Cha. 50
A/N: Eccentric Viridian Gym Battle. Enjoy!
"Last event until Leagues!" Ash smirked at his girlfriend. "Time to fight your Dad."
Domino rolled her eyes. "It's hardly a fight when he couldn't use Rocket Legendaries or non-Ground Types."
"What if he just decides to give you two the badges without a fight?" Misty suggested.
"Really? Giovanni?" Brock deadpanned. "Are you hearing yourself? When was the last time he gave up without a fight?"
"Actually, a lot of times. He doesn't fight what could not be won or changed." The Elite chirped. "For example, last timeline, he gave up on the fight of converting the three idiots into something functional."
"Yeah… the Rocket trio were pretty unsuccessful last timeline." Ash snickered. "It's like they had a curse on them."
"And we're blastin' off again!" Misty did a little dance, mimicking the three, and laughed.
"Well, let's go!" Domino pointed in the direction of the Viridian City. "The ninth badge!"
"Sir!" An official knocked on Giovanni's door. "They're here, as you predicted."
The Viridian Gym Leader looked up from signing a League document and smiled. "Finally! Can't wait to show those two what I have in store."
"As the adult in those two's relationship, since Mrs. Ketchum doesn't even know Pokémon," He muttered under his breath. "It is my job to teach them not to be complacent."
"Please get me the referee." He nodded. "I'll be right there after I change."
"This is actually the nicest Gym I've seen." Ash looked around the place, which appeared slightly different than the last timeline. "I especially like the Greek architecture details."
"Good! That's my idea." Domino grinned. "And also the modern, sedate build."
"Then of course it's good." Ash squeezed her hand. "And it suits the Ground Typing very nicely."
The four walked past a curving corridor of exotic paintings into a tunnel, which opened up to a giant stadium made of rocks, mud, ponds, hills, and small bundles of trees.
The Viridian Gym was the largest Ash had seen, even larger than the Fuchsia Gym after Koga had dropped all of the exterior disguises by nearly four times.
Across the gym, a voice boomed. "Ash Ketchum of Pallet, I finally get to meet you again after a timeline of years!"
Said Pallet trainer raised his head up to find a man in orange suit, standing firmly at the opposite side.
The Leader's hands relaxed by his side, and his face wasn't twisted into some ominous glare. He was just a built man with a Pokéball in one hand and another fixing his hair.
But even with some degree of self-preparation and expectancy, Ash still tensed up, even more than he was facing off Mewtwo.
He knew the well-dressed gentleman in front of him wasn't a psychic or an aura wielder, or carrying a nuclear bomb.
But the alarm in his head that had developed throughout the years after encountering so many disaster was telling him that this man was a walking disaster, just like himself.
Ash's fist automatically bunched up. A robust, invisible field of confidence and potency was radiating off of the Rocket Boss, a experienced projection that had endured numerous tests and catastrophes.
The Chosen had a field as well, but his, though powerful, lacked the scars left over from years of struggles. He had to admit that, for once in his life, he was not the dominant side in a fair battle.
Domino teleported to the other side and wrapped her arms around the man. "Hi, Dad."
Giovanni had a small smile on his face, a sight almost never demonstrated. Four months ago, his daughter would have never display such a 'childish' emotion.
He was very pleased to see her open up. As a Rocket Boss, he wanted all of his agents to be of emotionless robots that knew only to carry out orders.
As a father, Giovanni was beyond delighted to discover that she was finally letting go of the darkness in her heart. No parents wanted their children to conduct their lives in an unseenable secret, even if that was how he was living.
And it also was why he approved of Ash. He was the only chance of bringing her to the light side, or whichever opposite that was agreed by the people to be 'moral.'
Speaking of Ash… The Boss looked up to see Ash bunched up like a cobra, ready to strike at any moment. He smirked. "Not ready to see your girlfriend's parent yet?"
Domino blushed at the mention of girlfriend when it came out of her own father's mouth. Afterall, he was one of the two people in this world that could make her feel embarrassed.
"Hello, Giovanni." Ash's eyes twitched. "I didn't expect you to be so…"
"Calm?" Giovanni laughed. "I told you this both this time and last time. I don't aim to hurt the world. My ways are just not approved by the people in some cases."
Ash was about to retort with his views, when Brock stood up and pulled on his sleeves.
