"Okay, here goes," Ash said, as the two Wurmple looked curiously at him.
"Wait a moment," May interrupted, as he was about to get to work. "I want to check something, first."
"Sure," Ash agreed.
May frowned, then pointed. "That one's Beautifly."
The Wurmple in question looked down at itself, then across at the other one – who shrugged.
"Wurm?" it asked.
"...based on what she just said, you confused them," Ash observed. "Okay, let's find out if you're right."
He tapped both of them gently on the back.
There was a double-flash, and Beautifly and Dustox lifted off the ground as softly as thistledown.
"Looks like you were right," Brock said, nodding. "Impressive."
"I knew Wurmple well," May replied with a smile, holding out her arm to let her Bug-type land on it. "Especially after that time they got – urgh!"
Moving her other arm to support it, she got her arm back up to the place she'd been holding it. "I forgot you were so heavy..."
Beautifly trilled something, and Ash chuckled.
"She says she'd appreciate an explanation as to what's going on."
"Duuust!" Dustox asked, seconding that.
Ash winced. "Oh, sorry, Dustox – I didn't realize..."
"What's that?" Brock asked.
"She'd left to start a family," Ash filled in. "Dustox – if it helps, my Butterfree had the same thing happen, and it worked out fine for him."
Dustox asked another question.
"Very short version is that we went back in time to stop the end of the world," Ash summarized. "That includes Jessie, James, and their Pokémon."
He paused. "Though they've picked up a few new ones. Like Moltres."
Both Beautifly and Dustox looked as shocked as a lepidopteran could be at that.
"Team Rocket has a Legendary?" Beautifly asked, blinking. "That's new. How'd they steal it?"
"Hey!" Dustox replied. "We don't steal Pokémon!"
"What are you talking about? You spend all your time-"
"Actually, Dustox is right, they've more or less stopped trying," Ash said, trying to keep the peace. "And she's also right in another way... they hardly ever succeeded..."
Dustox drooped. "It's sad because it's true..."
She shook her head. "Okay... I guess I can accept that you must have something to do with the time travel – I mean, I'm pretty sure I remember you getting involved with Jirachi once..."
Max smiled. "Yeah, that's something I'm looking forward to."
"I'm looking forward to a contest or two!" Beautifly said, flaring her wings and sending down a glitterdust of shed scales.
"Hey, I was talking..." Dustox said, and shrugged her own wings. "Anyway. I kind of miss Jessie, is there any chance I can see her soon?"
"Sure!" Ash agreed. "We're going to keep an eye out for them, and-"
Okay, this is ridiculous.
Ash looked down at his belt, a bit surprised. "Dexter?"
You've got their phone number, Dexter pointed out. I was hoping you'd realize eventually, but...
Ash slowly turned pink.
"Whoops... that would have saved a lot of time with Seviper," he admitted. "Okay, let's try that."
Dexter beeped. Ringing.
"So," Dustox said, wafting overhead. "You guys are the ones who are supposed to save the world?"
"He performs better under pressure," Brock said in Ash's defence.
This is odd, Dexter said, after a few seconds. There is no connection being made.
"Is their phone just off?" Brock asked. "Huh, I guess you should text them?"
Good idea.
"Well, that makes things a bit more difficult," Ash observed. "I guess you're staying with us until that gets sorted out?"
Dustox nodded. "It seems the best choice."
"Oh, fer cryin' out loud!" Meowth sighed.
"I couldn't help it," Gyarados said weakly. "It was right there."
"Ya ate da phone!"
"I guess we shouldn't leave it on the table near Gyarados' plate," Jessie said, blinking.
The big Water-type hung his head.
"Well, I guess we should get some training done," Ash added. "Doesn't the gym in Rustboro have unusual hours?"
"It doesn't take challengers in school hours, yeah," Brock agreed. "That means we should turn up in a couple of hours, so there's some time for last minute training."
"Ash?" Max asked. "Can you give me some tips on... well, who to use, I guess?"
"Sure," Ash agreed readily. "Okay, this is your first gym challenge, so it's not going to be all that hard – is that right, Brock?"
"That's about right," Brock nodded. "Pretty much, for the first couple of gym challenges using type advantage is enough. What I don't know is what Roxanne's secondary challenge is... for that matter, I don't know them for most of Johto, Ash was strong enough that it was pure combat challenge."
"Right," Max frowned. "I know Dad's one is... well, I guess you could call it rhythm? Being able to handle a Pokémon that operates at a certain speed. I know he once gave a badge to someone whose Pelipper timed their Protects to when Slaking was fighting."
Ash nodded. "Right. So... since you know it's probably going to be type advantage, who do you think you should use?"
