Sorry for the long wait, everyone! I've been focusing a lot on my main story "Crimson Star Priestess (New Version)" and the hype of Pokémon Scarlet/Violet distracted me as well from the story.
And if anyone is wondering, then yes; I have seen the result of the World Monarch Cup with Ash winning and literally becoming the world's Pokémon Master. I would've been more hyped about it if he was a lot older than the curse of the eternal age of ten. If he looked older, it could have also shown how much he has grown and learned and matured throughout the years when he traveled across each region and participated in the Pokémon Leagues. That's also one of the reasons why the Kalos Saga is one of my personal favorite sagas, since Ash was literally in his early teens at that time. It was a big letdown when they turned him back to the looks of a ten-year-old in the Alola Saga. Why didn't they let Ash and the other characters grow up in the Pokémon anime? We have kids from other anime like "Naruto" who grew up into adulthood and started their own families. That would have been normal to me even in the Pokémon anime.
Sorry for my short rant, but this is just my personal opinion.
We're close to the chapters of the Pokémon League, Trainers! I'm looking forward to complete the first saga of the series!
Disclaimer: I do not own any Pokémon characters! I only own my OCs!
Chapter 44: To Master the Onixpected
It felt so nice to be back at home after spending a month on the Sevii Islands. Mom gave me and Ash big Ursaring hugs when we stepped into the house after we flew on our Charizards from Vermilion City to Pallet Town. Mimey actually mimicked Mom and gave us hugs too with a big smile. The Squirtle Squad also bounced onto Ash and cuddled with him until he called out their leader, and they ran outside to do whatever they wanted to.
We still had an entire month to rest up and train our Pokémon before the Indigo Plateau Conference, so we stayed at home for a couple of weeks. We called Brock and Misty on the same day we returned home to inform them we were back and asked them if they wanted to come with us to the Pokémon League, unless they were busy maintaining the Gyms. Both of them said they would love to join us, so Ash and I waited for them to make it to Pallet Town. It took them around a week to travel to Pallet Town by foot. It was tougher for Misty since she had to cross Mt. Moon to reach Pewter City where Brock had waited for her before they traveled together through Viridian Forest. I heard that was a nightmare for Misty, which was expected, but she survived all the bug-type Pokémon thanks to Brock and his rock-type Pokémon.
Misty and I shared one room together in the house and Ash and Brock shared our childhood bedroom while they were staying with us. We got to see more of Brock's household side. He loved cleaning the house and cook food and he even grew a rivalry with Mimey who also loved doing chores. Of course, Ash, Misty and I helped out a lot as well when my brother and I weren't busy training our Pokémon.
One early morning after breakfast, Ash, Brock and I watched the replay of a battle featuring the Elite Four member Bruno. He specialized in fighting-type Pokémon, so Ash and I wanted to study his techniques and try replicating them with Hitmonlee and Chanchan and even with our Primeapes that were still in the Fighting Dojo in Saffron City.
Brock was a big fan of Bruno and he never missed the opportunity to watch a battle of the Elite Four member. After all, it was vastly known that Bruno also had an Onix in his party, so Brock wanted to learn how to raise one well.
"I choose you, Hitmonchan!" TV Bruno yelled as he threw a Poké Ball, calling out his partner.
"Hit-mon-chaan!"
"Hitmon monmon chan!" Chanchan exclaimed in joy as he saw the other Hitmonchan on the TV.
I giggled as I sat between Ash and Brock on the couch while Hitmonlee and Chanchan sat on the floor in front of us. "Yep, Chanchan. That's a Hitmonchan, just like you", I told him.
"Hitmonchan, use Thunder Punch!"
"HitmonchAAAN!" Hitmonchan's right boxing glove sparkled in electricity before it punched the opponent's Starmie, knocking it down to the ground.
"Man, that was a punch, alright!" Ash smiled.
"Pika pika!" Pikachu cheered while sitting in my brother's lap.
"Even though it has a disadvantage against Starmie, Bruno brings out the best side of his Pokémon!" Brock explained in a cheerful voice. "He must have some kind of secret on how he trains his Pokémon!"
"Maybe if we keep watching and study the battle, we can figure it out!" Ash suggested.