As the more experienced teen, he knew that if the discussion continued, it would be an endless debate ending most likely in Ash getting pissed off.
Domino, also noticing this, changed the topic quickly. "So, Boss, ready for the battle?"
Giovanni released her and smiled. "I have a surprise for you… Try not to be too confident."
"Can't wait," She replied and teleported back to Ash and pushed him lightly. "You go first."
Ash casted her a look. "I thought you would like to?"
"Aww…" Domino purred. "Is little Ashy getting a little bit nervous at facing my dad?"
"..." The Ketchum boy twitched. "Of course… not…"
"Then prove it." The blonde snickered and teleported off to the stands with Misty and Brock.
Ash looked across the giant field. Giovanni smirked. "Ready, Ashton?"
"Haven't been more ready in my life!" Ash tried to sound assertive.
The Viridian Gym Leader laughed. "Then showed me the ways of the Chosen!"
He turned to the referee. "Read him the rules."
"The rules for this gym battle:" The referee cleared his throat. "It would be just one double battle."
Ash's jaw dropped.
"It will consists of two pairs that would fight each other."
"This emphasizes the cooperation of Pokémon, and that it is important for Pokémon not to be strong by themselves, but as a team." Giovanni explained.
An anxious feeling emerged from Ash's heart. The Rocket Boss had his reasons why he was the Boss. Not even Professor Oak had realized that this was his weakness… heck, even he didn't realize it before Giovanni had mentioned it.
Cooperation between Pokémon… tying the strength between his Pokémon so that attacks match each other…
That was not a thing Ash had thought to train for, especially because the Kanto League had no tag team battling opportunities.
Right now, if two of Ash's Pokémon decided to battle together, like Pikachu and Lucario, half of their moves would just cancel out the others. Half of Galvanic Burst would collide and neutralize half of the Aura Storm.
His Pokémon are each so specialized in their own paths, and Ash had been training each other them in the mindset that they should be able to singlehandedly take care of any situation.
Giovanni's words struck like a hammer into him. Only by cooperating could he battle the forthcoming disasters… just like at Christmas Eve.
Only when both he and Domino merged could they tear through the dimensions. No one could be prepared for everything… but a team could.
However, the surprise didn't stop there.
The referee cleared his throat to get Ash's attention back, after catching sight of him just staring off into space.
"Each team must work together with the materials present on the field to build a construct that could attack. The two constructs, after twenty minutes, would fight each other without the Pokémon's intervention… besides controlling it from a distance."
"The pair of team who had their structure standing after the fight wins!"
Ash did a double take at the rules. He turned to Giovanni and gasped. "So, basically, our Pokémon had to build robots and make them fight without even releasing a single attack?"
"Normally, I would just give challengers a gym battle and send them off that way." Giovanni smirked and pulled out an Earth Badge. "But I thought Mr. Ketchum here would be looking for a challenge."
"Afterall, from what I've heard, you swept through every Kanto gym besides Koga's, and he didn't offer too much of an opposition either."
He dangled the badge in midair. "I'm going to give you this badge either way. I just want to be entertained."
Ash growled at the thought of his being entertainment for the Rocket Boss. "You know what, I'll accept!"
"I know you will." Giovanni smirked at the referee, as if telling him 'told you so.'
The Viridian judge sighed. "Then I shall declare the timer for building to start, now!"
Ash thought fast. Giovanni already started with Nidorina and Nidorino. The male started with breaking down chunks of rocks and solid ground, while the female wandered off to the trees and carried a log over.
However, Ash noticed that the two's movement wasn't completely practiced. They definitely had a plan in mind already, but it wasn't executed with the swiftness of a Pokémon that had performed it thousands of times…
More like dozens, Ash thought. This meant Giovanni invented this weird challenge just for him, so he still had a chance.
"Wartortle! Kingler!" Ash threw out two balls. They were both Water specialists, so they would get a structure done. They could both control the element fascinatingly well, so that could allow them to win…
Ash's Pokémon got to work as soon as they landed, having heard all of the rules within their Pokéballs.
Kingler pointed at the pond. "I think the sculpture should be in this form."
The water rose up to create a miniature blueprint. Eight legs, two claws, a sturdy exoskeleton.
Wartortle narrowed his eyes. "That's just you."
"Exactly!" The Pincer Pokémon said excitedly. "Which is why it is the perfect build!"
