Saffron City Gym, Morning…
Saffron City really was quite large. Fortunately, the group had Brock, and he was an excellent navigator who led them to the right building. Speaking of said building, it looked surprisingly ordinary.
"Well, this looks like the place." Brock stated.
Honestly, this was kind of weird for a gym since they were usually built around the typing. Pewter, Cerulean, and even Vermillion invoked the type they specialized in. Still, if there was one thing Ash learned, it's that the gym leaders really knew how to battle.
"What are we waiting for?" Ash asked rhetorically. "My fourth badge is waiting for me."
They walked into the gym.
"Oh, hello." A man stated. "May I help you?"
The group were drawn to a man with medium length blue hair, full beard, and violet eyes. His attire consists of blue jeans, sneakers, a white shirt, green jacket, and yellow hat. He was smiling genuinely at them.
"Yeah, you can." Ash stated. "My name is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, and I've come to challenge Sabrina for my fourth gym badge."
"I see." The man nodded. "I'm sorry to say that Sabrina took off to the Unova region out of nowhere. She practically told me right before she left to."
"Wait, so the gym leader isn't here." Ash's head fell. "Ah, I was looking forward to getting a gym badge to."
"Oh, you didn't let me finish." The man laughed. "I am Sabrina's father Arcana, and this is one of the few gyms that has a designated back-up leader with yours truly."
"Is that true?" Ash asked.
"I do remember him attending in Sabrina's stead whenever the gym leaders were called in for a meeting." Brock pulled out the official Indigo League book and flipped to the right page. "According to the official book, he is authorized to hand out badges like Sabrina."
"That's good enough for me!" Ash declared suddenly excited again. "Alright, I am Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, and I challenge you to a battle!"
"I'll happily accept your challenge." Arcana turned and started walking. "Please, right this way."
Battle Arena
"Here we are." Arcana declared as he opened a set of double doors.
It was a standard enough battle arena, but there were purple pillars giving it a different feel from the normal.
"This looks more like a temple than a gym." James commented.
"At least it's not a dark cave." Serena commented.
A man in a lab coat with red hair in a ponytail came out to the side of the arena as he would be the referee.
"Everything is set for our battle." Arcana walked to his box. "So, we should get straight to business."
Ash smiled as he got into his box. "You're speaking my language."
Once they were both situated, the referee spoke up. "This shall be an official battle between Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, and Gym Leader Arcana of Saffron Gym. It will be a three-on-three battle with an official Marsh Badge on the line. Only the challenger can substitute pokemon. Begin when ready!"
"As gym leader, I shall present my pokemon first." Arcana declared. "Go, Mr. Mime!"
"Mr. Mime, huh?" Ash questioned while taking out his pokedex:
Mr. Mime, the Barrier Pokémon. By rapidly moving its fingers, Mr. Mime can stop air molecules to create an invisible wall.
"Interesting." Ash nodded. "Alright, I choose you Hitmonchan!"
"So, Ash is starting with his Hitmonchan after all." Brock commented.
"He now had the type disadvantage, but we've seen him with such a disadvantage before." James stated.
"Yeah, Ash is bound to have something for this." Serena stated confidently.
Ash vs Arcana (P. I)
"Let's start by setting up a psychic terrain." Arcana declared.
"Hitmonchan, use focus energy. "Ash ordered.
The arena shifted into a glowing, purple terrain while Hitmonchan glowed brilliantly.
"Now, let's hit hard with bullet punch." Ash declared.
"A smart move, but ineffectual now." Arcana stated. "Mr. Mime put that fighting type to sleep with hypnosis."
Glowing red waves washed over the charging fighting typing causing him to crash into the ground asleep.
"What just happened?" Ash questioned. "Moves like bullet punch are supposed to have the priority."
"They would if not for physic terrain." Arcana explained. "This field puts all moves on an even playing field as long as it's up. Now, use calm mind."
Mr. Mime's special attack and defense increased by a stage.
"That is one nasty combo." James commented.
"I wouldn't go that far." Brock stated. "Arcana knows exactly what he's doing to effectively test the opposing trainer. It'll be up to Ash to overcome him."
"Oh no." Ash opened his eyes wide before taking out his pokeball. "Hitmonchan, return. Sorry buddy, but I can't risk him getting too powerful." He then grabbed another pokeball. "I choose you, Dratini!"