"Maybe…", I tilted my head to the side as I eyed the television screen. "But… I think it will hard to find the secret. The battle…is very distracting."
"What are you three doing?" Misty asked.
We turned to the right and saw her standing next to the couch with Togepi in her arms and Poliwag standing on her right side. While Ash and I were away, she had caught a wild Poliwag so she could expand her water team. She still hadn't decided which final evolution she wanted Poliwag to evolve into.
"We're watching the replay of one of Bruno's matches!" Ash answered before he returned his attention on the TV.
"Couch potatoes", Misty sighed before she grabbed the remote control on the coffee table to switch the TV off. "Instead of watching TV, you should be training for the Conference! It's only two weeks away!"
"Togeprii!" Togepi chirped happily.
"Polii!" Poliwag shrieked softly.
"We are training!" Ash argued before he stood up from the couch to confront Misty. "We're studying Bruno's techniques so we can replicate them with Hitmonlee and Chanchan!"
"Chaan!" Chanchan nodded while he waved his left boxing glove in the air.
"Lee hitmonlee", Hitmonlee rumbled in a tone that said he agreed with my brother.
"But I…haven't really learned anything, to be honest…", I confessed.
"Because your brain can only see what is in front of you and not behind it, right?" Misty asked.
"Right", I nodded.
"Whoa… I'm impressed, Misty", Ash said in surprise and awe. "You understand how Ashley's brain works?"
"Well…", Misty hesitated as she looked down at Togepi with a soft blush on her face. "I'm not gonna lie; I've been reading a little bit about the spectrum while we were split up. I want to understand Ashley better so I can help her out as her friend."
I felt touched by hearing that. Nobody, besides my family, took time of their day to read and learn about people who have autism. "Thank you, Misty…", I smiled as I wiped a tear off my eyelid.
Misty smiled in return with a soft giggle.
"To tell the truth, I didn't really catch much of Bruno's secrets on the TV", Ash confessed as he rubbed the back of his head.
"The best way would be to directly ask Bruno", Brock stated. "We've gotta find him before the Conference."
"Bruno?" Mom said as she entered the living room. "Are you talking about the Elite Four Bruno?"
"Yeah!" Ash, Brock and I answered simultaneously.
"I've heard a while ago that Bruno often trains on Mt. Hideaway the month before the Conference every year", Mom told us.
"Mt. Hideaway? That's actually close to the Victory Road that is connected to the Indigo Plateau", Brock said.
"Then we have our next goal!" Ash exclaimed. "We're leaving as soon as we've packed our bags!"
"Then I'll make lunch boxes for you to eat on the way", Mom smiled before she retired to the kitchen. "Mimey, bring some vegetables from the garden, please!"
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It took around five days to reach Mt. Hideaway on foot. We encountered a few Trainers who went there for some final training before the League, but none of them had seen Bruno. Then again, Bruno was known to be the lone-wolf among the Elite Four who preferred training alone and he didn't talk much. Now that I thought about it, he was a little bit like me. Did he also have autism? Or was that just his personality?
I was thinking deeply about it while we were walking on a weird path among the mountains. I didn't even hear what the others were talking about as my mind traveled around the questions in my head. I only snapped out of it when the ground suddenly started shaking. I almost tripped on my feet, but I quickly caught myself and grabbed onto Ash.
"What's going on?!" Ash called out as he looked around.
"Pika…!" Pikachu yelped.
"An earthquake?!" Misty questioned.
Brock looked around as he tried to find the source of the quake. "No, I don't think so!" he yelled.
All of the sudden, the ground split up meters from us and a huge Onix, even larger than Brock's, came crawling out. It had a couple of deep marks on its face, despite its rock-hard body, so this must have been an Onix with lots of battle experience.
"OOOOOOOOOO!"
And a very angry one too.
"RUN!" Brock yelled before he pushed us forward to run.
The wild Onix roared again before it started chasing us. I couldn't help shriek in fear as I ran as fast as I could. "Did we end up walking on its territory and it's mad at us?!" I shouted.
"I don't know, but I've heard from Dad once that Mt. Hideaway has nice fertile soil and the wild Onix in these parts are always larger than normal ones!" Brock shouted back.
