Chapter 7: Pewter City Showdowns Part 2
Ash's heart pounded with his breathes becoming shallow. The roar of the crowd booing caused him to question his decision. Nidoran had the capability to continue and perhaps there was a way out of that sticky situation, but if his Pokémon had gotten hurt, how could he call himself a Trainer?
Pikachu tapped his leg with a frown. "Pika?"
He looked at his little buddy and cracked a weak smile. Of course, he had to continue or else the hard work of his Pokémon would be wasted. Only if he had a way to ignore the crowd.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Ash raised his head to see a video feed of Brock overtaking all of the scoreboards. He was clapping slowly with the crowd quieting down, probably confused about what was going on.
"Forrest, why do you think I'm clapping?" The Gym Leader asked without looking at his brother.
"Because Ash wisely recalled his Pokémon before it had seriously gotten hurt," Forrest answered with his hands beside his hips.
Brock nodded. "Ladies and gentlemen of Pewter City and those watching from home, it's very important for a Trainer to understand their Pokémon's limit. A Trainer's number one responsibility is the safety of their Pokémon, not to entertain people nor to win a battle. No one should ever feel ashamed for ending a battle because of it." He turned to Ash. "He recognized Nidoran could no longer continue and for that he has my respect and he should have yours as well regardless of origin."
The audience slowly clapped and cheered in response.
The anxiety washed away and replaced with determination. He gave a smile and nod to Brock, appreciating the vote of confidence, and how he saw him as an ordinary person instead of fame. He assessed his options and determined the best possible option. "Charmander, I choose you!"
The Lizard Pokémon appeared, flexing its claws and roaring to the crowd.
Forrest folded his arms. "Are you sure you want to use a Charmander?"
Ash nodded and pumped a fist. "We're sure!"
Brock looked at his brother with a frown before resuming his normal judge stance. "Battle begin!"
"Take Down!" Forrest ordered.
"Ember!" Ash commanded.
Rhyhorn ran behind rock formations to inch its way closer to Charmander.
The Lizard Pokémon aimed its tail in shooting shards of flame but it was either blocked by a rock formation or missed. That didn't stop it from drawing it in.
"Smokescreen!" Ash shouted.
"Hit it!" Forrest hollered.
Rhyhorn led with its horn in launching Charmander into the air. It didn't recoil in pain, meaning it had the Rock Head ability.
Charmander released smoke as it was flying, covering the field.
"Listen to the sound of my voice and come back to my side!" Forrest shouted.
"Dragon Breath!" Ash yelled.
The smoke cleared as Charmander blasted Rhyhorn with Dragon Breath from behind and crashing it into a rock formation.
"Clever but it's not over yet," Forrest declared. "Rock Blast and then charge in with Horn Attack!"
"Smash those rocks with Metal Claws!" Ash countered. "Then charge in with Flame Charge!"
Boulders sailed across the field and smashed upon impact with Charmander's claws.
While Charmander was busy, Rhyhorn charged in.
Once the last boulder was smashed into bits, Charmander's body was surrounded in flames as it dashed forward, leaving a trail of black soot behind.
Both Pokémon collided in the field with Charmander slashing at Rhyhorn's face; however, the Spikes Pokémon fought through the pain and launched Charmander into the air.
"Smack Down!" Forrest quickly shouted.
"Dragon Breath!" Ash quickly countered.
Rhyhorn grabbed ahold of Charmander's tail and began to slam it down.
With great concentration, Charmander was able to blast Rhyhorn on the face once again causing the Spikes Pokémon to loosen its hold and softening the blow.
"Take Down!" Forrest followed up.
Rhyhorn shook off the attack and rammed Charmander.
The Lizard Pokémon soared and crashed into a rock formation that crumbled on top of it.
"Charmander!" Ash called out with his eyes widened.
"Pika!" Pikachu shouted.
The entire stadium was silent as Brock waited for the dust cloud to settle before making any kind of call.
Ash's heart pounded as this couldn't be how his first Gym Battle end, could it? All of his hard work with Serena and Miette would have been wasted. He closed his eyes thinking. Even if Charmander was able to continue, what shape would it be in? Would it even last another hit?
The rubble moved with Charmander standing as the dust settled. "Char. Char." It panted.
