Chapter 19
The new golden badge added to the collection under his jacket was just begging to be shown off. So when he and Brock found a video phone at the side of the road just at the edge of a wasteland path, Ash couldn't resist an opportunity to call Professor Oak to show him his shiny Badges. While Brock went ahead to set up a place to make a snack, Ash dialed the phone number for the Pokémon Professor residing in his hometown of Pallet, and waited for the gray-haired professor to appear on the screen of the video phone.
"Professor! Good morning!" Ash greeted.
"Uh, good morning Ash!" the Pokémon Professor answered. The puffiness from the previous night's sleep was still around his eyes, but he still smiled through the camera nevertheless. "I was just wondering when you might be calling. You have some good news?"
"I sure do!" A wide face-splitting grin appeared on Ash's face as he opened up his jacket and revealed the four Badges pinned to the underside of it. The glistened in the sunlight from the clear day above. "Look at this!"
"Ahh! Mmm!" Professor Oak muttered in response, chewing mindlessly on his tea snack of dango. It wasn't exactly the answer Ash was looking for, so he pushed further.
"Pretty impressive, huh? I've already earned four Badges!" There was silence on the other side of the line as Professor Oak sipped from a cup of tea, and when he finally responded, he did after letting out a sigh.
"Only four Badges?" He wore a bored expression as if he had already heard this news about a hundred times. The lack of enthusiasm caused Ash to fall backwards onto the dirt road behind him. "Ash? Uh, are you still there?" Then, without waiting for a response, continued on. "I just found out this morning that all your other rivals have already earned five Badges each – including Gary! They've all passed through Celadon City, too." The sound of his childhood rival's name perked Ash right up, and he sat up and gritted his teeth while glaring at clutched fists.
"Oh, that Gary..."
"You'd better hurry up, Ash," Professor Oak warned. "You don't want to fall further behind the others! And Gary has already captured thirty more Pokémon since I last mentioned it."
"Thirty more Pokémon?!" Ash repeated breathlessly, whipping his head around and looking at the professor in shock.
"What about you? What's going on? I haven't gotten any Pokémon from you at all," Oak asked.
"Um, well, I-I've been focusing on getting Gym Badges," Ash stuttered in response. He had originally called to gloat, but now felt like he was smaller than a Caterpie.
"I see. Having a variety of Pokémon can really help you in a Gym Battle, you know," Oak lectured with a nod of his head. "They say 'On the field, choosing which Pokémon to use can break or seal'."
"Who says that?"
"I do. I just made it up. It's a special poem I wrote just for the occasion. What do you think?"
"Uh, I don't know very much about poetry..." Ash responded quietly with his head down, and Professor Oak's eyebrows came together in seriousness.
"Now listen, Ash: writing poetry is a lot like Pokémon training. I can't write a good poem without rhymes; and you can't be a good Trainer without catching more Pokémon!" Despite the lecture, Oak smiled at the camera. "Have to go now! The tea's getting cold!" And without even waiting for Ash to say good-bye, the screen went black, leaving Ash looking toward the ground and looking utterly defeated as if he had just lost three Gym battles in a row.
The walk to catch up with Brock didn't help lighten his spirits either. He felt as though he were walking with weights around his ankles. Here he was, with just enough Pokémon to count on one hand, and Gary already had at least sixty more Pokémon than him, plus one more Gym Badge. His thoughts kept dwelling on that, and when he finally reached Brock, who had set up a small table where he was making doughnuts for a snack by a collection of rocks big enough for them to sit on, he hadn't cheered up in the slightest.
Instantly, Brock saw Ash's bad mood and didn't pry about what he had talked about with Professor Oak, and instead held out some doughnuts that were already made. "These doughnuts are great! Jelly-filled are my favorite! Nothing beats a jelly-filled doughnut." But Ash didn't take one and instead let out a sigh.
"I just heard Gary has five Badges," the Pallet Town Trainer told him. "The next town we come to is Celadon City; isn't there supposed to be a Gym there?"
