AN: Hello everyone, and welcome to chapter 2 of Foul Play! I hope everyone enjoys the chapter! Please be sure to leave a review after you are finished, as it helps me out a ton!

Just to get this out of the way, I do not own Pokémon. I don't really get the point of saying this, as it should be obvious, but oh well. On to the chapter!

Fair warning, the beginning of this chapter is rather dark compared to anything I have previously written. It's nothing M rated, but I think this is the first time my T rating won't just be for caution.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Pokéspeech/Telepathy"

Chapter 2

"Tell me again why you're making me walk all the way to Viridian City like this," Ash grumbled as he trudged along Route 1 in his Zorua form. "Aren't I supposed to be the Pokémon Trainer here?"

"This is for your own good. Since we aren't aren't able to do any training until we reach Viridian Forest, we may as well take this time to help you get used to using your body," Pikachu explained. "Hopefully by the time we make it into Viridian Forest, you won't have any more issues and we can do some standard training. Trust me, you'll thank me later."

Ash sighed, knowing Pikachu had a point. "I still wish we could at least try to catch a Pokémon while we were here. I wanted to try to catch a Pidgey, or maybe a Spearow."

Pikachu blanched. "That is definitely not happening. You are staying well away from any Spearow. They are extremely territorial, and I really don't want to deal with a flock of Spearow. That would be practically suicide."

"Okay… Stay away from Spearow, got it." Ash said with a gulp, glancing around warily.

"Hmm… from the looks of things, we should be able to reach Viridian by nightfall if we stay at this pace," Pikachu said with a glance at the sun. "Do you think you'll be able to pull an all-nighter tonight? It would be best to get through Viridian at night to avoid being seen. We'll set up camp as soon as we make it through town."

Ash groaned. "I don't want to, but I can do it if I have to."

"Good. Let's get a move on then."

Ash collapsed in a heap as the pair entered Viridian City's outskirts. "Ugh… I'm exhausted. Can we take a quick break?"

Pikachu took a quick glance around. "Alright. We should be good for the time being. We can't stay long, though. I'll give you ten minutes and then we're off again."

"Fine," Ash groaned, pulling himself up into a sitting position. "I can't wait until we can actually start doing trainer stuff… This is so boring!"

"I'm sure we'll be able to make up for lost time while we are in the forest. Just hang in there until then," Pikachu said with a chuckle.

Suddenly, both of their ears perked up as a voice filled the air. "H-hey! Stay away from me, you stupid rat! I-I'm warning you!"

Ash's eyes narrowed. "That doesn't sound good. We should go see what's going on."
"Alright, but stay hidden." Pikachu said. "You never know when Team Rocket might be watching."

As the duo approached the noise, they began to hear the sounds of a scuffle. As quietly as possible, Ash and Pikachu peaked out from a row of bushes. In what appeared to be someone's backyard, a young looking Eevee was tied to a post. From the pattern on its tail, it was clear that the Eevee was a female.

A couple of feet away, a Raticate was eyeing her with an unhealthy glint in its eye. The Raticate took a step forward, and the Eevee growled weakly in response, although a trace of fear was noticeable in her voice. "I said stay away!"

"Eevee, darling. Master would be very disappointed in you if you don't allow me to provide him with the eggs he desires," The Raticate said, staring at the Eevee as if she were a piece of meat. "I think you know what happens when Master is disappointed."

The Eevee flinched harshly. "I-I don't care. I won't let you use me like that!"

"Ooh, I always love it when they struggle…" The Raticate said with a mad grin.

With that, he began to step up to the Eevee. Her eyes widened in fear and she attempted to scurry backwards, but yelped when she realized that the rope around her neck kept her from getting any farther. Finally losing the last of her bravery, the Eevee dropped to her belly and put her paws over her head as she cried out in a desperate plea. "H-h-help!"

The Raticate lunged for his prize, but was surprised when a Shadow ball slammed into his chest. It didn't damage him any, but the distraction was set. He snarled fiercely, turning to see who had dared interrupt his moment of glory.

Ash snarled right back, a gesture that surprised even him. "Leave her alone, you bully!"

Eevee forgotten, Raticate turned his back to her entirely, instead focusing solely on the Zorua that dared to oppose him. "Who the hell are you?"

"That doesn't matter. Leave that Eevee alone or else."

"Ooh, I'm so scared." The Raticate mocked, clicking his teeth. "Bring it, tough guy."

