Disclaimer: I do not own any Pokémon characters! I only own my OCs!

Chapter 23: The Ninja Poké-Showdown

We finally made it to Fuchsia City! You have no idea how relieved we were to see the city. Ash and I had been training a lot with our Pokémon for the last few days, so we decided to take a two-day break and let our Pokémon rest.

Thanks to Luna learning Psychic, I had a good feeling about the Gym battle. Ash felt the same after all the training with Pikachu, Charmeleon, and Haunter. Those three were his main Pokémon for the Gym battle.

After the break, Ash, Misty, Brock, and I headed to the Gym, which was actually hard to find, even with the town pamphlet. The pamphlet said the Gym was located by a thick forest nearby Fuchsia City.

"Why is the Gym not in the city itself?" Misty asked tiredly after we had walked around for almost an hour.

"That's because Koga is both a Gym Leader and a ninja", Brock explained.

"A ninja?" I repeated in surprise.

"Wow, really?! I've always liked ninjas!" Ash said joyfully.

"That's because of your favorite cartoon is about the yellow-haired ninja, Naruto", I giggled softly, knowing what a nerd Ash was when it came to ninjas.

"Hey, you like the masked ninja, Kakashi!" Ash retorted.

I blushed hard when my brother said that. "And you like the pink-haired girl, Sakura!" I threw back.

Now it was Ash's turn to blush hard. "S-Shut up, sis!"

"Wait… Does this mean you like girls with pink hair, Ash?" Misty asked in surprise.

"Ah, I know that feeling, Ash!" Brock exclaimed before he wrapped one of his arms around Ash's shoulders, forcing Pikachu to jump down to the ground. "Nurse Joy is a beautiful woman with lovely pink hair! But she's my woman, so don't you dare steal her from me when you grow up, Ash!"

"Um, Brock… There are so many Nurse Joys in Kanto…", Ash laughed sheepishly.

"Pika pika…", Pikachu said unamusingly.

I couldn't help but giggle at the boys while Brock gave my brother some advice on how to get a girl's attention. I heard a soft sigh on my left and saw Misty looked a little sad. Pikachu noticed her behavior, so he jumped into her arms to comfort her. Misty giggled at him before caressing his fur.

"You okay, Misty?" I asked softly.

"Yeah, I'm fine…", she sighed. "So… I didn't know Ash likes ninjas."

"He's always liked them for as long as I can remember", I said. "When he saw 'Naruto' for the first time when we were just four years old, he got obsessed to act like a ninja, so he started practicing by climbing trees and jumping from one branch to another, hide in the bushes without making a single noise, and so on. He convinced me to workout with him, but we often got scolded by Mom whenever we came home in dirty clothes and bruises."

"That explains your great stamina", Misty pointed out.

"Yeah. Ash and I were still practicing before our journey, and I'm glad we did", I nodded. "I feel like my stamina has grown over the months we've been traveling."

"Hey, girls!" Ash called, getting our attention. "I think we found the Gym!"

Misty and I hurried to Ash and Brock who were in a large clearing. I stopped next to my brother when I saw a wall in front of me. The wall surrounded a large Johtonian-style house that resembled one of the traditional houses in the "Naruto" anime.

"This is the Gym!" Brock nodded as he pointed at the gate. "Look! That symbol above the gate is the Soul Badge!"

The Soul Badge looked like a petal of a cherry blossom, or was it a heart? It was hard to tell.

"Awesome! Now it's time to challenge Gym Leader Koga!" Ash exclaimed excitedly.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu cheered as he jumped up on my brother's shoulder.

"Ash, since I challenged the last Gym Leader first, you can go first", I told him.

"Okay!" Ash nodded before he walked to the gate and hit it. "Hey! Excuse me! I'd like to challenge the Gym Leader!"

We waited a few seconds for a response. No one answered, but the gate slowly opened to let us in.

"Did the gate open by itself?" Misty blinked confusedly.

"Well, let's go inside and look!" Ash said.

We walked into the garden before a Voltorb all of the sudden rolled out in front of us!

"Vooltoorb!"

"Watch out!" I shrieked in fear. "It's going to explode!"

