Ash's First Professional League Gym Battle
Ash, Brock and Chloe had just arrived in Violet City and were making their way to the local Pokemon Center when a large stadium came into view.
"Whoa, a stadium! You think a tournament's going on?" Ash excitedly asked aloud.
"Pika pi?" Pikachu shared his trainer's excited tone.
"Hold on," Brock pulled out his guide book and began rapidly flipping through pages before coming to a halt. "Apparently that is the Violet City Gym."
"What?!" Ash's jaw dropped in reaction to Brock's statement, he quickly turned his gaze back towards the stadium while looking mildly confused. "I don't understand, I thought Johto and Kanto shared the same Gym style."
"They do or at least they did." Chloe appeared to be just as shocked as she looked over Brock's shoulder to see if he possibly misread it. "Oh yeah, that's the Gym alright."
"But why did they change? What happened?" Ash asked.
"According to this booklet, Chairman Rose happened. Galar's Gyms have been hosted live and in large stadiums for decades with large crowds of spectators forming to watch the new up and coming trainers battle with some trainers even receiving fanbases!"
"So that's how Galar's Gyms work, I wonder how large Gloria's fanbase is." Ash pondered.
"Ever since receiving his promotion following Charles Goodshow's untimely demise, Chairman Rose aspired to bring the region's formula to other regions while remaining respectful to their traditions as the change only affects the Gyms and not the status of Elite Four members and their Champions. The Silver League is the starting point and he'd like to expand further to other regions but he's waiting on the general consensus." Brock finished.
"So basically he's waiting to see how people react to the change." Chloe spoke. "Gloria told me that Galar's Gyms also have 'Gym missions' but I'm guessing that Rose took those out so Galar would still have a unique feel to it."
"Well I love the idea!" Ash excitedly exclaimed, his fists clenched as he turned his gaze back towards the stadium. "Battling in front of a large crowd is going to be so exciting, it'll be like we're back at the Indigo League and Orange League stadiums!"
"Pika pi!" Pikachu pumped his fists.
"Good morning Violet City and welcome to yet another exciting Gym battle! We've got a special treat for you but before we reveal who the challenger is let's get a quick word from our sponsors at McDonphan's!" A man dressed up in a yellow/red Donphan shaped mascot outfit ran across the field and waved at the spectators.
"Free fries will be given out with every order today!" The mascot shouted.
"McDonphan's everyone!" The announcer exclaimed as the Donphan mascot raced back into the stadium. "And now let's introduce today's competitors, first up is last year's Indigo League winner and former Orange League Champion Ash Ketchum!"
The crowd roared loudly as Ash raced out onto the battlefield. Ash narrowed his eyes as he tried making out Brock and Chloe's location in the crowd but it was a lot harder than he expected, he was honestly surprised that the stadium was jam packed seeing how Chairman Rose constructed the stadiums a few months ago. Ash gave the crowd a smile as he waved back at them.
"And now for the Elegant Master of Flying Pokemon, give a hand for Falkner ladies and gentlemen!" Loud cheer and squeals of excitement could be heard as the Gym Leader stepped out from the opposite end of the Stadium. He wasn't that much older than Ash and had let his dark blue hair grow long and form bangs that covered his eyes, Ash couldn't help but wonder how that wouldn't get annoying seeing how the man appeared to enjoy flying. The man wore a small sky blue colored jacket atop a set of blue robes, what appeared to be a Keystone laid embedded into his black wristbands.
"It's Falkner!" A group of girls squealed out causing Chloe to cover her ears while flashing them a harsh glare as she'd been sitting right next to them.
"Oh why can't girls act that way towards me?" Brock hung his head while uttering out a heavy sigh.
"Croa..." Croagunk gave his trainer's back a light pat.
"This Gym battle will be utilizing the Professional League's standard ruleset. Each side will use six Pokemon and may only swap Pokemon mid-battle three times and once a Pokemon's used a selection of four moves they must stick to those four moves for the duration of this match. Lastly you're only allowed one usage of a regional gimmick. Contestants are you ready?"
"Ready!" Ash and Falkner shouted simultaneously while giving the other a challenging smirk.
"Then you may release your first Pokemon on my mark, get set, and GO!"