"The dragon type of Kanto, huh?" Arcana smiled. "Interesting, but not by much." He looked at Ash. "I'm sure you trained him well, but a baby dragon isn't always the best option."
"We'll see about that." Ash declared.
"Let the battle resume!" The referee announced.
Ash vs Arcana (P. II)
"Dratini, strike with iron tail!" Ash ordered.
"Mr. Mime, use reflect." Arcana countered.
A scree of psychic energy appeared before Mr. Mime just as Dratini struck with his iron coated tail. While it seemed to do damage, it didn't do nearly as much as Ash would have hopped.
"Reflect is a move which reduces all physical damage for quite some time to come." Arcana declared. "Now, use confusion."
"Dratini, scale shot!" Ash panicked.
The little dragon was picked up before being slammed into the ground.
"This isn't good." Ash thought. "He seems to have the perfect counter for everything I throw at him."
"Now, strike with icy wind." Arcana ordered.
"Dratini, use thunder wave!" Ash commanded.
Dratini sparked with electricity and shot it at Mr. Mime giving him paralysis. The psychic type then struck back with an enhanced icy wind which had the little dragon crying out in pain. He fell to the ground with swirls in his eyes.
"Dratini return!" Ash shouted. "You did your best so take a rest."
"Just like that, Ash is down a pokemon." Serena stated in shock.
"Let's not forget that Hitmonchan is asleep." James stated.
"This isn't looking good for Ash, but he did manage to get off a status effect meaning whatever pokemon he chooses next should have the advantage." Brock stated.
"I choose you, Charmander!" Ash declared.
"His third pokemon is a fire type, huh?" Arcana shook his head. "Your pokemon are well trained, but none of them will win you this battle."
"How can you be so sure?" Ash asked firmly. "Sure, I may not have the advantage, but I don't always have it anyways. Even without it, I've still pulled through."
"That may be the case at other gyms, but the Saffron Gym prides itself at being a true test for all trainers." Arcana crossed his arms. "If you're not strong enough, you're not going to leave here with a badge."
"We'll show you!" Ash shouted. "Isn't that right Charmander!?"
Charmander was ready to show this man he was wrong. "Charmander!"
Ash vs Arcana (P. III)
"Let's show him our moves!" Ash declared. "Get in close and strike with metal claw!"
"Use rest to overcome your paralysis and heal." Arcana ordered.
Mr. Mime fell asleep and hit to the ground causing his paralysis to vanish. With the added healing, Charmander's iron enhanced claws didn't do nearly as much as they could have.
"Charmander, use fire fang!" Ash commanded.
"Mr. Mime, use sleep talk." Arcana countered.
Mr. Mime stood, while still asleep, and used confusion catching Charmander before flinging him into a wall shocking Ash.
"Sleep talk is a move that can only be used when you pokemon is asleep." Arcana explained. "By using it, your pokemon uses any move they know. What you just experienced is confusion. Now, sleep talk again."
"Charmander, use dragon pulse!" Ash ordered.
Charmander opened his mouth letting loose a powerful dragon breath while Mr. Mime opened his mouth letting loose a hyper beam. The more powerful hyper beam cut through Charmander's dragon pulse before slamming into the lizard and shoving him into the wall.
The little lizard fell to the ground. "Char…"
At this point, Mr. Mime woke up and began looking around.
"Charmander!" Ash shouted. "Come on buddy, we can't let it end here." He held up his right arm. "Let's show them we aren't beaten this easily!"
Charmander looked at his trainer before gaining a look of pure determination. "Char…" The little lizard began to slowly rise knowing there was more he could do for the trainer that wanted him. "Charmander!"
He glowed a brilliant white and began to grow.
"Charmander…" Ash was shocked and amazed. "You're evolving!"
Charmander became a darker red, large lizard pokemon. "Charmeleon!"
Ash brought out his pokedex:
Charmeleon, the Flame Pokémon and the evolved form of Charmander. Charmeleon knocks down opponents with its tail, then defeats them using razor-sharp claws.
Type: Fire
Ability: Blaze
Sex: Male
Current Moves: Slash, Growl, Flamethrower, Metal Claw, Smoke Screen, Dragon Pulse, Dragon Breath, Dragon Dance, Fire Fang, Shadow Claw, Bite
"Well, appears you got more fight in you than I assumed." Arcana declared.
"That's right!" Ash declared. "Get ready because we're not finish yet. Charmeleon, use shadow claw!"