"Well, Kris doesn't really have a good move against the Rock type," Max said. "Jolt's learning Dig, but he's not great at it... so I think it's Guy and Cinder who are the priority. Guy's just about got Bullet Seed working, and Cinder has Iron Tail... though I'm not sure how good she is with it."
"She could practice with Pikachu, perhaps," Ash suggested. "Okay, that's pretty good... and what's the usual advantages and disadvantages of the Rock type?"
"They're often quite slow, but pretty tough," Max said, and Ash nodded. "So... I guess the best choice would be to stay distant where possible?"
"Generally, yeah," Ash agreed. "But you do have to think on your feet, so rules like that don't always work."
Max took that in, adjusting his glasses slightly. "Ash? Can I borrow Lucario for some aiming practice?"
"Ask him," Ash replied, sending his Steel-type out.
"I'd be okay with that," Lucario told Max. "Bring on the seeds."
"So, how are you finding it so far?" Ash asked.
Latios bobbed up and down, considering.
"It's interesting," he said. "Steel Wing is a tricky move for me to get down right, and these exercises to make sure I can move things psychically in the right patterns are quite hard."
"Yeah," Ash agreed. "Counter Shield is a tricky one, it took days for Latias to get it right even though she'd already learned a Dragon attack or two... you know. After."
Latios nodded.
"Your first gym battle here is soon?" he asked.
"That's right, Roxanne in Rustboro," Ash confirmed. "She uses Rock types."
"Will you need my help?"
"I don't think so, actually," Ash said after a minute. "I'd rather you were a bit more experienced with Steel Wing before having you fight a Rock type, and going Mega would be overdoing it a bit – especially since I don't want to damage her gym."
Latios rolled his wings a little, appreciating that. "I see."
"Oh, yeah, that reminds me, I think it might be a good idea for you to learn Extrasensory or Zen Headbutt," Ash added. "Depending on how you're doing, Brawly might be a good battle debut, and that's one place where those moves help... but let's focus on Dragonbreath first."
A nod.
"Ash?" Latios said, as Ash reached for his belt. "...thank you for your help. Both for me and my sister. I should have learned this kind of self reliance years ago, but you're making it very easy for me to pick it up."
"That's okay," Ash smiled. "You're a friend, after all."
After waiting a moment, he sent out Mawile.
"Ready for practice?" he asked.
"Yep!" Mawile nodded, smiling. "What's it today?"
"Well, today the main thing is timing," Ash replied. "Remember when we discussed how to not be hit by Earthquake?"
He stamped his foot on the floor, and Mawile hopped quickly so she was in mid-air when his foot hit the ground.
"Good!" Ash nodded. "That's exactly right!"
Ash knocked on the gym door.
After several seconds, he frowned. "Shouldn't she have opened the door by now?"
He switched to Aura Sight and looked through the wall, searching for an Aura signature. "Huh. Empty."
"That doesn't seem normal," May said. "I wonder if we're early?"
Ash glanced at the nearest clock tower. "No, this is at least half an hour after school is supposed to have ended-"
"Sorry!"
Roxanne hurried over, holding a folder full of papers. "Sorry about the delay, I had coursework marking."
Max winced. "Ouch. It's hard enough doing it."
The Rock-type gym leader nodded wearily. "Right... okay. Who's here to challenge?"
Max and Ash raised their hands.
Roxanne blinked, focusing on Max. "You seem a bit young..."
Max held up his Trainer Card.
"Max... Maple. Oh, Norman's kid? He mentioned you a couple of times, he's very proud of you." Roxanne handed the card back, and unlocked the gym doors. "Okay, how many Hoenn badges do you have?"
"None yet," Max admitted.
"That's fine, everyone has to start somewhere." Roxanne walked to the other end of the room, and readied a Pokéball. "This match will be two Pokémon a side. I will be looking for use of appropriate moves and understanding of the type chart."
Max nodded. "Got it."
Roxanne took her first Pokéball. "Geodude!"
"Cinder, let's do this!" Max said in return.
"Sure thing!" Cinder announced, landing on all four paws and crouching down a bit.
Roxanne looked the sleek Dark-type over. "Impressive given how recently you started. A trade?"
"Well, vaguely..." Max shrugged. "Okay, Cinder, ready?"
She answered with a bark.
"Rock Throw," Roxanne ordered.
"Left!" Max called, sending Cinder towards the nearer wall. "Kick off and come back at him!"
Cinder ducked one of the thrown rocks, then leapt at the wall and hit it fore-paws first. She twisted, pushing off with all four legs, and landed to one side of the hovering Rock-type.
"Iron Tail!" Max added, hoping to get the attack in before he reacted, and Cinder swept her tail around towards Geodude.
He blocked with a clang, skating back a few inches, and Roxanne inclined her head slightly.
"Geodude, Mega Punch!"
Geodude swung his free arm towards Cinder, who – no fool – jumped clear.
