Edited 11/30/22
-be me
-get to what you originally thought was the halfway point
-realize how much more you want to add
-realize this is going to be a huge chapter
-write it anyway
Walking into the gym, the group was initially met with darkness, they shared a look and slowly proceeded forwards.
As they marched the lights came on with a clank and a whir revealing the large room they now found themselves in. The edges had relatively normal cement flooring but abruptly cut into a rocky and barren terrain that would not look out of place on a treeless mountain.
Standing across from them was a young man with dark skin and pointy hair. He stood there cross-armed. "I am Brock, leader of the Pewter City Gym. Who are you, challenger?"
"I'm Ash from Pallet Town." Ash declared himself. Gosh, this sure was professional. Or at least it felt like it. Not to mention a little intimidating. Hopefully, he would make a good impression.
Misty apparently had similar opinions but she spoke up about it. "What the heck is all this?" She demanded.
Brock coughed as the mood shattered. "Sorry, what?"
"This whole thing!" She gestured to the room. "Have you just been standing there with the lights off all day waiting for someone to show up and challenge you?!"
"Uhhh…"
"We don't have anything like this in Cerulean! Of course, that would also mean one of us would need to stand there all day waiting for someone to come in and we use the gym for other things than just battles…" Misty continued.
Brock was looking very put out and Ash decided to cut in. "It was really impressive." He told the Gym Leader. He meant it too, he had been impressed!
"No, she's right. I try to at least pull the big threatening gym leader thing with first-time trainers. To kind of give them a really memorable first battle. Win or lose. But yeah it was a little bit scripted." The rock-type trainer admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
Ash blinked at that and Pikachu voiced a shared thought. "How do you even plan that out? You'd have to be standing in the dark all day."
The Zorua repeated the question (obviously not telling Brock where it had come from) and the local leader answered.
"I have access to certain records from the local Pokemon Center, Nurse Joy," a noticeable blush formed as he mention her, "helped me set it up to let me know when newly registered trainers came through, then I have some cameras near the end of the lane to let me know when they're approaching and I turn the lights out and get in position. You walk in and a timer on the lights starts, and bam! Unforgettable first encounter in a gym." He finished arms wide in a grandiose gesture.
"Wow!" Ash was legitimately impressed. "That's cool! It was a little intimidating though but I think it was worth it."
Misty kicked at the floor with her good leg. "Well shoot, now I feel really bad for ruining it for you."
"It's alright." Brock sighed. "Not the first time it's been ruined, some trainers have no patience for the dramatics and sometimes there's a line of challengers lining up. Still, I like to do it if I can."
He clapped his hands. "Anyway, now for the rules. This is your first badge correct?" He confirmed. When Ash nodded he continued. "In that case, this will be a two versus two singles battle, swap outs are allowed. The first trainer to have both of their Pokemon knocked out loses. I don't have any special rules for my gym so use whatever Pokemon you have available. Do you have any questions?"
"Who sends out first?" Ash asked. Both his Pokemon were technically already out but Brock probably didn't know for sure that was all he had. He would still like to know what he was up against before he sent out his first teammate though.
"I'll go first in this case." Brock retrieved a Pokeball. "Go Geodude!" He called as he threw it in the air.
"Rock and roll!" Geodude declared as he appeared on the battlefield.
Ash winced at the rock and ground type and Pikachu groaned. "Dang it. You were right, let's hope whoever else he has is just rock and nothing else."
"Pidgeotto, you up to it?" He asked the flying-type and she considered it.
"I'll do it." She decided. "Hopefully that evasion training will pay off."
"Just do your best," Ash told her and louder called out. "Pidgeotto, I choose you!"
"A flying-type?" Brock asked skeptically. "You do know flying is weak to rock right?"
"I know." Ash agreed. "But, ground moves can't touch her. We knew we'd be fighting with a handicap but we're not going to give up right out the gate."
As they spoke Misty limped her way over to the side of the gym where some benches were lining the walls. Setting down her crutches, she settled in to observe the match.
Brock accepted this. "Your choice then, let the match begin!" He announced. "Geodude, open up with Rock Throw!"
Geodude grabbed one of the medium-sized rocks lying around the field and hurled it at Pidgeotto who nimbly spun out of the way of the attack.
"That's way slower than a Thundershock!" She taunted the floating rock Pokemon.
Geodude just grumbled. "Cocky bird."
"Pidgeotto, use Quick Attack, get an idea of his reaction speed!" Ash called. It wouldn't be very effective but it would let her move fast enough to get away should he prove too quick in close quarters.
The bird Pokemon flew in with abnormal speed and dug into Geodude with her beak before darting away again, even as she struck Geodude took a swing at her with one of his rocky fists. The punch just missed her as she got away, his reaction speed was good but Pidgeotto was faster.
"Rollout!" Brock called even as Pidgeotto gained altitude. "Keep it up! Any time it moves in to attack!"
"Back in the sky Pidgeotto! Use Quick Attack to gain speed when you need it!" Ash gave his directions. He hadn't had Pidgeotto practicing Quick Attack as much as Pikachu had in the past but she could hopefully make use of it efficiently.
Geodude rushed below Pidgeotto as she regained altitude and slammed into a boulder, he pulled himself out of it and glared back up at the bird. Brock continued giving directions.
"Rock Throw whenever Pidgeotto is out of reach. Keep up the Rollout when it moves in to strike, don't let up the attack, wear it down!" He made a gesture with his hand before clutching it into a fist. Not entirely necessary but some trainers needed to make motions to help get their feelings on the matter across.
Pidgeotto dodged the rock that flew at her again but a second one followed almost immediately that she had to make use of Quick Attack to avoid. She flashed and moved out of the way as the strike brushed past her.
The third one however clipped her left wing and she cried in pain. She spiraled out of control for a moment before managing to right herself. Already though, Ash could see Geodude was reaching for another rock to throw so he had to act quickly.
"Alright! Like we practiced! Move in and use Steel Wing!" Pidgeotto let out a call of "Finally!" And dive-bombed Geodude who seemed momentarily taken by surprise.
"Steel wha-" He was cut off as the solid attack gouged into his rocky form and forced him into the ground. The super-effective attack had taken the wind out of the rock-type's sails but he pulled himself up and followed Brock's earlier direction.
Pidgeotto was forced to make use of Quick Attack again to avoid the Rollout, this time when Geodude crashed into a boulder, he shattered it. Ash winced at the crumbling rock formation, he didn't want to imagine what it would look like if he got it off a third time.
"Ash," Pidgeotto warned. "I'm getting kind of tired. I'm not used to using Quick Attack so frequently."
Ash sighed, he had been worried about that. "Hold on a bit longer, Pidgeotto." He said, trying not to make the fact he was answering her too obvious. "I'll pull you out as soon as we've taken down Geodude."
"You shouldn't count your Pidgey before they hatch," Brock warned. "Geodude, Rock Polish, and then Harden!"
"Quick Attack to get in fast!" Ash called even as Geodude began to sparkle. "Then use Steel Wing! Don't let him boost his defense!"
"Here we go," Pidgeotto muttered and moved in with a burst of speed. Despite this, even Ash could see she that was slowing down a little bit. She was moving slower than she had been when they started. They needed to finish this now.
Just as the last sparkles of Rock Polish faded and a shining coat seemed to begin forming around Geodude, Pidgeotto lashed at him with Steel Wing. With the attack done she landed on the ground ungracefully and staggered with her wings spread to catch herself.
Despite grounding herself the attack had done its work and Geodude did a backward somersault before falling to the sandy ground and making an indent. He did not get back up after that and Ash sighed in relief.
"Well done." Brock acknowledged. "If you want to recall your Pidgeotto, do it now. Otherwise, I'll be sending out my next Pokemon."
"Come back, Pidgeotto, get some rest," Ash told her and she began doing a little bird hop over to them.
"I'll take the ball again please." She told him as she approached. "I was only out there for maybe five minutes but it feels like I've done four hours of that evasion training." She flexed her wings and flinched. "And rocks are way harder than tree branches, my wings hurt." She inspected her bruised left wing that had been hit by the Rock Throw.