And, just as I predicted, Voltorb used Self-Destruct and blew up. Smoke and dirt engulfed us, causing us to cough to clear our throats.

"Welcome, challengers", a feminine voice spoke up.

When the smoke cleared up, a young stood in front of us. She looked like she was around Brock's age and was dressed like a ninja.

"What was that all about?!" Ash asked irritably. "Why did you let that Voltorb explode right in our face?!"

"It's part of my training to use Voltorb to catch the enemies off guard before ambushing them", the girl replied.

"Well, I certainly got ambushed by your beauty, Ms. Ninja!" Brock exclaimed in a love-struck manner before grabbing the girl's hand and got down on one knee. "Please, capture my heart!"

"Brock! Now's not the time to flirt!" Misty yelled at him in frustration.

"You're the same as usual, Brock", a few voice spoke up.

The wind suddenly got violent as twigs and leaves blew around us. A small tornado appeared behind the ninja girl as a Venomoth descended from the sky. Its eyes were glowing, but it stopped as the tornado vanished and revealed a middle-aged man dressed like a ninja.

"Beloved father!" the ninja girl exclaimed before she snatched her hand back from Brock and got down on one knee in front of the man. "I welcome you home."

"I'm home", the man nodded before looking at us. "It's been a while, Brock."

"Yeah, it sure has been, Koga", Brock nodded. "Last time, it was by the Pokémon League meeting before this Gym Challenge season."

"I received news from the League of how you passed the baton to your father so you could go on a journey", Koga continued. "I didn't expect you to show up by my Gym."

"Oh, that's because two of my friends wants to challenge you, Koga", Brock turned to me and my brother. "By the way… Does your daughter have a girlfriend?"

"Brock…", Ash, Misty, and I sighed in defeat.

"Chu…", Pikachu sighed.

Koga's daughter giggled softly. "I don't have a boyfriend and I don't have time to date because of my training."

Koga placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder with a proud smile. "You see, Brock… I've received an offer from the Pokémon League to become an Elite Four."

"What?!" my brother, friends, and I exclaimed in shock.

"No way! You're gonna be an Elite Four?!" Ash said in awe.

"Correct", Koga nodded. "That's why I'm training my daughter, Janine, so she can take over the Fuchsia Gym next year."

"I'm still lacking a lot, but I will make it up by observing you and learn your tricks, Father", Janine nodded.

"Spoken like a true ninja", Koga chuckled before he got a serious expression. "So… Which one of you will challenge me first?"

"That would be me!" Ash raised his hand.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu nodded.

"Very well", Koga smirked. "Let's head to the battlefield outside of the Gym."

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Ash won his battle without any of his Pokémon fainting. Haunter took down Koga's two Koffings with Psychic. Pikachu took care of Koga's Muk which had been a challenge, but the sludge Pokémon fainted after multiple Thunderbolts. Charmeleon took down Koga's Weezing by igniting the smoke that Weezing released, which forced the poison gas Pokémon to explode.

"Weezing is unable to battle! Charmeleon wins! The winner of the Gym battle is challenger Ash!" Janine announced, being the referee.

"Alright, we did it, Charmeleon!" Ash cheered.

"Chaar!" Charmeleon breathed fire for a few seconds before he ran to my brother and gave him a hug.

Koga called back his fainted Weezing and walked over to Ash who was hugging his three Pokémon. "Congratulations, child. I can see you have great potential to become a powerful Trainer." Janine gave her father a scroll which the Gym Leader rolled open to reveal a single Soul Badge. "This Soul Badge is the proof you've defeated the Fuchsia Gym. It is now yours."

Ash grabbed the Soul Badge from the scroll and held it up. "Alright! The Soul Badge is now mine!"

"Pikachu!"

"Charmeee!"

"Haunter!"

"Congratulations, Ash!" Misty smiled.

"Look at you, Ash! Five badges already!" Brock chuckled.

I walked to my brother and gave him a hug. "Congratulations, Ash."

"Thanks, sis!" Ash chuckled before returning the hug.

"I assume you wish to battle me as well, young maiden?" Koga asked.

