"This will be a one on one battle between Ash and Richie. Let the battle begin!"
The second round of Kanto High's Pokémon tournament was nearly over, as Ash was in the final battle of the day. Gary Oak had already finished his match, winning a very close two on two battle. Now Kanto High's two most highly regarded Pokémon trainers were about to battle it out.
"Let's go Sparky!" Richie's Pikachu materialized onto the field from its pokeball, sending tiny sparks from its red cheeks.
Ash's biggest type disadvantage was against electric types. Froakie, Staraptor, and Charizard all were weak against electric attacks. Ash also didn't want to use Pikachu, as the previous night had been pretty taxing on the both of them.
"Ok Bulbasaur, c'mon out!" This was Ash's first real battle with Bulbasaur, aside from some practice battles in training. But regardless, Ash thought Bulbasaur was a strong Pokémon who had a great shot at winning this battle.
"Sparky use Double Team! Richie said, hoping to confuse Bulbasaur right from the start. In a matter of seconds Bulbasaur was surrounded by many fake Pikachu's, the real one being off to the left.
Ash smirked with confidence; Bulbasaur was the perfect Pokémon to defend against this.
"Use Vine Whip and Spin!"
Bulbasur used its vine whip while spinning around in a circle, its vines flying through every single Pikachu, the real one being sent tumbling back towards its trainer.
"Ah, Sparky are you alright?" Richie asked, reminding himself that Ash was a top trainer, with lots of strategies that he had likely never seen before.
"Tackle attack!"
Richie looked up from Pikachu to see Bulbasaur charging straight towards them.
"Quick Sparky, use Electro Ball!" Pikachu jumped up and sent a ball of electricity flying towards Bulbasaur.
"Dodge it with Vine Whip Bulbasaur!" Ash yelled. Bulbasaur, confused as to what Ash meant, tried to swat the ball away, only to be sent flying back, rolling over in front of Ash. This is where their lack of chemistry had turned against them, Ash was hoping that Bulbasaur would use its vine whip to jump straight up, where he would then dodge the attack and launch one of his own.
Despite the damage that Bulbasaur had taken, Ash still wasn't worried; this match was far from over.
"Quick Attack Sparky!" Richie's Pikachu came flying in at such a high speed that Bulbasaur had no time to react.
"Wow that's fast! Ash said as Bulbasaur took another direct hit. That was much quicker than his own Pikachu's quick attack or any other Pokémon he'd seen for that matter. Then it clicked into Ash's mind. With a smirk, and a turn of his hat, Ash knew how to end this battle now.
"Use Vine Whip and draw it in close!"
Bulbasaur surrounded Pikachu with its vine whips, leaving forward as the only direction for Pikachu to go. Richie then ordered Sparky to use another quick attack, which if it connected fully, might win the battle for them. Ash had other plans however.
"Quick hit it with a Leech Seed!" Ash shouted, Bulbasaur barely managed to get it off on time, but it stopped Pikachu right in its tracks, surrounding it in vines and zapping its energy.
"Now use Vine Whip and throw it in the air!" Ash said, as Bulbasaur continued to perfectly execute this combination of moves. Sparky, who was still losing energy from the leaf seed, was launched into the air before tacking on several more attacks.
"Now Razor Leaf!" The Leech seed finally wore off, but Richie's Pokémon was immediately hit by flurry of leaves from Bulbasaur.
As Sparky fell to the ground, Bulbasaur already knew what Ash was going to call next and had begun storing energy. Before Pikachu even had a chance to recover, Ash called out the final blow.
"Solar Beam!"
Bulbasaur fired the Solar Beam, directly hitting the Pikachu, sending it flying into Richie's arms. The force of the attack was so strong that just catching Pikachu sent Richie tumbling backwards onto the ground.
"You did great Sparky, now take a good rest." Richie told his fainted Pokémon as he returned it to its pokeball.
"Nice work Bulbasaur!" Ash said as he recalled it to its pokeball, before running across the field.
Richie looked up to see Ash's hand extended out in front of him. After being helped to his feet they shook hands.
