A.N. Thanks for reading! I hope you like. Ash will catch a Pokemon in Mount Moon. Submit who you think it should be and what gender! He currently has a dragon, a bug/flying, and a fighting. I'm thinking of something to help balance his team, but I will be more than glad to open a poll! Oh, yeah, Brock will be a bit OC, so please forgive me if he doesn't follow canon.
Post A.N. I just created another poll based on something that interested me. Please provide your opinion! It would give me inspiration for the story! :D
(Ash's dream)
I was walking through through the field in a valley of a wonderous snow-covered mountain during the autumn. A distant crisp breeze gently rolling through the air and broke the stagnant atmosphere as I was ascending to the top. Luckily, I did not have my wound on my foot, so I was able to run across the area as I pleased. I did not know for sure where I was going, but I felt something ominous in the area; it was so strong I felt sick in my stomach. I ventured in different direction to try to get away from the source. I saw a huge monster that I had never seen before; it was at least 10 feet tall and much longer, and it released a malevolent aura that hinted a desired distruction. The monster detected my presence and turned right towards me; it was charging up an energy beam directly at me!
"Noooo!" I shouted as I heard a clicking sound and the light engulfed me. I heard a distorted voice that sounded almost human, chanting my name. "Ash! Ash!"
Then...I felt something, uh...soft? But forceful at the same time.
(Exit dream)
"Ash!"
SMACK!
"Ouch!" exclaimed the boy. "What was that for?" He saw that what had hit him was none other than fiesty Riolu.
"Sorry, Ash," apologized Riolu telepathically, "but you were having a bad dream. You were sweating and you shouted 'no' while you were sleeping, and your aura was emitting great fear, so I had to see what was going on."
"You could detect my aura while you were asleep?" asked the ebony-haired boy.
"No, my aura skills are not that advanced," responded Riolu, "I already was up doing some exercises to warm up for our day and I felt a terrifying aura in the room before you screamed 'no'. I didn't want you to suffer, so I poked you about a dozen times and said your name gently, but that didn't work. After you said 'no', I had no choice but to slap you to get you to wake you up. I apologize. "
"Don't apologize. I'm so glad that you did that; I was really scared," said the boy as he patting Riolu's head. Ashlooked at the digital clock on the night-stand to see that it was 8:32 in the morning. Dratini stirred in her sleep and woke after about a minute of groggily adjusting her eyes to the bright light all while snuggled at the feet of the bed. Scyther was roosting on the ground and was looking at his trainer with concerned eyes.
Ash took off the blanket that was covering his upper body and stretched out his arms and let out a huge yawn. He turned his attention to Dratini and she moved the very tip of her tail slowly as she was still half asleep while her eyes sparkled as if she were about to cry.
"What's wrong, Dratini?" inquired Ash as he held his hand out to reassure her that everything was okay.
"I...felt the same dream as you did..." she spoke telepathically.
"Are you serious?" questioned Ash with a slight tone of disbelief. "What do you think that monster was?"
"I don't know, to be honest; I couldn't read your dream as I do not possess the capabilities of a Psychic Pokémon to visualize dreams."she stated with a gloomy tone. "I was just able to detect your aura after I woke up and I felt a wave of bad spirits that the dream must have inflicted on you. But I think it would be best if we didn't talk about it, especially since today you face off with Brock!" After she had just finished that sentence, her demeanor made a complete 180 degree spin to take their minds off it.
"I agree completely with you; after all, it was just a dream," added Ash as he looked at his other two Pokémon. "Are you all prepared for our very first gym battle? We'll get breakfast then make our way to the Pewter City gym. How does that sound?"
All three of the Pokemon agreed by nodding and Ash looked down by the door and noticed that his freshly washed shoes and socks were lying right there; he had locked the door, so Nurse Joy must have used a spare key to open the door and put them inside. Riolu happily walked towards the door and picked up the shoes and socks and handed them to his trainer, who happily thanked him by softly patting his furry head and scratching his ears. Ash pulled up sock after cleaning the area, followed by putting on his shoes. He placed his hat on his head and supported himself with the crutches that Riolu handed him.
