Ok, so let's pick off the story from where we left off, I appreciate the new reviews that the readers left from the third chapter and thank you for doing that. While people made admirable guesses such as Gible, Sandile and Swinub, the pokémon is actually none of these. While I did consider Sandile and Swinub, ultimately, I felt like I wanted to use a Pokemon that Ash and his friends didn't have in the anime.


Viridian Forest 11:00 am

After finally being released from the hospital two days after he woke up, Ash was ready to back on his journey again. Ash's mom and Professor Oak had both come to visit him in the hospital, with Delia's scolding about deliberately putting himself in danger had his ears ringing till the next day.

Before he started going through the forest though, he decided to check out what Pokémon Giovanni had gifted him. Although he wouldn't admit it if asked, he was secretly hoping that it was a pseudo legendary like Gible.

He released the pokémon from its ball and stared in confusion at the small ant/bug like pokémon that was looking at him. He pulled out Dexter to scan it.

Trapinch – The Ant Pit Pokémon

Its jaws are strong enough to crush rocks but so heavy that it can't get up if it flips over. Sandile seize those moments as their chance

Gender – Male

Ability – Sheer Force

Known Moves - Bite, Sand Attack, Bide, Mud Slap, Bulldoze and Feint Attack.

Ash was really impressed by Trapinch and the amount of moves he knew despite being so young. "You're a strong little pokémon aren't you buddy? Do you want a nickname like Saur here?" he asked.

Trapinch was excited to hear Ash praise him but shook his head no regarding the nickname. Ash was a little disappointed to see another of his pokémon reject a nickname, but he decided to let it go and focus on making progress on getting through the forest.

He recalled Trapinch and started walking through the forest.


The Next day, 3:00 pm

Ash had been making steady progress through the forest and had stopped multiple times to defeat the weak Bug Catchers that populated the forest. It helped his pokémon, with Shinx in particular, gain some much-needed experience and got him some extra cash for supplies.

He was just about to stop for the day, to train some more when a Katana came at him suddenly, he yelped loudly and ducked while covering his head to protect himself.

When nothing happened in the next few seconds, he poked his head out to see what was happening and saw an embarrassed Samurai in front of him.

"What was that? You nearly killed me man" yelled a very angry Ash.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare, I just wanted to challenge the last Pallet trainer to pass through here. I must regain my honor after having lost to your brethren" the Samurai explained.

"Well, if you wanted to challenge, why couldn't you act like a sane person and just ask me? I would never turn down a battle" he asked, calming down after Samurai's explanation.

"I'm sorry, I just get excited thinking about a battle. I swear that I sincerely meant no harm. Anyway, would a two-on-two work for you?" apologized Samurai.

Ash nodded his headed and move to release Saur. The Samurai surprised him when he released a Pinsir, a rare pokémon and quite a threat if trained properly, but Ash had a feeling that either his pokémon were extremely weak or this "Samurai" was extremely incompetent if all his classmates had managed to beat him.

It was going to be difficult, but Ash decided to play it safe instead of assuming an easy victory. He ordered Saur to weaken its attack by using growl, but when nothing happened, he realized that Pinsir's ability must prevent lowering of its stats or something.

He ordered to Saur power up using growth and was a little surprised to see that Pinsir still hadn't attacked. Samurai must have realized his confusion, when he explained that according to his honor code, he wouldn't attack unless provoked.

Now someone with more honor or pride might have attacked just to kick off and have a fair battle but Ash only cared about one thing and that was winning.

He ordered Saur to keep using growth until he was all powered up. It took nearly five minutes until Saur was done and Ash was getting a little bored so, he ordered Saur to use Tackle to kick the battle off. Saur's powered up Tackle was so powerful that it knocked Pinsir back a few feet when he hit it.

Samurai ordered Pinsir to use Vise Grip on Saur and knock him out. Unfortunately, Saur wasn't able to dodge in time because of Pinsir's far superior speed and was trapped between his pincers. Pinsir's weakness showed when the attack didn't hurt Saur very much though it did trap him.

Getting an idea, Ash ordered Saur to hit Pinsir in the face with his vines which forced Pinsir to release him. Ash decided to capitalize on the opportunity and commanded Saur to wrap Pinsir in his vines and throw him into the tree.

The impact of this knocked Pinsir out and Ash was a little surprised at how easy it had been. It should have been impossible for such a young, inexperienced Bulbasaur to defeat a much older and stronger Pinsir. However, he decided to put it out of his mind and get back to the battle. Samurai didn't remark on Pinsir's defeat and instead just sent out his next pokémon.

After seeing a Pinsir as the lead, Ash had been expecting something impressive for Samurai's next pokémon as well but on seeing that his next pokémon was Metapod, he nearly fell over in surprise.

Ash decided to give Shinx a chance and recalled Saur. He released Shinx and ordered her to continuously use Tackle. Thankfully, it seemed Metapod only knew Harden and though it took a couple of minutes, due to Metapod's increasing defenses, Shinx was able to knock Metapod out without a scratch on him.

"I've been bested once again by the geniuses from Pallet, I will stay here training until I could defeat one of your brethren in battle again" he said in an ashamed tone while handing Ash his winnings.

