DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON. ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED BY THE POKEMON COMPANY
Chapter 7: First Badge
"We are finally here! I am so excited to win by first badge!" Ash exclaimed while seeing the Pewter city.
"Rio ri!" "Pikachu!" The pokemon cheered along with him.
"Yeah. At least I am out of that forest. I won't be going back in there." Misty said shooting dark looks at the forest.
"Pewter city is gray, the colour of stone. This town is always been famous for stone." came a voice from below them. They were startled to find a man sitting beneath them.
"Huh! Who is this guy?" Ash asked.
"Dunno." Misty shrugged.
"The name's Flint. You are standing on some of my merchandise young man." Flint said to Ash.
"Oh! Sorry. Uh...You mean you sell rocks?" Ash asked uncertainly.
"Pewter City souvenir. Wanna buy some?" Flint asked.
"No thanks. I am a pokemon trainer and I am here to win my first badge!" Ash said enthusiastically.
"Huh, well your pokemons look somewhat tired." Flint commented. Indeed they did, both Riolu and Pikachu had not gotten rest since the morning they had set out. "Why don't you follow me, I will show you to the pokemon centre." Flint said walking towards the city.
"See, looks can be deceiving. He is a nice guy." Ash assured Misty.
"Are you sure?" Misty asked.
"By the way that will be a 2 dollar charge for resting on my rocks." Flint piped in, appearing in front of them. The others couldn't help but face fault on the ground.
"Here is the Pewter City Gym. The Gym Leader here is Brock and he specialises in rock type pokemon. Come on the Centre is just this way." Flint explained and led them towards a tall building. "This is it. I will wish you luck in your gym battle Ash. Bye kids." Ash and Misty waved at him before entering the centre.
"Nurse Joy, can you please check my pokemon? Riolu and Pikachu don't like being in pokeballs and these are the rest of my pokemon." Ash stated.
"Mine too Nurse Joy." Misty placed her pokeballs on the tray. With her job done Misty skipped away.
"Right away Ash, Misty!" the Nurse said.
"Huh... Nurse Joy?" Ash asked confused.
"Yes I am Nurse Joy" She answered.
"But this isn't Viridian City, is it?" Ash asked still feeling quite confused.
"The Joy you met in Viridian City is my sister. All pokemon centres have Joys and we all look the same because we are sisters. Anyway I heard how you two saved the pokemon centre there. It was very brave of you." Nurse Joy explained.
"Oh, I didn't know that. Riolu, Pikachu don't give her any trouble please. I will see you as soon as you are rested." Ash said patting their heads. "Also could you book two single rooms for myself and Misty please?" Ash asked. Nurse Joy just smiled and handed him two keys.
"Rio Ri(Of course!)" Riolu assured him.
"Pika pi Pikachu(Only if I get ketchup)" Pikachu exclaimed.
Riolu sighed. Pikachu had taken liking to ketchup to the point where he could almost finish half the bottle. Ash chuckled and waved at them following Misty into the cafeteria.
Ash quickly ordered some food for himself and sat down with Misty.
"So Ash, did you register for the Indigo League? I just read on some poster that the date for registering started yesterday." Misty stated.
"Really? I did not see that. Thank you Misty I will register right after we collect our pokemon." Ash said gratefully.
"No problem Ash. So, we never talked about this but what is your dream? Do you want to travel around all the regions competing in their leagues?" Misty asked having finished her meal.
"Yeah. Riolu and I have wanted to become Aura Guardians. But I want to become a Pokemon Master too. So yeah, we will travel to other regions and test ourselves in there." Ash said. "What about you? Do you have a dream? I guess it is a Water Pokemon Master, isn't it?" Ash asked.
"Figured that out, did you? Yes I want to be a Water Pokemon Master. Maybe the member of the Elite Four or the Champion itself." Misty goes starry eyed thinking about the last part. Ash chuckles.
