Chapter 12
Trembling hands crumpled the wide piece of paper in his grip, and Ash couldn't even try to weaken the smile on his face as he lowered the map. His glittering eyes were locked on the huge sign over the road leading into the city reading 'VERMILION CITY'. Covered in sweat, dirt, and anything else one could imagine, Ash's hands fell weakly to his side, gripping the map in one hand and his backpack in the other. Beside him, Brock could barely believe it either, and they had never been so glad to see civilization. Dropping both objects in his hand on the ground, they both raised their hands in the air.
"Hip Hip! Hooray! Hip Hip! Hooray! Hip Hip! Hooray!" the two males cheered at the same time, eliciting strange stares from those walking by in their day to day life. But they were ignorant to the glances, and fantasized about what they would do first when they crossed the border to the city. They both had much different ideas.
"I have to hit the laundromat," Brock said, a smile on his face while he tugged at the green vest as if nothing more could make him happier.
"I'm gonna find the Vermilion City Gym!" Ash announced, dragging his dirty finger across his equally filthy face, and began to run ahead. "Right... now!"
"Hold it!" Brock exclaimed, and with lightning-fast reflexes, snatched the boy's collar and stopping him in his tracks.
"Huh? What's the matter?" Ash questioned, his eyebrows furrowing at the older boy stopping him in his tracks.
"Before you do that, you should take your Pokémon to the Pokémon Center," the Pokémon Breeder proposed, giving the younger boy a frown. "We haven't eaten anything decent in three days now." Ash's face lightened a bit, and he pulled out Wartortle's Poké Ball and looked at the red and white sphere. The sun reflected off its polished surface, and he could also see his own face distorted in it.
"Hey Wartortle, you feeling hungry, little buddy?" he asked the object as though Wartortle would be able to answer through it. Instead of Wartortle responding, his own stomach did, giving a loud grumble that made Ash laugh with embarrassment. "I guess we're all a little hungry."
o 0 o
Luckily, the two didn't have to travel very far to the Pokémon Center, and like most of the other ones, it was fairly easy to spot. The entire building was cardinal red, and was domed with Poké Ball-shaped protrusions sticking out of both sides of the roof. Walking in through the double-doors, they were immediately hit with the relief of the air conditioner, and felt very out of place in the sanitized building. Nevertheless, they grabbed a tray for each of them, and the pair filled up their tray with their Poké Balls – five for Ash and three for Brock, and brought them to the front counter in the lobby, where the Nurse Joy was sitting behind the counter and typing away at the computer.
"I think they're hungry," Ash told her as him and Brock pushed their trays across the polished wood.
"We'll fix your Pokémon up," the pink-haired nurse responded just as kindly as ever, and she pulled the trays closer to her, but looked up in surprise at the blank looks on the two Trainers' faces. Noticing this, she smiled and chuckled. "I know why you're surprised. I look like all the other nurses, don't I? My first cousin works in Pewter City, and the second cousin works in Viridian City." She gave a small giggle. "I think I'm the prettiest one, don't you?"
"Yeah!" Brock responded with a smile, but the double doors behind them leading outside opened up, and a loud voice grabbed their attention.
"Hurry!" a young Pokémon Trainer cried, and when they looked, they saw that he was running alongside a medical stretcher being pushed by a Chansey. "You'll be okay, Rattata!" He was talking to the Pokémon laying on the stretcher. The small purple rat was laying on its side, and it was completely unconscious and covered in wounds. Its fur was even singed in some places. "Hurry!" And with that last cry, him and Chansey ran into the ER and disappeared through the door there.
"That Rattata is in rough shape," Brock commented upon seeing it. "I wonder what happened." But behind them, Nurse Joy stood from her computer chair and placed her hands on her hips impatiently.
"Oh, it's the fifteenth one brought in this month!" she huffed.
"What?!" Ash wondered in slight surprise. Coming out from behind the desk, she walked briskly towards where her Chansey and the Pokémon Trainer disappeared to, and gestured for the pair to follow her. Down the hallway, they followed the pink-haired nurse to the end of it, and they walked into a room. It was quite a large room, large enough to fill fifteen stretchers. And each one of the stretchers had a Pokémon on top of it, covered in bandages and wounds. Beside them, their Trainers looked on with worry. The Pokémon ranged from Pidgey to Rattata, to Oddish and even to Sandshrew.
"They all lost to Lieutenant Surge, the Vermilion Gym Leader," Nurse Joy explained.
"Woah! He must be a great Trainer..." Ash muttered, and nerves tickled his stomach beyond the hunger that plagued it.