"Drop the biology class and keep running!" Misty yelled irritably.
"Brock, you think we can stop it with our Pokémon?!" Ash called.
I looked over my shoulder and saw the wild Onix kept getting closer to us. "We'll be squashed before we can even throw our Poké Balls!" I shouted.
"Hitmonchan! Hitmonlee! Go!" a familiar voice called out.
Two tall shadows jumped over us and headed toward the wild Onix. I wanted to stop and see what they were, but Ash grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me to the side of the path where the others had run to. Once we were safe behind a large boulder, I looked back and saw how a Hitmonchan and a Hitmonlee joined forces and both kicked and punched the wild Onix on its face. The Onix screeched in pain by the double attack and turned around to head back to where it came from, not even willing to put up a fight. The two fighting Pokémon landed gracefully on the ground and watched the wild Pokémon retreat.
I collapsed on my knees now that the tension was over. My heart kept pounding in my chest for a couple of seconds before I was finally able to calm down. That had been a very close call. How many close calls did I have to endure throughout this whole year of my journey?
"That was too close…", Misty sighed in relief.
"Togi?"
"Are you all okay?" the savior asked us.
Ash turned around to thank our savoir. "Yeah! Thanks for your help, sir…"
When I heard how my brother had trailed off, I looked over my shoulder and felt my eyes widen in shock. Our savior was none other than Elite Four Bruno!
"Master Bruno!" Brock exclaimed in both surprise and joy.
I quickly scrambled up onto my legs, but I almost tripped again in the rush. I got caught by Bruno's Pokémon who had walked back to us, so I didn't face plant onto the ground. "Thank you, you two", I thanked them.
"Chan hitmonchan!" Hitmonchan smiled.
"Lee", Hitmonlee nodded, but I could tell he was smiling with his eyes.
"These parts of the mountain are usually deserted by Trainers", Bruno spoke calmly. "Are you passing by or are you here to train?"
"We're here because we want to ask you to help us train for the Pokémon League!" Ash explained.
Brock stepped in front of my brother and gently pushed him back before bowing deeply to Bruno. "Please forgive my friend's rudeness, Master Bruno!" he spoke fast. "He and his sister are two Trainers who are going to participate in the Conference soon and we've come here to ask for your assistance!"
Bruno was silent while he watched Brock and listened to his over passionate explanation.
"We admire you very much, sir, so it would be an honor if you could teach us the secrets of how to become a great Pokémon Trainer!" Brock continued before bowing again. "Please, Master Bruno, help us!"
"Well, Brock certainly got a change of attitude", Misty commented next to me.
"He must really admire Bruno…", I mumbled.
Ash pouted with a soft glare in his eyes. "He didn't have to push me away and treat me like I'm a rude kid. I was the one who asked Bruno first if he could train us."
"Pikachu…", Pikachu mumbled quietly.
Bruno remained silent even after Brock was done with the talk. His two Pokémon stood next to him as he studied me and my brother. "I think I've heard of you", he suddenly said.
"Huh?" Ash and I said simultaneously.
"Back when Team Rocket invaded Saffron City", Bruno continued. "Champion Lance mentioned a pair of twins and their bravery of facing Team Rocket's leader, despite being inexperienced Trainers. He spoke highly about you to the members of Elite Four."
I quickly remembered that Lorelei said the same thing when Ash and I met her on the Sevii Islands. It felt a little embarrassing of how Lance had high expectations of us, but at the same time it felt a little embarrassing because we were technically still novice Trainer.
Bruno crossed his arms with a blank expression. "Since you are the heroes of Saffron City, the least I can do for you is to help you with the training", he said.
Ash and I lifted our heads up in surprise when we heard that. "You mean you'll train us, sir?" my brother asked, his voice full of expectation.
"See this as a return of a favor", Bruno replied with a soft nod. "The training is going to be extreme. Are you still willing?"
"Yeah!" Ash, Brock, and I shouted together, determined to train with the Elite Four member.
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Bruno led us to his secret base where he had set up a camp. It was high up in the mountains, but it was still close to a forest where he could forage and fetch water to drink and wash himself.
