"FINALLY!"
The group had finally arrived in Vermilion City, where Ash would have his next Gym Battle. Misty was excited for a different reason however. After hearing about how beautiful Vermilion's beaches were for so long, she was thrilled to be able to experience them for herself.
"Well, Misty sure seems happy" Brock stated. Ash however, didn't really seem to care.
"I'm off to train! See ya later Brocko!" Ash exclaimed, as he ran off towards the Pokémon Center, or at least the direction he guessed it was, as he soon came running back, and then in a different direction, Pikachu clinging to his shoulder as the boy ran.
Brock sighed, "He has a Pokégear, and yet he still doesn't use a map…"
He turned back towards Misty, who was apparently oblivious to Ash's antics, as she had already moved down to the edge of the beach, Poliwag out next to her as the pair just stared out into the blue water. "Beautiful…" she whispered to herself. Brock sighed, before smiling and walking over to join her.
"Pikachu, Electro Ball! Charmander, counter with Flame Burst!"
Pikachu quickly charged, and fired his attack, towards the orange lizard, who fired a fire ball in response. The two attacks collided, sending embers everywhere, which Pikachu managed to avoid.
"That was great Charmander" Ash praised.
"Char!" the fire type replied with a smile.
After quickly getting his Pokémon checked out at the Pokémon Center, Ash had begun a training battle between Pikachu and Charmander, as he planned on using both in the Gym Battle. Ash released Bulbasaur, and gathered the three Pokémon together.
"Alright, you guys, it's time for our next Gym Battle!" Ash told them, "You ready?"
"Pika!" "Char Char!" "Bulba!" all three cheered in agreement. "Alright then, let's go find Misty and Brock, and then it's Gym time!"
After meeting back up with his companions, the trio made their way to the Vermilion City gym. The gyms appearance was interesting to say the least. It appeared to be a large warehouse, with yellow lightning bolts sticking out of the walls.
"Well, here we go" Ash said to himself, pushing the door open and walking through, Brock and Misty following behind. They quickly arrived at a dimly-lit battlefield, though there was no one else in the room.
"Um, hello?!" Ash called out, "I'm here for a Gym Battle!"
When a man walked through a door and into the large battle room, Ash gulped. He had heard the Vermilion Gym Leader was one of the toughest ones, even in low level battles, but the guy was huge! He was almost double Ash's size! He had spiky blonde hair, and wore black sunglasses, a green sleeveless shirt, brown camo pants, black boots, and dog tags around his neck.
The giant of a man noticed his challenger and grinned. "Hey, you little tyke! The names Lt. Surge. I have to hand it to you. It may not be very smart to challenge me, but it takes guts!"
"M-my name is Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town" Ash stated, still intimidated by the towering Gym Leader.
"Heh, very well, how many badges you got?" the man asked.
"Two"
"Alright then, ref, you're needed!" Surge called out, and another, much shorter, man came running and stood at the side of the field, "Ready, Lieutenant!"
The leader turned back to Ash, "Alright, kid, let's see what ya got!"
Ash and Surge stood on opposite sides of the field, ready for the battle to begin.
"This battle between the Challenger, Ash, and the Vermilion City Gym Leader, Lt. Surge is about to begin!" the judge exclaimed, "This will be a three on three battle, only four moves may be used by each Pokémon, and only the challenger may switch Pokémon, understood?"
Both trainers nodded, "Alright, battle begin!"
Surge took a Great Ball from his belt and hurled it, "Magnemite, stand to attention!"
The blue, red, and white Poké Ball burst open, revealing the floating electric and steel type.
"Charmander, I choose you!" Ash exclaimed, releasing his Starter Pokémon.
"Magnemite, Mirror Shot!" Surge ordered. Magnemite begun glowing in a light-blue aura, which became an orb of energy in front of the Pokémon's body, and then was fired at it's opponent.
