Chapter 5: Showdown at Pewter City
Here we are! This chapter is up. This chapter is standing at a 9059 according to ffn, which is long. A lot happens. Hopefully, (crossing fingers) it was worth the wait.
Pokémon:
Ash:
Charmander, Pidgeotto, Butterfree, Phanpy
Misty:
Starmie, Staryu, Goldeen
Leaf:
Bulbasaur
Gary:
Squirtle
Jessie:
Ekans
James:
Koffing.
Leaf has two more pokemon added in this chapter, and Brock will appear in the next list
The next morning, Ash met up with Nurse Joy and Scrafty outside in the training area part of the Pokemon Centre. There were two other trainers out training with them: one looked half asleep, but the other looked pretty perky. Which was surprising, considering it was six-thirty in the morning. Ash guessed they were friends, and one liked to get up this early and had dragged her friend out with her.
Ash was yet to have breakfast, as he wanted to get training with Charmander as soon as possible, and he thought Breakfast could wait until after. He would not delay eating for himself and his Pokémon past the normal eating time, though.
"Right, I've told Scrafty what needs to be done, and she's more than happy to help," Nurse Joy said confidently. It was nice to be able to help out trainers in more ways than one for once.
"Great! Thanks, Nurse! Charmander, come out!" Ash said, releasing Charmander. He had put Charmander away in his ball for the night, as Ash was worried the tail would set fire to the room. Normally, Charmander liked to be out with Ash, and Ash liked Charmander out with him, and last night had been the first time he had been in his ball all night.
Ash decided he would go to the Pokémart today, to see if he could get something to prevent Charmander's tail from setting the world on fire: there were plenty of items in the shop, surely there was something along those lines? He wondered if everyone with a Pokémon like Charmander, Rapidash or Chimchar brought a fireproof blanket.
"Right, Scrafty: you ready?" Nurse Joy asked her partner.
"Scraf!" Scrafty nodded.
"Okay! Charmander, Scrafty is going to teach you Mega Punch, okay? So, listen carefully and do as she tells you, please," Ash explained, letting Charmander know what was going on.
"Char!" Charmander cried. Then Scrafty led Charmander a bit away from Ash and the Pokémon nurse then started talking and explaining what needed to be done, most likely. Ash was not really sure what they were saying, though. He didn't really understand pokemon.
"You have a memory problem, don't you, Ash?" Nurse Joy said as they watched Scrafty demonstrate the move.
"How did you know?!" Ash asked, looking surprised.
"Anyone giving out starter Pokémon has to alert the league of new trainers with memory, medical and or learning issues: any issues that might cause problems and might need to be treated. They tell us and the gym leaders, and it needs to be updated every three years, but as long as it's a registered professor, it can be anyone then. Just visiting them is enough though. What does you Pokédex supply in the way of information on Pokémon?" Nurse Joy asked.
"Well, everything I need: attacks, abilities, locations, Pokémon, training tips," Ash said.
"Wow, that's the first time I've heard of it having all that in a dex: Professor Oak's really outdone himself this time. But that's good for you and really useful. I'd suggest getting a Pokénav plus, which has a map which shows your location, allows you to make calls, and keep notes and create events, among other things. It would be handy in your situation, even if in a year your memory is back in full working order, and it might take a little longer besides. Another thing would be, is to get your Charmander trained specially to help you when you have memory lapses," Nurse Joy suggested.
"I don't want too many people to know about it, that's all. Can you tell me about the training?" Ash said quietly. He glanced around: he was really embarrassed every time his memory let him down, and he was embarrassed he had to take medicine, and he didn't want people to know. So, he takes his medicine in private, or when no one was around.
"Some people do that anyway: they're terrified of forgetting things, so they get the Pokénav plus or a Pokégear: no one would know, and items like that are getting very popular besides. Well, Charmander would be trained to remind you to check your Pokénav or pokégear. He would be trained to listen to what you say when you speak and tell you if you say one thing then say another thing. Basically, Charmander would be trained to make up for your brain when it fails you," Nurse Joy explained.
"Oh, okay. How long would it take? Where would I need to go?" Ash asked.
