Note: This chapter is based on/inspired by episode 14. Actually, get ready for Lt. Surge and Vermilion Gym for the next 3 chapters, including, of course, a lot that wasn't in that episode.

17: Ash vs. Lt. Surge

"We're here!" Tracing downhill on the dirt path with Ash and Brock, Misty noted the sign for Vermilion City and ran ahead of her traveling companions. "I want to see the ocean," she said. It wasn't yet in sight, though it had to be before long. She took a deep breath through her nose, and sighed out. "I can feel it nearby. It's been so long since I've seen it!"

"We're not here to swim," Ash declared as he caught up with her.

"That's right. This place isn't really known for its beaches," Misty said, frowning. "Just being by the ocean, I'm happier.. But no. We're not here to just have a little fun, are we?"

"I'm gonna get a badge," Ash declared, clenching his fist as he adjusted his gloves.

"I hope so," Misty said. "But either way, you'll get stronger, hm?"

"I'm gonna win," Ash said, stopping as they approached a sign with a city map. "I'm too behind already."

"Don't be in such a rush," Misty advised, poking his shoulder. She frowned as she found the gym on the map. Lt. Surge had stayed fairly high on the ranking list since he'd started as a gym leader, which was long enough ago that Misty couldn't recall. Just by that fact, despite whatever any specific semester's win ratio was, some might consider him one of top gym leaders there were. Consistency was important, as Misty had been reminded by several gym leaders as she had gleefully shared her initial win ratio with them.

And that sentiment wasn't wrong. Someone who had a trick might last for a little while, until a traveling trainer figured out what it was, then shared how to win with others, and so on. Surge had talent in just being able to maintain his status for so many years uncontested, especially with so many trainers coming and going in the busy port city.

So why did he just stay home when it came to the gym leader meetings? He was a powerful trainer, as well as a powerful, muscular person period. The electric type gym leader had even served in the army in his country of origin. If anyone could tell Giovanni what for and get him kicked out of the gym circuit for good, it was this guy. Jessie and James would probably run from him when it came to pokemon or personal battles, along with any other rocket agents. Maybe he just needed to know more about what was going on.

"Do you guys know this gym leader?" Ash asked as noted a graphic for Viridian Gym on a nearby guide.

"No, and we probably won't know most. No one really showed up to meetings," Misty informed.

"Actually, I do," Brock informed.

"Huh? How? He never- Well, you were also one of the ones that never showed up too," Misty realized aloud. Of course, with Brock, she knew why. It was too big a burden with so many little kids at home. Did Surge have a reason like that which prevented him from taking action?

"Not very well. Mostly from my dad, since I was really young when he actually visited our gym," Brock began. "I guess Lt. Surge caused quite a stir. Pokemon training and battling for sport had been part of the Kanto region for a couple decades, since pokemon seem to originate from here. Then this foreigner came in, acting like he knew a lot about pokemon, and wanted to join up. A lot of people weren't happy about that."

"Why?" Ash asked.

"Well, you know, it just seems suspicious. Why was he so interested in what we were doing? People were thinking that kind of thing," Brock explained as he looked over Ash's shoulder at the picture of the large man posing.

"Well, yeah. We can't just let people come in and harvest pokemon for profit." Misty frowned as she thought of what people might do, though she supposed certain Kanto natives were already doing things like that.

"I guess they were thinking of stuff like that too," Brock said. "But Lt. Surge isn't - my dad said he isn't like that. He already knew about pokemon and just wanted to catch a few of a certain type and then join the battle circuit. He's a real tough guy, but apparently he can be pleasant to be around once you get used to him. He worked his way up to gym leader, and he's stayed in his position, no problem. From what I recall when he was at our gym, he just liked battling."

"What type does he use?" Ash asked, though he had already guessed by the lightning bolt graphics behind Surge's picture.

"Electric," Brock informed.

"Did you hear that, Pikachu?" Ash exclaimed.

"Pika?" Pikachu looked up. It hadn't really been paying attention.

