Shadows and Ash Chapter 37: A Poisonous Round, a pokémon fanfic

Chapter 37, everybody, and happy Thanksgiving eve! Yes, I'm back—miss me?

Sorry for the long delay, but real life demanded my time and took priority, so…important things.

11JJ11, thanks for the review! Ah thank you, I'm glad you like him! Me too….Yes, yes we do. :)

MagicWarriorDragon, thanks for the review! Thank you, glad you like it—I will strive to continue to please! :D

Rachel weck 5, thanks for the review! Glad I got a laugh, too. :D

Arkisane, thanks for the review! Eh, the long wait probably didn't help….

PokeshipHeart, thanks for the review! Glad you liked it! :D

Lala32903, thanks for the review! And glad you like my writing style! :D

IceDragonGirl36, thanks for the review! Elsewhere….And I have no idea (I have actually never watched that show, so…).

Boggie445, thank you for the review and the enthusiasm!

InkyTheInk, thanks for the review! Eh….

Jakeroo123, thanks for the review! This is true….Well, butterflies aren't as obviously dangerous as bugs with pincers or stingers….True…and also true. And yes, treat the Legendary with more respect.

Scribe0magic, thanks for the review! I see.

Scarlet Firesong, thanks for the review! YES! And yes. :D

Thor94, thanks for the review! Glad you liked it—and the Indiana Jones references. :D This is true….

InfernalFox, thanks for the review! Maybe.

Albertasteinthe21stgenius, thanks for the review! :D

JuptileNamudori253, thanks for the review! Haha, Esperanto's on my list of languages I want to learn, partially because of its history—the ease of learning may come from the fact that Esperanto is an artificial language. Dankon, plaĉe vi ŝatis, kaj mi esperas daŭrigi plaĉi! And if that came out wrong, blame Google Translate. :P

Sakura, thanks for the reviews! I…have no idea….Eh, I view Darkrai as having a mostly solid body with the flowing bits as distractions, so…if that's the case, then yes, Darkrai, you cheater (but he keeps the cool look, we must admit). This is also true. Ah thank you. :D You should bother to watch them—they're very good (and older than me too, so that's no excuse ). Have fun with that!

Animal lover13, thanks for the review! Hopefully this update pleases!

Blitza, thanks for the review! Ooh, hope you feel better.

Girrr, thank you for your enthusiasm in reviewing. However, I have to tell you that I do NOT appreciate the language you used in just about all your reviews, and I've reported every review that uses that word. Kindly edit your language or I will be forced to block you.

LuminousMoonRay, thanks for the review! AAA! YOU'RE RIGHT! Legit forgot about that, but don't worry, Brock has it safely tucked away behind the potions, antidotes, and about thirty T-shirts. *phew*

Ardtornismyname, thanks for the review! I admit, figuring out how I want to go about that fight is very entertaining….

Pokémon © Game Freak; Nintendo

And since so many people wanted it: how to contact Officer Jenny. :)

And now, for something completely different:

The Regional Police Corps would like to remind you that the fastest way to contact us is to dial 911 on your wireless communicator (i.e., Holocaster, Pokédex, Pokénav, etc.). Please stop dialing 867-5309. That will not connect you to an Officer Jenny.

When the smoke cleared, they found themselves in a large clean room with high ceilings, a wooden floor, natural lighting, and two people playing go next to a battlefield in the center, both of which were staring at them.

"You could have used the tassel next to the door, you know," the guy said.

They looked to the side, where indeed a red tassel was hanging.

"It probably triggered a pitfall trap," Misty pointed out.

"Yeah," Ash said, before raising his voice to be heard across the way. "My name is Ash Ketchum, and I'm here for a gym battle!"

Misty elbowed him aside. "And I'm Misty Waterflower, and by the time I'm through with you, you'll be lucky if you're still living for that gym battle!"

"I think Misty took offense to being almost killed," Ash said to Brock.

"And you didn't?" Brock asked. "And you owe me a new backpack and some items, too!" Brock called over.

"Wanna go get the paperwork for that?" the guy asked the girl.