"Consecutive Quick Attacks will do that." Pikachu pointed out. "We'll work on it later, but for now!" He leaped off Ash's shoulder and onto the field. "It's my turn!"
Ash crouched down to take a look at Pidgeotto's hurt wing. "I'm sorry," he said. "I should have had you practicing more with Quick Attack."
"Are you kidding?!" Pidgeotto looked at him like he'd added a second head to his illusion. "I just beat a rock type! That was amazing! I'd never have been able to do that before I met you! So what if my wings hurt? I'll fight a Graveler next! No, a Golem!"
Her trainer smiled at her eagerness. "How about some rest first." He returned her to her ball and stood back up and faced Brock once more.
"Your Pikachu?" Brock's disbelief was evident. "The Pidgeotto was one thing but an electric type now?"
"Rock-type don't resist electric-types!" Ash pointed out. People seemed to make that mistake for some reason.
"Yeah but…" Brock seemed to realize something. "Oh right, well jeez now I feel kind of bad about this."
"...about what?" Ash felt worried all of a sudden.
"Don't tell me he has another rock and ground type?" Pikachu groaned.
"Nothing to do about it now, I will ask though, are you sure you want to keep Pikachu out there?" Brock cautioned.
"I don't have anyone else at the moment," Ash confirmed and tightened his fist. His other hand brushed through his illusionary hair.
He wished Brock would just send his second Pokemon out; he was starting to feel a bit nervous. A knot of anxiety already filled his gut, he had faith in Pikachu but it was down to one versus one, winner takes all.
"In that case, good luck, you're going to need it." Brock wound up like a pitcher and threw the next Pokeball high in the air. "Let's go Onix!"
Oh, well that certainly wasn't good.
The massive rock snake appeared and filled up the arena, Pikachu was in no way a large Pokemon but compared to the rock-type facing him he was positively miniature looking.
"Ash." Pikachu decided. "Pidgeotto is no longer allowed to go first."
"Don't give up yet, Pikachu!" Ash encouraged his partner. "We trained for this."
"You're a bit out of your depth, mouse." Onix, despite the deep and gravelly voice, didn't sound cruel or mocking, just amused.
"We'll have to see about that," Pikachu answered and braced himself.
"Match start!" Brock announced again and the second half began.
"Pikachu! Quick Attack, make your way up that tail!" Ash shouted as soon as the words left Brock's mouth. He was starting this battle on his terms.
Pikachu blurred forwards in a rush of speed. He was faster than Pidgeotto had been, even when she was fresh to the field. Both Brock and Onix seemed taken aback by the speed for a moment but Brock recovered quickly.
"Use Magnitude Onix!"
Onix roared without words and the floor shook. Ash, filled with panic, looked at the walls and ceiling, half expecting them to start coming down. From her spot on the sidelines, Misty did the same. Brock must have seen their panic and shouted over the sound to calm them down.
"Don't worry! The gym is designed to handle this, the field is the only thing being affected by the attack, stay focused!" He warned Ash.
"Right! Sorry." Ash agreed and shook off the urge to duck and cover, instead taking stock of the battle.
Pikachu had leaped onto one of the taller rocks as the Magnitude began rocking the room. Despite the rumble, it did not seem to be causing that much damage to the field. Hopefully, that meant it was one of the weaker ones. Nevertheless, Pikachu didn't stick around on the ground to let himself get too caught up in it.
The electric-type leaped off of the boulder and onto Onix's tail. The large rock type tried to shake him off but Pikachu just grabbed hard to the surface and held on, for a moment Onix paused his shakes to reconsider how to get the smaller Pokemon off and Pikachu took his chance and kept rushing up the tail.
"Nice job! Now, Iron Tail!" Ash directed as Pikachu reached the head.
The electric type flipped forwards towards the head and slammed his hardened and steel-like tail into Onix's head. The blow of the attack shook the snake and made him crash down to the ground.
"Impressive!" Brock acknowledged. "I was worried you came in here without a plan but it looks like you've made use of your Pokemon's moves well."
"Thanks." Ash accepted the praise. "But like you said before, it's not over yet."
"Right." Brock nodded. "Onix use Dig!"
The large rock type reared up and dove downwards towards where Pikachu had landed on the ground. Ash's friend dodged out of the way without even using Quick Attack but Onix still buried himself in the ground and vanished below the surface.
"How deep is this place?" Ash muttered as the rock-type vanished completely from view. He shook his head and focused on the ground, trying to keep an eye out for tremors or disturbed ground, something that big had to leave obvious signs.
"Pikachu, eyes on the ground, stay high if you can, and watch for movement. Quick Attack to dodge if you need it but if you see a clear target use Iron Tail!"
"On it!" Pikachu confirmed and climbed one of the nearby rocks and surveyed the field.
A sudden rumble was all the warning they got as the rock Pikachu had climbed on erupted beneath him. It splintered in Onix's mouth and Pikachu cried out in shock and pain the electric type fell to the ground. Within seconds though, he had managed to stand back up and face his opponent again.
"That was fast!" Ash was filled with a mix of awe and concern. If Onix kept that up then they wouldn't be able to touch him. They'd need to use their own speed whenever they could.
"Onix may be big but he's quick. I guess this will be a test of who's faster!" Brock admitted on the other side of the field.
"Guess so," Ash muttered before raising his voice. "Quick Attack into Iron Tail! Do it as many times as you can! Don't let him use Dig again!"
"Right!" Pikachu rushed forward with a glow of speed, his tail already beginning to take on the metallic gleam of Iron Tail.
Onix reared back from the attack but even if it was not another headshot Pikachu still managed to cut his tail into one of the larger boulders of Onix's midsection, the bigger Pokemon cried out in pain and glared down at Pikachu who met his glare with a smirk.
"What was that about being out of my depth?" The electric mouse mocked his opponent.
"I said what I said, kid." Onix held firm.
Pikachu rushed forwards again. "Say it again I dare you!"
"Onix let him move him!" Brock called and Ash sensed a trap about to be sprung.
"Pikachu, wait! Get back!" But the electric type was already committed. He jumped forward and swung his tail to use Iron Tail again but Brock had his answer to it now.
"Use Bind! Trap him!"
Pikachu's attack cut into Onix's tail a little bit but was quickly caught up with the rest of his form in the Bind.
"OWW!" Pikachu screamed as the rocks dug into him on all sides. "Let me go!"
"I'm not doing that," Onix answered. "Your tail hurts more than it should."
"I think yours hurts more," Pikachu growled and literally used Growl but it barely helped the existing Bind he was in. Even as he glared defiantly the rocks tightened around his small form.
Ash was panicking and rushing through his mental list of Pikachu's moveset trying to think of a way out of this situation. He was alarmed to find that he was coming up empty.
"You did well for your first Gym battle but it's over Ash," Brock called to him. "If you admit defeat now I'll have Onix let Pikachu go before he's knocked out."
Ash heard his opponent's words but still desperately called to Pikachu, "Can you do anything?"
"Nothing EFFECTIVE!" He spat the word like a curse and began sparking with electricity. His friend flashed golden with Thunder Bolt and the glow covered Onix but to no effect.
"Hey, that kind of tickled." Onix chuckled and kept squeezing.
"You think you're so tough!" Pikachu hissed and kept flashing. Repeating the ineffective attack over and over again.
Ash sighed, it was over. But he knew what they needed to work on now at least.
Just as he was about to call Pikachu back though something happened.
The electric type's attacks may not be able to do any damage to Onix but they did manage to damage something else, specifically the sprinklers over the gym. A downpour began to cascade over the field, turning it into mud and soaking both Onix and Pikachu.
"What the…'' Onix looked up just as Pikachu used Thunder Bolt again.
This time it did something.
