Hey, everyone, I'm back. I've had a lot going on, but I'm sorry for leaving so unexpectedly after promising to keep up with this story. For now, since my country's under lockdown (I hope you guys are doing good during quarantine!) I'll be working on this story, as well as a few others, as much as I can. Thank you for being patient with me!
Chapter Sixteen: The Floor is Lava
He'd expected Cinnabar to have pleasant weather, but it had been just as the pamphlet had told him – hot and humid, just like any other tropical place. It reminded him a bit of Seafoam Islands, only that it wasn't cold. The sun wasn't scorching as they made their way to the pokécenter, but by the time he slipped through the sliding doors, he was sweating furiously. He made a mental note to wear looser clothes when exploring the island.
Unfortunately, the Cinnabar pokécenter was just as packed as Seafoam's, if not more crowded. Ash and Misty had to practically swim their way through the sea of trainers and tourists inhabiting the lobby. But as they reached the reception area, they were disappointed to find out that there were no more rooms available for trainers.
"You're completely booked?" remarked Misty, incredulous. "But this is a pokécenter. There has to be at least one!"
"I'm sorry," said the Nurse Joy – and she did look apologetic. "Unfortunately, there are too many trainers visiting now. However, there are many inns in Cinnabar for you to stay – we can put you on a waiting list and call you when rooms are opened…"
"I think that'd be great," Ash said, sighing. Staying at an inn would mean spending money, and Ash had been counting on staying at the pokécenter for free. His wallet would take a hit for the one week he was staying here.
They left the pokécenter, exiting the cool air inside and entering the blazing heat. Ash and Misty decided to roam around for a while before finding an inn to stay at. There were too many to choose from, and they were all so heavily booked that the innkeepers had raised the prices marginally for whatever few rooms that were available. Ash almost had to stop Misty from socking one hotelier who had stated an absurdly high rate.
"How about we check the gym out, instead?" Ash proposed, tugging at the straps of his backpack. "By the time we get there, we'll probably find a room on the way."
Misty sighed. "Whatever. Let's just find a place and get done with it."
To their displeasure and misfortune, however, they found nothing but booked inns and hotels that were out of their price range, other than tourist spots and hawkers in search for gullible vacationers to sell their wares to. Despite being almost lured by quite a few shiny souvenirs and convincing vendors, Ash kept a tight hold on his wallet. His bank account had taken quite the blow while purchasing supplies out on Seafoam Islands, and by the scarcity of empty inns here on Cinnabar, he would probably need to save up in order to book an expensive room at a lavish hotel by the seaside.
By now, Ash and Misty were tired and sweating, hiding under the shade of a tree to escape the blazing heat pouring down on them. "This is stupid," Ash exclaimed, scowling. "We should've been upon Blaine's gym by now!"
"I'm not too surprised. Blaine's gym is really hard to find," Misty said. She chugged down a generous amount of chilled water from her flask. "Apparently, he hid his gym somewhere around the island, and no one knows where it is."
Ash blinked. "What?" How had he not heard about this? "Well, what about the trainers who've won the volcano badge?"
Misty shrugged. "It looks like they're really good at keeping secrets."
Ash groaned, stomping his feet in frustration. "It's going to take ages to find Blaine's gym, then!" he yelled, slumping against the tree. "What's the point of keeping your gym a secret if your job is battling trainers?"
"Because it's simply tiring to battle tourists who care more about clicking a picture with you than feeling the thrill of battle," a firm, smooth voice drawled. Ash and Misty whipped around in the direction of the voice – a tall, lanky man stood just a few feet away from them, balancing on a pokéball-topped cane as he inspected his nails.
They tensed and stepped back in alarm, for the strange man was quite the sight. From the pinstriped shirt bearing a rainbow of colours, to the purple pants and the hat on his head, he stood out from the average Cinnabar resident; even the tourists, who dressed up so flamboyantly, looked plain in comparison to him. A pair of round, green-tinted sunglasses protected his eyes from the bright sunbeams.
"What?" said Misty. She seemed visibly shocked by his sudden appearance.
"They ruined the gym, the bloody tourists," the strange man continued, his face scrunching slightly in disgust as he moved to his little finger. "Blaine grew bored of his opponents – the ones who visited because they saw it as just another tourist spot on their insipid vacations. They proved no challenge. Nothing that made his blood boil." He smirked a little at his little pun, but Ash and Misty hadn't caught on. "One day, Blaine decided he'd had enough. So that night, he abandoned his gym. The residents were alerted by smoke rising as they watched the building burn down. Nobody's seen or heard about Blaine ever since, except for the fact that he moved it to a secret location that no one knows of."
He looked at Misty, narrowing his eyes. "You're one of the Sensational Sisters, aren't you? Gym leaders of Cerulean, and all that?" he asked. Misty nodded. "You should know this. The League must've talked about it."
Misty shrugged. "I'm not a big fan of League gossip."
The man grinned. "Good."
"I'm sorry," Ash interjected, clearly not looking it, "but did you say that Blaine moved his gym to another location?"
"Yes," the man answered in his lazy, uninterested drawl.
"And you know where it is?"
"Yes."
"So, you'll tell us where we can find it?" Ash asked hopefully.
The man smiled devilishly. "No!" He was like a child, with an infuriating smile on his face, twirling his cane between his fingers.
Ash scowled. "Why not?"
"Blaine only entertains challengers who manage to find his gym," he answered in pity, although his tone didn't meet his smile. "If you truly are a real challenger and not simply another insignificant trainer who thinks he can make it, you'll find his gym. If you need my help, here's my card."
He flicked his wrist at Ash, who flinched in surprise as a thin piece of paper sprung at him. Misty snatched it out of the air and let Ash peer over her shoulder she read it: The Big Riddle Inn. Not too surprising a name for a mysterious stranger who'd practically wasted their time.
Ash looked up, about to say something, but the man simply tapped his cane and tipped his hat before teleporting away with the Abra that had flashed into existence behind him. He got a good look at the man's smug smirk before he was transported away.
"Well, that was fun." Misty crumpled the card and pushed it down her pocket. "I suggest we go look for some rooms, because there's no way we're finding the gym today."
Ash sulked all the way back to the city's heart. Unfortunately for them, they had a hard time finding any rooms once again. A frustrated Misty groaned as she kicked a lamp post in sheer annoyance, cursing in pain.
"I've had enough of camping out. I thought once we got to the city, we won't have to spend our nights in the wilderness," Misty complained. "Damn tourists!"
"How about we visit The Big Riddle Inn?" suggested Ash hesitantly, hoping not to trigger another one of Misty's heated outbursts.
She gave him a look, as if saying, 'Really?', but searched through her pockets and fished out a crushed ball of thick paper. Ash grabbed it from her hand, ignoring Misty's indignant cry of, "Hey!" and flattened the crumpled card on his knee. He expected to find an address, or at least a number, but all he found was a riddle that said:
"Without fingers, I point; without arms, I strike; without feet, I run," Ash read aloud. He groaned.
"It's a riddle," Misty exclaimed, exasperated. "What a loon."
"Let's ask around." Ash tugged at the straps of his backpack. "The locals will know where it is."
To their ultimate dismay, every person they bumped into had no idea where the Big Riddle Inn was hidden. Ash, thoroughly frustrated with how the search was going, was ready to give up and camp for the night, but Misty was not giving up right to sleeping in a comfy bed.
"Gimme that," she muttered, snatching the card from Ash's hands. Her eyes blurred as she read the riddle on the back of it, mumbling the words over and over to help her solve it as quickly as possible. "Fingers…point…without feet…"
And then, with a triumphant yell of, "Yes!" the answer clicked in her head. "I got it! It's a clock - that's the answer."
"A clock?" Ash's eyebrows scrunched up.
"Yeah. That's where the inn is located."
"But that doesn't make any sense," said Ash. "There are tons of clocks all around us."
"Yeah…" Misty conceded, frowning. "But maybe it's not just any clock. It's gotta be something specific; there's no way that the answer to the inn's location is this ambiguous. The riddle guy might be weird, but he's not stupid."
Ash blinked. "There's a really old clock tower outside the city area," he said as he pulled out a pamphlet, pointing at a section of the fine print on the inside. Misty gasped.
"That's it!" she exclaimed, grinning. "It's got to be the clock tower; there's no way the answer to this riddle could be so ambiguous. Let's go!"
The clock tower was enormous enough for them to be able to eyeball their way towards it, but the dirt path outside the city quickly turned into a forest that was growing denser by the minute. Soon enough, the trees had become tall enough to obstruct their view of the clock tower. Ash cursed, but decided to take up Delphi's help. The Xatu quickly soared up into the air with a single beat of her powerful wings, levitating herself with her psychic abilities.
