Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. As a matter of fact, Pokémon own me.
A/N: Yes I know the last chapter was entirely meaningless and all; it's a setting, see? I mean I've got to have a basic premise for the next chapter… so well this is it, I suppose.
He awoke to the sound of silence. Nurse Joy was gone now, but he had a feeling that if he bothered to ring the bell once more, she'd appear in half a second.
Now that's scary…
He gently woke Ditto. Two minutes later he woke Ditto again, less gently. This time it worked. Looking towards the glass doors of the Pokémon Centre, he saw that it was raining. Turning, he noticed that the red girl with a Vulpix was sitting in the other couch, feeding her Vulpix some strange-looking brown pellets that everyone fed their Pokémon with nowadays. She herself was eating a Spoinkburger™. Realizing that Ash was looking at her, she felt a sudden urge to explain what she was doing there.
"Vulpy doesn't like the rain. She doesn't even like her Pokéball getting wet. So I'm sorta stuck until the rain stops."
Ash shrugged. Looking into his backpack for the first time, he realized he had three umbrellas. Why he'd bothered packing three was something beyond his understanding. There was also a sleeping bag, a compass, a knife, a toothbrush, two Pokéballs, his PokéNav, a water bottle, half a stick of chewing gum, soap, shampoo, two towels, two changes of clothes (exactly the same as the ones he was wearing, of course), a torch, a rope and, just in case he needed one, a good book.
He sighed. He hadn't packed this; his parents had. Handing the girl one of the umbrellas, he randomly picked one of the other two and stuffed the last back in his bag.
"It'll be easier to use this."
And it'll keep my backpack lighter, too.
Hefting on his heavy load, he trundled out of the PokéCentre, Ditto in tow.
After stopping off at the PokéMart (where Ash bought a few restorative items which no one needs to know about, yet) he made his way towards the Pokémon Gym, which was the centerpiece of Rubidium City. It wasn't difficult to make his way toward it; he could hardly miss it.
I wonder what they do in there…? With a Gym so huge they could have a Wailord ranch.
He was grateful that the Pokémon Gym didn't have sliding doors; instead, it had one of those normal hinge doors. Taking a breath, he opened the door and stepped into the Gym. Immediately the door swung back and hit him in the back.
He opened the door and stepped well into the Gym, this time. His eyes widened in disbelief at the sight.
It was a giant maze of staircases, all of different shapes and sizes. There was only a single set of staircases which led to the ground below. High above him, perched on a platform in the direct center of the Gym, was the Gym leader. It was obvious he was the Gym leader, since there was no way any other person could be standing at such a commanding position.
The staircases were haphazardly positioned; built along some of them were tiny platforms, which were either empty or holding dark figures: presumably trainers under the tutelage of the Gym leader. Columns rose high into the air in between the flights of staircases, making for quite an imposing scene.
The entire thing was constructed out of metal, gleaming under the intense glare of the stadium lights. Beyond the base of the first staircase everything else was far above ground; a fall could result in serious injury.
I don't understand why these Gyms can't be nice and safe…
Ditto didn't look too happy either as they started their climb up the first staircase. It was slow and torturous, especially on account of Ash's hefty backpack. By the time they'd climbed the first flight of stairs, Ash was already tired out. Sitting down to rest, he was distracted by the sound of battling.
Turning his head in the direction of the noise, he could see four figures, two of them Pokémon, the other two being their trainers. One of them was standing on the staircase, while the other was standing on a column in mid-air.
Edging closer to get a better look, he realized that it was the small boy from before. His Caterpie had evolved; it was now a Metapod.
The Metapod was attacking solely with String Shot; somehow it had attached itself to a column by using large amounts of silk. He watched as the battle progressed; the other trainer's Zubat was hard pressed to avoid the large quantities string which sprang from Metapod, all the while using Supersonic.
Not daring to progress through such a battlefield, he turned the other way, only to hear a loud groaning of metal behind him. Turning, he saw that the metal column that Metapod was attached to had crumpled; the metal had resonated with Supersonic in a very big way. He could feel the vibrations even where he stood.
Hurriedly he moved on, trying to clamber up as fast as he could, despite his backpack. Gradually the vibrations died down; the battle was way too far away for him to see the outcome. He stopped as he reached a fork; putting his backpack down to rest again, he noticed two figures, each standing on a platform to the side of either branch. Ditto noticed them too, and turned into a potato.
