A/N:
Alright, so I´m getting started on Chapter 24. I have no idea how long it will take to finish this chapter, so bear with me. Only know two things that are supposed to happen this chapter; Ash battle with Gardenia, and a slight non-cannon bit that I don´t rightly know how to write. Hopefully, it will come to me easily when I get there, I also might throw some curveball if it pops into my head while writing.
Maxsteele1986: YOU! I like you, though some of your questions I can´t answer at the moment. Did Bonsly learn Mimic in the fight it evolved, I had completely forgotten about Mimic at all, to be honest… So, yes? As for the hunters and Team Rocket, how exactly is Ash supposed to stop all of it on his own? They aren´t meant to be the main plot points, most of the time at least, but tools I can use to create small stories and intermediary adventures between Gym Battles.
Pokéwonder: While a lot of your ideas are good, they are rather hard to implement in a story that is already far past the point where I could have conceivably done so. But perhaps you can write your own fanfic? You certainly seem to have the ideas and creativity to do so. Either way, thank you for reviewing.
Now I believe that was it… Well except the fact that I have a question for you. I just looked through my OC list, which funnily enough gets frequent use from me. I also discovered to OCs I had forgotten about. My question is rather simple, would you rather I not use OCs that have taken inspiration from other places? The two I´m talking about are easy to spot if I use them, which is why I ask.
Without further ado, on to the next chapter!
Rumble in the Jungle!
The following morning Ash got up early as he was used to, and calmly walked out the center and onto the backyard training field. Late last night he had traded a few of his Pokémon around, sending all his Tauros back to the ranch and bringing only his Quilava back leaving two empty spots on his current roster. -This time it is a distinct possibility I will lose the gym battle if Gardenia´s ace team is as powerful as Roark´s, but I want Staravia and Vespiquen to get some Gym experience, Ash thought to himself.
Sitting in the shade beneath a rough old oaken tree at the very edge of the training field, thinking hard on whether or not to use Staravia and Vespiquen in the Gym Battle that was coming up. Deciding to read up a bit on where contests would be held and cross-referencing to which Gyms were nearby, and then doublecheck which types these gyms had to see if he could change one or the other Pokémon and use them later instead. Thankfully, he found that it was likely that there would be a contest held near Veilstone in the near future. As Veilstone Gym was a Fighting-type Gym he felt that he could change either Staravia and Vespiquen to battle there instead, and after a bit of consideration, he decided that since Vespiquen resisted both equally well and Staravia would have a harder time with the Fighting-type Gym due to its double-typing, Vespiquen would wait its turn.
-Who should I bring in instead of Vespiquen, though? Maybe Torkoal? Yeah, that sounds good, Ash thought further to himself as a slight breeze blew over the training field, chilling Ash slightly. Deciding to see whether Professor Oak had gotten up yet, Ash called into the lab. It took a few rings, but suddenly Professor Oak picked up the phone. "Good morning, Ash. Have are you doing?" he asked as he picked up the phone, Ash could see him looking through a folder of documents as they spoke. "Good morning, Professor. I´m well, and how are you doing? Taking it easy I hope?" Ash answered gently, a small smile as he watched the aging professor continue to work as they talked.
Professor Oak chuckled lightly, "I am well, but I cannot say I´m taking it very easy at the moment. I am looking through the files and getting ready to do a thorough screening of the next batch of eligible starting trainers to see if I will sponsor one of them," the Professor answered, shocking Ash a bit. "I thought you sponsored everyone that got their starter from you?" he asked uncertainly, confused. Professor Oak blinked a bit before a kind grandfatherly smile presented itself on his face. "No, Ash. I don´t sponsor everyone that comes through here, only the ones I feel are worthy of it. From your batch, I only sponsored you and Gary, and from the batch before I sponsored none. There is a young girl that seems promising at the moment, but I´m not decided on whether to sponsor her or not yet."
He kept smiling as Ash sat in shocked silence, while the wind ruffled his hair gently. A few creaking groans could be heard from the old branches above his head, completely deafening the soft rustle of grass around him. Ash felt touched at learning he was one of the rather few people Professor Oak sponsored fully, though he tried not to be overwhelmed with the feeling. "Now then, I´m assuming you didn´t contact me this early in the morning for just a chat?" Professor Oak prompted as he laid the folder of documents down on his desk, leveling his full attention to his conversation of Ash. "Yeah, it´s just that I felt uncertain whether I could win the Gym Battle with two new Pokémon and only one of my older. Don´t get me wrong I have faith that I´d have found a way, but I try to think more ahead and strategize before battle than I did before. I had hoped you could send Torkoal over to me? I´m planning to use Quilava, Torkoal, and Staravia here, and spare Vespiquen for the Fighting-type Gym in Veilstone City."