I let go of Ash and looked at the Gym Leader in the eye. For some reason, I felt comfortable to look in his eyes. Maybe because he reminded me a little bit of Kakashi.

"Yes…", I nodded.

"I shall battle you after I heal my Pokémon", Koga said. "I will be right back."

Next thing we knew, Koga threw a smoke ball on the floor, causing smoke to engulf us. I covered my mouth and nose while fanning away the smoke. When it cleared up, Koga was gone.

"Did he have to use a smoke ball right in our face?" Misty asked after clearing her throat.

"We ninjas use smoke balls to escape and distract the enemy at the same time", Janine explained. "But, don't worry, Father will be right-"

There was another smoke explosion, forcing us to cover our mouths again. When the smoke cleared up, Koga was back.

"-back", Janine finished her sentence, not even affected by the smoke.

"That was fast", Misty commented.

"Yes. The service in the Pokémon Center is excellent", Koga nodded. "Now, are you ready, Ashley?"

"Yes, Koga", I nodded.

The two of us took our places on the battlefield while Ash and our friends stood on the side to get a good view of the Gym battle. Janine took her place as the referee again.

"The Gym battle between Gym Leader Koga and challenger Ashley is about to begin!" Janine announced. "The Trainers will use four Pokémon each! The battle is over when one Trainers' Pokémon have fainted! Only the challenger can switch Pokémon! Begin!"

"Go, Koffing!" Koga called before throwing his Poké Ball.

"Let's shine, Luna!" I shouted, throwing her Poké Ball.

"Kooffing!"

"Clefairy!"

"Koffing, use Sludge!" Koga shouted.

"Luna, use Psychic!" I quickly called.

Before Koffing could spit sludge on Luna, she used her psychic powers to restrain the poison gas Pokémon. She added more pressure, causing Koffing to cry out in pain. When Luna finished using her psychic power, Koffing fell down on the ground like a stone.

"Koffing is unable to battle! Clefairy wins!" Janine announced.

"That was a one-hit knockout!" Brock said.

"Awesome! Just like how Haunter knocked out Koga's Koffings!" Ash said joyfully.

"You two really are twins", Misty giggled.

"Koffing, return!" Koga called back his Pokémon before switching Poké Ball. "It's your turn, Muk!"

"Muuuk!"

"Muk, huh…", I mumbled softly before grabbing Luna's Poké Ball. "Luna, return!" I switched to Kobra's Poké Ball. "It's your turn, Kobra!"

"Shaarbook!"

"An Arbok, huh? I sense some poisonous aura coming from you", Koga smirked softly.

"Shaaar!" Kobra hissed as his Intimidate ability affected Muk, forcing the sludge Pokémon's attack power to decrease.

"Kobra, use Glare!" I shouted.

"Shaar!" Kobra's eyes glowed for a few seconds, stunning Muk.

"M-Muk…"

"Muk, use Screech!" Koga shouted.

Muk fought against its paralysis condition and slowly opened its mouth. It barely released a screech that could affect Kobra, but just to be safe…

"Kobra, dig down!"

Kobra burrowed himself under the ground before the screech could hit him.

"Using Dig, huh? Muk, use Acid Armor! Increase your defense!" Koga shouted.

"M-Muk…!" Muk grunted as he barely could move.

"Now, Kobra!" I shouted.

Kobra jumped out from the ground underneath Muk and threw the sludge Pokémon back. Muk used his arms to stop gliding backwards just before he could fly into Koga.

"Muk, try using Minimize!" Koga called.

Muk grunted as he tried using the move, but his body sparkled, which was a sign that the paralysis was still affecting him.

"Kobra, use Bite!"

"Shaaar!" Kobra hissed as he hurried to Muk while opening his mouth, revealing his fangs.

"Muk, use Acid Armor!"

"Muk…!" Muk grunted as his body sparkled again.

Kobra bit on Muk's soft body, but I could tell it barely did any damage. As soon as Kobra moved back, the holes that he managed to inflict with his fangs were quickly filled in by Muk's sludge.

I growled softly through my teeth. I guess we had to try with Dig again and hope we could knock out Muk.

"Kobra, use Dig again!"

Kobra dug underground again.