"Wow Ash, that combination at the end there was incredible, I've definitely learned a lot from this battle, thanks a lot!"
"Thanks a lot Richie! Frankly I'm not even sure how I came up with that, it just popped into my head!" Ash said as the two shared a laugh.
"That Electro Ball attack was really awesome, I've never seen that before! You're definitely going to have to teach me and Pikachu how to use that sometime." Ash said.
"Of course, sometime we'll have to get together to train and battle again." Richie said.
The two boys each felt a lot of respect for one another. Ash was sort of a mentor for Richie. The two had battled in the past, and Richie knew that Ash was a top-notch trainer.
While Richie had only been battling for a shorter period of time, he was still a great trainer, and Ash could tell that. Not only from their battles, but just by seeing the relationships that Richie had with his Pokémon, Ash knew that Richie was bound to be successful.
"That's it! The winner is Ash Ketchum!" Tracy said, as Richie grabbed Ash's hand and held up over his head, like a boxing referee does when the winner of the fight is announced. Everyone watching cheered for Ash, once again they were in awe of his battling styles.
"Next week is the final four! That consists of Winston, Morrison, Gary, and our latest winner Ash! See you all next Tuesday!" Tracy concluded, before everyone mobbed Ash again.
A glimpse of a scarlet red bandana revealed itself from behind the bleachers. May Maple stood there with a smile on her face. She was happy for Ash; he really deserved all of this. After everyone over looking him because of his shyness, people were finally realizing how great of a person he really was.
May had been watching Drew's and Gary's soccer practice, as her and Drew were going to meet up afterwards to sort out their issues from the previous night. However she got bored and snuck off. She bumped into some people who were running over to watch Ash and Richie's battle, so she followed them over. She certainly had more fun watching Ash battle than watching Drew's practice, something she never would have thought she'd say.
May decided that she should probably head back, and started walking back towards the soccer fields.
On her way she nearly got ran over by Dawn, who was speeding through the parking lot.
"What are you doing in the middle of the road May jeez!" Dawn yelled out the window.
"What you still doing here even?" May answered back.
"Um, I'm waiting for my boyfriend to get done with practice, and which boyfriend are you hanging out with today?" Dawn replied.
"The only boyfriend I have Dawn. Drew. D-R-E-W." She said, literally spelling Drew's name out for Dawn.
"Alright, I'll let you off easy today. Now let's go watch the rest of their practice!" Dawn said as she got out of her car and joined May.
On The Road To Pallet Town
"48… 49…. 50!" Ash grunted as he finished a set of pushups. Ash was pumped after his battle and was in the middle of an impromptu workout on his walk home.
"Let's run the rest of the way back Pikachu, we've got to stay in shape for the Indigo League!" The small rodent nodded and took off ahead of Ash, while Ash followed a short distance behind. As Ash began running his mind became clouded with many thoughts about the Indigo League. After this weekend he would be able to start challenging the gym leaders, and the final tournament happening over the next summer. While Ash was certainly excited about it, he also felt a large amount of pressure on his shoulders. Everyone was looking up to him now, and would certainly be expecting a lot of him this time. Ash pushed these worries out of his head and focused on his running, only to realize that he had just reached home.
"Hello Ash! How was your day?" His mother Delia asked as he walked in the door.
"Pretty good mom!" Ash said, his whole week so far had been rather exciting.
"That's great dear! I was told that the people who are going to be interviewing you on Saturday are going to be here around noon, so make sure your ready by then!" Delia said with a smile.
"Awesome, thanks mom. I think I'm going to go out back with the Pokémon for a little while. Then I'll come back and help with dinner." Ash said as he dropped his backpack and went outside again.
Ash spent the next half hour playing with his various Pokémon and getting prepped for his first gym battle, which would be in just a little over a week if everything went right. Since Ash lived in Kanto, he knew a lot about the gyms and gym leaders, and which types of Pokémon they used.
"Alright, so the first gym is a rock type gym in Pewter City." Ash said to himself as he tried to decide which Pokémon would be best.