"Gengar I choose you!"
"Xatu take flight!"
"Gengar!" Gengar flashed his opponent a cocky smirk as he burst from his ball.
"Xatu!" Ash's eyes lit up as a large green bird appeared, if he didn't know better he'd have assumed the Pokemon was a totem pole as it looked quite similar in design.
"Who's that Pokemon?" Ash quickly retrieved his Rotom Phone from his jacket.
"Xatu the Mystic Pokemon, it's said that while this Pokemon has the power to predict the future it's not powerful enough to change the future it sees."
"So if it sees itself lose, it's a hopeless cause? That's sad." Meowth frowned. Team Rocket were watching while serving snacks to the hungry spectators, much like Ash the group were thrilled to see the stadium but for completely different reasons. They made a lot of money whenever they did legitimate work and it was quick and easy money too!
"Psychic!"
"Xatu!" Xatu's eyes glowed bright blue, a similar glow surrounded Gengar's body as telekinetic energy lifted him up before promptly slamming him back against the ground!
"Gengar..." Gengar gritted his teeth as he levitated back to his feet.
"Shadow Punch!"
"Gengar!" Gengar smirked as his arms became cloaked in shadow. "Gengar!" Gengar's arms stretched out across the field as he lashed out, his shadowy fists flew across the field before striking Xatu's body! Xatu uttered out a light grunt as he shook himself off.
"Future Sight!" Falkner shouted out.
"Xatu!" A white flash occurred as Xatu blinked but nothing occurred to Gengar.
"Dark Pulse!"
"Gengar!" Gengar fired off a pulse of black-purple static energy, the attack shot through the air before exploding upon making contact with Xatu's body. Xatu began swaying back and forth before coming to an abrupt halt as he faceplanted against the ground, swirls formed in his eyes as he fully lost conscious.
"And that does it for Xatu as he's unable to continue! Which of Falkner's Flying types will he utilize next?!" The crowd cheered.
"Xatu return," Falkner returned Xatu with a rather calm expression. "Swellow take flight!"
"Swellow!"
"Whoa, who's that Pokemon?" Ash questioned while reaching into his jacket. He had to admit that it looked pretty amazing, if he didn't already have Pidgeot, Skarmory and Noctowl then he'd likely try and capture one of his own.
"Swellow the Swallow Pokemon, a Swellow dives upon prey from far above. It never misses its targets. It takes to the skies in search of lands with a warm climate."
"Well wherever he found it, I'm guessing it wasn't here."
"Correct, they tend to prefer the Hoenn region's climate." His Rotom Phone responded. "But people have also seen them near Sinnoh and Unova's beaches."
"Brave Bird!"
"Swellow!" An orange aura engulfed Swellow's body as he swiftly shot across the field.
"Sucker Punch!"
"Gengar!" Gengar swiftly disappeared into the shadows before reappearing behind Swellow, a mischievous smirk formed as he slapped Swellow's backside!
"S-Swellow!" Swellow gasped out.
"Gengar gengar!" Gengar laughed before suddenly crying out from pain as white lightning shot down from the sky.
"And it appears that Xatu's Future Sight has struck Gengar!"
"Gengar are you okay?!"
"Pika pi?!" Ash and Pikachu called out, concerned for their friend.
"G-Gengar..." Gengar toppled onto his back as swirls formed within his eyes.
"And Gengar is out! The field is even once more as both side have five Pokemon remaining."
"Gengar return, you were great out there and deserve a rest." Ash smiled at the Pokeball before placing it back upon his belt. His hand reached for another ball before hurling it forward. "Froakie I choose you!"
"Froakie!" Froakie cried as he burst from his Pokeball.
A collective gasp could be heard from the crowd, they may be familiar with Falkner's foreign Pokemon but not with Ash's. Especially as this was Froakie's debut match.
"And it appears that Ash has caught himself a Froakie at some point. I wonder what it's battle strengths are."
"Aerial Ace!" Falkner called out.
"Swellow!" A white outline formed around Swellow as he quickly swooped across the field before striking Froakie!
"Froa!" Froakie grunted out.
"Counter with Ice Beam!" Froakie had been practicing the attack with the assistance of Ash's Alolan Sandslash and had fully mastered it the day prior to the match.
