Ch.4: Pewter City Gym
As morning came, Ash woke up on his bed and got up early as usual and so did Greninja and the rest of his Pokémon. They did a few stretches and Ash brushed his teeth, showered and got dressed, and went down to eat with his Pokémon. During breakfast, some of his Pokémon got a little embarrassed as the other people in the Pokémon Center couldn't stop admiring them, especially the two dragons as they weren't native to Kanto. Ash and his Pokémon were also joined by Leaf and Misty. Leaf was also challenging the gyms, while Misty wanted to watch their battles.
After they were done, Ash and Leaf recalled their Pokémon with the exception of Greninja and Pikachu, and left the Pokémon Center.
"How did we get lost? Ash, you have a map on the Holo–Caster, right," yelled Misty as in 15 minutes, the gang were lost.
"Well, it's not my fault I can't connect to the main servers and obtain the map data," replied Ash. "We'll have to find the Gym on our own."
"I'll be happy if we find it before she could yell "we're lost" again," Leaf whispered to Ash, Greninja and Pikachu, which caused them to chuckle.
"And I'll be glad if find a bike store soon. I came to Kato to compete in the Indigo League, not to get my hearing damaged," said Ash.
"You and me both," said Greninja.
"Guess that happens when you save someone from angry Gyarados," said Pikachu.
"I wish Serena was here," muttered Ash. She was a goddess of good virtues and rarely lost her temper and always kept patient.
Ash sighted and realized he needed to sit down and saw a bunch of rocks littered at a stall and took a seat down on a rock. A man behind the corner took a glance at Ash.
After a minute or two, Ash got back up and the man spoke. "That will be 40 Pokédollars."
"Say what," Ash asked the man as if he grew a second head.
"The rocks cost 40 Pokédollars to sit and 80 Pokédollars to buy," explained the man.
"Who would be stupid enough to buy ROCKS," yelled Misty.
"I swear, if she yells one more time, I'll zap her real good," said Pikachu, getting tired of Misty's yelling.
Ash took a closer look at the rock and felt a small tug on his aura. He placed his hand on the rock and sent a pulse of aura, and was surprise to see it resonate to the life energy in two different ways. That meant there was life in the rock, but Pokémon can't be inside a rock, unless they were fossils.
"I'll take it," said Ash and Leaf and Misty looked at him like he was crazy.
"Why would you buy a rock," asked Leaf.
"This rock has a fossil inside it," explained Ash.
"Finally, someone who knows what he sees," exclaimed the man. "My name is Flint. Tell me, young man, how did you know this rock has a fossil inside it?"
"I'm an Aura Guardian in training. I sent a pulse of aura and felt a trace of life energy inside it so I deduced it has a fossil. Do you know which fossil it is?
The man, now known as Flint, was surprised that this kid was training to become an Aura Guardian and this further firmed his decision. "Of course I do, but I don't to spoil anything," said Flint with a laugh. "I normally sell rocks for the tourists, but since you're a special kid, I'll give you this rock for free. I hope you have some way of getting that fossil out of the rock."
"As a matter of fact, I do," said Ash and turned to Greninja. "Greninja, I want you to use Night Slash very slowly and gently where I tell you to. You must be careful not to cut the fossil."
"Tell me something that's not obvious," said Greninja and formed two dark blades in his hands. Ash guided Greninja as they sliced into the rock and eventually managed to remove the fossil.
"It looks like I was right about you having potential," said Flint with a chuckle. "I haven't seen this Pokémon before."
"Sorry, Flint. I haven't introduced myself," Ash realized. "My name is Ash from Vaniville Town in the Kalos region and these here are Greninja and Pikachu. I just started my journey to become a Pokémon Master and thanks very much for giving me a new Pokémon to take care for and join the family."
"You're welcome, Ash," said Flint.
"By the way, could you direct us to the gym," asked Ash.
"It's about 5 minutes down the road you were walking on. I don't know why you were yelling for getting lost when you going in the right direction," replied Flint.
"At least we were on the right road," said Leaf as she and Ash smirked at Misty who looked flustered and the gang walked away, and headed towards the challenge.
