Gym Leaders
Ash's Pokemon's Names:
Dratini: Kaiser
Charmander: Ignis
Pidgeotto: Ava
Ralts: Tia
Mankey: Trooper
Ash eyed the Raichu on Lt. Surge's side of the battlefield as he tried to evaluate his options in his head. The Raichu menacingly grinned, not unlike its trainer, electricity cackling from its cheeks. Defeating his Magneton had been difficult enough, Ash realized that this Raichu was probably stronger than it.
Unlike the first time, Lt. Surge didn't let Ash have time to breathe or to make the first move. His grin turned even wider as he commanded, "Charge Beam!"
"Dig!" Ash responded immediately.
Raichu growled as it got on all fours and released a yellow beam of electricity towards Ignis, who'd just begun making a hole in the ground. The beam of electricity missed its target and dissipated behind where Ignis stood a moment ago.
The ground began to rumble as Raichu looked around itself. Ash clenched his fists while he watched the battlefield, waiting for Ignis to come out. This was it. All the work that they'd put in to master Dig would pay off now.
Right as Ignis came out of the ground, Raichu used its tail to lift itself up and evade the super-effective move, only narrowly being scraped by one of Ignis' claws.
Lt. Surge let out a cackle of laughter. "That's a move that Raichu can dodge in his sleep! I'll give you some credit for hitting him though."
His compliment made Ash grit his teeth as blood rushed faster through his veins. "Get back and use Ember!"
The best way to tackle the situation for him was to know a bit more about the Raichu's attacks. Hence, Ash decided his Pokemon had to gain some distance. He'd try to lure out the attack patterns of the Raichu before letting Ignis get in close again.
"Fry em with Thunderbolt!" Surge roared back instantly.
Ignis turned around to rush towards his trainer's side of the battlefield, but Raichu cried out as sparks flew from its cheeks in Ignis' direction. The Fire-type managed to dodge it the first time, but another surge of electricity followed which he couldn't avoid. Ignis' shriek could be heard across the Gym as some blood came out of cuts on his arms as a result of the electric attack.
Even through all that, Ignis still managed to throw flames in Raichu's direction, catching the mouse Pokemon in them. Both Pokemon had taken a hit each, but Raichu visibly fared far better than Ignis.
"Damn it!" Ash cursed. "Ember again!" He wanted to instruct Ignis to keep his distance, but he didn't want his plan of dragging the battle out to be known to Lt. Surge. Although, considering he was the infamous Vermillion City Gym Leader, Ash figured that it wouldn't take long for him to deduce it.
Ignis let loose another flurry of scorching hot flames in the direction of Raichu, who dodged the attack by running in a zigzag pattern on all fours. Ash wondered if the speed it'd just shown was a result of a Quick Attack or if it was just that fast. If it was the latter, this battle had just become even more difficult.
"Thunderbolt!" Lt. Surge shouted, a grin on his face. He folded his arms as he watched his Raichu use the same move again.
"Retreat back," Ash said, calming himself a bit. "Then Ember again!"
Ignis managed to successfully dodge the incoming bolt of electricity, but barely. Another one headed his way as he threw out more flames in response to his trainer's command. Some of the flames managed to zip past the thunderbolt and hit Raichu, but the power of the fire move had been weakened by Thunderbolt. Ignis took the full brunt of the electric-type attack this time.
Ash clenched his fists so hard that his fingernails bit into his palms. The battle would go only one way if it continued in this vein. There was no doubt that Raichu was quicker than Ignis, a fair bit even. And its Thunderbolt was a fearsome move that Ignis wouldn't be able to take much more of.
This was clearly the reason that Professor Oak and Bill had told Ash to wait to get at least 3 badges before challenging Lt. Surge. He'd even heard rumors in the Pokemon Center that most trainers didn't challenge the Vermillion City Gym until they had four badges. Lt. Surge had proven to be a challenge indeed. The biggest real challenge that Ash had faced since he started his journey. Brock was a strong Gym Leader and a great Pokemon trainer, but his Pokemon didn't quite pack as much power as Lt. Surge's Raichu. Then the battle in the Cerulean Gym had been much easier than he'd expected, and that had made Ash a bit lax.
Complacent, even.
"Get underground, Ignis!" Ash yelled out.
As beat up as he was, Ignis obeyed, digging a hole in the ground and disappearing from sight. Lt. Surge and Raichu both grinned as they observed the field in anticipation of where Ignis would appear from. The ground shook again and the Charmander ascended from beneath Raichu.
Lt. Surge let out a laugh as his Raichu slipped out of the way of the attack and ran in a zigzag pattern, lights shining on its small feet.
"It used Quick Attack to dodge!" Ash blurted out. Again, Raichu had dodged the attack. Its speed had proved too much for Ignis to handle. "Ember!" Even though he knew he'd been trying the same things over and over again, Ash had no choice. Ignis' physical attacks weren't hitting Raichu. And they wouldn't start unless Ignis suddenly gained a burst of speed or Raichu lost it.
"You just keep using the same thing, huh?" Lt. Surge raised an eyebrow sarcastically. "Thunderbolt!"
As Ignis released flames, the yellow sacks on Raichu's cheeks let out a thundering bolt that zoomed towards its foe. As it had done previously, the Thunderbolt cut through Ignis' Ember and struck the Fire-type, who cried out in pain.
Ash could only observe in horror as Ignis was brought to his knees. Raichu wasn't just too fast, but also too powerful. This had proven to be a mistake. Ash wasn't ready to face Lt. Surge. Not yet.
"We've had enough fun with it, Raichu," Surge said, his arms still folded. "Put it out of its misery."
Just as Raichu let another surge of electricity loose towards the struggling Ignis, the flame on his tail flared up and grew.
"What do you know?" Surge chuckled as he watched Ignis surround itself in a bright silver Thunderbolt deflected in another direction. "The baby Charmander is growing up."
Ash couldn't utter a word at the sight that he saw. He simply watched in awe as his Ignis' body grew. Even through the silver light, he could make out that a horn had appeared on his head while his claws grew sharper and his body larger. As the light faded away in a few more moments, the newly evolved Charmeleon roared vociferously, pumping his arms.
The newly evolved Pokemon glared at his opponent and instantly flung himself at it. On the way, Ignis' fangs became engulfed in bright red flames.
"Slam it with Iron Tail!" Came Surge's order.
But Ignis showed why he had evolved. And what he had become. Raichu didn't have enough time to complete its move as it let out an anguished cry at Ignis' fiery fangs digging into its shoulder.
"Fire Fang!" Ash mouthed. Ash had been thinking about strengthening Ignis' Fire-type moves since Ember's power would not be enough in his upcoming Gym battles. It had already proved to be inadequate here, after all; Ember was pretty much ineffective against Surge's Raichu's stronger Electric-type moves. His lips curled upwards at the sight of Ignis' new strength.
Ignis slid back a few feet away from Raichu, glaring at it. He then eyed Ash and roared again. He still had bruises all throughout his body from the battle, but the evolution seemed to have revitalized him slightly.
Ash knew what he meant. "Alright Ignis, Fire Fang again!"
"Deflect it with Iron Tail!" Surge's grin never disappeared.
Ignis launched himself towards Raichu again, once more displaying his newfound speed. This time though, Raichu was better prepared for the move. Its tail glowed silver and Raichu slammed it down on the incoming Fire Fang. The two attacks met, Ignis trying to bite even harder but the strength of the Steel-type move proved too much for him to penetrate through. The two Pokemon retreated and repeated the same move, ending with the same result.
"That's not gonna work," Ash muttered to himself. Ignis' evolution had only brought him to a level that he could now compete with Surge's Raichu. It wasn't that Ignis hadn't gotten stronger, just that Raichu was too strong before. Now, Ignis could match it in terms of speed as well as power. But would this be enough? "Try Dig again!"