"Overall, it takes a month, as a general rule, though. Some Pokémon learn it quicker, and it takes two and a half weeks. If you like, I can start Charmander this evening, then I can send the progress report to all the other Nurse Joys, and each time you stop somewhere for a while, they can do more work," Nurse Joy said, answering Ash's questions as Charmander tried Mega Punch. The attack didn't look much yet, but in the half, an hour Ash and Nurse Joy had been talking, Charmander had made a lot of progress. Ash was really impressed and felt really proud of his Pokémon.
"I'm going to back in an hour, okay? I expect you and your Pokémon to take a break then, alright. No staying out and training until after a meal," Nurse Joy said sternly.
"After we have breakfast, could you spend some time training Charmander like we talked about?" Ash asked hopefully. He wanted to get it started as soon as possible.
"Sure," Nurse Joy nodded, having no objection. Then she went inside to do her work.
Ash then released Pidgeotto, Phanpy and Butterfree, he did some training with them. He got Butterfree to work on confusion, while Pidgeotto and Phanpy had a practice battle against each other. The idea was to increase Phanpy's strength, along with Pidgeotto; he could practice his working-progress steel wing attack.
Ash then walked over to Charmander and Scrafty. Charmander had the idea: he just had to work on more concentration so that the move was more powerful, at the moment. Charmander also needed to work on solely focusing on the attack and the target, as he kept getting distracted by some nearby trainers, Butterfree, Phanpy, Ash and Pidgeotto.
An hour later, Scrafty was satisfied with the progress Charmander was making. Ash was happy to see Charmander was on the right path for mastering Focus punch, as the Pokédex had it as a working progress move. Charmander had done very well already, all things considered.
Phanpy and Pidgeotto both had improved, and Pidgeotto's steel wing was looking promising and certainly getting there. Phanpy had gotten a whole heap stronger, and Ash was going to teach Phanpy bulldoze, or try to, next time they trained.
Butterfree had also made some progress: she had worked out how to access the psychic power, but that was it. "How did it go, Scrafty?" Nurse Joy asked Scrafty as she came out an hour after she left.
"Scraf, scrafty!" Scrafty responded cheerfully.
"That good, huh? Alright, now: hope you planning on coming in, Ash! I happen to know you have not eaten yet, nor have your Pokémon!" Nurse Joy said to Ash, making sure he hadn't forgotten their deal from before.
"Don't worry, Mam, I was planning on that already," Ash nodded. He gestured for all his Pokémon to come. The two humans, Ash's four Pokémon and Scrafty headed inside.
"Have you taken your medicine? And did you get the stuff your mother sent you? Chancy was supposed to pass it on," Nurse Joy asked.
"Yes, yes: Chancy gave the medicine to me last night," Ash nodded, not feeling the need to lie to the nurse.
"Alright. Just drop Charmander with me when you're ready," Nurse Joy said as they reached the lobby.
"Okay, I will," Ash nodded. Then they parted ways, with Nurse Joy going to her post and Ash heading to the Cafeteria. Ash met Misty there.
"Where have you been?" Misty asked yawning.
"We had an early start with training. Nurse Joy offered to lend her Scrafty so it could teach Charmander Focus Punch, and their going to do more after breakfast," Ash said, coming up with a lie for where Charmander would be for the hour or two after breakfast.
"Ah, I see. Are you still going to challenge Brock this evening?" Misty asked.
"Yep. Gives me a chance to train Phanpy and Charmander a bit more. I'm hoping we will start to get some metal over Charmander's claws today," Ash explained.
"Don't overdo it, or there will be no way you'll win your battle," Misty advised.
"Don't worry, we won't," Ash nodded. He had thought of that. Then he asked, "What are you going to do today?"
"Some fishing," Misty responded.
"Do you know how much Pokénav plus' cost?" Ash asked, thinking Misty was worth a shot.
"I believe their worth about six and a half or seven thousand Pokédollars," Misty said thoughtfully.
"Right, I might need to ring mum before I buy one," Ash said. He didn't have a lot of money at the moment and he wanted to keep three thousand to be able to afford potions, Pokéballs and stuff, and hopefully, there would be a little more just in case some random bill popped up.