"A whole electric type gym! That sounds great!" Ash exclaimed.

"Chu?" Pikachu tilted its head.

"Well, first let's find the pokemon center," Misty suggested.

"Find the-" Ash began in dismay. "I've been waiting this whole time! I want to go right to the gym."

Misty playfully put her fist on Ash's head. "You want us to rush right over to the gym after all the camping and walking we've just done?" she demanded.

"Well, no one's asking you to do anything I'm doing," Ash said as he observed names on street signs vs the map, trying to find the right way.

"Your pokemon are probably tired, and you look filthy! Try to have some respect for the gym leader by coming at your best," Misty said before walking off.

Brock shrugged as Ash ended up looking at him after Misty was gone. "What can I say? She might have some good advice," he said. "Oh, there's a laundromat right by the pokemon center! I'm gonna go right there. See you later, Ash."

Ash caught sight of himself in a reflective pane of glass of the welcome center. Maybe he didn't look that great. He took off his hat and he definitely didn't. Putting it back on only barely hid the state of his hair, plus all of his shirts were wrinkled from how he'd badly hand washed them while camping. Maybe he ought to give his best, and follow Brock to do some laundry. "Come on, Pikachu," Ash said to his pokemon, and they followed the older boy in the distance.

After doing the laundry, Ash went and signed up for the soonest appointment he could, and ended up being able to sign up for the very first appointment the next day. After getting all his pokemon a check up, showering properly, and getting a night's sleep, Ash thought he was more than prepared for a battle. A quick glance in the mirror after he'd dressed showed a young, promising trainer, much more put together than the other day. Ash was on his way, as early as possible. The gym opened at eight that day, and he'd be the first have a match. It was too bad it was taking so long.

"Hey!" a boy called to another in the lobby of the pokemon center as Ash double checked he had everything. "Is your oddish okay?"

"It's better now," the addressed boy explained.

"That Surge is a monster! I don't think I can beat him."

Ash stood up, walking toward them. "Are you talking about the gym leader?" he asked.

"Yeah!" the boy confirmed.

"My oddish was in terrible shape after we fought him."

"My pokemon too!"

"He's really tough. Maybe it's better to just try another gym."

Even with the grim picture being painted by the other trainers, Ash smirked and shook his head. "If I can't handle a tough gym leader, then I can't aim to be a master." He'd thought these kids might have some useful information, but they didn't. It was better he just go on his way. Ash adjusted the straps of his backpack and turned around.

"Are you going over to the gym?" one of the boys asked, the other looking more concerned.

"Yeah, of course. That's why I'm here," Ash confirmed with irritation.

"I hope your pokemon are okay after."

"Yeah. They'll all be fine," Ash said. "Come on, Pikachu!"

The gym was fairly easy to find from the pokemon center. Ash went alone, but found himself pacing outside as it wasn't open yet. Brock and Misty soon came and met him. "Hey, you didn't tell us you were going," Misty said.

"I didn't know you'd wanna watch," Ash said.

"Of course we do!" Brock said with a smile.

"Yeah. Don't be nervous about it or anything, we support you," Misty said, looking up at the large, angular building accented in yellow and gold. "I'm looking forward to seeing another gym, too. It's interesting how different they can all be."

"Yeah. I wonder if this one has a motif like your family's. Our family didn't really put in the effort," Brock said.

"You didn't?" Misty asked. "There were rocks everywhere for your rock type gym!"

"You thought it was decoration? How low effort would that be," Brock said.

"Good enough." Misty shrugged.

"It was just to help prepare and repair the arena though." Brock laughed awkwardly.

"Right! We both had a themed battle arena. I wonder if Lt. Surge will as well," Misty realized. "A battle field primed for electric type pokemon? I wonder how he'd manage that."

"Do you wanna find out, Pikachu?" Ash grinned down at his pokemon.

"Pi?" Pikachu looked to the door, then back up at Ash. The idea of something made just for it sounded fairly interesting. "Pika!" it agreed.