Onix roared in literal and metaphorical shock and pain as he was struck by an electric attack for the first time. Both Ash and Brock covered their eyes as the room glowed goldenly. The glow faded and Onix collapsed to the ground, clearly knocked out. Pikachu was released from the Bind and staggered on the ground for a moment.
"YEAH!" He shouted, paws raised in victory. "Electric-type for the win!" He then seemed to notice it was basically raining. "Wait what?" He muttered, staring up into the spray.
Brock stared at the field without saying anything and seemed to be mulling something over in his head.
Ash was staring at the field as well and felt… empty.
That hadn't been a win.
At least not one they'd earned.
The only reason that attack had worked was because of the sprinklers going off. Actually, how did that work? Electric types shouldn't be able to work on ground-types no matter what. Why had the water let Pikachu break through the typing barrier?
He shook his head. That was something for Professor Oak or some other professional to figure out. In the meantime though…
"Come on back, Pikachu." He called out to his partner. "Let's get some rest for now."
"Why does this place even have sprinklers?" Pikachu asked as he limped back over to Ash. "It's made of rock." Evidently from his tone, he'd come to a similar conclusion that Ash had about the nature of their win.
"Wait a second!" Brock's voice stopped them. "You need your badge first."
Ash blinked in surprise. "But… but we didn't win! Not really! You had us beat, the only reason Pikachu won was because the sprinklers went off. That's not a win."
"Maybe not in your book but it is my gym." Brock shrugged. "Anything on the field can be used in battle. Geodude was hurling rocks at Pidgeotto and Onix was diving under it, the sprinklers may not be typically part of it but they are in the range of it, above it at least. I had a seven-badge trainer try and bring the whole roof down, once."
Ash shook his head. "I'm sorry but I can't accept it. We didn't win." He insisted. "We'll come back and challenge you again once we get stronger!"
"Hmm." Brock hummed in thought. "Tell you what." He threw the badge over the field with an impressive throw and Ash caught it on instinct. "Consider it a Provisional Boulder Badge."
"Provisional?" Ash muttered, almost completely to himself. Misty had stood up by now and had made her way over to them and looked at Ash's badge and then at Brock as he continued.
"You can keep the badge, give it a few days. If you want to come back and challenge me again then you can. When you do you'll give the badge back and we'll battle again. But if you change your mind after thinking about it then you can keep it. As I said, I consider this your win but I can understand why you don't feel like it is." Brock explained. "So if you still feel the same way, come back and we'll battle again. But I warn you," he raised a finger and smiled dangerously. "I know your tricks now, so even if you get stronger I'll be better prepared for you."
Ash stared at the badge in his hand and clutched it tight. "We'll see," he said. With that, he helped Pikachu up on his shoulder and the pair left with Misty.
They walked in silence back to the Pokemon Center. Both Ash and Pikachu were deep in thought. They'd need to talk to Pidgeotto before they did anything else. Once they had dropped Pikachu and Pidgeotto off with Nurse Joy, Ash and Misty sat down in the waiting area.
"Are you okay?" Misty asked him and he sighed.
"I don't know." He rubbed his face. "I mean, we won! But… we didn't win, not really. I don't know how to feel. I guess I feel robbed." He decided.
"I can understand that." She agreed. "For what it's worth you were doing well for a first-time Gym Challenger and Brock probably saw that and agreed. If you had lost and trained and come back you'd have won it all the same. He knew that so he probably decided to give it to you now."
"Yeah, but I wanted to do that training." He answered. "I wanted us to get stronger and come back and challenge it again." He held up the provisional badge. "Well, I guess we can actually." He smiled lightly, thankful Brock had given them another option.
"That's right," Misty confirmed and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. She then prodded that shoulder with the same hand and frowned in confusion.
"What?" Ash asked in mild annoyance.
"Sorry it's just," she poked it again. "Can you actually feel that?"
"Yes, I can," Ash said a little defensively and then sighed. "Sorry you're just wondering, yeah I can feel stuff, it's more like pressure than actual feeling though." He waved his hand vaguely. "It's kind of hard to explain. Pikachu asked me something similar once."
"Then you should have had plenty of time to think of how to do so." She said with mock sternness before giggling, Ash joined her. He let some of the tension ease out of him.
"I hope Pikachu and Pidgeotto will be out soon, whatever we decide, I want to do it as a team." He claimed.
Misty gave him a thumbs up. "It's like Brock said, you have a few days to think it over. Besides, I imagine that you'd want to get some more training done anyway, regardless of what you do."
"You're right," Ash said. "We were already going to stay for a bit anyway. This just gives us something to think about while we're here."
They talked some more as they waited and their conversations turned to more inane and sometimes silly topics.
"Look Pokemon turning into people I can get but when have people ever turned into Pokemon?" Misty refused his claims.
"It's happened, hang on, there's a Kadabra entry I read a long time ago." Ash started flipping through his Pokedex trying to find it again.
Before their debate could continue however the doors of the center opened for the first time since they'd arrived and they looked up to see the new arrival.
Or perhaps not see them as it were, because whoever the new arrival was, was covered in a layer of leaves, branches, and what looked like a Metapod.
They stood on the threshold for a moment before shaking themselves off. Leaves fluttered to the floor in bunches and branches joined them. Soon enough Ash was able to make out their face and stood up.
"Someone, you know?" Misty asked him as she pulled herself to her feet as well.
"Yeah, one of the other Pallet Town trainers," he told her. "Hey Leaf!"
"What are you doing there, Bugsworth?" She asked the Metapod as she pulled it off her arm and then looked up and saw Ash waving at her. "Oh! Hi Ash!" She trotted over to the pair, cradling her Metapod, a tree branch was still sticking out of her hair.
"What happened to you?" He asked her. "It looks like you fought the forest and lost."
"I did." She confirmed. "I thought I saw a Meowth, so I followed it into the bushes but then I didn't find a Meowth but I found Bugsworth!" She presented the cocooned Pokemon who blinked at the two. He could not do much else. "But then I couldn't find the road again so I just wandered around until I got out of the forest then I met a man who was selling rocks and he pointed me here!"
"Be careful of Meowth," Misty warned. "I mean I guess it's pretty unlikely but we ran into a pair of goons called Team Rocket who had one."
"Team Rocket!" Leaf gasped. "That's terrible!" She blinked. "Who are they? Also, who are you?"
Ash chuckled. "That's Misty, I met her on my way to Viridian City, speaking of which did you happen to run into any Spearow on your way there?"
"I think I saw one or two, why?"
"Pikachu and I got ambushed by a flock of them, do you remember that Diglett from camp a few years back? He showed up and attacked the Spearow before running off and leaving us to deal with it." Ash explained.
Leaf's eyes were wide. "The same Diglett? Wow! No, I didn't see any flocks, I didn't stay on the roads though, I've wandered around the forest outside of town enough to know them pretty well." She pouted. "But after Viridian I had to start following them, otherwise I would get lost."
"As for your other question." Misty cut in before the younger kids could get too far off-topic. "Team Rocket is a gang of criminals and thieves. They attacked the Pokemon center in Viridian City."
"Was that what that noise was?" Leaf wondered. "I heard a big bang and alarms, I think? I just took it as a sign it was time to get going. Weird it was still night time though."
Misty glanced at Ash for confirmation that this was normal, but Ash just shrugged. He knew Leaf a little bit but not super well. She had been pretty bubbly whenever they met though.
"Yeah no, it was the Center being attacked and Pikachu igniting a Smokescreen that blew the roof off of the place. No Pokemon got stolen so the only thing they caused was damage." Misty explained.
Leaf gasped. "Pikachu! Where is he? I will not rest until he accepts my hugs!" She searched Ash, first with her eyes, and then opening up his overshirt and rustling around his hair, as though she expected Pikachu to be hiding somewhere.
"Hey!" He protested and took a step back. Thankfully she hadn't been too rough but better safe than sorry. He did not want his illusion bursting in the middle of a Pokemon center.
"Is he not with you?" She looked remarkably upset for a girl whose last interaction with the electric type was getting shocked by him.
