Once both trainers were situated on their sides of the field and the Princess was up in the bleachers, the referee took his place on the platform in the middle of the battlefield.
"The Gym Battle between Ash of Pallet Town and Flannery the Lavaridge Gym Leader will now begin. Each side will use 3 Pokémon and the battle is over when all of the Pokémon from one side are unable to battle. In addition, only the challenger is allowed to substitute Pokémon." The referee announced the rules.
"Meg let's do it!" Flannery called as she threw a pokéball. In a flash of light, a Slugma burst from the ball and landed on the field.
"Slug!" she yelled. Ash smirked confidently and pulled out his own pokéball.
"Corphish! Let's go!" he declared as he threw the ball.
"Cor!" the Water-type said as he also took his place on the field.
"Battle begin!"
"Use Bubblebeam!" Ash ordered. Corphish nodded and opened his claws before launching the Bubblebeam at Slugma.
"Use Smog Meg!" Flannery countered. Slugma opened her mouth and let out a thick dark fog around herself and disappeared within it, making the Bubblebeam miss its target. Ash gritted his teeth with annoyance, not expecting the Poison move. "Now use Yawn!"
"Slug!" Slugma answered as she opened her mouth again and created a pink bubble from it. The bubble floated out of the Smog cloud and headed straight for Corphish, popping in his face once it got close.
"Cor?" Corphish wondered, not feeling any different.
"Oh no Corphish!" Ash called. A wave of drowsiness suddenly came over Corphish and he yawned before falling asleep on the spot.
"Uh oh..." May gulped as she watched Corphish collapse on the field.
"Corphish wake up!" Ash desperately yelled.
"Now's our chance! Use Body Slam!" Flannery ordered. Slugma jumped into the air and landed hard on Corphish, who remained sound asleep even as he took damage. Slugma quickly retreated back into the cloud of smog and disappeared once again.
"Corphish return!" Ash decided, recalling him to his pokéball. He then turned to his starter for help. "You're up Pikachu."
"I'm on it!" the Electric-type nodded before he ran onto the field.
"Dissipate the fog with Thunderbolt!" Ash called out. Pikachu jumped into the blanket of smog and launched Thunderbolt into the fog. The electricity broke up the dense fog as it traveled down it. The smog dissipated after breaking up and the shock was able to find its way through the fog to Slugma, paralyzing her from the indirect contact.
"Meg no!" Flannery gasped.
"Quick Attack!" Ash yelled. Pikachu nodded and charged towards the immobile Fire-type with Quick Attack.
"Use Flamethrower!" Flannery hurriedly called. Slugma managed to lift her head and fire off a Flamethrower from her mouth. With the speed of the move greatly reduced, Pikachu was able to dodge the stream of fire and land his Quick Attack.
"Now while you're close! Thunder!" Ash said. While still in contact with Slugma, Pikachu let loose a powerful Thunder, and Slugma cried out in pain as electricity coursed through her body.
"Meg!" Flannery gasped. Once the attack finally stopped, Pikachu moved back to his side of the field and Slugma collapsed, swirls appearing in her eyes.
"Slugma is unable to battle, Pikachu wins!" the referee declared.
"Woo hoo!" May cheered, earning a smile from Ash. Flannery recalled Slugma to her pokéball and smiled sadly at it.
"Meg you were great. Take a good rest." She congratulated her friend before grabbing another pokéball. "Alright Mag let's go!" she yelled, throwing the ball. Out of it came a Macargo who took Slugma's place on Flannery's side of the field.
"Macargo!" he announced himself.
"Can you keep going Pikachu?" Ash asked. Pikachu nodded and he nodded back. "Alright then use Quick Attack!"
"Take this!" Pikachu yelled as he charged in towards Macargo.
"Mag use Flamethrower!" Flannery countered. Macargo reeled his head back and then fired a Flamethrower much faster than Slugma did earlier. This left Pikachu with no time to dodge and he got hit by the attack, forcing him backwards. Ash grit his teeth and quickly decided to switch tactics.
"Thunderbolt Pikachu!" he ordered. Pikachu heard his command and dug his paws into the dirt to stop from moving. He then fired a Thunderbolt at Macargo in order to keep his distance.
"Dodge with Double Team!" the Gym Leader commanded her Pokémon.