"Mr. Mime, future sight!" Arcana declared.
By this point, the terrain was normal. Mr. Mime's eyes glowed as an attack was sent into the future before he was attacked by the effective, physical ghost move causing him great pain.
"Hold on, I thought Mr. Mime just used hyper beam, so shouldn't he be unable to use another move?" Serena questioned.
"Ordinarily, that would be the case." James stated. "The thing is, Mr. Mime used sleep talk to access hyper beam meaning the normal restriction isn't applied."
"Now, slash!" Ash ordered.
"Sucker punch!" Arcana countered.
Charmeleon went for a powerful slash; however, he was uppercut and knocked off his feet.
"Charmeleon, end this with a flamethrower!" Ash declared.
Arcana just gave a smile and said nothing as the fire washed over his psychic type. Mr. Mime was still standing for a moment resulting in psychic energy washing over Charmeleon causing him pain. Both pokemon collapsed to the ground with swirls in his eyes.
"Both pokemon have fainted making this battle a draw!" The referee declared. "Will both trainers please choose their next pokemon!?"
Ash was in shock.
"W-What just happened?" Serena questioned.
Brock crossed his arms. "Future sight shoots an attack into the future. If the user doesn't faint, that move will hit a pokemon. My guess is that Arcana's more experienced than we think and knew his pokemon would survive just long enough for it to go off."
"I'm already down two pokemon to his one!?" Ash looked at Arcana in shock. "Are gym leaders the reason Team Rocket hadn't been active in cities with gyms? I mean, Ritchie ran into some pretty close to Cerulean, but I think Misty was the real threat out of her sisters."
"I will admit most trainers who win here are those with experience. Weather that be the seasoned trainer or someone with seven badges." Arcana admitted. 'That doesn't mean I'm not using as appropriate a team as possible, but it may mean you need more experience. Either way, what will you do now with your last pokemon being a sleeping fighting type?"
"Return Charmeleon!" Ash shook his head to clear his shock. 'You did amazingly, so take a rest." He then stared firmly at the gym leader. "My pokemon and I never give up until the very end. That's how we battle. I choose you Hitmonchan!"
The sleeping fighting type appeared on the battlefield once more.
"I admire your spirit." Arcana genuinely smiled. "Very well, let's continue. Go, Hypno!"
Ash took out his pokedex:
Hypno, a Hypnosis Pokémon. It carries a pendulum-like device and performs hypnotic attacks.
"Let the battle resume!" The referee declared.
Ash vs Arcana (P. IV)
"Hitmonchan, wake up and attack with bullet punch!" Ash shouted.
"Hypno, use psybeam." Arcana declared.
Hitmonchan just continued to snooze as he was struck with psychic energy knocking him across the field. Fortunately, that attack did get the fighting type awake.
"Hit." He looked around in confusions. "Hitmonchan."
"Hitmonchan, strike hard with bullet punch!" Ash ordered.
"Hypno, use disable." Arcana ordered.
Hitmonchan's metal energy covered, fist and he slammed into Hypno before they were suddenly turned off by disable.
"Now, use Psybeam." Arcana ordered.
"Use detect and follow it up with fire punch!" Ash ordered.
Hitmonchan's eyes sheened as he blitzed around the psybeam ending up behind the psychic type. He then unleashed one heck of a fire punch sending Hypno flying.
"Let's wrap this up with a confusion." Arcana declared.
"No, use mach punch!" Ash ordered.
Hitmonchan charged in delivering a fast punch to Hypno, but the psychic type held his ground before the fighting type was picked up. Hypno then slammed him into the ground leaving Hitmonchan with swirls in his eyes.
"I can't believe Ash lost." Serena stated. "He's been doing so well all this time."
"This is what the gyms are here for Serena." Brock stated. "We test challengers and make certain they earn our badge."
"Well, Arcana certainly showed Ash wasn't ready this time." James stated.
"I… lost." Ash took a deep breath and recalled his pokemon. "You did really well Hitmonchan, so take a good rest."
Arcana recalled his Hypno and approached Ash. "You are a great trainer Ash." He held out his hand with a smile. "It was a spectacular battle that I don't see often. No, not because I'm a back-up."
"Thank you." Ash nodded and shook the hand. "You're a tough opponent." He gained a look of determination. "Next time, even if Sabrina is back, I want you to be my opponent. I will win my gym badge from you."