"Hey girl," Ash called, feeling at ease with his pokémon by his side. "We're trying to get to a clock tower, but we can't see much with these trees above our head." He glared at the sprawl of leaves and branches clouding him. "I need you to guide us all the way there. You think you could help us out with that, Delphi?"
She shrieked indignantly, as if offended by the doubt in his request, and soared higher, far above the trees. Ash and Misty slowly walked down the trail, following wherever Delphi cried in the clock tower's general direction. After a scare by an oblivious Ekans, Misty released her Buizel to protect them from any wild pokémon.
Soon enough, the forest began to thin out, and they were once again out in the open. He could see the clock tower not too far away, mounted on a steep hill ahead of them. Delphi gracefully landed in front of them, and her eyes smiled as Ash stroked her crest.
"Thanks a lot, Delphi." She cooed brightly, soaking up the attention. He decided to keep her out for a bit until they got to the clock tower - or the Big Riddle Inn, if they stumbled upon it sooner.
His legs were quickly tiring as they scaled the hill - he was jealous of Delphi, who was flying with ease, and kept squawking every now and then, annoyed at their pace. Misty was doing far better, too, much to his annoyance - after all, she was an athlete, so he wasn't really surprised, but right now he wished for her endurance. But within moments, their hopes rose as they saw a shape in the distance. Ash and Misty broke into a jog, as if forgetting the ache in their legs that had nagged them for so long.
The large sign on the building declared itself at the 'Big Riddle In'. Ash grinned. "We're here! Good job Delphi!" She nodded and cooed before he returned her to her pokéball.
Ash pulled the door open and stepped inside. The decor was a bit outdated, but it was cozy and made him feel at ease. The paintings on the wall showed off many fire-type pokémon - Arcanine and Vulpix, to name a few. The windows led them to a view of the top of the city far away from the top of the hill; it was beautiful.
"You made it!" Ash and Misty jumped a bit at hearing that - the strange man that had approached them earlier that day had entered the room unnoticed. He was leaning against a wooden post, twirling his cane. "I'm surprised that the two of you were able to solve my riddle. I was sure that it was going to be too much for you."
Misty frowned, annoyed. "What do you mean by that?"
The man smirked. "As a reward for proving me wrong, I'm giving you free rooms here at the hotel."
Ash blinked. "Wait, really?"
"Sure," he said flippantly.
Just then, Ash's stomach grumbled, and he blushed in embarrassment. The man laughed, but it was more of a bark. "I should get to preparing dinner. I'm sure you want to freshen up before eating - your rooms are the first ones down the hallway, and the hot springs are out back."
"Thank you," Misty said, bowing.
They headed to their rooms quickly. It was nothing spectacular, but it was enough for Ash, and incredibly generous considering he was staying there for free. He tossed his backpack right on the floor next to his bed and released his pokémon - the ones that he could in the given space - soon after.
Ash decided to hit the hot springs to rest after today's tiring events, with Hydrus and Screecher following him out back. He could hear someone talking on the other side of the hot springs' partition - probably Misty with her whole crew of water-types. As he soaked in the warm, soothing water, he jotted down a mental plan for the next few days.
As soon as dawn broke, he was going to search for the gym as extensively as possible. He could ask around for clues - he was sure the people at the pokécenter could help him - but the Big Riddle Inn's owner was his best bet. The strange man definitely knew where Blaine was hiding, and he was going to do his best to get as much information out of him as possible.
He was also going to train with his team, but particularly with the four pokémon he was going to use - he was sure of Hydrus, Monferno and Snorlax, but he was finding it difficult to choose a fourth fighter. Saur was of no use. He would be obliterated as soon as he entered the field. The same went for Kratos. Zeus was one of his strongest pokémon, but Ash had studied Blaine's official battles - his pokémon were able to heat up their bodies and diffuse any electric blasts, and so his Ampharos would be of little use. He was tempted to put Atlas up for the battle for the type advantage, but he had only trained so much with the little Trapinch that it seemed risky.
Dinner was soon called for, so Ash put a hold on his train of thought and changed into some nightwear before heading for his meal with his friends. His eyes bugged out as he took in the sight. It was practically a feast. "Is this all for the two of us?" he asked, almost hopeful.
"Yeah, why not," the man said, grinning. "Dig in!"
The innkeeper had seriously underestimated Ash's ability to 'dig in' - his hands were a blur as he smacked pile after pile of food into bowls, inhaling food like it was oxygen. His hands were a blur as he moved from bowl to bowl - Misty was disgusted, and the innkeeper was surprised, and slightly impressed. Ash's pokémon were equally hungry, but nowhere near as gluttonous as their trainer.
"Holy shit." The man sounded amazed. "Are you planning to empty my kitchen?"
"Sorry," muttered Ash, through spoonfuls. He didn't really care, however - he was famished, and right in front of him was a buffet that was practically all for him. He was going to eat until he couldn't move.
"You're disgusting." Misty wrinkled her nose.
The man laughed. "Let the kid eat," he protested. "I can almost remember how hungry I used to be when I was a rookie trainer."
Ash looked up. "You were a trainer once?"
"Still am," he said, grinning. "Won the Indigo Cup when I was younger. I'd say I was pretty damn good." He laughed at Ash's look of amazement. "I was pretty high up in the League, too."
"That's so cool!"
"Eh, not so much." He inspected his fingernails. "I know who you are," he said abruptly, pointing a finger at Misty. "Misty Waterflower, Cerulean's gym leader…not so much now I guess, after you ran out on your sisters." He smirked as Misty glowered in protest, but continued before she could challenge his remarks. "What's your name, kid?"
"Ash Ketchum," he answered, setting his half-eaten bowl of food on the table. "And you?"
"Auguste," he said rather quickly. "So, you're a trainer. Looking to challenge Blaine, eh?"
"Yeah." Ash leaned forward. "Could you tell me where his gym is?"
"Ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no lies," he replied, laughing. He shrugged when Ash hung his head in disappointment. "Sorry, kid. Blaine won't appreciate me giving away his little secret. It should be a testament to your skill that you find his little hiding spot on your own." He sighed. "If you're stupid, I could give you a little hint…'I have a body of stone and a fiery heart; sooner or later, my head and I will part. What am I?'."
Not another damn riddle, Ash thought, annoyed.. He knew he was going to spend the entire night wracking his brain over the stupid riddle. Next to him, Misty was in deep thought. She'd have a better chance solving it than he ever would, so he'd definitely need her help.
Auguste shrugged. "That's all I can give you, kid. You'll have to make do."
Ash nodded. "Thanks."
The rest of their conversation revolved around their pokémon, and continued until Ash was finally done with dinner - he was definitely bloated after eating so much, but it was a fantastic dinner. He had no doubt that he was about to have a wonderful rest that night, but he was wrong - Auguste's riddle kept him up most of the night, until he asked for Screecher to put him to sleep.
XxXxX
Ash woke up surprisingly early that morning, with enough time to laze around in bed before breakfast was called. It was nothing spectacular - just eggs and toast and a few strips of bacon for the three of them. He let his team take their time eating, and fiddled around with his pokédex until they were ready to make a move.
"C'mon buddy, let's go." He waited for Saur to get up from the bed and hurry up to the front of the inn, where Ash had been waiting. Once they got outside, he released Delphi, who seemed happy to be let out. She took to the skies with a flap of her wings, and circled while Ash talked to Misty.
"So what's the plan?" she asked, hands on her hips.
Ash squinted under the sun and adjusted his hat for the glare. "I was thinking of searching for the gym today and get in some training along the way."
"That sounds fair. I'll be heading to the city today; I need some shopping done."
"Did you manage to solve the riddle?"
She frowned, shaking her head. "No. I didn't spend much time thinking about it. If I hit something, I'll let you know."
Ash sighed, but he nodded. "Thanks."
Misty left soon after, leaving Ash alone with Delphi and Saur. "let's go, buddy," he said, petting the rather large Ivysaur. "Let's go find Blaine's gym."
XxXxX
Even after four hours of searching, they found nothing.
They'd gone to every nook and cranny of Cinnabar's outskirts; he had Delphi in the sky, Saur and Monferno on the ground, and Atlas underground, but they still hit nothing except for wild pokémon that ran away as soon as they saw Ash and his motley crew. He tried to find clues on his pokédex, but nothing useful came up, and he was going nowhere with the riddle that Auguste had given him.