The raven-haired boy was happy to see that it was okay but grimaced in its condition. Definitively couldn't take another hit. He tightened his fists, but he also didn't want to call it quits and face the wrath of Gary. What was he going to do?
The Lizard Pokémon turned to face him. "Charmander. Char!" It flexed its muscles.
Ash blinked several times, feeling Charmander's will and determination. "Are you sure you can continue?"
Charmander nodded and huff out some flames. "Charmander!"
Ash closed his eyes, pondering the thought. He knew Charmander wanted to win badly so he might as well try to help it until the very end. "Alright Charmander, I believe in you. Let's show the world what we're made of!"
The Lizard Pokémon returned to facing Rhyhorn with the flame on its tail becoming brighter and a reddish aura surrounding it. It must have activated its Blaze ability. Why did it activate now? No matter what, all Ash needed to know was its fire moves were powered up. He had a chance.
"Ember!"
Forrest frowned. "Rock Blast!"
Rhyhorn conjured boulders that it fired from its mouth.
Charmander arched its back and unleashed a stream of fire.
The stream of fire collided with a boulder, holding it midair until another boulder smashed into the first boulder. With the boulder shattering, the Flamethrower guided the rocks back to rain upon Rhyhorn.
"Way to go," Ash clapped. "You learned Flamethrower all by yourself!"
Forrest blinked and took a step back. "Are you okay?" Rhyhorn shook off the rocks and nodded back to its trainer. "Good because we're ending this now! Charge in with Dragon Rush!"
Mystical blue flames surrounded Rhyhorn as it charged across the field.
Ash's eyes widened. "Smokescreen!"
Charmander covered his side of the field with a thick layer of smoke.
"Flame Charge into Metal Claws!" Ash followed up.
Barely visible in the smoke were a faint blue light and a faint red light. The blue light chased the red light until the sound of a rock formation breaking apart could be heard. The blue light faded with the red light closing in with the sound of metal grinding on rock that could be heard.
The smokescreen slowly faded, revealing Charmander standing on top of Rhyhorn. The Lizard Pokémon spat out a Flamethrower into the air.
"Rhyhorn is unable to battle!" Brock declared. "Forrest is defeat, thus the winner of this match goes to Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!"
The crowd cheered at the result.
Ash relaxed his shoulders and allowed Pikachu to climb onto his shoulder before walking out to the field where Charmander hopped into his chest.
"Charmander!" It happily stated.
Ash petted its back. "You really did it, Charmander! Congratulations on getting your first victory!"
"Pikachu!" The Electric Mouse cheered.
Forrest returned his Pokémon and met Ash in the middle of the field. "That was surely a battle to remember." He extended his hand out. "Lots of things I can learn as I work my way up the ladder. You should be proud of your ability in recognizing when your Pokémon have reached their limit. Many would have had given up and allowed their Pokémon to get hurt."
Ash shook his hand. "Thanks. The way you used your Pokémon's physique was inspiring. I can't wait to review our match and continue to see how you'll use other rock-types for my research."
Forrest laughed while Brock walked over with a box. An octagonal-shaped pin rested in the middle. "I hope I can help with whatever you're researching no matter how small of an impact I end up making. Regardless, as the victor, I hereby present you with the Boulder Badge, proof that you have conquered the Pewter City Gym."
Ash held the badge in his palm before raising it into the air to strike a pose for the cameras. "I get earned myself the Boulder Badge!"
"Pi-Pikachu!" Pikachu joined in.
"Charmander-Char!" Charmander spat of flames once again.
Ash exited the field while waving to the ground. Within the trainer tunnel, he looked at his phone to see that the League had granted him with a $1000 for his victory and he had earned the rank of Trainer. He also saw a few messages from his friends and family congratulating him on his victory. The one that made him pause was Gary's message.
Gary: Dumb luck if you ask me. Picking Charmander against a rock-type Gym. What were you thinking?
Ash: Considering the rest of my team, Charmander had the best odds.
Gary: You were better off finding a water-type or grass-type. Though, let's see how you actually face off against a Gym Leader!
Ash sighed, unsure of what to make of Gary's response. On some level he was right, but he didn't want to fall too behind his rival. He stuffed his phone into his pocket while heading back into the locker room.