"Perfect? You can't even walk straight." The other Water Type deadpanned. "When you want to go somewhere, you have to turn ninety degrees and crawl that way."
"No, I Aqua Jet off." Kingler protested.
Wartortle ignored him. "I think it should be in the form of a Blastoise! That's real genius right there, created by nature!"
"No it's NOT! They're so damn fat they couldn't even turn around properly."
"Look at who's to talk!"
"..."
"FIVE MINUTES!" The referee shouted from the stage.
Ash looked at his Pokémon and a floating blueprint that was constantly changing above his Pokémon's heads. He looked over to Giovanni's side, which already contained the base of the structure his Pokémon was building.
"What are you two doing!?" Ash shouted. "Settle on a design and start building!"
Wartortle and Kingler both shushed him. "This is important! We need to figure out a good build!"
"I need to demonstrate to this airhead right here that Blastoise contains the power of the universe and is the ultimate machine that shall fuse the bond of love and the mystery of infinity!"
"My head is filled with WATER!"
"Which is exactly why you're not thinking straight!"
"ENOUGH!" Ash twitched as he looked at the ticking clock. "Just COMBINE the two. I don't care what you build, since you can probably manipulate it to beat them. Just build me SOMETHING!"
"You heard him…" Kingler sighed. "I call the legs."
"NO! I want the legs."
Kingler looked at him exasperately. "How the hell am I going to be the top? I have a freaking shell for a body."
Wartortle shrugged. "It just makes sense I'm the bottom."
"It's really NOT!"
"..."
"TEN MINUTES REMAINING!"
Ash stared across the field, where Giovanni already had the overall build and was just refining the details.
The Chosen One, World Saver turned his eyes to his own battlefield… nothing.
"THIS IS RIDICULOUS!" Ash yelled. "JUST LET WARTORTLE BE THE LEGS!"
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Kingler, Domino, Misty, and Brock stared at Ash, dumbfounded… did he seriously just let Wartortle be the legs?
Misty sighed. "I do remember Ash telling me he failed his design class back in elementary school…
Domino looked at her boyfriend, sighing. "I can see why…"
Kingler stared at his trainer. Is he serious right now? Replacing my eight agile legs with Blastoise's two stubby ones…
Wartortle, after receiving the command, was already at work. Within a minute, the two seeming sturdy and powerful legs of Blastoise formed in the arena out of water.
The Pincer Pokémon clawpalmed. "This is utterly stupid."
Wartortle fired an Ice Beam, freezing up the entire construct.
"Your turn." The evolved turtle stepped back to enjoy his work.
Kingler shook his head. What did Ash wanted him to do, just placed a UFO-like body on it and called it a day?
He materialized the top half of himself onto the two legs that Wartortle built… and froze it as well.
Wartortle admired the outcome. It wasn't bad, in his opinion, especially the legs.
Kingler took a look after he had finished, and he almost tripped over. It looked like an apple pie sitting on top of two pillars.
In the stands, Ash's friends all facepalmed.
Domino muttered. "Let's just say I'm regretting letting him and Pikachu design Zorua's doghouse for her gift…"
"Five minutes remaining!"
Giovanni's creation, whatever it was, was completed already. The two Poison Pin Pokémon stood atop it and peered over at Ash's side.
A single look made them both fell off their construction, laughing.
Even the Rocket Boss leaked out a wholehearted smile, which to Ash looked more like teasing and mocking.
Ash pointed at his… umm… thing…
For a brief second, he wondered about his choice to place the legs at the bottom. He took a look at the timer. Four minutes.
Not enough to build another one anyways.
Thinking back to what Giovanni did, he shouted. "Put some reinforcements, or final touches on it!"
"Ummm… so like spikes?" Wartortle asked.
"I feel like something is missing…" Kingler said.
"Really? It seemed perfect."
"TWO MINUTES!"
"No really, there's just something bugging me in the back of the mind. Something is definitely missing."
Wartortle shrugged and fired out some water beams to create spikes. "There we go."
"ARMS!" On the stands, Domino gritted her teeth. "You're missing Arceus damned arms."
Brock massaged the brim of his nose. "How does Ash understand Dexter's quantum mechanics and not simple architecture?"
Domino pulled out Noah. "Figure out the best designs and best combinations. I'll give you ten minutes."
She took a look at her boyfriend's field and her father's field. "This isn't going to be much of a fight."