Instantly, Ignis dug a hole and disappeared into the ground.
Surge huffed. "That move's not gonna work even if your Pokemon's evolved, kid!"
Like so many times earlier, Raichu was again able to jump out of the way of the attack.
"Quickly use Ember!" Ash yelled. That had been his plan: to use Ember if Raichu managed to evade Dig again.
Ignis was ready for the command as he fired the attack, his flames now much stronger and hotter than when he was just a Charmander. Raichu let out a shriek as the Fire-type attack met it and left burn marks around its body. Not only that, but even after the attack, it still felt the burns sting.
"Nice move, kid! That burn is gonna hurt for a while!" Surge complimented Ash. "Shoot another Thunderbolt!"
"Use Fire Fang!" Ash ordered.
As Ignis lunged forward as fast as he could, Raichu released its Thunderbolt. Ignis managed to get out of the way of the first wave, but the second one struck him as he closed the distance between himself and Raichu. There were even more bruises around his body and he slowed down, but he didn't stop. Raichu showed its speed as it jumped out of the way of the Fire Fang but Ignis followed him like a rabid dog. Another Thunderbolt ensued, which Ignis dodged and then dug his fangs into the same shoulder that he had attacked previously.
A few more sparks of electricity flew towards the Fire-type starter while he retreated after completing the move. Even though the sparks hit him, he wasn't as fazed as before by their impact. These were much weaker than the previous electric moves that he'd been hit by. He huffed wearily, placing one of his claws on the ground for support.
But that last blast of thunder was pretty much all Raichu seemed to have. They were its last attempt to take down its foe with it. Raichu lied in the middle of the field with burns throughout its body, unconscious.
"You did it, Ignis!" Ash cheered victoriously when he saw that Surge's Raichu had fallen. Ignis could only let out a low shriek in acknowledgement of his trainer's words.
The referee waited for a few moments, apparently surprised by the outcome. But eventually, she raised her hand towards Ash. "Raichu is unable to battle. The Challenger Ash Ketchum wins the Gym battle!"
Surge pointed his Pokeball forward and his defeated Raichu was sucked into it. Even though he'd been beaten, his grin did not vanish. "That was a good match, kid!" he said in a loud tone as he walked in Ash's direction. "No," he chuckled, "You've won the Thunder Badge now, you're no longer a kid!"
Ash couldn't help but chuckle at that. He hadn't paid Surge's kid bit much mind thus far. Ash knelt and petted Ignis on the head and recalled the Flame Pokemon back into his Pokeball. He'd taken lots of hits and the evolution must have left him even more exhausted. Ash stood back up and smiled at Surge.
Surge dug his right hand into his pocket and removed a golden-colored badge in the shape of a star which had a shining red core in the middle. "This Thunder badge is now yours!"
Ash accepted the badge offered to him and looked at the Gym leader. "Thanks!"Hhe said. This badge had been by far the most difficult of the three badges he'd earned so far. Surge had proven to be the Gym Leader that he'd heard rumors about on his way to Vermilion City, and more.
"That was quite a comeback."
Ash heard a familiar voice from behind him. He turned around and saw the first Gym Leader he'd defeated walking towards him. "Brock," He was quite surprised to see the Rock-type specialist here. "I didn't expect you to still be in Vermilion City."
The tanned Gym leader waved at him. "I had some things to take care of, and I needed to meet with Lt. Surge. And it just so happened that I came when you two had just begun your match."
"You're the Pewter City Gym brat!" Surge chuffed. "Why are you here? What about the Gym, kid?"
"Dad has returned so he's the Gym Leader now," Brock said as he came to a stop in front of Ash and Surge.
"So that Flint finally returned, eh?" Surge laughed. "I thought he'd not come back for another decade."
Brock nodded. "Yes, and he said that he'd like to talk to you."
Surge raised an eyebrow. "Talk to me? He could've just called the Gym then." He received a shrug from Brock to which he shook his head. "He's quite roundabout in the things he does, that man!"
Ash just observed the conversation between the two. He didn't quite get what they were talking about apart from the fact that Brock's dad wanted to talk to Surge.
"I'll go call him now. I have to take my Pokemon to the Pokemon Center anyway," Surge said and turned to Ash. "Go to the Pokemon Center and wait there for me. I have something to give you."
Now that piqued Ash's interest. What was it that Lt. Surge wanted to give him? He had to admit that Surge had proved to be quite different as a person than he'd expected. Apart from the way he spoke, which was quite brash, he seemed like a good man.
With that, Surge turned around and disappeared behind one of the doors behind the battlefield.
"Let's go, Ash!" Brock said, turning around to walk towards the exit.
It didn't take long for Ash and Brock to make it to the Pokemon Center. The first thing Ash did was give the Pokeballs of Trooper and Ignis to Nurse Joy. She told him that it would take a while before he could get them back fully-healed because of how busy the Pokemon Center had been. New trainers had been aplenty in the recent months, which kept most of the rooms and doctors occupied. Ash didn't mind that. The immediate care machines in which the Pokeballs were kept already provided some instant treatment to the Pokemon that weren't severely injured, and the doctors later treated them for any injuries that remained.
Ash then entered the cafeteria in the Pokemon Center with Brock and the duo had the day's special curry. The battle had been tiring for not only his Pokemon, but also for Ash, hence he gulped the food down. He needed to recharge his brain after that match.
"Do you plan to leave Vermilion City already or take the S.S. Anne?" Brock asked as he took a spoonful of rice in his mouth. "It's usually a pretty popular cruise for trainers at this time of the year."
Ash chewed on his food before answering. "I thought the S.S. Anne already left a while back," he took a sip of water after he said that. He remembered that the reason Gary hadn't gone to visit Bill like Professor Oak had suggested was because he didn't want to miss the S.S. Anne. Ash had heard quite impressive stories about the S.S. Anne himself. It took people to a couple of islands that were supposed to be very good for Pokemon training.
That also meant that trainers, especially those who'd recently started their Pokemon journeys, came to Vermillion City in large numbers. It was a great way to find a bunch of strong Pokemon trainers in one place. Ash had originally thought about taking the cruise, but he wasn't as fixated on it as Gary. He figured that a meeting with someone like Bill would prove to be more beneficial in the long run. And it had. He'd learned a lot from the day he'd spent with Bill, and it had been well worth missing the S.S. Anne for him.
"There were some problems in the sea route that the ship follows so it was delayed for a few days," Brock said. "They changed the departure to 8 days from now."
That got Ash's full attention. The S.S. Anne would be an experience worth having. "I'd like to go, if that's the case."
Brock nodded. "I'm not sure if I want to go there myself, but if you're going, I don't mind going as well," Brock had taken quite the interest in Ash. He hadn't planned anything when he'd left Pewter City. The only thing that he knew was that he wanted to travel around the Kanto region, seeing new Pokemon and discovering new things. And of course, he wanted to learn more about the medical side of things. While taking care of the Gym, he'd come to realize that he found the most satisfaction when he looked after Pokemon, not when he battled with them. Being the Gym Leader of Pewter City had been his responsibility, not his dream.
Ash had proved to him in his battle in Pewter City, as well as his most recent one against Surge, that he was quite the trainer. Even though he was new, he was skilled in making use of his Pokemon's different moves and abilities. Brock hoped to spend some more time with the raven-haired boy.
"But," Brock continued, resting the spoon in his plate after he'd finished his meal. "The tickets would be pretty difficult to get this late. It's usually fully booked a while before its departure."
"That's not surprising," Ash said as he finished the last of his food. The popularity of the cruise was something that he'd heard about. "A friend of mine left before me from Cerulean City just to get here in time for the S.S. Anne."
"It'll be difficult then," Brock sported a wry smile. "We can try going to the port and asking if there are any tickets available, but I don't think we'll be lucky enough for that."