"That's a good dream to have." Just then they heard the announcement for them to come and take their pokemon. "Let's go Misty. Hey before I forget here take your key to your room. I am gonna take my pokemon and do some training for today and tomorrow we will have our battle against Brock."
"Hey guys, did you two eat something? Because we are going to train for the rest of the day." Ash said to Pikachu and Riolu.
"Rio ri rio(I am ready)" Riolu exclaimed fist pumped.
"Pi pika pik chu (Yup. I had plenty of ketchup)" Pikachu exclaimed.
Meanwhile Misty had collected her pokemon. "Hey Ash, I am going to do my own thing today See you later." Misty waved and left.
"Okay guys. Come on out." Ash released Metapod and Pidgeotto who appeared out of their pokeballs and greeted them.
"Alright then. Metapod and Pidgeotto I don't think I will be using you two tomorrow in the Gym battle because you two don't know any moves effective against rock types. Why don't you two go and do some mock battles? Pikachu and Riolu and I will do the preparation for tomorrow." Ash said to his pokemon. Seeing them sulk he added, "Don't worry you two, I will use you both in the next battle. I promise."
"Metapod(No problem Ash)" Metapod replied.
"Pidgeo pid geo(If you are promising.)" Pidgeotto said.
"Now Riolu and Pikachu you need to practise your moves which are effective against rock types which are metal claw and iron tail. Why don't you practise them on those rocks, while I am going to start my own exercise." Ash said and both pokemon nodded in agreement and they made their way to the rocks.
Ash started doing his warm up. As soon as that was done Ash began doing some push ups. Ash had been working out for the last hour and suddenly a bright light came from the direction where he had left his pokemon. He quickly got up and ran as fast he could to see Metapod's cocoon being torn while Riolu, Pikachu and Pidgeotto surrounding the evolving pokemon.
Slowly a Butterfree came out f the cocoon and started flying in circles around itself.
"Free free eee!(I evolved! I can fly!)" Butterfree exclaimed joyfully.
"Congratulations buddy! You evolved!" Ash exclaimed happy for his friend. The others nodded in agreement and offered their own comments.
"Free free ee butterfree(Thank you all, it wouldn't be possible without you.)" Butterfree said to them.
"Hey you guys, why don't we take a break?" Ash asked as he motioned for them to sit down. "So guys, did you all practise your moves?" Ash directed his question towards Pikachu and Riolu.
"Rio ri rio ri ri ri lu riolu (We sure did. Now we are both proficient to use those moves for tomorrow.)" Riolu explained and Pikachu nodded in agreement.
"That's great. So for the rest of the hour Riolu and I would be meditating while the rest of you can either train some more or rest up. Come on Riolu, let's go." Ash said and Riolu followed him to his earlier spot and started their meditation.
Ash stood up and yawned. "Hey it's been two hours since we are meditating Riolu. Come on let's get to the centre." Ash said and quickly recalled Butterfree and Pidgeotto while Pikachu climbed on his shoulder and Riolu started walking beside him.
Pokemon Centre
"Hello Nurse Joy can you please register me for the Indigo league?" Ash asked entering the centre.
"Of course Ash. Give me your pokedex and it will be done in a minute." Nurse Joy said as she took Ash's pokedex and logged it in a computer. "There you go. You are now officially registered for this year's Indigo League." giving back his pokedex.
"Thank you Nurse Joy. See you later." Ash waved to her as he went to the cafeteria for an early dinner.
Ash quickly helped himself and took some healthy food and also took four bowls of pokemon food for their appropriate types. He was searching for a table when he saw Misty calling for him at her table.
"Hey Misty. How was your day?" Ash asked.
"It was good. Me and my pokemon did some intense training and then I went roaming around. What about you? I see Butterfree has evolved. Congrats." Misty said uncertainly. She still had not gotten used to seeing a bug pokemon daily.
Seeing this Ash quickly changed the subject and told her of the events of his day. They finished their dinner talking about random subjects. Soon they left the cafe and called it off a night.
"Let's sleep early. We have to wake up early tomorrow for our battle." Ash said to his pokemon while he changed into his sleep wear. Riolu and Pikachu agreed with him by taking huge yawns.
