Chapter 26
Deep in the forest at the edge of Fuchsia City, leaves gently caressed his cheeks as he pushed through the brush, and Ash Ketchum pushed his face through the foliage to look for something that looked out of the ordinary. "All right, where is this famous Fuchsia Gym we're looking for anyway?" Seconds later, his traveling companion, Brock, broke through the shrubs, but his eyes were rooted to the map unfolded in his hands. He hummed in thought, and they both stepped out into the clearing.
Ash's neck craned back and forth as he scanned the clearing they had stumbled into, and his lips were scrunched together deep in thought as he tried to figure out their next direction.
"I think it's that way." Both boys spoke at the same time, and when they looked at each other, they realized they were also pointing in two different directions. An unsaid phrase was passed between them, and with a sigh, they realized they were – once again – lost.
The babbling of a waterfall in the clearing drew their attention and made for a perfect backdrop for a break area. It was the only clearing they had stumbled across deep in the forest anyway. Ash sat on a boulder and let his backpack slide off his shoulders. His legs were starting to be sore from the uneven roots sticking out of the ground as they weaved through the trees in search of the Fuchsia Gym. It was odd that there was a Gym this deep in the forest, and Ash had Brock check the map multiple times, and it definitely was here.
The boy sat with his eyes closed and listened to the brook singing its song to him, but his anticipation and lack of patience was getting the better of him, and he finally pulled himself to his feet after a half an hour and looked at his friend. "Well, let's get going!" he declared as he slipped the green straps of his backpack back over his jacket. "I gotta get to that Fuchsia Gym and win another Badge!"
"Wait a minute; we should wait for Psyduck to finish," Brock said, barely looking up from the Vulpix that was sitting in his lap. Brock had called upon Vulpix to brush it when they first got to the clearing, and Psyduck had popped out of its Poké Ball without being called on. Seeing that the Water Pokémon went right to the water, he decided to keep it out. The Pokémon Breeder was dragging a brush through Vulpix's red fur, and the Fire Pokémon was sitting peacefully and fully enjoying the experience with a contented look on its face. At the stream, his Psyduck had its face against the waterfall, and was drinking the cold water loudly. No sooner had Ash turned his attention to the aforementioned duck, Psyduck pulled its head back from the water.
"Psy..." it sighed with an elated look on its face, and waddled back over from the rocks to join the group. Approaching its Trainer, it lifted one of its webbed hands to its head and looked up at Brock and Vulpix.
"What beautiful hair," Brock commented, hardly even giving a glance to the yellow Duck Pokémon. "Suzie's such a great breeder." Vulpix took the compliment with stride, and seemed to barely open its eyes and peer down at Psyduck through the slits. The Water-type simply cocked its head and held its head with both hands.
"Psy?"
Ash almost felt bad for the Water Pokémon, but pushed these feelings away and urged his friend once again. "C'mon, Brock. We'd better get going." Brock silently agreed by collecting his things and, after recalling both of his Pokémon into their Poké Balls and hurried after Ash, who was waiting impatiently at the edge of the clearing to dive back into the sea of trees once again.
o 0 o
The stream was their only route navigating through the forest, so it was the opportunity they took to help get them out of being lost. Eventually, they found where it had come out of: a large raging river in between a deep ravine. Brock quickly recognized this on the map, but according to it, the Fuchsia Gym was on the other side of the canyon, and the bridge to get to the other side wasn't for quite some ways.
Following the path upstream, they walked some distance before they came across a long plank that acted as a bridge and connected the two cliffsides. Ash's dark eyes looked down with a frown, and if their Pokémon adventures before them had gave them any knowledge, it was that crossing over raging rivers usually ended in disaster for them. But the bridge to get across was at least an hour's walk, and it would save a lot of time, so, swallowing his fear, Ash got down on his hands and knees and crawled across slowly.