"There sure is," the Pokémon Breeder responded, and pointed down the road. "All we gotta do is follow this road." The path led through a series of canyons that reached up from the earth. "Celadon City is only a day's walk from here – even less if we keep up a fast pace." Ash stared out ahead while the gears in his head turned, and his eyebrows came together in determination as he twisted his cap backwards on his head.
"There's no way those guys are gonna win!"
"Right," Brock agreed with a nod. "Remember, it's quality over quantity; especially if you've got lots of different Pokémon! Then they'll help you catch others!"
"Yeah! That's it! Catch... lots of... Pokémon!" Ash ended his cheer by pumping a gloved fist in the air. A smile finally upon his face, he reached out to grab a doughnut from his friend, but the sound of a rustling in the bushes on the other side of the path grabbed their attention. When they looked over, a small cream-colored head with squinted eyes peeked out from the top of the shrubs.
"Mankee..." it uttered, its pig-like nose sniffing the air from its position behind a boulder.
"Oh! It's a Pokémon!" Ash exclaimed with excitement, and whipped out his Pokédex to scan the new Pokémon.
"Mankey, a Pig Monkey Pokémon of the Fighting-type. Known for its superior footwork, it packs a powerful punch." But as the Pokémon crawled out from behind the shrubs, it didn't pay any attention to Ash at all and instead hopped its way over to Brock. It sniffed the air around him, its narrow eyes focusing on the doughnuts in his hand, and bounced around to observe them from all angles.
"Maybe it wants a doughnut," Brock mused, and held one of them forward. Mankey leaned forward and sniffed it more closely, and then took it into its paws and bounced away, where it climbed up on a tall rock, sat on the edge, and began to munch on it. It took a few bites from the top, and let out a delighted cry before eating faster.
"I think it likes it!" Ash observed with a smile.
"That doughnut is my own special recipe; no artificial ingredients," Brock said with pride. As Ash watched the Pig Monkey Pokémon eat Brock's doughnut, an idea formed in his head, and he reached for a Poké Ball at his belt.
"A Fighting Pokémon... that'll really help me in battle." With it distracted by the food in its hands, Ash knew now was the time. "There's no way I'm gonna miss this chance!" The Poké Ball was enlarged with a press of the button on its face, and he aimed and threw it at the Pig Monkey Pokémon. "Mankey, you're mine now!"
The shout grabbed Mankey's attention, and it perked up. Seeing the Poké Ball sailing towards it, it threw the doughnut in its hand forward similar to how Ash threw his Poké Ball. The two round objects soared towards each other, and when the Poké Ball and doughnut collided, it opened and converted the doughnut to red energy before sealing itself up and soaring back towards Ash's open hands. A confused look appeared on his face, and he looked down as the ball opened up, and the doughnut was sitting inside the red and white capture device.
"It's a doughnut!" he exclaimed. A slam ahead pulled Ash's attention away from the Poké Ball, and after emptying it out, he saw the Mankey had jumped down from the rock it was perched on. But its face had changed. It was no longer looking through happy, narrow eyes, but through angry red ones and its hands raised offensively. The look sent shivers down Ash's spine, and Brock scrambled up in a standing position. "Oh, now what are we supposed to do?" He asked Dexter, and pointed the hi-tech encyclopedia towards Mankey.
"Although Mankey is usually calm, it does have a bad temper. Once Mankey begins to Thrash, stopping it is impossible."
"What does it mean by 'Thrash'?" Ash questioned, but his answer was soon answered when he heard Mankey cry out, and he looked up to see the Pig Monkey Pokémon charging at the pair of Pokémon Trainers. Ash and Brock screamed in horror, and they quickly gathered their backpacks before running away from the charging Fighting-type.