"Assuming it's a three against three, Froakie, Bulbasaur, and maybe Pikachu or Charizard would be best".
After several more minutes, he went back inside and helped Delia make dinner, the two of them spending the rest of the night relaxing.
At Kanto High
"Sorry I guess…"
"What do you mean, I guess?" May said very accusingly. Her and Drew's initially calm discussion had soon turned into heated debate, while Dawn and Gary stood waiting, each of them feeling a slight sense of awkwardness being in their current situation.
"I mean that I barely have any time to be with you as it is, and if your taking care of that orange pigeon then there won't be any time!" Drew said, who was reaching his breaking point.
"It's me or the Pokémon May, you've got till next week to decide. Now I'm going home." Drew said as he turned around and walked away.
May was speechless. She knew that Drew was mad, but not this mad. Now she was faced with tough decision, her boyfriend or her new Pokémon. Tears began to well up in her eyes. A hand soon fell on her shoulder, causing her tear filled eyes to look up. To her surprise it wasn't Dawn who had come over, but Gary.
"Forget that guy May, I've seen my fair share of assholes, heck I was even an asshole at one point, but that guy is unbelievable." Gary said to her. While Drew was usually nice around May, he was generally the opposite around anyone else. Gary knew this better than anyone since he and Drew played on the same soccer team. Drew was often cocky, acting as if he was a superstar. While he was very talented, his lack of sportsmanship and ignorance was his downfall.
Hearing Gary's words was tough for May to hear. Drew had always been so nice around her; she'd never seen him like this before. While they only had been dating for a little over a month, May had thought that she'd knew Drew pretty well.
"Come on May, Gary's going to show me his grandpa's laboratory in Pallet Town, why don't you come along." Dawn suggested, hoping that she'd be able to cheer May up on the car ride over. May agreed and followed them to Gary's car.
The whole drive to Pallet Town was totally silent, both Gary and Dawn not knowing what to say to May, she was going to be hurt either way. She either had to lose her boyfriend, or her Torchic. Even though she only had Torchic for one day the two of them had already bonded a lot.
Torchic was the only thing that May could think of when they arrived at the Oak's lab. Professor Oak wasn't around, but Gary knew the place like the back of his hand and showed them around.
"Well Ash, similar to what you did for the Johto league, you just need to go to any Pokémon center and give them your pokedex." Professor Oak told Ash. Ash had seen him walking back towards the lab and had gone to ask him what he needed to do to register for the Indigo League. The two ended up talking until they reached the laboratory.
"Hmmm, Gary must be here, the lights were off when I left. He's been hanging around the Pokémon here a lot lately Ash. I think he'd enjoy if you taught him a couple things about battling." Oak suggested as they walked in.
"Why hello kids! The professor said as he noticed the group inside.
"Hey gramps! Hope you don't mind me giving tours to some of my friends." Gary replied.
"Of course not! Make yourselves at home everyone! Ah yes May, how's your Torchic doing?" Oak asked.
May's expression visibly saddened, but she put on a fake smile and forced her way through it.
"Just great! We've really been getting along."
"Well isn't that nice. Ah yes, Gary I was talking to Ash here on my walk back. I told him how you've been working with the Pokémon here more often. I'm not sure what you kids had planned for the rest of the night, but I thought it'd be nice if Ash taught you a couple things about battling, since you seem to enjoy Pokémon so much." The man suggested, a smirk coming to Gary's face.
"Alright, maybe he can teach me how to lose, since he seems to be so good at that." Gary said playfully.
"Haha it's on Gary!" Ash said with a look of determination.
Everyone went outside, as the backyard of the Oak's laboratory had a large field where all of the Pokémon stayed.
"One on One Ashy?" Gary said, waiting to show Ash his newest Pokémon.
"Fine by me! We're bound to meet up at the schools Pokémon tournament, so I could use a good warm-up!" Ash shouted back, ready to get his first win against Gary.
Gary simply laughed at Ash's words and tossed out his pokeball, revealing a Bulbasaur.