Raticate stepped forwards menacingly, but was startled when a barrage of stars slammed into the back of his head. Spinning around, his eyes widened. "How did you get loose?!"

It was then that he noticed the rather smug looking Pikachu standing next to the now untied Eevee. He snarled, turning back to Ash. "You tricked me!"

"Not a trick, just a distraction." Ash said, then snarled. "Now I suggest you get the hell out of here if you don't want to fight all three of us at once."

Glancing back and forth between his foes, Raticate realized he was outmatched. His eyes narrowed. "You'll regret this." With that, he bolted into the underbrush.

Ash spat on the ground where Raticate had been. "I doubt it." Turning to the Eevee the Raticate had been harassing, his gaze softened. "Are you alright?"

"I-I think so…" Eevee said with a shaky nod. "Thank you for helping me. I was s-so scared…"

"Alright. Let's get you out of here." Ash said. "You never know when that Raticate might come back. Can you walk?"

Eevee took a shaky step forward, stumbling. Coming up to her side, Pikachu helped her back to her feet. "Here, let me help you."

Around two hours later, the group of three stumbled into the Viridian Forest. Pikachu nodded to Ash. "Alright, we're in the clear. Change back into your human form. Eevee needs medical attention."

Nodding, Ash did as instructed, momentarily startling Eevee, who's eyes widened in surprise. "H-how?"

Pikachu rolled his eyes. "Long story. Very, very long story. Have you found the potions yet?"

Ash pulled a white case out of his backpack. Opening it, he took out a Super Potion. "Yep, here they are. Eevee, I'm going to spray this onto your wounds. It will sting at first, but it will help you heal. Is that alright?"

Hesitating for a moment, Eevee nodded. Ash made his way over to her and began to examine her injuries. After a moment, he gasped. "That son of a bitch!"

Pikachu's eyes widened in surprise. "What? What is it?"

"Look at her wounds. These weren't caused by the Raticate." Ash said, glaring at the wounds. "Eevee, did your trainer..?"

Eevee's gaze fell, and she nodded solemnly. "M-my trainer angers easily. I lost a battle yesterday, and h-he…"

Pikachu's eyes widened in a mix of understanding and rage. His cheeks sparked dangerously. "That scumbag! If I ever get my paws on him…"

'I don't like it, but there's nothing we can do about him until we reach Pewter," Ash said with a sigh. "I'll call Officer Jenny when we get to the Pokémon Center and report him. I'll also need to get a favor from Professor Oak and see if he can delink you from your current Pokeball. From there, you will be free to go wherever you please."

"I-I'm not really sure where I can go…" Eevee said with a downcast look.

Ash smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry about that right now. I'm sure we'll figure something out. For now, let's get your wounds treated and get a few hours of sleep before the sun comes up."

"A-alright. Thank you," Eevee said with a timid smile.

The group awoke around noon the next day, although no one could really complain; it had been a long night. Over breakfast, Ash and Pikachu told Eevee about what had happened with Team Rocket, and why a Pokémon was training other Pokémon. Needless to say, Eevee was horrified to hear what the criminal organization had done to Ash.

They also had to explain what a Zorua was, as Eevee had never met one before the previous night. After the explanation, Eevee decided to help Ash adjust to his new form, although admittedly he was already doing a pretty decent job with that as it was.

An hour or so later found all three Pokémon traveling through the depths of the Viridian Forest. The three Pokemon were currently discussing their plans for how they would face the Pewter Gym. Ash was currently in his human form, although he had already tested and found that he could easily shift into an Eevee at will.

"Well, right now I only have Pikachu available for battling, so I'm going to need to catch a few more Pokémon before we arrive in Pewter City," Ash said with a frown. "The Pewter Gym Leader battles new trainers in a two-on-two match, and I highly doubt you can take both of them and win."

"Yeah, as I am now, I doubt I can even scratch their team," Pikachu said with a frown. "My electricity won't have any effect on any ground types, and I'm sure they have at least one of them on that team. I really need to get some coverage…"

"Hmm, well, if we want to give you at least a fighting chance, we should work on teaching you Iron Tail. Quick Attack as well, now that I think about it," Ash said with a thoughtful expression. "Iron Tail will give you a type advantage over the gym's rock types, and even though Quick Attack won't do much damage, it will be useful as an evasive move. I want to teach you Thunder Wave as well, but that can wait for the time being."