"Macar!" Macargo agreed as he quickly used Double Team and spread his copies to spread across the field. Not knowing where to aim, Pikachu's Thunderbolt hit one of the copies and it faded instantly.
"Sandstorm now!" Flannery followed up. Macargo called out loudly and launched a powerful Sandstorm from his shell, enveloping the entire field in surging sand. Even May up in the stands had to shield her face from the wind and sand to try and see the battle. Ash grit his teeth, knowing that Pikachu's attacks wouldn't work well in this mess.
"Pikachu come back for now!" he called. Pikachu nodded and quickly ran off the field and back to his side. After a moment to consider his options, Ash selected a new pokeball and threw it onto the field, releasing Corphish. The Water-Type was unfortunately still sleeping which Ash had forgotten about. "Corphish..!"
"This should be easy. Mag use Flamethrower!" Flannery said. Macargo fired another Flamethrower and it hit the stationary Corphish. It wasn't doing a lot of damage, but the constant attack on the unmoving target and the raging Sandstorm combined began to build more and more damage the longer Corphish slept.
"Snap out of it Corphish!" Ash desperately begged. Corphish continued to sleep for a few more moments before he finally woke up abruptly.
"Cor?!" Corphish gasped.
"Alright! Crabhammer! Now!" Ash demanded. Corphish nodded and jumped up and out of the way of the Flamethrower. He fell directly towards Macargo and hit him with the super effective hit, earning cries of pain. "Quickly use Vice Grip!"
"Phish!" Corphish yelled. He opened his claw and snapped it down on Macargo's head. Macargo again cried in pain and struggled to shake Corphish off. Corphish kept his claw shut and hung on even as Macargo shook him wildly.
"Hang in there Mag! Shake him off!" Flannery encouraged her Pokémon. Her words gave Ash an idea as he called his next attack.
"Crabhammer Corphish! Use the shaking to your advantage!" Corphish used Crabhammer with his free claw and landed the hit with such force that Macargo was sent flying across the field.
"Mag no!" Flannery gasped. Macargo landed hard on the ground and fainted, which made the Sandstorm begin to clear.
"Macargo is unable to battle! Corphish wins!" the referee announced.
"Yay!" May cheered.
"Great job Corphish!" Ash praised his Pokemon.
"Cor corphish!" Corphish exclaimed. Flannery meanwhile recalled Macargo to his pokéball and smiled.
"You were great. Enjoy your rest." She put away his pokéball and pulled out her last one. "We're not done yet. Torkoal let's go!" she threw the pokéball and it opened, revealing her ace Pokémon.
"Torkoal!" the Pokémon yelled. Knowing that Corphish took a lot of damage from both Slugma and Macargo, Ash recalled him again and turned to Pikachu.
"Can you put in one more round Pikachu?" he questioned. Pikachu nodded and ran back onto the field to face off with Torkoal.
"Battle begin!"
"Iron Tail Pikachu!" Ash called out. Pikachu jumped into action quickly and leapt into the air. His tail glowed white and he swung it towards Torkoal.
"Flamethrower now!" Flannery countered. Torkoal launched the Flamethrower even faster than Macargo did and hit the airborne Pikachu with the attack. With such a powerful attack, Pikachu was sent flying backwards and slammed into the ground.
"Pikachu!" Ash gasped.
"Ow…" Pikachu groaned as he struggled to get up again.
"Wrap it up with Sludge Bomb!" Flannery ordered. Torkoal fired a Sludge Bomb at the immobile Pokémon. Near defenseless, Pikachu was hit again and crashed into the back wall from the force of the attack.
"Pikachu..!" Pikachu collapsed to the ground and was left with swirls in his eyes.
"Pikachu is unable to battle, Torkoal wins!" the referee announced. Ash ran to Pikachu and picked him up gently.
"You did great bud..." he smiled softly.
"Sorry I lost..." Pikachu apologized.
"It's okay Pikachu. We can still win this." Ash assured him. Pikachu smiled a little as Ash walked him over to the stands where May was seated. "May, could you watch him for me?"
"Oh. Of course Sir Ash." She agreed. She gently took Pikachu into her arms as Ash returned to his trainer box and thought through his next move before selecting a pokéball.
"Treecko I choose you!" he declared, throwing the ball and releasing his Wood Gecko Pokémon.
"Tree!" Treecko yelled as he took the field.
"A Treecko against a Torkoal...?" May wondered to herself.