Bruno may be a fighting-type specialist, but he wanted to help us train every Pokémon we had with us, so we called them out to join the training. And it wasn't just the Pokémon that had to train; we had to join too, especially during the warmups. Bruno said if we trained together with our Pokémon, our bonds would become stronger and solid. Ash and I had to do pushups while Pikachu and Luna sat on our backside as weights. Even Brock joined in and he used Vulpix as a weight on his back. Misty didn't want to join, so she watched us while cradling Togepi in her arms.
After the warmups, Bruno wanted to me and Ash to observe his Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee in close combat and have our Pokémon replicate the moves, especially Ash's Hitmonlee and Chanchan. The Elite Four member gave me and Ash protective gear, so we could train alongside our fighting-type Pokémon. It was like in those boxing videos I saw sometimes of how the trainer helped the boxer with those weird padded mitten.
I was a little nervous to face Chanchan at first because I didn't want to get accidently punched in the face. Bruno added that if the Trainer gets nervous, the Pokémon will sense it and become nervous too, so I needed to have more faith in them. That helped me relax, so I held up the right mitten and had Chanchan punch it. It didn't hurt as much as I first expected, nor was it strong, so I started feeling a little more confident and soon got lost in the training, both going offensive and defensive against Chanchan. When I tried punching Chanchan, he either dodged it or blocked my arm without hurting me.
Ash had a similar training with Hitmonlee, but since his Pokémon mainly used his long legs to attack, my brother got a different training. Brock ended up training with his Geodude in the way I trained with Chanchan, but his reflexes were slightly slow, so he ended up getting a punch in the face or two. Ash and I had inherited our father's reflexes and athletic skills, so this training ended up becoming fun for me.
Hours later after training with our other Pokémon, Bruno rewarded us by cooking his special stew that tasted delicious. I was starving after the training and so were our Pokémon.
"Yum! This is delicious, Master Bruno!" Ash exclaimed after he ate the first spoon of his share.
"The Bruno Stew always taste better after a good workout", Bruno nodded before continuing eating the stew with a pair of chopsticks.
"Master Bruno, I have a question", Brock spoke up. "Why did Mt. Hideaway become your training area?"
Bruno lowered his bowl of stew after the question was asked. "Mt. Hideaway is famous for the giant Onix that live here, so they are great training partners for my Pokémon", the Elite Four explained. "This year, I planned to catch the biggest Onix before the Conference, but it's been acting strange lately. It's on a rampage whenever I encounter it."
"Do you mean the Onix that chased us earlier today?" Misty asked.
"Yes", Bruno nodded.
"So it wasn't chasing us because it guarded its territory…", I mumbled quietly.
"Master Bruno, since you helped us with the training, I'd like to thank you by helping you catch that Onix!" Ash called out.
"Yeah, it's the least we can do to thank you!" Brock agreed excitedly.
"I appreciate it, youngsters, but I'd like to catch it on my own", Bruno turned down the offer.
"No, I meant we can help you trap Onix so it won't escape and then you can catch it", Ash tried explaining his plan. "We can lure it into a corner somewhere in the mountain and Ashley can use her Lapras to freeze that entire area so Onix can't dig underground."
"That's a great idea!" Brock snapped his fingers. "It's been proven by the physics that Pokémon can't dig underground when the ground's frozen, unless they are especially strong or can thaw the ice."
"That sounds pretty risky…", Misty sweat dropped.
Bruno had his eyes closed while he listened to my brother's plan. He soon opened them with a determined glare. "If you insist, then I shall take upon your offer", he said.
"Alright!" Ash and Brock cheered happily.
"Pika pika!" Pikachu joined in.
"It's a good thing I brought Aria with me", I commented softly.
XXXXXXXXXX
Shortly after lunch, we planned out where we could try trapping Onix. Bruno had a map of the mountain and had made notes of where the rampage Onix often skidded by. Bruno had observed a pattern, so Ash, Misty, and Brock were going to use their Pokémon to force Onix off the tracks and push it to a large clearing that Aria was going to freeze with her Ice Beam.
Aria and I were in the clearing as my partner used Ice Beam to freeze the environment. Since it was around middle November, the air was a little chilly, so I didn't have to worry about the ice melting fast. As soon as Aria was done turning everything into ice, I couldn't help but gaze in awe at the beautiful sight.
