Chapter Ten: Heroes and Dawn's first gym battle at last!


Dawn panicked as Aerodactyl flew fast towards a lake nearby, not realizing the Pokemon was feeling pretty thirsty after it's ordeal. It hovered over the water with her still on its back, hanging onto the collar. 'Hold on - why don't I try to catch it instead? But with me on it will be a bad idea!' she thought smiling at her idea. 'I could even train the Aerodactyl!' she added imagining how epic it would be to help her in the gym and future contests.

The Aerodactyl finished drinking and at once flew off again, flying towards a large rocky mountain near Oreburgh City, that made Dawn even more worried. "Now what are you going to do?! AAAH! Lookout, there's a wall in front of you!" Dawn cried out as the Pokemon flew fast towards the wall - she watched in horror as it flew closer to the wall and slowed down as it neared it. The Aerodactyl then tried to scratch its neck against the wall, in hopes to remove the collar.

"AH, I get it! Here, let me help!" Dawn said smiling at the Aerodactyl - unaware the news team was still recording this moment for everyone to watch. Ash, May and Max soon caught up with Aerodactyl only to notice it rubbing it's head against the wall to remove the collar, Dawn tugged at the collar with one hand and hung onto the Pokemon with her second hand - she didn't want to fall off given the position it was in.

"DAWN!" Ash cried out after seeing her still with the Pokemon.

"ASH!" Dawn smiled in relief to see he hadn't given up on saving her. However, Ash calling Dawn's name, scared Aerodactyl and at once, the Pokemon took off very fast, prompting Dawn to hang onto the collar tightly, close her eyes and scream.

"HANG IN THERE, DAWN!" Ash called out. "We gotta save her. May, could you get Beautifly to use String Shot on Aerodactyl, and Max can you tell Ralts to use Physic on it too? I'll try and catch Dawn if she falls" he added in concern.

"Blaziken can help you catch her too, Ash!" May said. "We'll work together to help save Dawn!"

Charizard flew as fast as he could to follow Dawn and Aerodactyl, when he caught up - May called out Beautifly to use String Shot on Aerodactyl which slowed the Pokemon down a bit, and Max called Ralts out to use Physic on Aerodactyl to try and hold it still. "Noctowl, you use Physic too to help keep Aerodactyl still!" Ash added. "We'll land on the ground to see if we can catch Dawn from where she is!"

Charizard landed on the ground near where Aerodactyl is. Dawn watched as her friends used the Pokemon moves on Aerodactyl to keep it still for a moment - she took the opportunity to remove its collar, which was difficult, but she managed to do and held it in her hand.

"DAWN! JUMP! I'll CATCH YOU!" Ash yelled out holding his arms out while Max and May were distracted with Aerodactyl.

Dawn gulped and looked nervous. "ARE YOU SURE?" Dawn yelled back - it looked like a long way down.

May quickly called Blaziken out to help in case Ash misses.

"POSITIVE! TRUST ME!" Ash called back nodding to her.

Dawn took a deep breath and looked at Aerodactyl who was struggling against her friends Pokemon's moves. "Okay - before Aerodactyl takes off again!" she gulped and jumped from Aerodactyl's back, landing safely in Ash's arms who held her bridal style, blushing Dawn hugged him in relief as she held the collar and lead. May glanced at Dawn and Ash and half expected to see a kiss scene, however, that didn't happen much to her relief, at least not when she looked anyway, whether it happened or not was something she'd never find out as she turned her attention back to Aerodactyl.

"It's all okay now, Dawn. You're safe now. What should we do with Aerodactyl?" Ash asked smiling to her, as he put her on her feet again. Dawn blushed when he did that.

"I want to try and catch it!" Dawn answered with determination in her eyes. "If we all work together, we can catch it!"

"Aeordactyl would be an epic one to have in the family, but would a Pokeball be strong enough?" Ash asked in concern.

"I have a Premier Ball" Max announced and gave Dawn his Premier Ball. "Go for it, Dawn! Ralts, keep using Physic, Treecko, use Absorb on Aerodactyl" He was letting Azumarill rest from the training she used to do with Paul, otherwise he'd let her help.

"Thank you, Max!" Dawn took the Premier Ball from him and smiled. "Piplup, use Bubble Beam on Aerodactyl!"

"Pikachu, Charizard, Noctowl - use Thunderbolt, Flamethrower and Physic on Aerodactyl!" Ash called out.

