Kanto Route 6, South end…

"All right! There's Vermilion City, guys!"

"Wartort!"

"Mankey!"

It had been five days since Brayden and his Pokémon had won at the Cerulean City Gym, and they had traveled south to the port town of Vermilion City. Here, Brayden planned to win his third Badge.

"Just a quick stop at the Pokémon Center, then we get the Thunder Badge! I'm so psyched!" Brayden exclaimed.

Wartortle was about to chime in, but suddenly, Mankey flew into a rage.

"MAN! KEY!" The Pig Monkey Pokémon screamed, beating his chest.

"What the—?! Mankey, what's the matter?!" Brayden cried out as the Fighting-type sped away.

Unbeknownst to Brayden, Mankey was actually just eager to battle. His last major battle had been a loss to Blue's Fearow, so Mankey wanted to get to the next Gym Battle as soon as possible.

"Come on, Wartortle! We need to make sure Mankey doesn't cause any trouble!"

Brayden said as he ran after their friend.

"War, Wartortle!" the Turtle Pokémon cried worriedly as he hastily followed.

Meanwhile, at the Vermilion City Pokémon Center…

"Aw man, I still can't believe we lost to Lt. Surge. Maybe I didn't give you guys the right commands?" said a young boy to his Pokémon.

"Charmeleon…?"

"Pika—chu."

The medium-sized Fire-type Pokémon was wondering what his Trainer meant, while the little Electric-type nodded.

The boy sighed, then folded his arms.

"Oh well. Guess we better go back to Route 6 and train some more."

He walked out of the Center, his Fire Pokémon at his side. The Electric one, however, went down on all fours and broke into a run, eager to get started on their training.

"Hey, Pikachu, wait for us!" the Trainer called out, running after his Pokémon.

"Charm, Charm!" the Fire Pokémon cried, concerned, as it followed suit.

As the Electric Pokémon rounded a house by the city gate, an angry fur ball collided with it.

*SMACK!*

"Pik—aaaa!"

"Maaan!"

Both Pokémon collapsed to the ground, holding up their heads in pain.

"Oh no! P-Pikachu!" the boy cried in shock.

Mankey was the first to get up, red with rage, and he wasted no time showing his fury to the Pokémon that got in his way.

"MAN! MAN MAN MANKEY!"

Pikachu quickly got to his feet and angrily shouted back, "PIKA?! PIKACHU!"

"W-W-Wait a second!" Pikachu's Trainer said stammered as he waved his hands frantically, fearful of what Mankey might do. "We're sorry, Mankey! Please, d-don't hurt us…"

Steam blew out of Mankey's nose, and Pikachu's red cheeks crackled with electricity, but at that moment, Brayden and Wartortle finally caught up to them.

"Mankey! Stop, please!" Brayden cried out anxiously.

The simian turned his gaze toward his Trainer, then folded his arms, begrudgingly.

The other boy was relieved to see Mankey had a Trainer, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was a close one. You really saved us." he said to Brayden.

"I'm really sorry my Mankey spooked you like that. I guess he's just anxious to fight the Gym Leader." Brayden said.

Hearing those words caused the Pikachu Trainer to completely flip his mood.

"You want to fight Lt. Surge too?" he asked Brayden excitedly.

Brayden was quite astonished by this exuberance at first, but then he realized this was a chance for him to show off his badges to someone other than his mother or Professor Oak.

"You got it! In fact…"

Brayden fished the Badge Case out of his bag.

"I already have two badges!" he said proudly as he showed off the Boulder and Cascade Badges.

The other Trainer's eyes sparkled as he admired the badges. "Really?! I've got two Badges, too!"

Brayden watched as the other boy brought out his own badge case. These badges were completely different from Brayden's, as one was shaped like a heart, and the other resembled a flower.

"I got 'em from Fuchsia City and Celadon City!" he said, grinning. After putting his case away, the boy stuck out his hand.

"My name's Trace. And these two are Pikachu and Charmeleon. Welcome to my hometown!" he said exuberantly.

Brayden smiled and accepted Trace's handshake.

"I'm Brayden. I'm from Pallet Town! Say hello to my partner, Wartortle! You've already met Mankey, of course."

Wartortle walked over to Charmeleon, and their Trainers watched.

"Wartortle." Wartortle greeted warmly.

"Charm, Charmeleon!" Charmeleon responded, happily raising his arms.

The two Pokémon bumped fists and grinned.

"Awesome! They're buddies already." said Brayden.

Trace grinned. "Heh heh! Charmeleon has always been a friendly Pokémon!"

Brayden and Trace then turned their gaze to Mankey and Pikachu, hopeful that those two would follow the example.

Mankey still looked visibly annoyed. He kept his arms folded and was looking away from Pikachu. The latter sighed, then slowly walked over to the Pig Monkey on his hind legs.

"Pika…?" Pikachu asked nervously.

Mankey shook his head and remained silent.

"Pika…Pikachu." the Mouse Pokémon apologized, slightly annoyed.

Mankey stared at Pikachu, and the anger seemed to have disappeared from the Fighting-type.

Pikachu smiled and held out his paw for Mankey to high-five.

Right when it seemed Mankey would accept Pikachu's offer, he flew right back into rage mode.

"MAAAAANNNNNKEEEEYYYY!" he screamed as he gave Pikachu a savage kick in the stomach.

"OH NO!" was the only reaction the stupefied Brayden and Trace could have had.

Pikachu could no longer contain his anger.

"PIKA! PIKA PIKACHU!"

The enraged Mouse Pokémon retaliated with a furious punch right in Mankey's snout.

They would tear each other, and possibly the city, apart if swift action was not taken!