"He's being looked at by Nurse Joy, him, and Pidgeotto," Ash admitted feeling a bit ruffled.
"Oh, you got a Pidgeotto too! Let's go get them. I want to meet them and you can meet my friends too! Here, meet Bugsworth!" She handed Ash the Metapod and marched over to the desk.
Ash looked down at the Metapod. The Metapod looked up at Ash.
"Good day my fine sir, how are you on this lovely afternoon?" Bugsworth greeted him with what sounded like a posh Galarian accent.
"Uhh, I'm fine, thanks," Ash answered.
"Wait, did you just answer me?" The accent completely disappeared from Bugsworth's voice.
Ash, using all of his well-trained deception skills, answered. "No."
The bug type in his arms hummed. "Most unusual, this warrants further study." The accent returned as though it had never left.
"What do you mean I can't receive someone else's Pokemon!?" Leaf's raised voice reached them from where she stood arguing with Nurse Joy.
"We should probably go and stop her before she causes trouble," Misty suggested helpfully.
"Probably a good call." Ash agreed and they followed after the other trainer.
Pokemon Centers provided a variety of facilities for trainers and their Pokemon, as well as the local community at large.
While Nurse Joy is the face most commonly associated with the Center, other people can work there as well, either as volunteers or trained nurses. While less famous they are no less valuable to the continued function of the facility.
From basic medical care for humans and advanced care for Pokemon, they covered the medical needs of many people. But their usage goes beyond healthcare aid.
For instance, most if not all centers provide some form of lodging for traveling trainers, as long as they are officially registered they can stay two nights free of charge, any longer and they build up a small fee but this can be paid later if they do not have the money available at the moment. Most trainers can easily pay it once they start advancing through the league so debt collection is normally a minor problem.
Beyond lodgings, some centers in bigger towns provide cafeteria spaces with a few bland free options packed with vital nutrients and other tastier varieties of food that cost some Pokedollars. These cafeterias are rarely very popular but they are spacious and allow all of a trainer's Pokemon to come out of their balls rather than just the one or two a normal restaurant would allow.
Some of the larger centers, particularly in cities, had training grounds accessible in the back. Nominally, these are open not just to officially licensed trainers, but to anyone with a Pokemon and a desire to practice or just get exercise.
Now with the number of free services a center provides many would think that it would go under with no money to stay running. But Pokemon Centers are parts of their community. They run on the same money that runs libraries and schools, beyond that they too participate in the community, running events and fundraisers.
It was the cafeteria that the group of trainers and Pokemon found themselves in now. Pidgeotto was filled in on what happened in the second half of the battle and she had her own thoughts on how things had turned out.
"I mean, you won didn't you?" She pressed Pikachu who grumbled.
"Technically but only because of outside interference. That's not a fair win." He complained.
Pidgeotto stared at him, apparently bewildered. "So? Not every fight is going to be fair, you have to do what it takes to win sometimes, I know official battles are supposed to have rules but you didn't break any! Even the Gym Leader agreed it was your win. Fairness is the metaphorical feather fairy of battling."
"I'm not going to start cheating!" Pikachu protested, he filed the 'feather fairy' away as something to ask about later.
"I didn't say cheat. I mean fight dirty, don't be afraid to throw sand in your opponent's eyes I guess, I've had to do that to get out of a scrape or two when I was a Pidgey." She shuddered. "I've heard you two talk about Spearow? Fearow are much more terrifying."
Pikachu flicked his ear. "I'll take your word for it." He sighed. "I don't know, it feels like I got lucky, that I didn't win, at least not really." He hated that. It felt like he wasn't strong enough. Pidgeotto had won her match on her own. Why couldn't he?
Was he just not good enough?
"Sometimes it comes down to luck," Pidgeotto confirmed, not knowing the internal debate her teammate was having. "Let's eat, we'll talk more about it tonight I guess."
Ash had gotten some strange looks from other trainers in the room when he'd put the bowls of Pokemon chow on the table next to him instead of the floor but he ignored them.
Subtlety he nabbed a few pieces for himself when he got back to the table and sat down before the two humans got back. He was pretty sure some older trainer across the room had seen him do it but they didn't say anything apart from raising an eyebrow.
The two girls sat down, Misty next to Ash and Leaf across from them. She cooed over Pikachu and Pidgeotto a bit but even she seemed to understand that it would be rude to stop them from eating. Instead, she swallowed a few bites of rice and began to send out her team members.
Bulbasaur shook himself as he emerged again. "Ah, finally. It was getting stuffy in there. Good for naps, bad for sleep."
Leaf fluffed his bulb a bit and apologized for leaving him in so long. He had voluntarily gone in when they got lost so they wouldn't accidentally separate and make the problem worse. She introduced him again to Ash.
"So you met him a bit at the lab but he has a name now! This is Fanghorn!" She brought him up to the table as well.
"Hello again." Fanghorn waved a vine at them.
"Interesting name," Misty commented.
"It means Treebeard. He doesn't have a beard yet though, but we'll work on it." Leaf explained and sent out her third-party member.
This one was a Pidgey who ruffled their feathers and blinked at them. They stared at Pidgeotto for a minute. They tilted their head and asked, "Big sister?"
Pidgeotto stopped eating for a second and looked at the tiny bird Pokemon. She considered him for a minute. "Little brother." She agreed and went back to eating, the other flying-type quickly followed her example, and no more was said on the matter.
Leaf glanced between the two birds and shrugged. "Well, this is Pidget. He's a Pidgey."
"Pidget?" Ash repeated.
"I just said Pidgey wrong by accident and he liked it. He won't answer to anything else now." She took out her last ball. "And last but not least!"
She released the final Pokemon on the table and it took a familiar form with a slight deviation in the tail. "Chewie!" Leaf introduced proudly. A second Pikachu was now doing some stretches on the table.
Pikachu (Ash's friend) started choking on his Pokemon chow.
"Free at last!" Chewie announced flicking her ears one after the other, as though making sure they were still there.
"Nice to meet you all," Ash told the group of Pokemon.
"Uh, yeah!" Misty agreed and started letting out her Pokemon. Unfortunately, Goldeen couldn't sit with them but there was a nearby tank for water-bound Pokemon to swim around and interact.
Staryu and Starmie stayed with the group, however.
"Returning again! The hero of water! I am Staryu the Brave! Protector of the ocean and all that dwell in it!" Staryu introduced himself to the group.
"Very good sweety." Starmie praised the other starfish. "Now come and eat, we have Pokemon chow!"
"Mooommm..." Staryu complained and Ash did a quick double-take and glanced at Misty. He wondered if she knew they were related or not. She probably did but he should still mention it to her later just in case.
So the group ate and talked. Leaf rambled about her journey through the woods and mentioned the Samurai. His Pinsir had given her a bit of trouble but nothing they had not been able to handle.
"Oh, have you challenged the gym yet?" Leaf asked Ash and his mood soured a bit.
"Yeah, I did." His tone of voice must have made his feelings on the matter evident because she picked up on his downcast mood.
"Shoot, did you lose?" She muttered. "I'm sorry."
"No." Ash sighed. "I didn't lose, though I should have. I think. I don't know anymore." He grumbled and Leaf just looked confused.
With some reluctance, he relayed the story of his battle with Brock and his, quite frankly, unsatisfying win. Leaf considered for a few minutes as she chewed her food.
"That bites. I don't think I'd want to win like that either. At least he gave you a choice to go at it again." She unknowingly quoted Misty.
"Yeah, I guess." Ash had been repeating the same thing to himself but it felt almost tainted. Other trainers had lost against Brock in the past and more would in the future. And here he was with his badge and all he could think about was repeating the battle so he could get it his way.
He did not like how the situation made him feel at all.
As the group finished eating Pikachu and Chewie inspected each other.
"She managed to get her own Pikachu then." Pikachu noticed. "Good, that means I won't have to worry about getting hugged anymore." That was a relief, that girl was way too touchy-feely, not to mention she had human cooties.
Chewie's eyes narrowed. "What's wrong with her hugs? Leaf gives the best hugs."