"A Bulbasaur?" Ash asked in surprise, Gary had always used Mudkip in the past, aside from the occasional times where he borrowed one of Professor Oaks Pokémon.
"Yup, caught this sucker last week." Gary said.
"You ready to go Pikachu?" Ash looked down to see is yellow friend shaking his head, and take off towards to the middle of the field.
"Let's get this started, Vine Whip!" Gary yelled as the exhibition match began.
"Use Double Team to dodge it!" Pikachu then surrounded Gary's Bulbasaur, causing it look around frantically.
"Oh come on Ash, even I expect better from you, Vine Whip and Spin!" Gary said, really trying to mess with Ash.
Bulbasaur's vines flew in a circle, knocking Pikachu back into one of the few trees that stood nearby.
"Ah Pikachu! Can you get up?" Ash asked as the yellow mouse struggled to its feet.
"Tackle it Bulbasur!" Gary commanded.
"Quick dodge it Pikachu!" Ash shouted as Bulbasaur closed the distance between itself and Pikachu.
Pikachu dodged the attack, but only by an inch. In any normal battle, Pikachu would have been out the way seconds ago, but something wasn't right. Ash picked up on this right away. Pikachu was limping.
"Stop!" Ash shouted as he sprinted over to Pikachu, as did the others. As Ash grazed over Pikachu's injured leg, the Pokémon squealed in pain and even let some electric sparks out from its cheeks.
"That doesn't look good Ash, let's get Pikachu to a Pokémon Center, right away!" Professor Oak said.
It was only a minute later that the Professor had pulled up in his van, where everyone pilled inside.
"Your going to be alright Pikachu, just hold on." Ash said, trying to comfort both his Pokémon and himself. They ended up driving back to Viridian City, mainly because Pallet Town didn't have its own Pokémon center.
After rushing Pikachu inside, Nurse Joy took Pikachu inside the back room, and went to work on Pikachu's injury. Meanwhile Ash and the others sat out in the waiting room. By this time it was getting late, and knowing that Pikachu wasn't in any real danger some of the group decide to leave. Professor Oak still needing to finish up some research, and Dawn needing Gary to drive her home. May was about to go with them, until she noticed Ash still sitting on the seat still. She saw the worry and sadness on his face, and couldn't bear to leave him alone at a time like this.
"You guys go ahead, I'm going to stay and wait with Ash. See you guys at the game tomorrow!" May said goodbye to the others and went back and took a seat next to Ash.
"Don't worry Ash, Pikachu's going to be fine." May said softly, interlocking her fingers with Ash's. She looked up into Ash's downcast face, noticing a lone tear streaming down his face. May's heart broke at the sight of it, Ash loved his Pikachu and couldn't stand to see him hurt or in pain. Even May felt tears beginning to form in her eyes, but these quickly went away when Nurse Joy's voice could be heard from across the room.
"We've done all that we can Ash, Pikachu will be alright, it's just…." Nurse Joy struggled to find the words, noticing the worry on both of their faces. She led them back to a room in the back, where Pikachu was sleeping on a bed, a bandage wrapped around it's leg.
"Pikachu's leg was severely damaged, it will heal fine but it will take some time."
A short glimpse of a smile formed on Ash's face as he stood by Pikachu, stroking the Pokémon's fuzzy ears.
"How long will it take?" May asked.
"Well Pikachu should be able to walk again in about a month, but it will be around two months before he's back to 100%."
"2 Months! That's such a long time". May gasped. Ash looked up to Nurse Joy and smiled.
"2 Months is nothing, even if it was two years I'd help him all the way back. Thank you so much Nurse Joy for everything. Now what's the best plan for Pikachu?" Ash asked, feeling a large sense of relief that Pikachu would fully heal in due time.
"Well the first few weeks Pikachu really shouldn't be moving much at all. I'd advise bringing Pikachu in for a check up each week, then from there we can decide the best course of action." Joy explained to them.
"I'd also advise that Pikachu stays here for at least another full 24 hours."