Brayden and Wartortle ran over to Mankey as Trace fearfully stepped in front of Pikachu with Charmeleon.

But as they tried to calm their angered Pokémon, Brayden got a better idea.

"Hold up a sec…"

While Wartortle continued to try to restrain Mankey, Brayden turned around and spoke to Trace.

"Why don't we have a battle? Not only will that let Mankey and Pikachu vent their frustrations, it'll be a great way to find out how strong we are!"

A lightbulb went off in Trace's head. "You're right! In fact, I wanted to challenge you anyway!" he said excitedly. He leaned down and looked at Pikachu.

"What do you say, Pikachu? Want to have a proper battle with Brayden and Mankey?"

Pikachu was surprised, but accepted almost immediately.

"Pi…Pikachu!"

"How about it, Mankey? Ready to battle?" Brayden asked.

Mankey's fury immediately disappeared when he heard the word "battle."

"Man Man Mankey!" Mankey shouted while backflipping twice.

None of them had realized that they were being watched by four mysterious figures (two men and two Pokémon to be exact), who were overcome by what they saw.

"Did you see that, brother?!" One of the men asked.

"Yes. That Pikachu's punch was simply beautiful!" his brother cried in awe.

"Chan!" the second man's Pokémon cheered.

"Not that, fool! The Mankey! It's kick…so strong! So swift!" the first one uttered in admiration.

"Lee!" cried his Pokémon, overjoyed.

"At last! Someone worthy of our move!" both brothers cried in jubilation as they and their Pokémon zoomed towards our hero and his new friend.

"YIKES!" Brayden and Trace shouted together as the strange men and Pokémon appeared before them. The men were wearing karate gi and had black belts tied on their waists.

"Uuhhh…who are you guys?" Trace asked nervously.

Both men chuckled, then stepped apart from each other.

"We are masters of the martial arts! Taught by the great Karate Master of Saffron City!" they said.

One stepped in front of Trace. He and his Pokémon punched one another's fists in rapid succession, then they struck a pose. "Punch Masters, Jackie and Hitmonchan!" he cried.

"Hitmon CHAN!" Hitmonchan bellowed.

The other man faced Brayden, and exchanged swift kicks with his own Pokémon.

"Kick Masters, Bruce and Hitmonlee!" he yelled.

"Lee! Hitmonlee!" Hitmonlee shouted.

The strange quartet continued to hold their stances, and Brayden, Trace, and their Pokémon watched awkwardly for a few moments. A gust of wind blew by. Then, Brayden broke the silence.

"Uhhh…are we supposed to already know who you are?"

The Black Belts collapsed, exasperated.

"How do you not know? We just said we trained at Saffron City's Fighting Dojo!" Bruce sobbed into the ground, as Hitmonlee tried to console him, despite his own tears falling down his face.

"It's as our master feared. Having our Gym status revoked by that psychic witch is causing all of Kanto to forget us!" Jackie murmured.

Hitmonchan simply hung his head in shame.

Now Brayden felt sorry for them, even though they were a little bit strange.

Trace must've felt the same, because he was the next to speak.

"Um, did you guys want something from us?" Trace asked hesitantly.

"Why, yes, we do!" The Black Belts cried in unison, their depression vanishing in their enthusiasm.

Jackie pointed at Trace's Pikachu, and the Mouse Pokémon flinched.

"Your punch just now…marvelous! Outstanding! Hitmonchan and I would be honored to teach you the mighty Mega Punch!" Jackie said eagerly, on one knee. "And don't listen to my idiot brother. His kicking is worthless," he added, out loud.

Bruce fumed, but returned his focus to Brayden's Mankey.

"Don't mind my foolish, punch-happy brother. Please, allow me to teach you the magnificent Mega Kick! A Pokémon with such nimble feet deserves the strongest kick attack." he said, bowing respectfully.

"The strongest, eh?" Brayden said, intrigued. "I'm in! And I know Mankey would love to learn it too, right?" he asked as he glanced at the Pig Monkey Pokémon.

"Man, Mankey!" Mankey nodded rapidly.

Naturally, since it was Mankey's dream to fight the Elite Four, the stronger moves he learned, the better.

"Wonderful! Let's go over to Route 11. There's plenty of space there!" Bruce advised. He and Hitmonlee dashed off to the East, and Brayden, Mankey and Wartortle followed.

Trace was a little bit unsure.

"I mean, it's a very nice offer, but Brayden and I have a battle challenge! I can't just turn away from it when it's what Pikachu wants!"

Jackie placed a hand on Trace's shoulder.

"I understand why you wouldn't want to delay a battle. Running away from a battle is dishonorable. But your friend has already made the choice to learn my brother's (rather pointless) move. The best you can do is prepare to meet his challenge." Jackie said encouragingly.

Trace thought it over in his head. Then, Pikachu jumped onto his other shoulder, and looked the young boy in the eye.

"Pikachu." the Mouse Pokémon said with determination.

"So you want to learn the move?" Trace asked. When Pikachu nodded, Trace had his answer.

"Alright then. Teach us your ways, sir!"

Jackie closed his eyes and smiled. "Hm! Good answer! We shall go to Route 6!"

"Right!" Trace said, trying to pump himself up.

"Once your training is complete, we shall prove to my brother once and for all that Mega Punch is the better move!" Jackie added with ferocity.

"HITMONCHAN!" Hitmonchan chimed in.

"Uuuhhhhh….sure." Trace said awkwardly as they walked past the city gate.

"Pika—Chu…" Pikachu said, unamused.

Next Chapter: Mankey vs Pikachu! Will Mega Kick or Mega Punch win the day? Then, Brayden challenges Vermillion City's Gym Leader, Lightning Lieutenant Surge!