Purify or Bust
Chapter 3: Battle Against a Samurai!
"I'll act as referee." Misty stated. Ash gripped his first Poké Ball as Misty drew the outline of an official battlefield in the dirt. "Battle begin!" "Go, Metapod!" the Samurai shouted, throwing his first Poké Ball. The ball burst open and a small green Pokémon appeared. "Go, Lucy!" Ash shouted as Lucy raced onto the field from the sidelines. "Metapod, use Harden." The Metapod glared for a second and its shell began to shimmer in the sunlight. "Lucy, Quick Attack." Lucy gathered energy and charged at Metapod at high speed, slamming into the cocoon Pokémon. Metapod flew a few feet before landing on its side, knocked out. "Metapod is unable to battle! Lucy is the winner!"
The Samurai returned Metapod to its Poké Ball before sending out his second Pokémon. "Go, Butterfree." From this Poké Ball appeared a large purple butterfly-like Pokémon with large red eyes. "Will you substitute Pokémon?" Misty asked Ash. "I'm sticking with Lucy." "Battle begin!" "Butterfree, Confusion!" For a split second, Butterfree seemed to be concentrating. Then, Lucy suddenly started smacking herself with her forepaws. When she stopped, she was at roughly half her maximum health. "Lucy, Tackle Attack!" Lucy charged at Butterfree before jumping and ramming right into its stomach. Butterfree immediately fell down onto the battlefield, knocked out. "Butterfree is unable to battle! Lucy is the winner! And the match goes to Ash!"
At this point, the Samurai walked over to Ash. "It was a great battle. Congrats." "Thanks. To be honest, I'm just starting out. Feels nice to let loose against an opponent." The two Trainers shook hands before the Samurai ran off towards Viridian City. Just as the young Trainer disappeared from view, Ash sensed dark angels approaching them. "Do you sense it?" Ash wondered. Misty nodded in response.
However, before they knew it, the dark angels they sensed seemed to fly over their heads. Knowing what kinds of havoc they could unleash on the area, Ash and Misty raced in the direction they felt them traveling in.
Before long, the two Trainers found themselves at the gates of a large city. Standing just inside the city was another Trainer. He looked to be in his late teens or early twenties with dark skin, brown hair and brown eyes, albeit his eyes never seemed to open too wide. He wore an orange tee, a green tactical vest, brown pants, and purplish-gray tennis shoes with a white sideways-egg-shaped portion on the side of the heels.
"Brock! It's been a while! How've you been?" Misty greeted. "You know him?" Ash asked. "That's Brock Takeshi, the Pewter City Gym Leader and disguised Terrakion." the disguised Latias explained, whispering the last part. "And who is this, given you're willing to tell him something so critical so easily?" Brock wondered quietly. "My name is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town." the angel started before activating his cloaking mechanism to conceal the three Trainers from the outside world. "I am an angel sent by Him to track a group of dark angels creating chaos here in Kanto and purify them, if possible. Right now, I'm searching for my parents who accompanied me on my mission and went missing after fighting a group of dark angels near my house." "I thought angels weren't allowed to become Trainers." "Well, I couldn't exactly venture out into the wilderness on my own, now could I?" "True. Does that mean that you're planning on taking the Pokémon League Challenge?" "I am. I'd like to challenge you to a battle, if you don't mind." "Sure. But I won't go easy on you."
Ash deactivated the cloak as Brock led him and Misty to the Pewter City Gym. The Gym itself was a large stone building reminiscent of a medieval castle. Inside was a large battlefield with boulders strewn about. Brock jogged to the far side of the arena and stood in the Trainer's box. Ash entered the Trainer's box on the opposing side as an official League referee stood just outside the marked perimeter of the battlefield at the line marking the division of sides.
"The Pewter City Gym Battle between the Gym Leader, Brock Takeshi of Pewter City, and the challenger, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, is about to begin! Each Trainer is allowed the use of one Pokémon and the match will be over when one side's Pokémon is unable to battle! Does the challenger understand these rules?" "Yes." "All right, battle begin!"
"Mike, I choose you!" Ash yelled, throwing Mike's Poké Ball into the arena. "Onix, let's rock and roll!" Brock shouted, doing the same. The Poké Balls opened, and Mike found himself facing off against a large snake-like Pokémon made of various rocks and boulders. "The challenger may make the first move." the referee stated.
"Mike, use Iron Tail!" Ash shouted. Mike charged forward while tensing the muscles in his tail before jumping into the air and ramming into Onix's head tail-first. "Onix, Rock Throw!" Onix yanked one of the nearby boulders out of the ground with its mouth and flung it at Mike. "Dodge, then Thunder Wave!" Mike adeptly dodged the falling rock and send a weak surge of electricity into the large Rock- and Ground-type. However, Onix seemed entirely unaffected. "That's not going to work on us! Time to get serious! Rock Slide!" Onix threw another boulder into the air and shattered it with its tail, sending a cascade of small boulders at the electric mouse. "Use Quick Attack and close in using the boulders!" Mike gathered up some energy and raced forward, using the Rock Slide as both a distraction and a path. Soon, he was in Onix's blind spot. "Onix, look out! Behind you!" "Iron Tail!" Just as Onix started to turn around, Mike slammed his tail down between the mineral serpent's eyes. The force was enough to cause Onix to faint. "Onix is unable to battle! Pikachu is the winner, and the match goes to Ash Ketchum, the challenger!" The referee announced.
Brock quickly recalled Onix to its Poké Ball. "Good job, Onix. You deserve a nice rest." Brock then walked over to Ash and Mike, a small box in his hands. Inside the box was a small grey pin shaped like a rock. "I humbly admit defeat. As proof you've defeated me, I present to you the Boulder Badge." Ash took the pin out of the box and held it over his head. "I just won the Boulder Badge!" he shouted, Mike cheering beside him. "Also, I think I should probably head out on a training journey. Would it be all right with you if I travelled alongside the two of you?" Brock wondered. "Fine by me. What d'ya say, Misty?" "Sure. The more the merrier, I always say."
The trio exited the Pewter City Gym in order for Brock to check with his family when they faintly felt the presence of dark angels to the north. With no hesitation, the three Trainers raced northbound to fight the chaos that ensued...