"That's fine. If that's the case, could I get a room to stay in for the night?" Ash asked having no intention whatsoever of going to school the next day, not if it meant being away from his injured best friend.
"Of course, let's go back to the lobby and I'll grab you a room key." Nurse Joy said as they walked back out. After giving Ash his room key, they said goodnight to Nurse Joy.
"So are you going to head home now May?" Ash asked.
"Oh, well, I actually rode with Gary and Dawn, so I don't really have a way home." May said with a laugh, as she just now realized her current situation.
"Oh wow, well you can stay with me tonight if you want, there are two beds in most rooms anyways. That and you did let me stay with you before, so now it's my time to return the favor." Ash said with a laugh.
"Well thanks, I'll just have Max bring my backpack to school for me tomorrow, and I better call my parents and let them know what's up, they're probably wondering where I am." May asked, thankful that Ash had been so kind to her.
The two then found their room, which contained a bed and a desk on each side of the room. They each settled in their beds, both of them ready for a good rest after this long day.
"Hey May." Ash whispered from across the room.
"What's up Ash?" May asked.
"Thanks for staying with me earlier, I was just so worried about Pikachu before." He explained.
"It was nothing Ash. In fact, I should be the one thanking you. You've taught me what it really means to be one with your Pokémon and a true friend. Someday me and Torchic will reach that same point, I promise!" May said, determined to grow more with Torchic.
"That's great May, I'm sure you and Torchic will be great together." Ash said, trying to encourage May. May instantly sat up in realization, she had completely forgot about her argument with Drew over Torchic until now, thanks in part to the rest of the day's chaos. She debated telling Ash about this but eventually decided against it, as she didn't want to bother him with her love life troubles. She then laid back down and went to sleep.
May woke up the next morning to find Ash missing from the room. She guessed that he had gone off to visit Pikachu, so she spent some time getting ready for the day. As she walked out of room ready to head to school, she noticed Ash waving to her from one of the booths.
"I figured you'd be up pretty soon, so I ordered some breakfast for you too, dig in!" Ash said as May noticed the second plate of food on the table. After finishing eating, May figured that she'd better get to school, or else she'd be late again.
"Are you really going to stay here all day Ash?" May asked him.
"For awhile yes, but I need to take care of my other Pokémon too. Hey, I'll see you later at the soccer game tonight. I can't sit in here forever haha." Ash said, still keeping his promise of joining May and Dawn for Kanto High's soccer game. He was pretty excited for it too. Ash hadn't been to any of Gary's games yet, so he really wanted to go to one.
"Oh great! And don't worry, I'll take notes for you in the classes that we both have." May said with a smile, before grabbing her stuff and walking out.
In Pallet Town
"Alright, looks like your going to be filling in for Pikachu for a while Cyndaquil!" Ash had been explaining what happened to Pikachu to the rest of his Pokémon. He then had all of his Pokémon go through a long training session, before doing a workout of his own. Working out had always helped Ash clear his mind when he was stressed, so he didn't hold back this time. After a three-mile run he refused to let himself go back too Viridian City before completing at least two hundred pushups. While the pushups only took him about fifteen minutes, it took him much longer to walk to Viridian than usual, seeing as how exhausted he was.
Once Ash arrived in Viridian once again, he got lunch at the Pokémon center and stayed by Pikachu for another hour. Needing to take a stretch from sitting, Ash strolled around the town, wandering aimlessly as he enjoyed the fresh fall air. Eventually finding his way to a nearby park, Ash sat down on a swing and let himself relax as he swung back and forth. Ash had been gone from the Pokémon center for several hours, so he could tell that school was finished by amounts of teenagers that soon started walking past, many of which recognizing him and waving at him.
Later That Night
Ash meet up with May and Dawn in the parking lot outside the soccer fields before going to find a good spot in the stands. It was only a matter of minutes before Kanto High's first home soccer game of the year would begin.
"Welcome to the Kanto Dragons first home soccer match against the Fuchsia City Haunters!" The announcers said as the voice echoed around the whole area.