"Blaziken, Beautifly and Glaceon, use Sky Uppercut, String Shot and Ice Beam!" May ordered.

After all the attacks got used on Aeordactyl, it fainted and Dawn took the opportunity to throw a Premier Ball to it, with the news reporters still recording them.

"Aerodactyl, you're mine!" Dawn said in determination, watching as the Premier Ball absorbed Aerodactyl. Ash, May, Max and Dawn watched the Premier Ball close and drop to the ground, it glowed red for a while, and shook a few times. For a moment, Ash was expecting the Pokemon to burst out again, however, it didn't. The red beam turned white, indicating that the Aerodactyl was caught successfully.

"We did it! I can't believe it!" Dawn exclaimed, as she ran towards the Premier Ball - however, their excitement was cut off when a giant Robot hand appeared from nowhere and took the Premier Ball.

"WHAT?! Don't tell me Team Rocket are here" Ash muttered expecting to see Jessie and James.

"Wrong. Thanks for catching Aerodactyl for us - he'd make a great addition to Team Shadow!" a man about the age of twenty-five said. He was dressed in black clothing with the Team Shadow logo on his shirt. His hair was icy blue, his eyes were the same colour. He appeared from behind a tree and had been watching them from sometime, above him was a hot air balloon.

"Give that back! We worked hard to catch Aerodactyl" Dawn hissed, running up to him.

"Feisty - but might be useful for our team" the man smirked, grabbing Dawn's arm.

"Oh no you don't!" May snapped, running up to the man, she grabbed Dawn's arm, and soon Dawn found herself in a game of tug-a-war.

"Dawn is our friend, she's staying here" May told him.

"She'll be a useful grunt since she was able to catch the Aerodactyl" the Team Shadow member said smirking.

"You're dreaming pal!" Dawn kicked him hard in the shin, causing the man to let go of the Premier Ball and Dawn, Dawn quickly grabbed the Premier Ball and ran off with May as the man hopped on one leg in pain, his eyes watered as he tried not to cry from the pain.

"Remind me not to get on Dawn's bad side" Ash whispered to Max who nodded in surprise.

"You little brat! You haven't seen the last of Team Shadow" he quickly threw something on the ground and smoke covered the area, when it vanished, the Team Shadow member was gone.

"Are you okay, Dawn?" May asked as she ran with her back to Ash and Brock.

"I am now - thank you. I can't believe we caught Aerodactyl - the only problem is that it won't listen to us until we have at least a few badges!" Dawn said as she looked at the Premier Ball in her hands.

"Not to mention we're going to have people chasing after us because of it" May added in concern. "I'm glad you're safe. That means we can return to Oreburgh City to help the others look for Brendan and finally get ready for your gym battle tomorrow!"

"The question is - whose Pokemon should Aerodactyl be out of all of us?" Dawn asked as she looked at Ash, Max and May. "After all, we worked hard to catch it!"

"Aerodactyl can be yours, Dawn. You helped free it from the collar. As you said, it'll be difficult to make him listen to you until you get more badges. I need to return my other Pokemon after we find Brendan then focus on our gym battles! Let's go back to Oreburgh City" Ash said smiling to her. Dawn smiled and hugged him again.

"Thank you, for saving me, Ash" Dawn said, blushing as she hugged him. He smiled and returned the hug.

"It's okay, Dawn. You're safe now. We won't let it happen again" Ash promised as the two friends let go.

After recalling their Pokemon, Max, May, Dawn and Ash climbed back onto Charizard's back and took off to Oreburg City Pokemon Center. When they arrived, they were greeted by the news crew.

"Hello this is Janet from Sinnoh Now - we want to know if you have time to take an interview?" Janet a girl around the age of eighteen asked. She had green eyes and hair and was dressed in an office like outfit.

"Uh, sure?" Ash answered.

"That's great news! My Camera man, Ron will be recording these live, is that okay?" Janet asked.

"That's fine!" Ash nodded, as he recalled Charizard after the four got off. Pikachu stayed on Ash's shoulder. May and Dawn stayed close with Ash as did Max.

"The first question is: What is your name?" Janet asked.

"I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. I'm thirteen years old and want to become a Pokemon Master. These are my friends Dawn, May and Max" Ash introduced himself and his friends.

"It's nice to meet you, Ash. What was it like rescuing your girlfriend, Dawn from that crazy Aerodactyl?!" Janet asked.