They ran as fast as they could, Ash holding onto his hat so that it wouldn't fall off his head from how fast he was running, but Mankey still pursued close behind. It was also slightly faster than them, so it was only a matter of time before it caught up to them. "Your homemade doughnuts are our only hope!" Ash cried. "Maybe more doughnuts will stop it!"
"Well, it's sure worth a try!" Brock agreed, and from one of the pockets of his backpack, he pulled out one of the doughnuts he had made and turned around while holding it high above his head. "Poké Ball-!" The natural words that fell out of his mouth from holding the round object caused Ash to trip and stumble to the floor, and Brock, realizing his error, gave an embarrassed chuckle and threw the pastry forward. "Doughnut, go!" The doughnut soared through the air, but Mankey didn't even hesitate or flicker its gaze, and with a quick sweep of one of its paws, the doughnut was turned to breadcrumbs.
"That didn't work!" Ash exclaimed, scrambling back onto his feet, but Brock seemed to be even more devastated.
"Ah! I wasted a doughnut!" They turned to run away, but the moment of stopping only gave leeway for Mankey to catch up to them, and with a great leap, Mankey's red eyes were locked on Ash and Ash only. The Pokémon Trainer could only let out a gasp before Mankey's body enveloped his face and it began to attack him viciously with scratches and jabs. He could only stay upright for a moment, but with the added body weight and merciless attacks, Ash fell onto his back. With more opportunity to strike from more angles, Mankey continued its Thrash, and cries and grunts came from the black-haired boy as a cloud of dust was kicked up.
"Are you okay, Ash?" Brock cried, watching safely from the sidelines as the boy struggled to break free from Mankey's assault.
"Of course... I'm not... okay!" the boy responded loudly in between blows from Mankey. This went on for what seemed like hours for Ash before finally, his whole body was throbbing but he lay on his back without getting pummeled, and he stared at the sky with a dazed look on his face. "I surrender..." He could hear the Mankey making squeals of delight in a nearby tree, but he paid no attention as he slowly peeled himself off the floor and onto his backside. It felt as though every inch of his body had been hit at least once.
"That Mankey sure beat you up big time!" Brock commented as he knelt down beside his friend. Ash didn't respond, but instead reached up to adjust his hat on his head. But instead of feeling the rough cloth of his hat, his fingers instead touched the ruffled locks of his black hair.
"Where'd my hat go?" Ash questioned. He looked around on the ground nearby, but the red and white cap wasn't to be seen. Following the sounds of Mankey's delightful cries, he looked up at the top of the tree it had climbed up, and saw it jumping up and down with joy. Sitting in between its pointed ears was Ash's hat. The Pokémon Trainer let out a cry of annoyance and found the energy to jump onto his feet. "You little thief! Give me back my hat!" he shouted at it while bouncing his arms up and down angrily. Mankey laughed and mimicked the boy's movements. It then continued to make fun of him by twisting the cap backwards on its head and pretending to throw an object like it was pitching a baseball.
The scene made anger boil in Ash's stomach, and his lips peeled back from his teeth as he snarled. Between the Mankey making fun of him and stealing his hat, the Pokémon Trainer's own fuse was lit, and he wrapped his limbs around the tree to climb up it.
"Ash, don't worry about that hat!" Brock called with concern. "We'll get another one at the next town!"
"I can't replace that hat!" Ash snapped in response, twisting his head around and glaring at the older boy. "I won it at the official Pokémon League Expo! Don't you know how tough it is to get one of those hats?"
"An official expo hat?" Brock repeated with a thoughtful look, but then he remembered seeing the commercials for it on television, and pointed his finger knowingly in the air. "It's official."
"I had to send in about a million postcards to win that hat!" Ash yelled, and Brock stuck his nose in the air and smiled teasingly.
"Poor Ash. Losing an official hat is like losing your best friend."