"From the looks of things here, you'll have to be tough to battle with this Lieutenant Surge," Brock commented as his frowning face scanned the room full of injured Pokémon.
"You think he's... that tough?" the black-haired boy asked, feeling his confidence lowering by the second, but he shook his head, trying to shake away the bad thoughts and anxiety and donned a mask of determination. "Well, you have nothing to worry about!"
Leaving the recovery room behind them while Nurse Joy got to work on the new arrival, Ash and Brock headed up to their rented room to clean up and get a meal before the Pokémon Trainer's inevitable Gym Battle.
o 0 o
After both of them showered, Brock had to clean the bathtub from the amount of dirt that had poured off them and collected on the floor. And once a big lunch had settled into their stomachs and given them energy, they heard a jingle play over the speakers, and were approached by Nurse Joy shortly after. "That signal means your Pokémon is recovered," she told them, then gave Ash a warm smile. "They will be up front when you are ready. Good luck on winning your Thunder Badge."
Ash felt properly motivated now, and Brock watched with slight surprise as Ash quickly devoured the rest of his food and placed his portion of money for the bill on the table before running off. Brock followed suit, leaving his own meal unfinished. They went to the front counter, and retrieved their Poké Balls that were sitting on the beige plastic trays, and Ash looked at one Poké Ball, holding it firmly in his hand and looked at it with a smirk.
"Wartortle, I hope you're all rested up, cause we gotta win big at that Gym today," he said to the red and white orb. "C'mon; let's go win a Badge!" As Ash took a step forward, the lobby doors leading outside opened up, and the sound of wheels hitting the linoleum grabbed their attention. Looking over, Ash saw another Trainer running alongside a stretcher being pushed by Nurse Joy's Chansey, and a Pidgey lay on its back sprawled out with its head resting on a pillow.
"Please hurry!" the younger Pokémon Trainer pleaded to the Chansey wearing the nurse's cap, and then looked down at his Pokémon. "Please hold on, Pidgey!" And as they disappeared into the emergency room, Ash could feel the cold grip of fear starting to tingle deep in his stomach, but he forced it away. He could win. He had to win!
o 0 o
Vermilion City was a port-side city, and with each breeze, the smell of salt and moisture caressed their noses as it ran its fingers along their skin. Overall, it was about the size of Cerulean City, but with a bit more population. The winding streets were paved, but well-labeled and it was easier to get around than the last city they had been in.
Also unlike Cerulean, the Gym was in the middle of the city, about fifteen minutes away from the Pokémon Center. The building was pretty big, and Ash couldn't help but look up at it. It was rectangular, and the outside structure seemed to have lightning shooting up from the sides of the front entrance and the rooftop. "So this is the Vermilion City Gym..." Ash murmured, and instantly, his mind's eye went to the line-up of defeated Pokémon in the recovery room at the Pokémon Center. Would his Pokémon join them in just a moment's time? But even though he told himself he wouldn't lose, his feet felt fused to the cement underneath.
"Are we ever gonna go inside?" Brock asked with a nervous smile and his arms crossed after watching the black-haired boy stand in silence at the front door. Without answering verbally, Ash swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and approached the doors, which were painted to feature a yellow bolt of lightning striking upward. Giving a mighty push, the doors creaked open, and he stepped forth into the dark lobby.
Two people in their early twenties were waiting for them, both of them staring with intimidating looks on their faces as they silently judged the pair. One was a male with close-cut hair wearing a leather jacket with spikes on the shoulders, and a girl wearing a tank top and cargo pants. When they didn't say anything, Ash walked forward and clenched his fist. "Hello. I've come for a Pokémon battle to earn a Thunder Badge."
The man with the pierced ear gave a smirk, and turned away from Ash into the darkness behind him and his accomplice. "Hey boss, another victim for the emergency room," he said. Through the light pouring in from the front door behind them, Ash and Brock's mouths hung open as they saw a shadow figure stand up from a chair barely visible in the darkness, and he took thundering steps towards them.
"Which one?" But Ash couldn't find his voice as he stared up at the man. He was extremely tall, and looked to be built as tough as a steel wall. His muscles could be seen from the opened button-up military jacket he wore, revealing two rows of abs and rolled sleeves also giving way to biceps as big as Ash's head. He smirked down at them, and Ash felt significantly smaller than normal, as the Pallet Town native only reached the man's belly button. It was like looking up at a moving skyscraper. Between that and his spiky blond hair, everything about Lieutenant Surge was intimidating.
