A/N: With everything that's going on in the world, I figured some of my readers could use a pick me up. Thus, I present to you the next chapter and Ash's third gym battle. It's been done for over a month, but I was trying to get a good distance ahead to start posting regularly again. And...I think I've done it! That means with a bit of luck, I might be able to start posting chapters on a regular basis again. These slightly shorter chapters (not this one) are really helping! I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.


Chapter 22: Lights Out at Mauville Gym

The group was walking up quite a steep hill. According to May and her Pokenav Plus, they would be reaching Mauville City at any moment. It was definitely the largest city in all of Hoenn, and also one of the most unique. May had told the others that Mauville City was like one giant mall with all sorts of activities to do. For Serena and Brock, the countless number of stores seemed to be calling their name. May was interested in all the other extracurricular activities. For Ash, however, only the gym battle was on his mind right now.

"How much further?" Ash asked eagerly.

"Just over this hill," May replied as they finally reached the top and took in the view.

For May, she had seen Mauville City before and simply smiled as she saw the city below them. For the rest of the group, it was quite breathtaking. There was one extremely huge building that stood at the bottom of the hill with what looked like an infinite number of glass elevators at the edge which had tons of people going up and down in them. It was as May said, the place looked like one, city-sized mall. It was quite unique.

"Wow," Serena breathed.

"Is any of this place outside?" Ash couldn't help but ask.

"Well, yeah. The center of Mauville City is one giant park. All the sport's leagues play in the center like the Mauville Manetric. Of course, there's a lot of other things to do there like races and picnics. Mauville City is great," May replied.

"And how are the department stores?" Serena asked.

"The best there is!" May said with a smile.

"I think I'm going to cry," Serena said and wiped her eye for emphasis.

"I think I'm going to die," Ash mumbled and was followed by a dull cry of agreement from Pikachu.

The only one who wasn't paying attention to the massive city in front of them was Togetic. It kept glancing at a certain pokeball on Serena's's belt every few seconds and couldn't focus on anything else. It was as if Togetic expected the pokeball to explode at any moment based on its determination to never take its eyes off of it.

That was because of the Pokemon that was in there. That cursed Sableye. Still, Sableye hadn't done anything since Serena captured it and acted completely normal. It even played with some of the other Pokemon, but Togetic never felt the evil leave Sableye. That thing was out to get Serena in some way, shape, or form. If only Togetic could figure it out!

"What do you think of Mauville City, Togetic?" Serena asked it as she turned, but she frowned when she noticed where Togetic's eyes were directed. She then sighed, "Again with Sableye?"

Togetic didn't respond and instead looked away in frustration. That was the first time that Sableye's pokeball wasn't in its line of sight the whole day. Serena sighed again as she crossed her arms.

"Come on, Togetic. Give Sableye a chance. All of the other Pokemon have, and they get along great with it. You two should try to be friends, too," Serena told it.

Togetic crossed its own stubby arms and gave a small glance at Sableye's pokeball before it turned away and grunted in reply. It would never become friends with that sneaky, slimy, evil, little fiend. Togetic didn't care if anybody believed it, not even Pikachu, but Sableye would be exposed one way or the other.

Though Serena herself knew that Togetic could sense another Pokemon's nature, Serena couldn't find any evidence to support it. She had attempted to use her ESP a couple of times on Sableye to confirm if what Togetic said was true, but something bizarre would happen every time she tried. A Pokemon would randomly get hurt. The food they were cooking would suddenly spill over, or Sableye would run away to play with another Pokemon.

Serena had to admit those instances were weird, but nothing ever suggested something else was at hand so they group could call them nothing more than coincidences. Thus, Serena could only go based on Sableye's behavior and how it interacted with everyone. That, and the fact that Sableye apparently hadn't tried to smite them yet as Togetic so blatantly tried to convey.

"At least try to get along with Sableye…for me?" Serena asked sweetly.

Togetic looked at the ground sadly. It hated to ignore its surrogate mother when she requested something of it like that. She was right that Sableye hadn't tried to do anything yet, but still…maybe Togetic was being a little bit harsh. It knew that Sableye was faking everything, but as long as it didn't try anything sinister, Togetic could fake niceness back to it to keep the peace between the group. That being said, Togetic would never drop its guard around Sableye. Togetic turned to Serena and slowly nodded its head.

"Great! Thank you, Togetic!" Serena said happily and gave it a hug.

Togetic returned the hug but suddenly felt an evil pulse from Sableye's pokeball. Togetic immediately pulled out of the embrace and flew several feet back and stared heatedly at Sableye's pokeball. Serena sighed as she thought she had finally reached Togetic. This was definitely going to take some time.

Ash put his hand Serena's shoulder and gave it a small rub, "Hey. Why don't we go on and head into Mauville City? I bet some good food will make everyone feel better. It always does for me, after all. Then, you can all cheer me on during my gym battle!"

Serena nodded and returned a small smile to Ash, "You're right. Let's go."


If the group thought Mauville City was amazing on the outside, that didn't even compare to how they felt once they actually entered the city. Hundreds of people were dashing all over the place, and an endless number of stores stretched on for miles. They could see a race track off in the distance as race cars flew by at top speed. The group could even spot an indoor amusement park not far away that had fully operational roller coasters and even an indoor water park! In short, the group felt like they were on vacation.

"Holy cow," Ash muttered, completely in awe.

"We have got stay here for more than a few days!" Serena squealed.

"Totally!" May agreed.

"I can draw up a plan of all the things we can do while we're…" Brock began, but the group had already run off without him.

Brock sighed. That had happened on Dewford Island, too. "I had a clipboard of fun planned out," he sulked.

The first thing the group did was get something to eat. There was a place they had found called Mauville's Monster Burgers that were supposed to be some of the best burgers in the Hoenn region. Though Brock and Serena weren't too thrilled at the idea, Ash and May were practically drooling and went in before they could hear anymore suggestions. Brock and Serena figured there would be plenty of time to eat at more refined places during their stay here so it was okay.

Once their food arrived, Ash and May's eyes glistened in hunger and anticipation. They had ordered triple cheeseburgers that probably weighed close to a pound with everything on them and a whole pile of fries which was a far cry from Brock and Serena's more modest single patty cheeseburgers. Ash picked his burger up and held it high into the air along with May.

"To energy for my gym battle!" Ash chanted before he took a huge bite.

How the height of that huge burger fit into his mouth was anyone's guess. Ash's eyes lit up before he took another bite of the heart attack on a bun.

"It's so good!" Ash yelled.

"I'll race you, Ash!" May challenged.

"You're so on!" Ash replied.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Brock cut in. "You don't want to get sick right before your gym battle, Ash."

"Yeah. I guess you're right," Ash said as he continued eating his burger, but at a much slower pace, "So, where is the Mauville City Gym at?"

"It's at the top level of Mauville City in the northwest part. We'll have to take an elevator to get there," May answered, "The gym leader's name is Wattson, and he trains electric-type Pokemon."

"Electric-type Pokemon. I haven't faced a gym leader that specialized in electric types since Lt. Surge. It was also for my third badge," Ash said thoughtfully and looked at Pikachu, "I still remember that I considered evolving you into a Raichu because his was so powerful. Boy, I'm I sure glad you didn't go through with it, now."