Ash and co. finally reached the gym and were a little to see it was quite a "rocky" building, but it seemed the Gym Leaders take their types specialties seriously.
"Ash, would you mind if you go first," suggested Leaf.
"Not at all," replied Ash.
Ash and Leaf walked into a very dark room.
"Gym Leader of Pewter City, I'm Ash from Vaniville Town and I challenge you to a battle," said Ash. "If the light systems are offline, then we could have our battle outside."
Brock was a little surprised as this tactic scared the heck out of noob trainers and the lights were turned on.
"This was just a little spook for new trainers," said Brock. "I accept your challenge, Ash of… Vaniville Town?"
"I come from the Kalos region," said Ash. Brock nodded as that explained the blue frog Pokémon that he had never seen before.
"Very well, let's head to the battle field. Spectators, follow the staircase on the right to watch the match from the viewing platform," said Brock and Misty walked over to the stairs. Leaf was about to follow, but was stopped by Ash.
"Leaf, I want you to take this during the battle," said Ash as he handed her his Holo–Caster. "I promised Serena and Professor Sycamore that they could watch the battle so call them when you get up there."
"OK, Ash," said Leaf and went up the stairs. When she got there, she looked for Sycamore and called him. A few seconds passed and the professor appeared on the screen.
"Hello," said Sycamore.
"Hello, I'm Leaf, Ash's friend. He told me to call you," said Lead.
"Ahhh, yes. He told me about you," said Sycamore. "His first Gym Battle is about to start, right?"
"Yes," said Leaf.
"That's good. I'll go get the others," said Sycamore as he disappeared and after around 2 minutes, he reappeared with Serena, along with Delphox, on his left and Delia on his right. "Alright, Leaf, we're ready to watch."
Leaf nodded and turned the camera to face the battlefield.
"This will be a 2–on–2 battle between the Brock, the Gym Leader, and Ash, the challenger. Each side will use 2 Pokémon and the battle will be over when all 2 Pokémon on one side are unable to continue. Are the trainers ready," said the referee.
"Ready," said Ash and Brock.
"Let the battle begin," said the referee.
"Geodude, come on out," said Brock as he made his first choice.
"Butterfree, I choose you," said Ash as he brought out Butterfree.
"Using a bug/flying–type, like this cute Butterfree, against a rock–type is not very clever," said Brock.
"But this cute Butterfree is strong," said Ash. "Butterfree, start up with Psybeam."
"Geodude, dodge it and use Rock Tomb," said Brock.
Butterfree launched his Psybeam, but Geodude avoided the attack and fired its Rock Tomb at Butterfree.
"Butterfree, fly as high as you can and use Gust," said Ash.
"Geodude, use Rollout," said Brock.
Butterfree avoided Rock Tomb and fired his Gust, which Geodude avoided by using Rollout.
"Butterfree, fly down," said Ash and Butterfree flew down near the ground.
"That just makes Butterfree an easy target," said Brock.
"Yeah, but it's a good thing we can counter attack. Butterfree, use Sleep Powder and follow it up with Psybeam," said Ash.
Geodude charged towards Butterfree with Rollout, but got surrounded by Sleep Powder, putting it to sleep and got hit directly with Psybeam.
"Geodude, hang in there," said Brock.
"This is the end of the line," smirked Ash. "Butterfree, use String Shot and spin Geodude around."
Butterfree wrapped Geodude with String Shot and spun it around, while it was still asleep.
"Butterfree, time to use Silver Wind tornado," said Ash.
Butterfree launched his Silver Wind with struck Geodude directly, while still being spun around, forming indeed a 'Silver Wind tornado'. Brock, as well as everyone watching, including Serena, Sycamore and Delia couldn't believe what they were seeing.
"And now slam it," said Ash.
Butterfree ended his Silver Wind and slammed Geodude hard on the ground, knocking it out.
"Geodude is unable to battle. Butterfree wins," announced the referee.
"Way to go, Butterfree," said Ash happily.
"I never though Gym Battles were so much fun," said Butterfree.
"Geodude, return," said Brock as he turned his attention to Ash. "I sure did not expect that, Ash. That Butterfree sure is strong, but can it handle my next Pokémon? Onix, come on out."