Clearing his throat, Ash finally found his voice and put on a determined mask. "Me, that's who!" he said, trying to stop his voice from shaking. The smirk on Surge's face fell, and his beady black eyes looked at him in a new light.
"Oh, you..." he stated, and then chuckled and patted the top of Ash's head with his gloved hand. His hand was so big it could almost wrap around Ash's head. "Okay, Baby!"
"I'm no baby!" Ash yelled, batting away Surge's arm by the wrist. "My name's Ash Ketchum!"
Surge laughed and placed his fists on his hips. "I call everybody who loses to me 'Baby'," he told him. "Now, which Pokémon are you gonna battle me with?"
"Which... Pokémon?" Ash repeated.
"Haven't you been in a Gym before? Each Gym has different rules, and 'dis Gym is no different. Here, we battle using just one Pokémon – that way it's easier for Nurse Joy when I mop 'de floor wit' my opponent."
Surge's confidence made Ash's blood boil, and he ground his teeth together as he reached down to his belt and drew a Poké Ball from it. "I already know who I'm going to choose!" he cried, throwing the Poké Ball forward. "Wartortle, I choose you!" The ball rose higher into the air, and opened up, providing light for a brief moment in the dark lobby, and when it faded, Wartortle stood confidently next to Ash.
"Wartortle!" the Turtle Pokémon announced.
"A Wartortle?" Surge scoffed, and then laughed and turned back to his underlings. "Hey, look at 'dis: Baby brought along a baby Water Pokémon!" The three of them all laughed loudly.
"Hey, quit it! Why are you making fun of my Wartortle?"
"War, Wartor!" Wartortle defended itself angrily.
"Oh, I'll show 'ya why," Surge replied slyly, retrieving a Poké Ball from his breast pocket and enlarging it in his hand before throwing it forward. "Go, Poké Ball!" The ball hit the tiled floor and released the light that it stored inside it before bouncing back to its owner, and as the ball was caught by Surge, the light condensed and formed into a chubby mouse-like Pokémon with a long whip-like tail and covered in pale orange fur.
"Raii!" the Gym Leader's Pokémon announced.
"It's a Raichu!" Ash exclaimed, pulling out his Pokédex and scanning the new Pokémon with it.
"Raichu. A mouse Pokémon of the electric element. Raichu is the evolved form of Pikachu. It can shock with more than 100,000 volts, enough to render a Dragonite unconscious."
In front of him, Wartortle and Raichu were having a staredown, but the Electric-type Pokémon shared its Trainer's overconfidence – that much was written on its face. But it was for a good reason, too. Now Ash could see why Surge was so confident in the first place upon seeing his Wartortle: this Gym was an Electric-type Gym. "Okay Baby, if you wanna quit, now's 'yer chance," Surge warned, both him and his Pokémon staring at Ash with their hands on their hips.
"Raichu!" his Pokémon agreed.
"There's no way we're gonna quit now!"
"What could a baby like that do?" Surge scoffed, and knelt down low to the ground to pat his Raichu on top of the head. "If you want to become a Pokémon Masta', you should make 'yer Pokémon evolve as soon as ya' catch it."
"There's more to raising a Pokémon than forcing it to evolve," Ash shot back, resting his hand between Wartortle's fluffy ears. "And I like this Wartortle just the way it is!" Surge's two cronies laughed as though Ash said a funny joke, and Surge wagged his finger at him.
"Wrong, Baby. Evolving your Pokémon is the only way you're gonna beat me. You keep it puny like that, it's no more 'dan a little pet." Wartortle glared at the two before it, its palms just about turning white from how hard it was gripping its fists.
"War..."
"Ash, I seriously doubt Wartortle can beat Raichu, especially if it knows all the electric attacks," Brock whispered to Ash, but the anger was blinding the Pallet Town Trainer and ignored him.
"Okay, baby, diddums just come here 'ta show us your little pet?" Surge asked in a baby voice.
"We came here to earn a Thunder Badge!" Ash said with resolve, and Wartortle piped up with equal determination, if not more, surprising Ash. "Wartortle?"
"War..." the Water-type muttered, and even from the angle he was kneeling, Ash could see the want, no, the need to win written on Wartortle's face. Even Brock noticed it from how far back he was standing.
"That's unusual," the Pokémon Breeder commented. "Wartortle really wants to go into battle."
"Wartortle, I'm... counting on you," Ash said to it quietly, taking a moment to swallow the lump in his throat that had crawled its way back up.
"Wartortle!" his Pokémon nodded at him, and when it turned back around, both Surge and Raichu were shrugging whilst shaking their heads back and forth.