"Pika," Pikachu said with a nod at the memory.

"Of course, we're much better now, and we have a lot more Pokemon, too. Let's get that third badge!" Ash told it, and earned a cry of agreement from Pikachu.

"Do you know which Pokemon you're going to use? Pikachu, again?" Serena asked.

"Nah. I think Pikachu's proven time and time again it's the best electric-type there is," Ash said which earned a smile from the yellow rodent, "I'm thinking I'll go with Phanpy, Cacnea, and…hmm…"

"Aron?" Serena guessed.

Ash almost choked back a laugh at that. He had called Professor Oak a couple of times to see how his Pokemon were doing, and according to him, they seemed to get a kick out of making Aron their little punching bag…especially Blastoise and Primeape. Ash would've felt sorry for Aron, but Professor Oak said it always seemed to be Aron who started the fight. Aron probably still tried to command everyone around it and only ended up getting its butt kicked.

"I guess I could try using it," Ash said, "I'm sure all of my Pokemon at the ranch need a break from Aron just as much as Aron needs a break from them."

The group finished their burgers with May and Ash actually managing to finish all of theirs, and they made their way back out into the mall metropolis. If Ash was going to get Aron for this gym battle, they would need to take a stop by the Pokemon Center. Besides, it was always a good idea to check in to one to make sure all of their Pokemon were good to go.

"Mauville City actually has more than one Pokemon Center," May informed the group as she took out her Pokenav Plus again. "Hey! There's even one close to the elevator we need to get to the gym!"

"Then that's the one we're going to!" Ash declared. "Which way?"

"Follow me," May said as she took the lead.

After much weaving around people and squeezing themselves between others, they finally managed to make it to the Pokemon Center about thirty minutes later. The group was actually a little worn out after fighting through all the people. Mauville City was much too crowded. Thank goodness for May's Pokenav Plus that gave them specific directions. Even an old-fashioned map would probably get them lost.

The group walked into the Pokemon Center, and despite being mildly busy, it was actually the least crowded part of Mauville City so far. The group breathed a sigh of relief that they would actually have a little room to walk around. As fun a place Mauville City was, the traffic was horrible. It even gave Goldenrod City competition.

They made their way up to Nurse Joy and ordered a room for the night before they handed over their pokeballs for her and her Chansey to look over. Ash then figured it would be a good time to go ahead and call Professor Oak while they waited. He made his way over to the video phone and sat down before he dialed the professor's number. Professor Oak answered the phone after a few rings, and he smiled once he saw Ash.

"Ah! Hello there, my boy! What can I do for you?" he asked.

"Hey, Professor! We're here in Mauville City, and I'm about to go win my third gym badge!" Ash replied with a thumbs up.

"Very good! I guess that means you would like a Pokemon swap?" Professor Oak figured.

"You got it! I'd like to get Aron please," Ash requested.

"Yes! Right away, but who are you going to send me?" Professor Oak wondered.

Ash looked down as he thought about who he should send. All of his Pokemon were still quite new and needed the battle experience. He really didn't want to part with anyone of them yet, but Aron needed experience, too. Ash never thought he would be in a situation where carrying even seven Pokemon on him wasn't enough.

"What about your Bagon? I didn't get as much time to study it as I liked while you were in Pallet Town," Professor Oak suggested once he noticed Ash's troubled expression.

"Bagon?" Ash repeated as he looked back up, "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?" Professor Oak asked.

"I just don't think it would take too kindly to me sending it back. It's not as…understanding as some my other Pokemon," Ash said.

"Well, I'm sure you know this, Ash, but don't show special treatment of your Pokemon. Pikachu is the exception, of course, because it's your first Pokemon, and all of your Pokemon know that. However, they may notice your different treatment towards Bagon, and that would be unfair to them if they get swapped out but never Bagon. Your Bagon will have to learn that it can't be in your party all the time," Professor Oak advised.

"I know," Ash said with a sigh.

"Ultimately, it's your decision, of course. You may send me any Pokemon you like. Just don't let your reason for keeping Bagon, or any Pokemon, be because of their behavior," Professor Oak said.

"No. You're right. You said you were needing to study Bagon, and I don't really have a reason to keep it in my party at the moment. It's actually been the Pokemon I've had the longest with me besides Phanpy, but I'm using it for the gym battle," Ash said.

"I see. Then I will gladly accept Bagon," Professor Oak replied.

Ash unclipped Bagon's pokeball from his belt and placed it on the transporter. Ash then patiently waited for Professor Oak to get Aron. It was then Ash heard a strange noise coming from Professor Oak's side of the video phone. He leaned in closer and scrunched his face up in confusion. Did he hear…cheering?

Professor Oak appeared a few seconds later and nodded to Ash, "I got Aron, Ash."

"Great," Ash replied before he added, "By the way, what was that noise? If I didn't know better, it sounded like I heard cheering."

"Oh, umm…I'm sure your Pokemon are just glad they'll see Bagon again," Professor Oak said with a chuckle.

Ash rolled his eyes as it was probably the other way around. They were most likely excited that Aron was leaving them for a while. Regardless, he sighed and looked at Bagon's pokeball. He hoped Bagon wouldn't get too upset with him about this. He would have to get it back in his party as soon as possible.

"It's only going to be for a little bit. I'm still fulfilling my promise to you," Ash told the pokeball before he placed it on the transporter, and Professor Oak did likewise with Aron's pokeball.

The machines lit up and the respective pokeballs disappeared in a bolt of electricity. A few seconds later, the pokeballs appeared on the opposite ends. Ash picked up Aron's pokeball, and Professor Oak picked up Bagon's.

"Everything's good over here, Professor," Ash said.

"Likewise with here! Take care, Ash, and say hi to the others for me!" Professor Oak replied.

"Will do," Ash responded, and the call was ended.

Ash went back over to his friends who were waiting nearby on a couch. Ash nodded to them and showed them Aron's pokeball.

"It got Aron, and Professor Oak says hi, by the way," he told them before he looked back at the pokeball, "I guess this will be the first time I officially meet Aron as my Pokemon. I'll let the others out, too."

Ash then let out Aron, Phanpy, and Cacnea. Upon being released from its pokeball, Cacnea leaped up at Ash for a hug, but he swiftly dodged the oncoming attack and breathed in a sigh of relief. Phanpy bounced its nose around playfully while Aron looked a little…disorientated. Did it just receive a beating from his Pokemon?

"Uh…Aron? Are you okay?" Ash asked.

At the sound of Ash's voice, Aron shook its head and put on a determined look. It then jumped to attention and studied the Pokemon before it. Hmm…a Cacnea and a Phanpy. Not the most reliable of a crew, but they'll do. Aron then shouted a command of attention and began to march in front of its troop of two for an inspection. However, Cacnea and Phanpy didn't seem much interested in being commanded to attention by a smaller Pokemon and just looked at it in confusion.

"Hey, Aron. I'm going to be using you in my gym battle. Rather than try to view Cacnea and Phanpy as underlings, view them as equals instead, and my other Pokemon for that matter. You'll make a lot more friends that way," Ash told it.