Max watched, frowning, as Cinder skipped sideways out of the way of a second attack – this one another Rock Throw. "Can you try..."
He remembered something Pikachu had done a couple of times, and inspiration struck.
"Try jumping towards him and doing a roll – and use Iron Tail!"
Cinder was about to try, but misjudged her jump slightly and took a rock to one forepaw – letting out a yelp of pain.
"Cinder!" Max called.
"I'm fine!" she assured him, favouring the paw a little, and pushed off on her pounce anyway. She tumbled forwards in the roll, tail glowing, and a Rock Throw attack spanged off as she closed in.
"Geodude, Hammer Arm!"
Max's eyes widened. "Cinder, look out!"
Geodude drew back, then hammered in a punch as Cinder began to untuck from her roll. The impact knocked her sideways, and she hit the wall with a yipe.
"You okay?" Max called, and Cinder came to her feet before shaking her head woozily.
"Take a break for now," he added, recalling her. "Okay, Guy!"
"A Shroomish?" Roxanne frowned. "Odd. I'd expect you to have one of the starters from Birch's lab..."
"Nah, my starter's an Electrike," Max replied, as Guy looked around. "He's not really at his best here."
"I see. Geodude! Rock Throw!"
"Bullet Seed!" Max said.
Taking a breath, Guy spat out a stream of hard, glowing seeds. They hit the oncoming rock, cracking it and making it shatter into much smaller fragments.
As the smaller bits of rock bounced off his top surface, Guy stepped back a pace. "What now?"
Getting the gist, Max pointed. "Uh, try and get closer!"
"Interesting choice," Roxanne noted. "Geodude, use Mega Punch!"
"Mega Drain!" Max said quickly.
The Grass-type attack had just begun to spin out when the Mega Punch connected.
Guy rolled backwards, sent less towards the air than Cinder had been when she'd taken a nasty blow, and stopped near the other side of the gym.
Geodude had not come off well from Guy's attack either. He shook his head, then rallied – but going noticeably slower than before.
"Bullet Seed, quick!" Max said.
Geodude flung up his rocky hands against the barrage of seeds, but one slipped through and cracked him on the forehead. He fell to the gym floor with a "Dude..."
"Interesting," Roxanne concluded. "You got a lot of impact out of that Mega Drain. Very good... now, Nosepass!"
"Stay out for now, Guy!" Max said. "Okay, he's going to be a bit slow, so keep your distance!"
"Nosepass, Sandstorm!"
"...oh, great," Max said with a sigh, as the battlefield disappeared in swirling sand. "Okay, we can do this!"
Guy nodded firmly.
"Bullet Seed... now! Just two!"
Two seeds snapped out into the sand, and Max watched them for the short distance they could go before they went out of sight.
There was a faint tink sound as they hit the side walls, just about audible through the rushing sand.
"Great!" Max enthused. "Okay, Bullet Seed and turn in a circle!"
"Harden, Nosepass!" Roxanne ordered.
Guy turned slowly, spitting out a stream of Bullet Seeds into the sandstorm. They swept across the gym, a bit at a time.
"Rock Tomb!" Roxanne said suddenly.
"Wait, back there – that's where Nosepass is!" Max realized. "Where you just fired!"
Guy turned back, and got off a few Bullet Seeds before rocks came crashing down to land on him.
"You okay?" Max asked, worried.
The rocks wiggled, then Guy pushed one off him.
"You look in a bad way..." Max frowned. "Okay, return!"
Changing Pokéballs, he sent out Cinder again.
"If you can win, great," he said, crouching down to give her a quick rub. "If not, then see if you can give Guy some time to rest."
Cinder nodded, determination in her eyes, and turned to plunge into the sandstorm.
"Rock Tomb," Roxanne ordered.
The rocks landing made the floor tremble slightly, but there was no yip of pain from the Mightyena.
"...hm," Roxanne frowned.
Then she blinked. "Wait – move!"
Nosepass was about to move when Cinder burst out of the ground next to him, and slammed in a tail-blow with Iron Tail to add to the impact from her Dig.
The impact made the rocky Pokémon wobble, and Max noticed that as she got clear – aided by the sandstorm collapsing.
"Get a run up and push him over!"
"Thunder Wave!" Roxanne instructed, and crackling energy burst out and ran across Cinder's fur.
The effect, however, was not what she had anticipated.
Rather than being locked in place, Cinder let loose a howl and accelerated. She covered the distance between herself and Nosepass in a flash, seemingly not caring for the electricity all over her body, and slammed both forepaws into the top of Nosepass' body.
That made him teeter forwards, then overbalance – hitting the ground with a thud.
"Finish him off with Play Rough!" Max said.
Jaws glowing, Cinder lifted Nosepass with a grunt of effort. Her legs trembled, her bruised foreleg nearly giving out, but she let out a shouted bark and tossed Nosepass at the wall.