"Oh well," he stated, then looked back at Wartortle. "I guess you'll learn 'dat playing wit' the big boys can be a shocking experience!" With Surge leading the way, Ash twisted his cap backwards and followed him to the side of the building where the arena was. Unlike the Pewter Gym, the arena was built into the floor, and the room was good-sized. The arena was flat and made of pact-down dirt, though metal walls surrounded them. A flip of a heavy switch sounded as both Trainers took the opposite sides of the battlefield, and bright spotlights shone down from above, giving light to the room. On the sidelines was a box where Surge's lackeys sat, and the young man with the shaved head spoke into a microphone.
"The Pokémon battle will now begin," he began, his voice reverberating through the stadium. "Only one Pokémon may be used. The Gym Leader – Lieutenant Surge – has chosen Raichu. The challenger – Ash – has chosen Wartortle. No time limit. Let the battle begin!"
A bell rung, signaling the match had started, and Surge was the first to call his Pokémon. "Go, Raichu!" he hollered, and the Mouse Pokémon jumped out from beside its Trainer onto the battlefield.
"Raiii!"
"Go, Wartortle!" Ash mimicked, and his own Pokémon leapt out onto the arena with a cry.
"War!"
"Wartortle, Water Gun!" Ash commanded. As both Pokémon flew through the air towards each other, Wartortle's cheeks puffed out from water, and it shot the water at Raichu. The attack enveloped Raichu, but with a quick wave of its stubby paw, the water disappeared, and the Electric-type only continued flying at Wartortle with an intimidating grin on its face and its yellow cheek pouches crackling with electricity. "What's that?!"
"Raichu! Show 'em a real attack. Thunderbolt!" Raichu let out a cry and crunched its limbs together. Lightning burst out from its body from many directions and all launched themselves at Wartortle. The attack was fast, and the Water-type only had time to gasp before it was enveloped by the attack and thrown backwards. With a hard clack, Wartortle landed on its back unmoving before even Raichu landed on the ground. "It's over, baby. You didn't really think that Wartortle could beat my Raichu, didjya?"
"Wartortle!" Ash exclaimed, trying to wake his Pokémon up.
"Call it back, Ash!" Brock encouraged from behind the Pokémon Trainer, and Ash's neck craned to look at his traveling companion.
"But..."
"Raichu's shocks are too powerful! This is a mismatch!" Brock's words sunk in, and although Ash closed his eyes and his whole body was shaking, he knew the older boy was right. Pulling out Wartortle's Poké Ball, he pointed it at his Pokémon.
"Wartortle, return!" he said, and as the red recall beam shot out from the silver button, Wartortle snapped out of its daze and rolled to the side, where the red beam of energy hit the floor harmlessly and disappeared. Though it was covered in wounds from the one attack, Wartortle looked at its Trainer and shook its head. "Wartortle?"
The Water-type turned back to Raichu and Surge, and got into a battle position, but Surge only chuckled and put a massive hand on his hip, and sparks of yellow electricity danced on Raichu's cheeks. "It's pretty gutsy fer a toy."
Having enough of being made fun of, Wartortle dove at Raichu. "Wartor!"
"I enjoy playing wit' toys, but playtime's over," Surge stated, and pointed forward. "Raichu, Mega Punch!" As Wartortle reached Raichu, the Electric-type Pokémon waited for the perfect time and struck its fist forward, the blow connecting with Wartortle's cheek with perfect timing to send it backwards.
"Rai!"
"Now a Mega Kick!"
"Chuu!" Landing on one foot, Raichu swung out its opposite foot, and the kick connected across the underbelly of Wartortle's shell.
"Wartortle!" Ash cried helplessly as his starter Pokémon rolled breathlessly on the arena. Nevertheless, the Water-type picked itself up, its whole body quaking from how much effort it was putting into attempting to stand up, but Ash couldn't find any way of instructing his Pokémon.
"Now, give us the big finale, Raichu..." Surge commanded with a dark smirk, and Raichu bounced high into the air before letting out another huge Thunderbolt. The bolts of yellow electricity honed in on Wartortle, and enveloped it just as it had before, and Wartortle's cries of pain could be heard over Ash's own cry.
"WARTORTLE!"
o 0 o
It was hours by the time that Wartortle stirred, and its eyes fluttered behind its closed eyelids. This didn't quell the fierce storm of sadness brewing in Ash's chest, but seeing his Pokémon move really helped calm it a bit. "Wartortle..." Ash muttered with relief clear in his voice. He was sitting in a chair beside the bed in a private critical care room, specifically because of the amount of damage the Water-type had sustained. For the first time since leaving the Gym, Ash felt a smile spread on his face as he crumpled the hat in his grip tightly. "I'm glad you're okay..."