"Muk, use Acid Armor!"

"Muuk!" Muk roared as his sludge body released some kind of acid that caused his body to get stiff.

"Go, Kobra! Attack!" I shouted.

Kobra smashed himself into Muk from underground with a hard hit. Muk cried in pain at the impact and got knocked down to the ground. Kobra crawled back to me as we waited for the dust to vanish and see what Muk's condition was.

The dust cleared up to reveal a fainted Muk.

"Muk is unable to battle! Arbok wins!" Janine announced.

"Great job, Kobra!" I praised my Pokémon.

"Shaaar!"

"Alright, sis! Two down!" Ash cheered.

"Pika!"

"Muk, return!" Koga called back his Pokémon before looking at the Poké Ball. "You did your best. Rest up, my comrade." He switched Poké Balls. "Your turn, Koffing!"

"Kooffing!"

"The second Koffing…", I mumbled softly as I grabbed Kobra's Poké Ball. "Kobra, return!" I then switched back to Luna's Poké Ball. "Luna, I need your help again!"

"Fairy!"

"Your Clefairy again… But this time, you won't make a one-hit knockout", Koga smirked.

"We never know until we try", I pointed out. "Luna, use Psychic!"

Luna grabbed Koffing with Psychic and added pressure, forcing a cry of pain out of her opponent's mouth. Five seconds later, Luna canceled her powers and dropped Koffing on the ground.

"Koffing is unable to battle! Clefairy wins!" Janine announced.

"You did it, Luna!" I cheered.

"Clefairy!" Luna chirped happily.

"Ashley's only got one Pokémon left to defeat!" Misty exclaimed in joy behind me.

"Don't let your guard down, Ashley!" Brock called.

"I won't!" I shook my head.

"Return, Koffing!" Koga called before switching to his final Poké Ball. "Everything is up to you, Weezing!"

"Weeziing!"

I picked up Luna's Poké Ball. "Luna, come back!" Once she was back inside the device, I switched to Firered's Poké Ball. "I'm counting on you, Firered!"

"Rawr!"

"A Charizard? You two really are twins", Koga chuckled before getting serious. "Weezing, use Toxic!"

"Firered, fly up to dodge the attack!" I shouted.

Weezing spat toxic from its two mouths, but Firered was faster and flew up to the sky. The toxic sludge hit the ground instead and hissed like acid. I shivered by the sound of it.

"Firered, use Smokescreen!" I yelled.

Firered breathed smoke as he flew around Weezing. I hoped it was enough to lower Weezing's accuracy.

"Firered, dive into the smoke and use Wing Attack!"

"Weezing, use Sludge!"

Firered's wings glowed white before he dived into the smoke. I couldn't see through the thick smoke, but I heard both Pokémon cry out in pain. Firered flew out of the smoke with some sludge on his scales. The smoke cleared up and revealed Weezing. It was still floating, but it had a cut on its body after the Wing Attack.

"Firered, use Flamethrower!"

"Weezing, block the Flamethrower with Sludge!"

Our Pokémon fired their moves, which collided with each other in midair. An explosion erupted, creating a large cloud of smoke that engulfed the whole battlefield. I coughed as I tried to fan away the smoke.

"Weezing, Toxic now!"

I wasn't fast enough to call a command for Firered because the smoke distracted me. I could hear Firered flying around to dodge the Toxic, but I flinched when I heard him cry out in pain.

The smoke quickly cleared up and revealed Firered had landed on the ground. I could see he had some purple sludge on his scales and pinkish purple bubbles came from his body, a sign he had been badly poisoned.

"Firered, are you okay?!" I called worriedly.

"Rrrr…!" Firered nodded with a slight weak expression.

"We have to end this now before you faint, Firered", I told him while clenching my right hand into a fist, feeling determined to end the Gym battle.

"Rawr…!"

"I won't allow that to happen!" Koga shouted. "Weezing, use Sludge!"

"Weeziing!" Weezing roared before spitting sludge toward Firered.

"Firered, counterattack with Flamethrower and then use Wing Attack!" I shouted.