Roxanne recalled him before he impacted.
"Good work," she said. "You were alert to the condition of your Pokémon, and didn't let them faint if there was a chance of their continuing to fight later. Well done, Max Maple – you've earned your first Badge."
Max panted a little, having been caught up in the battle himself, then grinned. "We did it!"
He bent down to give the tired Dark-type a rub. "Great work there, girl."
Cinder stretched her back, luxuriating in the feeling, and Max continued to do it with one hand as he caught the Badge with the other.
"Nice work, Max!" May called. "Great first gym battle!"
"Thanks!" he called back, then returned Cinder. "I guess it's straight to the Pokémon centre when we're done..."
"My turn now!" Ash announced.
Roxanne nodded to him. "And how many Hoenn badges do you have?"
Ash blinked. "Uh... Hoenn badges? I guess... none either?"
"Right. This battle will be one-on-three, then – you may use three Pokémon to beat mine."
"...what's she got?" May asked Brock quietly. "A Regirock or something?"
"No, I just think she's making a huge mistake..." Brock replied.
Ash frowned as he stepped forwards. "Three? Uh... that seems kind of-"
"I know, but my Pokémon's a tough one. I'm looking to see how you deal with an especially tough opponent," Roxanne explained. "You might not need to knock him out if you do well."
There was a high-pitched chuckle from thin air. Roxanne frowned, then shook it off.
"Right," Ash said. "Uh... okay, then."
He plucked a Pokéball from his belt. "Okay, Mawile, time for your first gym battle!"
"A Mawile?" Roxanne said, interested, as the Steel-type formed. "I'm surprised you've got one."
"I got her as an egg," Ash said by way of explanation.
"I'll do my best!" Mawile nodded, jaw moving slightly.
"Golem!" Roxanne sent out.
The Rock-Ground type rolled his neck, stretching, and his rocky carapace shifted slightly as he did.
"Start with a Rock Tomb!" she ordered.
Golem nodded, picking up a hunk of rock from the ground and throwing it at Mawile.
"Block with your jaws!" Ash told her.
Mawile nodded, jaws glistening in the light of the gym striplights, and the rock cracked into two pieces as she swung her main weapon into it.
"That tingled! Kind of like an ice cream headache but not really..." Mawile said. "Uh – what now?"
"Iron Head!" Ash instructed her.
"Right!"
The young Pokémon leaned forward slightly and jumped forwards. Golem raised his arm, and she hit with a crunch which produced a slight wince on Golem's part.
His arm moved, throwing her backwards, and she landed on one foot and nearly fell over backwards before rebalancing. "Whoaaaa... phew!"
"Flamethrower!" Roxanne instructed.
"Turn around and use Ice Fang!" Ash said quickly.
True to her instructions, Mawile did a hasty half-pirouette. Her jaws half-opened, glittering with ice, and then slammed closed as the Flamethrower attack arrived.
The ice sapped some of the heat, and she came out of the attack better than she otherwise would have done.
Once she was okay, though, she immediately lunged forwards in another Iron Head.
"Good job!" Ash praised, as she landed a second blow with her Steel-enhanced jaws.
"She's weak to... Ground!" Roxanne reminded Golem. "Earthquake!"
"Jump, quick!" her opponent countered.
Mawile landed on the ground just as Golem stamped down, and the beginnings of the attack hit her before she managed to get into the air again.
"I don't like that..." she said, staggering a bit.
"Just hang in there if you can," Ash told her. "Let's try an Ice Fang!"
"Golem, Roar!" Roxanne ordered.
Golem inhaled briefly and let out a reverberating roar.
Mawile promptly vanished back into her Pokéball.
There was a moment's pause, as none of Ash's Pokémon came out of their own Pokéballs.
"Guess it's me, then!" Pikachu observed, jumping into the arena. "Okay, you're a tough Golem, huh?"
His cheeks sparked.
"I won't count this as one of your three if he comes back," Roxanne told Ash. "It's an unusual situation, I know..."
"Nah, I trust Pikachu," Ash said. "Soften him up for Larvitar, okay?"
Pikachu nodded.
"I see, so he must know Iron Tail," Roxanne observed. "Or Brick Break? Some move like that."
"Thunderbolt!" Pikachu announced, and launched a bolt of electricity forwards.
Roxanne threw up a hand, startled, and then slowly lowered it.
Her smouldering Golem, skin blackened and scorched, exhaled a cloud of soot.
"Thank you, come again," he muttered, and flopped forwards.
Pikachu looked honestly offended. "Is that it? That wasn't even Thunder..."
"...but..." Roxanne blinked. "How's that... possible..."
She pointed at Pikachu, then at Ash. "Wait. Are you Ash Ketchum?"