Instead of looking happy, the realization of the situation and where it was settled in, and Wartortle whipped its bandaged head to look the other way and stare out the window, and the smile on Ash's face disappeared as quickly as it showed up. "Wartortle got hurt pretty badly," Brock told Ash.
"I can see that!" the Pallet Town Trainer shot at his friend with furrowed eyebrows.
"No, no. I mean its spirit." This time, Ash gave him a confused look.
"What do you mean?" he asked as he looked back at the pouting Water-type.
"Wartortle was totally overpowered by that Raichu," Brock answered, and Ash instantly stood up, tightening his grip around his hat as he clenched his fists and not even giving a second to think about his next words.
"We'll try harder!" he stated. "We'll win next time if Wartortle tries harder!"
"I think Wartortle was trying its best last time," a new voice spoke up, and the pair looked to see Nurse Joy entering the room, a clipboard tucked under her arm. "I'm sorry, I came in because I was alerted that Wartortle was awake. I'm just here to check its vitals." She walked in, and Ash stayed silent in thought as she checked the computer attached to Wartortle. When she finished her tests, she jotted a few notes down onto the clipboard and went to walk out, but something in her eyes showed as though she wanted to say something. Finally, she couldn't fight it any longer and turned to Ash.
"As the nurse stationed here in Vermilion, I've seen a lot of Surge's opponents come in and out of here. I don't know you and Wartortle all that well, but please take this advice and think about it: Surge's evolved Pokémon are way too strong to fight head-on and without strategy." Ash looked at her with a blank look on his face, but let her continue. "Surge is a Gym Leader that thinks only fully-evolved Pokémon are worth his time. So maybe you should come back and challenge him when you're stronger, and when and if Wartortle reaches its final evolution." And with that, she left the room, leaving Ash to ponder his thoughts even further, his eyes landing on Wartortle, who had turned back to its Trainer to try and read his thoughts from his face.
"What are you thinking, Ash?" Brock asked him.
"If I come back when Wartortle reaches its final stage, I may be able to finally win that Badge..." Ash thought aloud. "But on the other hand... to make Wartortle evolve just to fight; I would be just like Surge..." His brown eyes drifting back to Wartortle, he let out a breath. "Wartortle, what do you want to do?"
"War..."
"I really wanna beat that Surge, but I also don't want to push you if you don't think you can handle it. If you want to move on to another town, we can." Wartortle lay with its head against the pillow, and it stared at Ash, though the boy could tell that the cogs inside its mind were turning rapidly. Finally, after a few agonizing moments of silence, Wartortle pushed itself into a sitting position, looking to be straining considerably. "Wartortle!"
But surprisingly, Wartortle stood up and slapped Ash lightly across the face with its fluffy tail. Ash seemed slightly dumbstruck, and held his cheek with a gloved hand. It didn't hurt, it just surprised the boy. "War! Wartortle War! War War War Tortle War! Tortle Tle War War!" Wartortle went on, and though Ash couldn't exactly pinpoint what his Pokémon was saying, it was almost as if his heart were translating its Pokémon speak into human language: Wartortle wanted to stay and fight, no matter how hard it had to train.
Reaching out, Ash clasped Wartortle's hands in his own, and they locked fierce and determined eyes. "Wartortle, together, you and I will beat Lieutenant Surge and his Raichu!"
"Wartor War!" the Water-type nodded back.
"You should change your strategy, Ash," Brock reminded him of Nurse Joy's words. "Maybe use your other Pokémon."
"It's hard, but it's not impossible!" the black-haired boy shot back. "Wartortle and I will find a way to win!"
"Wartorle War tor!" his Pokémon agreed, clenching its fists with determination.
"All right! Are we all charged up?!" Ash asked his Pokémon. Wartortle gave a cry of preparedness, but then suddenly, its eyelids started to flutter, and Wartortle collapsed on the bed, unable to hold itself up any longer. Seeing this, Ash let out a gasp of air, but Nurse Joy appeared from around the corner. She was apparently listening in on their decision, but a small smile was curling her delicate lips.
"It hasn't fully recovered its stamina," she told him. "You should let it rest a little while longer." His eyes drifted back to his Pokémon, and saw that it was sleeping once again. She turned to go walk away once again, but stopped and her blue eyes rested on Ash. "Wartortle was your first Pokémon, wasn't it?"
The question caught Ash by surprise, and he nodded quickly in response. "Uh, yeah. How can you tell?"