Professor Oak nodded thoughtfully as he rubbed a hand on his slightly bearded chin, seemingly agreeing with Ash´s statements judging by the slight nodding of his head as he thought. "You do have a point and keeping Vespiquen back, for now, does seem prudent, both because of the reasons you laid out and because she is so new to your team that the two of you might not have properly bonded just yet," he finally stated. "I´ll get Torkoal´s Pokéball and send him over to you, I believe you have some open slots on your team at the moment?" Ash nodded with a smile, sitting back to relax while waiting for Professor Oak to get Torkoal. It took only a few more moments before Professor Oak returned, smiling as he put Torkoal´s Pokéball in the transporter and sending it over.
"Thank you, Professor, I hope you find someone to sponsor again," Ash spoke quietly as the two were about to end their call. "So do I, and I wish you luck with your Gym Battle Ash. Have a wonderful day," the Professor said, before ending the call.
"Alright, time to train and prepare then," Ash spoke aloud to himself. "Everyone come on out!" Releasing all of his Pokémon and quickly giving them instructions for how to train, explaining briefly his change of plans to Vespiquen, who took it in stride, Ash took a deep breath. Turning to the remaining three Pokémon Ash smiled widely, "The three of you are going to be my team for the Gym." The three Pokémon smiled widely at this and gave joyful cries, before settling down to listen to Ash´s instructions carefully.
That was how Dawn and Brock found Ash and his Pokémon a couple of hours later, training hard and perfecting a few moves to prepare for his Gym Battle. "Good morning!" Ash exclaimed, coming over as soon as he noticed them. Getting a quick, chaste kiss from Dawn, Ash turned back to his Pokémon. "That is enough for now guys, take a break! I don´t want you too tired for the Gym," he spoke easily, almost jokingly, and the Pokémon quietened down and started to relax almost instantly.
"I´ll need to run up and take a shower before I join you for breakfast, would you mind terribly making sure they," he gestured to his Pokémon, "get enough to drink?" Brock smiled and nodded, fist-bumping Ash before he quickly made his way back to his room to take a shower. Outside the Pokécenter, Dawn sat down with the entirety of Ash´s current team happily interacting with them while they waited for Ash to return downstairs.
As they waited Brock got started on a simple breakfast, cooking a few eggs and making a slight variation of some stew. Ash´s Pokémon took the downtime gladly, resting easily in the shine of the morning sun and occasionally getting up to make sure they got some food and drink. It took about 15 minutes for Ash to return from their room, freshly showered and wearing fresh, clean clothes. The clothes were similar to his previous looks but not quite the same. He wore a pair of loose, baggy jeans held up by a black leather belt with a silver Pokéball buckle. On the right side of the jeans, a stainless-steel chain hung connected to the front of his jeans and somewhere at the back. He wore both his rings and his X-Transceiver, the metal reflecting the gleaming sunlight. His top was still a black tank top, with red trimmings, but this tank top also had two red lightning bolt patterns from either side of the chest going down to just underneath his pectoral muscles. His leather jacket wasn´t on him but he held it over his shoulder with his left hand, as he casually joined his companions.
"Alright, everybody ready to battle for our second Sinnoh Gym Badge?" he asked, a wide grin stretching across his face. All his Pokémon grinned back, the three chosen to battle also answering in joyful cries. Ash smiled before the group slowly made their way towards the Eterna Gym, basking in the dawning sun. It took about 15 minutes to stroll over to the Gym, all the while the three companions talked happily among themselves. At the gym, a young black-haired girl sat behind a desk, obviously meant to receive the challengers to the gym. "Welcome to the Eterna Gym, Gardenia is currently battling a challenger who had to leave early this morning. She will be ready to face another challenger afterward, for now, you are free to watch the match from the stands."
"Not all trainers enjoy having spectators," Ash pointed out skeptically, but the receptionist merely smiled. "True, but we always ask to make sure. He had no issue with people watching, so go right ahead if you want to," she spoke easily, a friendly smile on her face the entire time. Shrugging their shoulders lightly, the group quietly made their way onto the spectator stand. Ash took note, long before they got onto the stand, that it was almost unbearably hot and a stench of burnt grass clung to the air. Knowing without a doubt that was the result of a Fire-type, Ash decided to speed up a bit curious as to how Gardenia defended her Grass-types from their main weakness.