Pikachu thought about it for a moment, before nodding. "Yeah, that makes sense. I'll start on that when we stop for the night. It will probably take me a couple of days to get them down, so we will be a little longer getting to Pewter City than planned, but it shouldn't put us too far behind schedule. I suggest you try to learn those moves as well, Ash. I'm not sure if Zorua can learn either of them, but you should at least be able to get Quick Attack working. From what I've heard, it's pretty simple."

Ash shrugged. "Sure, I'll give it a go."

Eevee, who had been silent up until that point, decided to speak up. "U-um, if you don't mind me saying this, you have two Pokémon to fight with."

"What do you mean?" Ash asked, giving her a puzzled look.

"Well, you did help me and all, so I was thinking and I wanted to know if you would allow me to travel with you from now on," Eevee explained, before hastily adding. "I-if it won't cause you any trouble, that is."

Ash gave a wide smile. "Of course you can come along! When we get to Pewter City I'll have Professor Oak transfer you to one of my Pokeballs. Oh! I also have a TM I can give you."

Ash fumbled in his bag for a few moments before pulling out his Shadow Ball TM. Pikachu's eyes widened in understanding. "Oh, yeah, Eevee can learn Shadow Ball. Huh, I'm surprised we already found another use for that thing."

Eevee's eyes sparkled excitedly. "Ooh, that will teach me Shadow Ball? I've always wanted to learn that move!" She ran up to Ash and allowed him to tap her fur with the purple disk.

She blinked rapidly for a moment as the knowledge of the attack rapidly rushed into her head.. "Huh… I never will understand how those things work."

Ash shrugged. "Beats me. But hey, now you have a decent long range attack. Before I forget, what other attacks do you know?"
Eevee hummed. "I know Tackle, Growl, Sand Attack and Swift."

Ash rubbed his chin. "Ok, so I think we should focus on teaching you Quick Attack with Pikachu, and we'll work on teaching you Dig for an advantage over Rock Types. Do you think you can handle that?"

"I'll do my best," Eevee replied with a nod.

At that moment, a rustling in the bushes caught the group's attention. Slowly, a lone Caterpie wandered out, eyeing them curiously. Ash looked at Pikachu. "What do you think? Should we catch it?"

"Sure, may as well," Pikachu said with a shrug. He stepped forwards and sparked his cheeks in challenge.

The Caterpie immediately launched forwards in a Tackle attack, clearly accepting the challenge. Pikachu quickly sidestepped the attack and launched a Thundershock at the bug type. Its body spasmed for a moment before falling to the ground, defeated.

Ash promptly threw a Pokeball, watching with bated breath as it absorbed the Caterpie and shook momentarily. After a moment, it clicked shut and stars erupted from it, signifying a capture.

Ash grinned as he picked up the ball. "Alright, we caught it!"

"Yeah, although it was just a Caterpie. They aren't exactly the most difficult Pokémon to catch," Pikachu said with a chuckle.

"True, but it's still one more option than we had a few minutes ago," Ash said. "Butterfree have their uses."

"You got me there," Pikachu allowed. "We should still try to catch a few Pokémon while we are still in the forest. Even if you don't want them for your team, you may as well try to fill up some of your Pokedex pages. I'm sure Oak would appreciate that."

"No objections here. Honestly, I doubt I'll use this Caterpie for my main team. I'll just train it in rotation." Ash said, before pulling out his Pokedex and clicking a few buttons. "According to this, there aren't really many strong Pokémon in this forest. Maybe if we get lucky and find a Scyther then I'll catch that for a team, but I doubt we'll find one of those here."

Three days later, Ash felt that his team was growing at a steady rate. Him, Pikachu and Eevee had all managed to learn Quick Attack after only a day of practice, and Eevee was getting close to perfecting Dig. Pikachu was having some minor complications with Iron Tail, but seemed to be making progress nonetheless.

The previous afternoon had been a good one. The group had stumbled upon a wild Pidgeotto, a rarity for this part of the region. Pikachu had made short work of it with a couple of Thundershocks, and Ash had captured it without much trouble.

He had been working on evolving his Caterpie, and had finally managed the feat that morning. His new Metapod was slow, but had kept its attacks from it's time as a Caterpie, making it far more useful than if he had caught it in that stage.

After scanning his two new catches with his Pokedex, Ash found that his Metapod was male and knew the moves Tackle and String Shot. It also picked up Harden once it evolved.