Now burning with determination, Ash crawled up the side of the tree like a Weedle, using all of his aching muscles to get to the top. Though he couldn't quite get up there once the branches began to thin, he could see the tip of Mankey's head staring down at him, and he stretched his arm up high to try and wrap at least his fingers around the brim of the hat. "Almost... got it..." But then rustling from the foliage above sounded right before Mankey foot planted itself in Ash's face. The powerful kick forced Ash to relinquish his grip from his occupied hand, and the boy had the wind knocked out of him as he fell backward and landed on his back for the second time that day.
Jumping down from the tree, Mankey hopped around in place. It was obviously seeing this as a game, which was only making Ash as angry as Mankey was earlier. Pulling himself up onto his backside, he pulled out a Poké Ball from his belt, this one containing a Pokémon. "It's got my hat!" That was obviously the only thing going through Ash's mind as he threw the Poké Ball forward. In a flash of light, his Wartortle appeared from the light released inside the red and white sphere.
"Wartortle!"
"Wartortle, BubbleBeam!" The Water Pokémon nodded, and drew in a deep breath before firing a barrage of clear bubbles out from its curled lips like a child would to a bubble wand. The bubbles fired forth and hit Mankey directly in the face. The Fighting-type Pokémon endured the attack, only flinching and crunching its face as its brown feet skidded backwards in the dirt. "Nice work!" When Wartortle ended the attack, Mankey's fur was dripping with water, and it kept its eyes closed, but it bounced from foot to foot, angrily huffing out of its nostrils. "That attack made it even madder!"
"Wait a minute; I have a theory!" Brock declared, crossing his arms. "Mankey's not trying to steal your hat." Ash looked up from his sitting position at his traveling companion and raised his eyebrows.
"Huh?"
"It's scared of us!" Brock reasoned. "When it was just trying to get food, you tried to capture it. I think it took your hat so it could get a little attention, because it's lonely all by itself." He untucked his arms and fearlessly approached the Fighting-type, who was stomping from foot to foot like a child throwing a temper tantrum.
Giving a wide smile, he rested his hands on his knees and looked down at the Pig Monkey Pokémon. "Now, everything's gonna be fine," he said in a calm voice. He then reached out and wrapped the Fighting-type's long arm around the back of his neck like they were old pals. "Give me a smile, buddy!" The Mankey was momentarily surprised at the actions of the Pokémon Breeder, but once it shook it away, it leapt up on Brock's back and began to mercilessly pummel the former Gym Leader from behind. Forced down onto his hands and knees, Brock began to cry out as involuntary tears glistened at the corner of his squinted eyes. "Hey, quit it! Knock it off! That hurts! Let me go! Stop, stop!" Mankey then jumped off Brock's back, and just as the older boy looked up, thinking that Mankey was finished, the Pig Monkey Pokémon gave a powerful kick upward, connecting with Brock's chin and sending him flying through the air where he crashed some distance away from the path.
"So much for that theory," Ash muttered, and pulled out Dexter to analyze Mankey as the Fighting-type began to stomp around, its eyes an angry red once again. Any kind of tip would help at this point.
"Once Mankey begins its strongest attack, Thrash, it goes completely out of control." A blood-curdling scream pulled Ash's attention from the red handheld device, and he looked up to see Mankey barreling toward him with its pupils locked directly on his. He felt his blood run cold and he let out a scream before spinning on his heels and, completely disregarding Brock for his own safety, ran down the path as fast as he could. But despite how fast he was going, Ash couldn't seem to shake Mankey at all. It felt ridiculous running from a small monkey that barely reached his waist, but at this point, he just didn't want to get beat into a pulp.
Leaving the field they had stopped to take a break at behind, he managed to get into the canyon area that was some distance away when he had first gotten off the phone with Professor Oak. But this was all part of his plan. With any luck, he could lose Mankey in the twisting paths of the valley. He could start to feel his lungs burning from exhaustion and lack of air as he went down the left path in a fork in the road, but much to his horror and dismay, Mankey was too close to Ash to lose sight of him, even in its blinded rage.
If his legs were burning before, they were definitely on fire now, as being chased uphill wasn't exactly the most easiest thing to do. But Mankey was slowly closing in on him, and his options were depleting.