Ash smiled. "Yeah, I guess that's the best we can do."
Surge still hadn't arrived yet. After they had finished their meal, Ash and Brock went to the main hall of the Pokemon Center to wait for the city's Gym Leader. Ash again wondered what Surge might want to give him. Could it be some kind of TM disk? He'd read that some Gym Leaders rewarded trainers with a TM for beating them, in addition to the Gym Badge, of course.
They had to wait for a few more minutes before Surge finally made his appearance.
"You kids must've been waiting a long time for me," Surge laughed as he took his seat on the couch opposite Ash and Brock.
"No, we had lunch in the meantime and got to talk some," Ash replied. He said this to be polite, but it wasn't a total lie.
"Were you able to contact my father?" Brock asked.
"Yeah," Surge nodded, then smirked. "We were reminiscing quite a bit. That's why it took me so long."
Ash didn't want to interject, but he was somewhat curious on the matter. "Have you and Brock's father known each other long?"
"We go way back, kiddo!" Surge answered as he patted Ash's shoulder. Ash felt like he was being hammered under the force of Surge's firm hands tapping on his much slender shoulders. He couldn't say he enjoyed the feeling, but he fought back the urge to blurt it out to the Gym Leader. "He's a bit older than me but we've known each other for almost two decades."
Ash raised his eyebrows in surprise as he settled himself. "That's long!"
"That Flint guy and his obsession with rocks and Rock-type Pokemon is out of this world," Surge said. "He was away for how many years now?" He asked as he turned to look at Brock.
"He didn't come home for 3 years, but even before that, he used to be away sometimes," Brock answered with a light chuckle.
"He must've gotten those giant Rock-type Pokemon of his even stronger!" Surge laughed, leaning forward and placing his hands on the desk.
"But he's the Pewter City Gym Leader, isn't he?" Ash asked curiously. That statement from Surge had raised a lot of questions in his mind. "That's one of the first Gyms a lot of new trainers challenge. If he's that strong, wouldn't it be too difficult to beat him?"
Surge blinked for a few moments, then glanced at Brock who shrugged. "Don't be so naïve, kid!" Surge burst into a fit of laughter as Ash sported a look of confusion, his lips parting. He leaned closer to Ash and continued. "Tell me, did you think that battle we had earlier was with my strongest Pokemon?"
This conversation had taken a turn that Ash didn't expect. What could the Gym Leader mean?
"I would've thought so," Ash replied honestly, which earned him another loud laugh from the Gym Leader. He could see other people in the Pokemon Center looking at the trio due to Surge's outburst.
It took him a few seconds to control his laughter, but Surge finally managed to speak. "Explain it to him," he said to Brock, now spreading his hands behind the couch as he leaned back.
"Ash," Brock began, as he and Ash turned toward each other. "I can understand why you don't know this since you're a new trainer, and this information isn't something that trainers know before they begin their journey."
Ash nodded. Indeed, he'd never heard anything about this. It could be that most things he knew about the Gym Leaders were wrong. He thought that they gave it their all in battle, and only by defeating them at their best did challengers earn the right to win Gym badges.
"Gym Leaders are there not to beat challengers, but to test them," Brock explained. "That applies even more to the 8 Pokemon League Challenge Gym Leaders of the region. I assume you know about the 8 Pokemon League Challenge Gyms, correct?"
"Yes, I do," Ash nodded his understanding. "They're Gyms whose badges are needed if you want to challenge the Pokemon League."
That was common knowledge. He'd been taught about the Pokemon League Challenge Gyms. These 8 Gyms needed to be beaten if a trainer wanted to challenge the Elite Four and the Champion. There were many Gyms in the Kanto region which were certified by the Pokemon League. However, only 8 were chosen as the League Challenge Gyms. Challenging the Elite Four was also sometimes called the Champion League instead of the Pokemon League.
8 Gym badges were also needed if a trainer wanted to participate in the regional Pokemon League Conferences. However, these Gym badges needn't be the ones from the Pokemon League Challenge Gyms. As long as they had 8 Gym badges from certified Gyms within the region, that would suffice.
These Pokemon League annual tournaments also held great prestige, but since they were annual, there were new winners every year. The victor of the tournament wasn't allowed to participate in the same region's tournament for at least another 3 years. This was to ensure that they got different winners, even if the chances of the winner participating again wasn't high, since they'd want a new challenge and progress, instead of trying to do something that they'd already excelled at, again.
However, the Champion League Challenge: the challenge to the Elite Four and Champion was one which was given the highest regard. Only the strongest trainers, even amongst those who'd won the League Conference, could succeed in these. And even if they did beat the Elite 4, which was a rare enough feat in itself, beating the Champion was a whole different game. That was the reason why Pokemon Champions weren't dethroned too often. Champions were the geniuses amongst geniuses who'd taken their Pokemon to a level that most trainers couldn't imagine.
"Some of the Gym Leaders have been taking care of their Gyms for years," Brock added. "Do you really think that most new trainers, who'd just been training for a few months, would be able to beat them?"
Ash clicked his tongue. That was true. He'd thought about it but never paid it too much mind. "They should have been extremely strong trainers to be chosen as Gym Leaders in the first place."
"Exactly," Brock said. "Each and every one of the Gyms that has been certified by the Gym has top quality trainers as their leaders. That's even more true for the League Challenge Gyms. A lot of Gym Leaders, especially young ones do use their strongest Pokemon, but most of the veteran Leaders who've been handling their Gym for many years, some even decade use Pokemon that they feel would be a test for the challengers, but not something that they can't overcome. Of course, there are exceptions to this." Surge chuckled at that. Brock paused for a moment and continued. "The Viridian City Gym Leader hasn't given out a Gym badge to any trainer in years. The only reason some trainers were able to win the Earth Badge from the Viridian Gym in recent years is because the Gym Leader had been away a lot of the times, so he'd let the Gym trainers handle the Gym. Not to say they are weak, but some experienced challengers were able to beat them."
"For example," This time it was Surge's time to begin the explanation. "I only use Pokemon that I think would be suitable for kids who've got 2 or 3 Gym badges, although I do admit that I go overboard sometimes and make it more difficult for them. I don't like giving Gym badges to just any challenger either."
That was true. The stories Ash had heard about Surge proved it. He might not have been using his strongest Pokemon, but he didn't make it easy for challengers to get the Thunder Badge.
Brock continued, "So, if you're challenging the Cinnabar Gym, which is supposed to be one of the toughest Gyms in the Kanto region, the Gym Leader will use Pokemon that he thinks are suited to give a challenge to that level of trainers. But simply said, those Pokemon would be closer to his real strength compared to the Vermilion City Gym because it's challenged by newer trainers." He appeared to be enjoying filling Ash in.
"There's a reason not every brat that wins a Gym battle can become the Gym Leader," Surge said as he folded his hands.
"I see," Ash mused and then turned to look at Brock. "Then you must also be a very strong Pokemon trainer, Brock."
Brock scratched his head and smiled. "Well," he began. "I was the Gym Leader, yes, but I was mostly substituting for my father who was the original Gym Leader. So, what you saw in the Pewter City Gym was all I had. As I said, a lot of Gym Leaders do use their strongest Pokemon. And anyway, I enjoy looking after Pokemon a lot more than training them for battle."
Ash had found Brock's Pokemon to be quite strong, even at that point, and the only thing that had probably limited him was that he could only use Rock-type Pokemon. He then turned to Surge. "How strong are you, Surge?" That was an innocent question.
Surge chuckled at it though. "Come back again when you're much, much stronger and maybe you'll give my stronger Pokemon a challenge!"
Ash rubbed his forehead, wiped off a drop of sweat and smiled wryly. "I'll definitely do that."