Inching his way across like a Caterpie, he screamed in his head not to look down, and to just keep his eyes ahead. Curiosity got the best of him, and wandering eyes glanced down for just a second. That second was just enough to freeze his blood and stop his breath in his throat. The sharp rocks waiting for him at the bottom instantly caught his sight. "Hold on! If we fall, our Pokémon journey's over!" he exclaimed with fear getting the better of him.
Just then, his arm slipped off the side, and he screamed in fright as he flailed, fearing the worst in his prediction, but he managed to steady himself and tightly wrap his arms around the plank he was crawling across. Behind him, Brock cocked an eyebrow at his friend, having no problem walking across it upright. "ARE YOU SURE FUCHSIA GYM IS SOMEWHERE AROUND HERE?!" Ash yelled, but he suddenly stopped. In his frantic flailing, something had caught his eye that stuck out amongst the green and browns of the forest that he had grown so accustomed to. "Huh? What's that?"
Mouth curling down into confusion, Brock followed his friend's gaze, and could just see what looked like a blue rooftop of a building beyond the trees. Shuffling across and seeing as they had no other places of interests to go to, Ash and Brock decided to go towards it, but what they encountered they were not expecting.
An old Japanese-style mansion greeted them from beyond the trees when they finally stumbled out of the woods, and a giant blue gate surrounded the entire property, and though it shielded most of it from view, there were still many towers with sections connecting the buildings in one big mansion. "I didn't know any old houses like this still existed!" Brock said in awe, his mouth opened wide as he looked up at the huge gate in front of them. One of the wooden gates was open in front of them, beckoning them to enter.
"Well, at least we can ask somebody here the way to the Fuchsia Gym," Ash commented as he walked through the entrance without hesitation, following the cut-stone path that led to the front sliding door of the front building. Without even knocking, Ash pulled the door open and peered inside. "Hello, is anybody here?" The entrance seemed to be a mudroom, with a padded dirt flooring right before a small staircase up into the actual house with polished wood floors. His voice echoed down the room, and it seemed to go back for some time before splitting off into a fork where one could go either left or right.
"Seems deserted..." Brock muttered as both boys crossed the entrance and stepped onto the dirt.
"Hellooo!" Ash's voice echoed down the empty hall, and his gaze wandered as he took in the views of the old Japanese-style home, but suddenly, something gleaming like a ruby peering out from the darkness caught his eye to his right, and he let out a yell and jumped back, but when his gaze focused, there wasn't anything there.
"What's wrong? What did you see?" Brock questioned.
"I t-thought I saw something staring at me down there..." Ash explained, taking a step backward. Brock was much more brave, and stared at the old wooden wall for a moment before pressing his ear against it. He stayed like this for a moment more before pulling back and rapping his knuckles against it.
"Ash, this is a secret door," he deduced when he straightened himself up with a serious look on his face.
"Secret door?"
"When you touch this wall... it opens!" the Pokémon Breeder explained, and pounded his fist against the side of the wall. Suddenly, the whole wall began to rotate, revealing a room on the other side of it. The pair quickly flooded into the room to see if they could see what had been looking at Ash, but the only thing that seemed to be in the cold room was wooden crates and barrels. "This sure isn't your run-of-the-mill mansion."
Another noise from the other side of the room captured their attention, and the pair perked up and glanced in the direction where the noise had come from. From around the corner of the room, a medium-sized creature covered in thick purple fur with a pair of antennae sticking out of its head appeared. But what really stuck out was the glistening red compound eyes on its face that Ash instantly recognized as what he had seen peering at him through the darkness.
"Veno-nat," the creature spoke, and Ash's eyebrows came together as he retrieved Dexter from his pocket.
"What's that?"
"Venonat. A Bug Pokémon. Its eyes function as radar allowing it to see in the dark."
"Hey, that's not a run-of-the-mill Pokémon!" Ash said with a smile. But without another glance at the pair, Venonat trotted past them and exited out through the newly-opened secret door. Disappearing around the corner, Ash stuck his head out as Venonat headed down the hallway towards the back of the actual house itself. "Hey, wait up! Where's the owner of this place?!" Venonat walked to the fork in the path and turned around.