A loud Pokémon cry, seemingly a mix between cinders burning and a roar, suddenly broke the relative silence of their walk. The curious cry had Ash both confused and excited, as he had not recognized it and figure it would be a new Pokémon for him to discover. Upon entering the stands properly, and seeing the utter devastation that was Gardenia's battlefield, Ash's excitement reached new heights. He had been correct, and a large centipede looking Pokémon with what seemed like a Fire Blast mustache was glaring down on its opponent, a rather out of breath and scorched looking Cherrim. Even knowing his Pokédex likely did not have much information, Ash was adamant about learning this new and quite powerful looking Pokémon´s identity. Dexter´s robotic voice managed to spit out the little information he had a few seconds later, "Centiskorch the Radiator Pokémon. Region of origin: Galar. No additional information available." "Cool, I´ve never even heard of the Galar region before," Ash mused aloud, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
Within just the few moments Ash's concentration lapsed, the unknown trainer had his Centiskorch knock Gardenia's Cherrim out. "Cherrim is unable to battle, Gardenia, send out your last Pokémon," the referee´s voice spoke loudly, knocking Ash out of his thoughts and back into the moment. A strong scent of sulfur and a strangely metallic scent his Ash with the force of a haymaker, making him scrounge his nose and almost cough. He knew, judging by the smell and the small droplets of purplish liquid in the scorched grass, that the giant emblazed centipede had utilized some form of Poison-type attack.
"Alright, Grotle, let´s go!" Gardenia shouted, still eager to battle it seemed. The testudinal looking Pokémon seemed vaguely familiar to Ash, but he couldn´t quite place it. Before he pulled out his Pokédex though, Dawn exclaimed, "Hey, she has Turtwig´s evolution!" There was a large grin on her face as she excitedly kept watching the match, not realizing she had answered Ash unasked question for him. Ash smiled and simply hugged his girlfriend with one arm while shooting Brock an amused glance.
"Alright, Centiskorch let´s take home the victory!" The two trainers stared each other down, both seemingly waiting for an opportune moment to attack. Finally, Gardenia snapped off a command, "Grotle use Earth Power!" Almost instantly huge spouts of gravel and rock shot into the air around Centiskorch, creating gouges on the battlefield. "Lunge!" Centiskorch threw itself forward, slamming heavily into Grotle and sending it careening backward. "Now Fire Lash!" The Fire Blast mustache seemed to convalesce into a single whip of fire which was cutting through the air on its way to impact Grotle. "Withdraw!"
The defensive move definitely saved Grotle some significant damage but didn´t quite deaden the entire blow. "Now use Leaf Storm!" Popping onto all fours again Grotle sent the massive attack toward Centiskorch at high speed, apparently disguising Grotle from both Centiskorch and its trainer. "Crunch!" The powerful jaws of Grotle chomped down onto Centiskorch´s neck before Grotle whipped around and slammed the centipede heavily into the ground. "Now Earth Power!" By now the unknown trainer seemed to be sweating slightly, but he was still composed enough to think of a counter. "No choice! Burn Up!"
Immediately the centipede burst into a sea of flame, which then spread in a concussive wave from its body. The wave severely damaged Grotle, both the force of the blow and the burning taking it unprepared. "Venoshock into Hyper Beam!" the trainer commanded, the centipede nodding after swaying a bit. The Poison-type attack his squarely onto Grotle, followed by the immensely powerful orange beam. Having already sustained significant damage earlier, Grotle no longer had the strength to get up and fell out of the indent of the wall in a dead faint.
-That is some power! But he seemed reluctant to use the move, what did he call it? Burn up? Yeah that was it, Ash thought to himself quickly thinking of a counter for the massive Fire-type should he ever face it. Then he noticed that the centipede had no flames coming from it at the moment, and was panting significantly. "A last resort type move?" he asked the question aloud by accident, prompting Gardenia and the other trainer to cast their gaze onto the stand for the first time. "I assume you´re thinking about Burn Up?" the unnamed trainer asked, a smirk on his face. Ash grinned right back, "Yeah, never seen the move before, nor the Pokémon for that matter."