Along the way, he encountered a girl wearing a blue top and shorts over leggings. She had brown hair that went down to her shoulder. She clapped as he entered the waiting area.
"Bravo," she said. "That was some impressive battle. I never would have guessed that a fire-type would have been the star at a rock-type gym."
"Thanks," Ash laughed. "It does know a super effective move so I figured it wasn't a terrible match as everyone was probably making it out to be."
The girl nodded. "I'm Verity by the way. Remember me because I'm going to defeat you one way or another."
Ash smirked. "We'll see." The light turned green, indicating it was her turn to head battle. "Good luck."
He exited the tunnel and into the locker room where everyone looked at him awkwardly. He ignored the feeling and headed towards the front desk where Serena and Miette were waiting for him. Both of them had a rose in their hands.
"Congratulations, Ash!" Both of them said while handing the rose to him.
"These are for me?" He took them, dumbfounded by the gesture.
Miette giggled. "Of course, silly. It's customarily for people in Kalos to hand a flower to someone they admire or after an impressive victory."
Serena frowned. "I somehow doubt the second part but I agree with someone you admire."
Ash laughed. "Is that right? What did you two admire about me or my Pokémon out there?"
"I admired your dedication and the love and care you had for your Pokémon," Miette answered. "Seeing you trained kept me on my toes and my skills sharped for my next Contest!"
Serena played with her hair. "I admired how you never gave up on Charmander. Despite its confidence being low because of Damian, you kept working with it. And now, it's really happy to have won!"
"Well I couldn't have done all of that without you two supporting me," Ash remarked with a smile. "Serena with taking detailed notes on each of my Pokémon and Miette with some pointers. I owe my victory to the both of you!"
The trio headed back towards the Pokémon Center where they decided to take pictures of different landmarks along the way. Miette stopped them at an intersection with one of the paths leading to the forest with a mountainous range. Ash was confused by the gesture.
"This is where we'll part ways," Miette sighed.
"Are you sure?" Ash folded his arms. He had grown fond of Miette's presence and curious to learn more about her. "We're heading to Cerulean City too. Why not come with us?"
Serena elbowed Ash to his confusion. "Let her leave if she wants. Besides, she probably has other things to do outside of being your training partner."
Miette smiled at Serena. "I appreciate the invitation, but Serena is my rival regardless of her reasoning to be a Coordinator. I must treat her as one and not reveal too many of my secrets."
"I wouldn't want it any other way," Serena folded her arms.
"Whatever you say," Miette winked. "Be ready to face me because I won't hold back!"
Serena glared at her. "You're the one who should be prepared next time! I'm planning on winning the Cerulean City Contest."
"Now you sound more like a Coordinator," Miette replied. Then she handed Ash a card. "Why don't we keep in touch? I hope you'll support me and my dreams as I'll always support you."
Ash took the card with a smile. "Thanks, I'll be sure to check in from time-to-time."
Serena pouted. "Shouldn't you be leaving?"
"If that's what you want!" Miette leaned in and pecked him on the cheek. Then she ran down the street before anyone could react.
Serena covered her mouth as if she had seen a ghost-type. Eevee and Pikachu covered their ears.
Ash rubbed the spot where he had been kissed. A dreadful feeling washed over his body for unknown reasons. It was if something was wrong with the world.
Brock sat down on a bench in his locker room after a long day of grueling battles. He ended the day with a 13-18 record for the day. His last four battles against other Ace Trainers was the worst as he barely defeated three of their Pokémon each. The thought of him losing the position weighed heavily on his mind.
Without the money, how could he afford to take care of his large family? Even if all of them were able to work a job, they wouldn't be able to pay for nicer items or have a higher education.
His brother sat across from him. After losing his first match as Trainee, he had impressively won 7 in a row. He was rough around the edges but embodied what it meant to be a Gym Leader. Brock couldn't be prouder of him.
Forrest had worked hard in obtaining the right to be a Trainee. Whenever he wasn't babysitting, he would challenge nearby trainers and participated in minor competitions to raise his rank until he was finally recognized by the PLA to be of the Challenger class. Then he passed the written exam and battle examinations with flying colors.