"Yeah?" Ash asked, as Pikachu came back over to him – somehow managing to convey deep disappointment.
"...oh, I see," Roxanne realized. "I've only ever seen you wearing this kind of blue outfit... it looked really distinctive, I didn't recognize you without it..."
"Can we try this again?" Ash asked. "That was kind of anticlimactic, and... wait, did you think I didn't have any badges at all?"
"I asked... about Hoenn badges, of course," Roxanne winced. "Okay, here's an idea... I've got a Probopass and a Gigalith, you can face them with two Pokémon – not including that monstrous Pikachu."
"Sounds good!" Ash agreed, already thinking about who to use.
Pikachu sighed. "And I bet that's going to be all I get for battles in Hoenn, too..."
"Okay, let's do this!" Ash said, readying the first of his two now-selected Pokéballs. "Larvitar!"
"Gigalith!" Roxanne replied.
"...I was hoping for the Probopass," Ash admitted. "Think you've got this, Larvitar?"
The Rock-type gave him a thumbs-up.
"Of course he has!" Mawile said brightly. "I know he can do it!"
Roxanne pointed. "Solarbeam!"
"Dig!" Ash ordered, but Larvitar had already started. By the time the beam of intense sunlight fired, he was underground.
"Okay, Larvitar, I'll let you know when he's charging!" Ash called. "Try to use Dig underneath the Gigalith!"
"Jump!" Roxanne said.
Gigalith pushed off from the ground, and then slammed back down a moment later.
Just as he did, Larvitar punched his way out of the ground to one side of the pure Rock-type and lashed out with a punch.
Gigalith grunted at the impact, and flailed the leg that had been hit in Larvitar's direction – knocking into Larvitar twice, but unable to knock him back far enough to matter from that angle.
Capitalizing on the awkward position he was in, Larvitar followed up his blow from the Dig by jumping up onto Gigalith's leg and wrapping one arm around one of the glowing orange crystals.
"Hold on tight, Larvitar!" Mawile told him. "You don't want to fall off!"
"I want him to fall off!" Gigalith said, now trying to get an angle where he could use one of his other legs to scrape Larvitar off. The doughty Rock-type wasn't particularly interested in being scraped, though, and dodged away from one attempt before punching the leg on the backswing.
The orange crystal on that leg cracked slightly.
"Uh..." Larvitar began, noticing that crystal starting to pulse. "What happens now?"
Gigalith used Explosion.
Larvitar went several feet into the air, shook his head to get rid of the daze, and stuck a three-point landing with a faint crunch on the stony floor of the gym.
Gigalith didn't look much the worse for wear from using Explosion, overall – though the left rear leg crystal was a dull orange instead of the bright colour of the others all over his body.
"That must have used up the stored energy!" Ash said. "Can you hit the others, Larvitar?"
Larvitar's reply was to sweep his hands out, forming a circle of Hidden Power orbs. He flung them at Gigalith, then had to hurriedly dive underground to avoid a Flash Cannon attack.
"Any ideas?" his voice floated up from the hole.
"Yeah!" Ash replied. "Okay, Earth Power!"
Gigalith stomped forwards, and brought his fore right leg down on the tunnel entrance – making it creak, and collapse in.
"Are you okay?" Mawile asked worriedly.
A moment later, Larvitar's hand emerged from the ground and slapped down on it. A brown-gold trail of light arced along the ground, and discharged into Gigalith in one of his free legs.
The Rock-type stumbled slightly, but then rallied and charged up a Solarbeam.
"Wait!" Ash said, getting an idea. "Iron Head!"
"I helped teach him that!" Mawile said proudly.
Larvitar pulled himself out of the ground the rest of the way, leaned forwards, and kicked off for an Iron Head attack.
As he approached, Gigalith fired. The green bolt of energy for the Solarbeam hit Larvitar on the forehead and reflected off in two directions, making furrows in the gym floor, and then Larvitar arrived and knocked Gigalith's neck back with the impact.
Bouncing back as well from the collision, Larvitar grabbed at Gigalith's front and managed to get a grip. He hit one of the crystals, making it flash, and then jumped clear just before the second Explosion.
"It looks like it's working," May observed, as the thin cloud of smoke cleared to show Gigalith looking a bit dazed.
"Yeah, but how many more crystals are there?" Max replied.
"Good question..."
"Change of plans, Gigalith!" Roxanne said. "Earthquake!"
The ground shook as Gigalith rammed his feet down in a pattern – diagonally opposite feet in pairs.
Larvitar wobbled, not able to keep his footing easily, and threw out a set of Hidden Power orbs to keep Gigalith busy.
Ash picked up Mawile so she wouldn't be too upset by the Earthquake.
"Keep it up!" Roxanne said. "Don't stop the Earthquake, and use Power Gem!"
