"Hello challenger,". A robotic voice said. "Input name and number of badges."
"Ashton Ketchum, and 20 badges. Plus friends." Ash said.
"When'd he earn 20?" Wally asked.
"He lets us call him Ash but he still goes by Ashton, I wonder why?" Brendan asked.
"Anyone want to explain why we're here?" Flannery asked.
"Haha! Ashton! Brendan! Wally! Its good to see you three!" Wattson said. "And I see you have a new friend."
"Good to see you Wattson, sorry about the robot." Ash apologized.
"No matter, it will reboot shortly." Wattson said. "I'm glad you decided to stop by."
"So did you have any luck deciphering the strange stone we found?" Ash asked, as Wattson lead them down a hallway.
"Alas, I did not." Wattson said. "I hope it's alright, I sent it to an expert on stones to have them look at it."
"AN expert on stones?" Brendan questioned.
"Most people call them geologists." Wally commented.
"Yes well most know him as champion Steven." Wattson said.
"Wait Steven is an expert on stones?" Brendan asked in shock.
"More of ancient fossils, but he has the equipment to analyze it." Wattson said. "But that's not the only reason you're here, now is it Ashton?"
"Nope, you asked me for a battle next time I was in town, and here we are." Ash said.
"Yes, yes. Now we won't count this as an official gym battle." Wattson assured. "I know you have an aversion to these things."
"I've been getting better at it." Ash admitted.
"Wonderful!" Wattson exclaimed. "How about a two on two?"
"Actually can we do a one on one. Pikachu vs your Raichu?" Ash asked.
"Interesting idea, I'm considering it. Alright, one on one. A battle of the Chus." Wattson said.
"Wait, if Ash wins this badge, doesn't this mean we all have one." Wally joked.
"I mean I'm on temporary leave from mine, so I don't actually own the badge." Flannery said.
"First the symbols, and now badges?" Brendan groaned. "I think I need a ribbon just to even the playing field."
"Yeah, good luck with that." Ash joked. "We're only hitting new towns and cities for a bit, so I'll be competing to win until I get my last two."
"Sorry, I wasn't ready for a battle so soon." The gym trainer apologized, going to center arena. "Trainers at your ready."
"Ready." Ash said.
"Ready." Wattson said with confidence.
"Battle begin!" The gym trainer said.
"Raichu give them a shock!"
"PIkachu, I choose you!"
"Raichu use Slam!"
"Pikachu use Quick Attack!"
The two Pokemon collided, with Raichu flying backwards with great speed, while Pikachu stumbled back.
"Come on Pikachu, lets show him our Shock Wave!"
Pikachu spun his tail in a circle rapidly, launching the ring of built up electricity at the recovering Raichu.
"Cute." Wattson said. "Now show him how a real Shock Wave looks."
Brendan was surprised that Raichu was able to build up the same attack in a fraction of the time, launching it mere moments after the command was given.
"Pika!" Pikachu cried, as the sparks wrapped up his limbs.
"Pikachu use Iron Tail to break free!" Ash called out.
"Raichu stop them with Slam!"
Pikachu's tail began to shimmer and shine, as Raichu leapt at its pre-evolved form. Just as Pikachu broke free from the previous attack, Raichu landed on top of him.
"Pikachu break free with a Thunderbolt!"
"Wait be careful with that!" Wattson said, but it was to late. The electrical attack arched off of Pikachu's tail, and through Raichu and out of it's tail, hitting the main junction box for the gym.
"What's going on!?" Wally cried out, as the systems went crazy.
"This will be fixed shortly, its how it's fixed that is the issue." The gym trainer said, putting on a jacket. "You guys might want to grab these."
Electricity fired from throughout the arena, bouncing all over the place, until it recollected on Pikachu's and Raichu's tails. Pikachu rose from the ground, his eyes red, and sparks coming from his cheeks. Ash looked over to see the same was happening with Wattson's Raichu.
"Pikachu use Quick Attaargh!" Ash cried out as Pikachu slammed into him.
"I tried warning you, but with that much electricity flying about, it would go back to Pikachu and Raichu. Unfortunately, when that happened they got overcharged." Wattson said.
"How do we fix it?" Ash asked.
"We need to get them to vent the extra energy safely. Have the milkers been repaired?" Wattson asked.
"Not since last time." The gym trainer said.
"What about Marshtomp?" Brendan asked. "Electric attacks won't faze him, and if we move outside of the arena, it won't be able to come back to them?"
"We may not be able to get them out of here that easily, we need something immediately." Wattson said.
"Brendan, what about Elektrike?" Wally asked. "He can absorb electricity too."
"And with Spark, he can offload the excess electricity safely to the ground types!" Brendan exclaimed.
One convoluted draining session later
"Pikachu should be feeling much better in about a day." Wattson said. "Until then, he'll just be a bit tired."
"Thanks for the quick thinking and advice." Ash said. "Sorry you haven't had any great battles against us."
"Nonsense, these battles were wonderful." Wattson said. "That goes for both of you. If you're looking for another gym badge, I'd look at Fortree City, it's in the far northern forest."
"Fortree CIty, that barely shows up on the regional map." Wally said, looking at his Pokenav.
"Sir, the ferry across the river is down for repairs." The gym trainer said.
"I'll take a look, see if I can't get it up and running a bit quicker." Wattson said. "WIth my help it should be up by tomorrow afternoon. Until then, there's plenty to do around Mauville."
Authors Notes
So I write all these chapters in release order including the Revived Logs, and you might have noticed, the last few chapters have been lacking a bit, I'm glad to say that this chapter got me out of that funk, so the next few should be better. I'm sorry if they weren't enjoyable.