Aron looked at Ash like he was stupid. Aron was not interested in making friends! It was only interested in creating an army after that black-haired punk stole him away from his old one. Geez! Why were these Pokemon so disobedient?! Didn't they know an army general when they saw one? Aron then looked at Phanpy and pointed to the ground as a gesture to drop and give it ten.

Phanpy tilted its head to the side and looked down to its four legs. That would be kind of hard considering it had four knees and no arms. Aron would have none of it, though. It scurried over to Phanpy and bopped it on the nose to get a move on. As playful a Pokemon as Phanpy was, even it knew an insult when it saw one and didn't take too kindly to being hit on the nose. Phanpy swung its powerful trunk around and slapped Aron to the ground while Cacnea snickered.

"See what I mean?" Ash said.

Aron's eyes spun around in circles as it tried to recover from its dizziness. Well, maybe it could at least see what this gym battle its new trainer mentioned was all about, after all.


The group rode the elevator up to the top floor of Mauville City, and it conveniently let them out right in front of the gym. The group looked in awe at the gym built into the mall and saw all the lightning bolts decorated around the building. If this didn't scream an electric Pokemon gym, nothing did. They walked through the doors and was met with an extremely long and bare hallway. They couldn't even see the end of it.

"Well, it looks like it's going to be quite a walk to get where we need to be," Ash said with a sigh.

"Even I'm a little tired of walking," May muttered.

That's when the floor rose from underneath them, and bars came out of the floor and clamped around the edges. They looked over the railing and discovered wheels. The group exchanged glances with each other. Well, that was a relief. It looked like they wouldn't have to walk, after all. That was until the cart took off at quite a quick speed.

"Oh my gosh!" Serena cried out in surprise and clutched the side of the railing.

The cart began to pick up speed as it reached a drop and took the group on the ride of their lives. They had no choice but to cling tight and hope they didn'tt fall off. Togetic, however, wasn't sure if it should stay on or fly off. If it left the cart, it would be left behind due to how fast the cart was going.

"I wasn't expecting a roller coaster in this gym!" Brock shouted.

"Yahoo!" Ash hollered.

"Alright!" May shouted.

"You're both enjoying this?!" Serena cried in disbelief.

"You bet! I love roller coasters!" Ash replied, "What a way to pump me up for the gym battle!"

Ash and May's elation was short-lived, however, as they soon discovered a large object standing in their path. As they got closer, their eyes widened when they discovered it looked like a Raikou of all things. Their shock was soon replaced with confusion as they discovered it was clearly a robot, but it was replaced with fear when it discovered that it was actually shooting out electricity!

"What kind of gym is this?! We're going to get fried before we even make it to Wattson!" May shrieked.

"Not today!" Ash stated with determination, "Pikachu, use Iron Tail!"

Pikachu crouched down and leaped off the cart as far as it could go to reach the robotic Raikou in front of them. The robot launched a set of electricity at it, but Pikachu absorbed the shock and swung its tail around right on the robot's head. It sparked a few times before the head fell off and clanged to the ground. It was then the cart slowed to a stop, and the group discovered they were at the end of the hallway with a door off to the right.

"Phew! That was close! Thanks, buddy," Ash told it.

"Pika!" Pikachu replied.

The group thought they were safe, but that was until the robotic Raikou began to glow, and steam began emitting from it. The group widened their eyes in panic.

"Oh, shoot! It's going to explode!" Ash yelled.

The group hit the ground and covered their heads as the robot exploded. Chunks of metal and smoke went in every direction as they shielded themselves. It was all soon replaced with a small sound of crackling as a small fire died down where the Raikou had been.

"Oh no! My robotic Raikou!" a voice cried in panic.

The group looked up to see the door burst open, and a blond-haired boy who looked about twelve and was wearing a blue jumpsuit came running out. He panted heavily before he surveyed the damage, and then he sank to his knees and hung his head.

"Oh man! All that hard work…gone in an instant. Science was not on my side today," the boy muttered sadly.

"So, that was your robot that tried to kill us," Serena deduced as the group stood up and frowned at the boy.

The boy whipped his head around to Serena in surprise. "Of course not! My robotic Raikou would never kill anyone! It's to add an exciting welcome to those who enter the gym! It doesn't attack anything! That electricity is just used for effect, and you destroyed it."

"Well, can you blame us? We thought we were being attacked," Brock said.

"I can't even fix it since it exploded. It's gone for good," the boy whined.

"Just like everything you build, Clemont," a young voice said with a sigh.

The group turned and saw a young blonde-haired girl about seven years old with her hair in a side ponytail come out. She was clearly the boy's sister given they looked alike. Behind her was an older stout man with a large gray mustache.

"No faith in me, Bonnie…" the boy mumbled.

"Ah, it's okay, my boy! I have faith that you can build something just as exciting. Your knowledge of gadgets and machines has been helpful around here!" the older man said with a laugh.

"Thanks, Mr. Wattson," the boy replied, but he was still bummed out.

"Anyway, are you kids alright? Everything good?" the man who was clearly Wattson asked as he turned to face them.

"Yeah. We're good," Ash replied, "So, you're Wattson?"

"That I am!" the man replied jovially.

"Well, I'm Ash!" Ash introduced.

"I'm Serena," Serena said.

"I'm May," May added.

"And I'm Brock," Brock finished.

"I'm Clemont…" the boy mumbled before he composed himself, "I'm from Lumiose City in the Kalos region. I'm learning under Wattson to be the gym leader there, and that's my sister, Bonnie."

"Glad to meetcha!" the girl chirped.

"So, you two are from the Kalos region?" Serena asked in interest.

"Yes. Our dad is an acquaintance of Wattson. My dad isn't a gym leader, though, but it's something I've wanted to do for a while so my dad sent me here so I can learn," Clemont explained, "And of course, Bonnie wanted to come with me."

"To find you a wife!" Bonnie piped up before she looked at Serena, "In fact…"

Bonnie ran over to Serena and got down on one knee. Serena tilted her head back in confusion as she wondered what on Earth Bonnie was doing. What she said next surprised everyone.

"Will you be my brother's wife, Serena?" Bonnie asked.

"Wh-wh-what?!" Serena gasped.

"Bonnie!" Clemont shouted in embarrassment.

"I'm…eheheheh…already taken," Serena stated and placed her arm around Ash.

"Oh…" Bonnie said in disappointment before she looked at May. "What about you? Please marry my brother!"

"Oh! I'm…uhhhh…already…taken?" May mumbled as a question and placed her arm around Brock, but he quickly squirmed away from her.

"You're not that good at thinking on your feet," Brock told her.

"Darn it!" Bonnie said and snapped her fingers.

"Leave them alone, Bonnie!" Clemont cried, and a robotic hand came out of the backpack he was using before it grabbed and pulled Bonnie away, "I'm so sorry about her! She's always doing that every time we meet another girl."

"Heeheehee!" Bonnie giggled mischievously.

"It's fine," Serena said with a nervous chuckle of her own.

"Anyway, ignoring that, I take it you kids are here to challenge me to a gym match!" Wattson figured.

"You got it!" Ash stated, "I won the Johto League last year, and I've already gotten two badges and looking to get my third!"

Both Clemont and Bonnie looked quite impressed at Ash while Wattson smiled. He rubbed his chin as if he was thinking of something.