"I do not like hugs." Pikachu stuck his tongue out at the other electric type. "Especially human hugs."
"Well, this mouse needs hugs!" Chewie declared and went over to her trainer. Leaf automatically took the Pokemon in her arms. She looked back at Pikachu. "Now you and your trainer do the same."
Ash hid his smile with his fist as Pikachu pouted. "I do not do hugs. I have only ever done a hug once and it was a very emotional moment."
The hug discussion soon ended with Leaf trying (and failing) to hug Pikachu again before they went their separate ways. Leaf decided it was too late for her to try and challenge Brock so she just took her team and went to bed. Misty went to her room and Ash brought his friends to his.
With the door closed and locked he dropped his disguise and sighed. "Alright, let's talk about what we're doing."
"What's there to talk about?" Pidgeotto pressed. "We won, maybe not in a satisfying way." She conceded before Pikachu could interject. "But we did win. There are other battles ahead of us, it's not like this will be our only Gym Battle, and maybe we'll have disappointing wins later too. Are we going to complain about it every time?"
Ash considered her words. "You have a point there. I mean luck is part of battling but this one felt cheap."
"We did put in work." Pikachu reluctantly admitted. "I still don't like how it ended though."
"I don't know what to do," Ash admitted. "I want to try again but it feels like I'm being ungrateful. Brock decided to give us the win and I know I should respect that. But I want to prove that we can do it without relying on chance."
"Hmm." Pikachu didn't give a concrete answer. Pidgeotto ruffled her wings a bit but didn't add anything. They had said their piece.
Ash grumbled. "I guess I should take Brock's advice and give it some time. Let's get some sleep. Maybe that's what I need."
With that temporary procrastination, the three settled into bed for the night.
After a small breakfast, Ash's group made their way to the training field behind the gym. Whatever choice he made they were still going to train for whatever came next.
"Alright Pidgeotto, we need to work on you maintaining Quick Attack," he announced. "We'll put it to work with evasion training later but for now we just need to build up your endurance for using it."
"Makes sense." Pidgeotto agreed. "I tired myself out way too quickly during that fight. I didn't even take that much damage, I was just exhausted."
"Yeah, Quick Attack is pretty draining, especially with repeated use. You're pushing yourself beyond your normal limits for a burst of speed." Ash explained. "When I first learned it I used it for everything. Even little things like going up and down stairs. I would just knock myself out with exhaustion, eventually, I did get better at it and stopped using it as much as I got older."
"I don't remember this," Pikachu muttered in thought.
"It was before we met." Ash brushed off, "I wasn't even a year old I think. It was a long time ago."
"It does explain a few things though." Pikachu noticed, no doubt remembering times when he had to build up his endurance to keep up with Ash. "Come to think of it, how old were you when we met?"
Ash met his gaze deadpan. "This is why you need to pay attention to human stuff, we met six years ago and I needed to be ten to be a trainer."
"Math is for people with glasses." Pikachu generalized. "But huh, I never thought about it much. Weird that you're at least three years older than me though."
Ash stared for a moment before laughing. Pikachu glared at him. "What?"
"You were a Pichu, a 'baby Pokemon.'" Ash laughed. "And you literally were a baby!"
"What's that say about you?" Pikachu teased as Pidgeotto watched the conversation with amusement. "Beating up a little baby Pichu, the big mean dark-type picking on the poor little mouse."
"You started it and you know it." Ash brushed it off. "Anyway, your training is a bit harder. I'm not sure what to work on."
Pikachu considered the opportunity. "I need a way out of Bind or something like that but I don't know anything I can use to get out of it. Well if it's a ground type at least. I think Discharge would work for other Pokemon."
"I can't think of anything either." Ash noted. "I guess I'll have to do some research on my end. Do you want to work on learning Discharge then?"
Pikachu thought about that. "Not yet, maybe later, there was something though, I only did it a little but my tailbone was starting to ache as I kept using Iron Tail."
"That's something for both of you." Ash decided. "Work on your steel-type attacks. I know they make you kind of sore and that's the problem. We'll need to train so that you don't feel it as much."
Pidgeotto grimaced. "I assume I'm going to be hitting rocks with my wings until they fall off?"
"Not yet." Ash assured her. "We'll do the Quick Attack training first for you, Pikachu…" He had an idea but he'd need some help.
It quickly appeared in the form of Misty entering the training fields. "Morning Ash, you're at it pretty early."
"We don't have to travel for a bit so we can make use of the full day for training." Ash told her. "Better to start early so we can take a rest and then go back at it later."
"Makes sense." She agreed. "I was going to do some myself. Watching you work at it kind of gave me a bit of a training bug. I haven't been able to train with Goldeen while we're traveling but there's a pool here for water-types like her to practice in."
"Hey, can you do me a favor?" Ash asked her. She nodded and he continued. "I want to work with Pikachu on something but well I don't think unsupervised Pokemon are allowed on the field."
"What do you- oh!" She realized what he was talking about. "I'll stay nearby, just try and keep closer to the pool if you can so I can focus on my training."
"No problem." Ash assured her and checked the field. There weren't too many people on it this early. Some older trainers on the far end were focused on their training. "Cover me for a second." He ducked behind her and dropped the illusion.
The fact there were no gasps or sharp intakes of breath implied that they had gotten away with it. Now in his true form, Ash and Misty led his team members over to the field closest to the training pool.
Misty let out her Pokemon and Ash turned his attention to his. With Pidgeotto flying through the air, frequently using Quick Attack, Ash turned his attention to Pikachu.
"What are we doing?" Pikachu asked him.
"I was thinking." Ash responded, dropping the human language just in case anyone wandered nearby. "What went wrong in that battle was getting caught in stuff you just couldn't avoid easily. There's not much we can do without an Onix to fight against but what if we could practice dodging something similarly difficult to dodge?" Ash's grin was positively fox-like.
"Like what?" Pikachu braced himself to move, seeing what was coming.
Ash's smile somehow widened, using it to mask the painful thoughts he was drudging up. "Night Daze!" He declared and a shockwave of darkness spread out from him.
Pikachu yelped and hit the ground, covering his head. The attack still managed to graze along his back and the yellow pokemon hissed in pain.
He pushed himself back up. "A bit more warning would be nice."
"Will Onix give you a warning when he uses dig?" Ash pressed. "Or when you commit and get caught in a bind?"
"No," Pikachu sighed. "You're right but I don't have to like it."
"Fair enough." Ash told him. "Night Daze." He repeated the attack.
Learning from his mistakes Pikachu darted backward as the wave spread. Even as it began to disperse it still covered a much larger area and still managed to catch Pikachu at the edge of it.
Ash repeated the attack once more and Pikachu rushed toward it this time. The Zorua was confused for a second but he watched Pikachu glow with Quick Attack for a moment before trying to leap over the spread of shadows. It wasn't high enough unfortunately and the force of it knocked Pikachu backward and to the ground.
The sturdy electric type quickly stood and shook himself though. "AGAIN!" He demanded and ran opposite Ash before turning to face him once more. Ash nodded and unleashed Night Daze a fourth time. Pikachu rushed towards it again and leaped in the same maneuver, this time with more altitude. Landing behind the waves of Night Daze he rushed forwards and Ash could only brace himself as his friend spun and slammed an Iron Tail into his skull.
Ash yelped in pain as he was knocked back a bit. "Ow ow ow." He grumbled and rubbed at his forehead.
"Should we do it again?" Pikachu asked, sounding mighty cheeky.
"Yeah." Ash agreed, it would be pretty hypocritical of him if he was going to give up at a little bit of damage.
They repeated this training several times, Ash working on dodging the Iron Tails Pikachu threw at him and Pikachu working on his jumping and leaping. After a few goes at it though they tried experimenting with other ways around the shockwave-like attack.
