Chapter 30: A Day at the Gym
Ash and Ilima exited the ferry at Malie City, ready for their next big adventure.
"Two islands down, two to go. Ready, Pikachu?"
"Pika!"
"Sounds good to me, buddy."
"I like the enthusiasm, but your trials are only going to get harder from here."
"That's just the way I like it."
While making their way to Malie City proper, Ash spotted a poster on the wall. He didn't think much of it at first but did a double take when he realized what it said.
"The Kantonian Gym? I thought you guys didn't have gyms in Alola."
"Ah yes, I remember hearing about this place. Apparently, the owner was inspired by the gyms he visited in Kanto and decided to create something similar in Alola. While he hasn't managed to get a league started, the gym has become a popular spot for Pokemon trainers of their Island Trial."
"What do you say, Pikachu? Want to give it a try?"
"Pika!"
"Alright, then off we go to the Kantonian Gym!"
The place wasn't very hard to find, being about a 10-minute walk from the terminal. Ash and Ilima entered to find a sparse interior, the only things of note being a small battlefield and a row of bleachers off to the side. They were greeted at the door by a brightly dressed man wielding a guitar, his tongue grossly waggling out of his mouth as he played.
"Yo dudes, welcome to the Kantonian gym! Names Ryuki, and I run this here place. You here to challenge me?"
Ash stepped forward.
"I'll take you on! How about you, Ilima?"
"Oh, no thank you. I'll just watch from the sidelines."
Ryuki howled in laughter.
"Glad to see a trainer with some spunk, but you're going to need more than that to win. Alright, here's how this works: defeat my three disciples and you get the right to challenge me. What do you say, you dig?"
"Oh yeah!"
"Then let the challenge commence!"
After a few minutes of preparation, Ash stood before his first opponent, a boy named Farley.
"Alright, all battles before the Gym Leader are one-on-one battles, and will continue until a Pokémon on either side has been deemed unable to battle. The Gym Trainer shall go first. Ready?"
"I am?"
"A Kantonian Gym Trainer is always ready!"
"Then let the battle commence!"
"Go, Smoochum!"
"Rockruff, I choose you!"
The two Pokemon burst out onto the battlefield, but Ash noticed that his Rockruff seemed different. Its expression, contrary to its typical happy and lovable one, was instead fierce and intimidating as it pawed at the ground, anxious to get started.
"Rockruff vs Smoochum, begin!"
Before Ash could even issue a command, rushing at Smoochum and delivering a fierce Crunch, knocking the poor Pokémon out.
"Smoochum is unable to battle! The winners of this battle are Ash and Rockruff!"
Despite his victory, Ash was unhappy with Rockruff.
"Rockruff, what was that about? You can't just go and do whatever you want!"
Rockruff just huffed, turning his back on his trainer and blowing off his words completely. Ash was having serious Charizard flashbacks.
Farley, meanwhile, was furious with the result.
"Hey boss, that shouldn't count! Rockruff reacted without a command from its trainer, it should be disqualified!"
Ryuki shook his head.
"Anything goes here. Your Pokemon was knocked out, so you lost. Now step aside so that the next trainer can challenge Ash."
Farley sulked off, and another boy named Darley. Ash attempted to return Rockruff, but the puppy refused, shaking off the capture beam like it was nothing. Darley, despite seeing the previous battle, was not deterred.
"You might have beaten Farley, but Cutiefly and I won't be so easy."
To illustrate, Darley unleashed his Cutiefly, the tiny bug Pokemon buzzing around excitedly.
"Rockruff vs Cutiefly, begin!"
"Rockruff, use Rock Blast!"
Rockruff growled, but complied, sending out stones from its fur to strike Cutiefly. Although it managed to avoid most of them, the ones that did hit did considerable damage.
"Shake it off Cutiefly and use Fairy Wind!"
The Pink gust of energy barely affected Rockruff, who responded in turn with a Stone Edge, the stones bursting out of the ground to hit Cutiefly, knocking it out to Darley's dismay.
"Cutiefly is unable to battle! The winners are Ash and Rockruff!"
Once more Ash tried to return Rockruff, only for it to once again brush off the capture beam as the last trainer stepped forward, a girl named Shirataki.
"Its time to show you why I'm the strongest Disciple here. Go, Formantis!"
The grass type emerged, its blade arms slashing the air in an attempt to intimidate Rockruff.
"Rockruff vs Formantis, begin!"
"Rockruff, use…"
Ash never got a chance to finish his sentence, for Rockruff had already charged at Formantis, Tackling it with all his might. Formantis retaliated with a Leaf Blade, although the attack barely seemed to faze Rockruff. When Formantis let its guard down, Rockruff swooped in with a hard Crunch to its arm, causing Formantis to cry out in pain before passing out.
"Formantis is unable to battle! The winners are Ash and Rockruff!"
Ash didn't even attempt to return Rockruff, realizing that it would do him no good. Fired up from watching Ash's battles, Ryuki leaped from his spot, playing a riff on his electric guitar as he landed.
"WOO! I hope you're ready Ash, because my Pokémon are ready to rumble!"
Shirataki took Ryuki's place as referee, pushing her glasses up in annoyance.
"This battle will be a three-on-three battle, no substitutions. Once all Pokémon on either side have been declared unable to battle, the battle will have been decided. Are both trainers ready?"
"I am!"
"I'm always ready!"
"Then let the battle begin!"
Ryuki removed a Pokeball from his guitar strap, smirking as he released the Pokémon inside.
"Go, Turtonator! Show that Pup who's boss!"