When eight o'clock finally rolled around, a woman unlocked the gym, and Ash entered with his friends. "Welcome," a loud man's voice greeted them. They caught sight of him across the way, and he only looked taller as he approached them. He was unmistakably foreign, a large, muscular white man. Though he'd welcomed them, as he approached the group felt momentarily lost for words. "You're right on time. Flint's boy, right?" the resident gym leader asked.

"Yeah. It's-" Brock began.

"Never heard you were joining the battling circuit," the man said. "Well then Ash, let's get right to the battle. I'm more than ready for a challenge."

Ash did a double take. The giant man had said his name, but was obviously looking at Brock instead of Ash himself. "Hey!" Ash exclaimed.

"Oh, it's not me," Brock said, holding his hands as he smiled awkwardly. "I'm Brock. It's nice to see you again, it's been a while."

"Oh? You're observing then?" Surge's attention turned elsewhere. "Then my opponent must be this cute little lady. Keep in mind I take all challengers equally seriously, even if they're young or sweet. You step on a battlefield, you be prepared to face any consequences."

"Well, I always hope I'm taken seriously, but-" Misty began nervously before Ash interrupted.

"You're not battling her!" he said, then pointed toward himself with his thumb. "I'm Ash, from Pallet Town! I challenge you!"

The foreign gym leader's eyes traveled to the side and down even further, focusing on Ash as he stepped forward. "Oh..." Surge backed away, calling out loudly, "Hey! Get over here! You two have to see this!"

"What's going on?" a voice called from the other end. A man and a woman, apparently Surge's assistants, both came forward.

"We've got a little baby here!" Surge informed with a grin. "Just look at him!"

"What are you talking about?" Ash demanded.

"Look at that face! And he's so small," Surge said with amusement, though Ash was anything but amused.

Misty couldn't help but find it a little funny herself. Maybe this was part of the 'cultural differences' Giovanni and others had talked about at those meetings. He was kind of blunt and abrasive. Knowing this and all the foot traffic he had to get here, it made sense that most of the complaints were about him. In this case, yes, Ash looked very young, having started only a few months ago exactly on his tenth birthday. Even so, it didn't follow with the electric type gym leader's promise to take his challengers seriously.

"Who cares if I'm small," Ash said, staring up at Lt. Surge defiantly. "I'm here to battle. Let's get to it! Pikachu, be ready!"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu sprinted forward, going in front of Ash as it tried to get a better look at the arena that was supposedly primed for electric types. As it came into view of the gym leader and his assistants, they hooted loudly. "Pika?" Pikachu called to their strange response.

"I can't believe it! Look at that - he's got a matching baby pikachu! How about that!" As Surge marveled over the sight, his assistants snickered. "Come on." Surge grinned as he seemed to try and hide his own building laughter. "This is a fun joke, huh?"

"Stop. I'm here to challenge you," Ash insisted. "Are you gonna battle me already?"

Lt. Surge stood in silence for a moment, studying Ash's serious expression. "Fine," he eventually said. "I'm sensing you're serious."

As the challenged gym leader took his place on the opposite side of the battle arena, Ash walked up to his spot as the challenger. He noted everyone else clearing the field, Misty and Brock sitting nearby the challenger's podium as Surge's assistants stood far behind him. On the field, there appeared to be some long, pointed spikes, though it was overall a smoothed out, shiny arena with little obstacles. There would be no dealing with the large pool from Cerulean Gym nor the imitation of a rocky landscape from Pewter. There was nothing to get in the way of any electric attacks. "I choose you, Pikachu!" Ash shouted, pointing forward.

Pikachu hopped onto the gym's battlefield, excited and energized for the battle to come. Across from it, the resident gym leader smirked and tutted. "You're really going with that little baby pikachu?" he asked.

"Isn't this gym made for electric types?" Ash asked. Surge gave an exaggerated shrug as he exchanged glances with his assistants. "Pikachu's electric type, and really powerful! It's great in a battle, and yeah, it's gonna battle now!" Ash insisted after the pause.

"Feh. You've made a mistake." Lt. Surge took out his own pokeball. "Go, Raichu!"