May looked at Janet in disbelief, as did Ash and Max, Dawn blushed at the thought of being Ash's girlfriend.

"Janet, Dawn is one of my best friends - I'd do the same for anyone that's in trouble" Ash explained.

"Oh - so no wedding on the cards between you two?" Janet asked hopefully.

"No" Ash answered, feeling uncomfortable with these questions. 'Besides, there's someone else I like' he thought.

"Is May your girlfriend then?" Janet asked curiously.

"Best friend" May corrected. "I wish!" she whispered the last part. "I thought this was some interview for what we had done recently not about a dating show!" she added.

"Hehe - I get carried away when I see couples. Anyway, back on track - what happened to Aerodactyl to make it be wild and where is it now?" Janet said, getting back on track.

"Team Shadow tied this collar around its neck and Aerodactyl didn't like it - turns out it appeared to be really uncomfortable for it and made Aerodactyl act that way. As to where it is now - I can't disclose that on live TV, sorry - I don't want Aerodactyl to get into the wrong hands" Dawn answered before Ash could. She showed Janet the collar and tie.

"Oh my - that collar did look uncomfortable - and that's all we have time for today, everyone. Ash and his girlfriend, Dawn have other things they need to do now!" Janet said - only getting an annoyed look from both of them. With that, Ron tuned out.

'Great - now my parents and May's parents are going to think I've changed my mind about May! Stupid news reporter!' Ash thought with a frown.


Delia and Professor Oak looked at one another after the news reporter had finished talking and switched to regular news. "I was most certain Ash said he loved May" Delia said.

"He does - at least from my understanding - he asked us for permission to date her and we gave it to him. My guess is Janet just likes to cause trouble?" Norman suggested.

"Either way - he has a lot of questions to be answered from us!" Professor Oak said - wanting to find out what on earth Janet was talking about and what happened to the Aerodactyl.

Caroline nodded. "We'd better call Johanna to see how she's doing - hopefully she watched the news to see that Dawn's safe now" she then grabbed the phone and dialed the number to talk to Johanna.

"Hello Caroline - did you see the news? I'm hugely relieved my Dawn is safe thanks to Ash" Johanna said in surprise.

"Mhm - I watched it. I was really worried about her too! Our daughter has been in similar situations, but Ash had saved her multiple times. He's a gem" Caroline said, Delia and Professor Oak nodded in agreement - they were proud of their son.


Janet and Ron soon left the four friends alone, much to Ash's relief.

"You okay, Ash?" May asked as she put her hand on his shoulder, looking at him in concern - blushing he nodded.

"Yeah - am now. That was nerve wrecking though, May. Let's get our Pokemon healed so we can find Brendan"

Dawn blushed as she recalled the conversation that Janet had with them. 'Me being Ash's girlfriend? That'd be incredible - whoever gets to be with him would be lucky! If he loves May though - I wouldn't steal him from her. I respect he likes someone else though but no harm in crushing on him, right?' Dawn thought as she thought of the moment he caught her in his arms - she imaged the two sharing a kiss at that moment.

"Dawn, are you coming? You seem spaced out?!" Ash called out to her. He, Max and May were already making their way inside the Pokemon Center when Dawn was daydreaming.

"Heh - sure! I need to heal my Pokemon too" Dawn said, as she ran up to them. The four friends healed their Pokemon - Nurse Joy was surprised by the fact that Dawn had caught Aerodactyl with the help of her friends.

"You do realize people will be after you if you keep it, right?" Nurse Joy warned her.

"I'm aware of that and am willing to take the chances! I don't want it to get into the wrong hands" Dawn assured her.

Nurse Joy smiled. "It's in good condition otherwise and knows some interesting moves!"

"Really? I didn't get the chance to check out what move set it knows. What is Aerodactyl's pronoun?" Dawn asked.

"Aerodactyl is non-binary. Their attacks are: Hyper Beam, Ancient Power, Crunch and Steal Wing. They are a very strong Pokemon so you may need about four or five badges before you can have them under your full control" Nurse Joy told her. "They are level fifty which made me amazed" she added in surprise.

"Wow! Dawn - Aerodactyl is going to be incredible in the future for you!" Ash commented smiling in amazement.

"I think so too - thank you, Nurse Joy. I'll certainly do my best to get those badges to allow them to listen to me!" Dawn said smiling to Ash and Nuse Joy.