"Yeah," she said, tapping a Venonat on the head. "Make sure he doesn't move anything while I'm gone."

And with that, she was gone in a poof of smoke, ninja-style. The Venonat puffed up, antennae erect, and glared at the guy.

"That was once," the guy protested. "And it was an accident."

"Veno-nat," the Venonat declared.

"Don't give me that."

Ash exchanged glances with Misty and Brock, who shrugged. Undaunted, he strode forward—

And smacked off of nothing.

"Ow," he muttered, rubbing his nose.

"One more thing," the guy called. "If you want to get to the battlefield to actually have the battle, you have to make it through the glass maze. And no breaking the glass—it's expensive."

So much for plan A then.

"All right then," Ash said, putting his hands on the glass and edging sideways. "I guess we'd better get started then."

The lady had come back with the papers and had resumed the game by the time they made it through the maze, with much bumping and banging of noses and fingers. It had gone a little better when they noticed the little white dots on the floor that indicated where the glass panels met each other, but not by much.

"Okay," the guy said, when they finally reached the center. "My name is Koga, and I'm the leader of this gym—"

"Oh great," Misty said, hand already diving into her bag. "So it's you I'll be beating the living daylights out of then."

"Go, Scyther!" Koga said quickly, summoning a big green bug with huge scythes for arms—

And then both of them got beaned on the head with rubber mallets and went down for the count.

"Wow," Ash noised, blinking. "Nice arm."

"The power of the Misty-Mallet," Brock said, sounding amused.

"I am. Sick. To. Death," Misty hissed. "Of death traps, ninjas, and bugs."

"I see," Ash said, before projecting across the field. "Does this mean I have to wait until he wakes up to have the gym battle?"

"Nah," the lady said, standing and dusting herself off. "I'm Janine, I'm Koga's daughter, and I'm co-leader of this gym. Dad's training me to take over for when he retires," she clarified upon noting their blank stares.

"So I can battle you instead?" Ash asked. "And it still counts?"

"Yes indeed—so you want to battle?"

"Question," Brock said, one hand raised. "When you're the gym leader, will there be as many traps?"

"Nah—Dad throws them in because he's watched too many movies, but he hasn't actually traded any out, so it's gotten to be too much."

"Right," Ash said. "So back to battling—"

"Okay, so we need a referee," Janine said, looking around.

"Me," Brock volunteered, already heading for the referee box. "I'm the gym leader from Pewter, so I qualify."

"All right," Janine said, eyeing him. "No playing favorites."

"I'll have you know I already called one of Ash's matches, and I called it fairly too."

"Brock would be more inclined to call in your favor anyway," Ash pointed out. "Something about pretty women."

"I should have never have told you," Brock sighed, shaking his head as he crossed his arms. "I should have known you weren't ready."

"Ready for what?"

"A gym battle soon, I hope," Misty said.

"Yeah, that," Janine said. "Three-on-three sound good to you?"

"Yeah," Ash said, nodding.

"Great. Gym leader can't make substitutions, general same-as-other-gyms, battle is over when all three on one team are knocked out. Ready?"

"Ready!"

"Ready," Brock said, waving two fingers.

"All right then," Janine said, waving her Venonat forward. "Go, Venonat!"

Ash smirked, feeling he had the perfect counter.

"Go, Charmander!" he ordered, flinging Charmander's Pokéball out—the little fire-lizard appeared on the field.

"Okay—long range fire attacks," Ash told Charmander. "Don't let it get close and poison you—you see any poison dust, you flame it, okay?"

"Char char!" Charmander said, nodding affirmative.

"Right—open with Ember!"

"Supersonic!" Janine ordered.

Ash didn't even have to give the order—Charmander remembered his fight with Lt. Surge's Magnemite, and quickly stuffed his claws in his ears.

"Confusion while it can't hear orders," Janine said. Venonat's antennae stood to attention and started glowing.

Charmander, fortunately, was smart enough not to stand still upon seeing an attack warming up—he took off, dodging on a tangent before skidding to a halt and shooting Ember at Venonat.