With no other choice, Ash randomly picked the left branch, dragging his backpack up the stairs. Ditto followed close behind. He hadn't moved more than four steps when the figure somersaulted off the platform and landed on the staircase in front of him, effectively blocking his way. Ash rolled his eyes.
Gym trainers… over-dramatic, the lot of them.
The boy was perhaps a year older than him; at his belt hung two Pokéballs, and his eyes were a dark blue as he looked straight at Ash.
"You'll never get through to Seryn unless you defeat me!"
Confused, Ash looked around.
"What's Seryn?"
The trainer opened his mouth, then shut it again, almost as though he didn't know what to say.
"Why are you here…?"
"Why else? To defeat the Gym leader."
Ash wondered if he sounded overconfident; but apparently the trainer didn't notice.
"… yeahh… that's Seryn. She's over there."
The trainer pointed towards the platform, still tiny in its distance from them.
"Oh. I see. Thanks."
Ash headed further up the staircase, following the path the trainer had indicated. The boy exchanged glances with Ditto, then looked back at Ash.
"Hey! We haven't battled yet!"
"My one Pokémon to your two?"
Ash turned to Ditto, who nodded back at him. The trainer looked between the two of them, then selected a Pokéball from his belt and threw it.
"Go, Farfetch'd!"
He stumbled a bit over the pronunciation but otherwise it came out fine. Ash looked to Ditto. He knew he had to say something.
"Ditto, since you're my only Pokémon, I choose you!"
Ditto turned to look at Ash, who shrugged.
"I didn't know what else to say."
The Farfetch'd flew up and perched itself on a metal column. It stretched its wings before pulling a leek out of nowhere and putting it in its beak.
"Farfetch'd! Use Leer on the Ditto!"
Farfetch'd swooped down over Ditto, its eyes staring directly at it. Spooked, Ditto turned into a potato again.
"Ditto! Snap out of it and transform!"
The potato waddled out of range of the scary bird Pokémon and re-transformed into a
"What?"
Ash watched the bird Pokémon as it circled above their heads.
"I have no idea… just… transform! Hurry!"
Ditto transformed into Farfetch'd just in time to parry the Farfetch'd's attack.
A/N: Anyone want to tell me how to spell that? Oh and let's assume Farfetch'd is male.
Grabbing his leek in both its hands, Ditto-Farfetch'd wrenched it out of its grasp.
"Now I have the leek and you don't."
The Farfetch'd was about to snap a reply when his trainer called from below.
"Farfetch'd! Use Peck!"
"Ditto! Dodge and use Leer!"
Farfetch'd swooped down low, his beak aimed straight for Ditto. Ditto ducked just in time; it didn't know how to fly yet. Instead, Farfetch'd grabbed the leek, which was just as well. Caught off guard, Ditto stumbled and fell down a step, the shock turning it back into a normal Ditto.
The trainer somersaulted back atop his platform, calling out another command.
"Farfetch'd! Quick attack!"
Farfetch'd rushed straight down towards Ditto, leek thrust out in front of it.
"Ditto! Defense Curl! You know what to do!"
Ignoring the excessive exclamation marks, Ditto nodded.
Farfetch'd glowed white as it lashed out at Ditto; but the blow glanced off.
"What…?"
Ditto was now an Azumarill. It uncurled and attacked with a Bubblebeam, stunning the Farfetch'd.
"Focus Energy!"
Ditto glowed white, and reformed into Hitmontop. Silently it began to meditate. Farfetch'd rose, turning its gaze to Hitmontop.
"Farfetch'd! Use Leer and then Peck!"
The Farfetch'd rushed towards Hitmontop again; Flying-type against Fighting-type, it didn't seem like it would stand a chance.
"Ditto! Double-Edge!"
Farfetch'd's eyes widened in confusion as Azumarill's form appeared through a flash of bright light. The focused energy, together with the powerful blow, finished it off.
The trainer cursed as he recalled Farfetch'd. Reaching for his second Pokéball, he gritted his teeth.
"The battle's not over yet…!"
Ash sighed.
When will they stop using these clichéd phrases…?
A/N: That's the end of another chapter! Hope you all enjoyed it! Now I really need to get some work done so if you'll excuse me… please review!