"Use Quick Attack and stay away from the mouth!" Ash ordered his Pokémon. Treecko nodded and used Quick Attack, charging towards Torkoal from the side.
"Use Iron Defense!" Flannery countered. Torkoal quickly ducked all her limbs inside her shell at the last minute, forcing Treecko to slam full force into the shell as hard as iron. Treecko yelped in pain and bounced backwards from the hit, landing on the ground.
"Bullet Seed into the shell!" Ash called out. Treecko got back up and fired Bullet Seed at the hole of the shell near Torkoal's head.
"Counter with Overheat Torkoal!" Flannery said. Torkoal launched a massive steam of fire from the front of the shell, obliterating the Bullet Seed before it could hit, and then it hit Treecko full force with super effective damage. May gasped at the power of the move and Ash grit his teeth as Treecko slammed into the ground again, now covered in burn marks.
"T-Tree…" Treecko groaned as he struggled to get up. It was obvious that he had virtually no strength left at this point.
"Treecko…!" Ash gasped.
"Wrap it up with Sludge Bomb again!" Flannery smirked. Torkoal popped back out of her shell and fired off a Sludge Bomb. The move hit Treecko and sent him flying. Treecko slammed to the ground near Ash's feet and was knocked out.
"Treecko is unable to battle! Torkoal wins!" the referee announced. Ash recalled Treecko to his pokeball and thanked him for a job well done as May bit her lower lip worriedly.
"Oh no..." she gulped. Determined to help in any way she could, she cheered loudly. "You can do it, Sir Ash!" Ash heard her cheer and blushed a little as he grabbed his final pokéball and sent Corphish back out. Corphish was panting a little as he took his battle stance, having yet to fully recover from the previous battles.
"Cor...!"
"Harden! Then use Bubblebeam!" Ash quickly ordered him. Corphish raised his defenses with Harden and then launched Bubblebeam at Torkoal and managed to hit her. Torkoal grunted in pain from the bubbles but was able to stand her ground.
"Nice work Torkoal! Use Flamethrower!" Flannery called.
"Torkoal!" Torkoal yelled as she fired off the Flamethrower, countering the Bubblebeam and pushing it back. The two attacks were locked in a pushing match, each side trying to overwhelm the other and break through the stalemate first.
"Keep going! Overheat weakened her!" Ash encouraged Corphish.
"Cor!" Corphish nodded as he continued his onslaught of Bubblebeam. Likewise, Torkoal continued her Flamethrower attack but started to get pushed back as fatigue started to catch up with her.
"Now's your chance! Move in closer!" Ash ordered. Corphish obeyed the command and began running towards Torkoal as he continued to fire the Bubblebeam.
"Push him back Torkoal! Switch to Overheat!" Flannery decided. Torkoal dug deep and used all the power she had left to change her Flamethrower into Overheat.
"Use Harden and keep going!" Ash called. Corphish used Harden again, giving him enough defense to keep pushing forward through the attack as he ran in right up to Torkoal.
"What the?!" Flannery gasped.
"Now! Crabhammer!" Ash screamed. Corphish put everything he had left into a super effective Crabhammer. The attack nailed Torkoal right in the jaw and sent her flying. She crashed into the wall behind Flannery and then collapsed to the ground.
"Torkoal!" Flannery gasped as swirls appeared in her Pokémon's eyes.
"Torkoal is unable to battle Corphish wins! The victory goes to Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!" the referee declared.
"Yes! Corphish you did it!" Ash exclaimed excitedly.
"Corphish cor!" Corphish cheered as he waved his claws in triumph.
"You did it!" May cried happily as she ran over to Ash and hugged him. Ash blushed profusely as he wrapped an arm around her awkwardly and Pikachu sat on his head. "That was amazing!"
"Heh…thanks May." Ash chuckled awkwardly. The two smiled at each other as Flannery walked to them after she recalled her Torkoal.
"That was a great battle, Ash. Well done." She congratulated him.
"Thanks. I couldn't agree more." Ash smiled.
"I'm happy to present you with the Heat Badge as proof of your victory." She explained, holding out the badge in her hand and offering it to him. Ash grinned and accepted the badge.
"Alright! I got a Heat Badge!" Ash declared.
"We did it!" Pikachu cheered. May smiled softly at the two of them, impressed by their passion and skills.
"Good luck with your next battle. I look forward to seeing how far you can go in the Hoenn League.