"Hahaha! So you've won the Johto League, eh? I'd really like to test your skills as a trainer. What do you say I up the difficulty a bit?" Wattson suggested.

"How so?" Ash wondered.

"I'll show you! Follow me!" Wattson instructed and left the room.

The group went to follow Wattson, but Clemont stayed behind. He looked sadly at his robotic Raikou. Why did almost everything he make have to explode?

"Come on, Clemont!" Bonnie urged and began to pull him along.

As the group walked along a long corridor, Ash looked over at Clemont and noticed the boy still seemed rather sad, and Ash started to feel a little guilty. It was his Pikachu that destroyed the robotic Raikou, after all, and Clemont was right. They weren't actually attacked by it.

"Hey. I'm sorry we destroyed your Raikou," Ash apologized.

"It's okay. I guess I overdid it with the electricity," Clemont said with a sigh.

"So, you like to build things?" Ash guessed.

"Oh…yes!" Clemont replied and seemed to perk up, "I love building all different types of machines. I've made that robotic Aipom arm that grabbed my sister earlier, a Bonnie-Out-of-Bed-O-Matic, a Pokemon Retrieval Device, a Radio Wave Amplification Device, a Pokemon Power Meter, and tons of other inventions!"

"Wow! Science is so amazing!" Ash cried in excitement.

"Isn't it!?" Clemont said excitedly, as well.

"Ummm…I have a question," Serena stated which caused Clemont to look at her, "If you've invented all of these things, why haven't you tried to sell them and make them available to the public? I haven't heard of any of this stuff."

"Well, because…" Clemont began.

"They all explode," Bonnie finished for him.

"Yeah…" Clemont muttered and hung his head.

"Kind of like that robotic Raikou," May said thoughtfully before she saw Clemont's expression, "Oops! Sorry!"

"It's okay! Because one day, I will have an invention that does not explode! It'll be fully functional, and I'll show everyone how amazing science is! The future is now! Thanks to science!" Clemont said dramatically.

"Yeah. Good luck with that, Clemont," Bonnie said with a smile, but her tone said otherwise.

The group then arrived in a large room with a few large devices around the room that generated electricity and lit up the room quite well. Wattson then spread his arms out to Ash.

"This is where we will have the battle, Ash! I hope you've come prepared!" Wattson told him.

"I have!" Ash confirmed, "So, what did you have in mind for the gym battle?"

"Well, I figured since you're an experience battler, I want to see how you battle in the dark," Wattson replied.

"What do you mean?" Ash wondered.

Wattson snapped his fingers, and the electrical generators around the room died down, and it got significantly darker in the room with only a faint glow by some of the generators. Ash looked around before he smiled at Wattson.

"Cool," Ash said, "I'm ready for it, though."

"My Pokemon train in the dark sometimes and use their electricity to see so I want to see how you adjust," Wattson stated. "We'll have a three on three Pokemon match. Is that acceptable, Ash?"

"Perfect!" Ash replied, "I have three Pokemon prepared to win!"

"Wahahahaha! I like that attitude! This will be a fun match, indeed!" Watson shouted with a laugh and went to the other side of the gym, "Clemont, will you judge the match?"

"Yes, sir!" Clemont responded, "I'll be taking mental notes, too, about the match."

Clemont then ran to the center of the room where it was lit up enough where everyone could see him and his decisions. He then panted tiredly, and the group watched him in confusion while Bonnie sighed. Was Clemont really that out of shape? Bonnie hung back with the others and stood next to Serena. As Ash went to stand on his side of the field, Bonnie giggled and looked up at Serena.

"I think you and Ash are a good fit! I support it!" Bonnie stated.

"Uh…thank you, Bonnie. Glad I have your approval," Serena said.

"So, since you won't be my brother's wife, that means you'll be Ash's wife, huh?" Bonnie asked.

Serena blushed heavily, but no one noticed due to the dimness of the room. As great as that would be to happen in the future, she and Ash were still thirteen and definitely not thinking about marriage yet. Several thoughts began to race through Serena's head about what being married to Ash was like which only caused her to turn redder. Serena then quickly shook her head. She should just focus on her dreams and being Ash's girlfriend for right now. She then patted the precocious Bonnie on the head.

"We'll see," Serena told her.

By that time, both Ash and Wattson were on their respective places to stand, and Clemont had recovered from running. Clemont raised his two flags he had grabbed nearby and raised them into the air.

"This will be an official gym match between the gym leader, Wattson, and the challenger, Ash! It will be a three on three match. The challenger may make substitutions while the gym leader may not! A Dynamo Badge is at stake! Is everyone ready?" Clemont announced.

"I am! I'll choose my Pokemon, first! Go, Electrike!" Wattson shouted and threw forward a pokeball.

A green and yellow electric dog-like Pokemon appeared out of the pokeball and growled slightly. Ash smiled in interest and took out his national dex.

"Electrike, the lightning Pokemon. Using the electric charge stored in its fur, it can run faster than the eye can follow," the dexes informed.

"Pretty cool!" Ash noted before he took out his pokeball, "Aron, I choose you!"

Aron appeared from the pokeball and looked around at the dimly lit room. It couldn't see crap in here! How did this black-haired twit expect it to battle if it couldn't see what it was doing? It turned and glared at Ash before it pointed his foreleg straight at him in a challenge. Ash frowned back at it.

"We're just making the gym battle a little harder by turning off most of the lights. I still have faith you can win this match. I wouldn't have chosen you if I didn't," Ash said, "You can see, can't you?"

Aron turned around. Well, of course it could see! It did live in a cave for most of its life, after all! It just wasn't that used to battling in a cave. Then again, most of the time it just had its underlings do the fighting for it while it gave orders off to the side. Maybe now it knew how they felt when they battled in the dark. Aron grimaced, but made sure Ash didn't see it do that.

"Alright! The Pokemon are set and so is the match! Begin!" Clemont declared and brought his down.

"Electrike, start things off with Howl!" Wattson commanded.

Ash figured it was logical to start things off with Wattson raising his Pokemon's attack, but that's where Aron's solid defense came in handy. It would be really tough to break through with anything physical.

"Aron, use Rock Tomb to slow down, Electrike!" Ash yelled.

"Dodge it, and use Thunder Fang!" Wattson commanded.

Electrike disappeared in a blur, and Aron quickly lost sight of it before the attack could even be launched. Ash looked around for Electrike but it was a little tough to see in the dimly lit room even though Aron's eyes had adjusted to seeing in the dark. A sudden jolt of pain was sent through Aron's back as Electrike bit down with its electrified teeth.

"Use Iron Defense!" Ash hollered.

There was a flash as Aron hardened its body, and Electrike winced in pain before it jumped back at shook its head. Its teeth were quite sore now from biting something that hard.

"You're okay. Just shake it off, Electrike," Wattson encouraged before he continued, "Try a Discharge, now!"

A surge of electricity was blasted out of Electrike and slammed into Aron. Aron was knocked through the air and landed on its back. It then began wiggling around like a turtle on its shell as it tried to unsuccessfully right itself.

"Come on! Get up, Aron!" Ash yelled.

"We've got it on the ropes! Finish this with Wild Charge!" Wattson shouted.

