Chapter 27! I've got nothing to say, let's get right into it!
The dawn sun shone brightly down on Ash Ketchum and his Pikachu, both of whom had beads of sweat rolling down their necks. Ash and his team had been training for hours by now, in preparation for the battle against the poison-type Gym leader Koga. Ash believed his team was ready for the battle. It would be a three vs three, and he knew exactly which Pokémon he would be using. Ash looked at his diligent team, and individually congratulated them for their hard work in training. He returned them to their poke balls, bar Pikachu, and walked to the Fuschia Gym.
Standing in front of the Fuschia Gym, Ash felt like he was forgetting something. He shook it off as nerves, and was about to walk in when Pikachu pointed at the Pokémon Center and complained. Ash's eyes grew wide and his cheeks glowed red with embarrassment upon realizing that he had forgotten to heal his Pokémon. The young trained scurried to the Pokémon Center, Pikachu in tow.
It was roughly 8:00 in the morning when Ash came out of the Pokémon Center. By then, the sun had climbed over Mt. Silver and its fellow mountains and was shining down on Fuschia City and its inhabitants. Ash didn't bother looking around, though, and headed straight for the gym. The young trainer felt more than prepared with all the training his team had done over the past week. He pushed open the doors of the Fuschia Gym, and, unsurprisingly, every Gym Trainee was up and training. Koga, the Gym Leader, sat meditating in the middle of the room. Even though his eyes were closed, Koga stood up from the middle of the room and moved over to the back of the gym, to take his side of the field. "I assume you are here for a battle?"
Ash nodded. Koga looked at one of his trainees and told him to referee the match. The trainee scrambled into place and announced, "This will be a three vs three battle between the challenger and the Gym Leader. Objections?" When neither battler responded, the trainee continued. "Begin!"
Ash started the battle with Gabite. He was going all out in the battle from the get-go. Koga led with his Ariados. The bug skittered on sight of the dragon, but held Gabite's gaze. "Dual Chop!" Ash yelled. Gabite grinned sinisterly as its claws shined purple and it lunged, almost ferally, at Ariados. Koga looked at Ariados, expecting the bug to dodge, which it attempted. Key word: attempted. Gabite slammed the bug into the ground, and without Ash's command, bit down on the bug and tossed it into the ceiling. Somehow, Ariados was able to recover by flipping and gripping onto the ceiling of the gym, where it looked expectantly at Koga for commands.
"String Trap!" The striped bug fired down sticky silk not at Gabite, but the land surrounding the dragon. Thankfully, Gabite figured out what was going on and dashed out of the web. Koga grunted approvingly, impressed that Gabite was able to read the game itself. "Sucker Punch!" Ariados flew into Gabite, causing the dragon to stumble back, but by the time it had found its footing, Ariados was back on the ceiling.
Ash frowned. Gabite was clearly stronger than Ariados, but the bug had speed and agility that Gabite couldn't hope to match. Fortunately, Ash was ready. "Rock Blast!" Gabite fired a group of giant rocks at the bug on the ceiling. Ariados fell to the ground on its eight legs, and the foundation of the gym shook when being hit by the stones. "Gabite, Crunch. Finish it." The dragon wildly slammed into Ariados and shook the bug in its teeth like a rag doll. Ash wasn't concerned until Gabite didn't let go. The Pokémon was obviously fainted, and Ash knew Gabite was aware. "Gabite, stop!" It was only on Ash's command that Gabite went limp and let Ariados fall to the ground.
Koga didn't say anything, but Ash felt like he was being judged. The referee seemed shell-shocked too, and only remembered to announce when Ash looked at him. "Ariados has fainted! Gym leader, please send out your next Pokémon." In a flash, Ariados was returned to its poke ball and a Weezing came out. The gassy poison-type floated to the ceiling, out of reach from the majority of Gabite's attacks. Ash looked at Gabite to ask the dragon if it could continue on, but the answer was clear purely from Gabite's eyes. The dragon's eyes were burning a deep red. It wasn't that Gabite wanted to battle. Gabite needed to battle.
"Smog!" Koga called out. Weezing expelled poison gas, which slowly made its way to Gabite.
"Sandstorm." Dust and sand kicked up, swirling around the field and spreading out the once-concentrated poison gas, dissipating it into uselessness. "Dual Chop!" Gabite moved across the field, claws glowing purple yet again, sight unaffected by the sandstorm. Koga, however, was ready.
"Double Hit!" Ash could barely see what was happening, but he knew that Gabite hadn't gotten a direct hit in. He heard Gabite reel back, and quickly formulated a plan.