"With which one?" Gigalith asked. "He damaged my front one!"
Roxanne looked blank.
"Larvitar, do you know how to do Rock Throw?" Ash asked.
"No!"
"Just pick up a rock and throw it! There's one to your left!"
"...put like that it seems very simple," Larvitar admitted.
As he staggered over to the rock on the heaving ground, Gigalith decided to take a guess and rotated himself so that his foreleg was pointed towards Larvitar.
The gem on that leg glowed as it powered up, then he stopped the Earthquake pulses long enough to aim.
Larvitar took the opportunity to grab the rock and throw it.
It missed.
"Whoops..." Larvitar winced, as the rock clacked off the far wall.
Then he got hit by a Power Gem attack which sent him skidding back a considerable distance.
The Rock-Ground Type picked himself up, and blinked
This was because he had picked himself up with jets of compressed air, instead of with his arms – a pair of appendages he was currently lacking, along with a tail and legs.
He was also not all that well equipped in the neck department.
"He evolved!" Brock said.
"Okay, Pupitar!" Ash grinned. "Let's-"
"How do I attack now?" Pupitar asked, concerned over his lack of everything except a torso.
"The same way other Pupitar do!" Ash replied.
"Which is?"
"Flying around – head left now!" Ash interrupted himself, and Pupitar obeyed instantly – managing to avoid being hit by the Solarbeam.
"It's still a battle," Roxanne pointed out. "Stay alert."
"Right... Pupitar, you're a lot faster now! Come around to the side of Gigalith and hit one of his crystals with an Iron Head!"
Pupitar was a lot faster now.
He was not, however, able to steer very well. He corkscrewed crazily for a bit before starting to get the hang of it, then avoiding a Rock Blast sent him off course all over again and he spun into the ground.
"Little brother?" Mawile asked, blinking. "Where'd you go?"
Ash was about to explain the concept of evolution, then realized that she was wondering something rather simpler – something he wasn't sure on either. "Wait. Where did he go?"
"Earthquake, quick!" Roxanne ordered.
Pupitar used Dig.
He burst out of the ground underneath Gigalith, hitting with a crash hard enough to knock the Rock-type several inches into the air, then wobbled to a landing and tried to focus.
"I feel dizzy..."
"Look out!" Ash called, and Pupitar got back into the air a moment before a Solarbeam hit his crash site.
Gigalith sustained the Solarbeam, energy pouring in from all his remaining crystals, and tracked Pupitar around in a circle before following his trajectory up into the air.
"Go for the central crystal!" Ash said.
Roxanne blinked. "Gigalith, dodge!"
"Superpower!"
Pupitar slammed down at high speed on the Rock-type just as he began to dodge, and there was a loud explosion – followed by several more, as the shock disturbed the other crystals and they discharged as well.
"Pupitar?" Ash called into the smoke.
There was a loud thud.
Then Tyranitar walked out of the smoke, taking it slowly and carefully.
"That was a lot quicker than I think it was supposed to be..." he said, looking himself over. "At least I've got my arms and legs back."
"He evolved twice?" Max asked.
"It's Ash..." Brock pointed out.
Mawile wriggled out of Ash's arms and walked over to Tyranitar, leaning back a long way and looking up at him.
Then she tilted her head.
"...nope. Still my little brother."
"I'm older than you and nearly twenty times your weight!" Tyranitar protested.
Mawile shook her head. "Little brother means little brother. Size doesn't matter."
That said, she clambered up his leg and onto his shoulder. "There's a good view up here!"
Tyranitar shook his head slightly, trying not to grin.
"I suppose this means you won," Roxanne said, recalling her out-of-it Rock-type. "Though you did get lucky in his evolving. Twice."
"...actually, it happens often enough it might be a viable battle tactic," Max observed.
"I'll take your word for it. Okay, do you have your final Pokémon ready?"
"Yeah!" Ash replied. "Okay, Sceptile, your turn!"
Sceptile materialized, and took in his large-moustached opponent. "A Probopass. Interesting."
"Stay on your guard," Ash warned. "It's part-Steel type and has Electric moves."
"I see."
Shaking out his neck and rustling his tail, Sceptile prepared for combat.
Probopass did some preliminary work as well, hovering up a few inches with a greasy-air static hum.
Then one of the three smaller noses levitating around it caught fire.
"Fire Punch!" Roxanne instructed.
There was an audible pang sound, and a small flaming stone nose shot at Sceptile at a quite startling velocity.
Sceptile moved in a blur. His arm came up, the leaves on his elbow glowing a bright green, and the Leaf Blade intersected the Fire Punch with a bang and a flash of discharging Grass-type energy.
Probopass tracked the nose as it spun off, momentum lost, then corralled it with electromagnetic forces and pulled it back to join the other two he had ready to fire.