So he decided to temporarily give up on his search and begin training his pokémon for his unavoidable battle with Blaine. He was sure he would find the elusive gym leader, and he wasn't giving up after a mere four hours. He still had the rest of the day to unearth the hidden gym - but for now, he needed to prepare his team to neutralise anything that Blaine would throw at him.
He put most of his focus on Monferno, Hydrus, Snorlax and Atlas. After a considerable amount of deliberation, he decided to have the Trapinch as his fourth fighter, but that meant intensive training for his newest friend.
Atlas' main strengths were his biting power and ground-type attacks, and so Ash decided to improve on that, as well as create some battle techniques that would be able to give him an edge in battle. After watching Atlas tear down a couple trees with his massive, powerful jaws, he whistled for his friend to come over.
"Okay, we're going to work on some combos for now, okay?" he said as Atlas scurried over. "Now, I want you to practise your hunting technique - the one you used to trap me and Hydrus back at the safari zone?" The pokémon chirped sheepishly as he recalled the memory.
Ash had spent quite some time studying how Trapinch trapped their prey. Hiding under patches of sand they dug in, they moved backwards in concentric circles, ultimately sinking deeper and deeper into the sand, digging a conical pit that they sat at the base of, with only their head visible, and leaping out with immense jumping strength was surprising for their bodies.
Their pits were constructed using mathematical precision - the walls would be angled precisely so that they would crumble when a prey that wandered in would try to climb out again. Ash was going to use this basic, instinctive technique to his advantage by combining it with a Sand Tomb - the swiftly swirling sand would trap a pokémon in and keep it sinking into the ground, making it harder for the opponent to escape, and making it easier for Atlas to sink his jaws in.
Ash asked for Delphi to shape up a tree to be used as a stand-in for an opponent. Two swift Steel Wings chopped up a fallen tree into a human-sized log of wood that Saur quickly erected on the ground with his vines. "Alright Atlas, get ready," he ordered, snapping his fingers. The little creature tensed up, ready to launch into attack. Ash started his stopwatch. "Go!"
Atlas sank into the ground with impressive speed, leaving a hole where he once was as he disappeared underground. Ash waited with baited breath as he watched Atlas' technique in action, with the rest of his team taking a break from their activities to spectate as well. "Any time now," he called out, growing slightly impatient-
All of a sudden the very ground under the log crumbled, and it fell into a swirling cone of sand. The next split second, Atlas burst out, closing his rows of teeth around the bark and sinking his jaws in. With a deafening crunch, the log was pulverised instantly. Ash blinked; Atlas had showed a lot more biting force than before.
He stopped the timer on his pokédex and frowned slightly at the time. Twenty-six seconds. "That was great, Atlas," he called encouragingly. "Let's do it again, and faster this time round. Alright?"
The Trapinch chirped. Soon enough, with Delphi's help, Atlas was back to attacking logs of wood. Ash began his stopwatch again and watched his friend burrow into the ground.
XxXxX
It was a cool evening when Ash moved about the wilderness once more. He'd finished training for now, and after a hearty meal, he'd decided to resume his search for the Cinnabar Gym on the island.
He let most of his team out to walk with him while they traveled. Screecher was a regular for this, but Ash had been thinking about how little time he'd spent with his friends lately - apart from battling, training, meal times and sleeping, they hadn't been able to be together that much. He wanted to fix that immediately.
At his side was Zeus, looking stoic and mature, but Ash could tell that he was happy being outside with his trainer for something other than fighting or eating. His normally-collected friend now seemed far more energetic, and had a spring in his step as he followed Ash, who's could feel the subtle smell of static in the air around the Ampharos.
Saur trailed slowly behind, and seemed sluggish as he followed. Ash knew why - his friend was very close to evolving, and it was evident from his need to bask in sunlight for long periods of time and the almost overpowering scent emanating from the deep pink bulb on his back. If Ash was being generous, it would take just over another week for Saur to evolve into the powerful Venusaur he was destined to become.
He was a bit nervous about keeping Saur out - the forest they were walking about in was undoubtedly crawling with wild pokémon that would be attracted to his bud's scent, but the rest of his pokémon carried a strong enough presence to keep them at bay. Delphi was keeping a watch on them from above, looking about for any possible threats headed their way, in case Kratos' sharp scythes weren't threatening enough.
Screecher had taken her usual spot just above his shoulder. He'd grown used to having her around him for prolonged periods of time, and he no longer felt nervous around her. The shade barely affected him anymore. In fact, she helped him keep his fear in check with the necklace of gems around her neck, so that was always a plus.
Snorlax was cooped up in his pokéball as he wasn't yet truly comfortable with Ash, and so was Atlas as their training session had left him exhausted. He could see Hydrus chasing Monferno up ahead for spitting a fireball at him - nothing to hurt the Golduck, but he'd gotten so mad that he took to chasing Monferno, who simply leapt from tree to tree to avoid Hydrus' claws and stick out his tongue every now and then.
In the end, Hydrus' short temper made itself know when he spat a stream of cold water that claimed Monferno's face and knocked him down the tree.
"Hey! Knock it off," Ash yelled. "I don't want you guys to tear down the forest because you can't collect yourselves."
Monferno was immediately apologetic, but Hydrus held his head high, as if ignoring his trainer's rebuke.
While Hydrus and Monferno continued their petty squabble, Ash felt the pokégear on his belt buzz. He fished it out - Misty had called him just then. Wondering what it could be about, he answered her almost immediately.
"Hey. What's up?"
"I found the answer to the riddle!" he heard her say.
A wave of excitement washed over him. "Really?" His hopes began to rise drastically. "What is it?"
"It's a volcano," her fuzzy voice replied. "I have a body of stone, and a fiery heart - a volcano is made of molten rock and it has a magma chamber! And Auguste is referring to a volcanic eruption in the second half," she explained.
Of course, Ash thought, realising how stupid he was. Blaine would definitely keep his gym near a volcano for symbolic purposes. He should've realised it sooner. "Thanks a lot, Misty! I'm going there right now."
"Are you crazy?" He heard her sputter on the other end.
Ash frowned. "Why, what's wrong?"
"You're heading to the volcano right now? It's going to be dark soon, and the volcano is a dangerous part of the island. There'll be flocks of Magmar on the slopes of the volcano."
"I'll be fine. I've got Hydrus to take care of them for me."
"You're an idiot." He could imagine her just glowering right now. "If you're going to be a dumbass, at least wait for me to come with you. I've just left the city."
Ash didn't want to waste any time waiting around when he could spend it searching for Blaine's gym. Besides, he was confident that he and his team could fend off any hostile pokémon living at the volcano. "I'm heading to the volcano now," he informed her, and closed his pokégear shut.
"Okay guys," he called for his team's attention. "Blaine's gym is hidden around the volcano, so we'll be heading there now. Misty told me there'll be a bunch of strong pokémon there that can turn hostile, so I want you guys to be on your guard. Saur, I'm returning you for now - there's not much you'll be able to do against fire-type pokémon, and I don't want you to get hurt."
Saur scowled, protesting Ash's concerns, but in the end he too realised that he'd be nothing but baggage during a fight against wild pokémon.
He turned his attention to the volcano. There was a lot of searching to do. He hoped they would find the gym before long.
XxXxX
His prediction turned out to be false - he search for an hour and a half to find nothing but Geodude and burrows of Vulpix that they scared away with relative ease. At one point, Ash was almost crushed by a a Graveler that had began rolling towards them out of nowhere at an incredible speed, but fortunately Hydrus drove it away with continuous blasts of water that deterred the living boulder from coming closer.
But so far, Ash had had no encounter with even a single Magmar - perhaps Misty had been overly paranoid, but it could also be that they'd moved inside the volcano's cavernous system due to the winter season. In any case, he was glad. It meant for fewer distractions and more time to focus on searching for the gym.
But so far, there was nothing that could clue him with the location of the gym. Ash decided to take his team higher up the volcano - it was possible Blaine could've hidden the gym there, as the harsher conditions on the higher planes of the volcano would call for stronger trainers. And after all, Auguste had told him that Blaine only took challenges from those who could prove themselves.
Ash began to notice the growing presence of winter as he scaled higher up the base of the volcano - thin sheets of ice were beginning to make themselves known, on the rocky surface of the volcano. The blankets of white were undisturbed, indicating that either the snow was newly fallen or that nothing resided there. His feet and hand crunched in the snow, with his pokémon either behind him or waiting for him to catch up.