A knock was at the door. "Ash, are you awake?" asked Erika from the outside. "Breakfast ends at 9:30, and I know that it may take you a little longer due to your foot."
"Already dressed and ready to go!" he chimed eagerly. "Could you open the door, please?" She pushed the door opened and all four of the occupants of the room left.
"Well, I can see that you and your Pokemon are both full of energy this morning," she observed as Riolu and Dratini both began to sniff her casually. She giggled sheepishly as she turned her attention back to Ash. "Let us all take a moment to diligently have a protein-rich breakfast and hope for the best with Brock."
"Yeah, sounds like a great plan; my stomach, as well as that of my Pokemon, are quite famished," added Ash as all five of them headed towards the elevator. It was quite a scene to look at; a temporarily handicapped boy surrounded by a large mantis, a six-foot teal dragon, a bipedal canine, and a teenaged girl, all getting onto the elevator!
They all descended into the basement and entered the cafeteria of the Pokémon center. The cafeteria doubled over as both a buffet and a sit-down restaurant, where trainers could select from a menu special orders that were not provided in the buffet. Many trainers were casually walking about with trays in their hands for food for both them and they companions who were walking beside them. The Pokémon varied from small ones such as Rattata, Pikachu, or Nidoran; most of them were new trainers just like Ash who probably had the anticipation of later going to challenge Brock and aquire their first badge. A large portion of the people in the cafeteria nonchalantly turned their attention to them as they sat down and waited for a waitress to give them a menu. The excited Pokemon stood there and watched as their trainer made his order.
"Erika, why don't you let out your Pokémon? I'd like to see your others in person, if you don't mind."
"Sure, no problem," she answered as she took at her three Pokéballs. "You've seen them two of them, but here they are." She opened the balls and out came Weepinbell, Exeggcute, and Gloom, who warmly greeted both their trainer and Ash. Erika's Pokémon and Ash's both began chatting to one another as well as the two humans. This carried on for about another minute until the waitress brought both trainers their beverages; Ash got milk and Erika got a glass of water. After another three or four minutes, the food finally came. Erika got an omelette with cheese, olives, peppers, onions, and tomatoes as well as a side dish of cucumber salad with toasted almonds and Ash got scrambled eggs, two links of sausage, and hash browns. They finished their breakfast and all six of the Pokémon feasted on a wide variety of berries that the trainers ordered. After the bill came, they each paid for their individual meal and left a tip. Erika withdrew all three of her Pokémon and Ash did the same with his and the two humans headed towards the elevator.
"What a great breakfast," stated Ash as the door for the elevator opened and they both got on.
"It certainly was one of the best breakfasts I have had in a while," replied the blue-haired girl as the door opened to the lobby. As theyt both got out, they headed to the front door and allowed the warmth of the late summer morning to greet their faces. About a block down the street from the Pokémon center Ash could see the Pewter City gym.
"Come on, let's hurry and start my first gym battle!" laughed Ash as he maneuvered himself swiftly while still maintaining his balance. Erika laughed and shortly followed Ash who had just made it to the front lawn of the Pewter City gym; the outside was a bleak grey and the walls were reinforced with granite. Ash gulped. "Well, here we are." Erika opened the door for them and he stepped in, the sound of the crutches hitting the ground echoed throughout the gym. But...where was the leader? Ash was quite shocked to find out that although the gym was unlocked, the inside was completely dark and deprived of any sign of life; the only surroundings that could be seen were about the first ten feet away from the door due to the light flooding through the entrance. Ash looked around then upwards and saw the outline of something jagged from the ceiling; he could not identify it, but it looked sharp and dangerous.
"Well, someone obviously isn't good at looking after the place," pointed out Ash disappointed. "Who just leaves the door unlocked to an empty gym? That doesn't make any sense. Let's just come back later."He turned around and started to walk out the door until he heard a chuckle in the distant echo around the barren gym.
"Poor little kid, running away so soon?" said the voice that echoed across the room. "Don't tell me that you're forfeiting the match already?"