"Burn Up is a last resort move yeah, and a rather exclusive one at that. Aside from Centiskorch, I think it´s only the Cyndaquil, Tepig and Growlithe lines that can learn it. Well, aside from any legendaries but they have such power that I don´t think they need a last resort," the trainer explained before finishing with a shrug. Before Ash could say anything more, the trainer gazed at his watch. "Crap! I need to run!" He got the badge from Gardenia and rushed out of the Gym at a sprint. "Good luck with your Gym challenge, Mr. Klawe!" Gardenia shouted after him, before taking a deep breath. Only to cough because of the obvious smell of sulfur and smoke hanging in the air, "I think we need to air out the gym," she spoke with a sweat drop, clearly holding back tears in the corner of her eyes.
Ash nodded along, seeing that the field was starting to become covered in purple toxic clouds from the battle. "We could take the gym battle outside maybe?" Gardenia blinked at him but broke into a wide smile just a second later. "That sounds like a plan," she answered him before she gazed at the toxic clouds with a stoic stare. "Probably best if we get out quickly, so the ventilation can do its job." As the group headed out into the fresh, if a bit chilly, morning air, Ash was nearly shaking with excitement. Fresh morning dew still clung to the leaves and grass around the Gym´s outside battlefield. "Alright, my name is Gardenia Natane, and I´m the Gym Leader of Eterna City," Gardenia introduced herself with a giant smile, twirling a pirouette on the grass. "Protocol dictates that I inform you that I specialize in Grass-types, though most people are aware when they come here. I am also obligated to ask whether you´re allowed the handicap?" Gardenia stated, gazing straight at Ash. "I was already aware of your typing, and no I´m not," Ash answered easily smiling slightly. "Brilliant! Now that all that bureaucratic nonsense is done with, let´s get over to the actual Gym rules!" Gardenia switched moods with the flick of a switch, smiling brightly to contrast the rather deadpanned expression she had adopted for her obligations.
"This Gym swears to a three on three match, were only the challenger can switch Pokémon. The match is over when all three of one side´s Pokémon are unable to continue, any questions?" she finished tilting her head to the side. Ash shook his head, palming a Pokéball in his right hand. "Very well then, let´s get going! Cacturne you´re up!" "Staravia let´s go!" Ash countered, sending out his trusted Starling Pokémon. Hovering in the air in front of the Cacturne, Staravia´s sharp eyes nearly glowed red as he glared at Cacturne. The Scarecrow Pokémon took an unconscious step back before it steeled itself and released a massive cloud of sand. -Starting with Sandstorm as a Grass-type?, Ash thought to himself. -Good counter against Fire-types, not so much against Flying-types.
"Whirlwind into Aerial Ace!" The enormous burst of displaced wind slammed the sand into the ground and stopped the Sandstorm dead before Staravia barreled towards Cacturne at top speed. Staravia crashed into Cacturne, but before Cacturne was sent flying it grabbed on with one arm. The other glowed ominously before Cacturne sent it powerfully into Staravia´s back, causing Staravia to crash into the ground with a massive thud. "Shit, that was Revenge!" Ash exclaimed, concerned that Staravia might have taken heavy damage from that. To the surprise of both Gardenia and Ash, Staravia got up easily, not nearly as damaged as one would have thought. -Right! Staravia´s Intimidate ability must have activated when the battle started!, Ash thought to himself, trying carefully to not let his recognition show.
Unfortunately, Gym Leaders have to be skilled to maintain their position. "Ah, I can´t believe I forgot that Staravia´s ability is Intimidate. Oh well, Cacturne Energy Ball!" Gardenia ordered, clearly not overly concerned by the setback. "Dodge those and retaliate with Air Cutter!" Ash countered, hoping Staravia would have the time. With an impressive show of aerial brilliance, Staravia dodged out of the way, sending a stream of cutting winds at Cacturne. "Dark Pulse," Gardenia stated easily, and within moments Cacturne´s wildly powerful attack had dissipated Air Cutter and slammed into Staravia, who in his surprise had been unable to dodge in time. "Staravia you have to recover and go into Aerial Ace!" Staravia managed to straighten up and again shot toward Cacturne.
Cacturne didn´t seem to mind by the malicious gleam in its eyes and the crackling electricity of its right hand. "Steel Wing!" Ash commanded hastily, hoping that Staravia understood. The energies of the colliding attacks laid the arena in smoke for a few moments, before Staravia took to the air and blew the smoke away. Electricity crackled over his wings and he had obviously taken heavy damage from the explosion, on the other hand, the Cacturne didn´t seem too affected. "Focus Blast!" The ball of condensed ki energy shot at Staravia at high speeds, only missing by a hair when Staravia dodged to the side. "Shit, we have to do it. U-Turn, Staravia!" Ash ordered, hoping it would work properly. Staravia had managed to get a general understanding of the move and could use it, but had in no way mastered the powerful Bug-type move.