"The Haunters are always a top team who are off to a 2-0 start, while Kanto Dragons are just 1-0 coming off their win in Pewter City! Your starters for the Kanto Dragons include Drew Hayden who is a star player who transferred over from Saffron City. Along with him is Gary Oak, a veteran player for this Viridian team with a very impressive couple of seasons behind him!" The crowd roared as the teams took the field and the game began.
While Fuchsia City had phenomenal defense, the Dragons were able to maneuver around them early on. Gary received the ball just past midfield, and was able to slip past several defenders as he covered the distance towards the right side of the goal. As he near the final two defenders he kicked the ball, lofting it above the defenders heads, while curving it off slightly to the left. As the goalie ran out to try and grab it, a boy came out of nowhere to bounce the ball of his head and into the net.
"An early goal for the Kanto Dragons by Brock Harrison! With an assist by Gary Oak! Gary is now just 10-career assists away from setting the Kanto High record in just his junior year, certainly one of the greatest passers there is!
The crowd was going crazy, as they had taken a 1-0 lead in just the fifth minute. The Dragons dominated the rest of the half as they continued to close in on the goal. Gary continued to place excellent passes, but those receiving them never were able to finish it off with a goal.
"One minute to play in first half!" The announcer said as Gary and the team was making one last push towards the Haunter's defense.
"Another great cross by Gary Oak!"
The ball ended up in a perfect position for Drew, who was able to fake out his defender and get to the ball. After weaving past one more defender he found a good look at the goal and took a shot.
"The Dragons have now taken a two goal lead with a score by Drew Hayden! He set the school record for goals in a season at Saffron last year, and has already recorded his 2nd goal of year here tonight!"
With that the half ended and the commotion died down as the teams went to their huddles. Meanwhile Ash had been having a blast on the sidelines. The excitement of the game had really taken his mind off of Pikachu.
A couple of minutes later, the second half began.
"Another great assist by Gary Oak! He placed the ball perfectly for Drew to take a shot! It's now a three goal lead for the Dragons!" The game was slowly turning into a blowout, as the Dragons continued to shut down Fuchsia City's offense. With just under ten minutes to play the Haunters did manage to sneak in a goal, after a routine save simply slipped out of the Dragon's goalkeepers hands.
"There is the final whistle folks! Your Kanto Dragons have defeated Fuchsia City by a score of 3-1. They improve their record to 2-0 after yet another great showing from Gary Oak and Drew Hayden!
Ash, May, and Dawn made their way out back to the parking lot, waiting to meet up with Gary.
"That was a lot of fun! Thanks for inviting me you guys!" Ash said.
"Of course! We should totally do this again!" May answered.
Once Gary had joined up with them they all went out for dinner at a local restaurant. After dinner May and Dawn said goodbye to the boys as they were going home, while Ash and Gary had to stop at the Pokémon Center and pick up Pikachu before heading back to Pallet Town.
Pikachu's face lit up when he saw his trainer walk through the door. After checking out with Nurse Joy they were able to take Pikachu home.
"Let's get home buddy. We've got to get some sleep before the news station comes to interview us tomorrow."
At Drew's House
May had parked down the street as she approached Drew's house, while Dawn sat waiting in the car. May walked up the front steps and rang the doorbell, hoping to Arceus that Drew would be the one to answer the door. May sighed as she spotted the green haired boy walking down the stairway and opening the door.
"I've decided." May said sternly, giving Drew a hard stare.
"I knew you'd eventually come around. Not sure why you were acting so stupid before." Drew said in his usual cocky tone.
"I didn't choose you, I chose Torchic!" May said loudly, trying to not to scream. Without even waiting to see Drew's reaction, she slammed the door shut and walked back out to the car. May got back into the car with Dawn, trying to stop herself from crying. She had just broken up with her boyfriend, and over something so silly.
"Yah, this is so silly, why was this such a big deal to him anyways." May thought to herself, feeling a little better, considering Drew was the one mostly at fault here.
Once May got back home she was greeted immediately by Torchic, who was happy to see her.
"We're going to be spending a lot more time together now, I promise!" May said as Torchic snuggled against her as they went to sleep.