"That's the ones made here, anyway: they have the map with tracking, the notebook and the calendar. The Devon Corporation ones go up to twenty thousand," Misty said, after thinking for a bit.
"What?! That's a big difference!" Ash exclaimed, his eyes bulging.
"Well, the Devon Corps one has many more apps, and they are also much more high tech. Another thing to consider, is the Kanto ones are not as popular so they get sold for less. If they were more well known and popular, their asking price would be around eight or nine thousand, maybe even ten," Misty said, trying to remember all this information.
"Wow, that's a lot to take in. Where would I find them?" Ash asked.
"Most Pokémarts stock a few: otherwise an apartment store, which we're still a few towns from, Saffron is probably the closest, but I am honestly not sure. There might have been one in Viridian," Misty suggested.
When they finished eating, Misty headed off to do her fishing. Ash dropped Charmander with Nurse Joy then headed out to the training field. He was going to pick Charmander up in an hour and a bit, when he would do some work on metal claw, then get Charmander to go up against Phanpy for a practice battle, maybe.
In the meantime, he started teaching Bulldoze to Phanpy. Teaching Phanpy the idea of the attack wasn't very hard, as all he had to do was stomp hard on the ground. However, getting it so it actually did more than a few vibrations directly around Phanpy was the tricky part.
After trying a few different ideas, like simply stamping as hard as possible, or jumping up and down, or trying to focus Phanpy's power, Ash decided to leave Phanpy at it while going and helping one of his other Pokémon.
Ash knew when Phanpy learnt that move, teaching him Earthquake would be easy. Earthquake you had to channel destructive energy, which meant the pokemon had to want to break the ground. To access this energy was difficult, and stomping hard was a great way to do it. And in that case, you were already more than halfway there to unlocking Bulldoze.
Pidgeotto was practising Steel Wing still, and Butterfree was working on Confusion. Psychic and Confusion were useful moves to learn if a pokemon could, Ash reflected. They attacked the target with a wave of psychic power, but advanced versions could be used to stop an opponent in their tracks for a few seconds, which would allow the user to change position.
Of course, if you could use it either attack or move objects, levitate people or even control attacks for a second or two. The psychic was easily one of the most powerful types if you considered all that. However, to do anything more than putting the psychic energy into existence was hard, and powerful Pokémon could not have their attacks controlled, and not be affected by a psychic-types' attempts to keep them from moving.
When it was time to collect Charmander, Ash let his Pokémon work without him, and went to get his starter. Apparently, Charmander had made good progress already. Ash noticed Charmander was listening very carefully to what Ash and Joy said. Charmander always listened to Ash when he was talking to someone, but never this carefully.
"Right, Charmander." They were out on the training fields. "Let's work on Metal Claw. When I'm happy with it, you can work a bit on Focus Punch. I think at the moment the best thing for you is for me to leave be when working on that attack, isn't it?" Ash asked, and Charmander nodded.
Charmander prepared a scratch attack, then concentrated. Ash thought he noticed something change in Charmander's claw, then he attacked. Sadly, not banana so far: it was still a slightly more powerful scratch; slightly more than normal when a pokemon did a strong scratch attack.
Twenty minutes later, they were still working on it. While he gave Charmander a break, he observed the other Pokémon. Phanpy and Butterfree had made a little progress, and Pidgeotto's attack was looking more like the real Steel wing. He got them all to have a break then.
"When your ready, I want Phanpy to work on his speed, and Pidgeotto and Butterfree, I want you two to work on manoeuvrability on the ground. The air is your best and strongest place to battle from, however, this will be handy if you end up in a position where you can't fly," Ash said. The previous day over dinner, he had talked to a few other trainers, and one suggested this.
All three Pokémon didn't look too pleased about this. Phanpy knew that his family line relied on the use of Rollout for their speed, outside of that they were not that fast, but in a rollout attack, that changed. Due to their structure, or so Phanpy thought. He supposed considering he didn't know that move yet, this would be a good idea. That didn't mean Phanpy was going to like it, though.