Ash picked up his head in realization. That was what was missing all along!
"Wartortle! Kingler!" He shouted. "I know what's missing!"
"You have to add horns to the thing!"
The viewing audience facepalmed again.
Seconds after the horns were added, the referee yelled. "TIME!"
"May all of the structures enter the battlefield!"
Wartortle nodded at Kingler. "I'll control the legs. You'll take the body."
"What do I do with the body?" Kingler deadpanned. "It ain't got ANY moving parts."
"Shoot water out of it." Wartortle shrugged. "Shoot some Ice Beams. Also, you're in charge of the replace work."
"Why do I have to do the replace work!?"
"Do you know how hard it is to control these legs?" The Turtle shot him a look.
Kingler threw up his claws. "THAT'S WHY YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE MY LEGS!"
"Nah… they're too ugly."
Kingler stared at him. "You realize that I'm right here right?"
"Shit. I said that out loud."
"..."
Across the field, Giovanni's Pokémon led their structure over. Standing at twenty feet tall, it topped the King-toise by three feet.
Its lower body was made of six legs, which connected at the waist, which had a slob of concrete-like mud acting as cartilage. The body didn't have arms either, replaced instead by large sword-like extension that reached out to ten feet in front.
There was no head. In its place was a giant cannon, with a diameter of five feet.
Ash stared at the structure, and then back at his own. "I think mine is better."
Giovanni smirked. "I agree. Please have mercy on my Pokémon."
Referee sighed. "Let it begin!"
The Poison Pin Pokémon's structure went into motion with its six feet scurrying at their opponent.
Kingler fired an Ice Beam from his creation's mouth. It splattered against the rock sculpture harmlessly.
Giovanni smirked. "That wasn't an Ice Beam if it didn't come from your Pokémon. It was just a ice cylinder hitting my creature."
The Rocket Boss pointed at the King-toise. "Hammer Legs."
The sculpture leapt from the ground and jumped toward Ash's… thing.
"Horn Drill!" Ash said, as if it was actually a move… wait it was.
Kingler controlled the horn to drill toward the falling Pokémon.
"I was saving the cannon if you, as Ash Ketchum, produced another miracle." Giovanni sighed. "There obviously is no need now."
The Head-cannon expanded, and a giant rock flew out, directly for the horn.
There was an impact, and the next thing they knew was that the Ice construct was laying on the ground with a boulder stuck to it, completely immobilized.
The boulder smashed through half of the ice, pinning it to the ground.
"Well, there's no fixing anything now." Kingler glared at Wartortle. "I thought you're doing the dodging?"
"You try to dodge with these fat legs!" Wartortle roared.
"I TOLD YOU NOT to build them!" Kingler yelled.
"That's proposterous!" Wartortle shouted. "These legs are awesome."
"I… I… just… what…" Kingler stared at him, and decided to return to his Pokéball, completely done with his life.
"Okay, so obviously impromptu didn't go well."
"Wow, Ketchum, you really outdid yourself right there" Giovanni smirked at Ash. "I thought with your curse, you would've performed a miracle and invent some ultra-destructive attack to annihilate me, and then give a speech on why the good side is all-powerful."
Ash gritted his teeth. The man standing in front of him was probably the last person in this world he wanted to lose to.
He wanted to prove himself to Domino's father… that was why.
Domino teleported over to him and tossed herself into him. "After that disaster, I think you need a hug."
"I think he's right." Ash grabbed onto the girl, sighing. "My Pokémon do need more cooperation training."
She looked at him. "YA THINK!?"
"Also, I need to train you to realize the beauty of architecture." Domino puffed out her chest. "I'm the master builder behind all of Abra Assets' theme parks. And that was when I was eight."
Ash bury his head into her curls. "Remember what I said to you when you lost to Koga?"
"That you win some, you lose some?" Domino snickered. "Harder to do now, isn't it?"
"Yeah…" Ash grumbled. "I wanted to go for an undefeated streak all the way to Kalos to make up for my ridiculous losses before."
"You technically didn't lose a League Gym Battle." Domino shrugged. "That was more like an Orange Island shit than an actual battle."
Ash releases her. By this point, Giovanni had made his way over, riding on a Rhyhorn. He extended a hand, and Ash politely shook it.
When he pulled his hand back, an Earth Badge was sitting in his palm. Ash sighed. "Thanks."