"How long do you think they'll wait until giving you the boot?" Forrest asked.
Brock shrugged. "If we're lucky, maybe they'll wait until the end of the season. Then we gotta hope the next Gym Leader doesn't fire you."
Forrest sighed. "I refuse to believe it's a foregone conclusion. There's still plenty of time for you to turn your record around."
The Gym Leader appreciated his brother's optimism, but give how he felt about battles in recent times, he doubts he will see much improvement. "Enough about our future. Why don't we head home to celebrate your debut? The people of Pewter City really seemed to have enjoyed your battles."
"I have a better idea." Forrest stood up. "Why don't we head over to the Battle Buffet? The chef there challenges customers to battles to see if they pay or get their meal for free. He's of the Challenger class and has helped me a lot for my training."
Brock folded his arms, seeing where his brother was coming from. "So you want me to ask this stranger if he wanted to be a Gym Leader in exchange for a job at his restaurant?"
"If it means keeping my position, I don't see why that's such a bad thing," Forrest pleaded.
Ever since they were kids, Forrest had always been fascinated with battles. Mostly it had to do with their dad being Gym Leader and Brock as a Rock-Type Specialist Trainer and participating in the Pokémon League. To become a Gym Leader was his dream.
Brock rose from his seated position and sighed. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to get a feel of his character. No promises of asking him."
Brock followed his brother to the Battle Buffet and headed straight to the battlefield after paying a small fee. As they entered, a battle was just beginning. When Brock looked at the competitors, he was astonished to see Ash Ketchum of all people in the trainer box against the chef who looked familiar to him.
Forrest pointed at the chef. "That's the person I was telling you about. His name is Frank. I suggested to him because he also specializes in rock-types."
Brock held his chin. It couldn't be, could it?
"I suppose congratulations are in order, though it was mighty lucky of your Charmander to learn Flamethrower at that time," Frank remarked.
"That wasn't luck!" Ash retorted. "I trained really hard with my Pokémon and that was the result of our training!"
Off to a bad impression. A Gym Leader needed to find ways to encourage growth from their challengers instead of upsetting them. Let alone a Gym Leader needed to recognize the skills and hard work the challengers put in as well.
"Then let's put that to the test," Frank stated and tossing out his Pokéball. "Onix, steel yourself!" The Rock Snake Pokémon appeared.
Brock raised an eyebrow at the battle cry. He gripped his arms, hoping he was imagining things.
"Charmander, I choose you!" Ash pointed outward.
"He's using Charmander again?" Forrest questioned. "He must be one bold trainer like his father."
No, that wasn't it. Red tended to lead people into a fail sense of security with his chooses and decisions. Based on Ash's reactions in the Gym, Brock could tell he was doing it for Charmander's sake. "Forrest, your one mistake today was writing off that Charmander. Type matchups aren't everything. You should pay close attention."
The judge explained the rules for a one-on-one battle with their wager. "Battle begin!"
"Dragon Breath!" Frank began.
"Flamethrower!" Ash countered.
A stream of fire clashed with mystical blue energy in the middle of the field. While it was an even match at first, Flamethrower eventually overpowered the Dragon Breath to scorch the Rock Snake Pokémon.
"Way to go, Charmander!" Ash praised.
Frank frowned and shook his head. "You still have a lot to learn, boy. Onix, use Rock Throw and then Rock Polish!"
Onix slammed its tail, summoning rocks to bat at the fire-type. Following that, it cleared the dirt off its body.
Charmander avoided the first volley as well as the second.
The Rock Snake Pokémon continued to bat rocks over with its increased speed. The third and fourth volley slammed into Charmander.
The strategy seemed all too family with Brock. He started to furrow his eyebrows.
"Flame Charge and Metal Claws!" Ash commanded.
"Keep up the pressure!" Frank shouted.
Charmander busted into flames, slashing through the rocks, and making its way closer to Onix.
Onix continued to bat rain rocks upon the field. Most of them were slashed into pebbles while some of it missed its target.
"Dragon Breath!" Frank hollered.
"Let's show them our Dragon Breath!" Ash yelled.
Like before, their attacks collided in the middle only this time neither stream moved an inch.