As the gym leader threw the pokeball, a larger rodent-like pokemon with a bladed tail appeared across from Pikachu. "Raichu," the pokemon that had evolved from a pikachu called, expressing a battle-hardened sense of eagerness to begin their match. Raichu stared down Pikachu, not menacingly, but with absolute confidence and preparedness.

The opponent's energy demonstrated a strength far beyond the pokemon Pikachu had encountered before, not just in the wild, but also in other gyms. "Pika," Pikachu called tentatively, then scowled at itself for not being as cool as its opponent. "Pikachu!" it called louder, letting the other pokemon know it was ready to battle. It shouldn't be afraid just because its opponent was more experienced. Pikachu was also a powerful opponent, or so it had been told before. It stood firm, ready for the battle.

"Rai, rai." Raichu smirked as it stared at its opponent. "Rai," it calmly accepted the possible battle, glancing back at its trainer before looking right at Pikachu again. Of course, this would be dependent on the humans. Raichu relaxed somewhat as it awaited its orders.

"It's a raichu..." Ash observed, a twinge of a frown coming across his face the reality of Pikachu facing a pokemon of its evolutionary species set in. Ash glanced at Pikachu, who stood unflinching. Trying to act the same as a trainer, he stood up straighter, his gaze moving up to meet his opponent's eyes. "I'm ready," he said.

"One on one, that's enough, huh?" Surge mused.

"Fine with me," Ash said. He pointed his hand forward as he pushed back the brim of his hat. "Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Ash ordered.

"Pika..." Pikachu crouched down, getting its attack ready.

"Raichu, mega punch!" Surge ordered, his voice drowning out Pikachu's calls.

"Raichu!" Raichu moved forward in an instant with the order, hitting Pikachu and causing it tumble across the arena.

"Pika..." Pikachu cried. It was winded, losing focus on the attack it had been about to perform.

"Pikachu!" Misty gasped from the spectator area.

"Pikachu! You can do it!" Ash encouraged.

"Raichu, body slam!" Surge ordered.

"Pika..." Pikachu began its thunderbolt attack again before Raichu slammed into it, again making it lose focus as it felt the pain of the impact. It scurried away only a short distance. "Pika..." it began again.

"Raichu, mega punch again!" Surge ordered. After the attack hit, he gave the second order. "Now, thunderbolt!"

"Rai CHUU!" Raichu called loudly as it shocked Pikachu.

"Pikachu..." Pikachu cried, tears filling its eyes. Somehow, being hit by its favorite and most reliable attack hurt worse than the others. The indignity of it motivated Pikachu to finally complete its own thunderbolt attack, performed the sequence of the technique as quickly as possible. "Pika CHU!" it called out angrily as it finally hit that raichu. Raichu winced briefly and frowned before tossing its head to the side, smirking again. "Pika!" Seeing that reaction, Pikachu only became angrier. Before it could retaliate, Raichu itself did at its trainer ordered, punching Pikachu with its powerful attack yet again.

As Pikachu stood, it heard Ash shout something at it, but was too worked up to really listen to the message. It just had to keep shocking its opponent to win, right? "Pika..." Pikachu tried to begin what would be a powerful enough attack to shock that pokemon away.

Before it could, Raichu's body slammed on top of it again, completing its practiced technique. Pikachu struggled to get up, but found it couldn't. "Pika..." it cried, its voice starting to fail.

"Stop! Stop!"

"Pika..." Pikachu got ready to disobey Ash's orders before it realized that Ash was instead shouting at the man he'd challenged.

"You done already? Don't be wishy-washy!" Surge said.

"That's enough." Ash frowned, biting his lip as he looked down at his restrained and obviously suffering pokemon.

"Raichu," Surge called to his pokemon.

Just hearing its trainer's voice was enough to get Raichu to calm, hopping up before returning to the man's side. As the gym leader's pokemon left the field, Ash ran onto it, picking Pikachu up and holding it close. "Pikachu!" he called. "Are you alright? Come on, hang on, Pikachu."