The Rocket Overload smiled. "I have finally beaten the great Ash Ketchum who had destroyed every one of my plans from last timeline."
Domino tugged on Giovanni's shirt. "Stop it. We all know Ash can't take a joke."
Ash didn't know how to respond. Here was the head of Team Rocket talking with him like nothing between them had occurred… Nothing actually did yet, but still!
Giovanni detected his awkwardness as well, and he tactfully stepped onto a tangent by pushing Domino over, while tossing a badge into her hand. "Take care of her."
"Yes, sir!" Ash chanted. He mentally slapped himself. He needed to get out of the mindset that Giovanni was not only the parent of his girlfriend, but also the greatest criminal lord of his time.
He didn't want to become submissive.
"I'm more like the one doing the protecting." Domino, on the other hand, protested. "Also, I want a fight too!"
"And I'm not giving you one." The man laughed. "You were the one who taught me architecture when you were six. You'll probably build an entire army in twenty minutes and blow up my gym."
Domino pouted and stuck her tongue out at him. Giovanni softened. This was a side of her he never got to see before Ash came along.
He should have let her out of that freezer of a headquarter sooner.
The Leader's eyes trailed over to the audience stand. "How was the show, Pewter, Cerulean Leaders?"
Ash's two companions stood up nervously as well. Like Ash, they didn't know whether they should act like they didn't know him, or…
"Great…" Brock sounded unconfidently.
Giovanni laughed. "Hypothetically speaking, if I was the Head of the greatest criminal organization on this planet, Team Rocket…"
Domino coughed. "Galactic."
The Rocket Boss retaliated by making her hair into a bird nest. "Anyways, then let's say I would be smart enough to not make the same mistake as last time by getting into the Chosen's way."
"In another hypothetical, if I was to make him my enemy, I wouldn't have approved of her journey with him the first time I heard of it." He gestured to Domino.
"Finally, if I was to rule over the world, hypothetically," Giovanni winked. "I need a planet to rule. Therefore, I will need to crush Cyrus's plans first… and I won't be doing anything else before Galactic crumbles."
"That makes us allies, since we all want to destroy him."
The two Gym Leaders exchanged a glance. They knew that this was the Rocket Lord's way of a peace treaty. They nodded.
"Understood, Viridian Leader." They echoed.
"Great." He smiled.
"Well… That was fun…" Domino sang as she trotted down the Viridian city path out to the forest. "How about we walk back this time? I want to re-experience when I first arrived at this timeline and met Ash in this forest."
Ash smirked. "We HAVE been doing a lot of teleporting. Let's enjoy nature for a while then."
Misty rolled her eyes. "You two just don't want to get back to Delia, who will cut a large portion of your alone time."
"In that case, we should give you guys some alone time as well." Brock chuckled. "A small getaway before the training for League starts."
Ash and Domino grinned, relieved that their friends got the hint. "In that case, I'll meet you guys in two weeks' time at Pallet."
"Deal!"
"Oh wait." Ash took his Pokébelt off, and Domino took her her Pokéballs as well. "Take these to Professor Oak. I promised her a totally poké-free week, with just her and me."
Misty and Brock exchanged a surprised look. Ash Ketchum giving up Pokémon for something!? Even only for a little while, this was major news, on the level on a man landing on the moon, or Donald Trump making a rational decision.
Domino looked at him sweetly. "Thank you."
"Of course, princess." The Knight in shining armor said.
A/N: The Gym Battle was not supposed to be serious. C'mon, we did eight serious ones already, and the two basically tore through most of them, and that's without me having them use Dragonite or Pikachu that much.
And here's the comic relief before the great LEAGUE starts in a few chapters!
I'm not having Domino fight Giovanni. There's no point. I don't want to make this serious.
And, yes, the two Rockets are not acting coldly, like I had described them in the first ten chapters. This shows a progression of character in Domino, which also had a projected effect on Giovanni.
Unlike the anime, my chapters will focus a lot on character development. Brock and Misty's development won't start until Johto, because Kanto would be Ash and Domino's paradise, like I have promised both you all and myself.
Also beware that I am not calling Rockets evil. Remember that.
Please enjoy, and be sure to follow and favorite. Please review! I always enjoy reading your comments, unless they say that I'm fat. Then I will retort with: "This is Amurica, what did ya expect!?"