This had been a knowledgeable chat for Ash. He had been truly naïve to think that Gym Leaders, especially the Pokemon League Challenge Gym Leaders, were simply as strong as they showed him in their battles. These trainers were veterans who'd been chosen to be Leaders of Gyms that qualified a trainer to challenge the Elite Four! They had to have been special Pokemon trainers.
"Anyways," Surge interrupted Ash's train of thoughts as he put one of his hands in his vest pocket and took out a rectangular piece of paper. "I had some tickets that I got for the S.S. Anne left. You'd have good use for this one, kid!" Not getting the exact reaction that he'd imagined from Ash, he clicked his tongue. "Just sell it if you don't want it. It'll fetch a real high price these days. The ship leaves in 8 days if you wanna board it."
What luck, Ash thought to himself. He and Brock had just been discussing if they'd be able to get tickets for the ship, but here was Surge simply gifting him one. Ash had reckoned he'd miss the chance if he didn't find any available or if they were overpriced.
He gleefully accepted the ticket and smiled at Surge. "We were just thinking about how to get tickets for the S.S. Anne. Thanks, Surge! But the ticket won't be of any use to me if we can't find one for Brock, so I'll return it if that happens to be the case."
"Oh?" Surge raised an eyebrow. "So, you both were planning to go?"
"Well, it was just something we came up with since it was an option," Brock said. He was actually quite moved by Ash saying that he'd return the single ticket if there wasn't one for him. They hadn't known each other for that long so Ash's words came as a surprise to him.
"Well then," Surge removed another ticket from his pocket and offered it to Brock this time. "Have it."
"We can try searching for one, you don't have to give me one as well," Brock raised a hand up as if to deny the ticket.
"You fool!" Surge slammed the ticket on the table and roared, making Brock flinch. He was a hulk of a man, and his voice certainly showed his personality. "You know how much these tickets are going for on the black market right now? Do you really think you'd get them for a good price just because you looked around for them?"
Were they that expensive? Ash had thought that maybe they'd have to pay a bit more for the tickets at this point, but how much more would they have needed to pay? He had no idea how these things worked so he couldn't really figure it out.
"You're Flint's son so I'll just have him do me something in exchange for this," Surge said when he saw that Brock still hadn't picked the ticket up.
"Alright then," Brock finally moved his hands forward and grabbed the ticket. "Thanks a lot!"
"I'm a busy man so I gotta go," Surge stood up from the couch, turned away and waved to them from behind. "See ya when you're stronger, kid!"
When he said kid at the end, Ash remembered how he'd said that he was no longer a kid after their Gym battle. This was not more than a couple hours back. But he paid it no heed. Surge had proven to be an interesting man.
"Bye!" Brock and Ash both waved at him as well.
"So, Brock," Ash turned to look at the boy whom he'd board S.S. Anne with. "Do you have any plans before we get to the S.S. Anne?"
Brock shook his head. "I took care of the stuff that I needed to last week. I actually wasn't even sure what I'd do afterwards so I don't have anything that I have to do. You probably have something in mind for your time, don't you?"
"I don't have any concrete plans myself, but maybe I'll go around the city. I've been training most of the time since I came here so I haven't seen Vermilion City yet. After that, some training wouldn't be bad." Ash answered.
"I'll come with you then," Brock said. "I can help you get around the places that you'd find interesting. Vermilion City is quite big."
Ash smiled. "That would be great!" Indeed, having someone to show him around sounded perfect.
Later that evening, Ash got his Pokemon back from Nurse Joy. He also stocked up on some Pokemon food while he was there. They came in handy when he couldn't find anything else on his journey for his Pokemon.
The sky had gotten dark as Ash stood in a clearing near the Pokemon Center. The field was pretty big, he noted. He saw a few trainers here and there with their Pokemon, some training, some just talking to them.
He removed all 5 of his Pokeballs from his belt and let out his Pokemon.
The first thing that happened once all of his Pokemon were out, was that 4 of them stared at the fifth. Indeed, the evolution of Ignis surprised his friends.
Kaiser was the first to make a move as he yelped and then crawled in front of Ignis. The Fire-type roared in response before the two Pokemon communicated with another through a set of shrieks. Kaiser then wrapped himself onto Ignis' body as he took a closer look at the horn that his friend had grown. He yelped once again before nibbling at it. The Charmeleon didn't like this action by his friend though, as he swung his claws at the Dragon-type.
Ash watched the interaction between the two play out with a smile on his face. It was quite amusing seeing Kaiser being so curious about Ignis' new form. As the Dratini was flung down by Ignis, he fired a short Dragon Breath at him who threatened him with his claws pointed forwards. Ash didn't interfere yet. This was quite a different side to Ignis. He'd never seen Ignis so aggressive towards any friendly Pokemon before. He'd heard that sometimes a Pokemon's personality changed when they evolved so this might've been that change.
The two didn't take the duel any further as Kaiser turned around and slithered away. Ignis simply let out a light burst of flames as he, too, looked away. Ash chuckled. This turnaround could be interesting.
"Hey guys," Ash finally called out to his Pokemon, walking towards them. He got their attention as all of them turned their attention to him. All except Kaiser, who'd crawled away. Ash took his hat off and scratched his head. "Kaiser," he called out, "come here," his tone was very gentle.
A few moments later, Kaiser glanced towards Ash who was still smiling and slithered back to the group.
Once all the Pokemon were together, Ash removed the shiny new badge that he'd won. "We won the Thunder Badge today."
As he said that, all of his Pokemon cried out in joy. Even Kaiser, who'd shown a lack of interest thus far. Trooper appeared to be the happiest of the group as he jumped up and down, grabbing Ash's hat in the process and putting it on his head. He hadn't known the result of the battle after he'd been knocked out, so his jubilation was understandable.
Ash let Trooper play with his hat for the moment, petting the Pig Monkey Pokemon on the side of his head. He then continued. "We'll be boarding the S.S. Anne in about a week's time. It's a very famous cruise which only leaves once a year. Trainers from all over the region board it so it could be a great chance for us to have some battles and get stronger."
As Tia *(refer chapter 4. Ralts had a nickname before she was caught) tilted her head to the side while letting out a squeal, Ash realized that his Pokemon probably didn't know what it was. "The S.S. Anne is a ship that sails through the sea, which is a massive body of water. We'll be surrounded by water as far as the eye can see for a while."
Tia let out another squeal at her trainer's explanation. Ash couldn't help but take the little Feeling Pokemon in his arms and lift her up. She let out another squeal, this time of joy as a smile made its way to her tiny face. The Ralts appeared to be enjoying Ash holding her. He perched her up on his shoulder as she held onto Ash's head with her tiny arms.
Ash's chuckle was cut short as he noticed Ignis and Kaiser still facing away from each after their eyes met again for a brief moment. "What's up, you two?"
Ignis and Kaiser both let out a shriek at the same time but neither turned around. Ash sighed. He hadn't had any problems with his Pokemon not getting along before. And Kaiser and Ignis were two Pokemon he'd least expect to have problems. They had been the best of friends since they'd met. Or at least that's how it had appeared to Ash. But now, Ignis' change in personality had the two at loggerheads.
Ava jumped forwards and chirped a few times to the both of them. She looked like she was trying to be the peacemaker. She tapped both Pokemon with either of her wings, and they both yelped in acknowledgement. But their attitude towards one another didn't change. Ava gave Ash a defeated look once her attempts had brought no success.
Trooper, on the other hand, had just been observing the event unfold. He'd stopped his antics. Even he found this duel of personalities between his friends interesting.
Ash patted his Flying-type on the head. "You tried your best, Ava, don't worry about them. They'll be just fine after a while," Ash couldn't think of anything to do at this point. He hoped that they'd just get along with one another as they did before. If not, he might have to ask Brock for some pointers. The experienced trainer surely would be of help in this situation.