"What are you talking about? Show yourself!" said Ash as he tried to find the source of the voice. "I'm not going anywhere until I earn a badge, and that's a promise. Let's get this show on the road!"
With a clap of hands, a warm buzzing noise occured and the lights of the room flickered on, nearly blinded the young trainer due to the contrasting darkness. In the back of the room on a platform stood a teenager with brown pants, a green vest, and a red shirt with a cocky smirk on his face as he looked at Ash. Ash gasped as he looked around the area; it was pretty much identical to the interior of a cave, with the ceiling that was covered with stalactites that dangled hapharzardly from the ceiling, and the floor covered with stalagmites. The jagged rocks varied in color, length, and size, some of them were as long as 10 feet, while others were barely a foot long. However, on the gym floor, there was a relatively narrow passage of about 40-feet long and 20-feet wide where the Pokemon were to battle; what marked the surrounding of the battleground were the sharp rocks.
"So, you're the gym leader Brock," stated Ash rhetorically, since he did expect the other person to correct him. He looked behind to get support from Erika, but she was gone!
"Indeed, that is correct," retored Brock as he jumped off the 10-foot platform and into a white square, where the trainers stood. "Based on the surroundings, you can tell that I specialize in rock-type Pokemon, and this gym enhances their potential since it reminds them more of their natural environment." He walked closer so he could get an even better view of Ash, who still was standing by the door.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here? Something that I don't come across every day. I see that my opponent is handicapped; well, don't think that I will take it easy on you because of your condition."
"I don't want you to, anyways," replied Ash, "because letting me win by showing pity is not what being a Pokemon trainer is about! Plus, I-"
Ash was interrupted when suddenly he heard the creaking of the gym doors and an unfamiliar teenage male entered calmly spoke. "Sorry I am late, Brock." He turned his attention to Ash and gave a small smile. "Hi, name's Jim and I'm the referee; I make sure that both gym leaders and the challenging trainers battle fairly. What is your name?"
"Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, and I strive to become a Pokemon master, no matter what the cost is!" answered the boy with a slight hint of his ego mixing with his tone.
"Very well, Ash, since this is the very first gym you must defeat in order to participate in the Kanto League, let me give you a brief explanation of how things work," said Brock. "In order to compete in the Kanto League, you must defeat all eight of the gym leaders in this region. The gym leaders each have their own set of rules, but in summary, the goal is to defeat all his or her Pokemon. You may forfeit the match and come back again whenever you desire if you feel that you do not have the sufficient strength. There is no time limit and you may use however many Pokemon you want and switch at will, but I will use only two. Aslo, you are permited to have only one Pokemon on the field at a time. If you send out another Pokemon without withdrawing your first one, it is an automatic disquailifcation. You may also utilize items, which I won't since I'm fully confident in my Pokemon's strength to beat you. Feel free to use the battlefield to your advantage, if you are clever enough. Any questions?"
"No, but thank you for telling me how things work," commented Ash with appreciation.
"You're welcome," smiled Brock as he took out his Pokeball from his vest pocket. "Now, come on out, Sandshrew!" A tan tiled-covered mouse Pokemon exited its Pokeball and entered the cavern-like gym.
"Shrew!" he said as he awaited further orders.
"In that case, I'll send out...Riolu!" cried Ash as he threw the ball against the gym floor, causing the bipedal Pokemon to appear.
"The Pokemon seem evenly matched as there is no type advantage,"stated Jim.
"Indeed, so this should be a pretty interesting battle," commented Brock. "Sandshrew, use fury swipes!"
The little desert rodent's sharp claws glowed white and he ran as fast as he could (albeit a bit slow) towards Riolu and unleashed the strength of his bades as they sliced through the air towards Riolu. The agile bipedal canine gracefully dodged the attack with a back handspring and regained his pose to stare back at Sandshrew with a very intimidating glare. Sandshrew, however, raked the ground with his long claws and hurled a couple of rocks into Riolu's face, causing him to step back a few times to wipe his face clean.
"Riolu, force palm Sandshrew into the rocks!" commanded Ash. The Pokemon's hand glowed and he pushed Sandshrew towards the rocks, but he planted his feet into the ground before he fell into rocks, the very tip of his tail touching the edge.