"If I was as nimble-fingered as you, I'd be able to climb quicker too," he mumbled, scowling as Monferno laughed at his slow pace. Their terrain was now far flatter, so they started walking, their paths diverting several times due to fallen debris and unstable terrain. Twenty minutes later, he heard Delphi's unmistakable shriek of caution. He looked up and saw her blurring towards them, her eyes narrowed.
"What's up, girl?" asked Ash. The Xatu hovered gracefully above him, levitating herself with psychic powers.
He winced as he heard her speak in his head. Danger. Her 'voice' was tight in concentration as she spoke; while she was getting better at thinking at him, she was only halfway through fully mastering the ability. Something- ahead.
"Should I be worried?" She nodded.
Ash scanned the area around of him. There was nothing potentially dangerous-
Heavy footsteps sounded just then, followed by a deafening roar. Ash tensed and backed up with his team surrounded him. Delphi screeched and the mysterious creature made revealed itself with a high cry.
It was an incredibly massive Ursaring, just as tall as his Snorlax, it's fur battle-scared and a thick coat of deep-brown fur that was slowly greying. It was an old Ursaring, but a formidable one. It's hands were as big as the boulders they had come across, and ivory claws that could no doubt shred stone like it was paper. Brown fur rippled as the creature flexed its powerful arms that were as thick as trees.
He figured none of his pokémon could hold a candle to it, and so he released Snorlax. It was only when his big friend came out that he realised that the Ursaring appeared to be almost a foot taller than Snorlax. "Stand back, guys," Ash told the rest of his team. "Snorlax, I want you to take it out. Mega Punch!"
Ash had greatly overestimated the Ursaring - a single blow to the skull felled the creature, sinking into a pile of snow as it fell. Maybe it was the humongous frame, but Snorlax obliterated the Ursaring with a single blow. Ash wasn't complaining, but now he wasn't considering the option to capture the wild pokémon.
"Okay…" Ash blinked, feeling underwhelmed. "Let's keep moving, guys. Good job, Snorlax."
The behemoth growled proudly before Ash recalled him.
Ash and his team quietly walked around the unconscious Ursaring and continued onward. There was a lot more ground for them to cover.
XxXxX
Despite continuous searching around the volcano for the next four days, Ash had no luck in discovering the gym's location. At one point he started to wonder if the Cinnabar volcano was where the gym was really hidden, but there was no other possible answer to Auguste's riddle, and so he pushed on.
He also managed to fit in some training, and he was glad with the way his team was shaping up. Atlas had grown a great amount during their training sessions and listened to orders down to the letter. The Trapinch was now able to execute the Ant Pit technique in under ten seconds.
The rest of the team was coming along nicely as well - Hydrus would prove to be the most affective in neutralising Blaine's monsters with his water attacks. Monferno would have to rely on his brute strength, something that Ash made him focus on during their training sessions. Snorlax's Thick Fat would nullify most of the fire attacks, and his brute strength was always a plus.
But now it was nearing dusk, and Ash made his way back to the Big Riddle Inn after another tiring day of fruitless searches. He couldn't wait to hit the hot springs and have some of Auguste's food back at the inn. He was sure Misty was already in there, enjoying the hot water with her pokémon.
Auguste was nowhere to be seen in the hotel - not that Ash was worried about that. He released Saur on his bed waited for the Ivysaur to fall asleep before heading down to the hot springs with Hydrus.
Misty was already out back - he could hear her humming to herself through the partition. She evidently heard him and Hydrus slip into the hot, bubbling water, because she quickly stopped humming.
"No luck today, either?" he heard her say from her side of the spring.
Ash hung his head. "No," he mumbled, disappointed. "At this rate, I'm not going to find Blaine at all."
"Don't think that, Ash. I'm sure you'll figure out where it is soon enough."
Ash shook his head. "Our boat ride back to Pallet Town is in three days. If I haven't found it so far, there's no way I'm doing that during the rest of our time here."
He heard her sigh softly. "I'll see you for dinner, Ash," she said. He heard water being disturbed as she rose. A second later he heard a yelp, then the sound of something shifting, and rocks groaning against each other.
"Misty, are you alright?" He stood up, worried.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." She sounded startled.
"What the hell was that?"
"I- I think I found the entrance to Blaine's gym," she said slowly.
Ash blinked. "What?"
"Mhm. I slipped and hung onto the Gyarados statue to stop myself from falling…But it's not a statue - it's a switch of some kind. The second I put my hands on it, it triggered some door to open. If only you could see this…"
"You've got to be kidding me," Ash muttered, still being unable to believe Misty. "But why would the entrance to Blaine's gym be in the Big Riddle Inn's hot springs? It makes no sen-"
However incapable Ash was at solving riddles, it didn't take a genius to figure it out.
"Holy shit," he muttered, eyes widening. "Auguste is Blaine! Blaine's the innkeeper!"
"Blaine was right in front of us the whole time?" He could hear the disbelief in Misty's voice.
He couldn't believe he hadn't realised it earlier. The eccentricity, the annoying riddles, the fact that he knew so much about Blaine and the location of the gym should've been enough to clue him in.
"Misty, could you close the entrance?" He asked. He heard a grunt as she pushed the Gyarados statue back in place, and the loud sound of the entrance to the gym closing. Ash had a wide grin on his face. Auguste - Blaine, he corrected - had no idea that he knew about the hidden entrance. He was going to challenge the man out first thing in the morning.
For now, he was going to prepare for the fight. He had a gym leader to defeat.
XxXxX
To Ash's and Misty's surprise, Blaine hadn't been there for dinner or the morning after. Ash assumed that the gym leader had realised that Ash had found the gym's entrance, and that there was no point keeping up the facade of being a strange innkeeper.
As soon as he was done with breakfast, Ash and Misty made their way down to the hot springs. Ash carefully walked around the ring of wet boulders encircling the pool of bubbly water, and pushed down on the Gyarados statue supplying the hot spring with its water.
The warm stone bust moved under his hands, and the water pouring out its mouth cut off as a rumble sounded. A huge stone section slid open, giving them the entrance to the gym.
Ash grinned. "Blaine, here I come," he muttered to himself. He hopped down the ring of stones and onto the pathway leading into the gym.
The pathway was a large set of stairs that led them underground, illuminated by torches every few steps. "It's getting hot in here," Misty said as the went down further. They were actually beginning to sweat, but ignored it as they traipsed down the stairs.
Ash skipped the last couple steps and landed on a flattened path. In front of him, a few steps away, was a set of gigantic, metal doors that would undoubtedly lead them to the battlefield. "This is it." He gulped. He was intimidated by the doors, but with Misty's help, they managed to push it open, only to be met with a wave of overwhelming heat.
Ash quickly scanned the massive chamber he was in - they were in the heart of the volcano, with lines of lights illuminating the dome. In the centre, above a massive pool of bubbling hot magma, was a league-sized suspended by thick, metal chains, the only barrier to protect pokémon from the bath of magma below. This was, by far, the most impressive and dangerous gym he'd ever been in.
"You made it!" the familiar voice of the innkeeper boomed from the other end. Ash put on a brave face as he saw the gym leader walk into the chamber, not giving a second of notice to the magma frothing under the battlefield. Instead of his colourful outfit, he now wore a lab coat over a shirt and tie that looked like a flame. "I didn't think you had it in you."
"Blaine!" Ash yelled, as if outing him.
He grinned and adjusted his glasses. "Guilty as charged." He wiped the top of his bald head and smoothed his bristly moustache. "So," he said. "You've passed my tests. I guess that earns you a gym battle."
Ash could feel adrenaline slowly rushing through him. He nodded.
"I must warn you: my fiery pokémon will incinerate you!" he yelled; Ash grimaced at the pun. "You better have a burn heal!"
"Good luck, Ash," Misty said, backing away from the battlefield. He nodded his thanks and adjusted his cap as he stared ahead at Blaine, who was twirling a pokéball with his fingers. The gym leader no longer had a playful grin. It was hard and tight with cool concentration as he eyed his challenger like prey.
"This will be a four-on-four battle." Just what Ash suspected. "Substitutions are allowed through the battle. The challenger will be the first to send out their pokémon. Are you ready?"
Ash nodded, grinning. He was going to give Blaine an amazing battle, and he was going to take the Volcano badge at the end of it.
"Hydrus, you're up!" The Golduck exploded onto the battlefield in a burst of white light. Hydrus was surprised at the battlefield he was in, but he quickly collected himself, quacking loudly and flexing his sharp claws.
However, Blaine didn't seem impressed by the display, and tapped the release button on his pokéball. "Go, Typhlosion!"