"Sceptile, if you've not already used Agility, do it!" Ash called, and got a terse nod.
"Ice Punch," Roxanne decided this time.
Sceptile's other arm swept up to block this one, which turned out to be a barrage of all three noses. His two-leafed Leaf Blade blocked two of them, but the third struck home on his side and knocked him sprawling from the force.
"What's going on there?" May asked.
"It's a railgun, I guess?" Max said, uncertainly. "Or – would it be a coilgun? Anyway, it's using electromagnetism to fire those noses."
"How is that a punch?"
Max shrugged.
"You're right, it's electromagnetism," Roxanne confirmed. "It's the main way I got my position, actually, Drake had huge trouble coping with it."
While she'd been speaking, Probopass had reloaded and Sceptile had come back to his feet. He cracked his knuckles, toying absently with his twig, and his tail lashed back and forth.
"Fire Punch!"
Sceptile spun, digging the tiny suckers on one foot into the floor and using it as a pivot. His bushy, leafy tail came whipping around and smacked all three mini-noses aside, and then he lunged forwards.
"Reload, quick!" Roxanne told Probopass, who honestly didn't look like he needed that particular reminder.
Sceptile slammed his tail into Probopass, then caught the first mini-nose as it came back in and held it tightly to stop Probopass from getting it back.
His fist glowed as he used Mega Drain, and the nose twitched before dropping to the floor – spent, for now.
Then two Ice Punch mininoses panged out at him at close range. The impact, unblocked as it was, sent him back a couple of feet before he recovered.
Unfortunately for him, Probopass used the interval to shoot a blast of electricity at the third mininose. Now recharged, it floated back into the air and joined the other two.
"Sceptile, I've got an idea!" Ash said.
Sceptile glanced over at him, then fended off another barrage with his tail. "I'm listening."
"Mega Drain worked on the nose – so try the hat! That's his main power source!"
"Probopass, don't let him do that!" Roxanne said quickly.
"It sounds like it'll work," Sceptile observed. He crouched slightly, then the seeds on his back glowed and he launched out a beam of incandescent light.
Wrong-nosed by the Solarbeam, Probopass aimed at where he guessed Sceptile had to be. Two of them went wide, and the third one went spinning off into the distance as Sceptile blocked with a Leaf Blade mid-charge.
"Magnet Bomb now!" Roxanne ordered.
Sceptile was hit in the chest as he lunged. That close, the attack could hardly miss, and he went backwards with a grunt of pain.
Then he spat his twig out at Probopass' hat. His twig, which was glowing bright green.
The moment it hit, vines came lashing out from it. They wrapped around the magnetic red hat, glowing as they drained energy from it.
"Get it off!" Roxanne told Probopass. "It's on your magnet!"
Probopass drew his mininoses back in, aimed upwards – with difficulty – and fired at the vines wrapping his magnet. One hit, making them shake slightly, but the second and third were knocked off course by a salvo of Bullet Seeds.
Then enough power was drained from the magnet that it couldn't keep Probopass in the air any more, and all three hundred and eighty kilos of Steel/Rock Type hit the ground with a crash.
"That's enough!" Roxanne said, as Sceptile came running in to deliver a finishing blow. "Impressive work."
"Thanks," Ash grinned, as Sceptile walked back over to him.
"I'm guessing that Sceptile's been with you for much longer?" she added. "He seemed more comfortable working on his own... I didn't think you used him at the League, though."
Ash shrugged. "Didn't seem like the right time."
"Well, if this is his gym debut then he's done very well."
Max managed to hold back laughter, remembering how well Treecko had done here the first time. (About as well as a Grass type with no Grass moves could.)
"Anyway," Roxanne went on. "I'll be sure to remember to be more careful how I phrase questions to challenging trainers from now on... and I appreciate that you didn't break my gym, of course."
"Norman challenged me to not break any gyms in Hoenn," Ash shrugged, catching the badge she lobbed him. "I'm trying."
"I see." Roxanne thought for a moment. "Well, I appreciate it. Oh – I assume you're Max's mentor, then? I wasn't sure if it was you or Brock Slate."
"No, I'm just travelling with them," Brock said. "Ash is the one who's mentoring Max."
"You're doing a good job with him so far, then," Roxanne told him.
Ash smiled, glad to hear it.
"Okay, guys, let's go!" he said.
Tyranitar nodded, turned a bit, and wobbled. "Uh... Ash?"
"What is it?" Ash asked, looking up at the worried note in Tyranitar's voice.
"I think I might be about to fall over. My balance is all funny..."
"That's not good," Ash agreed, wincing. "Maybe it's because you evolved so fast. Uh... tell you what, we'll work on that this afternoon before you go back home."
Tyranitar nodded... just a bit too enthusiastically. His tail wavered as he tried to balance, and then he fell over.