Butterfree and Pidgeotto had similar reasons for not being pleased. They were designed to fly, and in the sky, they were very fast, whereas, on land, a Caterpie could probably outrun them, well Butterfree at least. However, with moves like smackdown, or simply the fact their wings could get damaged or covered in a substance that did not allow them to fly, speed training on the ground would be handy.
"I know you don't like it, but it is necessary that you do it, I'm afraid; otherwise, I wouldn't ask you of this," Ash said. The three Pokémon nodded, and they got to work.
Ash then went back to Charmander. To his happiness, Charmander was making progress! There was more change in the claw now, and it was starting to get that silver sheen that a steel type move such as metal claw or iron tail should have.
They kept at it a little longer, and that improved, and the coming along not quite yet metal claw got stronger. What was letting it down the most at the moment, was the charge uptime. Charmander was working on that, though.
An hour later, Charmander had shortened the time it took to get the metal coating, but it still took time. Ash thought that was a pass, then asked Charmander what he wanted to do now. Charmander opted to have a rest then. The rest of Ash's Pokémon by this point had collapsed nearby his bag.
"If your guys want, you can do some aerial training. Speed then practising dodging, and moving around quickly and stuff. What do you guys want to do? You can just stay there if you like: you don't need to do any more training," Ash asked Pidgeotto and Butterfree.
Both Pokémon opted to do some aerial training when they were feeling less tired. "Well, don't do it if you're too tired. It's just an option," Ash stated. Then he said to Phanpy, "Unless you want to practice your attacks, you're finished for now."
"Phanpy!" Phanpy nodded. He then told Ash that he wanted to rest now.
"Alright, Charmander, I think we will not bother with Focus punch this afternoon. After the gym battle, you can work on it more," Ash said, and Charmander nodded. He was worried about getting too tired, but he wanted to please Ash. With Ash saying this, it meant he wouldn't get too tired to battle to the best of his ability.
"Great!" Ash nodded. With all his Pokémon not working at the moment, he decided to get them some water, and offer an early lunch: well, not that early, there were fifteen minutes to go. Ash had brought some sandwiches when he was in the cafeteria earlier, which meant he wouldn't need to go inside for lunch.
Lunch was a disaster, however. Ash's hand gave way, which meant he dropped the water ball on Phanpy, which followed with him hurriedly drying the ground-type. While Ash planned to do some water resistance training with Phanpy, he didn't want to start that training today.
After that, he accidentally forgot which feed Butterfree liked, and accidentally gave her a really spicy one, when the butterfly Pokémon like sweet Pokémon food. After rectifying that mistake, Ash ended up throwing out the spicy food, as he couldn't put it back in the jar and none of his other Pokémon particularly liked spicy food. He nearly made another mistake, but Charmander noticed this and stopped him.
Surprisingly, Charmander preferred milder tastes, Phanpy liked an earthy taste, and Pidgeotto also liked sweet food. After he had sorted all of that out, Ash sat down with his sandwiches and sighed: What a mess! At least it ended well, he supposed. He was sitting down on one of the seats outside.
Just as he was packing everything up, when they had finished eating, a voice rang through the training area: "Ash!"
Ash looked around until he finally saw Leaf running towards him. "Leaf! Hi!" Ash called, waving.
"How long have you been here? How was your journey so far?" Leaf asked.
"A few days. It was all pretty relaxed and sound, actually. The most exciting thing was, Team Rocket attacking the Pokémon centre in Viridian City. When did you get here? And how was your journey?" Ash asked.
"I got here late last night. I had a late morning, then I have been looking around the city a little bit. Have you challenged Brock yet?" Leaf asked, sitting down next to Ash.
"Nope: I am planning on doing that this evening. You?" Ash replied.
"I am going tomorrow or the next day, depending on how everyone goes when I train. It's a pity your battling Brock this evening: I can't come and watch!" Leaf exclaimed, sounding put out.
"What are you up to, may I ask? And don't feel too bad, assuming everything goes well, I am almost certainly going to be gone by the time you challenge Brock," Ash said.
"Meeting some relatives for dinner. It is going to be so boring!" Leaf groaned.