"Gabite, drop back!" Ash wanted Gabite to bring Weezing to it, where Gabite would have the advantage. When Gabite was trying to hit Weezing in the air, most of the time the dragon couldn't even reach Weezing. On the ground, Gabite would hopefully overpower Weezing. As Ash hoped, Weezing floated over to Gabite. Without instruction, Gabite pounced on Weezing, slamming the Pokémon into the ground and ruthlessly bashing it. Weezing tried futilely to fight back, but in Gabite's home territory, there was no stopping it. Ash wasn't concerned, until Gabite wouldn't stop. It was a mirror of the last battle. "Stop! That's enough! Weezing's fainted!" This time, Gabite didn't listen. As the sandstorm faded away, Gabite's brutality was revealed. The drake was ruthlessly thrashing the Pokémon that was Koffing, and Ash wasn't sure what would happen Koga's poker face turned into a frown. If Ash wasn't able to handle his Pokémon, Koga would have to step in.
"Self-Destruct." Ash winced at the necessary measure. Gabite ignored the fact that Koffing was glowing white and slammed its claw into the Pokémon just as it exploded. Gabite ricocheted into the ceiling like it was just a pebble. The dragon Pokémon fell face-first into the ground, limp and lifeless. Ash was visibly shaken. Why? What made Gabite like that? He had noticed the dragon's eagerness to fight recently, but this?
Ash wasn't the only surprised person in the room. The referee was also stunned, but announced, "Gabite and Weezing have both fainted. Challenger and gym leader, please send out your next Pokémon." Ash slowly returned Gabite, while on the flipside, Koga had already sent out his last Pokémon, Muk.
"Charizard, let's finish this." Ash had lost his mood for battling. He just wanted the battle to be over. The great orange dragon burst out of its poke ball and onto the field, much to its surprise. Ash had said he would be using Gabite, Honedge, and Cranidos. Quite obviously, Charizard was not on that list. Nevertheless, the dragon didn't mind battling.
"Muk, use Wrap." Koga's Muk spread around Charizard and quickly had the large dragon encircled in its grasp.
"Slash." Ash commanded Charizard. The dragon's face was clouded with confusion, but it attempted to cut through Muk. Unsurprisingly, Charizard's claws slid right through Muk's gooey skin. Koga's Muk procceded to cover Charizard in poisonous liquid, and it slowly encased its opponent. Ash stood dumbfounded, already confused and disoriented from what Gabite had done. He wasn't in the right state of mind for the battle right now, and Muk was taking full advantage of that fact. Charizard tried to fight back, show in the bursts of bright orange flame that escaped every so often, but the dragon stood no chance since the second it was trapped. Charizard was gripped in Muk's hold for minutes, unable to even breathe, until it slumped to the ground, defeated. Muk slipped off Charizard and reformed into its normal shape.
Ash blinked and rubbed his eyes roughly, trying to figure out what he had just done. The young trainer had barely been paying attention to the battle, his mind still on Gabite's disastrous battle against Weezing.
Koga frowned disapprovingly, and decided to intervene. "Challenger! You may be concerned on other topics right now, and if that is the case, you may leave. However, if you stay, I expect you to battle with all of your ability. I will not waste my time battling someone who is not involved in the battle." Ash bit his lip and nodded. It wasn't fair to Koga or Ash's Pokémon for him to battle halfheartedly. Gripping the age-old cap on his head, he twisted it backwards.
The referee announced, "Charizard has fainted! Challenger, please send out your next Pokémon." Ash returned Charizard.
"Exeggutor, let's finish this." The giant tree-like psychic type burst onto the field, analyzing the field and its opponent. The referee gave the signal, and the battle began.
"Sludge Bomb!" Koga started things off in a flash. Muk fired a slimy, poisonous ball of sludge at Exeggutor, but Ash was well versed to respond.
"Barrier." A bright blue wall flashed around Exeggutor, the sludge dripping off the barrier pointlessly.
"Mud Bomb!" Muk launched yet another attack at Exeggutor, and Ash smiled.
"Repel!" Midair, the Mud Bomb stopped moving, much to the astonishment of the watching gym trainees. The attack flew back into Muk, burying a significant chunk of the poison type's body. "Psybeam!" Exeggutor wasn't about to let up, firing a dangerous beam of psychic energy at Muk, carving a straight hole through the poor Pokémon. The attack had been so powerful it had drilled straight into and past Muk, creating a crater in the field.
"Poison Gas followed with Minimize." Muk belched out dark green gas that floated around the arena, which Exeggutor passively blocked with its psychic abilities. Ash realized Koga's real plan, though, when Muk shrunk to a miniscule size. With the gas affecting his view, there would be no way for Exeggutor to see Muk. Koga's plan had one flaw.