After spending a few more minutes with his Pokemon in the field, Ash fed them the food he'd bought and returned them to their Pokeballs. He found that Tia appeared to enjoy the new flavor he'd bought this time. The other Pokemon didn't seem to have any different reaction to the food though so he figured it must be a matter of personal taste for her. Later, he went back to the Pokemon Center and joined up with Brock before the two had dinner. Brock had booked a dual bed room in the Pokemon Center for a week now that they had to wait there. Once in there, Ash couldn't help but fall asleep in between a conversation he'd been having with Brock. The Gym battle had him tired.
5 of the 8 days that they had remaining slipped by pretty quickly. Ash had had a good tour of the port city in that time, visiting many of the city's major attractions. One of the places that he found especially interesting was the Pokemon Fan Club. It was a famous organization that had various branches not just around Kanto but throughout the world. He'd watched some shows back home in which the chairman for the Kanto region for the club had appeared. He recalled the depth in which the old man talked about Pokemon and spreading love for them. The organization was, after all, a place for people to gather and talk about their favorite Pokemon. It allowed people of similar interests to meet and interact with one another, and also allowed for them to come across and see Pokemon raised by other members.
The building of the fan club was filled with young trainers and some younger kids who weren't trainers yet. Ash spent more than an hour there, getting the gist of the place from one of the employees. That same day, Ash and Brock also went to the main Pokemart of the city, where Ash stocked up on a few things that he imagined he'd need on his journey. Some Pokeballs, Potions, Antidotes and the like.
Only three days remained for the S.S. Anne to depart. Ash had visited most of the places of interest in the city in the days prior, so the only thing he could do now was wait and get some training done with his Pokemon.
However, he changed his plans when Brock mentioned a very popular fishing point along the coast that wasn't too far away. Ash and Brock only walked for about an hour to get to the place.
Ash could see a few people around who had their fishing lines thrown into the sea. He wondered if he would come across a Pokemon that he'd want to catch here. He realized that he'd need to catch a Water-type Pokemon soon to add diversity to his party, and this was the perfect place to catch one. He figured that most of the more common Water-types like Goldeen, Poliwag and Magikarp wouldn't be too difficult to find.
Brock pointed to a hut in the distance and suggested, "Let's see what we can find over there," Then started walking in that direction.
Ash followed suit. "Yeah." There wasn't too much of interest where they had been standing anyway. Maybe they could ask the ones who lived in the house about the area.
It took them a couple more minutes to make it to the house. "It's actually a shop," Ash chimed. This was perfect. They hadn't bought fishing rods or anything of that sort yet, and they would need those things if they wanted to try their hand at fishing.
"The guidebook I have did say that there was a shop somewhere here but I didn't expect it to be this run down," Brock said wryly as he looked around the hut.
Ash couldn't help but shrug. As long as they found what they needed, he didn't care. "Is anyone home?" he called out. The hut was neither too big nor too small. From what he could make out, it was probably big enough for 2 or 3 people to live in. What seemed like the counter of the shop in the hut had a few worn-out rods spread across it, as well as a couple that looked new with some lures and fishing nets.
Not receiving any answer once a minute had passed, Brock tried calling this time. "We want to buy fishing rods!" he spoke loudly.
Ash and Brock looked at one another after a few moments had passed without any response. This could be a bit bothersome. The day had been quite hot and they'd walked all the way out here. It would be a waste if they just had to make their way back without doing what they came here to do.
"I guess no one's around," Ash said. "What should we do? Should we wait, or leave?"
Brock put a hand on his chin. "We've already come all this way, so we should wait a bit. If no one comes in that time," he sighed, shaking his head. "then we can't do anything, can we?"
"What do you whippersnappers want, eh?" An annoyed voice spoke from behind them.
Ash turned around to find an old, white-bearded man walking in their direction. From his attire and the fishing rod he had in his hand, he was probably a fisherman. "Kids these days have no patience," The man sighed.
"Are you the owner of this shop?" Ash asked.
"Yes, I am," The man said as he walked past the trainer into the hut. "What is it you want? Fishing rods, nets, lures? Make up your mind quick," his tone almost sounded condescending. "I don't have time to play with y'all."
Ash scratched his eyebrow at the way the old man spoke. Old people were difficult to deal with sometimes, and he seemed like one of those.
"We'd like to have 2 fishing rods and lures," Brock said.
"Which ones?" The man asked.
"What's the cost of one of those?" Brock pointed towards the newer looking fishing rods.
The man picked up one of the rods that Brock had mentioned and observed it for a few seconds. "One will cost you 1000 Pokedollars."
"1000?!" Even the usually calm Brock couldn't help but holler at the price.
"That's too much!" Ash couldn't believe the price either. 1000 Pokedollars was a lot of money. For comparison, a normal Pokeball was worth 20 Pokedollars in a Pokemart, and a full meal for one person in the Pokemon Center could be 70-80 Pokedollars. Those rods didn't look anything special apart from the fact that they were new.
"You can buy a new Fishing Rod in a Pokemart for under 500 Pokedollars," Brock reasoned, spreading his hands wide to explain his point.
"Go then," The man answered, turning around and stepping inside the house. "Buy it from the Pokemart for 500."
Ash controlled the urge to shout. "Can you please be more reasonable?"
"Yeah, 1000 is a bit too much." Brock said in support.
The man gave them one last glance. "Take it or leave."
Ash and Brock looked at one another with defeated expressions. Giving the extra bit of money was probably better than going back to the city empty handed. Time was more precious.
"We'll get one, then." Ash said. "Two lures should be enough, right, Brock?"
"I guess we'll have to only settle for one rod between the two of us and yeah, two lures should be enough for now." Brock replied after a moment's thought.
The man, who'd almost gone inside, came back out and took the newer fishing rod and two Magikarp-shaped lures from the counter. He did a few adjustments to the rod before placing it in front of his customers. "That'll be 1200 Pokedollars."
Even his lures were much more expensive than normal. Ash sighed as he removed some money from his pocket and handed it to Brock. Ash tried to pay it all, but Brock returned half of it to Ash. The two then decided to share the cost between them for the rod and lures.
"Thank you," Ash muttered, but his tone didn't have any hint of gratitude. They'd been ripped off, but there was no other choice for them.
Brock took the materials from the man after handing him the money. "Let's find a fishing spot," he said to Ash as he looked out to sea, glancing from one area to another.
Ash nodded. "Yeah, we better do that."
Ash didn't think that Brock would have an interest in fishing since he was a Rock-type Pokemon trainer. But then he remembered Brock's words from when they'd met on his way to Vermilion. The former Gym Leader wanted to become a Pokemon breeder and doctor. Maybe the reason he only trained Rock-types so far was because he had to as the Pewter City Gym Leader. And considering Brock's personality, that was a probable scenario. Ash had only known the older teen a short time, but he seemed like a very responsible person.
The duo walked along the coast for a few minutes before Brock decided on the place to fish. Ash just followed his lead and settled on the place. They decided to share the fishing burden by each of them holding the rod for a few minutes at a time.
Brock was the first to try his hand.
"So, Brock," Ash started, dusting off the cemented platform before he sat down. "Do you have a lot of experience with fishing?"
The tanned man sat down beside the trainer after he'd thrown the line in the sea. "I haven't fished a lot myself," he chuckled. "But my mom loves Water-type Pokemon so she used to take me along for fishing at times. I'm just following some of the advice that she'd given me back then."
"That's a bit surprising," Ash raised his eyebrows. "Your mom loves Water-types while your dad is a Rock-type specialist."
"Yeah," Brock said. He smiled as he faced his fishing partner. "My mom and dad have quite the story. But it's a long one so I'll tell you about it some other time."
That left Ash interested, but he didn't push Brock to explain it to him now. It hadn't been that long since they'd met so he wasn't comfortable asking Brock about personal matters or stories like that yet.