"Veno-nat!" it called, bouncing on the tips of its toes.
"Say what?" Ash queried.
"Let's go see," Brock murmured.
"Yeah!" Hurrying ahead as Venonat disappeared around the corner of the right hallway, the pair rushed in an attempt to try and keep up with the Bug-type Pokémon. But as they turned the corner and Ash's foot hit the ground, electricity shot up his leg and flowed through his entire body, seizing it up and forcing him to cry out in pain until he fell over onto his back. "Well, that was quite a shock..." he moaned. "What in the world was-"
"Ash, look there!" Brock exclaimed. Upon his friend's yell, Ash looked down by his feet, and immediately shuffled backward to make some space between him and the creature that had been uncovered in the floor. An open panel in the hardwood revealed a red and white creature with angry looking eyes.
"Vul-torb," it said electronically, bobbing up and down with sparks sparkling around its round body.
"Doesn't look friendly," Ash stated, pulling himself up on his backside and retrieving his Pokédex again to scan the new Pokémon. "Wonder what it is."
"Voltorb. The identity of this creature is unknown. It has an extreme personality, uses Electric attacks, and, at times, self-destructs."
"Vultorb..." the Pokémon said again, this time bobbing up and down with an air around it like a snake rearing its head up as a warning.
"This place gets weirder and weirder!" Pulling himself onto his feet, Ash and Brock slowly inched their way around the Voltorb while keeping their eyes locked with the Electric-type's in case it suddenly attacked. But it did not, and instead watched them leave as they continued down the hallway where Venonat had run down. This time, they kept their eyes to the floor, and stayed on the lookout for any hidden panels that would open up if they stepped on them.
Being very cautious, they made their way to the end of the hallway where a staircase lead up to the second floor, and they climbed it slowly. Arriving at the top, Ash was expecting Venonat to greet them, but the Bug and Poison Pokémon was nowhere to be found. "Where'd Venonat go?" he asked aloud. But his question was soon answered when he looked down to where the hallway lead, and saw the bug covered in purple fur looking at them. They locked eyes for only a moment before Venonat disappeared around the corner.
"Hey, wait up!" Ash called, his voice echoing down the empty space. Running forward, he still kept his eyes peeled to the floor in case of any more Voltorb traps. But, this also caused him to run face-first into what felt like a sheet of glass. He collided hard with it, and his face dragged down the see-through surface as Brock rushed up to catch up with him.
"It's an invisible... wall!" he deduced, pressing his hands against it and tapped it with his knuckle, but the wall was very solid. Slowly, Ash peeled himself off the floor and let out a groan of pain. "We better get out of here while we still have the chance."
Ash agreed with another moan, and with his face throbbing, he walked toward the way that they had come, where he collided with another unseen glass barrier. "It's another invisible wall!" Brock cried, pressing his hands against the glass as Ash slid down it. Looking down at his traveling companion, he couldn't hide the panic starting to grow in his voice. "I think we've fallen into somebody's trap."
"A trap?" Ash repeated, standing up after gathering himself together again.
"I hope they're not trying to trap us so they can steal our Pokémon..." Brock began, but then turned around and clenched his fist while tears ran down his face. "CAUSE I DON'T WANT THEM TO TAKE AWAY MY VULPIX!"
Eyebrows coming together, Ash approached the side of the hallway which had an open panel that led right outside. "C'mon Brock, we've got to get out of this place. Maybe there's an exit," he stated, and pulled himself up onto the panel to try and look out to see where they were on the grounds. As soon as he did, the whole wall began to wobble, and he only had time to yell as it toppled forward and outside, to where the raging river was waiting many, many feet below looking to swallow Ash up. His stomach lurched, and his whole body flipped, but he thought fast and tightened his grip on the wall mostly out of reflex. While the bottom part was still connected to the house, he hit the cliff the house was built upon and dangled for dear life.
"Ash!" Brock's voice yelled from above. Unable to see his friend, he heard him mutter quietly, "Oh, no, he's gone!" A moment of silence passed while Ash attempted to find his voice, and he finally called out to his friend.