"Push against the rocks and use the momentum to increase your rollout attack!" issued Brock. Sandshrew did so and used the increased force to speed up his rolling attack towards Riolu, who easily did a cartwheel out of the way. Sandshrew did another rollout, but Riolu was capable of dodging it again easily since the rodent could not turn at all when rolling. He finally stood back up and stared at Riolu angrily.
"Sandshrew, slow down Riolu by using poison sting!" directed Brock and the desert rodent began spinning in a ball for about four seconds and started releasing white, highly organized needles towards Riolu.
"Hide behind the stalagmites to dodge the needles!" ordered Ash; he knew that Riolu suffered from poison once already, and he didn't want him to go through the same ordeal again. The needles came flying at Riolu, but luckily the stalagmites blocked all the needles, covering them with dozens of sharp, venomous spines and looking like a cactus.
"Your Pokemon is uniquely agile, but relying completely on a strategy like that alone won't win all your future battles," stated Brock as he placed his hand on his chin. "Sandshrew, use fury swipes again!"
"Riolu, use quick attack and dodge fury swipes!" ordered Ash. Riolu moved at fast speed, but he accidentally tripped over a rock and fell to the ground face first. "Riolu! Are you okay?!" shouted Ash in concern, but it was too late to dodge Sandshrew. The arid mouse Pokemon started raking his class across Riolu's chest, inflicting four critical hits before Riolu shoved Sandshrew off of him.
"Riolu, use seismic toss!" commanded Ash. Riolu grabbed Sandshrew's paw and with the aid of his highly-developed lower body strength, jumped about 10 feet into the air. He was about to toss him to the ground when Brock interjected.
"Sandshrew, use rollout before you hit the ground to avoid damage!"
Riolu tossed Sandshrew and the mouse Pokemon began falling to the ground, but easily avoided any damage by curling into a ball and bouncing on the stone ground a few seconds.
"So, if Sandshrew's gonna do that each time, a seismic toss attack is definitely out," thought Ash. "No need to panic, you just gotta think of something different. I'll just use more quick attacks and whittle his health down gradually."
"Riolu, quick attack again!"
"Sandshrew, defense curl!" ordered Brock. Sandshrew tucked his body in again and absorbed a good amount impact of Riolu's attack, inflicting little damage. "Now blind Riolu with sand and use poison sting again!" In response to the command, Sandshrew used his front paws and kicked up a lot of dirt and flung it into Riolu's face, causing him to cough, but he managed to still maintain his pose. Sandshrew began spinning and Ash knew that he had a few seconds before the attack would be unleashed. He looked over and saw the stalagmites that had the needles on them and got a brilliant idea on how to bring his opponent down.
"Riolu, jump behind Sandshrew and use force palm to knock him into the stalagmites!"
Riolu jumped out of the way of the needles that stuck into the stalagmites and he landed behind Sandshrew, who just finished his attack.
"Defense curl!" ordered Brock, causing Sandshrew to curl into a ball again. Riolu launched a power strike with his palm, launching Sandshrew to collide into the poisonous needle-covered rocks. The stalagmites broke and Sandshrew was on all fours, his underbelly embedded with the very needles that he had launched. He squealed in pain and began pulling them out very slowly and had a very painful expression on his face; it was evident that he had been poisoned and he finished removing the rest of about 15 painful needles from his stomach.
"Sandshrew!" shouted Brock. "Hang in there! It's not over til you drop! Give him your best slash attack at maximum power!"
"You aren't far from winning, Riolu, no way are you giving up now when you're so close to defeating his first Pokemon!" cheered Ash, wishing that it was Erika saying that to elevate his morale, but he did not have time to think of her whereabouts. "Quick attack him in his stomach!" Riolu began zooming across the battlefield with the direct intention of bringing down his opponent, Sandshrew, who was running as fast as he could with his sharp claws extended in his last attempt to make his master proud.