Pidgeotto was female and had the moves Tackle, Sand Attack and Gust. Neither Pokémon would be of much use in his upcoming gym battle, but he was currently in the process of teaching Pidgeotto Steel Wing just in case.

Ash was planning on spending one more night in the forest before heading into Pewter City. He figured it should be enough to finish teaching his team their new attacks. Pidgeotto may take a bit longer, but Ash wasn't planning on using her for the gym, so it wasn't much of an issue.

His plan to get a few battles in before stopping again was answered when a young boy ran up to Ash, pointing a finger at him rather dramatically. "You! Are you a Pokémon Trainer?"

Ash blinked, glancing at the Pikachu and Eevee currently riding on his shoulders. "Um, yeah. I'm a trainer. What could have possibly given you that idea?"

The bug catcher grinned, either not recognizing the quip or ignoring it. "Good! I challenge you to a battle!"

"Sure," Ash agreed. "I'm Ash, by the way. You are..?"

"I am Samurai. How does a two-on-two match sound to you?"

"Ash shrugged, pulling out a Pokeball. "That works. Pidgeotto, you're up!" The bird Pokémon appeared with a screech of her name, glaring at Samurai as if daring him to give her a challenge.

Samurai grinned. "A flying type? In that case, I choose Pinsir!"

Ash couldn't help but feel surprised as the stag beetle Pokémon materialized in front of him, hissing a challenge. Pinsir were rare in this part of the region, similar to Scyther. Shaking off his surprise, Ash called out a command. "Pidgeotto, use tackle!"

Samurai grinned as the bird swooped towards his Pokémon with a screech. "Pinsir, use Vice Grip! Snag it right out of the air!"

Ash's eyes widened. "Abort that attack and blind it with Sand Attack!"

Moments before colliding with Pinsir, Pidgeotto spread her wings wide to slow herself down. Pinsir attempted to grab her with his horns, but came up short. Pidgeotto gave a quick flap of her wings, blowing a wave of sand into her opponents face.

Pinsir cried out in pain and tried to rub its eye, and Ash decided to take advantage of the situation. "Hit it with Gust!"

Samurai's eyes widened. "No! Pinsir, get out of there!"

The warning came too late, however, and the flying type attack struck Pinsir dead on, sending it flying. With a thud, it landed at Samurai's feet with swirls in it's eyes.

"Great work Pidgeotto!" Ash cheered as Samurai recalled his fallen bug type. Pidgeotto let out a pleased caw at her victory before turning and beginning to preen her feathers.

"Not bad. You may have beaten Pinsir, but you will never get past my second Pokémon! Metapod, go!"

Ash grinned. "In that case…" Recalling Pidgeotto, he clipped her ball to his belt and released his own Metapod.

The battle was tense and fierce. Both Metapod clashed in a war for supremacy, neither one able to get past the other's impenetrable Harden.

...Not really. In reality, Samurai had caught his Metapod in its current stage, and thus it only knew the move Harden. While the battle took nearly half an hour, the victor was clear from the start. With one final Tackle, Ash's Metapod finally knocked out his doppelganger.

Ash congratulated his bug type for its victory and was about to recall it when it suddenly burst into a white light. He grinned as his Metapod changed, growing a pair of wings and a pair antenna. As the light of evolution died down, Ash's Butterfree gleefully flew a couple of loops around Ash, causing him to laugh. "Great job on evolving, Butterfree! Now we can train you on more diverse moves."

Having won the battle, Ash collected his prize money from Samurai, bid the bug catcher farewell, and went on his way, eyes set on Pewter City.

The following day, Ash stumbled out of Viridian Forest with Pikachu and Eevee riding on his shoulders. "Ugh, we finally made it out of that forest! I was starting to think that place went on forever…"

Eevee chuckled. "Yeah, it's nice to see sunlight again. How far from here is it to Pewter? We still need to get me transferred officially onto your team, remember?"

Glancing at his map, Ash grinned. "It looks like Pewter is only an hour or so from our current position. We should have plenty of time to get you all set up on the team and have our gym battle before the day is over."

Pikachu groaned. "Thank Arceus. Being in the wilderness is great and all, but even I could use some time back in civilization. We should get some lunch when we…" He trailed off, looking towards the sky, blinked, then rubbed his eyes as if to confirm he wasn't seeing things. "Uh, guys? You may want to see this…"

Ash and Eevee glanced up towards where Pikachu was pointing and immediately gained similarly dumbfounded expressions at the sight of the massive multicolored bird flying overhead.