"Hey, Brock! I'm still alive!" He heard Brock gasp in surprise, and continued, "Here! Down here!" His friend's spiky brown hair came into view as the Pokémon Breeder craned his neck and finally looked down at Ash. "Come on! Help me up!" Thinking fast, Brock retrieved a rope from his backpack and lowered it down.
"Here! Grab onto this!" he instructed. Though Ash was filled with anxiety at the thought, anything was better than holding onto the hanging wall, and attempting to swallow his fear, he grabbed the rope and, slowly but surely, was pulled up by Brock. With his feet planted firmly on solid ground again, Ash collapsed onto his hands and knees, and both boys puffed and attempted to catch their breath.
"That was close!" the black-haired boy sighed with relief.
"This is a dangerous place if you're not careful," Brock agreed.
The sound of a door opening behind them grabbed their attention, and they looked up to see a familiar little creature peeking its head out through another secret door opposite the wall that fell out into the river. "Venonat!" Ash exclaimed, his eyebrows drawing together – this time in anger as he pulled himself onto his feet. "It's you! I'm gonna teach you a lesson!" Throwing caution to the wind, Ash rushed after Venonat, but before he could reach it, the purple Insect Pokémon jumped behind the door from which it came. "Come back!" Stumbling into the room, the secret door shut behind him, and as he peered up, he suddenly saw spinning blades cutting through the air and soaring at him. He once again had to yell in fear of his life and close his eyes before he was forced backwards.
Seconds later, and he soon realized that he was still alive, and he looked at his side to see the throwing stars had been thrown and aimed expertly in the parts of his jacket and pants so that it would just pierce his loose clothing and not his skin, but this also forced him to be stuck to the wooden wall. Putting all of this together in a manner of seconds, Brock came in close behind him, pushing the wall open. And since he was connected to the wall, he turned with the door so that Brock only saw an empty room.
"There must be another way out!" he exclaimed as the door righted itself so Ash was looking at Brock again.
"Someone help me..." Ash moaned, and Brock whipped around with his mouth open at his friend pinned against the wall. But suddenly, a laugh filled the entire room, and a woman wearing brightly-colored ninja clothes leapt down from the ceiling and landed in a crouched position, a sneer on her face and her eyes closed.
"Born in darkness, living in darkness; such is the fate of the ninja. I am Aya, ninja warrior," she recited, and stood up and raised her arm, revealing more throwing stars in between her fingers. "But tell me, didn't you enjoy my little star treatment?"
"You can't just chuck throwing stars around! It's dangerous!" Ash yelled. But in contrast to his yelling, Brock hobbled over to the female ninja like a zombie, his face glowing a faint red with a blush and a single hand out as if to shake hers.
"I think... that electric pink suits you perfectly, and you certainly look lovely." Aya glared at him and slapped away his extended hand, and Ash recoiled even from the distance he was at. Grabbing his head, Aya shoved Brock away with a single arm and then crossed her arms over her chest.
"This is a training camp! It was your fault you let your guard down!" While angrily saying this, she extended a foot and pushed down on Brock's head to keep the love-struck Pokémon Breeder at a distance.
"My guard down...?" Ash grumbled.
"I won't let you leave this mansion without having a Pokémon battle with me, first," Aya continued. Just then, the Venonat that they had been following came out of the side and scurried behind Aya's leg, hoping the girl would protect it, and she reached down and petted its head while Ash glared at it.
"Oh, that thing..."
"This Venonat informed me that two stupid-looking people had entered the mansion," she told them, and the Venonat chuckled mischievously.
"For your information, we're not the stupid ones around here! I accept your challenge!" Ash spat back angrily. But then, the reality of the situation settled in, and he blinked as he realized he was still pinned to the wall by the throwing stars. "Uh... but first, could you let me down from here?" Her, Brock and Venonat fell to the floor in secondhand embarrassment, and now, with Brock out of his trance, pulled the throwing stars from the wall to help his friend down. The metal weapons clattered to the hardwood floor, and Ash flexed his arms before stepping forward while leaving space between him and Aya for their Pokémon to do battle.