"Thank you, Flannery. I'll do my best." He agreed.
A little while later, Ash and May had left the Gym and were walking back into the main streets of the town. May was still very giddy about seeing her very first Pokémon battle and it couldn't help but make Ash smile.
"Sir Ash your battle was truly amazing!" she giggled.
"Heh...thanks May." He chuckled.
"Watching you battle…It's made me think more about what we talked about before...you know about finding a Pokémon for me...?" she admitted. This surprised Ash as he looked at her curiously.
"Really?" he wondered.
"I think...I should pursue that..." she decided.
"Well, I think that's great." Ash smiled.
"I am just...unsure how to go about it." May informed him.
"Well, I would be happy to help you figure it out." He assured her. She smiled and hugged him excitedly and he returned the affection.
"I cannot thank you enough Sir Ash..." she whispered.
"Heheh..." he blushed.
"How do I begin?" she asked.
"Well, I suppose it depends on what you'd like to do. And of course, deciding what Pokemon you'd like." He began to explain.
"Well…I suppose I'd like to have a friend as close as you are with Pikachu...and maybe be able to at least battle well enough to help out in a tough situation like we were at the volcano." She considered. "As for Pokémon, I like well...I don't really know but..." she paused with a small smile. "I certainly like Pikachu anyway..." Pikachu smiled at her and hopped off Ash's shoulder and onto her head to thank her for the compliment. May giggled and Ash smiled at his partner's antics. "So maybe a Pokemon similar to him."
"Sure. There's plenty of Pokemon out there as friendly as Pikachu." Ash nodded.
"Then maybe we can find one along the way to your next battle?" she suggested.
"We certainly could. There are also people we could talk to who can give you one if you'd rather." He offered. May tilted her head curiously at his statement.
"There are?" she inquired.
"That's actually how I met Pikachu." He nodded.
"Who would give someone else their Pokémon?" she wondered.
"Well, the point is to give them to new trainers to be their first companions. Those Pokemon are normally easy to train and very friendly." Ash explained.
"I see. That certainly sounds good, though I'm not sure that's an option for me...registering me as a trainer could alert others to my...uniqueness..." May reminded him.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Surely you have to indicate where you're from, who your family is, and other personal information and records do you not?" she suggested.
"Oh, you're right. I hadn't even thought about that." He realized.
"Since I have none of those things, I'd most likely look pretty suspicious to anyone giving out these Pokemon." She concluded.
"I suppose you're right." He acknowledged her concerns.
"I certainly think it's still an option, but perhaps learning to catch a Pokémon would be a safer one." She said. Ash nodded in agreement as she smiled. "What areas do we go through next to get to your next battle anyway?"
"Well, let's find that out." He replied as he pulled out the map again. May looked over his shoulder as Ash studied the markings. "Well unless we want to try and cross the ocean, it would be back in Petalburg City."
"Petalburg City…It looks to be exactly where my family's castle used to be..." she realized.
"Oh..." he winced, hoping he hadn't just upset her with that reality. The last thing he wanted to do was bum her out and remind her of the hard situation she was in. "We don't have to go there if it's too hard for you…" May took a few moments to think before she took in a deep breath.
"It certainly can't hurt to visit…" she answered.
"May we really don't have to if you're not ready." He tried.
"It's ok Sir Ash…I need to face it sooner or later." She assured him. Despite her words, Ash was still able to tell that seeing what had become of her home was going to be hard for her. After a moment to think, he took her hand in his own. She blushed a little and looked up at him in surprise.
"Come on. Let's relax for a bit before we hit the road again." He decided. Able to tell he was trying to cheer her up, May smiled a little and gave a small nod.
"I'd like that."
"What about if we go to the Hot Springs?" he suggested.
"That sounds nice. I haven't been to a hot spring in a long time." She agreed. Ash smiled back and was about to lead her back to the Pokemon Center when a thought crossed his mind.
"Oh, I guess we should first get you a swimsuit or something." He realized. May looked at him curiously.
"A swimsuit?" she wondered. Ash looked back at her, puzzled for a moment over the confusion before it clicked in his head.
"Oh! We have special clothes designed to be worn in water so that they don't get all soiled and ruined." He explained.
"What an interesting idea." She smiled. Giving her hand a quick squeeze, earning another blush from her, Ash took the lead towards the nearest clothing store he could find.
To be Continued...