"Foresight! Seed Bomb!" Exeggutor's psychic senses allowed it to pinpoint the miniscule Muk's location despite not being able to see normally, and it fired a laser guided bomb onto Muk, slamming the poison type. At least, Ash thought that was how it worked. He wasn't a psychic type, how should he know? In any case, Muk reverted to its normal size, unable to sustain its Minimize.
The battle wasn't over just yet, though. Muk was shining a steely grey, and Ash quickly realized Koga had told Muk to use Harden right before the attack landed. "Crunch!" Muk lunged at Exeggutor with an unexpected burst of speed, and Exeggutor's back was against the wall, quite literally.
"Levitate followed with Slam!" To everyone's surprise, including Muk's, Exeggutor started floating midair just as Muk's momentum sent it into the wall, and it didn't help as Exeggutor collapsed on top of the poison-type, knocking it out. Exeggutor slumped against the wall, fatigued due to the battle it had. Koga returned Muk to its poke ball.
"Muk has fainted! Since the Gym leader has no Pokémon remaining, the challenger wins!" Ash let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding in a sigh of relief. Koga, poker-faced as ever, stood up and crossed the field, playing with a glittering, pink, heart-shaped badge in his hand.
The gym leader handed the badge to Ash, saying, "You have proved to me that you deserve this badge. You are a talented trainer, I expect you to go far." Ash wasn't sure how to respond, so he just vigorously nodded. Returning Exeggutor to its poke ball, Ash left the gym, thrilled about the win, but worried about what he would do with Gabite.
Ash looked at Sceptile to get the gecko's confirmation that it was ready. Sceptile nodded, and Ash grit his teeth together, tossing out Gabite's poke ball. It was the first time the dragon was out of its poke ball after its disastrous gym battle. Ash went straight to the point. "What was that in the battle?" He nearly yelled at the young dragon, but deeply inhaled. Gabite looked away nervously. If you still couldn't tell, Sceptile was out to make sure things didn't get ugly.
"Look at me." Ash said, more softly than before. When Gabite didn't respond, Ash sighed. "Please. I'm trying to help you." The drake slowly lifted its head, its dark brown eyes meeting Ash's own. He took note that Gabite's eyes were watering. The young trainer pulled Gabite into a hug. "Just because you lose a battle, it doesn't mean that an opponent should get hurt so badly. They're just like you." Ash had just realized that Gabite's defeat to Scyther was the reason it was so rough. Gabite was just letting off steam, but Ash would need to figure out a better way to take out that anger in the future. The dragon relaxed in Ash's grip, and the young trainer sighed in relief. Things could have been so much more catastrophic.
Ash was chilling out on a bench at the Fuschia training fields with his team. Pikachu was snuggled at the top of Exeggutor's tree, who didn't even notice. The psychic-type was levitating Cranidos, much to the latter's' pleasure. Deino, who wasn't affected by Exeggutor's psychic due to its dark typing, was jumping up in the air, trying to catch Cranidos. Charizard was watching the younger Pokémon with a single eye open, making sure they didn't disturb the dragon's beauty sleep. Ash had talked with Charizard, apologizing for the disaster that was the battle with Muk. Thankfully, the dragon had shrugged it off. Sceptile was laying onto Exeggutor, sunbathing in the sun that was fading away for the night. Hitmonlee was examining Magnemite. For what, Ash couldn't tell you. Last but not least, Honedge was hiding in Charizard's shadow. At least, that's what Ash thought.
"Gah!" Ash squealed like a little girl as Honedge popped right out of his shadow! The small steel-type seemed thrilled, and Ash laughed. "Sweet Arceus! Don't do that again, please." Honedge blissfully ignored its trainer, floating away to find a new target.
Suddenly, another person plopped down next to Ash. "Gary, you battled Koga, right? How'd it go?"
Gary smirked cockily. "He never stood a chance! Blastoise and Pidgeot won easily!" he boasted.
Ash snorted. Gary wouldn't pass a chance to show off for the world. Just then, another person crashed onto the left of his bench. "Leaf! Why are you here?" The brunette smiled.
"I'm doing the gym challenge too, dummy. Although, that's not why I'm here. You see, " she said.
Gary rudely cut her off. "Gramps told us we can meet him at Cinnibar Island to help him with research! He sent a boat to the docks and any of us can go if we want to."
Ash widely grinned. "Count me in."
And there's Chapter 27! Next chapter will be a long one, I have quite the plan for it. I hope you enjoyed!