Electrike howled again before it began to run straight for Aron. Though it was tough to see, Ash could still see a black outline moving through the gym and could tell Electrike was approaching fast. Ash then looked at Aron and saw it was still struggling to get upright. By the time Ash thought of something to get it up, it would be too late. He had to just buy a little more time.

"Aron, use Mud Slap!" Ash hollered.

Aron used its two back legs and kicked a slob of mud at Electrike just before it collided into Aron. Electrike's head jerked back as it was hit in the face and began to claw at the mud to get it off. Ash nodded his head as a way to get Aron back up just occurred to him.

"Use Metal Claw, and push yourself up!" Ash shouted.

Aron stabbed its clawed stubby arms into the ground and gave a mighty heave as it tried to push itself up while frantically kicking around its back legs. It let out a gag at the amount of strain it was using to get all of its weight up and looked kind of ridiculous. Now Aron felt the strain of the pushups it would make its underlings do, and these were backwards pushups! By that time, Electrike was almost finished getting the mud off its face, and then it would be ready to attack again. Aron didn't have much time left.

"Come on, Aron!" Ash hollered.

Aron's gagged expression turned into one of annoyance. Dang it! It didn't need encouragement from that boy! It was the one who encouraged and commanded around here! Maybe after it was done with this battle, it would make Ash do pushups so he would know how it felt to do this. Aron would sit on top of Ash while he did them for good measure! That pleasant thought propelled Aron to give another mighty heave, and it managed to flip itself onto its front just as Electrike had recovered.

"Use Autotomize!" Ash shouted.

There was another flash across Aron's body as it lightened itself. Aron could feel how good that was and felt it could run a marathon at breakneck speed. It could move a lot faster! Ash smiled and nodded his head.

"Now we can get going! Aron, use Headbutt!" he commanded.

Aron dashed forward and slammed its head into Electrike. The lightning Pokemon was knocked backwards and landed on its side, but it was quick to get up.

"Use Quick Attack, and then Spark!" Wattson said.

Once more, Electrike disappeared, and Aron squinted its eyes as it looked around for Electrike. Where was that speedy little maggot at? A jolt of electricity soon landed right next to Aron, and it leaped away in surprise. The bolt of electricity had lit up the room briefly, and Electrike was able to find Aron. It slammed into Aron and let out sparks of electricity which shocked the iron armor Pokemon.

"Use Iron Head!" Ash shouted.

Aron grimaced and reared its head forward which slammed into Electrike's own head, and Electrike was knocked through the air, but it landed on its feet.

"Use Discharge!" Wattson said again.

"Dodge it!" Ash commanded.

Aron scurried out of the way, but Electrike was able to follow it due to the glows the bolts of electricity were causing. Though Aron was faster, Electrike was still reasonably fast itself. It quickly redirected its Discharge, and the attack slammed into Aron and sent it flying. Once more, Aron landed on its back and struggled for a bit in aggravation. Dang it! This again!?

Aron was weak and wore out quite quickly as it stabbed its claws into the ground and tried to heave itself up again like last time. It didn't care. No speedy little maggot would get the better of it like that! Aron was going to beat its butt and make it do pushups as punishment! Aaarrrgh!

…Aron fell over and fainted. Clemont raised his flags.

"Aron is unable to battle!" he called out.

"Well done, Electrike!" Wattson said.

Ash sighed as he now quickly discovered Aron's glaring weakness when it battled. If it fell on its back, that immediately placed it in a bad situation. He would have to train with it some to work something out to make sure Aron always landed on its front side. Using Metal Claw to push itself up spent too much energy which was why it was defeated so quickly. Even though he lost first, Ash knew he could use this as learning on how to train Aron, and he still had two great Pokemon left. Aron took out his pokeball and returned it.

"Good job, Aron. Return," he said as the pokeball recalled it, "We have some rough patches to work out, but I know we'll overcome them."

"Was it just me, or did that Aron seem kind of weird?" Bonnie asked and raised one her eyebrows.

"Well, it was a self-proclaimed army general when Ash caught it in Granite Cave, and that title really went to its head. It has some…err…personality issues to work out," Brock answered.

"Yeah. It's going to have a bad time if all of Ash's other Pokemon want to beat it up," May added.

Ash decided to use Cacnea next. He threw his pokeball forward and was immediately prepared for the obligatory leap of affection. He quickly dodged and pointed forward.

"Thanks for the love, but we need to focus on our gym battle!" Ash told it.

Cacnea nodded and quickly waddled over to where it was supposed to stand. Once it was done, Clemont raised his two flags.

"Cacnea vs. Electrike! Begin!" he declared.

"Use Pin Missile, Cacnea!" Ash hollered.

"Dodge it, and use Discharge!" Wattson commanded.

Unlike Aron who was pretty used to seeing in the dark, Cacnea's eyes weren't as adept. As Electrike moved around the battlefield, Cacnea could only blindly shoot out the Pin Missile in hopes that Electrike would get hit. However, despite the wide array of needles landing all over the gym, they were missing their target. Cacnea grimaced as a Discharge hit it square in the back, but it quickly shook off the static and shot Pin Missile where the attack had come from, but Electrike was already gone.

Cacnea was beginning to show a little bit of frustration as it tried to find Electrike, but it was too dark to see. The only clues it had to where Electrike was would be the electricity when it used an electric attack, or the small glow of the generators at the edge of the gym, but Electrike and Wattson were smart enough to stay away from those.

"Just calm down, Cacnea. Let's just think for second," Ash told it.

Cacnea halted its Pin Missile and took in a deep breath to focus. It looked around, but it still could find no sign of Electike. Ash suddenly had an idea to beat this Electrike at its own game.

"Use Wild Charge!" Wattson commanded.

There was a flash of electricity that gave away Electrike's position as it sped towards where Cacnea was. With the bolts of electricity surrounding it, Electrike was able to see Cacnea's position. It would be too slow to move out of the way, and if it tried to attack, Electrike would simply move out of the way.

"Use Cotton Spore on yourself!" Ash hollered.

Wattson and Electrike saw an explosion of fluff come out of Cacnea in the darkness that began to fall around it. They weren't quite sure what good that would do as Electrike could still see the black shape of Cacnea in the darkness. The Cotton Spore soon fully concealed Cacnea, but by then Electrike was almost upon it. It charged right into the Cotton Spore to slam Cacnea…and hit nothing.

Electrike screeched to a halt and glanced around the Cotton Spore as it tried to find Cacnea. Where did it go?

"Pin Missile!" Ash suddenly yelled.

A barrage of needles came up from above Electrike, and the lighting Pokemon was struck from the attack and howled in pain. It looked up and saw the black shape of Cacnea above it. Wattson frowned as Cacnea must've jumped at the last second. Because it was dark in the gym and Cacnea was concealed by the Cotton Spore, they never noticed it had moved from its spot.

"Use Discharge!" Wattson hollered.

"Use Needle Arm!" Ash shouted.

The electricity surged out of Electrike and struck Cacnea dead on. Cacnea grimaced again as Electrike went to dash behind it, but Cacnea expected that from the last attack Electrike did and redirected its Needle Arm. It slammed the Needle Arm right into Electrike's face as the lightning Pokemon went to run by it, and Electrike was knocked into the air and landed a short distance away from Wattson. It growled for a moment before it became still, knocked out.