"Is… Is that what I think it is?" Ash asked.

Eevee's eyes sparkled. "There's no doubt! That's Ho-oh! She's a legendary Pokémon!"

Ash's eyes widened as his suspicions were confirmed. "Seriously, a legendary? Hmm…"

Ash closed his eyes, and after a moment, the light signifying the use of an illusion covered his body. He started to grow and change shape, but after a moment there was a poof and he was back in his Zorua form. "What? Why didn't that work?"

Pikachu tore his eyes from the fading form of Ho-oh in the distance. "You tried to turn into Ho-oh, I assume?"

Ash turned back into his human form before responding. "Yeah, but it didn't work for some reason."

"Ho-oh is probably too strong of a form for your body to handle at the moment." Pikachu guessed. "Maybe with more training you will be able to pull it off."

Ash shrugged. "I guess there's no real way of knowing at the moment. Either way, we should get moving if we want to reach Pewter on time for lunch."

Ash sighed in relief as he finally walked into the Pewter City Pokémon Center. Pikachu and Eevee hopped off of his shoulders and stretched, sore from hours on the road.

Glancing around, Ash singled out the video phones off to one side of the Center. He quickly made his way over to them, quickly settling on one that was enclosed for private conversations. Closing the door behind him, he sat down at the video phone and dialed Professor Oak's number. Normally he would have chosen to call his mother first, but he figured it would be best to get Eevee situated as soon as possible.

After only two rings, Professor Oak's face appeared on the screen. He smiled brightly as soon as he realized who was calling. "Ah, Ash! I take it you made it to Pewter City safely?" He glanced behind Ash, and nodded in satisfaction. "Good, you used the private phone. Did you run into any complications getting through Viridian?"

Ash shifted slightly. "There was a slight hiccup along the way, but not in the way we were expecting."

Professor Oak frowned. "No Rockets, I hope."

"No, we didn't see any Rockets on the way through," Ash said, before gesturing to Eevee, who was observing the call with curiosity. "We did find her, though."

"I was going to ask about her," Professor Oak said, rubbing his chin. "I saw that you managed to catch a Caterpie and a Pidgeotto, but your trainer record shows no indication of catching an Eevee."

"Yeah… About that, I haven't caught her yet," Ash said. "We were hoping you could help us out with that. We found her in the outskirts of Viridian City. She was tied to a post in someone's backyard and a Raticate was trying to breed with her against her will. Apparently her trainer planned on selling any eggs for profit. Eevee also confirmed that he was beating her. Pikachu and I scared off the Raticate and freed her. She decided to come along with us after that, but she is still registered to her old trainer. I was hoping you had a solution for us."

A fierce scowl crossed the normally gentle professor's face. "Forcefully breeding Pokémon has been highly illegal for well over a decade. That is a rather serious offense. Alright, have Nurse Joy give me a call immediately. Tell her it's a drill 47."

Ash sighed in relief. "Alright, thank you. How long should that take? I was planning on using her in my gym battle today."

Professor Oak smiled. "It shouldn't take more than a few minutes. Hmm… Challenging the Pewter Gym, are you? It can be a tough one for new trainers to beat."

"Don't worry, Pikachu picked up Iron Tail in Viridian Forest and Eevee learned Dig. I'm hoping to take the Gym Leader by surprise." Ash said with a grin. "They also both picked up Quick Attack. I did too, actually. They insisted I train with them."

Professor Oak laughed. "That's not necessarily a bad thing. How are your illusions coming along? Have you learned anything else?"

Ash shrugged. "Nothing new, to be honest. I spent most of the time just figuring out how to properly use my Zorua form. Oh, is my mother around? I was planning on calling her after getting Eevee set up."

"Delia is out back feeding the Pokémon at the moment," Professor Oak replied. "I'll let her know you made it through Viridian safely."

"Alright, thank you. I'll go let Joy know to call you." Ash said.

Professor Oak nodded. "I'll be waiting. Good luck with your gym battle, Ash."

Ash smiled. "Thanks. I'll call again when I reach Cerulean City."

Ash ended the call and stood up, allowing Pikachu and Eevee to hop back onto his shoulders. He left the phone booth and made his way over to Nurse Joy. The pink-haired nurse smiled brightly as he approached. "Hello! Do any of your Pokémon need healing?"