Ash decided that the whole experience was too weird for him and started moving forward to get through the forest. According to the Sliph Maps on his Pokédex, he was still a day away from reaching Pewter City.


Pewter City, 5 days later

After hurrying to reach Pewter City, Ash had been busy training for his upcoming gym battle rigorously. He made sure that his pokémon had perfected their moves while learning new moves to help them during battle.

Saur had learnt Razor Leaf, Leech Seed and was close to learning Sleep and Poison Powders. Shinx had finally learnt how to harness her electric energy and had learnt Charge and Thunder Shock. Ash was teaching her how to use Bite next. Trapinch, his strongest pokémon hadn't learnt any new moves, but he had gained mastery over all his previous moves.

While his pokémon were busy training, Ash hadn't been lazing around either. He had researched what team Brock usually used for first badge trainers and what their moves and abilities were. This had allowed Ash to formulate a solid Plan of Action for the match.

He walked towards the gym, excited to have his first ever league battle. He walked in the door and asked for Brock.

"Hello, I'm Ash Ketchum and I'm here to challenge Gym Leader Brock to a battle" he announced in his most formal voice.

"Your challenge is accepted. This will a two-on-two pokémon battle, the challenger is allowed to substitute his pokémon, but the gym leader is not. My younger brother Forrest will referee the match. Are the terms clear?" asked Brock with a hint of smile due to Ash's formal tone.

Ash nodded to show that he understood and released Saur on the field. Brock released a Geodude as Ash had expected.

"Saur use Tackle on Geodude and knock it out" he ordered in an arrogant tone. Brock shook his head a little on his hearing his tone and told Geodude to dodge.

"Now that he's range, use Leech Seed on him Saur and incapacitate him. While he's fighting it off, wrap him in your vines and use Razor Leaf on his continuously" viciously said Ash.

Brock was surprised to hear the sudden shift in tactics and ordered Geodude to get free and use Defense Curl. Fortunately for Ash the vines were able to hold Geodude in place and the super effective Razor Leaf soon knocked him.

"Hmm, I must confess that I underestimated you. Don't worry, you won't find the next pokémon as easy to defeat" promised Brock while releasing his signature Onix.

Ash was pleased that the battle was going better than he had expected and continued with his prepared strategy. He recalled Saur and sent out Trapinch on the field.

Brock was a little surprised to see a Trapinch in Kanto, especially in the hands of a rookie. He decided to play it safe and ordered Onix to stay away from Trapinch's strong jaw.

"Trapinch, use Bulldoze on Onix and while he's dealing with it, blind him using Sand Attack." Onix roared in pain due to Trapinch's attack being boosted by Sheer Force and was unable to respond to his Mud Slap in time.

Brock tried to get the battle back in his favor and commanded Onix to use Rock Throw on Trapinch. Onix summoned up multiple rocks and directed them towards Trapinch.

Due to having his accuracy lowered by Sand Attack, only a few rocks hit Trapinch. The move took a chunk out of Trapinch despite being not very effective on him.

"Use Bind to trap and knock him out Onix" said Brock in a frustrated voice. While the move wasn't the optimal choice, Brock was left with few other options and decided to go for broke.

Ash said nothing while Onix in to trap Trapinch with its body using Bind. After Onix had successfully trapped Trapinch, he smiled and ordered him to use Bite. The weakened Onix was unable to stand the attack and collapsed unconscious on the floor.

"I must admit that you are the best challenger I've seen in a while. The level of tactics and strategy you showed was far above what most rookies do, and I feel pleased to give this Boulder Badge. You will also receive the league sanctioned customary TM, which for the Pewter Gym is the TM Headbutt."

Ash wanted to whoop in joy but managed to restrain himself and went to Brock and received his badge, TM, and prize money. Ash was thankful that the league had switched to giving out permanent TMs, since Headbutt was a very useful move.

He thanked Brock and made to leave the gym. His victory over Brock would be later touted as an example of his genius and talent that was evident even as rookie.

It was getting dark, and the sun was going down, but for Ash the sun was just rising on his journey.


I must admit that after the high stakes in the last chapter, this feels a little slow and boring. But this chapters sets the stage for the later chapter and gives us a glimpse into Ash's morals and the differences from Anime Ash.

While only two moves shouldn't have normally knocked out Onix, Trapinch has the ability Sheer Force which boosted both moves by 30%. Hope this clears up any confusion whether Trapinch is overpowered or not.

About Trapinch, I wanted to give him a nickname, but I just couldn't think of a good one. Ultimately, for me the nickname should be short and obvious as to what the pokémon is, case in point Saur.

With all the new pokémon and their moves, even I'm getting a little confused between them. I think I'm going to start including Ash's team on hand and their moves. BTW, no 4-move limit applies this universe, because it personally makes no sense to me.

After I had finished writing the chapter, one reviewer was indeed able to guess Trapinch correctly. So, kudos to William152. I think the next chapter should be out next week at the latest. I would love to release chapters sooner but unfortunately; real life gets in the way and slows things down.

Ash's Pokémon list:

Bulbasaur (Saur) – Tackle, Growl, Vine Whip, Growth, Leech Seed, and Razor Leaf.

Shinx – Tackle, Leer, Charge and Thunder Shock.

Trapinch - Bite, Sand Attack, Bide, Mud Slap, Bulldoze and Feint Attack.