"One Pokémon for each of us," she sneered with her arms crossed. "Choose yours, now."
Twisting his cap backward, he drew a Poké Ball from his belt without even thinking twice about his decision. "Bulbasaur! I choose you!" The Poké Ball flew from his fingertips and opened in midair, and after a moment of light, the blue and green dinosaur Pokémon appeared and growled as its voice echoed in the spacious room.
"Bulbazaur!" it said confidently.
"I select... Venonat!" Ash's opponent declared, and her forest green ponytail flicked over her shoulder as she made the sign of the rat with her hands. In a complete opposite of its cowardice personality that they had seen so far, Venonat jumped forward and let out a battle cry, but Ash wasn't backing down.
"Bulbasaur! Tackle, now!" Bulbasaur let out its own battle cry, and charged forward, but Venonat jumped high into the air at great speed, which threw off the Grass Pokémon. When the Seed Pokémon looked up to find its opponent, the Bug Pokémon's massive feet landed on its head, driving it into the floor before it used Bulbasaur's head as a spring board to launch itself into the air again.
"Venonat, Stun Spore!" Aya commanded. As it was flying through the air, Venonat turned around and began to vibrate its body. Pale orange powder came out of its fur and filled the air before slowly falling down over Bulbasaur.
"Bulbasaur, blow it away!" Ash instructed, and Bulbasaur took in a deep breath as it looked up at the powder falling down around it, and released the built up air to blow the Stun Spore away so it harmlessly fell elsewhere. "Now, Vine Whip!" Upon its Trainer's command, Bulbasaur lowered its head and released two vines out from under its bulb and attempted to strike Venonat, that had since landed on the ground. Venonat danced around the two vines as they attempted to strike it and instead slapped the floor and air instead, and the Bug and Poison Pokémon jumped high into the air once again, this time soaring over Bulbasaur.
"Psybeam, now!" From its eyes, a rainbow-colored beam shot out at Bulbasaur. Since Ash's Pokémon was still looking up at Venonat in awe, it had no time to react to the Psychic attack coming down, and was completely enveloped by the psychic energy.
"Bulbasaur!" Ash cried, and when Venonat's attack faded, Bulbasaur teetered back and forth as if intoxicated. "Hang in there, Bulbasaur!" the black-haired boy encouraged his Pokémon, and Bulbasaur shook its head and retracted its vines back into its bulb once again. "Now it's time to give it your Leech Seed!"
"Bulba-saur!" Bulbasaur agreed, and jumped after Venonat. The pair faced each other down in the air, and Venonat attempted to fire another Psybeam at its opponent, but Bulbasaur dodged it, and as Venonat planted its feet on the ground again, a seed sprouted from the Grass and Poison-type's bulb. The seed launched out and sailed at Venonat with a white stream of energy behind it like a small missile, and it landed and nestled itself on Venonat's forehead. The seed burst, and small leaf-covered vines quickly wrapped up the Insect Pokémon, and as red energy sizzled around the vines and lit Venonat up like a Christmas tree, Aya's Pokémon cried out in pain before falling helplessly onto its backside.
"Venonat!" the ninja exclaimed, but Ash simply scoffed proudly.
"Ha! Leech Seed is sucking away your Venonat's power; it's helpless!"
Bulbasaur gave a happy cry as it watched its attack work against its opponent, and Aya bit her lip before pulling out a Poké Ball and pointing it at her Pokémon. "Return, Venonat!" As Bulbasaur trotted over to Ash, Venonat disappeared into Aya's Poké Ball.
"Good work, Bulbasaur," he congratulated, rubbing his Pokémon on its head, then turned back to Aya. "A victory for me!" Aya grimaced and growled as she put away her Poké Ball, but then the same Pokémon from the hallway, the Voltorb, rolled into the center of the room.
"Voltorb..." it cried before suddenly exploding, kicking up smoke and dust that quickly filled the room. Everyone's coughs filled the room as the dust scratched their lungs, but another voice cut through them.