"Good night guys." Ash said as he climbed onto the bed. Riolu and Pikachu both cuddled up to him.
Next morning
Ash woke up from sleep early in the morning and silently slid off from the bed and entered the bathroom to get ready for the day. He came out and quickly woke up Riolu and Pikachu from their sleep and went downstairs to have breakfast. They quickly ate their meal with Misty and headed towards the Gym.
The Pewter City Gym was actually made out of rock. Ash opened the doors and they walked in and noticed it was dark inside.
"Hello, is anyone here?" Ash asked.
"Maybe they are out?" Misty wondered.
"Who goes there?" a voice boomed.
They jumped in surprise and looked ahead to see a spotlight on a boy a little older than Ash. They assumed he was the Gym Leader.
"My name is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and I challenge you to a gym battle." Ash declared.
"Very well, I accept your challenge." The boy said. Suddenly, the entire gym lit up and a rocky battlefield rolled onto the floor and they saw the boy waiting for Ash on the other side of the battlefield.
"Good luck Ash." Misty said and walked to the sidelines.
When the field was completely formed a referee walked in looking exactly like the gym leader.
"This will be a two-on-two Pokemon battle between the challenger Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town and Pewter City Gym Leader Brock. Only the challenger will be allowed to make substitutions." The referee declared. "Are both trainers ready?"
Ash and Brock nodded.
"Let the battle begin!"
Brock called out his pokemon first, "Geodude, let's go!"
Ash took out his pokedex and scanned it.
Geodude, the Rock Pokemon. Geodude has incredibly high defensive power making it virtually resistant to any physical attacks.
Putting his pokedex away, Ash called out "Let's go Pikachu!" and Pikachu hopped off his shoulder and stood opposite Geodude with his cheeks sparking.
Brock raised his eyebrows, "You are going to use an electric type pokemon?" he asked sceptically.
Pikachu narrowed his eyes, "Pika pi pika chu pika(I will show you!)" Pikachu cried out angrily.
"Don't worry Pikachu, he'll regret it later." Ash smirked.
Brock made the first move, "Geodude use Rock throw!"
"Pikachu dodge with Agility!" Ash called out.
Pikachu vanished in blur trying to dodge the rocks sent by his opponent.
"Use Roll out!" Brock said.
Ash smirked. Now it's a good time to throw him off guard. He won't be expecting this.
"Pikachu use AGILITY AGAIN! NOW THAT YOU HAVE PICKED UP SPEED USE IRON TAIL!" Ash shouted.
"IRON TAIL?" Brock shouted stunned. "GET OUT OF THERE GEODUDE!"
But he was too late as Geodude was moving, Pikachu used Iron Tail on it and Geodude simply fainted.
"Geodude is unable to battle. Pikachu wins!" the referee announced.
Brock silently recalled his pokemon. Never had a trainer beat his pokemon with a type disadvantage. "You caught me off guard Ash. But that won't happen again. I choose you Onix!" Brock threw his pokeball into the field and came out his giant Rock Pokemon.
Ash stared at the large Pokemon as he took out his Pokedex and scanned it.
Onix, the Rock Snack Pokemon. It tunnels through the ground which shakes when it raises its thunderous roar. It can move through the ground at fifty miles per hour.
"Pikachu return. You did a great job." Ash called out and Pikachu came running back and rested on his backpack.
"Let's go buddy!" Ash said looking down at Riolu.
"Riolu(Yeah!)" Riolu cheered and leaped out ready to battle.
Brock looked at Riolu curiously. He knew Onix had a disadvantage against Riolu. But he would be cautious. He did not want to be caught off guard again.
"Onix Use Bind!" Brock called out.
Onix released a roar and went straight at Riolu, intending to wrap the small Pokemon.
"Dodge it and use Force Palm!" Ash shouted.
Riolu dodged the incoming attack from Onix, causing it to crash into the ground. Before Onix could recover, Riolu quickly landed on Onix's head and brought his glowing palm down.