"We'd better get going - or not - it seems that they found him already" Ash said smiling in relief after watching Brock, Sakura, Ritchie and Brendan walking together in the Pokemon Center. Ritchie and Brock had been helping Brendan walk as he appeared to hurt his leg and was limping.

Ash, May, Max and Dawn ran up to them and smiled.

"We've got a lot to tell you!" Ritchie said smiling as he looked at Brendan then at Ash again.

"We do too!" Ash said.

"We'll tell you after we heal our Pokemon and Brendan gets enough rest. Looks like we'll be staying in Oreburgh longer than expected after what happened!" Ritchie told him.


After Ritchie and his friends healed their Pokemon, they joined Ash and his friends for dinner at the Pokemon Center to talk about what happened. Ash, May, Max and Dawn told them about what happened with Aerodactyl, whereas Ritchie told them that Brendan was found in the mines - caught between a fallen boulder and hurt his leg, while he was trying to stop Team Shadow from stealing Fossils. Ash told them about the news reporters.

"Janet sounds pretty!" Brock gushed imagining what she'd look like since he had missed the chance to meet her while helping the others.

"You say that to every girl you meet, Brock!" Ash told him and laughed.

After eating a delicious meal and chatting to her friends, Dawn stretched her arms and yawned. "I'm going to head off to bed, it's dark outside and I'm so excited for the Gym Battle tomorrow!" she said smiling to her friends.

"I'll join you - it's been a long day" May said yawning afterwards. She wasn't wrong about that.

"We'll stay up a bit and chat to Ritchie then join you later," Ash told them, Max and Brock nodded - the two planned to stay with Ash while the girls went to bed.

Dawn and May then made their way to their room in the Pokemon Center.

"What a day - thank you, May for helping out with the rescue. I owe you one" Dawn said as the two walked together.

"Any time, Dawn. Is it true you got to kiss him?" May asked shyly.

Blushing - Dawn shook her head. "I respect that he's yours, May when the time is right - we didn't kiss. Ash is wonderful, but I don't see him that way. I see him as a great friend and a mentor, and I don't know him the way you do" she replied. "What made you think that?"

"When the news reporter said that you two were a couple... Thank you - Dawn for your support. I just wish it were easy to tell him, it's hard though 'cause I'm worried it'd ruin the friendship we'd have now, that's why - I can't tell him at least not yet" May said in concern. The two girls were now at their door, May opened it and Dawn walked in first, with her following. She closed and locked it afterwards, knowing the boys had a spare set of the keys.

"I don't think you telling him would ruin your friendship with him, May - it would make it better!" Dawn commented.

May blushed. "Thank you, Dawn. That reminds me, I'd better get my cheer leading clothes ready for tomorrow so I can cheer you on at the gym!" she said, smiling as she went to dig through her pile of clothing. "I also need to return my Pokemon in the morning, though it's tempting to keep them on me!"

Dawn smiled. "I'll always be here for you, May. Why not keep them with you? I didn't expect to keep Aerodactyl - though they will be challenging to tame - I won't be able to use them in the gym battles or Pokemon League since it'd be unfair" she said.

"I was going to start my Sinnoh Journey with Blaziken and whatever Pokemon I meet throughout Sinnoh - but I think now that you said it, I will keep them with me. Yes, and I'll help you tame Aerodactyl too. But what I'm beat is what Team Shadow wants to do with them" May said in concern after finding the outfit she wanted to wear the next day.

"Whatever they want - they'd be no match for us. At least I hope not. I wonder what happened to Officer Jenny though - usually there's one everywhere, does Orebugh City does not have one?" Dawn said, she got her clothes ready for the next day. The girls changed into their nightclothes and soon went to their beds after staying up and chatting up most of the time until the boys returned.

"Poor Brendan, I feel sorry for him having a broken leg. He tried to stand up before we left but it was too painful for him, in results, Nurse Joy had to take care of him until he got taken to the hospital in Orebugh City, Sakura and Ritchie are with him. He'd need a cast and crutches by the sounds of things" Ash said as he, Max and Brock walked into the room and locked the door behind them. He turned the lights on after the girls had turned it off.

Pikachu jumped down from Ash's shoulder and onto his bed.

"I'm glad we were able to find him. He'd have to take it easy for a while" Brock added. He, Ash and Max took turns changing into their night clothes in the bathroom while the girls lay on their beds, daydreaming about the events earlier that day.