In Pallet Town
All of Ash's Pokémon were excited to see Pikachu again when they finally reached home. While Gary went back to his house straight away, tired from the match today, Ash stayed outside with all of his Pokémon. As they sat outside playing together, Ash's Froakie had run off from the group, investigating something rustling in the bushes. Ash took notice of this and went over to investigate. In a quick flash something purple shot out of the bush and leaped right over Ash, taking his hat with it, before scampering off towards the nearby river.
"Hey come back!" Ash shouted.
"I don't know what that was, but let's go find out. Staraptor, Froakie, lets go." Ash said as they took of down the same path that the Pokémon had taken.
As they came across the river they found the suspect hanging off the edge of the bridge by its tail.
"What is that?" Ash said as he pulled out his pokedex, having never seen this Pokémon before.
"Aipom, the Long Tail Pokémon. Aipom is able to climb and hang from branches using its powerful tail." The pokedex recited.
"An Aipom! You better give me my hat back!" He shouted, as it continued to hang off the bridge with a cheesy grin on its face. The Aipom then jumped up and ran across the bridge.
"After it Staraptor!" Ash shouted as he climbed up the hill after it. After chasing Aipom in circles for nearly twenty minutes, they finally had it cornered back on the bridge.
"If your not going to return my hat then I challenge you to a battle Aipom!" Ash said to the Pokémon. Who leaped to the center of the bridge and tossed the hat off to the side, ready to battle.
"Alright, Staraptor, you ready to go?"
Staraptor nodded and flew in front of Ash, ready for a good battle.
"Tackle attack!"
Staraptor took off flying towards Aipom, only for Aipom to leap up onto Staraptor's back. Staraptor began freak out and tried shaking Aipom off of its back. In doing so, Staraptor lost track of where it was flying, and flew straight into the side of the bridge.
After falling to the ground, Aipom hit Staraptor with a swift attack, knocking it out cold.
"Ah Staraptor!" Ash said.
"Your turn Froakie!"
Froakie chased after Aipom, only to be completely outrun. Aipom swung across the bridge with its tail whenever Froakie got close. It then started hiding from Froakie. Once Froakie was next to it, Aipom popped up and sent it flying with its tail.
Aipom took of running towards Ash's house while Ash was tending to Froakie.
Ash put both Staraptor and Froakie back in their pokeballs and took off back to the house. He returned to find Aipom on the roof with Bulbasaur and Pikachu sitting below trying to reason with it. Ash sighed as he noticed that Charizard had also been somehow knocked out as well by Aipom.
"This is getting ridiculous Aipom!" Ash yelled as he tried to think of someway to capture it. Ash, not finding anyway to get to Aipom just decided to throw a pokeball at it. Aipom smacked the pokeball right back at Ash with it's tail, hitting Ash in the face and knocking him over. Aipom laughed and continued to dance around on the roof. Even Bulbasaur and Pikachu couldn't help but laugh at Ash's pitiful attempt at catching Aipom. Ash sat up with an embarrassed look on his face, noticing the humor that all the Pokémon had gotten out of that. He was also more determined to redeem himself and capture that Aipom.
Ash ran around back and came charging back with a ladder, which he used to climb the roof. Ash looked around, only to find that Aipom had disappeared.
"You're kidding me, where could it have gone!" Ash said as climbed back down off of the roof.
Bulbasaur had seen where Aipom had gone and used its vine whip to smack a nearby tree. The tree shook and out fell both Aipom and Ash's hat. Aipom, not expecting the fall, completely tumbled to the ground. Now Ash saw his chance and threw another pokeball. To his surprise Aipom actually stayed inside the pokeball, officially being caught.
"Boy, you sure are going to be a tough one to train." Ash said as he picked up the pokeball and returned his hat back to his head.
"Oh man, it's already past midnight!" Ash said as he looked at his watch. He then said goodnight to the rest of his Pokémon, deciding to keep Aipom in its pokeball for the night. He then brought Pikachu inside and got ready for bed.