"Charmander, dodge and use Dragon Rage!" Charmander jumped out of the path of the blue orb, and fired a powerful blast of purple flames at the steel type. Magnemite was enveloped by the flames, taking a decent amount of damage, from the dragon attack.
"Use Supersonic!"
Magnemite released multiple soundwaves, making a sound which Charmander was not a fan of. But, before he could do anything, he begun to sway side to side.
"Charmander, use Metal Claw!" Charmander's claws grew and glowed silver, but rather than attacking his opponent, Charmander began to thrash around, even hitting himself with his own attack.
"What the… Charmander what's wrong!?" Ash cried out in worry.
"Ash, Charmander's confused from the Supersonic!" Brock shouted from the side lines!
"Shoot…" Ash muttered. "Charmander, you've gotta snap out of it!"
But Charmander didn't hear him, he just continued to thrash around wildly.
"Magnemite, Magnet Bomb!" Magnemite fired a silver orb of energy at the confused fire type. Unable to avoid the attack, the steel type attack hit, and exploded on impact, sending Charmander rolling backwards. Fortunately, the blast seemed to snap Charmander out of his confusion, as he pushed himself back up and glared at Magnemite.
"You may have snapped out if it, tyke, but this is it for you, Magnemite, Electro Ball!" Surge exclaimed. Hearing Magnemite's next move, Ash grinned.
"Alright, Charmander, just like we practiced, use Flame Burst!" Ash ordered. Charmander grinned as well, and charged up the strongest Flame Burst he could, and fired. The two attacks collided, but unlike with Pikachu, the fire ball pushed the Electro Ball backwards, as well as sent a shower of embers towards Magnemite, both attacks hit the steel type, and it fell to the ground, but it still wasn't completely done.
"Charmander, finish it with Metal Claw!"
Charmander charged at his grounded opponent, claws glowing, and slashed at the Pokémon, sending it flying. Magnemite hit the ground hard, and fell unconscious.
"Magnemite is unable to battle, Charmander wins!" the judge announced.
"Way to go, Charmander!" Ash praised. "Pi-Pikachu!" Pikachu added.
"Charmander!" the lizard exclaimed.
Recalling Magnemite, Surge grinned, "Well, I'm impressed kid, but this battle is only just beginning", he said, putting Magnemite's ball away, and grabbing another.
"Come at me, Surge!" Ash exclaimed.
"Heh, gladly! Elekid, ten-hut!" an Elekid, appeared on the field, and begun spinning its arms, causing it's horns to spark with electricity. Ash noticed this one seemed a lot stronger than Amber's back at Cerulean Cape.
"Elekid, Quick Attack!" Surge ordered. Elekid seemed to disappear, before it appeared right in front of Charmander, and slammed into him. "Now, hit em with a Thunder Punch!"
"Counter with Metal Claw!"
As Elekid's electrified fist came towards Charmander, the lizard's claws grew and glowed once more, and the two attacks collided. Unfortunately, didn't seem to do much, and Charmander was pushed backwards. "Shock Wave!" Surge instructed. Charmander didn't stand a chance, as he was enveloped by yellow electricity, and collapsed, swirls in his eyes.
"No, Charmander!" Ash cried.
"Charmander is unable to battle, the winner is Elekid"
Ash quickly returned Charmander, and whispered a thank you to his Poké Ball. He put his starter's ball back on his belt, and grabbed Bulbasaur's ball.
"Bulbasaur, I choose you!" the dinosaur appeared on the field, and got into a battle stance. "Bulbasaur, Tackle!"
Bulbasaur charged at the Electric Pokémon, but with Surge's orders, Elekid sped out of the way with Quick Attack, before changing direction and tackling the grass type. "Bulbasaur, quick, while its close, grab it with Vine Whip!" Ash instructed. As fast as he could, Bulbasaur extended a vine, and wrapped it around Elekid's waist, "Now, Energy Ball!"
