Pokemon Scent-sation!

"Huh, there sure are a lot of girls exiting the Gym with shopping bags." Ash couldn't help but notice as it was quite the strange sight to behold as normally it was either a trainer exiting with a victorious expression or looking down in the dumps!

"Oh right, I forgot that the Gym Leader here runs a perfume store inside of the Gym!" Brock was quick to exclaim while his eyes fixated upon the departing girls. "She apparently loves make up as much as Lt. Surge loves working out and as much as Misty's sisters enjoy putting on shows!"

"Seriously? How does she even have time to manage that?" Chloe questioned. "Misty's sisters got a bit of training done with their water shows and Lt. Surge's Pokemon literally workout with him but how does selling makeup and perfume keep Erika's skills up to notch?"

"Well I guess we only have one way to find out!" Ash eagerly grinned as he took a step forward and began his approach to the Gym's doors. "We'll just have to ask Erika after I battle her-Ack!" Ash let out a cough as somebody suddenly opened the door and sprayed him with perfume!

"How do you like that free sample? It's my latest perfume formula!" A woman not that much older than Ash and his friends revealed herself as she stepped out. She was dressed in an elegant green and red kimono and a red headband sat in the midst of her black hair which was cut quite short! Brock's eyes turned to hearts as he raced forward and quickly dropped to one knee.

"My dear Erika, your perfume carries the scent of angels! I've never smelt anything so divine and would be honored if you'd-"

"Croagunk!"

"Ugh." Brock fell to his side as Croagunk poison jabbed him, the poison frog croaked out in laughter before dragging him away from the Gym Leader.

"It was okay." Chloe merely shrugged, she was never that into perfume but didn't want to risk coming off as offensive. Ash on the other hand was quite vocal on his thoughts regarding the subject of perfume!

"I think it was just awful, perfume just smells awful and turns guys into mindless zombies like poor Brock!"

"Pika pi." Pikachu crossed his arms and nodded as he agreed with Ash.

"Lar, Larvitar!"

Erika's eye twitched at that remark. Did this kid seriously just diss perfume? Just who did he think he was?! Erika's face began glowing bright red, her body violently trembled as she reached into her kimono before stamping a large red X upon his forehead before he could even react!

"You're banned!"

Ash stared up in disbelief before angrily shouting out. "You can't just ban somebody because of their opinion!"

"Pika pi!"

"Can too, nobody insults perfume and gets away with it! Especially a boy that wouldn't know true beauty if it bit him in the face!" Erika uttered a mocking laugh before turning her back to him. "Now get out of here, I'm sure I have plenty of challengers coming that will appreciate my perfume!"

Chloe tilted her head at Erika's choice of words. Apart from Erika being trigger happy when it came to people whom disagreed with her, it appeared that she might also be sexist? If she banned Ash for simply stating his mind on the subject then she sure was that Erika had banished plenty of other boys their age as well!

Chloe clenched her fists together as she courageously took a step forward. Ash was about to shout at Erika before Chloe gave the Gym Leader a quick tap of her shoulder. "Excuse me but do you know that it's against the Gym Leader code to banish Gym Challengers for different opinions? Better yet if Lance or somebody else found out you were banning a significant number of male trainers, you'd be out of a job fairly quick!" Chloe wasn't going to just drop the bomb that they knew the champion as that'd probably make it seem like a lie and just worsen things for Ash.

Erika huffed as she rolled her eyes in a dismissive manner. "Please, a girl can't be sexist!"

Chloe's eye twitched. "Yes, yes they can!" She shouted out. "How would you react if you saw a male Gym Leader turning away huge crowds of female Gym Challengers?"

"I fail to see what that has to do with anything," Erika lazily lifted her hand before continuing back into the Gym, it was clear that words weren't going to get through to her.

"Okay then how about this? I'll challenge you and I refuse to leave until you accept! If I win, you'll accept Ash's challenge and battle him. If I lose, then we'll simply be on our way! You better accept cause trust me, Ash will definitely stake out the Gym until you accept his challenge!"

Erika clenched her fist and turned to deliver a quick glare towards Chloe. "Fine, I accept. However we do this on my terms, we'll do three sets of one on one matchups with a best of three ruleset. Once I win round one, I'll return my Pokemon and bring out a fresh one then when I've beaten your next Pokemon well... let's just say you'll be on your way!" Erika giggled.