Ash managed to recall him before he hit the ground, and Mawile was caught in mid-air by something invisible.
"Nice save, Latios," Ash complimented, as Mawile was set down gently on the floor.
Roxanne blinked. "Did you just say..."
Latios shimmered and decloaked, and she did a double-take. "Has he been there this whole time?"
"Pretty much," Ash confirmed, as Latios went invisible again.
"Right," she said. "I suppose that explains where the invisible laughter came from."
A sigh. "And now I have to hope that none of my students hear about this battle, or they'll be trying to defeat my Geodude with a Plusle or something..."
"How are you doing?" Ash asked, some hours later.
"I think I'm okay," Tyranitar said, a little uncertainly. "Don't ask me to run yet, I've no idea how to move quickly, and I keep almost overbalancing. But if I move slow and careful-"
His arms went out to the side, and he wobbled precariously for a moment. "I was so afraid of how hard it would be to get used to being a Pupitar that I tried not to evolve, and now..."
Ash squinted a little to see in the fading light, then tapped Tyranitar on the elbow. "Don't worry, Tyranitar. We'll help you get through it."
"I know you will. Thank you, Ash."
He sighed. "Now to explain this to Mom..."
The big female Tyranitar blinked.
"Okay, there's an explanation for this..." her son said. "There was a gym battle..."
"You evolved twice?" she said.
"Yeah, it was kind of..." He shrugged, and wobbled. "Yeah."
"...wait, if you evolved twice... how long did you spend as a Pupitar?"
Tyranitar had to think about that one. "About a minute?"
"Then you must not know how to work your pneumatic system!" his mother said matter-of-factly. "Poor thing... I'll start teaching you tomorrow."
"...my what?" Tyranitar asked, perplexed.
"I'm sure I've told you about it before..." the older Tyranitar said, frowning. "It's how we move quickly. Hollow bones... none of this sounding familiar?"
She sighed. "I'll show you what I mean tomorrow. For now..."
Both Tyranitar looked down at the patch of clear earth that served as his bed.
"This may need to be replaced," Ash's Tyranitar said, measuring it against his new size.
His mother gave him a hug. "You're still so adorable!"
"Moooom..."
Mavis pointed. "Okay, Laxus! Finish this Golduck off! Parabolic Charge!"
Her Dedenne's cheeks sparked, and he whipped his tail around before launching forwards a crackling bolt of electrical energy.
"Block it – then Mud Bomb," Misty replied.
Golduck brought up one hand, his gem glowing, and a sheet of water splashed up out of the pool to form a shield. The Parabolic Charge hit it, punctured it, but lacked the momentum to get all the way to Golduck and collapsed.
With his other hand, Golduck rammed a clot of mud from the edge of the pool into it. The result was a large, muddy ball of water and earth, and Golduck sent it out and forwards in a kind of planar wave.
When the splash effect faded, the Electric/Fairy type was slumped to the floor.
"Good work," Mavis praised him, recalling her Pokémon.
"Can I just ask?" Misty said, raising a finger. "You've trained with Lt. Surge, right?"
"Yes, I got help training Laxus there," Mavis replied. "I'm from the same town, so it was easy for him, but we got help from several of the Kanto Gym Leaders before submitting the paperwork – just to make sure we'd be on top form!"
"Sounds sensible," Misty agreed. "Who's your next Pokémon?"
"One of the rentals," Mavis told her. "Togekiss!"
"Hi mom!" Togekiss said brightly.
"And how have you been doing?" Misty smiled.
"Okay – her Pokémon are pretty strong," Togekiss told Misty.
"...oh, right, she's yours," Mavis nodded. "I wondered whose she was, she's gorgeous."
"She certainly is," Misty agreed. "But don't think that means I'll hold back!"
Me neither, Golduck contributed.
"Okay, let's start with Fairy Wind!" Mavis instructed, and Togekiss dove in to the attack.
Golduck's first counter was to hit her in the face with half a swimming pool, which at least slowed her down a bit.
AN:
And here we go. Hoenn's first gym battle.
Well, first two.
Max here not using his Electrike because he's not stupid, sticking instead to the two Pokémon with a good chance of doing damage. Incidentally, Cinder had less trouble with the sandstorm – because she can smell!
Then we have Ash giving Mawile her debut.
And you kind of have to feel sorry for that Golem... (Yes, this is how Pikachu beat her Geodude in canon, just not quite that fast.)
The double-evolution was a tricky choice, one which both I and my proof-readers were divided on. In the end I went with what you see here, a double-evolution where it's clearly not worked quite according to how it's supposed to. Tyranitar will require a fair bit of work to be back to normal.
Finally there's Sceptile's battle. The Polynesian Railgun thing was taken from Choro's Let's Play of Platinum.
Oh, and there's Misty At Work.