The resulted explosion shook the field as Onix screeched in pain.
"Noo!" Brock exclaimed. "Onix use Rock Throw!"
Onix's tail glowed and whipped it towards Riolu. Riolu tried to dodge the rocks as Ash shouted out to use Agility. But it was too late as one of the rocks hit his leg and he fell over shouting in pain.
"Now use Bind" Brock called out triumphantly.
Onix wrapped itself around Riolu and squeezed hard.
"Riooo" Riolu cried out in pain.
"NO! Riolu!" Ash shouted in worry, "I know it's impossible but you need to try. Use Force Palm again!"
Riolu struggled in Onix's grip but he managed to free one of his hand and he quickly brought down his glowing hand on Onix.
It was not powerful enough as Onix grunted in pain but squeezed him harder.
"Try again Riolu!" Ash called.
Riolu hit Onix again and this time Onix released Riolu and roared in pain.
"NOO! ONIX"
"Now use Iron Tail on its head!" Ash grinned.
Riolu jumped up in the air as his tail began glowing and with a spin he brought down his tail on Onix's head. There was an explosion due to the attack as Onix screamed before falling down on the ground knocked out.
"Onix is unable to battle, Riolu wins. Therefore the winner is Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town." The referee declared.
"Ha! We did it! We won!" Ash exclaimed. Pikachu cheered from where he had been resting.
Riolu came running towards him and jumped in his arms, "Ri riolu rio ri(Yeah, we won!)" Riolu exclaimed just as happy as Ash and Pikachu.
Brock came up to him. "Congratulations Ash and thank you for a great match." He said and put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a simple gray octagon badge and offering it to Ash, "Here, I present you with the Boulder Badge." Ash took it and showed it to both of his pokemon who were as happy as him.
"Thank you. It was an awesome match." Ash said gratefully.
"Great job Ash, it was a great battle!" Misty congratulated him.
"Thanks Misty. Well let's go to the Pokemon Centre. I need to heal Pikachu and Riolu." Ash said as he scooped up Pikachu and Riolu. "You can come with us if you like Brock, Onix and Geodude require healing." He offered.
"Yes, thank you." Brock accepted.
"So do you enjoy being a Gym Leader Brock?" Ash asked on the way to the centre.
"Hmm, not so much. You see my dream is to become a Pokemon Breeder." Brock stated.
"Then why don't you become one?" Misty asked.
Brock sighed heavily, "Well you see, I have my Gym Leader duties. And also I have to take care of my siblings. And my Father left on a Pokemon Journey to bring home money when my Mum fell ill." He said sadly.
"Well, that's unfortunate." Misty commented.
"Yeah." Ash agreed. "If you ever get the chance to travel, you're welcome to join us."
They had arrived at the Pokemon Centre and were currently sitting on the sofa after dropping off their pokemon.
"Thanks for the offer Ash, I might take your offer one day." Brock said. "Anyways, Good luck on your journey. You are one of the best rookie trainers I have battled." Brock said and held out his hand.
"Thank you Brock. Good luck with your dream as well." Ash said shaking the offered hand. They never noticed Flint standing in a corner listening in on their conversation.
Once Brock had left with his Pokemon, Ash collected his own and walked over to Misty. "I was thinking maybe we could just spend our time today doing our things. And tomorrow we can leave for Cerulean City." Ash suggested to Misty.
Misty stiffened at hearing her home city but Ash didn't seem to notice. "Why do we have to go there?" she asked.
Ash looked at her incredulously. "Well, to enter the Indigo League I need eight gym badges and I want to collect all the main ones in Kanto." He answered slowly as if explaining to a child.
His tone did not go unnoticed as Misty's eye twitched and she flared her nostrils trying to come up with a tongue lashing that would leave Ash cowering. "Of course I know that." She shouted at Ash. "But don't you think Vermilion City would be a much better choice? We can swim in the sea and play in the sand." Misty suggested.