Unable to avoid, Elekid was blasted by the green ball of grass type energy. "Elekid, Shock Wave!" Elekid released a discharge of electricity, which travelled down, Bulbasaur's vine, electrocuting him, making him lose his grip on Elekid, allowing it to escape from his hold. "Now, Brick right on his head!"
Elekid's arm glowed white, before it karate chopped the still dazed Bulbasaur right on the head. "Bulbasaur, pull yourself together, use Energy Ball, rapid fire!" Ash instructed. Bulbasaur shook his head, and glared ahead. He charged his attack as quickly as he could, and fired a barrage of smaller Energy Balls. While they may have been weaker than normal, with how many there were, it didn't really matter. Elekid attempted to swat them away, and while it succeeded with a few of them, they eventually overwhelmed it, and it fell to one knee. "Bulbasaur, finish it with Tackle!" Bulbasaur charged at Elekid, and slammed into it as hard as he could. Elekid flew backwards, and landed with a thud, knocked out.
"Elekid is unable to battle, Bulbasaur wins!"
Surge recalled the fainted Elekid. "I've gotta say kid, you've impressed me, most challengers don't make it this far" said the leader, "But here is where it ends, Raichu, stand to attention!"
An Ultra Ball was thrown, releasing the Pokémon inside. The Pokémon that appeared was similar to Pikachu, but larger, with orange fur, yellow cheeks, and a long, thin, tail with a lightning bolt at the end. Ash pulled out his Pokédex, while Pikachu's cheeks sparked as he glared at the larger rodent.
"Raichu, the Mouse Pokémon and the evolved form of Pikachu. Raichu's tail functions as a ground and releases electricity into the surface, which keeps it from shocking itself" the machine stated.
"So that's the evolved form of Pikachu, huh…" Ash muttered, "Can you keep going Bulbasaur?" he questioned.
"Bulba!" the grass/poison type replied with a nod.
"Alright, then use Energy Ball!" Another Energy Ball was fired, but Surge was ready for it.
"Raichu, Dig!" Raichu quickly buried into the ground beneath it, allowing the Energy Ball to fly straight over it. Unfortunately, it also meant that both Bulbasaur and Ash had no idea where Raichu would attack from next.
"Bulbasaur, be ready!" Ash called. Bulbasaur nodded, and looked around, trying to notice any signs of movement below the ground.
"Raichu, hit em with a Thunderbolt!" From right underneath Bulbasaur, a powerful blast of electricity burst from through the ground, enveloping the Seed Pokémon, before Raichu finished it's Dig attack, bursting out of the ground and slamming into Bulbasaur, sending him flying, and hitting the ground, fainted.
"Bulbasaur!"
"Bulbasaur is unable to battle, Raichu wins!"
"You were great, Bulbasaur, return!" Ash thanked the grass type, as he recalled him back to his Poké Ball. He then turned to Pikachu, "You ready, buddy?"
"Pika" the mouse nodded with a determined expression, and ran out onto the field.
"Hah! You think you're Pikachu can beat a fully evolved Raichu?!" Surge laughed, "You should have evolved that thing as soon as you got it!"
Pikachu's eye twitched. No. He was not going to evolve, he was fine the way he was. Besides, being a Pikachu had a few advantages compared to Raichu.
"He can do it!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikapi… Pikachu!" Pikachu cried, glaring at Raichu.
"Well, you're funeral, Raichu, Body Slam!" Surge ordered. Raichu jumped up and threw itself towards Pikachu.
"Pikachu, Quick Attack!" Pikachu rushed out of the way, just letting Raichu slam into the ground. "Now, use Thunderbolt" Ash instructed.
"Piikaaa- Chuuuuu!" Pikachu fired a strong blast of electricity at Raichu, who was still pushing itself up. Raichu was hit and flinched, though it didn't do much damage.
"Raichu, show em a REAL Thunderbolt!"