A huge boulder just big enough for Ash to jump over lay in the path. Mankey stopping to jump over it could save him precious seconds. Leaping over it like a track athlete, he threw a glance over his shoulder just in time to see Mankey jump over the boulder, and then leap off it. His plan backfired – instead of slowing it down, Mankey was using the boulder as a springboard. Zigzagging through a few fallen boulders from the tops of the tall plateaus of land that surrounded him on either side of the path, Mankey jumped from one and wall jumped to the other and the other like trees until they were now just a few feet apart. "I don't know how much longer I can run!" Ash cried breathlessly.
As the land flattened, the front of his foot caught a rock that was upturned from the path, and the boy let out a cry as he was thrown to the ground by gravity. His arms screamed in pain as dirt was rubbed into the fresh wounds, and he lay face-down in the ground. His lungs felt deflated like a pair of balloons, and he could feel his heart attempting to break out of his rib cage from how fast it was pumping. It was then that he heard a thump in front of him, and he looked up to see Mankey's red eyes glaring down at him, angry red veins lining the sclera. Ash let out a scream, and the two stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, and soon Professor Oak's words drifted through his mind, like a calm leaf on a river of anxiety.
I can't write a good poem without rhymes, and you can't be a good Trainer without catching more Pokémon!
His eyebrows clashed together at the center of his face and drew down to the tops of his eyes, and the Pallet Town Trainer, bruised and scuffed from the day's adventure, pulled himself to his feet just as Brock and Wartortle caught up with the pair. "Professor Oak's right," he declared as he pulled out a Poké Ball and pointed it at the Pig Monkey Pokémon. "No more games! I'm gonna capture you, Mankey!"
"Just forget the hat!" Brock said, still huffing from attempting to catch up with his traveling companion.
"It's not that!" he argued, not taking his eyes off the Fighting Pokémon before him. "It's because I want to be a Pokémon Master. A real master would never let any Pokémon get away!"
"Wartor..." Wartortle agreed with a smile, and Ash broke the staredown he had with Mankey and turned to his starter Pokémon.
"Wartortle, I choose you!" For the second time that day, Wartortle jumped forward, coming between Mankey and its Trainer. "Soak its head with your Water Gun!"
"Wartortle!" the Turtle Pokémon cried, and opened its mouth before releasing a stream of water from its mouth. Mankey was engulfed in water, and for a moment, only its long tail could be seen, but then it broke free of the attack with a swipe of its paw and a stomp of its foot. Its fur was sopping, as was Ash's hat on its head, but it looked more angry than damaged.
"Mankee!" it shrilled, stomping around on its feet.
"Wartortle, return!" Ash called, and Wartortle jumped backward as Ash threw the Poké Ball that was in his hand. "Bulbasaur, I choose you!" The ball clattered off the rocky terrain and opened, releasing the energy it held inside it. The energy slowly formed into Ash's Grass-type Pokémon that let out a cry as it stared down Mankey.
"Bulbasaur!"
"Bulbasaur, Razor Leaf, now!"
"Bulba!" the Bulb Pokémon replied, and it stood completely still as a flurry of razor-sharp leaves came spiraling out from underneath the bulb on Bulbasaur's back and spun at Mankey. Mankey wasn't impressed, however, and without skipping a beat, it beat away the leaves that soared towards it with its paws, and they drifted to the ground harmlessly at the Fighting-type's feet. Brock gave a gasp of horror as he saw the attack do no damage at all, but Ash simply pulled a second Poké Ball from his belt and held it in his free hand.
"Bulbasaur, return!" he called, and the red recall beam shot out from the button of the sphere and pulled Bulbasaur inside before Ash tossed the next Poké Ball forward. "Charmander, go!" This time, the ball opened in midair, and Charmander leapt out as the light came together to form it.