"I'm in a winter wonderland…", I mumbled quietly, feeling like I was in a fairy tale story.
"It is a marvelous sight, Master", Aria agreed.
The telepathy thing with Aria was still new to me, so I flinched a little when I heard her voice inside my head. I quickly calmed down my rapid-beating heart and gently patted her on her head. "Let's hope this ice trap is strong enough to keep Onix in here", I said.
The ground started rumbling among with a roar coming from the distance. I saw a large cloud of dust appear by the horizon as it grew bigger for each second. I soon spotted the figure of the large wild Onix, so I called back Aria and ran to some boulders to hide. I crouched down and covered my ears as the bombarding nose of skidding Onix echoed around me. I peeked through the corner and saw Onix march right past the boulders and threw dirt around. I had to turn away so none of the dirt could get in my eyes.
Once Onix made it past, I got out of my hiding spot when my brother and friends ran past me with…
"Two Rhydon…?" I mumbled out loud when I saw the two new Pokémon.
Part of the plan to capture the wild Onix was for Ash and Brock to use their Rhyhorns and force the wild Pokémon off its tracks while getting hit by Misty's Pokémon's water moves. So… In other words… The two Rhyhorns must have evolved during some sort of struggle!
The wild Onix did slip a little when its snake body touched the ice. It almost lost its balance, but it kept sliding until it crashed against the ice wall. The Pokémon screeched in pain and collapsed onto the ground.
"We've got it!" Ash cheered happily just as I joined the others.
"Pika pika!" Pikachu cheered from my brother's shoulder.
"Your plan actually worked, Ash!" Misty commented with a big smile.
"Now, the rest is up to you, Master Bruno!" Brock told the Elite Four.
"Which Pokémon are you going to use against Onix, Master Bruno?" my brother asked.
Bruno took a few steps forward and walked past the two Rhydons. "I will use…no Pokémon", he revealed before bouncing over to the fallen Onix.
"Be careful, Master Bruno!" Ash shouted.
"I'm glad the plan worked", I sighed in relief. "It was a little scary to be alone and prepare the trap."
"But you did it, sis", Ash smiled when he turned to me. "You've got a lot more courage than you think about yourself."
"Pika pika!" Pikachu smiled.
I blushed a little bit in embarrassment, since I was usually the coward one in the past, but maybe I have changed a little bit throughout the journey. I snapped out of it when I remembered something. "Did your Rhyhorns evolve just now?" I asked.
"They sure did!" Brock grinned widely. "When Misty's Staryu distracted Onix with Water Gun, our Rhyhorns pushed it off the tracks. However, Onix quickly recovered and tried shoving our Pokémon to the side, but they withstood the hits."
"And then both Rhyhorn evolved into Rhydons and used Take Down to force it further away from the tracks!" Ash added.
"Rhyyy!" both Rhydon nodded simultaneously.
"Guys, look!" Misty shouted as she pointed at the scene in front of us.
"Priii!"
Bruno was jumping left and right while dodging the wild Onix's whipping tail as it tried crushing the large man. The Elite Four's reflexes were amazing and his athletic skills were over the moon. He must have trained a lot, both alone and with his Pokémon, to have such great fitness. I wanted to get better with my own reflexes and have better reaction time. I was still slow at some times, but I wanted to get better.
It didn't take long before Bruno took down the wild Onix on his own by making the Pokémon hit itself on the head where the man had jumped on to. Onix collapsed on the ice while Bruno landed in a crouch without slipping. Once he straightened up, he calmly walked over to Onix who was still lying on the ground, but it was acting weird. It wiggled around and its groans sounded like it was in pain or something irritated it.
"Watch out, Master Bruno!" Brock warned.
"What is he doing…?" I mumbled while cold sweating.
Bruno spoke to Onix in a calm voice and actually managed to touch the wild Pokémon. Onix was paralyzed as it watched and allowed Bruno to examine it. The rest of us were quiet and waited anxiously to step in and help the Elite Four if needed. Bruno looked between the large rocks of Onix's body and stopped by one of the gaps. All of the sudden, he reached inside the gap and that caused Onix to roar out in more pain. It did its best to keep its body still as Bruno struggled to pull something out of the gap.