"Oh. How about we battle now? We did say we would next time we met, and we've met up. Is two on two alright? I want to rest Charmander and Phanpy up, that's all," Ash asked. Ash stood up, as did Leaf.
"Sure!" Leaf nodded.
"Alright, Pidgeotto, Butterfree: we're going to the have a battle! Phanpy, Charmander; you guys cheer us on, okay?" Ash said to his Pokémon.
"Oh, isn't it cute! Where did you find Phanpy?" Leaf cried, getting down to examine Phanpy.
"Just near here. I'd expect it wondered over from Johto," Ash said.
"Maybe. All your Pokémon look really strong! You must be training them well! Anyway, let's get this show on the road!" Leaf said, and Ash nodded: he couldn't agree more.
They quickly ran to the ends of the nearby battlefield; the one which Ash had previously been training his Pokémon in and around. The training area at the Pokémon centre had five or six battlefields, and a small playground for Pokémon and children. There were seats all around, and a few trees which would be nice to sit under and keep the sun away from you.
"Alright! Bulbasaur! Come out!" Leaf said, releasing her Bulbasaur.
"Bulba!" the female Bulbasaur cried. From the last time, Ash had seen the Pokémon, it had grown, darkened, and the bulb was beginning to look like it was about to bloom.
"I don't know about your Charmander, but I think my Bulbasaur will have evolved by Cerulean City! I can't wait, to be honest!" Leaf called to Ash.
"Yeah, same, except I am going to have a Charmeleon. Pidgeotto, I choose you!" Ash said to his bird.
"Pidg!" Pidgeotto nodded, flying forward.
"Ladies first, Leaf," Ash called.
"Your regret that move! Use Vine Whip, Bulbasaur!" Leaf commanded with a fiery grace.
"Dodge! Use Gust!" Ash ordered.
"All no! Dodge, Bulbasaur!" Leaf cried, getting panicked.
Bulbasaur turned to her trainer, confused about how she was going to dodge the attack. Bulbasaur stood her ground, but the Gust took quite a bit of her hit points out. "Now! Wing attack!" Ash called.
"Use Poison Powder to defend!" Leaf ordered, thinking cunningly.
"Get out of there!" Ash cried frantically.
"Now! Grab Pidgeotto with Vine Whip then use tackle!" Leaf cried, smirking as she saw an opening.
"Dodge!" Ash called, but he was too late.
"Pidg!" Pidgeotto cried. Bulbasaur had a strong grip, which meant it was going to take a bit more than wriggling to break free.
"Quick! Use Wing Attack to break the vines!" Ash called.
Pidgeotto nodded, and prepared a wing attack. With a strong jerk, he managed to free one wing to cut one vine, and Bulbasaur let go as she flinched in pain. However, Bulbasaur still managed to hit Pidgeotto with tackle.
That made Pidgeotto really mad. He sat there fuming, waiting for the next command. "Use gust, then Quick attack and Wing attack combined!"
"Dodge!" Leaf cried. However, there was little chance of Bulbasaur dodging the gust with one vine damaged, and she was not the Pokémon with the best jumping ability. She made an effort, a good effort, and she had almost managed to avoid the attack and only got brushed by it, which meant she didn't have the side effect of being blown away.
But it did its trick: it distracted Bulbasaur long enough that Pidgeotto could get in with the two attacks Ash had asked for.
"Quick! Sleep powder, while it's in close range!" Leaf called.
Bulbasaur quickly summoned the sleeping inducing power, and shot it at Pidgeotto after it had attacked. Pidgeotto avoided the first shot, but then Bulbasaur shot another one above it, so Pidgeotto couldn't both of them, much to his and Ash's dismay.
"Quick! Quick attack!" Ash cried, hoping to get one more attack in before Pidgeotto fell asleep.
As Pidgeotto started to nod off, he charged a quick attack and unleashed it, hitting the target, as neither Leaf or Bulbasaur were expecting it to attack. However, halfway between the starting point and target Pidgeotto fell asleep, which meant he had a crash landing into Bulbasaur.
"NO!" Leaf cried, seeing Bulbasaur had fainted. "Return, Bulbasaur: you did super."