Pikachu burrowed into the ground a bit as the attack rushed at him, not far, just enough that it would pass harmlessly over him. Sadly his tail got caught up in it so it was not entirely effective but it was an interesting idea. They moved over one field to one with rockier terrain and tried using the boulders as barriers between attack and Pokemon. This worked fairly well but they only did it a couple of times before going back to the original technique.
Pidgeotto had since exhausted herself using Quick Attack on repeat and they stopped for lunch. Misty took a break from her training to join them. Ash had trouble focusing on his meal though. His head was killing him, and being hit repeatedly in the face with Iron Tail was a good source of headaches.
As he sat there, wondering if massaging his temples would help considering he was now back in his disguise, Leaf sat down near him and Misty again. "You guys look tuckered out and it's only noon! You've been training hard?"
"Yeah, really hard." Ash mumbled barely paying attention. He did pay attention though when Pikachu's head turned towards him at lightspeed with wide and worried eyes.
Leaf looked surprised herself. "I… I'm sorry, could you repeat that Ash?"
"Ash language!" Pikachu hissed urgently and Ash realized his mistake and nearly started hyperventilating.
Headache momentarily forgotten Ash waved his hands frantically. "Sorry! I said yeah, we've been training really hard, I have a bit of a headache. I don't know what it must have sounded like."
"You sounded like… it's nothing." Leaf decided with a shake of her head. "Anyway I'm going to go take my shot at Brock today so wish me luck!"
"Good luck, am I allowed to tell you anything about his team?" he glanced at Misty who shrugged.
"No rules against it. But some gym leaders might feel like it ruins the surprise."
"In that case, I'll leave it with good luck." Ash told Leaf who accepted graciously. With a quick bite to eat, she was off again and Ash's team returned to the training field. This time they focused on the steel-type moves for the rest of the day.
As the sun began to dip they took a seat at the edge of the field and watched some of the other trainers work on their training.
"I'm beat." Pikachu declared without fanfare.
"Word." Pidgeotto agreed.
"What word?" Ash asked obtusely and moved his hand out of the way of slow and poorly aimed Peck. "Careful."
"I was, it would have gone in between your fingers if you hadn't moved." Her eyes crossed. "I think. You are supposed to have eight of them right? And two heads?"
"I don't think so." Ash counted his fingers just to be sure he had the right amount. He sighed and pushed himself to his feet with some effort. "Come on you two, let's head back in and get some food and rest."
Misty had gone off on her own earlier. She'd wanted to take a look around town. She'd asked him if he wanted to come but he had decided to focus on training for now. With that done now, they were just tired. Inside, however, they ran into Leaf again who seemed more bubbly than usual.
"Behold!" She declared holding up her hand. A gleaming shape rested in it. "The Boulder Badge of Pewter City!"
Ash swallowed the ugly bitter thoughts that welled up in him and focused on the cheer his acquaintance exuded. "Congratulations." He told her, he really did mean it, and he disliked how it sounded a bit hollow.
Leaf either didn't notice or didn't care. "Brock's a tough cookie. Geodude took Bugsworth out easily! But Fanghorn carried us to victory!"
"Don't be hasty." The Bulbasaur said. "That Onix almost crushed me."
"Onix was a hard one. We got caught in that Bind too but Bulbasaur used Seed Bomb to get out of it, which took Onix down with it." Leaf explained how the battle ended.
Ash hummed. "I wonder if Pikachu can learn Seed Bomb?" He muttered to himself.
Leaf laughed. "Maybe you should try it! It does suck that Electric-type moves won't work on Onix, Pikachu would be able to beat him with no problem if they did."
"Darn straight I would!" Pikachu agreed from where he lounged on Ash's shoulder, hanging loosely.
"Yeah." Ash rubbed his face. "I'm gonna eat and head to bed. We're pretty beat."
"Have a good one." Leaf told him. "We're going out to celebrate! Good night!" she waved them off and Ash watched her go.
After a slow and vaguely unsatisfying meal, the team found themselves in Ash's room again.
"What are we doing guys?" Ash asked them, unceremoniously dropping his disguise. "We won, didn't we? Look at Leaf, she's out celebrating with her team. Meanwhile, we're just moping because we didn't win how we wanted."
"Correction." Pidgeotto interjected. "You two are moping. I'm fine with how things turned out."
"Good for you." Pikachu shot her a tired glare.
"I'm just saying." She held up her wings placatingly. "We take the win, there will be other battles, let this one lie as it does."
Ash sighed. "You're right. I know you are, but I still can't make myself feel good about it."
"Then don't." Pidgeotto told him. "Remember it and what it represents and endeavor to be better."
"Fine then, we'll take the win. We got the badge, there are other gyms out there." Ash decided and with those final words, the decision was made.
Pikachu was oddly silent after that but he might have just been tired. They all lay down and went to sleep.
It was hours later that Ash woke up. He opened his eyes to see Pidgeotto standing over him.
"Pikachu's gone." She told him and he scrambled up in a panic.
"What?!" He gasped, "Where? When?"
"I don't know." She shrugged. "I was having a dream about flying in space and my wings disappeared and I fell back to Earth. That woke me up to find he was gone, his spot's still a little warm, can't have been gone for more than an hour."
Ash quickly put his disguise back up and the two of them left the notably unlocked room. And glanced up and down the hall. "Where could he have gone?" Ash whispered.
"I don't know, do you want to split up?"
"Yeah, I'll take the inside, you take a fly around outside and see if you can spot him." Ash told her and went back into his room and opened the window to let her out.
The two began their search and it wasn't long before Pidgeotto found him back outside on the training ground and came back to find Ash.
Technically, it was supposed to be closed at this hour but that wasn't stopping Pikachu. He was certainly making plenty of noise which is what let the flying-type find him so quickly.
Ash and Pidgeotto slowly approached as Pikachu brought the wrath of Arceus down upon the boulders in the training space. They stood back and watched as he slammed repeated Iron Tails into the boulder before blasting it with Thunder Bolts.
He didn't seem to have noticed them at first but after splitting the boulder with the last Iron Tail and blasting it with the biggest Thunder Bolt Ash had seen from Pikachu since the Spearow flock he flopped backward on his back and looked at them.
He saw Ash and his eyes started watering. "I'm a failure." He announced.
"What?!" Ash gasped in horror at the words. He rushed forwards and scooped his friend up. "You're not a failure! Why would you think that?"
"If I had beat Onix it would have been perfect, we'd have won our first gym badge and we'd be happy and as upbeat as Leaf was." He explained, emotion dripping into his voice. "But I couldn't and I broke the sprinklers and that's why we won. Not because I was strong or because I can handle myself in a fight, but because I broke the stupid building."
He looked at Pidgeotto. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I shouldn't worry about fairness, and I'm not sure I do. I'm worried that I'm not good enough. Everything we'd been preparing for, and I can't even win when it counts. What's going to happen at the next gym or the one after? Am I going to get lucky every time?"
Pidgeotto stayed quiet and let the electric-type continue. "I just have to get better and better. I can't rest. I have to make sure the next time an Onix or some other ground type or some human in a mask with a monster and a sack shows up I can beat them. I won't run away, I won't hide and get lucky. I need to win."
Ash hugged Pikachu tightly and his friend let him, without complaint for once. "Pikachu, you're a big dummy."
"Excuse me?" Pikachu sounded legitimately offended, not the normal fake tone he'd use when bantering.
"You're not weak, you're not just lucky! You're amazing! You took out an entire Spearow flock and blasted away a storm! You blew the roof off of a Pokemon Center! You make Thunder Shocks look like Thunder Bolts and Thunder Bolts look…" Ash struggled for an attack name before settling on, "Legendary! You knocked out an Onix with electricity, water or not that shouldn't even be possible. Maybe it was lucky but you know what, I'm lucky that I have you as my teammate!"
"You're my friend and I don't like people talking down to friends, so Pikachu." He looked at his friend in his still watery eyes. "Don't say mean things about my friend Pikachu."
That was the straw that broke the Camerupt's back and Pikachu started crying and laughing at the same time Ash joined him and Pidgeotto, not quite as emotional as the other two, giggled alongside. But even she was affected by Pikachu's words, just a little at least.