"You really do have quite the spirit about you." Arcana laughed as they let go. "You know, I like you, so how's about I offer a little advice. I personally want to see what you do with more preparation."
"Sure." Ash nodded. "I think I could use it."
"What you're going to want to do is train up your team some more and/or catch some pokemon with type advantages." Arcana stated. "Personally, I want you to get out there and earn three other badges. As for pokemon, A good physic type to match mine would be a start.
I'd even recommend a ghost type, but the Gastly line may not be the best given their duel type of poison. A good dark type would be an easy counter, but they aren't native to Kanto. A good bug type could also do wonders. Personally, I'd head on over to Lavender Town.
They have a pokemon orphanage, and Mr. Fuji is always looking for good trainers to take in a pokemon. Maybe you'll get lucky. Fuchia City has the Safari Zone, so you might come across something rare there as well."
"I understand." Ash smiled. "Yeah, I'll be back stronger than ever to earn that Marsh Badge."
"I'll be looking forward to it." Arcana smiled. "Hey, if you come back with six badges, we can have a four-on-four battle with our stronger pokemon."
"Thank you, for your advice." Ash nodded. "I will certainly think on it."
Pokemon Center
Ash had given his pokemon who fought so hard to Nurse Joy for healing before approaching his friends.
"I really thought you were prepared for that battle." Serena stated.
"I did to, but I'm not as down upon losing this gym battle." Ash gave them a small smile. "Maybe it's because I've experienced losses that could have meant worse."
He was thinking of that battle he and Serena had with Butch and Cassidy. If Calem hadn't come in when he did… well, Ash may not have lost his pokemon, but the center would have most certainly lost pokemon.
"Besides, I'll do as Arcana said and get out there." Ash declared. "I' catch new pokemon, strengthen the ones I have, and come back to challenge him again."
"That is true." James nodded. "As far as I can tell, you've made great progress, and there's still many months before the Indigo League."
"Before we get to that, I believe someone has an upcoming Chateau Challenge." Brock reminded.
"That's right." Ash smiled. "Tomorrow, it's your turn to compete for something, and I know you'll win. Especially with all the training you've been doing since Maiden's Peak."
"I'll certainly give it my best." Serena declared. "Although, I am thinking of using my Machop, but I would like to have a battle beforehand."
"Koffing and I got you Serena." James stated.
Outside
Ash stood off to the side while everyone else took up their positions.
"Alright, this will be a one-on-one battle." Brock declared. "Trainer's, send out your pokemon when ready!"
"I choose you, Machop!" Serena declared.
"I choose Koffing!" James declared.
"This is going to be our first battle Machop, so show me what you can do." Serena declared.
Machop nodded. "Machop."
"Let's give this our all Koffing." James stated.
"Koffing." Koffing declared.
"Begin!" Brock declared.
Serena vs James
"Let's start with bullet punch." Serena declared.
Machop's fist were coated in metal energy as he slammed them into Koffing knocking him down.
"Fight back with sludge bomb." James ordered.
"Use focus energy." Serena declared.
Koffing shot off a ball of poison energy which washed over the focusing fighting type dealing huge damage and poisoning Machop in the process. This was just what Serena was hoping for because her fighting type suddenly started glowing a golden color.
"You just active my Machop's guts ability which significantly increases his attack." Serena declared. "Let's put it to good use with a duel chop!"
"Koffing use clear smog!" James ordered.
A clear gas washed over the charging pokemon causing him to return to his normal attack. Machop still reached the pokemon and hammered in two strikes full of dragon energy with the second strike dealing out a critical hit. The poison damage then hit Machop.
"Koffing, strike with sludge bomb!" James ordered.
"End it with bullet punch Machop!" Serena commanded.
Machop moved fast dealing out a strong punch to Koffing sending him crashing to the ground. The fighting time landed and began panting as more damage washed over him. The battle was over as Koffing had swirls in his eyes.
"Koffing is unable to battle meaning Serena and Machop win!" Brock declared.
"You did your best Koffing." James held out the pokeball. "Take a well-deserved rest."
"You were great Machop." Serena returned him. "Don't worry, I'll get you all healed up."
"That was great Serena." Ash declared. "I think you got a good shot at winning tomorrow."
"I will absolutely try my best." Serena declared.