"Return, Pidgeotto: you did well too," Ash said, returning his Pokémon also. With one fainted and one sleeping, neither were going to be much use right now.
"Alright, Butterfree, you ready?" Ash asked his butterfly Pokémon.
"Bree," Butterfree nodded, and she flew inside the lines of the battlefield. She was happy to get to battle.
"Alright! Spearow! Out you come!" Leaf said, throwing another Pokéball. This time, the brown and white bird known as Spearow appeared. Ash scanned Spearow in with his Pokédex, remembering he was yet to do so.
"Alright! You go first this time, Ash!" Leaf cried.
"Alright! Butterfree! Gust! Let's leave a good impression to start things out!" Ash called.
"Dodge, Spearow! Now, use peck!" Leaf commanded as Spearow started to dodge.
"Spearow!" Spearow cried, doing exactly what Leaf had asked for.
"Dodge, Butterfree!" Ash cried, but too late, Spearow hit with peck.
"Augh! Use Tackle before it gets too far away!" Ash cried.
"Bree, bee," Butterfree cried, using tackle on Spearow.
"Spearow! Use Peck again!" Leaf called.
"Blow it away with Gust!" Ash cried.
"Spea!" Spearow cried in pain.
"Now! Try confusion!" Ash called.
"bree!" Butterfree nodded. She concentrated, and then released the blue power, a full-powered confusion. Ash was surprised: when they had been training earlier, Butterfree was doing well but she was still a little off from mastering the attack. He supposed she might have gotten to the required strength to use the attack properly during the rest, and she lacked that before. Or it was a fluke.
"Spearow!" Leaf cried as confusion hit Spearow.
When Spearow had recovered, Leaf said, "Use Leer then Pursuit!"
"Dodge!" Ash called. Butterfree dodged the leer, but then she had pursuit thrown full strength at her, as it was a hard attack to dodge.
"Now peck!" Leaf cried.
"Stop it with confusion! Then use bugbite!" Ash cried.
Butterfree tried to stop Spearow, but it didn't work, so Butterfree got hit anyway. While Spearow was pecking her, she used Bug bite.
When Butterfree let go, both Pokémon was quite beaten up and puffing. Ash and Leaf could tell their Pokémon only had a hit or two left in them.
"Use Peck!" Leaf cried.
"Dodge, Butterfree! Use tackle!" Ash ordered.
"Keep attacking until you hit!" Leaf commanded.
"Same to you, Butterfree!" Ash cried.
For a good two minutes, both trainers watched their Pokémon do an air dance of attacking and dodging than attacking. Finally, both Pokémon hit each other and fell to the side of their trainer.
"There both unable to battle!" Leaf exclaimed, looking at Spearow and then looking to Ash, who was pulling Butterfree's Pokéball out.
"Yep," Ash nodded.
"Well, you win, Ash. Spearow, return: you did a great job for your first battle," Leaf said, returning Spearow. Phanpy and Charmander cheered for Ash.
"You two, Batterfree. You did really well, and mastered confusion!" Ash exclaimed as he returned Butterfree.
"Here, winnings," Leaf said, handing Ash some cash for winning.
"Thanks, Leaf. Let's take them inside to be healed," Ash suggested. Then he said, "You're pokémon were really strong: I thought for most the battle it could go either way."
"Good idea. Thanks, Ash: I realised you were probably going to win halfway during our battle with Butterfree and Spearow," Leaf nodded. They then went and picked their bags up, and Ash returned Phanpy and Charmander. Then they turned and headed inside the Pokémon centre.
Nurse Joy was happy to take and heal their Pokémon, (Ash gave her Phanpy and Charmander as well,) and while she did, Ash and Leaf sat down nearby, talking. "Have you seen Gary or know what he's up to?" Ash asked Leaf, wanting to know.
"When I rang Professor Oak earlier, he told me Gary was about to drive past Mt Moon when he spoke to him, which was five minutes earlier. Have you rung your mother since you arrived here?" Leaf asked.
"No: I was planning to ring her and the Professor before I left tomorrow," Ash replied.