"Protect!" Janine ordered quickly. Venonat tucked into a tighter ball and glowed, Ember dissipating harmlessly off of it.

Ash scowled, but quickly moved on. "Keep using Ember! Protect will fail eventually!"

Charmander barked his understanding and kept firing, pausing only to inhale.

"Okay, time to get out of dodge," Janine said. "Venonat! Substitute!"

Venonat glowed brighter before rolling away, leaving a glowing afterimage to be burnt up by Charmander's fire.

"Switch targets, quick!" Ash ordered.

Charmander spun, sucking in a deep breath—

Before shooting out a much stronger burst of flame—Flamethrower.

"Nice," Ash noised, pleasantly surprised at the new move.

"Ven!"

Ash started as Venonat dodged around the flame, charging straight for Charmander.

"Now, Venonat!" Janine ordered. "Double Edge!"

Venonat slammed into Charmander, sending them both rolling and tumbling into a gasping heap.

"Charmander, quick!" Ash called. "It's running out of energy—use Ember!"

"Disable, Venonat," Janine said.

Venonat rolled to its feet, antennae straight and glowing again. Charmander coughed out a puff of smoke.

Ash shrugged.

"Use Flamethrower, then."

Charmander nodded once, inhaled deeply—

"Protect!" Janine ordered.

"Aim for the floor beneath it!"

Charmander adjusted his aim, Flamethrower hitting the ground right in front of the glowing Venonat and fanning around it.

"Keep at it, Charmander!" Ash ordered.

Janine waved, redirecting his attention. "Not that this isn't interesting, but…what, exactly, are you doing?"

"Wait for it," Ash said, one finger up.

And then what he had been hoping for happened: the floor got too hot for Venonat to handle. And when it tried to jump out of the way—poof.

Janine sighed as Brock called it; she returned Venonat without complaint.

"All right then, see how you handle this!" she yelled, throwing her next Pokémon out.

A huge snake with a scary hood appeared, hissing menacingly. Charmander yipped in alarm and ran over to hide behind Ash.

"That's an Arbok," Ash said. "Don't worry, that's just Intimidate—you can show it what you're made of, right?"

"Char char char," Charmander said.

"Afraidium doesn't count."

"So there's the snake motif, at least," Brock observed as Charmander returned to the field.

"Do me a favor," Janine said. "When my dad wakes up, don't say anything about Naruto—you'd never get him to shut up if you do."

"Fair enough. Round two, begin!"

"Fire at will, Charmander!" Ash ordered.

Charmander looked at him blankly.

"That means set the Arbok on fire," Ash clarified.

"Char," Charmander said, nodding—

Before squawking in alarm at being caught in an Arbok's Wrap.

"Hey!" Ash yelped. "Talking is a free action!"

"Nope—sorry, kid!" Janine called over. "And you can kiss your fire-moves goodbye—they require your Charmander to be able to breathe in, which I guarantee you he can't do right now."

Ash made a snap decision and returned Charmander.

"Okay then, next up," Ash muttered, flinging another Pokéball out. "Go, Patches! Use Horn Attack!"

Patches hit the ground running, aiming right for Arbok.

"Glare, Arbok!" Janine ordered.

Arbok did so, sending Patches skidding to a halt, quaking.

"Now! Iron Tail!" Janine commanded.

"Dodge it!" Ash called—no good—Patches was paralyzed—

Bam—Patches went flying, skidding across the field and tumbling along.

"Come on, Patches! You can do it!" Ash cheered as Patches struggled upright. "Don't let that thing get to you—"

A lightbulb went off in Ash's head.

"Let it get to you!" Ash ordered.

Patches gave him a dumbfounded look—

And again, Arbok Wrapped him up.

"I can't believe you made the same mistake twice," Janine said, shaking her head.

"Better get used to seeing trainers make dumb mistakes," Misty called over; Ash glanced back at her to see her sitting against one of the glass walls, behind Brock.

Ash waggled his head, acknowledging the irony, before going on with his plan.

"Hey, Patches!" Ash called. "Remember that move we were practicing at Port Vista? Use it!"