"Froakie!" Froakie took a deep breath before firing off a beam of ice towards his opponent, the beam of ice struck Swellow's wing causing a cold sensation to flow through the bird Pokemon.
"Brave Bird!"
"Dodge with Smokescreen!"
"Froa!" Froakie tossed a smoke pellet at the ground causing a thick cloud of smoke to form across the field, obscuring the view. Swellow narrowed his eyes as he tried keeping track of his target though it wasn't exactly easy as Froakie's white frubbles perfectly blended into the surrounding smoke resulting in Swellow missing his target before faceplanting against the sides of the stadium wall.
"Swellow..." Swellow slowly slid down the wall before collapsing onto his back as swirls formed within his eyes.
"Incredible, Swellow's unable to continue battling!"
The crowd cheered loudly in response but Falkner remained relatively calm as he returned Swellow to his Pokeball. "Honchkrow time to take flight!"
"Honchkrow!"
"Is it me or does that Pokemon look similar to da boss?" Meowth questioned as the dark feathered bird's feathers greatly resembled the suits that Giovanni wore, it's head feathers even matched the hat that Giovanni often wore on business trips.
"It does sorta look like him..." James trailed off while Jessie nodded in agreement.
"Honchkrow the Big Boss Pokemon, if its Murkrow cronies fail to catch food for it, or if it feels they have betrayed it, it will hunt them down wherever they are and punish them."
"Dark and Flying typed, Froakie you still want to battle?"
"Froakie!" Froakie gave a quick nod in response.
"Then use Water Pulse!"
"Froakie!" A large pulse of water erupted from Froakie's mouth and shot across the field before splashing against Honchkrow, soaking him.
"Night Slash!"
Froakie's eyes lit up in amazement as Honchkrow's wing began glowing a dark-purple color. 'I wanna do that!'
"Krow!" Honchkrow slashed Froakie across the face, knocking the frog off his feet. Froakie grunted out before leaping back up with a look of determination.
"Ice Beam!"
"Froakie!" A beam of ice shot out of Froakie's mouth and struck Honchkrow's wing, freezing it solid!
"H-Honchkrow!" Honchkrow gasped out as he began losing momentum and quickly fell to the ground below.
"Night Slash, free yourself!"
"Honch!" Honchkrow broke himself free with his other wing before locking eyes with his opponent.
"Dark Pulse!"
"Counter with Water Pulse!" The two attacks soared towards each other before breezing on past each other until they collided with their respective opponents. Froakie and Honchkrow simultaneously uttered out pained gasps before hitting against the battlefield floor, swirls present within each of their eyes.
"Froakie and Honchkrow are both unable to continue battling, this round's a draw! Ash has four Pokemon left while Falkner's down to three, which Pokemon will they use next?!"
"Froakie return, you were great out there and deserve a long rest. We'll take the rest from here."
"Honchkrow return," You'd almost think that Falkner was the one winning with how calm he was. "Aerodactyl take flight!"
"Skarmory I choose you!"
"Aero!"
"Skar!" The two predatory birds screeched out as they burst from their pokeballs.
"Ancient Power!" Falkner shouted out.
"Aero!" A ball of silver energy shot from Aerodactyl's mouth and flew across the battlefield before making contact with Skarmory's right wing. Skarmory gritted his teeth while giving Aerodactyl a harsh glare.
"Autotomize!" Ash shouted with a throw of his arm.
"Skar!" Skarmory began shedding away a layer of his metallic feathers, making himself lighter and faster.
"Now use Steel Wing!"
"Skar!" Skarmory's wings glowed a bright silver color as he swooped across the battlefield before proceeding to slash Aerodactyl's body with his sharp wings!
"A-Aero!" Aerodactyl grunted while quickly regaining balance.
"Rock Slide!"
"Aero!" Aerodactyl screeched out as a series of rocks formed high above Skarmory and began falling towards him.
"Dodge and hit them with another Steel Wing!"
"Skar!" Skarmory swiftly maneuvered through the falling rocks though he did get unlucky as one managed to clip his wing. "S-Skar..." Skarmory gritted his teeth and pushed through the pain while continuing to soar towards his opponent before slashing Aerodactyl with his sharp wings!