"Sandshrew, watch out!" warned Brock, but it was too late. Riolu had already jabbed Sandshrew in his gut and his claws retracted as he he held his stomach. He squeaked and stepped back a few times until he accidentally tripped over a rock and fell backwards. He failed to get up and swirls appeared in his eyes as he let out a couple of quiet moans.
"Sandshrew is unable to fight any more," announced Jim. "Ash is the winner of this round!"
"Sandshrew!" cried Brock in dismay as he ran out into the field and picked up his Pokemon. "I'm so sorry, I promise I will make it up to you, pal." Sandshrew gave a quiet moan and Brock took out his Pokeball. "You deserve a nice, long nap." And with that Sandshrew disappeared into the safety of his Pokeball.
Riolu came slowly but happily to Ash with a wagging tail as his trainer patted his head gently.
"Yes! I'm so proud of you, Riolu!" said Ash as he got on his knee and gave Riolu his favorite berry, a Rawst berry and sprayed a bit of potion on his wounds. "Take a rest for now, buddy, because I may need you again," he continued as he recalled the little aura Pokemon back into his ball for the time being.
"You're no ordinary trainer now, are you, Ash?" inquired Brock with a smile on his face.
"I dunno, I just started two days ago. And I'm sorry about Sandshrew," he said apologetically as he looked down a bit ashamed.
"It's no big deal, Ash, this happens; you shouldn't feel bad and there are no hard feelings," responded Brock. "But, the battle is half way over." He reached into his vest pocket and extracted another ball. "Let me heat things up a bit as I shall provide you a real challenge. Now, it's your turn...Rhyhorn!" The Pokeball released its contents, a stone rhino-like Pokemon, about three feet above the ground, causing the gym to shake from the impact of its weight, causing Ash to almost lose balance, but luckily, someone caught him. It was Erika who had put some items on the ground a second before helping Ash.
"Erika!" exclaimed Ash as he was holding on to her shoulder then let go. "Where were you?"
"I went to the PokeMart to get some medicine for your Pokemon, Ash, in case you had run out or needed it; I meant to get some this morning, but I forgot. I should have told you." She looked down disappointedly away from Ash, who she thought was probably mad at her for ditching him unexpectedly.
"It's okay, Erika, that was very thoughtful of you, but you shouldn't have," began Ash.
"So, any luck against Brock?"
"Yes, I beat his Sandshrew, and-"
"Is everything okay over there?" Brock questioned.
"Yes, everything is fine, thanks!" said Ash. Erika opened his knapsack and put the several bottles of medicine she had just recently purchased inside it and zipped it up. "Okay, now it's my turn. Go!" He tossed his Pokeball and out came Dratini who stared vigorously at her opponent. "I'm counting on you to do your best, girl," said Ash, earning a nod from the dragon.
"Hmm, I must confess that you selected a very interesting choice, Ash," commented Brock. "I've never seen anyone use a dragon type here before, let alone a novice trainer. The outcome of this battle should determine how far you go with that dragon. Think you can take on my trusty Rhyhorn? He's my first Pokemon I've ever caught and nearly all challengers have lost to him. The majority of those who have left victorious in this gym have used a water or a grass type. Rhyhorn, go! Now, use horn attack!"
The four-legged rock Pokemon began to charge at medium speed directly towards Dratini, his head held down and exposing the sharp horn on his nose.
"Dratini, quickly jump outta the way and use Thunder Wave!" ordered Ash. The Rhyhorn harmlessly passed Dratini and her eyes began to glow a bluish-white hue, followed by a release of electrical charge that went straight for Rhyhorn. It made contact with him, but it did absolutely nothing.
"What happened?" asked Ash confused. "Rhyhorn should be paralyzed."
"An amateur mistake, Ash," replied Brock with a smirk on his face. "Although Rhyhorn is a rock type, his primary type is ground, giving him full immunity to electric attacks. You'd be wise to learn the advantages and disadvantages of Pokemon if you ever hope to compete in the Pokemon League. Rhyhorn, use stomp!"
The huge spiked Pokemon began stampeding the ground causing the whole ground to shake. Some of the weaker stalactites from the ceiling began shaking and Ash feared that they would collapse and crush Dratini.