"Electrike is unable to battle!" Clemont announced.

"Great job, Cacnea!" Ash called out, though it was little hard to see it.

"Cacnea!" Cacnea cried out in happiness and flexed its stub arms.

"And now Ash is right back in the match!" May said happily.

"Of course. This concept of battling in the dark is new to Ash, but it doesn't take him long to adjust. You don't become the Johto League champion, otherwise," Brock agreed.

"Well, Mr. Wattson's other Pokemon are pretty tough, too," Bonnie rebutted.

Wattson returned his Electrike and told it a job well done before he took out his next pokeball. Because that Cacnea resisted electric-type attacks, he would have to try something else, and he knew just the Pokemon.

"Magnemite, I choose you!" Wattson called out and threw forward his pokeball.

As Magnemite appeared from its pokeball, Ash prepared for battle. He had battled Magnemite a few times in the past, but just never in the dark. He knew what they could be capable of.

"Cacnea versus Magnemite! Begin!" Clemont said.

"Use Sonic Boom, Magnemite!" Wattson shouted.

There was a loud bang that sounded through the gym, and before Cacnea even knew what it, a shock wave quickly traveled along the ground and slammed into. Cacnea was knocked into the air in surprise, but it managed to right itself and shake off the attack.

"Now, use Magnet Bomb!" Watson ordered.

"Dodge it!" Ash called.

Cacnea scanned the area for where Magnemite could be, but unlike Electrike, it wasn't generating any electricity to give away its position. It waddled away from where it was in order to confuse Magmemite of its positions also, but it soon felt a few wads of steel attach themselves to its body. Cacnea frantically tried to fight off the bombs, but they quickly exploded and sent it sky high.

"Magnet Bomb never misses, Ash. No matter how much your Cacnea moves around," Wattson informed him as Cacnea hit the ground.

Ash grimaced as this Magmemite was just a bag full of tricks and could use different types of attacks other than electric. He would have to play a lot smarter to beat it.

"Sandstorm, Cacnea!" Ash told it.

"That won't work with Magnet Bomb, Ash," Wattson said as a flurry of sand whipped up around the dark gym, "Use Magnet Bomb, Magnemite."

"Pin Missile!" Ash hollered.

Cacnea spread its arms and unleashed a barrage of needles from its arms. It wasn't worried about missing as Magnet Bomb would definitely find its target. Sure enough, as the bombs closed in on Cacnea to latch to it, the Pin Missiles pierced through the bombs which caused them to explode before they hit Cacnea. The sand exploded outward from the impact and sprayed against Magnemite who reeled back from discomfort. It then used its one eye to try to find Cacnea but was unable to due to the darkness and the sand.

"Needle Arm!" Ash ordered.

Cacnea saw a black shape in the darkness and hurried to it before it leaped up and slammed its cactus arm right into Magnemite who never saw the attack coming. Magnemite cried out and was knocked to the floor even though the attack wasn't very effective, and Cacnea landed on top of it.

"Now, use Leech Seed!" Ash commanded.

Now that Magnemite was pinned to the floor, Cacnea was able to launch the seed from crown on its head and straight onto Magnemite. The seed wrapped around Magnemite and began to zap its energy while it groaned in pain.

"Awesome, Cacnea!" Ash told it as Cacnea leaped back to avoid a desperate Thunderbolt from Magnemite.

"Try this then! Use Lock-on and then Zap Cannon!" Wattson commanded.

"Oh no!" Ash thought as he knew the danger of that.

Cacnea began to move through the dying Sandstorm as it tried to get away from the Lock-on as best as possible, but Magnemite quickly got it in range and prepared to fire. Ash knew there was no getting out of this so he did the only thing he could.

"Sucker Punch!" Ash yelled.

Before Magnemite could launch the attack, Cacnea appeared in front of it and punched Magnemite with its spiky arm. Magmemite grunted in pain, but it still blasted Cacnea up close with the powerful Zap Cannon. Cacnea flew through the air and landed on the floor while Magnemite moaned from the Leech Seed sapping more energy.

"Come on, Cacnea! Get up!" Ash said, even though it was really hard for Cacnea due to the paralysis.

"Finish with Mirror Shot!" Wattson ordered.

Cacnea wasn't able to move much so Magnemite easily found it in the dark and launched the flash of energy from its body. It quickly traveled across the field and struck Cacnea. The cactus Pokemon went flying and landed near Ash and was clearly knocked out.

"Cacnea is unable to battle!" said Clemont.

"Well done, Magnemite!" Wattson praised.

"Man. This is the first time Ash lost two of his Pokemon before the gym leader since I've seen him," May muttered sadly while Serena patted May on the back.

"Ash is always going to have tough battles no matter how good he is. I remember when Ash and I both started our journeys that I would get upset when Ash was losing. I've come to accept it, now, even if Ash does lose. Besides, Ash is the king of coming back from behind," Serena stated and added the last part with a smile, "Right, Brock?"

"Well, Phanpy is going to have a huge advantage due to its ground-typing, but that Magnemite has already shown it knows a variety of attacks, and we have no idea what Wattson's last Pokemon is," Brock reasoned.

"You guys sure have a lot of faith in him," Bonnie commented.

"Well, if you ever traveled with Ash, you would understand," Serena replied.

Ash returned Cacnea and gave the pokeball a smile and told it that it was great. Ash then unclipped his last pokeball and threw it forward.

"Phanpy, I choose you!" Ash yelled as Phanpy appeared from the pokeball and playfully bounced its nose, "Phanpy, it's all up to you, now! You can do it!"

Phanpy gave a playful cry and turned to see who its opponent was…only to find it extremely hard to see. Phanpy squinted its eyes as it looked around the gym until it finally spotted a dark shape. Phanpy figured that was its opponent, but it couldn't tell what kind of Pokemon it was. Of All Ash's Pokemon, Phanpy had the hardest of seeing in the dark. Aron was adapted to caves and Cacnea had very large eyes, but Phanpy really had to struggle to see its opponent.

"It's okay, Phanpy! It's just dark! We'll still battle with everything we have!" Ash told it.

Phanpy nodded its head but still looked a bit unsure. Clemont then raised the flags over his head to signify the match, "Phanpy vs. Magnemite! Begin!"

"Let's start things off with Earthquake!" Ash shouted, hoping for a quick knock out.

"Nice try, Ash, but that won't work with Magnemite! Use Magnet Rise!" Wattson called out.

Magnemite raised its two magnets as a charge surrounded it which made it immune to ground-type moves. Phanpy stood up on its hind legs as it slammed the ground as hard as it could, and though the whole gym shook, Magnemite was completely unaffected.

"That's okay! Use Rollout!" Ash yelled.

Phanpy curled into a ball and began rolling around the room. One problem was it was having a quite a hard time seeing where it was going and was narrowly avoiding some walls around the room. The bigger problem was that it wasn't anywhere near Magnemite who merely watched it roll around the gym aimlessly.

"Use Mirror Shot!" Wattson commanded.

"Dodge it!" Ash yelled

A flash of energy erupted from Magnemite and flew towards Phanpy. However, Phanpy was able to finally see the flash coming and easily dodged the attack. Magnemite then began to shoot a few more Mirror Shots at Phanpy, but this also gave away its position in the gym, and Phanpy turned and made a beeline straight for it.