"Ash," Brock began as he ran next to his friend. "Just go, get Pikachu to the pokemon center."

Ash turned, getting ready to do so before someone else called him. "Wait," Surge said. As Ash glanced back, the gym leader dropped an object on the ground, kicking it so it slid over the smooth floor to the defeated opponent. "You gotta wait to grow up, but that pikachu can right away. Don't you want it to be at its best? Go and evolve it. Maybe your pikachu's a little better than the rest, but any raichu's better than any pikachu, period."

Ash glanced down at the object on the ground, easily recognizing it as a thunder stone. He looked back at the gym leader, seeing the man was folding his arms, a smirk on his face that matched his raichu's, seemingly mocking Ash and Pikachu's loss. The defeated trainer turned away, ignoring the man and his offered help. He increased his pace, going straight to the door and leaving without another word.

As the door to the gym closed, Brock approached the resident gym leader, smiling sheepishly. Surge turned around and spoke to his assistants, apparently not noticing the guests still present. "Hey, that didn't take long, huh? There's an open spot before the next one, right? Let's get a game in!"

"Excuse me," Brock began, raising his voice just slightly to get Surge's attention. As the other gym leader turned his way, Brock leaned down and picked up the thunder stone. "If it's alright, I'll give this to Ash later. Sorry about how rude he was, you know, he was probably just worried about his pokemon."

"Oh, Brock, right?" Lt. Surge began. "That wasn't anything! You should see what goes on here, huh?" Surge nodded to his assistants, who mirrored his amusement.

"That's right," the woman agreed. "Some little boys throw a total fit."

"That one guy, his third loss and he started really screeching, huh?" the man behind Surge continued.

"He looked just like his mankey, jumping up and down with that same expression," Surge recalled. The group loudly guffawed at the memory.

"Well, then," Brock said, feeling awkward as he waved the object intended for his friend.

"That thunder stone?" Lt. Surge suddenly recalled the original question. "Yeah, go ahead and take it to him, I've got plenty. Want another for yourself?"

"Oh, no. I'll just say thanks in Ash's place for this one," Brock said as he reached back and put it in his bag.

"There wasn't much time today, so maybe you could let him know why we evolve pokemon. Even kids like him should learn why it's important," Surge said.

"Yes, I'll tell him," Brock agreed. "And I'm sorry again for before."

"No problem. You wouldn't know how the trainers- Oh, wait! You probably know from your dad's gym, eh?" Surge said.

"Well, I acted as gym leader there myself," Brock said.

"You don't say!" Surge grinned, walking to Brock and patting him on the shoulder. "You sure grew up fast! So you know how trainers can act all wound up yourself, don't you?"

"Well-" Brock turned his head slightly to the door.

"Trainers can take cues from the gym leader they're facing," Misty spoke up. "If a certain kind of trainer shows up over and over at the same gym, maybe that says something about the leader."

"Ooh," both of Surge's assistants exclaimed, their grins only growing wider as they glanced Surge's way.

Surge just shrugged. "You seem like you've gotten some experience around the battle circuit, little lady," he said.

Misty shrugged herself and walked closer, hand on her hip. "You might say that. I've Misty of Cerulean City, and of course, a leader of Cerulean Gym."

As Misty stuck out her hand, Lt. Surge eagerly shook it. "Well, well, we've got a whole band of gym leaders, don't we?" he said. "Why don't you all sit down and relax?" he suggested, walking toward the back of the gym. Misty followed him to the small break room right away, sitting down at the round table. Brock trailed behind her after glancing once more toward the door. Surge sat down across from them. He nodded to his assistants, who put some soft drinks on the table. "What brings you both out here? Having a nice little vacation?"

"More or less," Brock said.

Misty could have groaned. Her idea of a vacation was more like a luxury cruise, visiting all kinds of exotic places, learning the local languages, maybe even sharing her pokemon with the people of the world. All of that was pretty far from her lackluster travels through Kanto with Ash. "My friend's a new trainer, so I came to watch him battle, but I'm more interested in why other gym leaders do certain things." With that declaration, Misty opened a can and started to drink.