"If that's its stomp attack, I don't wanna imagine how strong its earthquake is," said Ash as Erika prevented him from falling over. "Dratini, first use leer, then stop Rhyhorn by using wrap!"
Dratini sprang into the air by using her tail and landed safely a few feet to the side of Rhyhorn. Her eyes began to glow mysteriously, unnerving Rhyhorn and causing him to sweat drop as her callous eyes seemed to pierce his very soul.
"Lowering the defense of your opponent. Not bad, Ash," stated Erika. Dratini then wrapped her body around Rhyhorn's neck; her long body was able to wrap around it almost two times. Although the attack wasn't causing much damage, Rhyhorn was clearly annoyed and began swinging his head to get Dratini off of him.
"Rhyhorn, use Rollout to knock Dratini off!" commanded Brock, and as soon as those words escaped his mouth, Rhyhorn tucked himself into a ball and began rolling across the battlefield, smashing Dratini into the ground about four times before she let go. She flew into the air and impacted the ground, but she was still able to get up, despite the heavy damage that she had just taken.
"Finish Dratini off with rock slide!" ordered Brock. Rhyhorn turned back around to the rubble of stalagmites and swept his head against the ground, causing about twenty pieces of them fly into the air and head for Dratini.
"Jump!" yelled Ash, and Dratini once again used her tail to fling herself into the air, but some of the rocks in the outer range of the rubble struck the dragon's lower body near her tail, causing her to fall down and hit the ground.
"Dratini!" shouted Erika and Ash at the same time, and as if a miracle, she was still able to pull herself together and get up, but they both knew that one more hit like that would knock her out.
"Ooh, and it still look like the challenger's Pokemon still has some fuel burning!" said Jim from the sideline.
"Your Pokemon's determination is outstanding, I'll give you that," interjected Brock. "But let's finish this!"
"Not yet; I'm about to switch Pokemon," said Ash. "Dratini, come to my side and I'll patch you up." Dratini inched her way towards Ash and Erika took out one of the bottles of potion that she had purchased. Erika held his crutches as Ash got on his knee to apply the medicine from the grey bottle on her wounds. She made a low squeak as the spray stung, but afterwards, she didn't show any signs of severe pain. "I'm sorry," he apologized to the dragon.
"It's okay, I'm feeling better now, honestly," she said to him telepathically.
"Let's get you rested first before I send you out again," suggested Ash and he she nodded before getting sucked back in. He took out a different ball from his pocket and threw it out into the battlefield.
Riolu came out of the ball and Ash said, "Riolu, do you have enough strength to keep on
"Rio!" said Riolu as he eyed Rhyhorn. They both exchanged fighting glances at one another.
"Hmm, so you're going back to using the fighting type, a relatively wise choice, but you know that his attack has to surpass the defense of Rhyhorn to inflict major damage!" pointed out Brock. "Use horn attack!"
"Riolu, use quick attack to get out of the way!" Riolu did so and avoided the charging Rhyhorn with ease who came to a halt by planting his feet into the ground; despite being a very heavy Pokemon, Rhyhorn was relatively faster than one would expect, so Ash definitely had to watch out for him. The Rhyhorn turned around and huffed at Riolu in response.
"If I can just get Rhyhorn paralyzed, I could slow him down tremendously, but I need to start thinking of better strategies than just paralyzing the opponent," thought Ash. "He used the force of the rocks to damage Dratini, maybe I can use them, too."
"Rhyhorn, rollout, and knock Riolu into the stalagmites to get a critical hit," ordered Brock. "He may be a fighting type, which you are weak against, but that doesn't mean that you will let them beat you!" The rhino once again formed a ball and headed towards Riolu, but Ash was prepared to take whatever Brock would use against him.
"Riolu, hurry up and get out of Rhyhorn's way with quick attack!" he shouted. He repeated the same move as before and Rhyhorn once again destroyed another stalagmite, but it didn't seem to hurt him at all.
"Your Riolu looks weak; if you keep dodging all the attacks like that, you're gonna exhaust all his strength and make this win that much easier," taunted Brock.