"Meet it with Poison Jab!" Moments later a second smoke cloud obscured the arena, only this time Ash knew Staravia was knocked out as he hadn´t returned as part of the U-Turn move. He hoped for a double knockout, only to find that he had no such luck. Cacturne still stood, though not unscathed. As predicted Staravia had been knocked out, lying at Cacturne´s feet with swirls in his eyes. Ash could hear Dawn gasp at the sideline and state quietly to Brock, "I hadn´t thought Ash would lose the first Pokémon." Brock narrowed his eyes, "That Cacturne is incredibly powerful, I think Ash will have his work cut out for him if all of Gardenia´s Pokémon are this powerful."
"Staravia return. You did good buddy, not your fault. Powerful Cacturne you got there, Gardenia. Let´s see how he deals with this guy. Torkoal let´s go!" The Coal Pokémon entered the battlefield with a rather distinct cry, smoke billowing from its nose in steady streams. "Dark Pulse!" Gardenia started, and the attack flew quickly toward the stationary Pokémon. "Flamethrower!" The Dark Pulse met a massive spout of flames which in short order overcame the attack and billowed forth to crash into Cacturne. "Spiky Shield!" With only moments to spare Cacturne summoned forth his thorns to act as a shield against the torrent of fire. When the fire calmed Cacturne was still standing, though by now it was panting heavily. "Heat Wave!" The massive shimmering front of super-heated air shot toward Cacturne, whose eyes widened. "Protect yourself with Sandstorm Cacturne!" Gardenia ordered, hoping that would be enough to keep the attack away.
The two attacks fought for supremacy for a few moments before the Heat Wave ended, and Cacturne and Gardenia both took sighs of relief. Suddenly a sound as if glass broke and came crashing to the ground came over the entirety of the arena, and Torkoal came barreling through the glass panel that had been created by the Heat Wave hitting Sandstorm. The reason Gardenia gasped in shock and Cacturne´s eyes widened in fright again, would be that Torkoal was coming in for an immensely powerful Flame Wheel. Not having time to shout and order, much less for Cacturne to move, the Flame Wheel slammed heavily into Cacturne and sent him flying through the air. As Cacturne landed with a crash, swirls in its eyes, Torkoal stopped spinning and stomped the ground. With a mighty cry, Torkoal clearly stated that he would not lose easily, adamant to help his trainer succeed.
"Seems you have a powerhouse yourself," Gardenia stated easily while returning Cacturne. "Gogoat you´re up!" The powerful-looking Pokémon that emerged was definitely not something Ash had ever seen before. "Torkoal be careful, we don´t know about this one," Ash cautioned, not wanting to lose due to being careless. "Grassy Terrain!" Ash narrowed his eyes, trying to find a reason for why Gardenia would be starting with that particular move. "Use Heat Wave!" "Combat that with Surf!" Ash gawked at the Mount Pokémon using a distinctly uncharacteristic move for Grass-types. "It knows freaking Surf!?" he exclaimed shocked, almost missing his window for countering the move. "Eruption!" Almost.
The two enormously powerful attacks crashed together and obscured the battlefield with a thick mist. "Heat Wave!" Of course, that doesn´t matter when one can use area coverage moves. Unfortunately, that goes both ways. "Earthquake!" The two Pokémon exchanged a few moves in the total obscurity of the mist until it finally settled. When it did both Pokémon looked distinctly ruffled and tired, but neither would admit defeat. They glared at each other, the normally calm Torkoal with an uncharacteristic fire behind it. "Flame Wheel!" "Meet it with Bulldoze!" It took only a moment for the two attacks to slam together, sending a shockwave of energy over the clearing and a large part of the surrounding area.
By now the clamor of a Gym Battle and the heat of the early morning air had attracted a rather large crowd. The chatter and laughter of the multitudes of spectators brought a grin to the faces of both combatants, though both were sweating from the strain of keeping up with the shockwaves and heat from the battle. Ash had actually discarded his jacket, his upper body covered only by his tank top. While the smell of smoke was there, it was mostly overpowered by the smell of popcorn and other treats.