Chloe gritted her teeth and shot Erika a nasty glare, the Grass specialist clearly didn't expect her to win this. No doubt thinking she was just another angry girlfriend of a Gym Challenger she'd kicked out, well Chloe was going to prove her wrong and hopefully set Erika's mind on a better course in life! "You've got yourself a deal."

"Eevoi." Eevee snarled out.

Erika smirked once more and lazily beckoned with her hand as she guided the trio into the Pokemon Gym, the four failing to notice a few silhouettes sneaking in behind them before darting in the direction of the perfume shop!

"I'll referee." Brock offered his services as he took position on the side of the battlefield.

Erika glanced at him before shrugging as she took her position on the battlefield. "If you insist," She spoke while reaching for a Pokeball. "I'll start things off by making things simple for you, Tangela let's go!"

"Tan!" The blue vine Pokemon cried as it burst from the Pokeball.

Chloe took a moment to examine her opponent before reaching for a ball of her own, taking much more thought into this than Erika had. "Nidorina, I'm counting on you!"

"Nido!"

"Use Bind!" Erika ordered, wanting to constrain her opponent's movement. Several blue vines burst forth from Tangela's body and flew towards Nidorina!

"Nidorina use Bite on the vines!" Chloe was quick to shout.

"Nido." Nidorina chomped on the vines causing them all to fall apart upon her sinking her fangs into them!

"I don't get it, why did that work?" Ash questioned before checking his Rotom Phone.

"Tangela the Vine Pokemon, Tangela's vines snap off easily if they are grabbed. This happens without pain, allowing it to make a quick getaway. The lost vines are replaced by newly grown vines the very next day!"

"Poison Sting!" Several purple darts fired from Nidorina's mouth, blasting Tangela and knocking the Pokemon back as a purple tint became visible through it's vines indicating that he'd been poisoned!

"Power Whip!" Erika ordered in retaliation. Tangela's vines began glowing a bright green color as they quickly burst from his body, swiftly flying across the battlefield before slamming Nidorina against the ground! Nidorina uttered out a pained grunt before slowly rising back to her feet with a look full of determination while Tangela flinched as he began feeling the effects of the poison!

"Alright Nidorina, let's finish this with Bite!" Nidorina charged across the battlefield before springing up to lunge at her opponent, fangs on full display as she opened her mouth before sinking them into her target! Tangela let out a pain filled screech before falling to his back as swirls filled his eyes.

"What?!" Erika leaped back with a startled expression making it clear she didn't expect for Chloe to win.

"Tangela is unable to battle meaning that Chloe wins round one!"

"Alright Chloe, way to go!"

"Pika pi!" Chloe blushed lightly at Ash's praise while Erika quietly returned Tangela to his ball.

"Well you got lucky that first time but we'll just see how your luck holds up against this one, Victreebel let's go!"

"Treee!" Victreebel cried out as he burst from the Pokeball!

"Nidorina return," Chloe returned Nidorina to her Pokeball before turning her attention towards Eevee. "Let's go, Eevee!"

"Eevoi!" Eevee excitedly cried as she leaped down from Chloe's shoulder before forming a battle stance as her eyes locked onto those of her opponent!

"Let's start off with Swift!" Chloe shouted with a wave of her arm.

"Eevoi!" Several star shaped energy beams fired from Eevee's body and made their way towards Victreebel. Erika dismissed the attack with a yawn, not even putting forth the effort to dodge the attack as she was confident that she had this under control.

"Victreebel swallow Eevee and send her blasting off with Sludge Bomb!" Erika cried out.

Victreebel grunted as the stars struck against his body before emitting a cry as he leaped across the field, his mouth engulfing Eevee's small body with ease. Though little did Erika know that she'd just walked into a trap of Chloe's own. Chloe couldn't help but smirk, she had a feeling Erika's Victreebel might try that as James' Victreebel often swallowed his trainer and it was also just a habit of the species in general!

"Sizzly Slide!" Erika tilted her head as the usual look of confusion following the attack name formed before swiftly turning to an alarmed expression as smoke could be seen rising out of Victreebel's mouth! Victreebel swiftly spit out Eevee whom flew through the air like a fiery meteorite before turning around as she took aim at her opponent once more!

"Eevoi!" Eevee threw her body against Victreebel, striking him with a fiery tackle that sent the flycatcher Pokemon flying through the air!

"Treeee!" Victreebel cried as he to a collapsed heap before Erika. Erika gazed down upon her fallen Pokemon in shock before turning her attention towards Eevee and Chloe who were now hugging one another as they celebrated their victory!

"Way to go Eevee, we did it! Ash can now battle Erika!"