Seconds later, Bruno pulled out whatever that was stuck between the rocks of Onix's body. I gasped loudly along with the others when I saw Bruno was holding a Sandslash!
"A Sandslash got stuck between the rocks of Onix's body!" I exclaimed.
"That must be the reason why Onix was rampaging!" Brock figured it out. "It tried to get the Sandslash out of the body, but it kept getting stuck in there and irritated Onix!"
"How did Master Bruno understand what was wrong with Onix?" Ash wondered.
Bruno placed down the malnourished Sandslash on the ground and it didn't hesitate to run back to its freedom and find some food. The wild Onix looked so much better and even showed its appreciation to Bruno by allowing the Elite Four to catch it.
"Master Bruno!" Brock called as we ran over to him. "How did you know what was troubling Onix? What is your secret to understand Pokémon?"
Bruno chuckled softly in his throat. "There is no secret", he replied. "Every passionate Trainer will learn this the more they care about Pokémon. Humans and Pokémon must live together and care for one another to truly understand each other. When you do that, your minds and souls will slowly become one and you will be able to understand and share each other's feelings."
"Like…becoming a family?" I asked.
"That is one good example", Bruno nodded.
Ash turned to Pikachu and then to his Rhydon before he patted them both on their heads. "Then we should get much closer with everybody else so we can become a big happy family!" my brother smiled widely.
"Pikachu~!"
"Rhyyyn!"
"I wish the best of luck in the Indigo Plateau Conference, Ash and Ashley", Bruno said. "Remember to learn from your losses and mistakes and carry that knowledge to the next battle."
"We will!" Ash and I nodded simultaneously.
"And someday, when you are more experienced Trainers, I hope to challenge you two to a battle", Bruno added before he jumped up the cliff and left us alone.
"Bruno is really the real deal after all", Misty said shortly after the Elite Four disappeared.
"Of course he's the real deal!" Brock retorted. "He taught us so much during the training session! I can't wait to meet him next time!"
"Ashley, we should make Bruno proud and do our best at the Conference", my brother told me.
"Yes", I nodded with a tiny but nervous smile. "I'm already getting a little nervous…"
"You two will be just fine", Brock said as he patted our shoulders. "Just keep up with the good attitude and you'll sweep through the Conference."
"But don't have high expectations", Misty warned us. "There will be lots of other Trainers there who have years of experience in Pokémon battles."
"We know, but we still want to do our best with our Pokémon", Ash retorted.
"I want to challenge myself and grow to become a great dragon Trainer…and become stronger as an individual", I said.
"Alright, everyone! To the Indigo Plateau!" Ash cheered as he punched his fist in the air.
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Ashley's party:
Firered the Charizard (male)
Luna the Clefairy (female)
Sunny the Rapidash (female)
Chanchan the Hitmonchan (male)
Volt the Jolteon (male)
Aria the Lapras (female)
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Ashley's Pokémon at the Lab:
Kobra the Arbok (male)
Hunter the Aerodactyl (male)
Oliver the Vileplume (male)
Queendra the Seadra (female)
Rina the Nidoqueen (female)
Kabo the Kabutops (male)
Wanda the Gyarados (female)
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Ash's party:
Charizard (male)
Wartortle (male)
Pikachu (male)
Ivysaur (male)
Hitmonlee (male)
Rhydon (male)
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Ash's Pokémon at the Lab:
Squirtle x4 (males)
Krabby (male)
Muk (male)
Tauros (male)
Gengar (male)
Pidgeotto (male)
Mimey the Mr. Mime (male)
Omastar (male)
Poliwrath (male)
Snorlax (male)
Exeggutor (male)
Nidoking (male)
Dragonair (female)
Beedrill (male)
XXXXXXXXXX
Misty's party:
Goldeen (female)
Staryu (genderless)
Psyduck (male)
Togepi (female)
Poliwag (male)
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Misty's Pokémon in the Cerulean Gym:
Starmie (genderless)
Horsea (female)
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Brock's party:
Geodude (male)
Onix (male)
Zubat (male)
Vulpix (female)
Rhydon (male)