"Mirror Shot again!" Wattson shouted.

"Dodge it and jump into the air!" Ash said. "Then use Body Slam!"

The Mirror Shot came from Magnemite and flew towards Phanpy, but it leaped up at the last second and crashed into Magnemite who gave a moan of discomfort from the attack as Phanpy continued to go up until it uncurled itself and let its full body weight fall on Magnemite.

"Magnet Bomb!" Wattson ordered.

Unlike Cacnea who had means to pierce the bombs, Phanpy had no such luck. The Magnet Bombs quickly found the mark as Phanpy jumped off Magnemite before they exploded on it. Phanpy cried in pain from the attack as Magnemite prepared another attack.

"Use Flash Cannon before it can get away!" Wattson yelled.

"Hurry! Get away with Rollout!" Ash commanded.

Phanpy quickly recovered from the attack and rolled away just in time. It then turned around and went towards Magnemite again who shot another Mirror Shot, but Phanpy was able to see it and dodged around it. Wattson realized this wasn't going to work as Magnemite's bright attack kept giving Phanpy ample time to dodge so he would meet it head on.

"Use Gyro Ball!" Wattson said.

Magnemite began spinning extremely fast until it was a speeding ball heading to Phanpy. Ash wasn't going to let Phanpy back down from that, though.

"Prove your stronger, Phanpy! Roll right into it!" Ash hollered.

Phanpy did as told, and pretty soon the two spinning Pokemon crashed right into each other and began to compete for dominance. Phanpy then gave a cry as it shoved Magnemite back, and Magnemite went spinning away.

"Try Sonic Boom!" Wattson cried.

"Don't be afraid! Go right through it Phanpy!" Ash ordered.

The shock wave was unleashed from Magnemite and went speeding across the ground towards Phanpy. Phanpy could see it coming in the dark and braced itself for the impact. Sure enough, a powerful force slammed into Phanpy about a second later, but Phanpy gave a strained cry and plowed right through it which surprised Wattson and Magnemite.

Phanpy then leaped into the air and slammed into Magnemite once again. It then uncurled itself and used Body Slam again on Magnemite. By that time, the Magnet Rise had lost its effect, and Magnemite fell to the ground due to Phanpy's weight. Ash was about to call Phanpy to finish it with Earthquake, but he didn't have to. The Leech Seed from earlier sapped the last of Magnemite's energy, and it fainted.

"Magnemite is unable to battle!" Clemson declared.

"That was awesome Phanpy! Just one more!" Ash encouraged it.

"Phanpy!" Phanpy said happily.

"That was a close one," May said after breathing a sigh of relief, "Phanpy should have no trouble now that Magnemite's out of the way, right?"

"I don't know about that, but I still believe Ash can win," Serena replied.

Wattson returned Magnemite and told it that it did very well. Wattson then thought about his own last Pokemon to use. His immediate thought was to use his trusty Manectric, but it had no way to truly keep Phanpy on alert and had few moves to counter its ground-typing. A few Earthquakes would no doubt be too much for it so he had an alternative for things like this.

"Wahahahaha! That was well done, Ash, but it's not over until it's over. My last Pokemon should be more than a match for your Phanpy! Go, Electivire!" Wattson shouted.

Ash saw the dark outline of Electivire appear from the Pokemon, and he knew this would be especially difficult for Phanpy. Electivire wasn't exactly a new Pokemon to Ash as he had faced one before, but they were still challenging and knew a variety of moves that weren't electric. He hoped Phanpy would have the strength to stand up to it.

"It's okay, Phanpy! Show them how strong you are!" Ash told it.

"Phanpy!" Phanpy agreed as it began to glow white.

Ash grinned as he knew what was happening as everyone watched in awe. Phanpy began to grow larger as tusks emerged from its face. A plate of armor began to form on its back and onto its tail. When it was done, Phanpy had evolved into Donphan!

"Alright! Congratulations, Phanpy! I mean Donphan!" Ash shouted to it and received a happy cry from Donphan in return. It was sure to be an even match now.

"Wow! That's so cool!" Bonnie said in excitement.

"It's great that Phanpy evolved. Now it's strength can match that of Electivire," Serena said as Brock nodded in agreement. May watched with a smile as she began to wonder what some of her Pokemon like Torchic and Azurill would be like if they evolved. She had missed out on the greatness of her Wurmple evolving, but she wouldn't make that mistake again.

"Wahahahaha! What a treat to see a Pokemon evolve in the middle of a match! I say we get started on this!" Wattson laughed before he added, "In fact, let's have this showdown with the lights on!"

Wattson snapped his fingers, and the gym was lit up once more. Ash and Donphan blinked a couple of times to get adjusted to the sudden brightness of the room. At least they could see now, but that also meant Wattson was fairly confident in his Electivire's skill.

"Sounds good!" Ash said eagerly. "Let's test out your new power, Donphan!"

"Donphan vs. Electivire! Begin!" Clemont stated.

"Use Earthquake, Donphan!" Ash shouted.

"Use Protect, Electivire!" Wattson countered.

Electivire formed a shield around itself as the Earthquake happened, and the attack was completely ineffective. Ash grit his teeth. So, this Electivire had a way to avoid ground-type moves, as well. It couldn't use Protect forever, but Ash also knew he couldn't keep having Donphan use Earthquake as that might tire it out.

"Use Rollout!" Ash called.

Donphan rolled into a ball began spinning straight at Electivire now that it could see. Electitivire, however, merely stood there and watched Donphan come towards it without moving a muscle. As it closed in, Ash was wondering what Wattson was doing until he called out his attack.

"Use Low Kick!" Wattson commanded.

"Watch out!" Ash warned.

Donphan was unable to turn in time, and Electivire moved off the side at last second and delivered a powerful sweeping kick to Donphan. Donphan immediately uncurled from its Rollout and went crashing to the ground painfully due to its heavy weight. It didn't even have time to get up before Wattson gave Electivire its next attack.

"Focus Punch!" he shouted.

Electivire reeled its fist back and focused its mind before it delivered the powerful attack to Donphan just as it managed to get up. Donphan cried out in pain was actually lifted up off the ground and into the air. It landed painfully on the ground on its stomach and was panting quite heavily. This wasn't good. Donphan had already taken quite a bit of damage, and the match had just started.

"It seems that Electivire is good at close range attacks. If I can keep Donphan away from it, it shouldn't be able to do anything except electric attacks which are ineffective, but then again, Donphan doesn't have any real long range attacks," Ash thought, "What to do?"

"Giga Impact!" Wattson ordered while Ash in thought.

Ash looked up and saw Electivire charging towards Donphan for a devastating slam. He must be trying to end this rather quickly, and it was coming in fast. With no other option, Ash had to order Donphan to go in.

"Meet it head on with Rollout!" Ash called.

Donphan curled into a ball and rolled towards Electivire while Wattson smiled. As powerful as Donphan may be, it wouldn't be able to withstand a Giga Impact from his Electivire. Even if Donphan jumped up to avoid a Low Kick, it would still get plowed with Giga Impact. Just before what would be a devastating collision, Ash made his move.