Almost 4 hours had passed since Ash and Brock had started fishing. In that time, the only Pokemon that they'd been able to find were 3 Magikarp and 1 Goldeen. They'd taken a lunch break in the meantime, but the two had been fishing almost non-stop since they'd started and this wasn't the result that they'd hoped for when they decided that they wanted to come here. They'd let all 4 of the Pokemon they'd lured go back into the sea since they weren't really interested in them.
Goldeen were Pokemon that could only survive in a water environment and that could prove to be a problem for Ash. Hence, he had no interest in catching them. As for Magikarp, they could survive outside for lengthy periods of time, but the problem came in raising them. Yes, the idea of having a mighty Gyarados excited him, but it took a lot of time and effort to turn them into those creatures. Ash wasn't opposed to the idea. Quite the opposite, in fact. He loved training his Pokemon and making them stronger in front of his own eyes, but at the moment, he wanted a Water-type that would be more battle ready than a Magikarp.
They'd changed fishing spots quite a bit in that time, but the results had been the same. Fishing was a game of patience, but it was running out, certainly for Ash.
"Should we change spots again?" Ash asked his companion.
Brock pursed his lips. He appeared somewhat frustrated too. "I think we should," he said, standing up and dusting his pants off.
"You two," came a voice from their right, making them turn around. It was the old man from whom they'd bought the rod.
"Come with me," he said as he began walking without sparing them another look.
Ash gave Brock a glance. "I think it's better to go with him than to just stick around here. Maybe he knows some better fishing areas."
Brock nodded at the suggestion. "You're right."
The man had already walked a fair distance away while the two trainers contemplated their choice. "You two want to find better Pokemon or not?" The man stopped for a moment to turn to look at them before he continued walking. "I know the sea much better than some runts like you who don't know the first thing about fishing."
Ash couldn't help but let an irked smile make its way to his face. The old man wasn't wrong. Ash had fished a bit when he was younger, sometimes with Professor Oak, sometimes with Leaf and Gary, and a few times with his mom, but it had been in the local river near Pallet Town. And he couldn't really brag about getting anything more than some Magikarp, Goldeen or the odd Poliwag.
They had to walk for close to a quarter of an hour before the old man finally stopped. This part of the coast appeared devoid of people. It was isolated from the rest of the area where Ash had seen a lot of people trying their hand at fishing. The waves were much wilder, some of them splashing seawater on their faces. Ash had to shield his eyes from the spray.
"We only moved a bit farther away and the waves here are totally different," Ash commented.
"What?" The old man smugly looked at Ash. "You want to go fishing but can't even handle this?"
"I can handle it," Ash answered with a grin on his face. "But will we even be able to catch something when the waves are this strong?"
"Just try it and you'll find out!" The old man grinned. This was the first time Ash had seen him move away from the annoyed look that he'd had thus far.
"You wanna go first, Brock?" Ash asked, turning to look over at his friend.
Brock shook his head. "I've had enough fishing for one day," he smiled.
"Alright then," Ash nodded to himself, standing straight and throwing the line into the roaring waves, using all his strength to get it as far as he could. Now it was all a game of patience.
After only a few minutes, Ash had got his first bite. But before he could reel it towards himself, he lost it. Then, he got another bite.
"I think it's big!" Ash remarked, taking a step back and trying to pull the line in.
The old man glanced at Ash. "I'm surprised you even got two bites already. You don't know the first thing about how to fish."
Ash gritted his teeth as he tried to pull even harder. Whatever it was that was on the hook, it was not just heavy but also strong. He could feel that it was pulling the rod towards itself and this had become a competition of who had more strength. A few moments later, Ash found himself losing the battle as he was dragged towards the water.
"I'll help you," Brock said as he walked behind Ash and grabbed the rod. He, too, pulled hard.
With Ash and Brock both mustering every bit of their strength, they finally had the upper hand. They both shouted as they managed to reel the line in and get the creature that had caught the lure on the surface.
"A Krabby!" Ash exclaimed when he saw the crab Pokemon attached to the lure. "This Krabby seems bigger than the ones I saw at Professor Oak's ranch."
There were a fair amount of Krabbys in Professor Oak's ranch; some belonged to trainers while some had just grown up in the pond there. There were some differences in sizes in those Ash had seen, but none were quite as big as this one. The one that had just appeared was at least one and a half times bigger than those.
"It is definitely bigger than normal," Brock remarked with a smile. "Are you going to try and catch it?"
"You bet I am!" Came Ash's excited response as he unclipped one of his Pokeballs. "Tia, you're up!"
The Ralts cooed as she materialized in front of Krabby. The crab Pokemon just slammed both its pincers on the ground, yipping as it slid a few steps towards its opponent.
"Start off with Confusion!" Ash commanded.
Tia's body glowed pink as she extended her hands forward. The Krabby had begun to walk to its left, but Tia's attack hit as the Water-type's eyes glowed blue. In the next second, however, the Krabby appeared to move towards Tia, rushing on its tiny legs.
"It broke through the Confusion that quickly!" Ash's eyes widened when he saw the Krabby charge. Tia lacked fighting experience, but her attacks weren't weak by any means so Ash didn't expect Krabby to push through the attack. Not this easily, anyway. "Disarming Voice quickly!"
As the Krabby charged towards her, Tia jerked her body backwards and cried loudly. Purple soundwaves which were barely visible appeared from her mouth in the shape of hearts and struck the incoming Krabby. Krabby shrieked for a moment but as it had done with the last attack, fought past it and reached Tia. Ash grimaced when Tia's neck was grabbed by the Krabby with its pincers. It ignored Tia's cries as it swung its pincers from one side to another, fluttering Tia along with them.
"Shake it off, Tia!" Ash shouted. The moves of this Krabby were unpredictable. "Use Disarming Voice again!"
The Krabby didn't stop swinging Tia around with its massive pincers, and it seemed to be enjoying it from the look on its face. When Tia heard Ash's voice, she let out another cry and mustered all her strength to release another series of voices. These hit Krabby head on since she was so close.
The Crab Pokemon finally let go as it was pushed back by the force of Disarming Voice. It shook its body before hitting its head with its left pincer. Ash couldn't help but smile in amusement at that. This Krabby had quite the character.
"Now, Draining Kiss!"
Tia sent a flying kiss, which took the shape of a pink heart, Krabby's way. This time, instead of taking it head on like it had done previously, the Krabby formed bubbles in its mouth and released a volley of them in the direction of the incoming attack. The two attacks met, cancelling each other out. However, Tia was quick enough to send another kiss to Krabby, hitting it this time. It hissed as its body glowed orange, the effects of the Draining Kiss sucking power from it. At the same time, Tia's body glowed too as she cooed. Draining Kiss was an attack that healed the user while sucking the life out of its opponent, Tia had done just that.
Suddenly, Krabby hissed as white bubbles formed around its mouth and engulfed it. Ash squinted his eyes. What was it trying to do? Krabby had become obscured between the innumerable bubbles that continued to ripple and expand into a sea around it. Ash's jaw clenched at the realization of Krabby's intentions.
"Ash, it's trying to get away!" Brock warned, almost shouting.
"Yeah," Ash muttered hastily, "Tia, quickly use Disarming Voice to put out those bubbles!" He felt his heart race at a rate of knots. He wanted that Krabby. Not only was it bigger than average, it was a fine battler, almost a perfect addition to his team.
Tia reared her head back and her voice reverberated in circles of pink energy, melting the bubbles in little more than an instant. But behind the veil of bubbles which fizzled out into water, there were no signs of Krabby.
Ash tucked his face in his hands in defeat. "Damn it!" he groaned, his shoulders slumping. He'd messed up. Maybe if he'd seen the facade of bubbles from Krabby sooner, it wouldn't have been able to escape. Maybe if he'd tried to capture it sooner…. His mind veered through all of the scenarios that could've prevented the Krabby from getting away.