"Eevoi!"

Erika quietly returned Victreebel while giving Chloe a brief look of respect, she clearly misjudged her. If she was able to best her like that then surely this Ash kid was worthy of Chloe's affection as she most likely picked up on her battling skills from him!

"Very well, Ash we may now proceed with our battle." Erika beckoned him over with a wave of her hand. At least underestimating Chloe meant that three of her more powerful Pokemon were still in top condition so there was no need for a quick recess as she raced off to the Pokemon Center!

An excitable grin formed across Ash's face as he quickly made his way to the opposite side of the field, thanking Chloe as the two passed one another. "Thank you Chloe, I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for you!"

Chloe flashed him a smile of her own before quickly turning away to hide her forming blush. "I learned from the best now get out there and kick her sexist butt!"

Erika's gaze lingered on Ash as he got into position, it was clear she was actually putting some thought into this battle as she didn't simply summon a random Pokemon like she had during her match with Chloe.

"Jumpluff, let's do this!"

"Pluff!" Ash, Brock and Chloe all let out a startled gasp upon seeing the round blue cotton Pokemon. Erika smirked lightly as she suspected that the three hadn't had much exposure to Johto Pokemon.

"What's that Pokemon?" Ash questioned as he pulled out his Rotom Phone.

"Jumpluff the Cottonweed Pokemon, Jumpluff rides warm southern winds to cross the sea and fly to foreign lands. The Pokemon descends to the ground when it encounters cold air while it is floating!"

"Beedrill I choose you!" The ball containing the bee Pokemon was flung through the air before bursting open to reveal the Bug/Poison Pokemon!

"Bee!" Beedrill eagerly punched the air as he was thrilled to finally be a part of a Gym battle!

"Acrobatics!" Erika shouted while throwing her arm to the side.

A light blue glow surrounded Jumpluff's body as she zipped through the air and made her way towards Beedrill!

"Poison Jab!" Beedrill's right hand stinger began glowing a bright purple color as he pulled back his arm before striking out to meet Jumpluff's attack! The two attacks met before clashing against one another, both Pokemon grunting out as they attempted to overcome the other with Beedrill ultimately proving himself to be the victory as he pushed through before striking Jumpluff's face!

"J-Jumpluff!" The Grass/Flying Pokemon cried before crashing against the ground below, swirls formed within her eyes as a soft groan escaped from her lips.

"Jumpluff is unable to battle, Beedrill wins!" Brock lifted an arm as he made the call.

"Jumpluff!" Erika gasped as she was shocked how easily she'd been beaten there! Ash nervously chuckled while rubbing the back of his neck as he turned towards Beedrill.

"Perhaps we ought to give you a rest and let the others have a shot," Beedrill swiftly nodded, knowing that he'd be called again if he was needed. Beedrill disappeared in a red beam of light while Erika similarly returned Jumpluff to her Pokeball.

"Bellossom, let's go!" Erika shouted. Once again the trio all cast curious looks towards a small and rather cute flowery Pokemon.

"Aw, she's adorable!" Chloe couldn't help but gush. "I want one!"

"What is that Pokemon anyways?" Ash questioned as he quickly withdrew his Rotom Phone once more.

"Bellossom the Flower Pokemon and the evolved form of Gloom, Bellossom gather at times and appear to dance. They say that the dance is a ritual to summon the sun!"

"If you evolve Gloom with a Sun Stone, you could have one of your own!" Erika revealed with a light smirk.

"Of course, Sun Stones aren't found here in the Kanto region! No wonder we've never seen a Bellossom before now!" Chloe remarked.

"She's pure Grass type now too," Ash remarked as he gazed at Bellossom's data for a brief while longer before pocketing the Rotom Phone as he reached for a Pokeball. "Alright Nidorino, I choose you!"

"Nido!" Nidorino brushed his foot against the ground as he burst from his Pokeball!

"Use Poison Sting!"

"Nido!" Several purple darts fired forth from Nidorino's horn and flew across the field where they'd pelt their opponent!

"B-Bellossom..." The Grass type sickly groaned as a purple tint formed across her cheeks.

"Heh, you should have gone with a Fire type!" Erika teased, a smirk formed as she threw out her arm. "Moonblast!"

A pink energy orb began to form between Bellossom's hands before being flung forward, the orb flew across the field before exploding against Nidorino's body sending the Poison type flying up!

"Nido!" Nidorino grunted as his body slammed against the ground, the Poison type weakly groaned as he rose to his feet before shaking his head as he looked towards Bellossom with a look full of determination as he refused to give up despite how tired his body now was!