Firered breathed fire that collided with the sludge, which created another explosion, but this time we were ready. I covered my mouth and closed my eyes as I listened closely to the noise. There was loud noise coming from the smoke and it sounded like was Weezing crying in pain.

The smoke soon cleared up. Firered was down on all four as he panted deeply and was covered in both sweat and sludge. Weezing was down on the ground, not moving an inch.

"Weezing is unable to battle! Charizard wins! The winner of the Gym battle is challenger Ashley!" Janine announced.

"You did it, Ashley!" Ash called happily.

"Pikachuu!"

I hurried to Firered to see if he really was okay. "Are you okay, Firered?" I asked as I patted his back where there was no sludge.

"Rrr…", Firered rumbled weakly.

I looked up when Koga walked over to me and held out a Pecha Berry to me. "Here. Feed your Charizard with this Pecha Berry to cure the poison."

"Thank you, Koga", I nodded and accepted the berry before holding it in front of Firered's face. "Here, Firered. Eat this."

Firered smelled the berry before he grabbed it with his teeth. He pushed it into his mouth and chewed on it before swallowing. The sludge and poison bubbles slowly vanished as the Pecha Berry cured the poison.

"Do you feel better now, Firered?" I asked as I rubbed his back.

"Rawr!" Firered nodded before raising up on his feet.

I sighed in relief before gently caressing his muzzle. "I'm glad to see you're okay."

Koga cleared his throat, which caught my attention. "You and your Pokémon fought well. As proof of defeating the Fuchsia Gym, I give you this Soul Badge." He accepted a new scroll from Janine and rolled it open to reveal a Soul Badge.

"Thank you", I nodded before I took the badge and showed it to Firered. "Look, Firered. We won our fifth badge."

"Rawr…", Firered rumbled softly.

"Congratulations, sis!" Ash cheered as he and our friends walked over to me. "Now we both have five badges each!"

"Which means you only need three more to participate in the Pokémon League", Misty smiled.

"Tell me, where will you go next?" Koga asked.

"We were thinking of heading back to Saffron City", Ash replied. "Last time, Gym Leader Sabrina was away on vacation, so we hope to challenge her next."

"May I suggest you stop by the Safari Zone before challenging Sabrina?" Koga said.

"Safari Zone?" my brother, friends, and I repeated confusedly.

"It's a place where there are many different Pokémon living in the wild, but they are still guarded so they can repopulate and not go extinct", Koga explained. "You will find out more about the rules when you get there."

"Many different Pokémon?!" Ash exclaimed joyfully. "Then we'll go there first before heading to Saffron City! I'm gonna catch so many new Pokémon Gary will be so jealous!"

"Gary? You mean Gary Oak?" Koga wondered.

"Yes…?" I nodded confusedly.

"He was here more than two weeks ago and won his own Soul Badge", Koga explained.

"What?! He was here before us?!" Ash exclaimed in disbelief before his face got red by anger. "Just you wait, Gary…! One day, I will kick your butt for always being ahead of me!"

I sighed softly, not really caring about Gary and his antics anymore. But I was looking forward to go to the Safari Zone and see new Pokémon.

And who knows… Perhaps I could find one special Pokémon that I was looking for to complete my future dragon team.

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Who else liked the little "Naruto" insert in this chapter? I can imagine Ash likes ninjas because of his Greninja in XY and XY&Z, and it also gives us another explanation of why he's so athletic.

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Ashley's party:

Firered the Charizard (male)

Bruce the Primeape (male)

Luna the Clefairy (female)

Kobra the Arbok (male)

Wanda the Gyarados (female)

Oliver the Gloom (male)

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Ashley's Pokémon at the Lab:

Eevee (male)

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Ash's party:

Bulbasaur (male)

Charmeleon (male)

Haunter (male)

Beedrill (male)

Pidgeotto (male)

Pikachu (male)

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Ash's Pokémon at the Lab:

Squirtle x5 (males)

Krabby (male)

Primeape (male)

Muk (male)

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Misty's party:

Goldeen (female)

Staryu (genderless)

Starmie (genderless)

Horsea (female)

Psyduck (male)

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Brock's party:

Geodude (male)

Onix (male)

Zubat (male)

Vulpix (female)