"Alright, you've made your point." She said, she looked at Ash. "I know you said that we were going to keep the badge we got but…"
"Yeah." He acknowledged. "We'll do it, we'll train again tomorrow and the day after, we'll face Brock again."
They went back to the room after that, somewhat glad they hadn't woken anyone else up with their late-night activities and got some more sleep.
The next day went as planned, they woke up early again and got to work training, much in the same way they had yesterday. Pidgeotto was building up her endurance and Pikachu was working on dodging Night Daze and managing high jumps for longer periods. They even took a few chances to help Pidgeotto use Quick Attack to dodge some more.
When they sat down for lunch they talked about strategy, a new more aggressive fighting style, and ideas to deal with Onix's attacks.
After lunch they worked on the steel-type moves into the night, shattering boulders on the training fields left and right. Misty stayed around a bit longer this time and watched them go at it.
"You guys are like machines, you're really focused on this. It's kind of intimidating actually."
"Don't be silly Misty!" Ash consoled her. "None of us have Intimidate as an ability!"
With the full second day of training finished they got some rest, staying asleep a bit longer this time before heading out the next day.
As they walked towards the Pewter Gym once again Ash noticed something about Misty. "Hey! Your crutches are gone!"
"Yep!" she agreed cheerfully. "Nurse Joy took a look at my cut and decided it was safe enough for me to lose the crutches. She did tell me to be a bit careful for a little longer but most of the danger of it reopening has passed."
With that bit of good news, they reached the gym. Ash stood at the door for a moment and took a deep breath and pushed his way inside.
They were met with total darkness again but Ash strode forward with determination.
The lights came on and Brock stood opposite them smiling. "So you did come back. I thought you might but I figured I'd still leave you the option."
"I almost took it." Ash admitted and looked at the Boulder Badge in his hand. "I thought I'd decided. But I had a conversation with a friend that made me change my mind." He hurled the badge over the field towards Brock. "Maybe we will win through luck sometimes, maybe that's not a bad thing. But Gym Battles are supposed to be about proving you're strong enough, right? If we can't win the first Badge on our own how can we expect ourselves to win the next one?"
Brock looked at the badge he'd received back and considered Ash's words. "That's pretty well thought out. Sounds like you took my advice and thought about it. But don't forget, this will be a harder battle."
"We'll see about that!" Ash called back and took a stance. Maybe it was unnecessary but it felt right. Misty stood a bit behind him this time instead of sitting off to the side. She probably wanted to get a better view of what was happening.
"Same rules as last time." Was Brock's response. "I'm sure you remember," he took out his Pokeball, "I'll keep the same lineup just so you know. Once more Geodude!"
Geodude appeared on the field again, beating a nonexistent chest. "Back at it again!"
Ash looked at Pikachu. "You want to go first this time or do you want to have a proper rematch with Onix?"
Pikachu looked at Geodude and considered. "I know I said Pidgeotto was no longer allowed to go first, but yeah I want the big guy."
"Thanks for asking me." Pidgeotto teased the boys. "But I'm fine with it."
"Go Pidgeotto!" Ash announced as she flew over the rocky terrain.
"Challenger ready?" Brock asked and when Ash nodded he declared. "Match start! Geodude Harden and then Rock Polish!"
"Give no quarter Pidgeotto! Hit him with Steel Wing!" Ash took a much more aggressive stance this time as opposed to Brock's defensive one.
Pidgeotto lanced through the sky with blistering speed and struck Geodude with Steel Wing, the rock type winced but stayed stalwart and began to use Rock Polish.
"Quick Attack! Hit him again now!" Ash ordered and Pidgeotto followed through, using the Quick Attack to speed back around and strike Geodude from behind with another Steel Wing.
"New formula huh?" Brock considered as he watched the battle unfold.
"You said it yourself, but you weren't the only one to learn from our last battle." Ash wanted to get Geodude out of the fight before he could use Rollout and build up momentum.
"Fair enough." Brock agreed. "Rock Throw, take it out of the sky!"
"Quick Attack to dodge! As often as you need!" Ash directed.
Geodude began chucking rocks rapidly at Pidgeotto. With her newly trained endurance though she was zipping around them like a remote control drone. Geodude was starting to look frustrated.
"I used Rock Polish, how are you still dodging?" The rock-type complained.
"It's called being really good at flying." She sassed him and twirled around another thrown rock.
"Don't let him wear you out Pidgeotto!" Ash warned. "Steel Wing again!"
She swooped in and struck as Geodude was rearing back to throw again. The bird Pokemon's attack stopped the Rock Throw in its tracks and even with Harden Geodude was starting to show fatigue.
"Let's finish this. Rush him with Quick Attack and then use Steel Wing again!"
"You're too reliant on that technique!" Brock warned. "Geodude Rollout when it comes at you!"
Ash clenched his fist. "Brace yourself Pidgeotto, you can do this!"
"Of course, I can!" She cried out as the two prepared their attacks. She coasted along the ground at massive speed as both her wings began to glow with a metallic shimmer. Opposite her Geodude began to spin and launched forwards.
The two collided in the middle of the field with a sound that wouldn't sound out of place in a mineshaft. After the collision Pidgeotto went a few more feet and hit the ground while Geodude rolled to a stop behind her.
Ash grimaced at the result but before he could make any calls Geodude gasped and collapsed, unable to stay conscious any longer. Pidgeotto on the other hand struggled to her feet and beat her wings a couple of times, likely making sure they weren't injured. She met Ash's gaze with pride. "I'm the best!"
The sound of hands clapping recalled their attention. "Well done! But you're only halfway there." Brock congratulated them.
Ash nodded. "Right, Pidgeotto do you want to stay out?" He asked.
Pidgeotto's gaze shifted to Pikachu. "I can stay out but do you want to do a proper rematch?"
Pikachu looked at her, she could probably keep going for a bit longer, she'd only been hit once by Geodude but Onix was a big opponent.
More than that Pikachu wanted to beat Onix, completely on his own, or well with Ash helping a bit, but the point stood.
"Take a break." He decided. "If I can't do it you'll have to finish it." He cautioned her.
"Do your best." She muttered as they passed each other.
"In case you were worried, when I saw you guys coming I deactivated the sprinkler system." Brock told them with a raised voice. "It's a bit of a hazard but I'm going to turn it back on as soon as we're done."
"Why does this place even have sprinklers?" Misty asked. "It's made of stone and metal?"
"We have had some very determined fire Pokemon come through here." Brock chuckled.
"Fair enough." She conceded.
Pikachu stood on the field in a tough guy stance as Onix appeared on the field. He looked a bit wearier this time.
"I'm sure that you hear this a lot," he told the much smaller Pokemon. "But electricity really, really hurts."
"So I've been told." Pikachu acknowledged and Brock announced the start of the match.
"Onix use Screech!" Brock ordered and the stone Pokemon screamed.
Ash felt it in his bones, not his illusion but his actual body buried somewhere underneath the power of his ability. He covered his ears and cowered at the sound.
Pikachu was in the same boat if not worse, being so close. When the noise stopped he straightened up shakily.
"You must be a riot at parties," Pikachu grumbled at Onix.
"I don't go to parties."
"Lame." Pikachu decided as the battle began to take swing.
"Pikachu Quick Attack! Stay mobile and stay moving! Iron Tail wherever you can!" Ash gave his directions and Pikachu began to move.
Rather than focusing on striking Onix in the head or a specific spot the goal was to deal as much damage as quickly as possible. The more they wore him down the less efficient he'd be in battle.
As the first Iron Tail struck Brock called out the next attack. "Dig! Get underground!"
"Don't let him!" Ash called.
"Huh?" Brock seemed confused by the direction but Pikachu knew what to do.
As Onix reared back to dive under the ground Pikachu rushed forwards. As the rock snake's head was about to reach the ground it was knocked aside by an Iron Tail.
Onix roared in pain and crashed onto his side. "Nice shot! Hit him again before he can recover!"