"Char!" Without waiting for an order, Charmander took in a deep breath and spit out a stream of fire from its mouth. Mankey rushed towards Charmander, and sidestepped the Flamethrower attack easily. But Charmander didn't give up, and fired another Flamethrower. This too was dodged by Mankey, and the same was said when Charmander fired a third one. The Fire-type pulled in a deep breath to fire another, but at this point, Mankey had caught up, and gave a powerful strike to Charmander's face. With the attacks from Charmander stopped, Mankey unleashed a flurry of punches upon the Lizard Pokémon.
"Charmander!" Ash yelled with worry. But the Fire-type didn't back down, and simply stood in place while Mankey continued to use its Thrash attack on it.
"Wartor War..." Wartortle said with a frown.
"Charmander..." its Trainer murmured. He was out of options; what could he do?
Just then, something caught Ash's eye. As Mankey continued to pummel Charmander, it seemed that with each strike it connected with the orange Pokémon's body, the flame on the end of its tail seemed to grow. "The flame on its tail! What's happening?" Ash questioned aloud, and pulled out Dexter to get an answer.
"Charmander's special attack: Rage. It gains more power the more it is attacked. It will continue to fight until its opponent falls." Leaping into the air, the flame on Charmander's tail was just as large as its body was.
"All right!" Ash cheered, a smile pulling up the corners of his mouth. "I didn't know it had that kind of power! Charmander, go!"
"Mander!" his Pokémon declared, but as it closed in on Mankey, the cream-colored Pokémon struck forward, connecting a blow to its stomach and stopping it mid-jump. While it was still in the air, it unleashed a flurry of punches upon Charmander, but the little Fire-type continued to endure, and when it next opened its eyes, a fire was reflected deep within the pupils of the Lizard Pokémon. "Chaar!" A surprised look appeared on Mankey's face, and Charmander took this to its advantage and chomped down on the Fighting-type's fist. Wrapping its body tightly onto Mankey's appendage, it tried its hardest not to let go, but with a swipe to the side, Mankey managed to fling Charmander off its arm and into the air.
"Mankee!" the Fighting-type shrilled, and looked up as Charmander caught itself in the air and let out a cry before releasing another Flamethrower at its opponent. Mankey leapt forward, twisting around the Flamethrower and both of them pivoted in the air, with Mankey facing Ash now as they landed. Wartortle gasped upon seeing the flames burning in Charmander's eyes, and the flickering of fire burning in the back of its throat at the ready, and rushed off to the side by Brock as Ash pointed forward to command Charmander.
"Burn now, Charmander! Flamethrower attack!" As if the flames were raring to escape from Charmander's mouth, as soon as the Fire-type opened its jaw, the barreling stream of fire shot out at Mankey. At that moment, Wartortle leapt out from the side, and in one quick movement, grabbed Ash's hat off Mankey's head. "Hey, Wartortle!" Ash yelled, panic apparent in his voice. He had been so drawn in the heat of the battle that he hadn't even noticed his starter Pokémon had left his side. But Wartortle threw the cap on its own head and continued its descent off to the side. Mankey immediately noticed Wartortle, and it turned its attention away from Charmander toward the blue Pokémon, but then remembered the attack barreling toward it, and faced forward just in time for the gigantic stream of fire to engulf its whole body. When the flames disappeared, Mankey was standing on one foot with a surprised look on its face and its whole body charred. It let out a puff of smoke from its snout, and looked angry for a split second as it lowered its foot, but its ankles quivered and it fell forward in defeat.
Charmander stood looking over Mankey looking extremely proud of itself with its hands on its hips and chest sticking out, and Ash smirked as he retrieved an empty Poké Ball from his belt. "Good work, Charmander! I'll take over now!" Rearing his arm back, he gave the red and white ball a good throw. "Poké Ball, go!" This time, the Poké Ball tapped its face upon the fallen Mankey's forehead, and it converted the Pokémon into red energy before drawing it inside. Falling over onto its head, the Poké Ball began to rock back and forth as the Pokémon inside struggled to get out. Ash was just about holding his breath and pressing his nails into his palms in anticipation as he watched it rock from side to side. After what seemed like a century passed, the ball finally stopped and locked with a musical ping, and a smile appeared on Ash's face. "Yes!"