"When Pokémon have been with their Trainers for a long time, their personalities can intermingle, and this is especially shown to also impact evolution," she replied, and Brock smiled softly.
"You're saying that when Squirtle evolved into Wartortle, it also got some of Ash's stubborn streak as well," he elaborated, and Nurse Joy chuckled lightly before disappearing around the corner. It was hard to feel angry about her words, and knew that she was right as he looked down at Wartortle, but couldn't also help but feel guilty. It was his own stubborn streak that was influencing Wartortle. Now he had a lot of strategizing to do.
"Wartortle..."
o 0 o
Out in the waiting area, Ash stared down the untouched paper cup of water nestled in between his hands. They could almost cut the heavy silence between him and Brock with a knife, but neither of them paid any attention to it while they both pondered a way for Ash to be able to beat Surge with Wartortle. Occasionally, a Trainer would put money in the vending machine across the hall to get a drink from inside, but they saw the serious looks on their faces and decided not to engage in conversation.
Everything was stacked against Ash: Surge's Raichu was Electric-type, knew a powerful Electric-type move, as well as pretty hard hitting attacks when it came to close combat as well. But finally, Brock spoke up. "Hey, Ash."
"Yeah?" the boy responded, lifting his head up at Brock, who was leaning against the wall to his left with his arms crossed.
"During the fight, Surge said that he made his Raichu evolve as soon as he got it, didn't he?"
"Yeah."
Brock lifted his head and gave Ash a reassuring smile. "Then perhaps there is a way."
o 0 o
A few days later, Ash walked out of the automatic doors of the Pokémon Center. Walking beside him was Wartortle, not a bandage in sight and fully recovered. Both of them donned similar determined looks on their faces as they walked into the sunlight and stopped just before the steps down onto the main road. "Wartortle... our lucky star... is shining today!" He pointed into the sky, and Wartortle looked up, its eyes darting back and forth between the sky and only getting blinded by the sunlight before shooting its Trainer a confused look.
"War?"
"Oh, I don't mean it's actually shining!" he told his Pokémon, and shook his head at his failed metaphor. "Let's go, Wartortle." Following close behind, Brock smiled as the black-haired boy and his Pokémon walked out in front of him.
"Seems like they're ready to win, doesn't it?" he said to no one in particular, and hurried off after his friend. Following the familiar path they had taken just a few days earlier, they walked the side residential streets, not even glancing at the small, quaint houses blocked by white picket fences, only keeping their eye out for the Gym. But this time, there was no anxiety in Ash's stomach.
They finally arrived at the huge building, and now the lightning bolts decorating the exterior didn't seem nearly as intimidating as they had before. With a mighty shove, Ash pushed the double doors open, and, for the second time, him and Wartortle walked inside. As before, Surge's two lackeys were waiting in the lobby, and when they saw that it was Ash, they exchanged smirks and the girl turned to the darkness behind her. "Hey boss, you'll never guess who's back."
"Probably some baby," Surge's voice boomed, and he appeared with the shadows melting off his massive body as he and his Raichu walked into the sunlight. His smirk grew into a sneer when his dark eyes fell upon Ash. "Well well, if it isn't the Water baby. I thought you up and left town."
"No, Surge. I have no intention of running from you," Ash shot back. Beside him, Wartortle and Raichu locked glances, and Wartortle growled lightly at the Electric-type, though Surge's Pokémon only seemed to relish in it. "I want another Gym match!"
"Very well, if you really want ta' give Nurse Joy some work, I can understand," the Electric Gym Leader replied with a shrug, and he and his two Gym Trainers led the way onto the battlefield. As Ash and Wartortle took the challenger's side of the dirt arena, the lights flicked on with a flip of a switch, and they watched as Surge and Raichu confidently took the other side. "Hey baby, you ready 'ta take another beatin'?" He put his hands on his hips and looked at the Pokémon at Ash's feet. "And I see you're still trying to fight wit' 'yer little Water-type. You haven't learned anything, yet!"
"Don't be so sure, Surge!" Ash snapped, grabbing the brim of his hat and twisting it around.
"Okay. Well, let's see," Surge concluded, and the younger man with the buzzed hair began to talk into the microphone again on the sidelines.
"The challenger, Ash, using a Wartortle. The Gym Leader, Lieutenant Surge, using a Raichu. The Pokémon will battle one-on-one, with no time limit! Let the battle begin!" And with that, the boxing bell echoed through the stadium. This time, it was Ash that began with the first command.
"Use the strategy we planned, Wartortle!" Ash called. "You can do it!"