"You are a greenhorn, after all, eh?" The old man scoffed. He let out a burst of short laughter which made Ash grumble and grit his teeth. That was just rubbing salt into the wound.
"Don't worry about it, Ash," Brock assured him. Ash felt a comforting hand on his shoulder which made him smile wryly. "Some Pokemon are just good at escaping. You can always get more Pokemon."
Ash fought back the urge to reiterate his thoughts about how Krabby was strong and how much he wanted to catch it. Brock's words somehow managed to comfort him, and minimize his disappointment. He'd failed to express how thankful he'd felt to Brock in the time they'd spent together. The older trainer always managed to help him one way or another.
A few minutes and some more Magikarp reels later, Ash finally got another bite on his rod. The Pokemon was heavier, considerably more so than any of his other pulls. He felt a fizz as he lugged the line in, his teeth grinding due to the sheer strength he had to employ.
He blinked when he eyed what appeared to be a brown rock that had tugged onto his lure. But Ash's face glistened the moment it juddered and lifted itself up, revealing lustrous red eyes that glared at him. "A Kabuto!" he exclaimed. He'd seen one or two of this species of Fossil Pokemon before. They were said to reside on seafloors, their ability to conceal their presence so efficient that people hardly noticed them even if they were to pass by.
"It's been a while since I've seen a Kabuto," Brock said as he shot a smile Ash's way.
"Now that's a rare find," The old fisherman sneered, his lips curling ever so slightly into his wrinkled skin. "It's not every day that you find a Kabuto."
Ash glanced at the man before focusing his gaze back on the Kabuto. He fidgeted with his belt, fingers sliding across the 5 Pokemon he owned while his mind zipped around in thought about which he'd use. A Grass-type would be the perfect counter to Kabuto's part Rock and Water typing, but he lacked one. Neither did he have a Pokemon that could use a Grass-type move.
He clicked his tongue and pulled out a Pokeball. "Let's get ourselves a new friend, Kaiser." As he pointed the Pokeball forward, the Dratini materialized with a snarl.
Ash breathed deeply, his eyes narrowing. "Let's wait for it to make a move, Kaiser. Just make sure it doesn't have any chance to escape," he instructed. He'd had enough of failed captures recently and wasn't about to let this one go.
Kaiser yanked itself up and stared down at the Kabuto, clearly intending to intimidate it, but Kabuto barely reacted. A minute passed yet the wild Pokemon's stance didn't waver in the slightest. Silence enshrouded the area as Kabuto's scarlet orbs still peered at Ash without movement.
Ash frowned. This Kabuto's temperament contrasted to the Krabby he'd encountered earlier. It showed no signs of aggression and Kaiser got impatient, violently snaking towards Kabuto while growling.
"Alright," Ash sighed. It wasn't as if he was fond of simply waiting. "Use Dragon Breath to corner it to your left."
A greenish-blue draconic stream spurted out in an instant, the air around the Dragon Breath sizzling. Finally, Kabuto moved. And even then, its defensive maneuvers were minimal. Its shell sparkled silver briefly as it buried its face into the ground. Ash heard a fizz from the Kabuto as it tumbled and skidded back from the force of Dragon Breath, mauling its claws into the cement for balance.
Harden, Ash noted. Its shell provided extreme defense because the Dragon Breath barely left a few singes.
"Push it back further," Ash said. "Try Aqua Jet."
Kaiser enveloped himself with water as he hustled across the distance in almost an instant. Ash scowled when he saw Kabuto summon water around itself and dash into Kaiser's Aqua Jet with its own. But then Ash smirked. Kabuto had finally decided to fight back.
Kaiser shrieked after being shoved back by Kabuto's move, but he'd slammed Kabuto back even further. He roared, evidently proud that he'd managed to overpower his opponent. The two repeated their moves and this ended in a similar fashion. Kaiser's physical strength was profoundly overwhelming for the wild Rock-type.
Ash grinned at the sight of Kabuto steadying itself. Its scarlet eyes flared up and it hissed angrily as its shell glowed silver once again. "Dragon Breath!" Ash ordered. Was it using Harden again?
As Kaiser flashed another Dragon Breath, the sheen on Kabuto's body died and several glittering, spiky stones materialized over its back. The draconic flames whizzed past the stones and flooded Kabuto, but the sparkling boulders viciously pelted Kaiser, lashing deep into his soft, blue skin. The fiery boulders left firm, gaping marks on the cement floor as the air around it still seethed and simmered. Kabuto steadied itself by the skin of its teeth. Kaiser fared better, but that attack had most likely hurt, even if he wasn't about to show it.
"That was Ancient Power," Brock commented. Ash glanced at him for a second, then gazed back at Kabuto. Its attacks were strong, even if not strong enough to take on Kaiser yet. His excitement surged at the prospect of adding Kabuto to his team.
"It's on its last legs, Kaiser," Ash smirked wildly. "Use Shock Wave, but control your power."
A streak of yellow lightning whizzed through the air from the small white, lump on Kaiser's head. Kabuto's body sparkled again to use Ancient Power, however Shock Wave crackled around it and the electricity caused it to shudder relentlessly. Ash grimaced at Kabuto's loud fizz, the pain of the sound hurt his soul. He was sure Kaiser had indeed held back, but the electric-type attack still proved overwhelmingly powerful against a Water-type. His only solace was that at least Kabuto wouldn't be able to escape now. It laid on the floor, still flailing from the attack.
"I think we overdid that a little," Ash let a wry smile cross his features. He readied an empty Pokeball and flung it at the wild Kabuto, who'd finally ceased any movement. Red light engulfed it as it was sucked inside the empty Pokeball. Ash bit his lip and anxiously eyed the wobbling Pokeball for a few seconds. He clenched his fists tightly and grinned from ear to ear when it stopped moving.
"I caught my sixth Pokemon." His whisper wasn't meant for anyone but himself.
Ash acknowledged Kaiser with a pat to his head after the Dratini leapt on his shoulder and leaned his head on Ash's. "Great job, Kaiser!" Kaiser roared at the praise, seemingly satisfied. Ash felt his shoulders stiffen when Kaiser wrapped his body around them. He'd grown slightly heavier since the last time he'd done this.
"That was nicely done!" Brock complimented him with a smile on his face.
Ash smiled back, picking the Pokeball up from the ground. "Yeah, Kabuto is pretty strong." Although Kaiser had made light work of it, Kabuto's endurance and moveset had impressed Ash. It had a solid arsenal of attacks that it had used in the battle, and Ash couldn't wait to see what other moves it knew. He'd probably need to work on improving Kabuto's type coverage, but that part of being a Pokemon trainer never exhausted him.
The old man, who'd watched the battle as well as the Pokemon capture, snorted. "You were lucky. You got a good one."
Ash could only chuckle. "Thanks, I guess?" The old man had sold his wares for a hiked price, and he wasn't the nicest guy to talk to, but considering he'd helped them find this fishing spot, he couldn't be that bad, could he?
After returning to the Vermillion City Pokemon Center later that evening, Ash got Tia, Kabuto and Kaiser healed up from whatever damage they might have suffered. The little fishing trip had tired both him and Brock so they spent the evening resting in their room before having dinner.
The next morning, Ash collected Kabuto from Nurse Joy. He'd tried to get it back the night before when he'd taken Kaiser and Tia, but its injuries, though not critical, were serious enough for her to suggest he let Kabuto rest in the Pokemon Center for the night. Ash had been rather dejected at his inability to gauge not just what Kabuto could handle, but also Kaiser's power and control over his moves.
A few minutes later, Ash stood in the same field behind the Pokemon Center that he'd used for some of his training for the past few days. He wanted to introduce Kabuto to the rest of his team.