"So it's an Onix," muttered Ash with a smirk. "Butterfree, return. You know, Brock. You may have a big Pokémon, like Onix, but I've got an even bigger Pokémon. Steelix, I choose you."
Brock couldn't believe what he was seeing. The moment he saw Steelix, he knew that he had underestimated his challenger. "That boy is full of surprises," thought Brock.
"Let's get started," said Ash. "Steelix, use Rock Slide."
"Onix, dodge it with Dig," said Brock.
Steelix used his Rock Slide, but Onix managed to avoid the falling rocks with Dig.
"You won't hit us that easy. Use Magnet Rise," said Ash. Seconds before Onix could come out, Steelix's body glowed yellow and levitated in the air.
"You can't catch me," said Steelix to Onix.
"You're good. I'll give you that," said Onix, who was understood only by Ash.
"Steelix, use Iron Tail and then Fire Fang," said Ash. Steelix's tail glowed silver and landed his Iron Tail on Onix, followed by Fire Fang, giving Onix a burn.
"You can do it, Onix," said Brock. "Use Slam."
"Steelix, counter it with Heavy Slam," said Ash.
Onix charged towards Steelix with Slam, but the 'Iron Snake Pokémon' overpowered it with Heavy Slam.
"Onix, use Dig," said Brock.
"Not gonna happen," said Ash. "Steelix, use Iron Tail on the ground."
Onix went underground once again, but Steelix slammed his Iron Tail on the ground, which caused Onix to burst out.
"Iron Tail one more time," said Ash.
Onix couldn't avoid the attack and got directly hit by the super–effective steel–type move, which caused it to faint.
"Onix is unable to battle. Steelix is the winner," announced the referee. "The victory goes to Ash from Vaniville Town!"
"Onix, return," said Brock sadly. "You did your best, old pal."
After returning his Pokémon, Brock went up to Ash, who just returned Steelix to his PokéBall.
"Congratulations on the victory, Ash," said Brock as he brought a badge from his pocket. "May I present to you the Boulder Badge."
Ash accepted the badge and celebrated with Butterfree, Steelix, Greninja and Pikachu, and placed the badge in the Badge Case.
"All right team, just seven more badges to making our dreams come true," said Ash and pumped his fist in the air.
Brock saw this and smiled partly from being impressed and part from sadness.
"Hey, Ash," said Brock. "If you don't mind me asking, what is your dream?"
"My dream is to become a Pokémon Master," answered Ash. Brock felt he could accomplish this. Ash was a new trainer and he mopped the floor with Brock's toughest Pokémon.
"That sounds great, Ash. Go forward and make your dream come true. I can't, but I'll be rooting for you," said Brock with sadness, which was noticed by Ash, Greninja and Pikachu.
"What's wrong," asked Ash. "If you have a dream, than what's stopping you?"
"My dream is to become the world's greatest Pokémon Breeder. Don't get me wrong, I like battles, but I like raising Pokémon even more ad I really want to go travel and learn more about it, but my parents left my siblings and I so someone had to step up to take care of the rest of us. I'm the oldest of the nine so I have to take care of my 8 younger siblings," explained Brock with a sigh.
Suddenly the doors of the gym burst open and the fossil man, Flint, from before walked in and Brock stared him looking stunned.
"Brock, son," started Flint, but he was cut off with a good right punch from Brock. Ash thought he shouldn't get involved, but Greninja extended his tongue and wrapped it around Brock to stop him from moving. When Brock noticed the tongue around his waist, he looked at Greninja, who stared right back at him with a look that said, "Let him speak first and then punch him."
Brock stopped struggling and Greninja freed him as he calmed down and let Flint speak.
"Brock, I don't know how to say this, but I'm sorry. I'm sorry for leaving, I'm sorry for not coming back, I'm sorry for being a failure, I'm sorry for dumping the Gym and family duties on you and holding you back from your dreams," said Flint and looked sadder than ever. "I really have no excuse. I was a coward, I came back a failure and I couldn't man up and look you all in the eye to admit it. I was a coward, but then I saw that kid show so much care for his Pokémon to the point where they're his family and it tore me up when I didn't have the guts to do the same for the children I raised so I came back. Can you forgive your father's idiotic mistakes?"