"A strategy – so they've been planning a new way 'ta lose!" Surge murmured. "Go, Raichu!"
"Raiii!" Both Pokémon charged towards each other, and as Wartortle got closer, it jumped into the air and dove to swan dive, but Raichu swung its tail, and the whip-like appendage struck Wartortle across the face. "Chu!" Ash gasped as the powerful strike connected, while Surge only grinned at halting Ash's so-called strategy. Wartortle went bouncing away from the Mouse Pokémon and it finally landed on its stomach. The eye on the side that it had been struck was closed as the painful sting slowly went away, and Wartortle went to get up off its stomach, but with the sound of a whip cracking, Raichu struck Wartortle's shell square in the middle of it and forced it back down. Raichu's back was facing Wartortle now, and it was leering down at the Water-type. Every time the Water-type attempted to stand, Raichu would use its tail and strike it back onto the floor. The attack wasn't hurting Wartortle because of its hard shell, but succeeding in pinning it down.
"Wartortle!" Ash cried with worry.
"Roll to the side and break away!" Brock instructed. But Wartortle didn't have time to do this before Surge commanded another move.
"Do it, Raichu. Give it 'da Body Slam!" Spinning on the tip of its feet like a ballerina, Raichu raised its arms and fell forward, putting the full force of its weight on Wartortle's back. Wartortle let out a cry as it was forced to the ground, and Ash and Brock both gasped as Surge smirked and pointed forward. "Finish it off, Raichu. Anudder' Body Slam."
"Raiii!" Raichu cried, this time jumping into the air and opening its arms to dive onto Wartortle in an attempt to use gravity to strengthen its attack. "Chuuu!"
"Watch out!" Ash yelled, and Wartortle's ears twitched before it quickly picked itself up and jumped out of the way. As Wartortle landed on the ground, Raichu flopped on the ground with no target underneath it.
"Hey, what?!" For the first time since he had seen him, the smirk on Surge's face disappeared.
"Do it, Wartortle! Dig, now!" Wartortle gave a cry, and rushed forward.
"Raichu, use 'yer Body Slam!" Lieutenant Surge commanded, panic now apparent in his voice as his rhythm was thrown off. Raichu quickly picked itself up and jumped ahead, but Wartortle jumped into the air and did a swan dive downward, disappearing beneath the ground and leaving behind a hole in the dirt arena. Raichu let out a cry as it hit the ground once again, its body enveloping the hole but not being able to get in there. Behind it, Wartortle poked its head out, and Raichu quickly picked itself back up and dove down at it, but Wartortle disappeared into the ground, and Raichu hit nothing once again. The match had quickly turned into a game of whack-a-mole, with Wartortle appearing from the ground and Raichu attempting to slam into it, but not being able to hit the Water-type. "Uh, Raichu?"
"Looks like Onix taught Wartortle well!" Brock said with a smile, knowing their strategy had worked from the flustered look on Surge's face.
"Okay, use Dig and hit it with everything you've got!" Ash commanded his Pokémon. Wartortle nodded, knowing play time was over, and disappeared into the ground once again. With multiple holes now in the battlefield, Raichu's head turned back and forth as it attempted to try and figure out which one Wartortle would come out from. It did this until finally, it started to sway back and forth, its head dizzy from how fast it was looking around. From behind, Wartortle came out and struck Raichu, knocking it onto its stomach.
Surge looked absolutely astounded at the outcome, and Ash was reveling in it. "Your Raichu is way too slow, Surge! That's its weakness."
The Gym Leader didn't like this being pointed out, and he clenched a shaking fist in front of him as his lips pulled back from his teeth in a snarl. "Okay, Raichu. Give it a Thunderbolt," he commanded, and threw his arm out to the side. "Shut it down!" Raichu quickly picked itself up, looking as angry as its Trainer, and its cheeks started to crackle with electricity as it built up the power for its attack. Looking at Wartortle, Raichu gave a loud cry and released the Thunderbolt not just as Wartortle, but in every direction.
"Rai... CHUUUU-UUU-UUUU!" Electricity shot past Ash's feet, crumbling the ground as it flashed past him. It also shot out and the sound of windows breaking indicated that it had struck the sides of the stadium. Finally, the attack faded, and smoke and debris drifted through the air from the massive attack. The only sound that could be heard was tinkling of glass falling to the ground in the wake of the attack. After a few moments, the stadium that could barely be seen slowly appeared, and some of the holes had collapsed in on itself, while the rest of it was all cracked like dry dirt in the desert. Even Surge had flinched back from the power of the attack, and he smirked when his arm went down.