Ash nodded as Pikachu and Eevee jumped down onto the counter. He pulled out the pokeballs containing the rest of his team and handed them over. "Yeah, I'm planning on challenging Brock today, so I want to make sure everyone is good to go." He glanced around for a moment before lowering his voice. "Professor Oak said to call him immediately. Drill 47."

Nurse Joy's immediately lost her smile and her expression grew serious. "Which one?"

"Eevee," Ash responded. "Professor Oak should be able to give you the details."

"Alright, I'll give her a full examination to make sure she is healthy. Pokemon don't always make it out of that type of situation in good shape. I'll call for you when she is ready for pickup."

Ash nodded his thanks and made his way over to the waiting area. He picked up a magazine to read as he waited, and before he knew it, he heard Nurse Joy calling his name.

He quickly went up to the counter to see Pikachu and a tray holding three pokeballs. He was surprised to see that the third pokeball was fully black with gold and red markings; a Luxury Ball. Ash glanced at the nurse in confusion. Luxury Balls are extremely expensive, even more so than other specialty balls. Only the highest ranking trainers usually had the funds to afford them.

Seeing his confusion, Nurse joy smiled. "Don't worry. Eevee is perfectly healthy. She has a few leftover bruises from the abuse, but they are healing nicely. All rehabilitated Pokemon are put into Luxury Balls to help them feel more comfortable after the things they have gone through. Eevee is fully linked to your Trainer ID, and we've tracked her old Pokeball back to a residence in the slums of Viridian. We'll be dispatching a police unit shortly to arrest the person responsible."

Ash let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. "That's good to hear. I applied a Super Potion to her wounds after rescuing her, but I was still worried for any lasting damage."

"It's a good thing you did. While she has some bruises now, she could have acquired a major infection if you hadn't treated her so fast. The rest of your team is healthy as well, by the way. You've done a good job raising them."

Ash smiled at praise. "Thanks. Well, I need to get going if I want to challenge Brock today. Thank you for all your help, Nurse Joy."

"It's what I'm here for." Nurse Joy replied. "Good luck, young man."

Ash released Eevee from her Luxury Ball and clipped the rest of his team to his belt. "Are you guys ready for the gym battle?"

Pikachu and Eevee both nodded enthusiastically. "We've been looking forward to it all day, Ash. Of course we're ready!"

"Good. Let's get moving, then."

Half an hour later, Ash stood confidently outside of the Pewter City Gym. He glanced up at the gym symbol above the door ⎯ a pokeball in the shape of a lightning bolt ⎯ and after taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, pushed open the doors and headed inside.

He was immediately greeted to the sight of a rock covered battlefield. A man stood at the opposite end of it. He looked at Ash appraisingly. "My name is Brock. I am the Pewter City Gym Leader. Are you here for a gym battle?"

"Yes," Ash confirmed with a nod. "My name is Ash Ketchum."

"Alright. Do you have any badges?"

"No, this will be my first."

Brock nodded. "In that case, this will be a two-on-two match. You will be allowed to substitute your Pokémon while I will not. The winner will be decided when one side's Pokémon are both unable to continue. Is that acceptable?"

Ash nodded and stepped up to his trainer box. "Pikachu, do you want to handle the first one?"

Pikachu grinned. "I thought you'd never ask."

Brock released his Geodude onto the field before glancing at Pikachu with an appraising eye. "Interesting choice. Your Pikachu seems to be well trained. However, you are at a major type disadvantage, as I'm sure you already know. You may have the first attack."

Ash grinned. "Alright. Pikachu, let's start this off with a Quick Attack!" Pikachu nodded before launching himself at Geodude in a streak of light.

Brock smirked. "Take it and retaliate with Rock Throw!" Geodude nodded, bracing itself for impact. Brock glanced across the field and frowned slightly at the grin on Ash's face.

"Not going to happen, Brock! Pikachu, use the speed from Quick Attack and use Iron Tail!"

Pikachu smirked in triumph as his tail gained a metallic shine. He performed a quick flip to build momentum and smashed his tail into Geodude's face.

Brock gaped in shock as his Geodude fell at his feet, completely unconscious. After a moment, he shook his head and grinned. "I'm impressed. You knew I used Rock Pokémon so you trained your Pikachu to counter that. Not many beginning trainers bother to do that, so you have my respect. However, my last Pokémon won't be nearly as simple. Onix, go!"

Ash couldn't help but flinch slightly as the giant rock snake burst onto the field across from him and let out a roar of challenge.