Ash had only seen a Typhlosion on TV, once, but he knew that they were the final stage of the Johto fire-type starter, Cyndaquil. It was as tall as a healthy Machamp, with creamy fur and a back of blue. It stood proud on its hind legs, its tall body tensing for battle. Golduck thrashed his tail and growled menacingly in an attempt to intimidate his foe, but the Typhlosion was unfazed. The red spots on the back of its neck flared up in retaliation, giving the Typhlosion a mane of flames.
"Alright Hydrus, let's make this short, yeah?" His friend grunted in response, ready to respond to his trainer's commands. "Hydro Pump!"
As he reared his head back and spat a powerful, massive jet of water, Blaine countered. "Protect!" Typhlosion focused and erected a vibrant barrier of green into which the Hydro Pump crashed uselessly. "Smokescreen."
The flames on Typhlosion's neck were replaced with a burst of black, oily smoke that quickly grew into a cloud which engulfed the battlefield in a matter of seconds. Ash cursed as Hydrus sputtered in the smoke. "Screech!" he said quickly. They couldn't find Typhlosion through the smoke, but at least they could annoy the hell out of it. Hydrus' beak opened up to as much as it could before letting loose a blood-curdling shriek that rang through the chamber in.
He heard a roar of pain and anger from Hydrus' right, giving him a brief sense of where his opponent was. "Psychic!" yelled Ash.
A shockwave of psionic energy exploded from the Golduck, followed by the sound of it hitting something and a roar of pain. The psychic attack had killed two birds with one stone - the smokescreen had been pushed away by the wave of power.
"Water Sport." A thin layer of water formed over Hydrus as he concentrated. It would make it harder it already was for Blaine to deal significant damage with the fire that he so relied on.
Blaine frowned. "Get in close with Quick Attack and punch it's lights out with Thunder Punch."
Ash's eyes widened as Typhlosion blurred away with a trail of white, its fists crackling with electricity as it closed in. "Water Pulse!" The pulsing sphere burst towards Typhlosion, who swiftly leapt over it, wincing as the ball grazed his underbelly before continuing his rush at Hydrus. He tried to duck under the punches, but the first caught him in the gut, and the second crashed into the back of his skull and knocked him to the ground.
"Flamethrower," said Blaine, grinning as his pokémon stood over a grounded Golduck. Flames rippled between the fire-type's fanged jaws before unleashing a stream of flames that swallowed Hydrus whole. It was barely affective against Hydrus, but it still hurt - his singed fur was a testament to that. But as Typhlosion gloated, Hydrus took his chance - launching himself at Typhlosion, he ripped into the creature with his sharp claws, tearing out strands of fur as he did so. Blaine's fighter tried to retaliated, but Hydrus had already doubled down. A stream of water spiralled around his thick, glowing tail before striking his foe under the chin, like an uppercut, and sending him flying.
Typhlosion flipped in the air and landed roughly, sinking his claws into the stone battlefield to stop skidding. "Wild Charge, Typhlosion!" yelled Blaine.
"Hydro Pump!" yelled Ash. Hydrus hesitated for a few seconds until Typhlosion was close enough to be unable to dodge, before shooting a powerful blast of water at the canine.
It had the effect that Ash had hoped for - the force behind the blast had knocked Typhlosion away, as expected, but the water had ended up soaking Typhlosion and electrocuting him as it interacted with the coat of electricity. It was something Blaine hadn't expected to happen, and he was not pleased.
"Double Team, Substitute, Flare Blitz," he ordered. Typhlosion was clearly on his last legs - he was heaving from the several attacks he'd taken from Hydrus and hadn't dealt much damage, so it was unsurprising that Blaine wanted to hurt Hydrus as much as he could before his pokémon was taken out.
Clones whooshed into existence, surrounding Hydrus in a circle. "Use Psychic and take them all out," commanded Ash as the horde of Typhlosion cocooned themselves in white fire. As they charge and converged to Hydrus, he released a circle of psychic energy that crashed into the clones and the real Typhlosion. But as the clones were dispelled, a lone clone rushed to protect the real Typhlosion from the psychic strike - it was the substitute that Ash hadn't counted for.
He cursed as the substitute took the brunt of the attack and let Typhlosion continue its charge at Hydrus at blinding speed - something he couldn't avoid in the nick of time. There was a bang as they impacted, and an explosion of fire and smoke that engulfed the two pokémon. Ash stood still, hoping Hydrus wasn't too hurt as the smoke began to clear. Hydrus survived the attack, but he was a bit worse for wear. Typhlosion was completely spent, and it collapsed to the ground, completely unconscious.
Misty cheered from the side, making Ash grin.
"I wasn't even trying," Blaine said as he recalled his Typhlosion. "The real battle starts now. Arcanine, go!"
A large, magnificent Arcanine leapt onto the battlefield, stretching its glorious limbs and roaring. It looked unaffected by the intense heat from the magma below. Its golden mane shone and rippled as it moved into a battle stance, ready to pounce at a moment's notice.
Ash looked to see how his friend was doing. Hydrus was tired, but he looked ready to take on another one of Blaine's pokémon.
"Super Speed," Blaine ordered. A shockwave erupted as Arcanine exploded away, turning nigh-invisible as it crashed into Hydrus a second later, sending the Golduck flying away from the impact. He rolled against the ground like a bullet, trying to sink his claws in the ground to get a hold of himself. Ash's heart leapt in his throat as Hydrus almost flew off the edge; but he managed to sink his claws in, hanging there for a moment before he pulled himself back onto the battlefield. That was cold.
There was no away Hydrus would be able to keep up with Arcanine's unparalleled speed, but he noticed that the massive canine looked tired. Maybe that technique took a lot of energy.
"Flamethrower!"
"Scald!" Ash yelled. While the heat behind the attack wouldn't do much to Arcanine, it would prevent the blast of water from turning to steam from Arcanine's fiery blast. Sure enough, the blistering water nullified the stream of orange flames and doused the Arcanine entirely.
"Aqua Jet!" said Ash quickly. Hydrus cloaking himself with water and corkscrewed at Arcanine, slamming into the canine's face and exploding with the water around him. Ash quickly followed with an Aqua Tail that struck the back Arcanine's skull, making its knees buckle under the force.
"Reversal!" With a twist of its elegant body, the Arcanine grabbed Hydrus by the legs before impacting the water-type with the spiralling energy that coalesced around its strong paws. As Hydrus was propelled into the air, Blaine doubled down by yelling, "Wild Charge!"
A powerful push from its hind legs launched Arcanine skywards, cloaking itself in blue electricity as it neared the end of its trajectory. Hydrus, who was too disoriented to shield himself, shuddered and twitched as the huge amount of electricity coursed through his body, and the force behind the charge knocked him to the ground, where he cratered with a resounding crash.
Hydrus tried to rise up, but he was pinned to the ground when Arcanine landed gracefully on him, roaring. Ash yelled for his friend to get back up, his heart pounding upon hearing Blaine call for a Thunder Fang. Lightning sparked around the fire-type's teeth, as he closed his jaws around Hydrus and shook him roughly in the air while continuous blasts of electricity made the Golduck writhe in pain and anger.
Hydrus shrieked in rage, slashing his claws across Arcanine's face like deranged animal. It was more than an annoyance, as Arcanine immediately let go of his opponent. "Scald!" ordered Ash quickly, and Hydrus let loose a stream of boiling water at close range, that knocked Arcanine to the other side of the field and almost over the edge.
"Psybeam," Ash said. Hydrus quickly followed through, releasing a multicolored beam through the jewel on his forehead and at the Arcanine's back. It howled in pain, but it was more annoyed than hurt. It turned to face Hydrus with a hateful glare, prowling in place as it waited for the Golduck to attack. "Psychic!"
Hydrus complied, raising a claw at Arcanine as he let out a release of psychic energy from his gem, but the Arcanine slipped away with Agility and easily evaded the blast. Still in its burst of sudden speed, Blaine yelled, "Wild Charge!"
There was no way for Hydrus to have avoided that. In a matter of seconds, Arcanine crossed over to its foe, noticeable only as a flash of electricity as it rammed headfirst into the Golduck, knocking him out with the release of electricity and sending him over the edge of the platform. His heart in his throat, Ash quickly recalled Hydrus before he could sink into the lethal pool of magma below.
He glared at Blaine, furious. The gym leader simply rolled his eyes. "I have psychic barriers in place below. The lava is only for dramatic flair!" He laughed.
Ash scowled and clipped Hydrus' pokéball to his belt and switched it out for Atlas. The Trapinch looked confused as he looked around at his environment. "This is a gym battle, Atlas. Let's get ready!"