"Here we are - the Sinnoh Region!" The pilot announced annoyed with Cassidy and Butch's constant bickering about the same thing. This time - he decided to go his own way and bring them to the Battle Park thinking Ash would be there.

"You dolt! What makes you think he and his friends would be here already if they've just arrived?" Butch snapped at the pilot.

"Duh - they love battles, so this is the best place for them. Off you go and good luck finding them, I'm returning home to Kanto!" the pilot replied with a smug look on his face.

"You'd better be right!" Cassidy said and thanked him. She and Butch grabbed their clothing and got off the helicopter and made their way to the Battle Park that looked fancy to them. She and Butch watched as the helicopter took off.

"Do you really think he'd be here?" Cassidy asked doubtfully.

"Well - he's always right about stuff - let's go looking!" Butch said. "First, we'd better disguise ourselves!"

Cassidy nodded and went with him to change clothes before searching for Ash, May, Max and Brock at the Battle Park - unaware that they're in the wrong place.


The next morning, Dawn woke bright and early. She smiled as the sun peeked through the curtains in their room and got out of her bed. Her friends were still sleeping, which prompted her to sneak into the shower before they did and change into her clothes that she planned to wear for the gym. She did her hair in her usual style and smiled, by the time she finished in the bathroom, May woke up next and yawned, followed by Max, Brock and finally Ash and Pikachu. One by one the others showered then got dressed into fresh clothes. May was wearing the cheerleading outfit she wore for Ash and had the Pom Poms in her bag.

"Today's the day, Dawn! I bet you're excited" Ash said smiling to his friend.

Dawn blushed and nodded. "Yes - Piplup and I are pumped! Shame I can't use Aerodactyl - I mean, I could but they won't listen to me - ah well, no need to worry - I have it all covered after our practice battles!"

"I like your outfit!" Max commented smiling to her.

Dawn thanked him. She was wearing a pair of long black trousers with pink hems with her name printed on the right thigh leg, she had her usual pink boots with black socks, a black and pink shirt with her name stretched in the center and a random number next to it. Her hair was the usual style she kept it and her hat was still the same. "I wanted separate clothes for gym battles and contests!" she told them.

"I think it suits you!" Ash commented - not realizing that his statement sounded like he was flirting with her. May, Max and Brock nodded in agreement.

Dawn blushed at this and smiled. "Thank you, Ash. Alright I'm so pumped! We'll have breakfast and march straight to the gym!" she said punching the air with her right hand.

"Yeah - that's the spirit, Dawn - let's go!" Ash cried out. The five friends, along with Pikachu and Treecko walked out of the room with their backpacks, they locked the door afterwards and went straight down to the cafeteria for breakfast, when they met a familiar face there, much to Brock's dismay who at once hunched down in the corner.

"Brock? What's wrong?" Dawn asked clueless about what he had seen.

Ash looked around then saw what Brock's problem was: Professor Ivy was there talking to a camera crew with a few of her colleagues. "Maybe it's best we'd go to a cafe for breakfast for a change, Dawn?" Ash suggested.

Dawn blushed and nodded. "Brock - we're going somewhere else..." she said then noticed that didn't get his attention.

Professor Ivy however heard his name mentioned while she was doing an interview - she excused the reporters and walked over to Brock noticing how he was in a ball - Ash at once clenched his fists and walked over to him, to protect Brock from her.

"What did you do to him?" Ash demanded; Pikachu showed sparks on the professor. "He's always like that when your name is mentioned!"

Dawn gasped after seeing Professor Ivy - she heard of her. May, Max and Dawn went to Brock's side.

Brock flinched as Professor Ivy neared him - Ash, wouldn't let her get any closer. "Well, what is your explanation? He won't talk about it!"

Professor Ivy let out a sigh. "I knew this day would come - the day I would face him again... The truth was - he caught me making out with another guy and I was never in love with Brock - I saw him as a value friend and assistant but he caught me making out with my now husband in my study - Brock was about to ask me something when that happened" she explained.

Ash, May, Max and Dawn looked at one another then at Brock - they felt sorry for him and glared at Professor Ivy. "Then why didn't you tell him from the start you were with someone?" Ash demanded. "This has haunted him for years!"