"Move off to the side just a little bit!" Ash hollered, "Use Horn Attack!"

At the last second, Donphan inched over just a little bit which caused Electivire to miss. Donphan then used its new horns to stab Electivire on the side of the leg as it passed by. Electivire gave a grunt of pain snd held its leg where the attack happened as it glared at Donphan, but it was already out of reach.

"Now leap up onto Electivire, and then use Earthquake!" Ash shouted.

Donphan jumped into the air above Electivire and uncurled itself. Electivire then held its arms up in an X shape to brace itself for the impact, and the two went crashing to the ground with Donphan on top.

"Use Protect!" Wattson hollered.

"Use Bulldoze, instead!" Ash shouted.

A shield was formed up around Electivire as Donphan began to stomp down continuously with its feet. Since this attack didn't require as much energy as Earthquake, Ash ordered it to keep going. Despite that, the attack was doing absolutely nothing. Donphan was relentless, however, despite how tired it was. If it hoped to do any significant damage, it would have to keep this up. Then it happened.

The Protect wore off from having been used for too long, and Electivire began to get ruthlessly pounded on by Donphan's feet. Electivire then began using anything it could to block the Bulldoze but nothing was working against the heavy Pokemon.

"Use Swift!" Wattson ordered.

Despite constantly being stomped on, Electivire managed to shoot out the star-shaped bits of energy. The attack caused Donphan to grimace and back off a little bit, and Electivire was able to stand back up.

"Use Hammer Arm!" Wattson commanded.

"Counter with Slam!" Ash said.

Electivire swung its fist back and went to slam it down on top of Donphan, but Donphan thrust its body up and met the attack with its armor. The two Pokemon then groaned as they tried to overtake the other. One thing was sure, whoever won this struggle would spell doom for the other one. Electivire then began to smirk as it began push Donphan down. As soon as that happened, Donphan would be in trouble. Ash was wondering what he could do to try to gain the advantage until he remembered a new move Donphan must have picked up upon evolving.

"Use Fire Fang!" Ash yelled.

Donphan's eyes lit up before it ignited its tusks and brought them down on Electivire's fist. Electivire widened its eyes and let out a cry of pain, and that momentary distraction was what Donphan needed. It thrust its head up with all its might and sent Electivire into the air and before it slammed down on the ground. Donphan then stomped down on Electivire.

"Use Earthquake!" Ash said quickly.

"Focus Punch!" Wattson cried.

Donphan raised its hooves as Electivire quickly focused and swung its fist. Donphan slammed down on the ground right as Electivire swung its fist into Donphan. Donphan was knocked off Electivire as the whole gym shook. Donphan fell onto the ground as Electivire received the full force of the Earthquake. Once the attack ended, it slowly stood up while Donphan stood up to, and they stared at each other for a moment while panting.

Donphan's knees buckled, and Ash gasped, but Donphan managed to catch itself. Electivire, however, fell over onto its back and didn't get up. The winner of the match had been decided. Clemont raised his flags.

"Electivire is unable to battle! The winner is Ash!" he declared.

"Yeah! Alright, Donphan!" Ash cheered as he ran over to it.

Donphan turned around and gave a happy cry to Ash before its fatigue overtook it, and it collapsed onto the ground while panting heavily. Ash smiled sympathetically as he rubbed Donphan's snout. It had taken a lot of damage, after all. Thankfully, it had a really tough hide to endure some of it.

"Wow. He actually beat Electivire," Bonnie said in surprise.

"Yes! He sure did!" Serena agreed as she ran over with May and Brock.

"I can picture us winning a lot more battles in your new form," Ash told Donphan and received another tired cry of agreement.

Wattson sighed before he returned Electivire and made his way over to Ash. Even though he lost, seeing a happy person like Ash win made him happy, too.

"Wahahahaha! Great victory, Ash! I'm impressed!" Wattson told him.

"Me, too!" Clemont said as he came over.

"Me, three!" Bonnie added.

Wattson then reached into his pocket and took out a golden circular badge with two parts sticking out at the end. He then presented the badge to Ash.

"This Dynamo Badge is rightfully yours, Ash! You overcame me even though it was dark in here for most of the match! That's just great! I can see now why you won the Johto League! I bet you'll go far here, too!" Wattson said.

"Thanks, Wattson!" Ash replied with a smile and showed it to Pikachu and Donphan, "Look at that guys. Our third badge. I'll have to show it to Aron and Cacnea later. They worked really hard to earn this, too."

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed.

"Dooo!" Donphan added.

"So, were any of the rest of you wishing to challenge me?" Wattson asked.

"Oh no! We aren't competing in the Hoenn League. I'm the Johto Queen and am helping to train May in coordinating," Serena answered.

"And I'm studying to be a Pokemon Doctor. I've been accepted into the school in Lilycove City!" Brock said.

"Hey, now! That's really something for you guys!" Wattson said, quite impressed.

"You're the Johto Queen, Serena? Wow. Will you teach me how to be graceful like that?" Bonnie asked in awe.

"If only there was time, Bonnie," Serena said.

"Well, if you married my brother, there would be plenty of time," Bonne said and upon Clemont, Serena, and Ash's embarrassed look, Bonnie put on a cheesy grin. "Heehee! Just kidding! You seem to be happy with Ash!"

"Hmmm…so they said you're coordinating, May?" Wattson asked as he rubbed his thick beard, "There isn't a contest hall in Mauville City so the nearest one would be in Verdanturf Town."

"Verdanturf Town," May said thoughtfully as she took out her Pokegear to find out when the next contest was, and her eyes widened in panic "What?! It's in a week?!"

"It is?!" Serena asked "We better get a move on then!"

"Oh, and I was hoping we would have time to spend a few days in Mauville City," May said with a sigh.

"Well, we do have to double back through here to get to the next gym so we can have fun here the second time around," Brock suggested.

"I guess it'll have to be that way so we can make it for May's contest," Ash figured.

"If you guys leave today, you should be able to make it the day before the contest," Wattson stated.

"I guess we'll have to do that! Sorry to be brief, but we have to go," Ash said as they turned to leave.

"Nice meeting you guys! Maybe we'll see you again when you come back to Mauville!" Clemont said.

"Maybe so!" Serena answered. "Goodbye for now!"

"Take care!" Brock shouted out.

"See ya next time!" May added.

"Try to find a wife for my brother while you're in Verdanturf Town!" Bonnie shouted after them.

"Bonnie!" Clemont cried.

With that, the group turned around and hurried to leave to make it to the Verdanturf Town Contest. May was sure things would be different. She was going to win this battle her way and not try to rely on other people's strategies like she did with Harley. She would train extra hard with Serena and her Pokemon and win this time. Despite the time crunch, she knew she would be ready. May would definitely become the best coordinator she could be!


This is what I meant by saying Ash's other traveling companions after Sinnoh would appear. They'll definitely be in the story but not as traveling companions. Clemont and Bonnie will appear again when the group doubles back through Mauville in a few chapters. Of course, that means Iris and Cilan will appear at some point, too, in this series. Where exactly? Well, you'll just have to find out!

The next chapter will be out...next Tuesday?! Whaaaaaaaat!? Until next time, have a good one!

Chapter 23: Skitty and Aromatherapy