Wait, did Brock not tell anyone?"
"Tell anyone about what? He only told me that you appeared at his Gym. Nothing about 'Red.'"
"Huh, that's strange. I didn't actually expect him to keep the secret."
"Now, as punishment for beating me, you have to let me come with you," Ash's childhood friend decided, recalling his Arcanine.
"Wait, what?"
"Having a salary is stressful—especially since I can get fired now—and my dissertation isn't going so well. I think I need some adventure to loosen me up, and might wanna put up a sign that says that I won't challenge anyone without seven badges. It would lessen the number of challengers, too. What do you think?"
Ash was a little hesitant but soon realized that he his opinion didn't matter to his childhood friend anyway. "Sure, I guess," he replied.
"I could get Grandpa to run the Gym for me sometimes, too."
"Tracey, maybe? Brock?" Ash offered.
"Sure. Oh, and one more thing."
"What is it?"
"Since you're 'Red,' I should be 'Blue.'"
End of EOTR, Part 1
AN: For those who think that I've forgotten about you (haha), I didn't! Instead, I wrote a short story called "Next Time, A New Beginning?" that describes Ash's transition into Alola. So if you want to, check it out. If not, it's okay too.