"I'm sorry, Brock. Truthfully - Brock and I never shared a kiss - I mean he was a great cook and cleaner - I miss that about him - but my heart belongs to Professor Lucas Stone who studies Evolution Stones, Lucas and I weren't meant to be dating since he and I were working together - so we kept it a secret for a while until he ended up quitting and studying Pokemon Evolution Stones. I never got to explain myself when Brock walked out without another word!" Professor Ivy explained.

Brock stayed in a ball while she was around - she heard everything and that was true to what he had seen. He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder expecting it to be Professor Ivy, however, it was Dawn instead.

"It's okay, Brock" Dawn assured him. "I know how you feel!"

"I'd better get back to my interview - be seeing you around, oh and thank you for everything Brock - I never had the chance to thank you properly for it!" Professor Ivy said then left skipping and humming a tune to herself.

"Is she gone?" Brock asked.

"Yes - it's safe now. I'm sorry you went through that - is that why you didn't want to talk about it?" May asked. Brock nodded and sighed as he got up.

"Let's go and get something to eat and then head to the gym, Dawn!" Brock said smiling to Dawn. It was amazing how fast he 'recovered'. Though, deep down, he was crushed. The five friends and their Pokemon made their way to Orebugh City's Cafe - the same one Ash went to with May's parents and had a delicious breakfast - May met some more fans there and signed for them, she posed for photos.

"May - will you go out with me?!" A random fan asked her, making Ash flinch. May rejected the fan and Ash sighed in relief. Dawn noticed Ash's reaction and giggled.

"How come you get all the fans, May?" Max asked curiously - half jealous of his sister. "Even Ash doesn't get them considering he's been in how many Pokemon Leagues and is the son of Professor Oak?!" he added.

"It's because she's beautiful, smart and her contest moves are incredible - she's known as the Princess of Hoenn here in Sinnoh and everyone who enters contests love her! She's just so great!" a male fan gushed - Ash nodded in agreement which went unnoticed by May who smiled at her fan's comment.

"Aw, thank you! I'm entering the Sinnoh Contests and can't wait to win my first Sinnoh Ribbon!" May said smiling to the fan.

"He's right, you know, May!" Ash said, smiling to her, May blushed.

'Was that a confession or my imagination?' May thought to what Ash said. After the group had a delicious breakfast, they went to the gym battle to see Roark at the door, waiting for his challenger for the day.


"Good morning, everyone and Dawn - are you ready for your battle?" Roark greeted the group with a smile.

"Morning Roark and yes I am! I can't wait to claim my first Sinnoh Badge. I only have one Pokemon I can use though, is that okay?" Dawn asked in concern - not wanting to mention Aerodactyl yet.

"Yes - that's fine. Some trainers have been able to defeat me with one Pokemon" Roark answered smiling allowing the group in the gym. Ash, Pikachu, May, Max and Brock sat at the seats near the gym stadium.

May called out her Pokemon and each gave them a Pom Pom - an idea she got from Dawn. Ash watched May in interest smiling to her as he did.

"The battle between Dawn from Twinleaf Town and Roark the gym leader will now begin as Dawn only has one Pokemon to use - she may not be able to switch out" the gym keeper announced then waved the flag down.

"Let's go Dawn - you can do it!" May cheered her on, smiling and dancing as she waved her Pom Poms in the air, her Pokemon did the same, chanting what May had said.

'That's cute, May!' Ash thought smiling to her then watched Dawn.

"Piplup, Spotlight!" Dawn called out her Pokemon.

"Piplup-Pip-lup! (Let's do this, Dawn!)" Piplup said showing determination in his eyes.

"You've got a cute Piplup, Dawn. I had a trainer who easily defeated me with one not long ago. Alright - Cranidos let's go!" Roark commented.

"Wow - Cranidos is first?" May asked in surprise then continued cheering Dawn with her dancing and waving the Pom Poms around.

"Alright, Piplup, remember the training we did? Now it's real! Piplup, use Bubble Beam to soak the ground!" Dawn ordered first up.

"Piplup, Piplup!" Piplup obeyed her and jumped up - soaking the ground with Bubble Beam.

Roark watched in surprise. "Cranidos - use Head Butt on Piplup!" He ordered, Cranidos went to run, however, found the ground slippery and kept falling over due to it being wet.

"Alright this is looking good!" Brock said, Ash, May and Max nodded in agreement.