"A-Aeroooo!" Aerodactyl screeched out, his eyes rolled up into his head and were replaced by swirls as he dropped towards the ground below. Falkner swiftly returned the falling Pokemon before he could crash, the damage had already been done. There wasn't any need for Aerodactyl to get hurt.
"And Aerodactyl has been taken out of commission! Falkner's down to two Pokemon while Ash has four remaining, will Falkner be able to even out the field or will this battle come to a swift end?"
"Pidgeot take flight!"
"Cooo!" A Pidgeot burst from Falkner's Pokeball however unlike Ash's Pidgeot this one's feathers were a lighter shade of brown while it's tail and head feathers were a bright yellow rather than the usual shade of red.
"And it appears that Falkner's chosen his ace Pokemon!" The crowd cheered loudly as Pidgeot stared Skarmory down. Falkner reached for his wristband and gave it a quick tap causing a bright pink light to engulf Pidgeot's body as he was transformed into his Mega Evolution form!
"Coooo!"
'I wonder if all the Johto Gym Leaders have Mega Evolutions.' Ash couldn't help but wonder. He didn't bring Charizard along for this one so he'd have to make do without him.
"Steel Wing!"
"Brave Bird!" Falkner swiftly countered.
"Coooo!" An orange aura engulfed Mega Pidgeot's body as he swooped across the field before slamming headfirst against Skarmory as the two birds collided against each other, Skarmory bounced off Mega Pidgeot and fell towards the ground below where he landed in a defeated slump as swirls formed within his eyes.
"Skar..." He groaned out, tongue lolling out as he laid on his back.
"And Falkner's Mega Pidgeot made swift work of Skarmory! Though to be fair, Skarmory did take a considerable amount of damage during his fight with Aerodactyl!"
"Skarmory return, you did a great job out there today and deserve a long rest." Ash returned Skarmory while reaching out for another Pokeball. "Sandslash I choose you!"
"Slash, Sandslash!" The Alolan Sandslash burst onto the field.
"Oh my Arceus, it's so cute!" Chloe heard one of the nearby girls squeal out.
"Heat Wave!" Falkner shouted out.
"Pidgeot can learn Heat Wave?!"
"Pika pi?!" A shocked expression appeared on Pikachu's face as he gasped out.
"Slash..." Sweat poured down Sandslash's face as a hot orange wind breezed towards him. The sweat began intensifying before the icy mouse eventually collapsed to his side, swirls formed within his eyes as he groaned out.
"And Sandslash is down! I'm sure that most of you are unaware that Sandslash of the Alola region are Ice/Steel type, therefore a Fire typed attack will deal four times the normal amount of damage. Not to mention the power boost that Mega Evolution gives, most Pokemon wouldn't last through an attack like that!"
"Sandslash return!" Ash felt bad for Sandslash, it was just a matter of bad luck. How were they supposed to know that Pidgeot had Heat Wave? "You'll get another chance soon, rest up for now." Ash glanced towards Mega Pidgeot as he reached for a final Pokeball, if this one went down then it'd be up to Pikachu but he had the utmost faith in his Pokemon. "Tyranitar I choose you!"
"Tyra!" Tyranitar roared as he burst from his Pokeball.
Falkner swiftly returned Pidgeot without a word before tossing another ball forward, revealing a Crobat! "Crobat take flight!"
"Cro, Crobat!"
"A Crobat? Okay Tyranitar, we've got to keep our distance." Ash spoke while a thick sandstorm began covering up the battlefield. "Use Rock Slide!"
"Tyra!" Tyranitar roared out as several rocks formed above Crobat before swiftly dropping on top of the bat Pokemon.
"C-Crobat!" Crobat lightly grunted out in response to the falling rocks.
"Poison Fang!"
"Cro!" Crobat swiftly maneuvered through the sandstorm, navigating with ease as he could sense Tyranitar's presence with the help of his echolocation. Crobat's fangs turned a venomous shade of purple as he sank down into Tyranitar's neck!
"T-Tyran!" Tyranitar roared out as a purple tint formed across his face.
"And it appears that Tyranitar has been poisoned!"
"Oh no, poor Tyranitar." Chloe frowned.