"But how?" Ash had his jaw dropped.
"Raw strength can only get you so far," Frank explained with his arms folded.
Brock gritted his teeth. There was no doubt in his mind who Frank really was.
"Onix, use Slam!" Frank ordered.
"Metal Claws!" Ash waved his arm across his body.
Onix canceled out its Dragon Breath in order to swing its tail.
The fire-type braced itself with its claws having a metallic coating.
The rocky tail hit its mark, sending Charmander on a ride. As it turned out, Metal Claws allowed Charmander to sink its claws into the tail and hold on for dear life.
"What?" Frank was taken aback.
"Smokescreen!" Ash followed up.
"Get it off of you!"
Charmander released a thick layer of smoke while riding the tail that it was eventually flung into the air.
"Above you!" Frank exclaimed. "Dragon Breath!"
"Flamethrower into Metal Claws!" Ash commanded
Both attacks collided in the air with Flamethrower overpowering Onix's Dragon Breath. The flames burned across Onix's face as Charmander descended.
With its position, the Lizard Pokémon managed to scratch the Rock Snake Pokémon several times before landing.
Onix roared and collapsed onto the ground.
"Onix is unable to battle!" The judge declared. "The winner is our customer which means his meal is free of charge!"
Brock took a deep breath, trying to maintain his composure and waiting until a more opportune time to speak to Frank.
Forrest nodded slowly. "Impressive. That Charmander will be a force to be wrecking with whenever it evolves."
Ash rushed out into the field to pick up the Lizard Pokémon. "You did it Charmander! You're the best!"
"Charmander!" It produced a Flamethrower in celebration.
Frank returned his Pokémon and approached the young man. "Young man, that was clever of you to use Metal Claws to hook onto Onix's tail and blinded it to take it down."
Maybe he was tough on his opponents for another reason, Brocks let out a sigh.
"Why thank-"
"However, you're overly reliant on raw power," Frank continued. "My Onix matched your Charmander's Dragon Breath because I trained in precision to be able to cut power. Until you're able to hone your Pokemon's strength, you will nothing be more than a strong breeze to a strong wind."
Brock had seen enough and marched onto the field. "That's just wrong and you know it!"
The chef was taken aback while the entire crowd fell in silence.
"Not going to say anything Franks?" Brock huffed. "Or should I call you dad?"
The crowd whispered to itself.
Forrest ran onto the field. "Wait that can't be right!"
Ash took a few steps back. "You mean, I just faced off against a former Gym Leader and won?!"
Franks sighed, removing his fake beard and chef's hat. Indeed, he was a coward of a father, Flint Harrison. "I didn't know you were watching. I suppose you would never forget one of the lessons I taught you years ago."
"Only you were a lot kinder back then," Brock scolded before turning to Ash. "Special Attacks are just like any muscle that your Pokémon needs to work on. Conditioning its strength to be precise and in control can match any raw power attack."
The young man appeared to be lost in thought over his words.
Then the Gym Leader turned to his father. "However, that alone doesn't determine the strength of a Trainer nor what they can do with their Pokémon with the right guidance. Ash here has demonstrated that twice now with Forrest and you. It took some out of the box thinking and belief in his Pokémon to overcome a type-disadvantage. You have no right to judge him and declaring that he's weak when he's a strong, capable Trainer. As former Gym Leader, you should be ashamed of yourself and more so for the pain, you caused to our family!"
Flint stared at his son and nodded slowly, turning to the crowd of people. "Thank you for your humble generosity, but I would appreciate everyone to clear out. We're closing this battlefield until this family matter is resolved."
Ash returned his Pokémon and met up with a honey-blonde girl. They were about to leave when Flint stopped them.
"Hold up, Ketchum," he began. "Forgive me if some of my words have been harsh. Truth is, you're doing better than most for your skill level. I can tell by how much Charmander has grown and behaves differently when you were last here. Like anyone, you can still improve."
Ash unexpectedly bowed. "Thanks for a great battle. While harsh, that's what I needed to hear to get my act together or else I wouldn't have earned my badge. They also helped me understand the ways of unlocking a Pokémon's full potential. I wish you all the best in sorting this out."