Atlas yipped enthusiastically and narrowed his eyes in an effort to intimidate, but Arcanine wasn't scared in the slightest. The critter was barely larger than its massive paws. He could practically crush him like an insect.
Blaine sneered. "Arcanine, crush it. Flamethrower!"
Atlas quickly dodged without being told, narrowly avoiding the steady stream of flames that passed by him. He quickly followed Ash's orders of, "Sandstorm!" With a shrill cry, he reared his head, and stomped the ground with his feet, conjuring swirling sand from under him that instantly flew over in every direction.
Ash ignored the Arcanine's annoyed growls as it was buffeted by the sandstorm that hurt it and obscured its vision. "Now, Rockslide!"
The cavern roared as Atlas shrieked, and a downpour of jagged, sharp stones rained down from the sky. Blaine called for his pokémon to evade the rocks as quickly as possible; it zigzagged across the battlefield, trying its best to dance past the sharp rocks that shattered into the battlefield, wincing as a few grazed through the thick-fur coat that rustled in the streaming sandstorm.
"Rock Tomb!" ordered Ash, in an attempt to entrap it. The Arcanine slammed headfirst into a spire of rock that punched out of the ground right in front of it. As Arcanine was temporarily stunned, three more stalagmites of hard stone drilled out of the suspended battlefield, surrounding the fire-type and closing in around it. Rockslide soon shifted from all over the battlefield to concentrating right above Atlas' trapped foe.
"Now, Sand Tomb." Arcanine yelped from within the Rock Tomb as the very ground below it shifted into sand, closing in around its feet. Ash could tell that it was getting increasingly difficult for Blaine - with rocks raining down, being stuck in a stream of swirling sand, and being trapped by walls of rock, the Arcanine didn't know what to focus on.
"Crush the rocks with Double Kick!" Blaine screamed. There was a roar from within the rocky tomb, and Arcanine exploded through it, as the red glow around its hind legs faded. In an instant, it twisted and launched into a run as thick, orange flames wreathed its entire body, spinning dangerously as it threatened to ram into Atlas.
"Bulldoze, trip it up!" Ash yelled, balling his fists. They had practised the attack together several times beforehand, but he expected the actual attack to be much more intense.
Atlas drove his feet into the ground, and created a bulldozing swell that waved over the battlefield, slightly shaking the entire platform; Ash gulped as he noticed the thick, metal chains straining slightly, and decided to stay away from any more earth-destroying moves in case he accidentally destroyed Blaine's dramatic arena in the process.
The ground wave impacted the Arcanine's legs and propelled it forward, making it lose its footing. The Flame Wheel flickered away as it stumbled and crashed into the ground, skidding roughly.
The Arcanine snarled, flames rippling angrily in its maw, before breathing it in a steady stream right at Atlas, moving its head in a sweeping motion as the Trapinch did his best to avoid the attack. Even though the flames didn't manage to engulf him, they seared his flank, and he hissed in pain and anger. Another Flamethrower flew from its mouth, but this time it slammed into a Mud Shot, generating an explosion as well as a cloud of smoke, which Blaine immediately took advantage of. "Flame Wheel!"
Arcanine pushed off with incredible force from its legs, tearing through the cloud of smokes as spinning flames shaped around him like a wheel. "Mud Shot!" yelled Ash hastily, but Blaine's Arcanine dance over the blast of thickened, compact mud with graceful ease and crashed headfirst into Atlas, knocking the critter into the rocky arena, where he cratered upon impact. Atlas pushed himself up, but Blaine had already doubled down, and Arcanine was already upon his foe.
Atlas shrieked as Arcanine's fiery jaws snapped shut around him, picked him off the ground, and shook him furiously in the air. The large canine's head was a blur as its head swung from either side, disorienting his foe as its jaws tightened by the second, ignoring the sandstorm buffeting it. Ash gritted his teeth through Atlas' shrieks, and slowly noticed the Trapinch's carapace straining under the heat and pressure of those long, pointed fangs.
Atlas was clearly not capable from fighting on; he looked terrible, from the burns covering him and the unconscious look on his face. Ash quickly recalled him, and ignored Blaine's triumphant smirk as he did so. Even though Atlas had lost, he deserved a good rest. Ash frowned as he switched his pokéball for an ultra-ball.
The partially-destroyed platform was graced with the presence of Ash's Snorlax, who was unaffected by the overpowering heat in the magma chamber. He blinked at the sight of the injured Arcanine and roared, flexing his claws and growling threateningly. Arcanine snarled back, ready to take down the mammoth opponent despite his wounds and injuries.
"Mega Punch," Ash said coolly.
"Flamethrower, Arcanine!" cried Blaine, as Snorlax bounded at his foe, tightening his fists as the glowed with energy. Ash figured that the gym leader's strategy would be to attack from a distance, which was unsurprising. In the injured state that Arcanine was in, it'd be beaten to a pulp if Snorlax got too close.
But Snorlax simply pushed through the blast of fire that splashed against his belly; it annoyed him a bit, but his Thick Fat negated most of the fire. Arcanine's eyes widened as Snorlax got too close; immediately, the flamethrower died, and it leapt away, narrowly missing a brutal swing that crushed the ground it had been standing on.
Snorlax roared as the Arcanine leaped onto his back, sinking its claws through the thick fur to grab a hold as it mauled him with Thunder Fangs. He swung around and tried to shake the canine off, but it let go off its own accord; pushing itself off Snorlax's back with its strong paws, it blasted the normal-type with a Flamethrower, whose reaction force blasted the fire-type away even further and created an ever larger distance between the two.
"Rollout," snapped Ash. Snorlax curled into a cannonball and raced at Arcanine, who release a massive Heat Wave in response. The heat didn't do much, but the force behind the gale of overpowering heat slowed Snorlax's breakneck roll just enough for it to leapt away from the dangerous attack.
Snorlax skidded and uncurled to a halt, and roared in annoyance as flames splashed against the back of his head. His head snapped furiously in Arcanine's direction, and he was tired of playing a game of cat and mouse.
He rushed at the Arcanine, throwing another powerful punch that Arcanine once again avoided with its impressive speed. Ash cried for another Mega Punch, and Arcanine avoided this one too; it sidestepped at the last possible second, before slinking behind Snorlax, like a lithe mongoose, and once again hung from his back as it sunk its claws in. But this time, Ash was ready.
"Body Slam!" yelled Ash quickly. Blaine cried for his pokémon to let go, but Snorlax had already leapt into the air before rocketing to the ground with a crash, flattening the Arcanine like a pancake. He rolled over from the fire-type, who tried to recover and scuttle away, but Snorlax was faster. "Hammer Arm!" Ash said coldly, watching with a wince as Snorlax crushed the Arcanine with his glowing, red arms. Ash thought that Arcanine was done for when he saw crushed pebbles and rocks flying away from the impact, but surprisingly it was still conscious despite being clearly spent.
"Agility!" screamed Blaine desperately as Snorlax charged for a second Hammer Arm. His Arcanine was breathing heavily, close to exhaustion, but it seemed to put all its energy to blitz away; but it was noticeably slower, and everyone detected that.
Blaine seemed to be cursing under his breath as he spelled his next command. "Close Combat - get in close with Agility."
It blurred in with the last reserves of energy it had, before lashing out with a burst of strength that came with a flickering red aura surrounding its long, muscled body. Snorlax twisted and raised his arms, trying to fight back, but for some reason, Arcanine was attacking with unprecedented speed and strength, throwing a barrage of strikes with its powerful legs, before finishing the flurry of lightning-fast hits with a vicious back-kick into Snorlax's chin. The behemoth faltered and stumbled, allowing Blaine to quickly hiss, "Overheat." His beast used the last of his energy reserves to build up a massive amount of heat, so much so that the air around it shimmered even more than usual. But before it could release the explosion of fire and heat, Snorlax recovered, slamming a Mega Punch square in its face, and it crumpled with a whimper.
Blaine scowled as he recalled his unconscious pokémon. "Your Snorlax his fast," he complimented, albeit annoyed.
Ash nodded curtly in response. "Good one, Snorlax," he called out; his pokémon only grunted in response. That Overheat could've nearly ended things.
"It's time to stoke our fiery spirits even higher," Blaine bellowed; Ash couldn't help but groan at his pun. "Magmar, it's time to make them feel the burn!"
Ash rolled his eyes, but focused up and locked his eyes on Blaine's pokéball, which snapped open in a burst of white light, sending forth their next opponent. It was a magnificent beast; it looked to be much larger than the average of its species. It wore its nearly-faded battle scars proudly, and the hot, white flame on its tail only boasted of its strength. Wherever it stepped, it left a faint, red-hot glow.