Brock felt a lot of emotion pulse through him and eventually looked his dad in the eyes and said, "I forgive you".
"But, I…" started Flint, but Brock cut him off.
"Dad, the important thing is that you're here and sorry for what you've done. I accept your apology, but you'll have to earn it from the other 8 kids you have," said Brock seriously while Flint was overjoyed that he was forgiven.
"Brock, I'll take over for the gym and family. I'm sorry you couldn't go out and follow your heart because of me and from now on I'm going to make it up to everyone who suffered from my stupid decisions," said Flint and Brock was left stunned for a few seconds before speaking.
"Thank you, dad," said Brock, who then saw Leaf and Misty coming down the stairs. "But in the meantime, I believe there's one more challenger that wants to face me."
"Yeah, that's me," said Leaf as she handed Ash his Holo–Caster back and he talked to everyone back in Kalos as they congratulated him.
Later that day, it was Leaf's turn to battle Brock after he healed up his Pokémon at the Pokémon Center, and now they both stood on the battlefield, ready to battle as Ash and Misty were watching.
"This will be a 2–on–2 Pokémon battle between Leaf, the challenger, and Brock, the Gym Leader. Each side will use 2 Pokémon and the battle will be over when all Pokémon on one side are unable to continue," explained the referee. "Are the trainers ready?"
"Ready," answered Leaf and Brock.
"Let the battle begin," said the referee.
"Geodude, come on out," said Brock, sending out his first Pokémon.
"If Ash can beat it with a bug–type, then so can I," thought Leaf as she made her first choice. "Beedrill, I choose you!"
"Why would she send out Beedrill," Misty asked Ash, surprised by Leaf's choice.
"No idea, but I hope she has a plan," said Ash. "Leaf seems too confident and that's what worries me."
"Geodude, start with Rock Tomb," said Brock.
"Dodge it, Beedrill and use Focus Energy," said Leaf. Geodude fired his Rock Tomb, but Beedrill managed to dodge it and raised his chance of landing a critical hit. "Now use Pin Missile!"
"Geodude, dodge it with Rollout and then slam into Beedrill," said Brock. Beedrill fired his Pin Missile, but Geodude managed to avoid it and got hit by the super–effective Rollout. "Now use Rock Tomb!"
"Beedrill, destroy the rocks with your best Pin Missile and then use Twineedle," said Leaf.
"She shouldn't have fallen for that trick," thought Ash when he heard Leaf's command.
Beedrill managed to counter Rock Tomb with Pin Missile, but before he could use Twineedle, Geodude came out of nowhere and got hit by another Rollout, causing serious damage on Beedrill.
"Geodude, use Tackle," said Brock.
"Beedrill, use Harden and then Aerial Ace," said Leaf. Geodude landed its Tackle, but Beedrill reduced the damage because of Harden and scored a direct hit with Aerial Ace. "Beedrill, use Twineedle!"
"Geodude, dodge it and finish this with Rollout," said Brock. Beedrill fired his Twineedle, but Geodude managed to dodge the attack and slammed right into Beedrill with a third Rollout, knocking it out.
"Beedrill is unable to battle. Geodude is the winner," announced the referee, much to Leaf's shock.
"But how is that possible," asked Leaf.
"Rock–type attacks are super–effective against bug–types," explained Brock. "And the more Rollout is used, the more powerful it gets."
"But Butterfree defeated Geodude, so why Beedrill couldn't," said Leaf as she returned Beedrill to his PokéBall.
"Leaf, just because one bug–type can defeat a rock–type, doesn't mean another will as well," said Brock and Leaf nodded.
"You're my last hope. Bulbasaur, I choose you," said Leaf as she brought out her starter.
"A grass–type? This should be interesting," said Brock. "Geodude, use Rollout!"
"Bulbasuar, use Sleep Powder and then Leech Seed," said Leaf. Geodude charged in with Rollout, but Bulbasaur put it to sleep with Sleep Powder and then landed his Leech Seed, causing Geodude to lose health. "Now use Vine Whip!"