"Don't underestimate them Onix! Use Tackle!" Brock commanded.

Ash gulped. Normally, Tackle was't a very powerful move, but when the Pokemon using it weighs several tons, it can deal some serious damage. "Pikachu, dodge that attack with Quick Attack and climb on top of Onix!"

Pikachu nodded and used Quick Attack to get away from the charging Rock Type. He barely managed to escape the blow and leapt onto Onix's back. Ash grinned. "Iron Tail!"

Onix roared in pain from the super effective hit, but refused to go down so easily. "Slam it, Onix!" Before either Ash or Pikachu could react, Onix reared up its tail and slammed Pikachu into the battlefield. Ash sighed as the dust cleared, revealing a knocked out Pikachu. Walking onto the field, he picked up his starter and carried him back to his trainer box.

Pikachu groaned as he opened his eyes. "Ugh… I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I lost?"

"Yeah, but you did good. Eevee can handle it from here. Are you ready?"

Eevee nodded. "Yeah, that snake won't know what hit him!"

"Alright, let's start this out with Shadow Ball!" Ash commanded.

Eevee grinned as she formed the sphere of Ghost Type energy, launching it at her opponent. It slammed into Onix's face, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Onix, don't give in! Use Rock Slide!"

Ash's eyes bugged out. "Use Dig, quickly!"

Eevee definitely didn't have to be told twice. She dove into the ground mere seconds before the place she had just been standing was covered in large boulders.

Brock paled slightly. "Try to sense where Eevee is hiding and dodge!"

It was no use. Onix was far too large of a target to effectively avoid the ground type technique. It roared in pain as Eevee burst from the ground directly beneath it and slammed a glowing paw directly into its hide.

Brock gasped as Onix collapsed to the ground with swirls in its eyes. Eevee landed smoothly in front of her trainer and grinned at her victory. "Great work, Eevee!" Ash praised. "That was incredible!"

Brock returned his downed Onix with a sigh and smiled at his opponent, who was currently in the process of showering his Eevee with affection. "That was a good battle. Not many trainers can beat Onix on their first attempt. I'm impressed." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small gray badge. "This is the Boulder Badge. It is proof that you have defeated me in battle. You've earned it several times over."

Ash grinned, accepting the badge. "Thanks. You weren't bad, yourself. If Eevee hadn't spent so much time increasing her speed for Quick Attack, I doubt she would have been able to avoid that Rock Slide."

Brock smirked. "Yeah, that's usually where most trainers fall to my Onix." He suddenly snapped his fingers and pulled out a small brownish-gray disk. "Here, take this TM. It contains the move Rock Tomb. You may find a use for it someday."

Ash accepted the disk with a smile. "Thank you. I'll be heading off to Cerulean City sometime tomorrow, so maybe I'll catch something that can use it in Mt. Moon."

Brock suddenly looked thoughtful. "In that case, do you mind if I tag along?"

Ash blinked in surprise. "Um, not that I'm against it, but don't you have to run the gym?"

"Nah, I was just a temporary Gym Leader while my father went to Mt. Moon to catch a Shuckle. There were reports of a few of them migrating through the area and he wanted to catch one for his team. He should be back by tonight, so I was actually planning on leaving tomorrow regardless."

"Well, in that case, the more the merrier. Welcome aboard, Brock." Ash said with a smile.

"Thanks," Brock replied. "I'll meet you tomorrow morning at the Pokémon Center. I still need to finish gathering some supplies."

"That works for me. I'll see you tomorrow, then."

As soon as Ash left the gym, Pikachu spoke up. "Um, Ash? I'm not sure if you realized this, but if Brock will be travelling with us, you'll have to let him in on your secret. There is no way you'll be able to hide it from him for long."

Ash immediately stopped walking, groaned, and facepalmed. "...Well, now you tell me!"

AN: I hope you all enjoyed the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! This one took a bit longer than I would have liked to get done, but I think it turned out good. If you enjoyed the chapter, please be sure to leave a review, as it helps me out a ton. I always enjoy hearing what people think of my stories, and any constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.

It looks like Ash has a new travelling companion! Looks like he's in a bit of a pickle because of it, though! I decided not to include Misty as a traveling companion. I know that will disappoint a lot of you, but I honestly don't really like her character, and she didn't fit very well into my story as it was. Brock will definitely have his uses in the group. The first of which will be seen next chapter. ...And no, I don't mean his cooking!