"He's right," thought Ash. "I can't keep resorting to my current strategies or they are just going to backfire. I need to think of a better plan."
Ash looked up and saw the stalactites and thought of a brilliant idea that may give him the upper-hand. "Riolu, return for now. I'm sending out my third Pokemon as I have only three. Now, go Scyther!"
The mantis Pokemon escaped the ball and looked around the area a bit nevously.
"I hope that you are aware that you are sending out a Pokemon that has a four-time weakness against rock types!" reminded Brock. "Plus, the fact that you do not have a grass or water type will make this battle that much harder. I hope you are ready to give it your all."
"I'm aware of that," said Ash, "But with enough strategy, one can defeat the opponent even with a poorly matched opponent. Scyther, create a diversion by first using agility to kick up dirt then use your maneuver you used in Viridian Forest. Then use the ceiling to your advantage!"
Scyther ran across the battlefield at full speed, causing dust to kick up and Rhyhorn was unable to see because of it. Scyther then stopped in front of the stalagmites just like Ash had ordered and remained motionless. Brock observed this procedure carefully and was still a bit cautious, but he decided to play it safe.
"Rhyhorn, go ahead and use horn attack!" he ordered. "Even if he flies away, it's not like it will due much damage to you, plus you can use the rubble to launch more rock slides!"
Rhyhorn obeyed and charged as fast as he could towards Scyther, not knowing that he was falling right for a trap as he thrashed his head into his "opponent", but the mantis disappeared.
"So, it was a trap; you used double team to fool Rhyhorn. Now that's the strategy of a skilled trainer. "Rhyhorn, stop charging and find Scyhter!" The stone rhino smashed quite a lot of stalagmites and reduced them to rubble. He planted his feet into the ground in order to stop, but...he got his face stuck in between two gigantic stalagmites that probably weighed at least half a ton each and about 7 feet tall! He used his brute strength to press against the rocks, but he wouldn't budge.
"Rhyhorn!" exclaimed a worried Brock. "Come on, you can do it; keep trying to free yourself." The Rhyhorn kept doing so with little success.
"Scyther, use wing attack on the rocks above Rhyhorn to weaken him!" ordered Ash. Scyther's wings both glowed and he unleashed an energy-filled swipe against a stalactite that was about 4 feet long and about 2 in diameter at its widest point. The jagged rock fell from the ceiling and a sweat drop appeared on Rhyhorn's face as it collided with him. A huge cloud of dust instantly filled over half the room and Scyther rested on the ground a second. A low rumbling filled the room as an angry, heavily damaged Rhyhorn thrashed about, knocking huge chunks of rocks at Scyther. The mantis was so stunned that he didn't have enough time to get out the way, and he fainted after being dealt with his four-times weakness.
"Enough of the games, Ash, we will settle this now!" shouted Brock angrily from across the gym. "You have been abusing the privilege to withdraw your Pokemon when desired, and it is getting on my nerves! I ask that you select only one Pokemon and do not recall it unless it is beaten; if you do, you automatically lose the match, got it?" said Brock.
"Forgive me, Scyther, you did such a good job, return!" said Ash. "I am placing my faith in you, Dratini!"
TBC...
A.N. Longest Chapter by far! What will happen? Will Ash lose his very first battle against a gym leader, or will he emerge victorious? Well, you'll just have to wait till next time! And submit who you think Ash should catch before reaching Cerulean City? A Pokemon without much air time in the anime and is also considered "rare" would be a neat suggestion, but I'm open for anything! Also, do you think that Ash should have someone else follow hiim, and should this person be a male or female? (Please, no old people. lol) And finally, if you think Dratini or Riolu should evolve first and where in the Kanto region? Thanks for reading!
And P.S. I am aware that Sandshrew is ground type and not rock; the inspiration to use him came from the first generation game, in which a trainer used it as one of his Pokemon, which I thought was a little odd, but it makes more sense than a juggler in Koga's gym! 5/8 update: Chapter 18 is currently in the works as of now (though slowly since I'm doing a paper for school), so expect an update in about three days! It, along with future chapters, will also be "long" like this chapter (at least 5k words).