Pikachu and Charmander found that they had a dream in common. Both Pokemon wanted to get stronger, and both claimed they would thrash the other next time they battled. Charmander bragged about its prior victory, while Pikachu pointed out that the fire type had gotten lucky, and would not have stood a chance if Ash hadn't come up with his Metal Claw strategy. Needless to say... the two became rivals and fast friends.

They were practicing various moves when Ash walked over to greet them. "Hey Guys," Ash said, grabbing their attention. "Bulbasaur isn't quite up to battling yet, so until that happens, or until we get a new team member, it will just be us training." Two two nodded with understanding and waited for their trainer to continue.

"Before we get started with some training, I figure it might be a good idea to talk about our goals. I know you both want to be strong," at which point both Pokemon smirked and nodded. "I also know that I want to be a Pokemon Master. What does that mean though?"

Pikachu and Charmander shrugged, having never really thought of it that way.

"I am not sure there is a finish line out there, because I know I want to continue to improve and i'm sure both of you do as well, but there is a goal we can do our best to reach to measure our progress. That goal is to become Champion of a region," Ash said with a determined look.

At the Pokemon's confusion, he continued. "The Champion is recognized as the ultimate master in the region and their Pokemon the strongest in the region as well. To become Champion, we will need to defeat the current Champion, Lance in our region's case, and his Elite 4, who are recognized as four powerful trainers with skill only less than that of the current Champion. Not everyone gets to challenge the Elite 4 and the Champion though. To earn that right, we need to win the annual Pokemon League Tournament and to even qualify for that, we need to earn 8 Gym Badges by defeating Gym leaders scattered across the region. I know it is a lot, but it's a goal, and one we can use to drive us to train harder. Are you with me guys?"

"Pika Pika!" "Char Char!"

"Glad to hear it," Ash smiled. "Our first Gym challenge will be against the Pewter City Gym. The Gym specializes in rock type Pokemon." This caused both Pokemon to grimace as Charmander was weak to Rock types, while Pikachu's electric attacks would do nothing since most Rock types had a dual ground typing.

Ash saw this and of course tried to motivate them. "Hey don't look so glum guys. I know we don't exactly have the advantage, but all that means is that we will have to train that much harder!" Both cheered up at that and were ready to go.

"Thats what I want to see. The first thing we need to do is expand your movesets. Charmander, Metal claw is a great tool to have and will come in handy against those Rock types, but that is far from the only challenge ahead of us. I think learning ember and smokescreen would be great starting points. As a fire type, your fire moves should come easier and will be more powerful, making Ember a must. Smokescreen can be a good cover and mess with our opponent's eye sight. I'm not sure what the best way would be to go about getting you to learn these moves, but I do have some ideas. Look for some wood around here and bring it back. Then we will begin."

Not quite following Ash's logic yet, but trusting his trainer, Charmander went off in search of some wood. In the meantime, Ash focused on Pikachu. "Pikachu, your biggest strength by far is your speed, and in order to defeat the Rock types, we are going to build on that. From your last battle with Charmander, I noticed that you out-speeded him, which allowed your quick attack to do more damage than his scratch. That is the edge we will need to pierce through Rock-hard defenses. We will comebine that with Iron Tail to deal some real damage. Before we get to Iron Tail though, I would like you to learn Agility to increase your speed. From what I've read, Agility is like a quick attack that lasts longer and can increase your speed throughout the entire battle. Try chaining together Quick Attacks to see if you can pick up on anything Pikachu."

With that, Pikachu got to work as Ash looked around for Charmander. He found the fire type a few minutes later with a bundle of sticks. "Great job Charmander," said Ash as he patted the Pokemon's head and took the wood. Ash found a dry spot with little to no grass and quickly made a fire by rubbing some of the sticks together, and beckoned Charmander to come close. "This may sound funny Charmander, but try breathing in the smoke the fire produces through your nose and then exhale through your mouth. The repetition may got your body used to the process and even help you produce your own smoke. Once you get that down, we can work on heating it up and turning it into a proper Ember."

Thrilled with the idea of learning some proper fire type moves, Charmander got to work as well. "Good job buddy. Keep at it, while I go look for some more wood to keep this fire going."

Things went on like this for a few hours. Pikachu continued his quick attack chaining, Charmander practiced breathing the smoke in and out, and Ash kept the fire going. Eventually, Ash saw that his Pokemon were getting tired and called for a lunch break. Admittedly, Ash was working up a bit of a sweat himself with all the walking back and forth for wood.

The three enjoyed a nice lunch, which Bulbasaur even joined in for, comprised of standard Pokemon food and some sandwiches Ash's mom had packed for him. Pikachu griped a bit after being used to the Rawst berries at the ranch, and Ash promised to get some special food that suited their individual natures when they got to Viridian City.

After lunch, Bulbasaur went back into his ball and the other three got back into their routine for a few hours. By the time it was nearing the early evening, Charmander had managed to learn a basic smokescreen and Pikachu was able to increase the duration of its quick attacks, getting closer to a proper Agility. Ash was pretty pleased with the progress they were making and praised his Pokemon often. At this point, he ceased training for the rest of the day, calling back Charmander to his Pokeball since he was tuckered out. Pikachu, of course, refused to be confined, and claimed a spot on Ash's shoulder, causing the boy to chuckle.

Ash continued walking down Route 1 with Pikachu on his shoulder until it was too dark to properly see. By his estimate, they were a few hours outside of Viridian city. Lucky for Ash and his team, he found that they had arrived at a stream of fresh water. This was the perfect place to make camp for the night. He quickly called out Charmander for some light, thanks to the fire on his tail.

Now that he could see better, Ash could vaguely make out some used fishing line and bait on the ground. Someone must have done some fishing not too long back. Shrugging and moving on, Ash put up a tent from his backpack, had everyone eat a quick dinner, and settled in for a well-earned night of sleep. Ash, Pikachu, and Charmander slept together in the tent. Each of them dreamt of battle and victory.

END CHAPTER

This first training montage was meant to show Ash's ability to think outside the box when it comes to training his Pokemon. There will likely be future versions of this with different Pokemon from time to time, but as time goes by and processes get learned, it will get more generic with veteran team members showing newer team members the ropes.

By now, you have probably realized that some significant events have changed. Ash staying at Oak's lab an additional night had some big repercussions. He not only missed encountering the Pidgey and Spearow, but as alluded to at the end of the chapter, he also missed his first encounter with a very important anime character. Ho-Oh's appearance also occurred right outside of Pallet a few chapters ago, instead of outside of Viridian City.

Next chapter, the gang arrives in Viridian City and we see another consequence of Ash being one day late on his journey. Remember to review with your thoughts and critique :)