"You still up for this, Nidorino?"

"Nido!"

"Alright then, let's use Peck!" Nidorino's horn began glowing a light blue color as he lunged across the field before pecking Bellossom's forehead! The Grass type cried out before falling onto her side as her eyes turned to swirls.

"Bellossom..."

"Bellossom is unable to battle, this round goes to Nidorino!"

"Alright Nidorino!" Nidorino smiled at his trainer's praise.

"Nido!"

"Now how about a nice rest, the others will take it from here." Ash returned Nidorino to his Pokeball while Erika looked rather upset as she returned Bellossom to her own ball. Things were definitely not going right for her!

"Okay clearly I underestimated you, you may only have three badges but I'm going to go ahead and use the strongest Pokemon I have in my possession!" Erika reached into her kimono and withdrew a final Pokeball. "Tangrowth, let's turn this battle around!"

A soft thud could be heard as a larger and more muscular version of Tangela burst from the Pokeball.

"Growth!"

"Tangela has an evolution?!"

"Pika pi?!"

"Tangrowth the Vine Pokemon, Tangrowth has two arms that it can extend as it pleases. Recent research has shown that these arms are, in fact, bundles of vines!"

"Well if you're going to use your strongest Pokemon then it's only fair that I use mine!" Pikachu smirked at his trainer's words and prepared to leap off his shoulder. "Charizard I choose you!"

"Pi!" Pikachu face faulted.

"Char!" Charizard shot a stream of fire into the air before stomping his foot as he locked eyes with his opponent.

"I knew you had a Fire type, I could smell it's disgusting odor on you." Erika wrinkled her nose.

"Char!" Charizard let out an agitated roar before Ash placed his hand upon his back.

"Don't let her get to you buddy, let's just concentrate on the battle! I want you to start off with Flamethrower, okay?"

"Char!" Charizard gave his trainer a thumbs up before directing his attention back towards Tangrowth. "Char!" He proceeded to blast the large vine Pokemon with a heavy stream of fire and much to Erika and the other's surprise, Tangrowth collapsed almost immediately!

"T-Tangrowth!"

Charizard smirked while Brock stared in disbelief for a moment, wondering if Erika had overhyped Tangrowth or if Charizard was simply that strong!

"Tangrowth is unable to battle which means that the battle goes to Ash and Charizard!"

"Alright Charizard, we did it!"

"Char!" Charizard pulled his trainer in for a hug before firing another Flamethrower attack into the air! "Char!"

Erika was quiet for a long moment as she inwardly questioned what had occurred that day. Perhaps Chloe was right, maybe kicking out every single person that dissed her perfume was wrong and this was Arceus' strange method of telling her she should change her ways. Erika closed her eyes before performing a light bow. 'Forgive me, Arceus. I was a fool for all these years and it took a couple of kids to help me see sense!'

She soon directed her attention towards Ash and Chloe, wanting to apologize to the two of them before a loud explosion could be heard in the vicinity of her perfume shop causing her to let out a cry of alarm. "My perfume!"

"Let's go check it out!"

"Pika." Pikachu hopped back onto Ash's shoulder as they raced back towards the Gym entrance and the perfume shop, where they'd discover Team Rocket's Meowth balloon hovering above it thanks to a hole in the ceiling which they apparently blasted through. Tied to the basket was a bag full of perfume and makeup, the entirety of Erika's stock from the look of things as the shelves were completely empty!

"My perfume, I'll be ruined!" Erika cried.

"Yeah well consider it a donation to the soon to be world's top coordinator!" Jessie smirked as she thumbed towards her chest. "I would have bought some but you had to go and ban James and Meowth after they dissed that perfume you sprayed them with!"

"Yeah we don't support business that diss our friends!" Meowth hissed.

"You'll not stop us this time," James laughed. "We'll sell whatever Jessie doesn't want and become rich off it!"

"Don't worry, we'll get it back!" Erika gave him a look full of shock, even after all that she did Ash was willing to help her?! "Charizard use Flame-"

"No stop! You'll blow it all up!" Erika quickly covered Ash's mouth. "Don't hit the perfume!"

Chloe glared lightly before pulling Erika off of Ash.

"Okay okay, Charizard use Steel Wing to cut the perfume loose!" Ash ordered as the Meowth balloon began flying away. Charizard's wings glowed a bright silver color as he took off into the air, his wings sliced through the rope connecting the netting to the balloon basket causing the perfume and makeup to go falling towards the ground below!