Brock was curious about him. First at the Gym when he mentioned research and now about his presumed topic. When he and his friend left, Lola closed the doors appearing to be sad.
"Mom…" The Gym Leader gasped.
"It's been a long while my boys," she sniffled. "I'm so sorry to have abandoned you at your greatest time of need." She attempted to head in for a hug when Brock held out his hand.
He shook his head. "Don't you think for a second that saying sorry is going to be enough!"
Forrest nodded in agreement. "Both of you have a lot of explaining to do!"
Flint sighed while placing his hands behind his back. "As you know, I went on a journey to get stronger so maybe one day I could reach the top of the World Championship League; however, I discovered that it's a big world out there and lost many times heading towards the top that I eventually missed my role as a Gym Leader and helping people learn and grow."
"I found him on the outskirts of the city when my career in painting went rye too," Lola added. "We wanted to head home, but we didn't know what to do or say. We peaked through the window to see how happy everyone seemed to be without us so we decided to live new lives and open a restaurant."
Brock breathed in deeply, absorbing all of it. "Instead of helping to support our family, you decided on making money on your own selfish desires?"
Flint shook his head. "The goal of the restaurant was never to get rich off of my battling. We hoped that one day you would have brought the family over so we could have at least check up on you. While I did want to keep up my battling skills, I hoped that I could face you once again and give you some guidance in your slump. When I discovered that you stopped that burning flame inside to battle, I wanted to reveal ourselves to you but then Forrest started to come by for some training."
"I can't believe I never realized it before," the Trainee slapped his forehead. "In my defense, the beard threw me off beside mom never serving me food."
Brock closed his eyes, thinking of what his parents had told him. While he was still worked up about them leaving and forcing him to be a single parent to nine different people, he couldn't deny that they still cared about them. Could there be a way for everyone to win?
Ash reviewed the notes that Serena had taken over the past few days and the advice they had heard on his laptop. He decided it was about time to organize some of his findings with Serena helping wherever she could. They sat in the lounge of the Pokémon Center with Pikachu and Eevee resting on the table.
On the screen was a list of his Pokémon with several categories on the top. Goals made up one category while another one had limitations.
For instance, he had already completed one of Butterfree's goals while working to find another goal. Under limitations, Serena helped to identify that it was not good at close quarters combat nor could take advantage of many physical moves. It most likely wouldn't be able to take many physical hits either given its soft body so using its range moves would be most effective.
The last category pertained to honing a Pokémon's strength. Maybe he was tired but he couldn't figure out how one went about developing non-physical muscles.
"Hmm," Ash scratched his chin. "I think some limitations change pending on evolution considering Caterpie and Metapod hardly know any moves compared to Butterfree."
The honey-blonde nodded. Ever since Miette left, she had been a bit distant until Ash complimented her and everything went back to normal. "I guess you'll have to update the list whenever your Pokémon choose to evolve."
"Yeah…now only I had a clue on developing special moves." He looked upward. "How does one train for precision?"
"Perhaps looking at some more Contests will help!" His best friend winked at him. "Plenty of performances require precise movement and coordination. I bet I can find some basic training videos for us to look at!" She pulled out her phone to look up some videos.
Ash acknowledged that Coordinators did hone in their Pokémon's power for crazy performances. He leaned over Serena's shoulder to see an exercise involving a Frisbee and having a Pokémon with Gust keep it afloat. He typed it down for Pidgeotto and Butterfree to try later on.
A person grabbed their attention by clearing his throat. To their surprise, it was Brock.
"Mind if I have a seat?" He asked.
Serena gestured for him to sit at their booth. "Go right ahead."
Brock sat down with his arms on the table, appeared to be nervous. "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything too important."
"Not at all," Ash coyly replied. "This is my best friend, Serena. What brings you by here at this time of night?"
"I came here to see you," he laughed. "I feel like you needed to know a few things about what had transpired at the restaurant."
Serena shook her head. "That's none of our business, but I'm glad you came by. I wanted to thank you for supporting Ash when practically the entire stadium booed Ash."
Brock smirked. "Sometimes people forget that Pokémon are friends first and not tools for profit. Watching from afar is different than actually owning a Pokémon. Regardless of how you might feel, I do need to get a few things off my chest. First of all, my father wanted to apologize once again for his poor behavior."