"You want some pointers, huh? Feel free to stay and watch!" Surge offered.

"I will," Misty said, though his summary hadn't been at all what she'd said. Just demanding things she wanted to know should wait until she'd observed him a while. She might find out something like she had with Brock, though as she sat listening to him speak with his assistants and Brock, she increasingly doubted that. The Vermilion City gym leader just seemed like a brash loudmouth. The topic of conversation changed from their status as gym leaders to more stories about gym battles to the pokemon they used.

"Either of you looking to catch new pokemon?" Surge asked. "I could tell you the local spots and what you'll find. Unlike Saffron, you won't see much right here in the city, but-"

"You're not really a local, are you?" Misty asked.

"Hm?" Surge raised his eyebrows. "How'd you guess?"

Misty's cheeks grew hot as Surge's assistants tittered. Of course, even if the answer to her question wasn't common knowledge, he was obviously a different race from the rest of them and spoke with a foreign accent. "Thanks for your hospitality," Misty said in his first language, nodding his way. He smiled in response to her unpracticed attempt, so Misty smiled back. "I'm just wondering why you moved all the way to Kanto."

"Misty," Brock hissed. Misty ignored him. Even though it might be prying to ask, she was curious and wanted to know.

Surge answered with neither offense nor hesitation. "Pokemon, of course! Why else?"

Of course, that was the obvious answer, but there had to be more to it. "What would someone from so far away know? In your country, pokemon are just known as dangerous monsters, aren't they?" Misty asked.

"Yeah," Surge admitted casually. "But I know better. The pokemon I met during the war wasn't that dangerous, to humans at least."

"The war?" Misty repeated.

"Yeah. I got sent to a war not that far from here, some pokemon got shipped in where we were by accident," Surge explained.

"Are you sure it wasn't that far from here?" Brock asked, staring poignantly Surge's way.

"Ah, you got me. Understand where I'm from, relative to that it's the same difference as far as distance. But I guess it is pretty far from here. Poor pikachu was probably just as much a fish outta water as me."

"Oh." Misty put the can on the table, her eyes traveling to the floor where Raichu rested on a dedicated mat. She glanced back up toward their host. "So, you knew a lot about pokemon already?"

"Found out as much as I could before I made it over. I even learned the language, took a while! You understand me now, right? Though it doesn't matter much to pokemon, I need to talk to trainers here to battle them."

It seemed Surge had already gone and done what Misty wanted - travel, learn a new language, meet new people. He had that experience, though he'd been settled here in Vermilion for as long as she could remember. "Don't you want to go with Raichu to other places?" Misty asked.

"Na. I'm happy here for as long as I'm tolerated. Pokemon aren't allowed most places, including my home city, you know," Surge explained, leaning back and looking at the clock.

Of course, Misty recalled what she'd been thinking of when asking the foreigner why he'd even bothered coming here. Pokemon just weren't allowed in many countries. A lot of the world feared them, and were happy for them to be an oddity limited to the island nation of Misty's home, if not just the Kanto region, period. Even though Misty wanted to travel, her options might be limited if she were to bring her pokemon. But even in Kanto, they weren't allowed everywhere, though that was changing every day. Maybe it would change even more once Misty finally decided to see what the world was like outside her home country.

"Bolt, Storm, go get ready," Lt. Surge ordered as he turned to his assistants.

Misty made a noise of surprise before laughing and coughing.

"Something wrong?" The male assistant, apparently called 'Bolt' as indicated by the nametag, looked her way.

"No, sorry... I guess we didn't really introduce each other, did we. Are those your names?" Misty asked.

"Stage names," the woman, 'Storm', informed. "Just like yours, right 'Misty'?"

"Yeah," Lt. Surge laughed. "Gotta fit the part, right? Bolt thought adding rank to mine sounded cooler than just 'Surge'. I was a military man before, you know."