"Raaaaaiiii chuuuuuuu!" Pikachu was hit, and it did quite a bit more damage than his did to Raichu.
"Now, Raichu, Iron Tail!" Raichu ran at Pikachu, as it's tail began to glow silver, almost looking like metal.
"Pikachu, Grass Knot!" Ash instructed. Pikachu's eyes glowed green for a moment, before two blades of grass appeared in front of Raichu, tying together, and tripping it, causing it to fall face first into the ground. "Now, Brick Break!" Pikachu's glowing paw slammed down on Raichu's head hard, causing the larger mouse to cry out in pain. "Now Quick Attack and Thunderbolt, full power!"
Pikachu jumped up, then fired the strongest Thunderbolt he could, and then shot himself into the blast with Quick Attack, cloaking himself in the electricity, as he sped towards Raichu, who was still down. The smaller mouse charged straight into Raichu, causing an explosion as connected.
Ash's Pokédex beeped, and when the boy checked it, there was a notification: "Pikachu has learned a new move: Spark: The user throws an electrically charged tackle at the target. This may also leave the target with paralysis"
Pikachu flew backwards from the explosion, and hit the ground, but he managed to get back up. Raichu, however, was down, knocked out.
"Raichu is unable to battle, Pikachu is the winner!" the judge announced, "So the winner of this battle is the challenger, Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!"
"Alright!" Ash exclaimed, then ran onto the field, and picked his partner up and held him up in the air "You were great buddy, and you learned a new move!" he praised.
"Pikapi pika!"
"Now that's a shocker! You're the real deal, kid!" Surge exclaimed, walking over to Ash, an exhausted Raichu by his side. "Not many have beaten me, especially with as few badges as you have, and ESPECIALLY not with a Pikachu against Raichu. You deserve this kid" Surge held out an open hand, with a small, metal, object which looked like an 8-pointed gold star, with an orange octagon in the centre.
"That Thunder Badge suits those who've defeated me! Take good care of it, OK?"
Ash nodded, and took the badge from Surge's hand.
"Alright! I got the Thunder Badge!" Ash cheered. "Pi-Pikachu!"
The trio plus Pikachu stood outside the gym, with Lt. Surge and Raichu in front of them.
"Well, I guess we're going now" said Ash. "If you don't me asking, Surge, which gym do you think I should challenge next?" he asked.
"Sure kid, let's see, I'd say Celadon City" the man stated, "Since Saffron is currently blocked off, you'll need to go through Rock Tunnel and Lavender Town, and go from there."
"Celadon, huh?" Ash repeated, "alright then, thanks Surge!"
"But, if you're not in a rush, I'd suggest sticking around town for a bit, there's a lot to do here, after all" Surge suggested.
"Yes, we will be!" Misty exclaimed, "Beach here I come!"
Ash sweat dropped. "Well, I guess that means we're staying…" Ash muttered, "Well, see ya later Surge!"
"Pi-kaPika!" Pikachu cried with a wave.
Brock took the lead, "Now off to the Pokémon Center!" Nurse Joy, here I come! He thought to himself with a goofy smile.
"You okay Brock?" Ash asked, noticing his face.
"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah…"'
So, I've realised I completely forgot about Bill… So, I guess I'll try to find a role for him later on, but anyway… Ash finally has his third badge, and Pikachu learned Spark, which will eventually lead to Wild Charge, and then Volt Tackle, but not for quite a while. The next couple of chapters will be focusing on the other important event in Vermilion, which I'm sure most will understand, but until next time, goodbye!
Current Teams:
Ash:
Pikachu (Male)
Charmander (Male)
Pidgeotto (Female)
Nidorino (Male)
Bulbasaur (Male)
Squirtle (Male)
At Oak's Lab:
Beedrill (Male)
Misty:
Poliwag (Male)
Staryu (Genderless)
Goldeen (Female)
Oddish (Female)
Brock:
Onix (Male)
Geodude (Male)
Zubat (Male)