The week they had spent at Port Vista had not been spent solely getting R and R—there had been training involved, mostly in a little glen farther down the beach than people were willing to walk. Toss in beach access, and there was plenty of ability to train to their hearts content. And with Darkrai assisting as well, since they were out of sight.

And Darkrai knew of all sorts of high-damage moves, particularly the ones known as one-hit KO moves.

"Absolutely terrible accuracy," Darkrai had explained, one claw up in a professor-pose. "But highly damaging when they do hit. If the Pokémon are of similar strength, a hit from one of these attacks would knock them out. Hit a weaker Pokémon with it, and you have pureed Pokémon. But again, terrible accuracy, so I don't recommend using them unless you're in a position you can't possibly miss. And if you do miss in that situation, I'm going to bonk you on the head."

Ash didn't think they'd miss at this distance.

Which was why he wasn't entirely surprised when Patches' horn started spinning and he twisted his head to slam it into the nearest coil of Arbok.

The effect was immediate—seize up as the shockwave hit, then hit the ground in a loose heap as Horn Drill took effect. Arbok was down for the count. And not pureed, so Ash was certain they were about the same level.

"Arbok is unable to battle," Brock said, sounding surprised. "Ash wins that one."

"Okay then," Janine said, returning Arbok before tossing out another Pokéball. "Last one! Go, Nidorina!"

Ash blinked as a blue Patches appeared on the field.

"That is…okay, Patches, use…hold on," Ash noised, tapping his foot against the battlefield. "All right. Patches, use Dig!"

Patches dove into the ground, burrowed around—

"Double Kick when it comes up," Janine ordered.

Nidorina hopped nimbly aside and delivered two footprints to Patches' face when he popped up.

"Now, Nidorina!" Janine called. "Use Attract!"

"Use what?" Ash noised.

What Attract was and what it did became clear when Nidorina assumed an odd pose and batted its eyes at Patches, who suddenly went…wonky. Wonky was the word for it.

Brock waved at Ash before pointing at Patches. "That thing, with girls, that I was trying to explain to you earlier?" Brock asked. "This is it."

"Attract affects all Pokémon of the opposite gender," Janine called over. "And makes it so they can't attack. If you have a genderless Pokémon or a female Pokémon, I suggest you use it."

Ash paused, thinking, before quickly ticking everyone off on his fingers. Lenny, Vee, Pikachu, Patches, Charmander, Frenzy—

They were all male.

Oh boy.

"Patches, return!" Ash ordered, holding the Pokéball out. Oh great, now what? Plan—he needed a plan—someone who wasn't affected by, as Darkrai styled it, a pair of pretty blue eyes—

Hold it.

"Go, Frenzy!" Ash called, flinging out Frenzy's Pokéball. The Paras appeared on the field, blinking at his opponent.

"Attract, Nidorina!" Janine called.

Nidorina did the same thing to Frenzy that she did with Patches. Ash allowed it.

Ash was also smirking when he gave his order. "Frenzy? Get that Nidorina."

Frenzy ramped up to his hind legs, shrieking wildly before charging the stunned Nidorina—again, Ash was surprised he didn't hear a buzzsaw effect.

"Woah! Woah! Stop! Nidorina, return!" Janine ordered finally, holding her Pokéball out. Nidorina disappeared in a flash of red light, leaving Frenzy scuttling around in a circle searching for it.

"Come here, Frenzy," Ash called, pointing to a spot by his feet. Frenzy did so.

"What. On earth. Was that," Janine asked flatly.

"This is Frenzy. Apparently that's normal for him."

"Ahem," Brock noised, redirecting their attention. "Since Janine returned Nidorina, that means Ash wins the battle."

"Fair enough," Janine said, shrugging before crossing the battlefield. Ash did so as well to meet her halfway. "Okay, since you won, that means you get the Soul Badge," she said, fishing in her pockets. "Oh wait, I was supposed to be making this big awesome speech on how you were so cool beating the gym, or something like that…."

"We could pretend you did," Ash offered.

"Great. If Dad wakes up in the next five minutes, that's what you tell him."

"Right."