"Well, I've since changed it officially, but my parents called me Brock before then, too," Brock explained. "I guess when I was born they couldn't decide between that and my original name, which was pretty plain."

"What's that?" Bolt asked.

"Well, you know," Brock muttered, then turned to Misty. "What about you, Misty?"

Misty fought hiding her head in her arms. "Misty isn't an alias," she admitted in a mumble. She didn't hate her name, but it was the only 'themed' name among her sisters. Misty recalled when she was younger, talking about the flowers her sisters were named for, before realizing her name was the only one that referred to water. Her parents had decided all children after the third would have water themed names, but Misty had turned out to be the last child, and therefore stood out from the rest of the family, in more ways than one.

"Well Misty, Brock, I've gotta get back to the game. You're welcomed to watch," Surge invited.

"Oh, no. I'm going to go check on Ash, then I've got some other business," Brock said.

"No problem. Visit any time," Surge said as he stepped out of the room.

Brock followed, going toward the door. "You coming, Misty?" he asked.

Misty shook her head. "I do want to watch. Then maybe I'll have some pointers for you," she said, staring her host's way.

Surge laughed. "Help yourself to a seat!" he said, motioning toward the spectator area. "You gonna give me trainer tips, little lady? That might be interesting."

Misty did take her seat in the spectator's area. She quickly faded into the background and became unnoticed as challenger after challenger entered. Surge took them on in one on one battles. Misty might normally think that was a cop-out for the more typical two on two or more challenging three on three, but perhaps with the amount of foot traffic he got, it was an appropriate choice. Besides, the challenging trainers could similarly pick their very best pokemon to go against Surge's raichu. It might be seen as overworking the poor thing, but Raichu hardly seemed tired at all. Besides, Bolt, Storm, and even Surge himself took care of it in-between battles, spraying it with potions and giving it treats before inviting it to stretch and then rest.

Misty watched all day. Interestingly enough, the only challenger to win against Surge also used an electric type, defeating Raichu with a magneton. The trainers who tried with ground types were countered with Raichu's non-electric type attacks with ease, finding the specific battlefield wasn't conducive to the ground and rock type attacks they might want to use in retaliation. Such a simple type advantage wasn't enough to win in this gym, unlike back in Cerulean with Violet, who wanted to give a badge the second a trainer with a type advantage entered. Of course, Misty hadn't found it as easy to win in those cases as Lt. Surge was that day.

Surge did seem at ease in his long held gym. He'd be here as long as he was tolerated, he said. Well, he didn't have much competition as far as newer gym leaders wanting to try and hold down such a busy city went. It seemed like that job might be pretty stressful, but Surge only seemed to have fun as he took on challenger after challenger, even when he lost. He joked and laughed with both his challengers and assistants, then briefly rested with Raichu before taking on the next challenger. It didn't seem like the man had a worry in the world.

"That's the last one," Bolt announced as a challenger left.

"Where'd they all come from?" Surge said. "Now time for us to train!" Surge turned toward the door just as Misty walked his way. "Oh, the little lady's still here. You stay this whole time? Got any pointers?" His loud voice echoed toward the visiting gym leader.

"Maybe," Misty said, unflinching as Surge and his hangers-on raised their eyebrows at her. "Everything's really nice for you here, isn't it?" she said.

"Sure is. I can't complain about much of anything," Surge said.

"Then you really need to wake up," Misty said firmly.

Surge stood up straighter, folding his arms as he stared Misty's way. "That right?" he said.

Misty also faced him unflinchingly. From talking to him and observing him, she'd decided he wasn't a bad person. But in her eyes, that only made ignoring the facts even worse. He could be doing something, but instead he decided to just stay in his gym and play like nothing was happening. Maybe that kind of attitude was annoyingly common, but someone as tough as Surge really ought to afford to break out of it. "Yeah," Misty said. "I have a few questions for you. I'll fill you in if you're really as blind as you seem."

"Please do," Surge invited. Though his arms were still folded, he seemed to force a smile as he invited Misty to speak.

Next chapter: Misty vs. Lt. Surge