Pikachu immediately did so. Maybe before he'd have felt a bit sorry about it but he was in it to win it.
Onix growled in pain as the attack hit him again and hauled himself up. "Brock, I could use some ideas here."
Brock couldn't understand the words but he got the message. "Let him move in again, you know what to do!"
"Not this time!" Ash defied them. "Pikachu like we practiced!"
As Pikachu rushed forwards in a Quick Attack and Onix prepared to use Bind on him. The Electric mouse leaped into the air, far over the entrapping tail.
Misty gasped next to him, "Oh wow!" and across the field, Brock's jaw dropped.
Pikachu had jumped from the ground of the gym all the way up to the ceiling. That was higher than he'd expected but he wasn't about to look a gift Ponyta in the mouth.
"Finish it with Iron Tail!" Ash all but cheered as Pikachu came back down and slammed his tail onto Onix's head, the giant Pokemon collapsing to the ground.
Pikachu landed on top of the head. Still tense and waiting for Onix to move again. But Onix was out for the count.
Brock could see the end and smiled. "Onix is unable to battle, the challenger wins!"
Without a moment to spare, Pikachu rushed back across the field and jumped onto Ash.
"Did you see that? It was like I was flying! I don't know what I did differently this time but it was awesome!" The other Pokemon blathered at him as Ash held him.
"You are awesome!" Ash told him and looked up as Brock approached after returning Onix.
"Well if you had any doubt before, I think you've cleared it up. The Boulder Badge, no provisions whatsoever." Ash took the badge from Brock's hand with pride this time.
"Thanks, Brock." Ash told him. "You're good at this gym leader thing, the guy at the edge of town was right."
"It's interesting being a leader. You have to know how to lose, at the end of the day it's about challenging trainers to do their best, not beating them into the ground." Brock explained. "It can be a difficult balance to strike and it's hard to do case by case. That's because you also need to know when to let trainers win. I couldn't quite decide with you. You put the work in before and you did knock out my Pokemon even if some luck was involved, but this time there's no question."
He paused for a second, processing Ash's words, "Also, a guy at the edge of town?"
"Oh, there's a guy called Flint who sells souvenir rocks." Brock went rigid. "He said you were good at being a Gym Leader."
Brock relaxed after a second. "He did huh? Maybe I should go meet him."
Ash sensed there was something more there but decided not to pry. He thanked the older trainer again, shook his hand, and waved goodbye with Misty as they departed the gym once more, this time in much higher spirits.
"It all worked out in the end then." Misty pointed out as they walked back to the Pokemon Center. "You stomped it your second go-through."
"We wanted to win, without luck this time." Ash pointed out. "Maybe this whole thing was a bit silly but we had to prove something, maybe not to you or Brock, but to ourselves."
"Quite the philosopher aren't you." The girl teased him and he pouted.
"It's not that deep," he pointed out. "You don't have to make me sound smarter."
Misty rolled her eyes. "It's a compliment, you dunce. I'll take it back if it makes you feel better."
"Nah, I'll keep it." Ash thought the title over. Ash Ketchum, Professional Philosophical Zorua.
"Happy endings all around then." Misty decided. "Are we going to head out today or tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow morning seems best." Ash considered. "We'd make more progress before the night that way." The excitement began to creep into his voice.
"You sound a bit eager." Misty prodded.
"I wanna see Mount Moon." He admitted. "Mom met her Clefairy there when she was on her journey and she said they had this whole society going on in the mountains. I kind of want to see it."
"Sounds interesting." The water-type trainer admitted. "Let's get something to eat, it's late and I think you should finally celebrate your win."
Ash smiled, "Yeah, let's get Pidgeotto and Pikachu checked out and we'll head to that diner again." He took the Gym Badge back out of his pocket and admired it. True, it was the same one he'd been holding onto the past couple of days. But it felt more real now.
He glanced at Pikachu who had now returned to his regular shoulder perch and smiled. "One down."
"Seven to go," Pikachu added. "And for the love of whatever Legendary Pokemon you want to choose, let there be no more ground types!"
So this was a big chapter.
Biggest for this story and I think the longest I've put on this website. I might need to double-check that but I'm pretty sure I'm right.
So before we go any further let's address the Donphan in the room.
I am fond of Brock.
I'd even go so far as to say I like him.
I have no idea how I would use him in this story.
Like believe me, I thought long and hard about it. Even tested out some dialogue exchanges just to see how well I could integrate him with the rest of the group, as it turns out, not well.
He'd just kind of… get left out of the conversation as it evolved. I would have to remind myself he was there. My first thought was playing him as a bit of a straight man to the rest of the team but Misty is already kind of filling that role.
I made the decision a little while ago, since around the time I started posting again but I did take a pause to seriously consider while I was writing this chapter. Especially since I saw people mentioning him joining up in the reviews.
But I just couldn't make it work in a way I wanted to. I did leave the end for Brock a bit open ended so maybe we can check in on him in a later chapter. Does he get his father to stop being a deadbeat? Will his Mom also stop being a deadbeat? Will he ever find a girlfriend?
Yeah, I also didn't want to write him going googly eyed every time he saw a pretty girl. It was funny a few times and the Brock handler for whatever season it was would grab him before things got uncomfortable but it does get repetitive.
With Brock addressed, let's get to the reviews!
PenguinBandit523: Team Rocket are MIA this chapter but will appear again along with whatever scene they have next. As for Brock, well I already talked about that and you read the chapter. I feel a little bad but not bad enough to try and force him into the story unnaturally.
Only a Guest in Disguise: Team Rocket are on the hunt for Vulpix, where will they find it? Who knows! And yes, that was a reference.
PokeDan: At the moment his battle style is a bit similar to the one we know from the anime, hit fast and hard but that's because he's a bit more advanced starting out, Pokemon age and mature differently after all. He's going to adjust his style as he gets more experience.
Ultima-owner: I don't know, it could just be a really cool looking rock, nothing suspicious whatsoever.
LEGOBRICK13: Woo boy. So this review is interesting if a bit confusing. It definitely reads like a train of thought. It's very interesting to get a look into the thoughts and ideas my story inspires. You actually chanced onto a few ideas I was already planning on (I won't tell you which ones, you'll have to wait and see) and gave me some new ones to think about! Whatever the case, thank you for the review, and if you want to stick around and bounce more ideas about feel free to join the discord, a little quiet in there right now but it's beginning to fill up.
Lupercus1944: I'm honestly glad you like the banter between Ash and Pikachu so much, I'm going to enjoy slowly adding new members to the general discussion and let personalities mix and match. But it does touch on something I tried to address in this chapter. That banter alone does not make them friends. Friends do banter but I wanted to make sure the emotional cornerstone is still there to see. Hopefully I did that well. I did briefly consider giving Ash a Spearow. It would have been an interesting source of conflict within the group but I wanted to give Ash a bit of a tightly knit core team before I started throwing curveballs at him. Team Rocket are still on the hunt for this strange new regional variant of Vulpix, hopefully they find it! And yeah, despite being slightly more mature, Ash has been a bit sheltered. He's seen glimpses of bad things in the world, from Pikachu and Team Rocket but he doesn't yet realize just how bad some people can be.
Emerald Lynx: So as I mentioned before Chou was a character I bugged my friend Jesse into helping me make when I got to the lab scene and realized I needed a fourth trainer. When I saw your review, I showed it to him and this was what he said:
"I need you to really emphasize, and I mean really spell it out, that this was one of the most incredible coincidences I've done in a while
And there were, like, two so much like this in Dragon Rose"
So, nope, completely unintentional. Still, I'm impressed you drew that connection!
Branng66: Goh hasn't reappeared yet but I do have plans for him. And this version of Pikachu's reaction to Goh's cannon catching spree would have been, well… Shocking. (literally, he would have shocked him. A lot)
Well that's all for reviews and this monster of a chapter.
Join the discord server if you'd like!
discord gg kESdTfhAwG
Until next we meet!
R&R
~FriTik