Ash could already imagine how devastating this fight would be. Magmar was undoubtedly Blaine's cornerstone, and for him to send it out not as his last only meant that he wanted to end this quickly. Ash tensed.
Blaine kicked off the fight without missing a beat. "Fire Spin!"
An absolutely massive, swirling blast of fire ripped through the air, engulfing Snorlax's entire form. He was nothing but a silhouette as the fire coned around him and shaped itself into a swirling vortex. He could feel the heat from the fire all the way from the arena, and he could tell that Blaine's Magmar was on an entirely different level from his Arcanine.
"Rollout!" Ash ordered.
Through the fiery tornado, he could see Snorlax curling into a ball, before exploding through the fire with a push from his powerful legs that was strong enough to break free from the fiery vortex. Without wasting a moment, the Magmar leapt into the air, twisting like an acrobat before breathing a stream of white-hot fire straight at the still-rolling Snorlax, who grunted in pain from the considerably stronger flames.
It seemed that Blaine would not be talking much this round. A thick, oily-black smoke discharged from Magmar's beak, blinding Ash's view at the fire-type. Snorlax's head shifted across the black smoke, trying his best to discern Magmar's location.
For a moment, there was nothing - no sound, no shift in the smoke - until out blazed a yellowish sphere of concentrated energy: a Focus Blast. Ash cursed; he was stupid enough to think that Blaine would let his Magmar simply wait for Snorlax to attack, instead of preparing for something devastating. Snorlax moved to dodge without being told to, but the blast still struck into his flank, and exploded violently, sending him to the ground.
Snorlax rose up just in time to see Magmar rocket out of the smoke and slug him across the face with an electrifying fist. He rose to claw at the fire-type, but it simply teleported away, and Ash blinked - he hadn't expected that at all, but he knew from his pokédex that Magmar had minor psychic abilities that could be boosted with TMs and the like.
The spitfire pokémon reappeared on Snorlax's right, slamming another Thunder Punch, this time in the fashion of an uppercut that left the normal-type groaning. It teleported again, and appeared an instant later, tripping Snorlax with its tail; but he rolled over in Magmar's direction and threw at its belly a glowing fist that sent it rocketing across the field.
"Body Slam!" said Ash. Snorlax soared into the air with a powerful jump and landed right upon Magmar just as it had slowed to a halt. The ground cracked under Snorlax's weight and acceleration - Ash almost mistook the sound for breaking bones.
The Magmar tried to rise up, but Snorlax simply wrapped his claws around its neck and pinned it to the ground, where it squirmed and hissed as it tried to break free. Ash called for a Mega Punch, and he slapped his palm as Snorlax's fist flew right into his opponent's skull.
Then it breathed a constant stream of flames right at Snorlax, not stopping until the massive beast let go. Snorlax roared, hoping that Magmar would tire out quickly, but it seemed that the volcanic setting had increased its endurance considerable. Roaring, he threw Magmar away with all its might and swatted at the flames that still licked at his face.
Magmar gracefully flipped to land perfectly on its feet. "Fire Blast," said Blaine for the first time in a while.
A powerful current of white fire ripped from Magmar's puckered beak, streaking across the field and splitting apart, almost forming into a 大-shaped blast. Ash cursed - the blast easily covered the entire field; there was no way Snorlax would be able to avoid this.
"Hyper Beam!" Ash screamed. He hoped that Snorlax's energized blast would be strong enough to tear through the Fire Blast. All he could focus on was the orange cone of pure, finessed energy that burst from Snorlax's gaping maw. The Fire Blast seemed to consumed Snorlax's beam, but he grinned when he saw it tear through the centre of the star-shaped blast, like a bullet through paper. The stream of fire still pushed through and seared Snorlax, but not before reaching Magmar and exploding violently.
Smoke blasted over the field from the point of explosion as Magmar let out an unholy shriek, flying off the suspended arena and disappearing under sheets of magma. As Snorlax heaved heavily, covered in soot and terribly exhausted, chewed his lip nervously. Then an instant later, a huge wave of magma surged into the air, crashing and curling into the battlefield. The magma splashed away and trickled back down to the volcano's heart to reveal Magmar, gravely injured by the Hyper Beam, but seemingly rejuvenated by its unfiltered rage.
Ash's heartbeat quickened, his eyes darting over to Snorlax, who was still recharging from the devastating release of energy. He had hoped that the Hyper Beam would've knocked out Magmar, but it proved to be incredibly resilient, and now it had an open window to hurt his opponent.
"Overheat," Blaine said tersely. Ash looked away as Magmar screamed through the pain it was in, and focused at Snorlax, who had braced himself for the oncoming onslaught.
The ground under Magmar glowed red hot as it exploded with flames; then, with a a deafening shriek, it screamed out a wave of heat and white fire, crashing into Snorlax, who bellowed within the fires, his silhouette blurred by the flames, whose heat Ash could feel from over the battlefield. Smoke blasted over the field as the blazing inferno dissipated, leaving the stone arena charred smoking.
Snorlax was covered in burns; it seemed that even despite his resistance to heat, Magmar's finishing blow had hurt him terribly. Those definitely had to hurt.
Ash took the ultra-ball from his belt and recalled his unconscious friend, smiling as the device. "You were amazing. Get some rest, Snorlax."
He stared at Magmar with a worried expression. While it was noticeably exhausted, and roughened up from Snorlax's hits, he could tell that the powerful fire-type still had some gas in the tank. Ash only hoped that Monferno would take it out with relative ease. Blaine still had Magmar, and another one in reserve. He was fighting an uphill battle.
"Get ready, Monferno," he said, as the fire-type appeared with a flourish of his blazing tail. "Let's take them out quickly."
From way over the other side of the chamber, he saw Blaine cock an eyebrow, and then smirk. "A Monferno, eh? Magmar, return."
Ash blinked, surprised and puzzled as Magmar was absorbed into its pokéball in a beam of scarlet energy. "Let's see how your Monferno fares against its evolved form," Blaine muttered, as he unclipped a premiere-ball from his belt. "Infernape, your turn!"
It was a pokémon Ash had only ever seen in his pokédex. It was tall, perhaps as tall as the Magmar, but primate-like, with arms and legs that boasted powerful, compact muscles. On its head was a massive crest of fire, burning as a fiery red. Several gold gauntlets adorned its body: its wrists, shoulders, chest, and knees. Its body was covered in thick, brown fur, while white fur coated its chest, legs and around its face.
Even Monferno seemed to place the primate in front of it - it's evolved form, a magnificent Infernape. As he stared at the pokémon in reverence, it only gazed back with arrogance, and a hint of disdain.
"This is going to be great." Blaine laughed, clapping his hands. "Infernape, show them who the superior fire-type is…Mach Punch!"
"Dodge, and Brick Break," Ash countered, doing his best to hide his nervousness. Monferno sidestepped at the last possible moment, his open fist glowing white. Infernape's eyes flashed over towards the smaller fire-type just in time for the Brick Break to slam into the back of his neck in a vicious chop. It let out a deep grunt, that Ash deciphered was more out of annoyance than pain, and used the force behind the strike to flip and land gracefully on its feet just a few paces away from Monferno.
It seemed that Infernape's pride had been wounded by Monferno's attack, because it thrashed its tail aggressively; and the fiery crest blazed stronger as it turned a hot white. Then, it moved with incredible speed to send another Mach Punch that slammed into Monferno's gut before he could even begin to move. The force behind sent Ash's friend rolling away like a bullet.
"Get up, Monferno," Ash said through gritted teeth, growing nervous as the Infernape beat its chest. Monferno appeared to be dazed from the punch, because he struggled to push himself back up once he slowed to a halt.
"Flamethrower," said Blaine, and Infernape exhaled a roaring stream of flames, racing forward to consumed Monferno. The monkey rolled to his side, evading the fiery jet, and lunged at his older foe as Ash called for a Mach Punch.
But Infernape managed to spin out of the way and used both fists to attack with Fire Punch. Monferno surprisingly ducked and twisted to dodge the attacks with some difficulty, before swinging a focused chop at the Infernape's neck.
The two slipped into a flurry of blurry strikes and quick dodges in a fight for dominance, practising the unique martial arts their kind were famous for. For a moment, it seemed that Monferno could keep up with Infernape's speed; then a sudden Feint disoriented Monferno, allowing Infernape to attack like a shark in bloody waters.