"'Da end of 'da match!" he said with confidence. But when the dust had settled, his smirk quickly faded when Wartortle wasn't visible on the field at all. "What..?"
"Wartortle!" Ash cried happily, knowing exactly where his Pokémon had disappeared to.
"All right! Way to go! Wartortle dove underground at the last minute to dodge the electric shock!"
Surge's eyebrows collided together, and he growled again. "Raichu, give it anudder Thunderbolt! And destroy the ground so it can't go under any more!" In front of him, his Pokémon was breathing heavily, but it obeyed and clenched its fists together.
"Raiiii-" it began, and sparks danced on its cheek pouches, but nothing further happened. A confused look appeared on Raichu's face, and its Trainer mimicked the face as well. "Hm? Raiii-" Raichu attempted to gather electricity again, but it turned out to be a dud once again.
"Do some'ting!" Surge called as a nervous sweat appeared on his face.
"It's over! Raichu ran out of electricity!" Brock explained with a smile on his face.
"All right!" Ash said, and it was his turn to smirk as he saw his opportunity. "Come up and attack!" And instead of coming out of a hole that had already been made, the ground crumbled at Raichu's feet, and Wartortle emerged out of the ground like a shot and plowed its entire body into Raichu's chest. Knocking it backward, Wartortle gave one final deep breath before letting out a blast of water. Raichu gave one final cry of pain as it was blown to the ground and collapsed onto its back.
"Unbelievable!" Lieutenant Surge exclaimed, clenching the sides of his hands to his head in shock as he saw the swirls in Raichu's eyes.
"We did it, Wartortle!" Ash cheered.
"Way to go!" Brock added happily, and on the battlefield, Wartortle had a wide grin spread across its face.
"Wartortle!"
After a few moments for the situation to settle in Surge's brain, the giant Gym Leader seemed dumbstruck as his lackeys rushed out onto the battlefield to bandage up Raichu, but when they had finished, donned a smile on his face. As Raichu picked itself up, Surge walked forward, and reached out both of his massive hands, quickly wrapping both of them around Ash's entire arm in a handshake.
"Congratulations, Ash; Wartortle," he said to them. Pulling his hands back, he reached into the breast pocket of his military shirt and fished something out between his fingers. "As proof of 'yer victory... a Thunder Badge." He let it lay in his palm, the small badge already looking a hundred times smaller as it sat in the center of the gloved hand, and Ash smiled. It was orange, and had yellow spiky protrusions sticking out of the circumference of it, resembling a sun.
"Thank you," Ash thanked, reaching out and putting the Badge in his own palm and admiring the way it reflected the stadium lights. "Would you look at that! It's really a Thunder Badge!"
"You should be proud," Surge told him, generally smiling at the younger boy. "You and your Wartortle really fought good 'togedder."
"Thanks!" Unable to contain his excitement any longer, Ash's whole body began to quake as though it were going to burst out of him, and he threw out his hand, holding out the Badge to no one in particular between his fingers and thumb. "A Thunder Badge! And it's all mine!"
"War Wartortle!" the Water-type at his feet cheered, and raised its fingers in victory. All three of the Vermilion City Trainers began to clap.
"Nice victory, Ash," Surge commented. "You're no baby!"
"Congratulations, Ash; Wartortle," Brock said as he added in with his own applause. Even Surge's Raichu was clapping, smiling with a much friendlier look at Wartortle than it had donned before.
"Rai rai, rai!" it said to it, and whatever it said made Ash's Wartortle scratch the back of its head with a smile on its face, very reminiscent of its own Trainer's mannerisms.
"Wartor..." But Wartortle suddenly looked up when Ash cupped his hands under Wartortle's arms and lifted up the Water-type Pokémon.
"Thank you, Wartortle!" he thanked, and wrapped his arms around the Turtle Pokémon. "This was your victory!"
-end-
Ash:
Party:
Wartortle (Poké Ball)
Moves: Tackle, Dig, Water Gun, Bite
Pidgey (Poké Ball)
Moves: Gust, Sand-Attack, Whirlwind
Bulbasaur (Poké Ball)
Moves: Tackle, Vine Whip
Charmander (Poké Ball)
Moves: Flamethrower
Krabby (Poké Ball)
Moves: ViceGrip
Badges:
Boulder Badge
Cascade Badge
Thunder Badge
Brock:
Party:
Onix (Poké Ball)
Moves: Tackle, Bind, Dig
Geodude (Poké Ball)
Moves: Seismic Toss, Tackle
Zubat (Poké Ball)
Moves: Whirlwind, Supersonic