Ash swatted the air. "It's fine. In a weird way, he was right in his criticism. I haven't really taken my training seriously up until this point in time and he had given me a new lead on my research as well as yourself with understanding a Pokémon's limit!"
"I'm glad you took it in a positive way," he replied. "Many Trainers who faced my father did not have that same experience due to his harshness."
"Why was he so harsh after battles?" Serena asked.
"Pride," Brock said simply. "Many people bashed me and the Gym that put a lot of stress on my mother. When my dad realized what had been happening, he began to grow a bit bitter about people he battled. Regardless if they're a casual Trainer or pro, he didn't hold back until my brother entered the picture."
Ash tilted his head. "How didn't your bother recognize your own father?"
"The beard threw him off aside him not knowing some of the lessons he had taught me. It took some time, but I will never forget the training he had me do when I challenged the Regional League."
Ash remembered watching as a kid and seeing him get top 16 prior to becoming a Trainee to Flint. The father, son duo became a hot topic on the internet for a year prior to Flint's abrupt exit.
"Did the trash talk have something to do with you wanting to be a Pokémon Doctor?" Serena asked.
"Hard to say how that got out of my household, but mainly people began disrespecting me is due to my losing record."
Ash took a sip of his drink. "The PLA could remove and replace him at any moment."
"I would be lying if that didn't plague my mind over the past year," Brock admitted. "I wouldn't be surprised if that was another reason for my decline. Aside from that, I don't believe I'm a fighter at heart anymore. The years taking care of my family have shown me how much I care about helping people and Pokémon alike." He paused. "I wanted to ask you if you would accept me to join you on your journey."
Ash looked at Serena who had an equally confused expression on her face. He understood that he wanted to be a doctor but one needed to head to school for that, not a journey. "Uh…come again?"
The aspiring doctor looked at the table. "I've talked to the League office and we reached an agreement to have my dad retake over the Gym; however, the money he would make along with Forrest and the restaurant won't be enough to get me into a decent school to learn what I need to learn. Most of that money will be put towards ensuring my younger siblings have a future."
"But I still don't understand why travel with us?" Ash scratched his head.
"I meant what I said at the Gym about you having my respect," he continued. "I want to travel with people who won't put their Pokémon in harm's way. That way, I can slowly learn what I need to learn assuming you wouldn't mind having me look at your Pokémon first."
Maybe it was a good thing he didn't know of the Spearow incident, the Team Rocket incident, or what Ash did at the lab.
Serena scratched her cheek. "Hmm, what type of Medical Licenses do you have?"
"Medical Rock-Types Level 5," he replied. "The PLA requires that Gym Leaders undergo medical training for their specific type but I also manage to pass exams for Level 1 for other types. Though, passing a test and actually doing it is completely different."
Serena clapped her hands. "Well, we can help with understanding some of the basics some more as we've performed first aid so many times that I've lost track. We're licensed with Level 1 for all types too."
"So will you be willing to have me as your Pokémon's Doctor once I'm caught up to speed?" Brock turned to Ash.
"Um, I guess it couldn't hurt to have another person with us," Ash laughed. "Especially if one of us manages to befriend a rock-type. Plus, you can give me some valuable tips and feedback."
Brock grinned. "That I can do." He let out a sigh. "I still have some Gym duties I need to take care of tomorrow, but after that I'll be free to travel with you, assuming you can wait."
Serena nodded. "Definitely! It'll also give us some time to progress Ash's research."
"That was something else I wanted to ask," Brock said. "What's the deal with this research?"
Ash explained about their position at Professor Oak's Lab with Serena chiming in wherever she could. He passionately explained his goals and how his research was going to help fulfill his goal. This sparked heavy debate on how one goes about it with Brock and into the night.
AN: I hoped you enjoyed the first Gym Battle. Let me know some of your thoughts.
Next Time: The Knights of Rota ("There goes that dream...")
Questions You Might Have
Q: Why did Ash use Charmander?
Given his team, it was the best of his remaining Pokemon. Pikachu wouldn't have had access to electric moves unlike Charmander with fire. It had a super effective physical move compared to Pidgeotto and it didn't have a four times weakness like Butterfree.