It possessed an astounding sense of acrobatics that Ash had never imagined it would have. It was as if Infernape had been playing around earlier, and was now going in on Monferno with its unrestrained strength and skill. Each strike of its were focused to hit a particular spot, and it was easily blocking any counterattack that Monferno tried to throw at it. It was incredibly clear that Ash and Monferno were outmatched.
But Ash tried to push on, hoping that they could at least take down Infernape, although that seemed very unlikely. "Mach Punch!"
Infernape had just wound its fist to deliver another strike, when Monferno's fist flew forward and delivered a fierce uppercut to the larger primate's jaw. The blow threw it off balance and its own punch missed wildly. A Brick Break to the head sent it stumbling behind, allowing Monferno to once more attack, and he bathes his opponent in a jet of fire.
But Infernape took the attacks like a champ, and simply leapt through the infernal spray, shooting a magnificent blow that instantly cut off the Flamethrower and knocked Monferno off his feet. As he was projected into the air, his eyes fluttered open to see Infernape jumping up to him, flipping, and bringing down a powerful foot wreathed in flames. A shockwave rippled from the point of impact as Monferno was knocked back to the ground. Ash shut his eyes through the scream of pain as his friend cratered the ground from his harsh landing.
Monferno had no time to recover, though - he jumped away as Infernape rocketed to right where he was, crushing the ground under a powerful stomp. "Mach Punch!" screamed, Ash, as Blaine commanded the same. A ripple of energy exploded as their fists connected; for a second, they were locked in a fight of dominance, until Infernape, with his free hand, threw a Fire Punch that blew Monferno off his feet.
The monkey flipped awkwardly and got to his feet. His entire body wracked with tremors, struggling to catch his breath and ignore the pain all over his body. Ash almost raised Monferno's capture device to recall him, but Monferno barked in protest and looked back ahead, his chest heaving. The trainer chewed his lip nervously, but if Monferno thought he could go on, he wouldn't throw in the towel.
"Alright buddy," Ash called encouragingly. "Brick Break, and Mach Punch!"
With a cry of rage, he raced forward, throwing a flurry of wild hits in an attempt to hit Infernape, but it easily evaded every strike with effortless mobility. 'Ember!" A spray of cinders splattered over Infernape's face, doing nothing more than annoying it; but the small window of its distraction was enough for Monferno to finally land a hit. With a furious cry, he drove his fist straight into the centre of Infernape's face and knocked it away, then a chop to the back of its knee forced it to the ground.
"Close Combat!" the gym leader roared. Infernape's head snapped upwards, a red aura flickering to life around him as Monferno leapt for another punch to the face.
It blitzed away with unrivalled speed, ducking under Monferno's Brick Break as he closed in to deliver devastatingly powerful blows. Ash could head hard thuds following each other in quick succession as Infernape's fists and legs blurred away. He could only watch in anger and shock as Monferno was literally beaten to a pulp, before a final, brutal kick punted him across the arena like a rag doll.
Blaine barked a laugh. "Train harder next time, kid." His Infernape grunted pompously. "If you ever want a rematch, you know where to find-"
But his words died in his mouth as the fire on Monferno's tail exploded and transformed into a raging inferno. It had grown to become a pillar of fire, uncontrolled as flames burst away form the core and dissipated in the air. At the center, he could almost see a hint of blue.
Ash should've been elated that Monferno's Blaze had just been activated, but instead he was anxious…and even a bit scared. He knew that Monferno's infernal rage was not the typical effects of the ability that he'd normally heard of or seen. With Monferno's Blaze came an unruly monster that only cared to burn.
He flinched as Monferno jumped to his feet and screamed. His eyes were bulging, almost red from fury. He carried with him an unbridled rage that nobody would ever suspect he would have. He beat his chest, his tail flame flaring further with each thump. With laboured breathing, he directed his eyes at Infernape, who readied itself, but seemed unnerved.
Blaine just seemed impressed - he actually smiled. "So your Monferno does have some fight in it! Let's go, Infernape. This should be a challenge."
But Infernape had no time to react - Monferno had launched himself with a spike of speed and slammed a Mach Punch in his foe's gut, with enough strength packed behind it to actually knock the larger primate off his feet. Blaine actually took a double-take.
Ash chewed his lip nervously. He had only ever faced Monferno's wrath once before, in the Celadon Gym. Hopefully this time he'd listen to him. "Alright, Monferno, another Mach Punch!"
Instead he began to scratch and slash furiously, ripping out chunks of its thick brown fur. Infernape crossed his arms in front of it, as it tried to look for an opening to attack. But Monferno was lashing out with speed that easily rivalled his foe's.
Infernape screamed and swatted Monferno away, but then a cone of white fire consumed Infernape entirely. The Flamethrower was far beyond any that Monferno had ever used before, Ash realised with a mixed pang of excitement and nervous fear.
Blaine looked slightly disturbed at the display of unrestrained ferocity. "Thunder Punch," he said slowly.
As Infernape closed in, Monferno skyrocketed with a push of his powerful legs, landing right behind Infernape and roaring as he brought his fist directly onto its skull. The older fire-type grunted and fell to its knees, stunned by the powerful blow.
It spun around and smacked Monferno away, who barely seemed to register any pain as he was sent tumbling away; then Ash watched in curiosity as the crest of fire exploded and consumed Infernape's entire body, bathing itself in a swirl of white, before letting out a furious scream as it rushed at Monferno-
An explosion disturbed the air as a shockwave erupted from the point of impact, followed by a wave of heated air that rustled Ash's clothes. Smoke billowed all over, before clearing out and dissipating to reveal the scene of destruction - cratered ground, scorched patches, and a heaving Infernape standing a few paces away from a shaking Monferno, struggling to stand on his knees. The flame on his tail was still burning bright, but it was far shakier, and looked ready to sputter down to a small cinder. The anger was still there, and he was still hanging on by the thinnest of threads, and he screamed as flames began to collect in the monkey's jaws-
Infernape's arm launched forward with lightning speed and delivered a fierce jab to the fire-type's face. The blow caused the Flamethrower to sputter out into bunch of weak embers, and then Monferno slackened - the flame died down, his eyes rolled upwards, and he crumpled to the ground like a sack of rocks.
Ash quickly recalled Monferno, ignoring Infernape's triumphant bellow as it beat its chest. He looked at the capture device in worry; for a second, he hesitated, but then shook his head and clipped the ball to his belt.
"I can tell you're strong, kid," he heard Blaine say. The gym leader had crossed over the distance to him, and had his haughty Infernape lumbering behind him. "But you're nowhere strong enough to beat me. Train twice as hard, and return in a couple months, and I'm sure you'll put up a fair fight next time."
Ash nodded numbly. He'd expected so much to walk away with the Volcano badge, today, but Blaine had wiped the floor with him. He'd hoped that Monferno's Blaze would've taken Infernape, at the very least, but at the end of it all Blaine still had two pokémon left to battle.
Speaking of Monferno…He needed to have a talk with his friend soon. They had to figure out Monferno's feral tendencies under the influence of Blaze, and find ways to control it. Maybe the professor could help him out in this department.
He shook his head, and gave Blaine a forced smile. He felt really tired.
XxXxX
A few days later, it was time to leave Cinnabar Island.
Ash had spent the remainder of his time either with Misty or just sleeping. Blaine had allowed them to stay at his inn, but this time they had to pay, which Ash really didn't care about. He hadn't been in much of a mood to react to things, to be honest.
This was his first gym loss. He thought he and his team had been prepared to take on Blaine, but he had either greatly overestimated himself or underestimated Blaine. Either way, there wasn't much to do other than sulk and distract himself from his bouts of dismay, which were both frequent and unpredictable.
He didn't blame his friends - no, he blamed himself. He'd grown arrogant with his win streak, and he'd dared to slack off against an ex-Elite member. He had to remind himself that these weren't just any gym leaders - they were the Top Four, the strongest of the Kanto leaders. If Blaine himself was so strong, then Sabrina and Giovanni were in an entirely different league.
He tore away from his thoughts as the ship's horn boomed, letting them know that they would be leaving. Ash leaned against the rail and watched the side of the ship cut through the waves, the shore vanishing slowly. Despite his sullen mood the past few days, he couldn't help but feel at peace upon returning home.
XxXxX
Trainer:Ash Ketchum
Pokémon in possession:
Saur – Ivysaur
Delphi – Xatu
Zeus – Ampharos
Hydrus – Golduck
Monferno
Snorlax
Screecher – Misdreavus
Kratos – Scyther
Trapinch – Atlas
I hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter! I was finding it pretty difficult towards the end of this chapter, but I'm glad it worked into something that I found to be acceptable. Thank you guys for reading, and I hope to see you here for the next one.