"Okay, just make sure you do," Leaf nodded. Then she asked, "Are you going to Cerulean after this?"
"Yes, then I will probably head down to Vermillion City. What about you, Leaf?" Ash asked.
"I am actually thinking of going straight down to Fuchsia City after Cerulean, well, as straight as I can go. Apparently, Koga uses a special slightly weaker team for trainers with under three badges, instead of his monstrous team that he's trying to get onto the Elite Four with. After all, for trainers with at least two badgers it is not compulsory to use a team suited to the challengers level of strength: a gym leader could use an elite-four-strength team against a trainer with three badges," Leaf said.
"Really? Oh. Maybe I should too?" Ash said, thinking.
"It's up to you. You can give it a go, he might use similar Pokémon which are a bit weaker, or in the middle, but he might use his full team, too; they said normally, after all. Who knows? Unlike Blaine, who has is a strong team for seasoned trainers, then weaker Pokemon for the likes of us," Leaf shrugged.
"I might ask the girl I'm travelling with: she's a gym leader, hopefully, she'll be able to help me decide," Ash said, after thinking for a second.
"Really? Which gym's she from?" Leaf asked, looking interested.
"Didn't say, but her name's Misty," Ash shrugged.
"I think the gym leader at Cerulean City is called Misty Waterflower: well, the official Gym Leader on the League site. Her sisters, Daisy, Lily and Violet Waterflower also are gym leaders, when Misty's away, usually; which happens quite a bit, according to an Ace Trainer I got talking with just out of Viridian Forest. From what he said, Daisy, Lily and Violet don't really get on with their other sister, so Misty's often running off in a strop," Leaf said, looking thoughtful.
"Oh. Well, that's a good bet then," Ash nodded. He and Leaf then went on to share training tips until their Pokémon were ready to be picked up, which was when Ash let Charmander out.
"Well, Leaf: I am going to make my way to the gym now. I want to stop at the Pokémart on my way," Ash said, seeing it was getting quite late. Not quite the time he was going to battle Brock at, but it would be that time or close enough, by the time he stopped and walked there. There was a chance that he might have to wait for another challenger to finish their battle first, though.
"Alright. Make sure you don't leave without saying goodbye tomorrow, alright?" Leaf said, looking at Ash firmly.
"Alright, sure," Ash nodded. "Bye!"
He then turned and walked out the front door of the Pokémon centre, before turning left towards the forest where the Pokémart was: it was on that side of the city.
Ash brought a few more healing items, and a few other handy things. Like a repel and escape rope: it would be handy to have them in case of emergency when crossing mountains. He also brought a few extra Pokéballs. On his way to checkout, while he was thinking about his gym battle, Ash ran clean into someone. Just before, he vaguely heard Charmander cry out.
"Honestly! What's the big idea?! Can't people in this city watch where their goi- Ash?!" Misty exclaimed. Ash realised he had run into Misty: someone help him! He was going to be in big trouble now.
"Hi, Misty," Ash said, looking sheepish.
"What are you doing running into me?!" Misty growled.
"I was just shopping! Maybe you were the one who ran into me?" Ash shot back. He was not going down without a fight, and certainly not taking the blame without one.
"I was just glancing down at my shopping! You ran into me!" Misty exclaimed.
"I was thinking about my gym battle!" Ash defended himself.
"Char! Char!" Charmander said. He was trying to tell them they ran into each other, with no luck of getting through.
"Gerr," Misty and Ash growled at each other for a while. Then it occurred to Ash Charmander had said something.
"What did you say, Charmander?" Ash asked Charmander.
Charmander sighed, then repeated himself. He didn't know why he bothered; Ash should be thankful Charmander did listen to what he said. "Oh, your saying we ran into each other! But!" Ash said, exclaiming.
"Charmander's right, let's call it an accident and pay," Misty sighed. She just wanted to get out of there. She had been almost run into by another person, and run into by a third.
"Alright," Ash nodded, agreeing.
The two trainers went to the checkout and brought their items, then they left the Pokémart and headed up toward the gym. "How did your training go?" Misty asked.
"Everyone made progress, and Butterfree learnt a new move! We also met up and battled a friend!" Ash explained.