"Piplup - use Bubble Beam on Cranidos's legs!" Dawn ordered - she figured if his feet were wet - he wouldn't be able to balance properly thus making the Pokemon unable to battle properly.

"Cranidos - Flamethrower!" Roark ordered, however, Piplup used Bubble Beam intime to wet Cranidos's feet and put out the Flamethrower before it could even start. Piplup continued using Bubble Beam on Cranidos's feet - and stopped when Dawn gave him the signal.

"You're good, Dawn. I can see you've been training very well. Zen Headbutt, Cranidos" Roark said.

"Thanks - we have been working hard together" Dawn commented. "Piplup - dodge that and hide!" she added. Piplup hid behind a boulder and watched as Cranidos lost balance due to the ground being slippery. The Gym Leader's Pokemon kept trying to get up however, found it rather difficult.

Dawn smiled watching the result and noticed that no matter how many times Cranidos tried getting up from the slippery ground it kept falling back again which eventually knocked Cranidos out.

"Cranidos is unable to battle!" the gym keeper announced.

"Cranidos - you did a great job; you deserve a good rest! That's an impressive idea of yours, Dawn - now try this! Go Steelix!" Roark called out his second Pokemon.

Dawn stayed with Piplup.

"Steelix - use dig!" Roark ordered. Dawn bit her bottom lip then realized the ground was still wet then smiled again. She knew that Steelix would most likely get stuck in the mud.

"Piplup - wait for a bit!" Dawn said planning ahead with the attack. Steelix used dig to go underground. "Right, now use Bubble Beam again to wet the ground and fill the hole with them!" she added. She could hear May and her Pokemon still cheering her on.

Piplup nodded and filled the hole that Steelix was in with Bubble Beam then soaked the ground again with it. He then returned to Dawn's side and waited for the next order, moments later, Steelix emerged from the hole - swaying to and fro - then fainted.

"Yay! Great job, Piplup, one more to go!" Dawn said excitedly, hugging her starter Pokemon.

"Wow - Dawn, this is incredible. I've never seen the moves used like this before. Steelix you did a great job, return! Come on out - Graveler!" Roark commented, calling out his Graveler.

"Graveler - use Rollout!" Roark ordered. Graveler nodded and obeyed. He attempted a rollout then found himself spinning on the wet ground - which made Dawn decide the next move.

"Piplup - use Bubble Beam on Graveler!" Dawn ordered.

"Piplup!" Piplup used Bubble Beam on Graveler - watching as the rock type Pokemon spin in circles on the ground as he did. A moment later, Graveler rolled into a boulder and fainted.

"Graveler is unable to battle - Dawn from Twinleaf Town wins! Congratulations, Dawn" the gym keeper said, stunned at the way Dawn had used her moves.

"Dawn - I'm impressed. If you keep this up - you should have no trouble defeating the rest of the gym leaders and the Pokemon League - you'd be even great at the Battle Frontier! To show how impressed I am - I want you to have the Coal Badge! Congratulations, Dawn - you've earned it!" Roark said after recalling Graveler. He didn't expect his battle to be over so suddenly.

Dawn smiled and took the gym badge from him - she looked at it in great excitement. "This is so cool! Thank you so much, Roark - Yes! I got my first Sinnoh Badge!" Dawn exclaimed - showing it proudly to her friends. "Piplup, you were incredible - thank you for your help!" Dawn added as she walked over to May, Ash, Max and Brock.

"That was an amazing battle, Dawn" Ash commented. "It looks like you and Max trained really hard! Max - you're up next" he and his friends congratulated her.

"Max - do you mind if we do the battle tomorrow? My Pokemon got wiped out by Dawn's battle and they need a night's rest" Roark asked.

"Mhm - that's fine. I'm looking forward to getting my Coal Badge too!" Max said though he wondered how to defeat Roark with just two Pokemon since he's letting Azumarill rest.


How do you think Max will go in his first gym battle?
What will happen in the next chapter?
Note:
If I've missed anything - I'll go back and fix it! Hope you have an awesome week!
To be continued...

Badges:
Dawn: 1
Ash: 0
Max:
0
-

Ribbons:
May: 0
Max: 0
Ash: 0
Dawn:0

Pokemon:

Ash: Pikachu, Noctowl, Turtwig and Charizard
May: Blaziken, Shinx, Beautifly and Glaceon
Dawn: Aeordactyl and Piplup
Max: Azumarill, Treecko and Ralts
Brock: Bonsly