"Stay strong Tyranitar, you've got this! Let's hit them with Hyper Beam!"
"Tyra!" Tyranitar roared out. The orange-yellow energy beam fired out of the sandstorm and blasted Crobat right out of the sky!
"C-Cro... bat..." Crobat weakly groaned as he fell to the ground, landing in a collapsed heap beside his trainer's feet as swirls formed within his eyes.
"Crobat is no longer able to battle, it's all up to Mega Pidgeot now!"
"Pidgeot take flight!" Falkner ordered upon returning Crobat to his ball.
"Coooo!" Pidgeot and Tyranitar simultaneously flinched, Tyranitar taking damage from the poison while Pidgeot was blasted by the raging sandstorm.
"Steel Wing!"
"Cooo!" Pidgeot's wings turned silver as he swooped through the sandstorm before slashing his wings across Tyranitar's chest.
"Tyra!" Tyranitar growled out as he fully recharged.
"Stone Edge!" Ash shouted out.
"Tyra!" Tall and sharp jagged rocks erupted from the ground and shot through the sandstorm, closing in around Pidgeot who struggled to see the attack coming as he couldn't sense vibrations nor see through the sand.
"Cooo!" Pidgeot cried out as he was sandwiched between the rocks.
Falkner swiftly threw a hand forward. "Twister!"
"Cooo!" Pidgeot rapidly flapped his wings, summoning forth a twister made of Dragon energy. The twister whipped up the sand around it as it soared towards Tyranitar before making contact with him.
"T-Tyra!" Tyranitar faintly grunted out before growling out as he stared directly into Mega Pidgeot's eyes. He briefly flinched as poison sapped away at his health but he was quick to continue staring down his opponent.
"Dark Pulse!" Tyranitar roared as a pulse of dark-purple energy shot from his mouth, the pulse flew through the air before exploding upon making contact with the Mega Pokemon.
"Brave Bird!"
"Cooo!" Pidgeot swooped through the sandstorm as he prepared to strike Tyranitar.
"Use Stone Edge!"
"Tyra!" Tyranitar roared as several jagged stones rose from the ground, Pidgeot heard the roar and immediately changed his trajectory to hit his target only to wind up faceplanting against one of Tyranitar's rocks.
"Cooo..." Pidgeot went cross eyed and began sliding down the rock before uttering out a pained squawk as the other rocks slammed against that rock, sandwiching him between them. A bright pink light erupted from within the sandstorm which began dying out as the battle came to a close.
"And that's all she wrote, folks! Pidgeot is unable to continue battling which means that Ash Ketchum is the winner!" The crowd cheered loudly in celebration of Ash's victory.
"Alright Ash!" Chloe cheered.
"Eevoi!"
"Way to go!" Brock shouted.
"Croa..."
Falkner quietly returned Pidgeot to his ball, his calm demeanor now replaced by a smile as he began making his approach. A hand reached into his robes and retrieved something which he soon held out upon approaching Ash, revealing a light blue badge which resembled a pair of wings. "That was a great match, Ash. You fought well and even proved that you're something of a Flying specialist yourself, that Skarmory of yours was remarkable! You're definitely worthy of the Zephyr Badge!"
"Thanks Falkner, you were pretty great yourself!" Ash took hold of the badge and turned towards his team after giving Falkner a quick handshake. "Alright, we just got the Zephyr Badge!"
"Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu posed alongside his trainer.
"Tyra!" Tyranitar pulled Ash and Pikachu in for a tight hug as he celebrated their victory.
"Ack, Tyranitar it's hard to breath!"
"Tyra!" Tyranitar beamed while giving his trainer an affectionate nuzzle.
One badge down, seven to go! So what do you guys think of the way I handled the Professional League Gyms? I thought it'd be something fun to do while writing Kanto's story and it even gave me some benefits such as "Hey here's Falkner, let's have Ash fight him and go.". Cause I'm gonna be honest, most of Johto's Gym Leaders are boring. Some of them such as Clair will have more to their character, Falkner I was staring off into space trying to think a story up for him. He's got a cool design and I do like Flying types but eh... Skyla's more my cup of tea.
The Hoenn/Sinnoh/Unova ones will definitely be fleshed out like most of Kanto's were though.