The sky was completely clear of skies and the sun´s rays illuminated everything around them. Including the two Pokémon standing in the middle of the field, staring each other down. Before they both tipped forward at the same time, landing side by side with simultaneous thuds. Both Pokémon had swirls in their eyes, showing clearly that they were both knocked out. "We have a double knockout as both Pokémon are unable to battle, Gym Leader and Challenger send out your last Pokémon!" the gym assistant declared, having gotten there after finally getting the ventilation working right for the indoor arena.
"Alright, time to shine Roserade!" Gardenia spoke reverently, obviously, she had saved her ace for last. "Quilava it´s up to you!" Ash spoke confidently, releasing his last Pokémon of the match. The Volcano Pokémon stared down the Bouquet Pokémon, not giving an inch in their staredown and vowing to himself that he wouldn´t underestimate his opponent. His trainer was counting on him, and he refused to disappoint. After a few moments more of staring their opponent down, both Quilava and Roserade blurred into action simultaneously unprompted by their trainers.
Flame Wheel exploded upon contact with Poison Jab, only for a powerful Flamethrower to shoot out of the smoke cloud to sear Roserade. The two powerful Pokémon exchanged a few more blows before Ash gave a command. "Quilava use Dig!" Not fully understanding why, but trusting his trainer completely he immediately dug into the ground. "Use Sludge Bomb down the hole!" Gardenia countered, starting to command her own Pokémon as well. "Use Flamethrower!" A massive typhoon of fire eradicated the sludge and sent Roserade, who was still standing with her face facing down the hole, flying into the air. "Flamethrower again! And then Flame Wheel!"
Quilava emerged from underground with a mighty spout of flame spewing toward Roserade, before blasting after the attack at top speed while enveloped in fire himself. The sudden onslaught of attacks had caught Gardenia by surprise, and she had very little chance to respond. "Try to defend yourself with Petal Dance!" While the attack was undoubtedly powerful, against Quilava´s intense focus and a burning desire for victory it might as well not have been there. The Flame Wheel slammed home, sending Roserade even higher into the air. Only for Quilava to grab her leg and twirl her around, sending her flying into the ground with a powerful Fire Punch.
That caught even Ash by surprise, as evidenced by his exclamation. "Fire Punch?! But Quilava doesn´t…" The rest of his exclamation was drowned out by the massive roar Quilava let off as he started glowing a shining bright light, crashing into the ground fully evolved into an intense-looking Typhlosion. "Oh," it really was all Ash could manage to say at the moment. Roserade looked singed and tired, but not out for the count just yet. "Well, that complicates things," Gardenia stated, while she gazed from her Roserade to the now Typhlosion. She looked between them a few times before she sighed audibly. "I forfeit," she spoke simply, shocking most of the audience and causing Roserade to try to argue. The wince as Roserade turned around didn´t exactly help her case. "I´m sorry Roserade, but even when your opponent was a Quilava you did very little actual damage to him. Now he´s a Typhlosion and completely overwhelmed your defenses for a good while, you simply don´t have enough power left to deal with a Typhlosion rearing to go," Gardenia explained, she spoke simply and calmly and her Roserade finally had to concede her point. "As I said, I forfeit. You win," the statement was simple, and Gardenia smiled gently at Ash as she said it. "Gardenia, the Gym Leader, has forfeited her last Pokémon. As the challenger still has a Pokémon fit to fight, this match goes to the challenger. The victor is Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!" the gym assistant announced after only a slight bit of hesitation.
Gardenia stepped closer, pulling a Forest Badge out of her pocket. "As evidence of you overcoming the Eterna Gym," she announced and handed the badge over, a smile on her face the entire time. Ash grinned widely, first to his newly evolved Typhlosion then to his friends. Another challenge overcome, and Ash was already looking forward to the next one.
A/N:
Well, I finished. That took way too long, and even I have been a bit frustrated at myself for not finishing faster. There are multiple factors of course, but all of them are rather private.
I realize that the final battle of the gym match might have been a bit anticlimactic, but there really is rather little a Roserade can do to a Typhlosion. When that same Roserade had already taken quite a bit of damage? No contest. As for my decision to evolve Quilava that quickly into Typhlosion has a rather simple explanation. Typhlosion is my favorite Pokémon, and an already powerful Quilava that intensely desires a victory like that? I thought it appropiate.
Suffice to say I have had a lot to deal with, and let´s leave it at that. The chapter is of course, shorter than I would have liked for the amount of time it has taken to write it.
Aside from that, I hope you have enjoyed reading the chapter, and that you will return to read the next one as well when I eventually get that one done as well.
Till next time!