"You've still got a lot to learn, Aya..." It was a male voice, but Ash couldn't see where it was coming from. Waiting until the smoke cleared, Ash looked up to see a man making the same ninja hand sign that Aya had made, but he was wearing indigo ninja clothes as opposed to Aya's bright pink. The red scarf around his neck blew casually in the remnants of the Voltorb's Selfdestruct.
Finally, when the smoke cleared, the man opened his eyes, and cast a stern gaze upon Aya, who instantly knelt at his feet. "Honored brother, I have failed." Instantly, Brock stepped up behind Aya with an open hand over his chest.
"You're Aya's older brother? My name is Brock. You sure have a very nice sister! It's a pleasure to meet you!" He said this very fast, until Ash pushed the older boy out of the way.
"This isn't the time to kiss up, Brock!" he exclaimed. "We need to get out of this place."
"None of you will be permitted to leave this venerable mansion... unless you do battle with me," the newcomer responded calmly.
"Who are you?"
"I am Koga," the ninja answered. "The Pokémon Master of the Fuchsia Gym." At his words, Ash instantly perked up.
"So you're saying this is the Fuchsia Gym?"
"That is correct, boy," Koga replied shortly with a small nod.
"Well, at least we're in the right place," the black-haired boy commented as he looked around, looking at his surroundings in a new light, and then smirked at the Gym Leader. "Well that's fine with me! We were looking for Fuchsia Gym, and now, I'll win one of your Badges."
Koga reached into the inside pocket of his yoroi and retrieved a small scroll that he let unravel down from his extended arm, and in the center of it was a small heart-shaped Badge. "This Soul Badge will be yours; if you defeat me, of course." The physical Badge was enough to light a fire in Ash's eyes, and he grinned excitedly.
"All right, let's battle!" he challenged, and recalled his Bulbasaur back into its Poké Ball. The Grass-type Pokémon was injured from its battle with Aya's Venonat, and he wanted to go in with a full advantage.
Koga accepted his challenge, and declared the rules. "We shall have a two-on-two Pokémon battle, young man."
"That's fine with me!" Ash agreed, and replaced Bulbasaur's Poké Ball with another before throwing it high into the air. "I'll start with... Pidgeotto!"
"Then I shall lead with Venonat," Koga said, drawing his own Poké Ball from his inside pocket and tossing it forward. Both balls burst open at the same time, and Ash's Pidgeotto let out a cry as it appeared in the air, while Koga's Venonat was silent.
Seeing the same Pokémon that he had just defeated with his Bulbasaur, Ash instantly let out a confident chuckle. "Guess I'll just have to beat this Venonat, too!" Koga, however, didn't seem concerned, and let out a chuckle of his own with a sideways grin.
"This Venonat has a great deal more experience." As the words left his mouth, his Venonat's body began to shimmer brightly, and its form began to rise into the air as it grew larger, and Ash let out a gasp as the glow faded and a purple moth-like creature had taken its place.
"Venomothvenomoth!"
"A metamorphosis attack?!" Brock exclaimed from the sidelines, but Ash knew better. This wasn't a new form – Koga's Venonat had evolved entirely into a new Pokémon, and he pulled out Dexter once again to tell him about the new Pokémon.
"Venomoth, an evolved form of Venonat. Tiny scales on its wings disperse various spores when they are flapped."
"Uh-oh..." Ash stated as he looked up at the new opponent.
"Venomoth, Stun Spore," Koga commanded. Venomoth let out a cry as it flapped its lavender wings, and waves of orange powder came out and floated towards Pidgeotto.
"Pidgeotto, Whirlwind!" Ash countered, and this time it was Pidgeotto's turn to cry out and flap its wings harder, blowing a great gust of wind from them at the spore attack. The attack stopped in midair for just a moment, but Venomoth flapped its wings harder, and with the power and adrenaline from its evolution behind it, it was able to actually overpower Pidgeotto's Whirlwind and surround Pidgeotto in the dust. The Bird Pokémon let out a cry as its body seized up from paralysis caused by the Stun Spore. "Pidgeotto!" But before it could fall to the ground, Koga crossed his arms, and, not skipping a beat, called for his next attack.