"Oh no, the success to my beauty!" Jessie desperately reached out over the basket before turning towards Meowth. "Meowth turn this balloon around, we're not leaving without it!"

"No thanks Jess," Meowth shook his head.

"Yeah they already won, I think it best to retreat for a change rather than get sent blasting off!" James nervously laughed.

Erika let out a panicked scream as her perfume fell towards the ground. "Noooo!"

"Gengar use Psychic!"

"Gengar!" A blue glow surrounded the net as Gengar burst from his ball, the Ghost type slowed the descent of the perfume before gently setting it upon the ground. Erika held her hand over her heart as she let out a gasp full of relief.

"Oh thank goodness... w-well I do believe I've learned my lesson, I won't ban anyone else from my Gym unless they absolutely deserve it!" Erika then turned to Ash and Chloe before giving them a quick bow. "I'm sorry for how I behaved and you were right Chloe, I was admittingly sexist." Erika nervously rubbed her arm before looking up at the two of them. "I'm not asking for your forgiveness but know that you two changed me and that I'll do my best to become a better person."

Chloe smiled as she gave Erika a nod of acknowledgement. "That's all I could ask for," She was thankful that Erika had changed unlike Damian.

"Don't worry about it Erika, that was a great battle and I couldn't ask for anything else!" Ash stated with a grin.

Erika smiled at the two and bowed once more to show her appreciation before reaching into her pocket. "Here, this is the Rainbow Badge. That gets you one step closer to the Indigo League and I honestly hope to see you there, don't uh... go anywhere though. I've got something that I'd like to give you two before you leave." Erika swiftly ran towards the back of the Gym while Ash held up the badge and did his signature victory pose!

"Alright we just got the Rainbow Badge!"

"Pi Pikachu!"

"Larvitar!"

"Char!"

Erika returned after a few minutes with two transparent stones. "Here, I'd like to give these to you..." She softly spoke as she held them out to Ash and Chloe.

"Moon Stones!" Brock exclaimed.

"T-That's such a rare item, you sure you want to just give it away?" Chloe questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course, it's just collecting dust in my bedroom! It was a gift from... an ex." Erika formed a sour look at the thought before smiling once more as she delivered a swift bow. "They serve no use to them apart from being a painful reminder of him so I'd greatly appreciate it if you'd take them away from here, I believe your Nidorino and Nidorina will appreciate them."

Ash and Chloe cast each other a brief look before nodding as they released the two Poison types.

"Nido!"

"Nido!" Nidorino and Nidorina nuzzled each other affectionately before looking questioningly towards their trainer's as they wondered why they were called out.

"Nidorina..."

"Nidorino..."

"Are you ready to evolve?" Ash and Chloe asked simultaneously as they held the Moon Stones out in offering to the Poison types.

"Nido!" Nidorino and Nidorina both nodded before reaching out with their paws, giving the stones a quick tap before a blue light engulfed their bodies. The two Pokemon growing in height before they stood at their trainer's level while their bodies began expanding and taking on a muscular form! While Nidorina's light blue skin changed to that of a darker blue coloring, Nidorino's pink skin changed to a purple coloring!

"Nidoqueen!"

"Nidoking!" The two newly evolved Pokemon cried out before throwing their arms around each other as they met in an embrace. Chloe let out a soft 'Aw.' while Brock looked on with a look of jealousy, even Erika smiled. Ash and Pikachu on the other hand were excited for their teammate's evolution!

"Nidoking the Drill Pokemon, Nidoking prides itself on its strength. It's forceful and spirited in battle, making use of its thick tail and diamond-crushing horn!"

"Nidoqueen the Drill Pokemon, Nidoqueen's body is encased in extremely hard scales. It is adept at sending foes flying with harsh tackles. This Pokemon is at its strongest when it is defending its young!"

"Alright Nidoking, I can't wait to see how stronger you've become!"

"Nido!" Nidoking smirked as he turned to look towards his trainer.

"And I bet you know all sorts of new moves, Nidoqueen!"

"Nido!" Nidoqueen smirked as she was rather curious how her new moves performed onstage!

This took me far longer to write than I planned, first came Erika's characterization then it came to how to make the battles different enough without Erika using the same Pokemon. I don't plan on Ash sweeping a lot but it was bound to happen eventually, it's a one time occurrence for this story at least.

Anyways next up is Fuchsia City and the Safari Zone where Ash will come face to face with a certain ninja as they compete to find and capture the powerful Poison type that resides within the area!