"Come on out, guys!" He said as he released his Pokemon one by one. "Meet our new friend, Kabuto."
As Ash pointed to the brown colored Shellfish, every other Pokemon of his laid their eyes on it. Kabuto, though, barely reacted to their gazes. Not unlike the battle before Ash had captured it, its red eyes flashed. Its gaze flickered from Ash to his Pokemon, carefully regarding each of them before moving onto the next. However, it did not make the scantest of sounds.
Tia and Ava were the first to shriek out a low greeting to their new friend, hustling closer to it. Trooper enthusiastically joined them a moment later, springing his way towards it. Ash sniggered at the Mankey's antics; he didn't like being left behind. Meanwhile, Ignis and Kaiser simply observed the Rock and Water-type, meeting its silent glare before they eventually let out light roars once they'd assessed it enough.
Ash smiled at the sight of Tia and Ava cooing words that he couldn't make sense of to Kabuto. Tia had begun to open up more and more recently. She still didn't take very easily to human strangers, but he'd noticed her being a lot more welcoming to newer Pokemon. Trooper entered the conversation with a yelp, bending down low and inching his hand towards Kabuto's claw. Ash's lips parted and eventually formed a grin when Kabuto let out a faint but audible whirr. He'd had the slightest of worries stir in his heart about whether Kabuto would fit in with everyone else. Those withered away now.
"Hey Kabuto," Ash stepped towards his latest capture, squatting to reach a hand towards it. He was careful of its claws for a moment, but no signs of aggression from Kabuto made him gently stroke its rocky, firm shell. It was cold to the touch, unexpectedly so. "These are your new friends," he reassured the Shellfish. He was careful in his tone, speaking very softly. He wanted to make a good first impression on Kabuto.
Kabuto's cold glare didn't budge an inch from him. "Would you like a name?" he asked, but received another stiff stare. He scratched his forehead and sighed. It hadn't denied it, so it wouldn't oppose the idea, would it? He'd thought about a few names for Kabuto over the night, but he'd taken a particular fancy to one. "How about Helio?" Nurse Joy had mentioned Kabuto being a boy in their conversation last night so he'd come up with male names.
Silence.
Ash's forehead creased as he pursed his lips in defeat. Tia and Ava cooed at Kabuto, whose attention finally moved away from Ash. Knowing those two, they were probably asking Kabuto to reply to him. Trooper yelped a few times as well, leaping closer to Kabuto and almost landing on his shell. Another few squeals and cries later, Kabuto fizzed while staring back at Ash.
It seemed as if Kabuto liked the nickname. Or, at least he didn't mind it, since he didn't appear upset. Not that Ash could tell his emotions either way.
"So, Helio, welcome to the team!" Ash beamed. Helio's response was another few moments of silence which disheartened Ash, but he assured himself Helio was just a quiet personality. Hopefully, he'd come out of his shell sooner rather than later. Ash would try every possible way to win him over.
As Ash moved back toward Kaiser and Ignis, he heard another whirr from Helio and noticed Ava, Tia and Trooper in conversation with him. Well, at least they seemed to be getting along. Removing his Pokedex, Ash scanned Helio with it.
"Kabuto, the Shellfish Pokemon. This Pokémon thrived 300 million years ago. It's said that living specimens can still be seen in certain regions—a rare sight. It is thought to have inhabited beaches 300 million years ago. This Pokémon has not changed at all in those years. It is protected by a stiff shell. This Kabuto is Male. Its ability is Swift Swim. Its moves are Absorb, Harden, Aqua Jet, Scratch, Sand Attack, and Ancient Power."
Ash let his Pokemon interact for a few more minutes before he began a short training session with them. They'd trained their hearts out in the days prior so he didn't want to overexert them. He just focused on them sparring lightly against one another. He'd attempted to talk to Helio in the meantime, albeit his endeavour was extraordinarily unsuccessful. Helio did not make a sound during his one-way conversation with him. Ash found it increasingly difficult to comfort himself that day, trailing off in thoughts of what-ifs.
It was finally the day on which the S.S. Anne would depart. Ash had gotten some training in with his Pokemon in the last two days. He'd tried to focus on Tia during this time. He hadn't made her train much over the time he'd been with her, deciding to let her get comfortable with the group first. He'd seen her interacting a lot more with his other Pokemon recently so that was a positive sign. She'd gotten along well with Ava from the very beginning, which Ash believed was because they were both females, and the Flying-type was probably his most jolly Pokemon. For as long as he was a Charmander, he'd himself made an effort to make Tia comfortable so she'd also begun to get along well with Ignis, and that didn't seem to have changed after his evolution. The duo never had any problems. She'd been a bit wary of Kaiser at the start, but their relationship was getting better, and Ash could say the same about Trooper. The Fighting-type wasn't a Pokemon that was difficult to get along with, even though he had a knack for playing pranks all too often. He'd let Helio get accustomed to his team and especially him, before he started to train him seriously. He'd tried to talk to him more over the past couple of days, but had no results to show for it. The Fossil Pokemon simply stared at him during most of Ash's attempts of talking to him. Unexpectedly though, Helio had listened to his orders in the sole practice match he'd made him fight. That was a start.
Ash laid eyes on a multitude of ships of various sizes as he made his way through the Vermilion Port with Brock. He saw various cruise ships. Some of them looked extremely luxurious, clearly only the extremely rich could board. But there were other, more normal-looking ones as well. Some cargo ships were docked too, but most of them were towards the far side of the port. The place where Ash and Brock stood was more for the cruises.
As he walked through the port, Ash saw hordes of people, most of them young, gathered near a large ship. It was one of the bigger ones docked on the port.
"That's the S.S. Anne," Ash smiled. Thinking about the things that could happen on the ship, Ash had become extremely excited about the event in the last few days. "There's a lot of people. Much more than I expected, honestly."
On Ash's remark, Brock chuckled. "It is the S.S. Anne. This big of a crowd is expected. Trainers from not only Kanto, but other regions as well, especially those nearby like Johto, also come here for it. It's an annual cruise so the demand is always very high."
"It looks to me like you've seen this before," Ash glanced over at Brock. "Have you been in the S.S. Anne?"
"I haven't been in it," Brock said. "But I've been here once to see off my parents. They weren't taking the S.S. Anne, but their cruise left on the same day as the S.S. Anne did. I had a similar reaction to you at the time."
Ash scratched his cheek, the corners of his lips stretching sideways. "I did think that there would be a lot of people from the things I'd heard about it, but not this much."
"Well," Brock said, starting to walk towards the S.S. Anne. "Let's hope we have a good time in there."
Ash nodded as he followed his friend, "Yeah."
Ash chugged through the crowd, smiling as he saw the young Pokemon trainers like himself excitedly talking to one another. This almost seemed like a festival to him; a festival specifically created for Pokemon trainers.
"Ash Ketchum," a voice called out to him. "I was hoping to find you here."
Ash knew that voice. It was familiar, but one that he hadn't heard for quite a while. It sounded somewhat different from the last time he'd heard it, but he couldn't be mistaken about whom it belonged to. He turned to his left, a smile crossing his features instantly at the sight of the steel blue-haired young man, wearing a black suit. "Steven Stone!" Ash called out, making sure to stress the last name just as the boy had once done to him. "It's been a while!"
A chapter after years. Yeah, I know it has been a long time, but I had no interest in writing or Pokémon at the time, but I've got my motivation back now.
I've always found it stupid how Gym leaders who're supposed to be extremely experienced trainers lose to newbie trainers in the anime/games so I decided to give an explanation of what they do fairly early in the story. I thought a lot about how to differentiate the main Gym Leaders (the canon ones from the games) from other ones that we know exist, so came up with the concept that only trainers who've won Gym badges from these 8 canon Gym Leaders can challenge the Pokemon League. Tell me what you think about these things.