"Geodude, wake up," said Brock in worry. Geodude couldn't hear its trainer and got hit by the super–effective Vine Whip, knocking it out.
"Geodude is unable to battle. Bulbasaur wins," announced the referee and Brock returned his rock/ground–type to its PokéBall.
"Yes, we won," said Leaf, but was interrupted.
"Not so fast. Remember, I still got one more Pokémon," said Brock as he brought out his final Pokémon, Onix, and Leaf paled when she saw how big Onix was at close range.
"How did Ash stayed calm at the size of this thing," thought Leaf in wonder and she remembered that Ash had lots of Pokémon, including two dragon pseudo–legendries and Steelix. "I can do this. I need to come up with some strategies if I want to defeat Onix."
"Leaf," called Ash from the stands. "Don't forget to use the right moves. Remember Onix is in a major disadvantage. You just got to believe in yourself and don't give up 'til it's over!"
"Ash is right. A combination of the right moves will guarantee me the victory," thought Leaf and smiled at her best friend, silently thanking him for the encouragement.
"Bulbasaur, let's win this," Leaf said to her starter. "Use Vine Whip."
"Onix, dodge it with Dig," said Brock. Bulbasaur extended his whips, but Onix went underground and avoided the grass–type move.
"You won't get away. "Use Poison Powder into the hole," said Leaf. Bulbasaur fired his Poison Powder into the hole a few seconds later, Onix bursted through the ground, hitting Bulbasaur with Dig, but also appeared to be poisoned. "Now use Leech Seed and then Venoshsock."
Bulbasaur landed his Leech Seed and with the poison, Onix began losing health even faster, and because it was poisoned Venoshock caused more damage than usual.
"Bulbasaur, use Tackle," said Leaf.
"Onix, counter it with Slam," said Brock.
Bulbasaur charged with Tackle, but Onix's Slam easily overpowered it and slammed Bulbasaur into the wall.
"Now use Rock Throw," said Brock.
"Dodge it, Bulbasaur," said Leaf. Bulbasaur barely managed to avoid the attack and regained some health from Leech Seed. "Let's finish this with Vine Whip!"
Bulbasaur extended his vines and landed a direct hit with Vine Whip on Onix, knocking it out.
"Onix is unable to battle. Bulbasaur wins," said the referee. "The victory goes to Leaf from Pallet Town!"
"Yes! We did it, Bulbasaur! We won," cheered Leaf as she hugged Bulbasaur.
Brock returned Onix to its PokéBall and went up to Leaf.
"That was a great battle, Leaf," said Brock as he held the badge in his hand. "You sure are a tough opponent. And I want you to take have this, the proof that you beat me, the Boulder Badge."
"Thanks, Brock. I got the Boulder Badge," said Leaf as she celebrated with Bulbasaur.
Ash and Misty came down and congratulated their friend on her victory with Ash giving her a hug, which Leaf returned.
After the celebration, the group went to the Pokémon Center so Leaf could heal up her Pokémon and then went to the Pokémart to get some supplies for a journey through Mt. Moon. After getting the supplies, they went back to the gym and were surprised to see Brock with a backpack coming out of the building.
"There you guys are," said Brock happily.
"What's going on, Brock," asked Leaf.
"Well, now that my dad came back, I can finally go on my journey," explained Brock.
"That's great news. I'm sure you'll become the best Pokémon Breeder," said Ash.
"Thanks, Ash, but I was wondering if I could travel with you guys," said Brock nervously.
"Of course you can come with us," said Ash happily, and Greninja, Pikachu, Leaf and Misty nodded in agreement. "The more, the merrier!"
"Thank you, guys. I'm sure we'll have lots of fun together," said Brock with a smile.
"Alright, let's hit the road," said Ash while cheering.
To be continued…
Well everybody, here's the 4th chapter. Next time is Mt. Moon, and Leaf and Brock will get new Pokémon as well as fossils. Speaking of fossils, the fossil Ash has is an Old Amber, which means he'll have an Aerodactyl later on. Tell me in the reviews what fossil Leaf and Brock should get. I'll see you all next time and until then, have a nice day.
R&R