Ash frowned. Something's wrong, I can feel some of her emotions. She is nervous and scared of going to Cerulean City. Ash mused to himself. Riolu nodded in agreement sensing his thoughts.
"Well, we will have to go there nevertheless." Ash said. Misty perked up thinking Ash had agreed to skip Cerulean City and sulked at he added, "But I want to go to Cerulean City first." Ash smirked.
Misty glared at him and stalked off with a huff wanting to get away from him.
Ash decided to take the day off for him and his pokemon but he and Riolu did their routine of meditations.
At night he dialed his home number and waited for a few moments.
"Oh hello honey! How are you and Riolu? I was so worried when there was no contact from you for almost a week!" Delia asked.
"I am fine mum. In fact I am more than fine. See!" Ash said showing off his Boulder Badge with a bright grin on his face which was mirrored by Riolu.
"Oh Ash! That's wonderful! Congratulations son!" Delia said extremely proud of them. "Lucario, it's Ash and Riolu." she called.
"Lu car lucario car ri car(Ash, Riolu! It's great to hear from you. And congrats on the win you two.)" Lucario said smiling at the pair.
"And mum I opened the book you gave me and I found two letters. There were two letters which were addressed to me and you. I read mine. So can you ask Mimey to teleport here and take the letter to you?" Ash asked.
"He did?" Delia's eyes teared at the thought of her husband. "And of course I will send Mimey now. I want to read it." Delia said
Ash nodded as Mimey arrived and spent a few moments with them and teleported back. Ash and Riolu both yawned tired of the day.
"You are tired. Go on you two, sleep now." Delia said as she and Lucario bid their sons goodbye and cut the call.
Ash and Riolu went straight to bed.
The next morning Ash and Misty were making out of Pewter City when they heard a cry out.
"Hey Ash and Misty wait up!" the voice called.
They turned and saw Brock running towards them with a large backpack on his shoulders. When he finally caught up with them, he stopped for a moment to catch his breath, panting hard his hands on his knees. After two minutes he started speaking, "It turns out, my dad was back in the City for a while but he was afraid that we wouldn't forgive him. He heard our conversation yesterday and decided to reveal himself. Now he is going to be the Gym Leader so that I could accomplish my dream."
"That's great Brock!" Misty exclaimed and Ash nodded. "So are you going to join us?" Ash asked excited.
"Yeah, if you don't mind." Brock said.
"Not at all. What do you say Misty?" Ash asked.
"Sure Brock. The more the merrier." Misty said.
"Thanks guys. So where are we headed?" Brock asked as they moved forward.
"Cerulean City. But we have to go through Mt. Moon first." Ash said.
Brock smiled. He had a feeling that his journey was going to be great.
END CHAPTER
AN: I have tried to write somewhat big chapter. Perhaps as I continue to write, I will get used to it. Anyways next chapter coming pretty soon.
Reviews-
Darklord024: Thanks for the review! Sorry but the field Researcher idea is scrapped off. I have decided to make him a field researcher in a different story. And Ash will fight with his Aura pretty soon.
Reader: Thanks for the review! Yes, thanks for pointing that out. Hopefully the whole story is edited by the time this chapter come out. Maybe we will see Samurai. But the plot for this League I have planned is already big. Wait and see. Yup, I have decided not to include Team Rocket in every chapter.
Guest: Thanks for the review! Thanks and keep reading. No Misty will not end up with Ash. Nothing against her but I don't think they would work together. Ash will definitely catch variety of pokemon he did not catch in anime.
Guest: Thanks for the review! Perhaps he will learn dig against surge, thanks for the suggestion.
UltimateCCC: Thanks for the review! I agree. It is quite annoying to write part of team rocket.
Bigjo21: Thanks for the review! Not happening. Sorry.
Gredon1979: Thanks for the review! I am working on it. As I said, I am new to writing so it will be a while to get some long chapters. I prefer a smarter Ash too.
Ash's Pokemon- Riolu, Pikachu, Pidgeotto, Butterfree.