But before he had even finished letting the word leave his lips, the button began to flash red again and rock as it had before. Mankey was quite a tough Pokémon to be able to struggle even after the ball had locked shut. The Pokémon Trainer flinched back as it struggled to get out once again, but it didn't last nearly as long as before when it finally clicked shut again. Not wanting to let his guard down, Ash, Brock, Wartortle and Charmander all stared at the Poké Ball sitting in the middle of them all in case it started rocking again, but when a few seconds of silence passed, Ash rushed forward and picked up the capture device before smiling down at it and chuckling. "All right!" he shouted with excitement, holding the Poké Ball forward. "Mankey is mine!"
"You did it!" Brock exclaimed as Ash let out a sigh of relief.
"Tor!" Wartortle said, holding its head forward for Ash to take the cap from it, and the Pokémon Trainer grinned down at his starter.
"Thanks a lot, Wartortle!" he thanked, and looked down at the Poké Ball in his other hand. Tossing the Poké Ball forward, the red and white sphere clattered to the ground before opening up, releasing newly-captured the Pig Monkey Pokémon that was held inside. It appeared with a grunt, and was still stamping around from foot to foot in anger.
"It looks like Mankey is still thrashing about," Brock observed nervously.
"Well, at least now Mankey's doing the thrashing on our side," Ash said without a single shred of fear as he patted his new Pokémon on the back. "Welcome to the team, Mankey!" Mankey responded by whipping around and connecting one of its fists with Ash's eye. The Pokémon Trainer saw stars instantly as he fell onto his back with a cry, and could already feel his lid swelling from the strike. "Mankey's good at thrashing, but it's got a lot to learn about team spirit!" he groaned as Mankey climbed on top of its new Trainer and raised its arms in victory.
"A hat... might help..." Brock suggested lightly, scratching the side of his cheek with a finger, but Ash smiled up at Mankey.
"I'll do whatever it takes to become a Pokémon Master!" he promised, and held up three Poké Balls – two in one hand and one in the other. "Charmander, Mankey, Wartortle, return!" The three Pokémon were pulled into their Poké Balls, and Ash was finally able to get up.
With the threat of Mankey gone, Ash finally looked around at his surroundings. There was an opening in the cliffs, and Ash walked to the edge of it and looked down at the view that was displayed. As Brock caught up as well, both boys let out a gasp of delight. Not too far in the distance, a large city with tall skyscrapers lay out for them to see just beyond the canyons. "There's Celadon City!" Brock told him. "I guess it was lucky after all that Mankey chased us so far, or we wouldn't have made it as fast as we did!"
"Way to go, Mankey!" Ash said with a smirk, and finally fit his hat over his dark locks. "Now that I caught a new Pokémon, it's time to earn a Badge!"
-end-
Ash:
Party:
Wartortle (Poké Ball)
Moves: Tackle, Dig, Water Gun, BubbleBeam
Pidgey (Poké Ball)
Moves: Gust, Sand-Attack, Whirlwind, Wing Attack
Bulbasaur (Poké Ball)
Moves: Tackle, Vine Whip, Razor Leaf
Charmander (Poké Ball)
Moves: Flamethrower, Leer, Rage
Krabby (Poké Ball)
Moves: ViceGrip
Mankey (Poké Ball)
Moves: Thrash, Mega Kick
Badges:
Boulder Badge
Cascade Badge
Thunder Badge
Marsh Badge
Brock:
Party:
Onix (Poké Ball)
Moves: Tackle, Bind, Dig
Geodude (Poké Ball)
Moves: Seismic Toss, Tackle
Zubat (Poké Ball)
Moves: Whirlwind, Supersonic