"Venomoth, release your Sleep Powder." Flying up above Pidgeotto, Venomoth continued to flap its wings, and mixed into the Stun Spore that it was already releasing, glittering dust seemed to shower over its opponent. Pidgeotto let out another cry, but these were silenced as it fell to the ground on its side.
Ash knew that with it both sleeping and paralyzed, it stood no chance, so he held up Pidgeotto's Poké Ball and pointed the silver button at it. "Pidgeotto, return!" Once it disappeared back inside the ball, Ash knew exactly how he would counter Venomoth's spore attacks, and he threw the new ball out onto the battlefield. "Charmander, go!" The orange Lizard Pokémon appeared in a flash of light, and it didn't even have a chance to announce its entrance before Koga commanded his Pokémon's attack.
"Venomoth, Stun Spore!"
"Moottthhh!" Venomoth once again flapped its wings, releasing waves of orange powder out at Charmander.
"Charmander, Flamethrower!" Ash called.
"Chaaarr!" Leaning forward, the Fire Pokémon opened its mouth, and a stream of fire shot out of it. Breaking through what Pidgeotto's Whirlwind could not, the fire made the Stun Spore disperse, and the glittering powder now ablaze in embers snowed helplessly to the floor.
"Great job, Charmander!" the Pokémon Trainer said with a smirk. "Now, give it another Flamethrower!" Once again, Charmander drew in a deep breath, and fired a stream of fire into the air. With no Stun Spore to slow it down, the red and yellow flames had no problem reaching Venomoth, and it scored a direct hit on the Bug and Poison Pokémon. Venomoth released a cry of pain as its body was singed from the Fire attack, and when Charmander stopped its attack, Venomoth dipped and fluttered towards the wood flooring, but Charmander was already charging forward with its head dipped. "Now, finish it off with Skull Bash!"
Pushing off the ground, Charmander's head drove straight into the helpless Venomoth, and the Poison Moth Pokémon flew past its Trainers head and clattered into the wall behind him, sending the naginatas that were on display clattering to the ground. Koga's mouth was open in surprise as he turned back to see that his Venomoth had been defeated.
"You did it, Charmander! One down, one to go!" Ash cheered as Koga recalled his Pokémon into its Poké Ball. Turning back with a stone-cold face that showed no emotion, the Poison Gym Leader replaced it with another Poké Ball.
"I will choose... Golbat!" Swinging his arm and throwing the ball into the air, it burst open and from the light within, a blue bat-like Pokémon with a large jaw appeared.
"Gol-BAT!" it chittered, and flapped from right to left around Charmander while the Fire-type Pokémon looked up with a nervous demeanor at its new opponent.
"What's that?" Ash asked rhetorically, and took out his Pokédex one final time.
"Golbat. Attacking with its sharp fangs, this Pokémon can drain three hundred cubic centimeters of blood per bite."
"Be careful, Charmander!" Ash warned his Pokémon as he put away the hi-tech encyclopedia.
"Golbat, Wing Attack!" Koga commanded, calmly folding his hands into a hand sign as he stood with his heels together. Moving at a fast speed, Golbat dived down at Charmander, moving so fast that it was almost like a blue blur buzzing past Charmander. Each time it would come down, Charmander would step aside and narrowly avoid being clipped by the Poison Pokémon's massive wings, but it was moving so fast that this wouldn't last long.
"Charmander, Ember attack!" Frightened by the Bat Pokémon's speedy movements, Charmander tucked its head into its arms and closed its eyes before waving the flame on the end of its tail. Sparks of red flames came out of the fire burning brightly, and Golbat instantly gave a big push with its wings, flying backwards to avoid getting singed by the sparks. Seeing that this was working, Charmander spun around and around in a circle to create a protective shield of embers around it. "All right! Good job, Charmander!"