She was glad that her Ash didn't seem to be taking his loss too hard. James and Serena gave their pokemon to Nurse Joy for healing. Tomorrow, it would be her turn to fight, and she was determined to win it. To increase her rank once more.
Ash's Loss: I thought right about now was the time for Ash to have a loss. I mean, Psychic types were OP back in the gen one days. There weren't any dark types and your only choice for a ghost line was Castly to Gengar which had the dual typing of poison. In addition, can't have Ash's journey be to easy now. That said, i felt Ash wouldn't take this loss to hard considering the point he's been involved in higher staked battles.
Arcana: This is Sabrina's father, but they never gave him a name from what I could find. In the end, I decided to just give him something that sounded like it'd be a good name for a psychic leader. Since this Sabrina is more a combination of her Manga and game counterpart, I felt it was alright to reinvent her dad a bit considering his daughter doesn't go around turning people into dolls.
Reader(Guest): You are a mad lad in the best possible ways. To anyone who sees this, this reviewer gave me 21 reviews from chapters 1-21, and I am extremely thankful. Thank you! Now, to answer these reviews:
Ch. 1: Of course, Gary is still here, but I am a huge fan of the Pokemon multiverse. Naturally, people like Michael and Cross were easy chooses of Pallet Town kids. Verity and Sorrel could most certainly show up in this region or others. Nothing is particularly off the table in regards to characters and pokemon media. As for Ho-oh... well you saw it didn't happen.
Ch. 2: Honestly, it wasn't that hard a change to make. Cross is a rival himself, but Gary is still the main rival. If he knows Ash is going to have an electric type, he'll choose the grass type.
Ch. 3: I could have, but I like to think Serena is multi-talented. Kind of like Mando in that she likely wouldn't stick with one dream. One at a time, but her dream would shift. You know? That said, your idea for how Serena could have gotten into contest is good. I figured a friendly rival for Serena was a nice touch, and I liked the eventual Nidoking for Ash ask well.
Ch. 4: Figured it'd be a nice little chapter to have. Some story lines have been changed.
Ch. 5: Glad you like how I'm handling James.
Ch. 6: Yep, Hilbert is the mentor/rival. Yeah, double kick may have been simpler, but I didn't want to go expected on all three pokemon.
Ch. 7: Different upbringing can still have similar problems. The main difference, besides wealth, is the fact that Flint recognized his mistakes while James' parents haven't.
Ch. 8: I won't deny the possibility.
Ch. 9: Yeah, having her join the group would have been a bit much for the long haul, but I didn't just want to trash Misty. This seemed like a great compromise.
Ch. 10: Yep, Green is from the Let's Go games. Figured it would be some nice moments of humor.
Ch. 11: Well, Bonsly and it's evolved form aren't all that native to Kanto, but yeah he did. Still, it seemed like an appropriate catch now. Maybe he'll catch a shuckle, but we'll see. As for a paras, that's not a rock type. I know, Elite Four members aren't tied to their types, but I do feel they at least keep it to their themes. Paras or its evolved form don't fit the theme of rock types in my opinion.
Ch. 12: Well, I didn't want to just make Cross is ICY part. I wanted to add a bit more depth than that.
Ch. 13: Eh, dragon types take a lot of training and care to evolve. Plus, since I gave Squirtle to Serena, I figured i give Ash something great as a replacement member. As for Krabby, sorry. A big thing I'm doing with Kanto is minimalizing type overlap. Ash caught 12 pokemon, and 29 taros, with quite a bit of type overlap.
Ch. 14: Thank you
Ch. 15: I could have, but felt Serena should get some luck with rarer pokemon
Ch. 16: I thought how I did it was fitting, but rest assured this isn't the last time we'll see Butterfree like in canon.
Ch. 17: you can thank the Adventure's manga for that inspiration. If you want to see Legendries truly being used more, that manga is where it's at.
Ch. 18: Bulbasaur evolving just made sense. Bulbasaur always seemed to be vying for more strength. Before the episode where he didn't evolve, he always seemed like the pokemon who wanted to be the best he could for Ash. Before that episode, he never had a negative opinion on evolution. Honestly, the only thing that I can think of which would have stopped Bulbasaur from wanting it is seeing how disobedient Charizard became after evolving.
Ch. 19: Thank you
Ch. 20: Thank you
Ch. 21: True, I could have had Hitmontop there, but the Machop idea from Elemental-Aura was to good an idea for me to pass up.
Once again, thank you for 21 reviews!