The giant fire tortoise emerged, smirking at its opponent and enraging Rockruff even more. Before Ash could stop him, Rockruff dashed at him, intending to use Bite. This gave Ryuki the chance he needed.
"Turtonator, use Shell Trap!"
Turtonator turned, its shell facing Rockruff. As Rockruff jumped up to Bite him, he closed his shell, ensnaring Rockruff and causing it to howl in pain.
"Rockruff, no!"
A large explosion sounded as Rockruff was blasted out, skidding across the floor to Ash's feet out cold.
"Rockruff is unable to battle! The round goes to Ryuki and Turtonator!"
Ash gently picked up Rockruff, who was now calmer and much more like its normal self.
"Hey its alright, buddy. You just take a nice long rest."
Rockruff smiled, giving a weak "ruff" as he was returned to his Pokeball.
"Heh, so much for taking out the whole gym by itself. Your Rockruff is tough, but my Dragon types are stronger."
"Yeah, well we'll see. Go, Croconaw!"
Ash's Croconaw emerged, snapping its jaws crossly at Turtonator, riling him up.
"Turtonator vs Croconaw, begin!"
"Turtonator, use Incinerate!"
"Hydro Pump, Croconaw!"
The two attacks clashed in the middle, the blast of water trying to gain ground over the large blast of fire. Although the two attacks were even for a good minute, the fire began to lose energy, eventually being overtaken by the Hydro Pump allowing Turtonator to be blasted. Although the attack wasn't enough to knock it out, it was clear that it took its toll.
"Finish him off with Aqua Jet, Croconaw!"
Turtonator recovered just in time to be hit straight in the face with an Aqua Jet, not even having time to set up a Shell Trap before falling over unconscious.
"Turtonator is unable to battle. The round goes to Croconaw!"
"Way to go, Croconaw! Return!"
"You did a good job, Turtonator. Take a good long rest."
The two trainers returned their Pokémon, before turning their gaze towards each other as they both took out their next Pokémon.
"Your Croconaw was impressive Ash, but we're far from finished. Go, Drampa!"
"The same goes for us, Ryuki. Go, Bagon!"
The two Dragon Types burst out, glaring at each other fiercely. Ryuki smirked.
"A Dragon type versus a Dragon Type. An interesting choice but be careful. Dragon Types are weak against other Dragons."
"Yeah, well that goes for you two. Just remember that!"
"Bagon vs Drampa, begin!"
"Dragon Breath, Drampa/Bagon!"
The two attacks clashed in the middle, exploding and creating a thick cloud of smoke.
"Zen Headbutt, Bagon, then follow it up with Dragon Claw!"
From the smoke Bagon emerged, headbutting Drampa right in the gut before dealing a Dragon Claw upward, hitting its jaw and causing significant damage.
"Dragon Pulse, Drampa!"
"You two, Bagon!"
The two bursts of energy hit their targets, causing another explosion of smoke. When the smoke cleared, Bagon stood firm, but Drampa had slumped over in defeat.
"Drampa is unable to battle! The round goes to Bagon!"
"Way to go Bagon!"
Before everyone's eyes, Bagon began glowing. When the glow died down, A Shelgon stood in his place.
"Woah, Bagon evolved into Shelgon!"
"Gon Shelgon!"
Ryuki smiled as he took out his last Pokémon, having the time of his life.
"Congratulations, but even with a Shelgon you won't beat me. Go, Garchomp!"
"Garchomp vs Shelgon, begin!"
"Garchomp, use Cross Chop!"
"Flamethrower, Shelgon!"
Despite Shelgon's best efforts, Garchomp ran right through the flames, hitting him twice with his blade arms, causing Shelgon pain but he held his ground.
"Cross Chop again, Garchomp!"
"Use Zen Headbutt, Shelgon!"
Before Garchomp could attack again, Shelgon rammed him right in the gut, causing it to double over in pain.
"Garchomp, get up and finish him with Dragon Breath!"
"Shelgon, use Dragon Pulse!"
The two attacks collided once more, neither side willing to give up as they continued to put more energy into their attacks. Eventually though, Shelgon began to weaken and his attack began to get overpowered.
"Don't give up, Shelgon! You can do it, I believe in you!"
"Pika!"
Encouraged by their words, Shelgon put all he had into his next attack, the Dragon Pulse completely overpowering the Dragon Breath and striking Garchomp head on, knocking him out cold.
"Garchomp is unable to battle. The round goes to Shelgon, and the battle goes to Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!"
"Alright! Way to go, Shelgon!"
"Pika Pi!"
"Gon!"
Despite his loss, Ryuki smiled as he returned Garchomp before walking over to Ash.
"Congratulations, Ash! That's the best battle I've had in a long time. Here, take this memorable Kantonian Badge!"
Ryuki handed the small circular object to Ash. On one side was Ryuki's grinning face, while on the other was the inscription "this badge is not officially endorsed by any Pokemon League."
"Alright, I got a Kantonian Badge!"
"Pika Pi!"
"You've got some serious skills, Ash. You're welcome here any time."
"Thanks, Ryuki. I had a blast as well."
"Oh by the way, I think I know why you're Rockruff is acting like that. See, I read somewhere that when a Rockruff is getting close to evolving, they undergo drastic and often violent mood swings like that. Pretty soon, you'll have a Lycanroc on your hands."
"Really? That's awesome!"
With that, Ash and Ilima made their way out into Malie City, waving to Ryuki and his disciples as they went. Ash was now more ready than ever to take on his next trial, wherever that may be."