But despite his Pokémon being stopped in its tracks, Koga didn't seem concerned at all. "Golbat, use your Screech attack." Golbat reacted quickly, and closed its wings for a moment before opening them wide, and a loud piercing noise like nails on a chalkboard came resonating out of Golbat's throat. Koga's plan worked, and instantly, Charmander stopped spinning around and threw its palms over to plug its eardrums. Ash did the same, and even Brock seemed to be shivering in place.
"I-I-I'm getting goosebumps!" he cried. The only one who seemed unaffected by the screeching was Koga, who closed his eyes and smiled as if hearing a pleasant melody.
"Charmander, Flamethrower!" Ash shouted over the piercing sound Golbat was emitting. Miraculously, Charmander heard its Trainer's command, and fired a stream of fire from its mouth up at Golbat. The initial strike failed to hit, but made Golbat dodge and stop its Screech attack to avoid the flames, and in its frantic state of wanting the noise to stop, Charmander followed Golbat with a series of blasts of Flamethrower, one of which singed Brock's upper body.
"Ouch..."
The sporadic attacks caught Golbat off-guard, and it dodged back and forth frantically until one of Charmander's Flamethrower attacks singed its wing. With the Poison Pokémon crippled, Ash knew now was his chance. "Okay! Finish it off with Fire Spin!"
"Chaaaarrrr!" Releasing one final flame from its throat, this one was a spiraling flame that hit the ground beneath Golbat and spiraled upward. Golbat followed the spinning flame with its gaze, but by the time it realized the flames had surrounded it, it was too late – Koga's Pokémon was hopelessly trapped. The Bat Pokémon disappeared as the flames condensed into a spiraling column of fire, and Koga's mouth was agape in shock as the flames disappeared. Charred and smoking, Golbat let out one last cry before falling to the ground.
Seeing its opponent was defeated, Charmander let out a sigh of relief as Ash approached and knelt next to Charmander, and Brock stepped forward as well with a proud smile on his face. "We did it!"
"Char, char!"
"You have beaten me," Koga admitted once his Golbat was tucked inside its Poké Ball and back in his gi. Taking out the scroll from the beginning of the battle, he unraveled it, and for the first time since meeting him, Koga smiled. "This Soul Badge rightfully belongs to you." A smile spread across Ash's face, and he reached out and pulled the Badge from its scroll between his thumb and index finger.
"A Soul Badge!" Ash yelled with excitement, holding out the pink Badge for Brock and Charmander to see. "All right!"
"We both have got a lot to learn about battle," Koga said to his younger sister, who now joined him and smiled alongside him as they watched Ash celebrate his victory. "We will now train even harder, Aya."
"Yes, brother," she agreed, and looked back as Ash and Charmander started to jump up and down for joy
"YES! I GOT A SOUL BADGE! ALL RIGHT! WOO-HOO!"
-end-
Ash:
Party:
Wartortle (Poké Ball)
Moves: Tackle, Dig, Water Gun, BubbleBeam
Pidgeotto (Poké Ball)
Moves: Gust, Quick Attack, Whirlwind, Wing Attack
Bulbasaur (Poké Ball)
Moves: Tackle, Vine Whip, Razor Leaf, Leech Seed
Charmander (Poké Ball)
Moves: Flamethrower, Fire Spin, Skull Bash, Ember
Krabby (Poké Ball)
Moves: ViceGrip
Mankey (Poké Ball)
Moves: Thrash, Mega Kick, Scratch
At Professor Oak's Lab:
Muk (Poké Ball)
Moves:
Badges:
Boulder Badge
Cascade Badge
Thunder Badge
Marsh Badge
Rainbow Badge
Soul Badge
Brock:
Party:
Onix (Poké Ball)
Moves: Tackle, Bind, Dig
Geodude (Poké Ball)
Moves: Seismic Toss, Tackle
Zubat (Poké Ball)
Moves: Whirlwind, Supersonic
Psyduck (Poké Ball)
Moves:
Vulpix (Poké Ball)
Moves: Fire Spin