"Ah, that's good," Misty nodded.
"How did the fishing go? Did you catch anything?" Ash asked. He recalled Misty had a lot of balls, mostly net and dive balls, in her shopping basket.
"No! I wasted all my balls on A Finneon! And did I catch it? No!" Misty ranted.
"There's always next time," Ash pointed out.
"Yes, but that's not the point!" Misty grumbled.
"All no! I've forgotten my battle plan! I was only thinking about it five minutes ago!" Ash cried.
"Plans tend to go astray anyway, Ash. Just go in, and plan lots of dodging, and attacking with super-effective moves and moves that do moderate damage. Rock types are pretty slow, so most Pokémon can outrun them. You have to watch out for Onix's long body and bind attack, though," Misty said, prep talking Ash.
"He has an Onix, does he? Thanks, Misty!" Ash nodded, taking it all in.
"Yep: the most beastly of all his Pokémon, apparently," Misty nodded. The rest of the walk was quiet.
When they arrived at the gym, they just opened the door and went straight in. "Are you a challenger?" A male voice rang through the room. Ash couldn't see much of the room because it was dark.
"Yes, I am. I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" Ash cried.
A light shone at the far end of the hall, and Ash spotted the form of Brock sitting at the far end of the room, against a rolling door (or something similar) with paint slatted on it. Then the rest of the lights came on, and the entire room was lit up. In the middle, there was a battlefield with rocks on it, and everything else was pewter coloured. It looked like above was an area for people to watch the battle, either that or for servicing the gym. Misty made her way over to the stairs to go up there and watch the battle, most likely. She must have assumed the same as Ash, or already knew.
At this point, Brock stood up and knocked on the wall behind him. A minute or two later, a young boy, who Ash thought was one of Brock's younger siblings, burst through another door, which had escaped Ash's notice until now. The boy must be just old enough or about to be old enough to become a trainer.
"I'm here! This will be a two on two battle between the gym leader and the challenger. The battle will be over when both Pokémon on either side is unable to battle! Release your Pokémon!" the boy said, running to the centre of the battlefield. (On the outside of course.)
Ash and Brock moved to the two ends of the battlefield. "I am Brock Grey, the gym leader of Pewter City, and I use rock-type Pokémon. Let's see how you fair up to my Pokémon who are harder than rock, no pun intended. Geodude! Come out!" Brock said, throwing a Pokéball to reveal a boulder-like Pokémon with two arms. Ash pulled his Pokédex out.
Geodude: the rock Pokémon. Commonly found near mountain trails and the like. If you step on one by accident, it gets angry. It is rock and ground type," the Pokédex said. Ash made a note to look out for them when they went through Mt Moon.
"Phanpy! Come out!" Ash said, releasing his ground-type elephant.
"Good choice," Brock nodded. "Forrest!"
"Begin!" The boy, probably called Forrest, cried.
"Geodude, use tackle!" Brock called.
"Dodge with rollout, Phanpy!" Ash cried. He had forgotten to check if Phanpy had learnt the attack, but it was pretty likely all things considered.
"Phanpy!" Phanpy cried, using the attack.
"Follow it with your own rollout, Geodude!" Brock ordered.
"Turn around and hit head on!" Ash cried.
Phanpy did so, and as the two Pokémon made contact, they were both sent away from each other by the force. "Use defence curl, Phanpy! Then mud-shot!" Ash cried. Misty thought the battle had heated up quite quickly.
"Rock Polish and then dodge!" Brock cried calmly.
Both Pokémon did what their trainer asked them to, and Geodude dodged the attack Phanpy sent its way. Brock then asked for Gyro Ball. Ash asked Phanpy to dodge and use Mud-shot. That was a successful hit, however Phanpy's leg got pinged by Geodude's attack.
"Alright! Use Rollout again!" Ash commanded.
"Dodge then use defence curl!" Brock ordered. He still (at least) looked calm.
As the attack was dodged by Geodude, Ash called, "Use growl, Phanpy! Then mud-shot!"
Phanpy!" Phanpy cried, doing as his trainer requested.
"Dodge, then use Rollout!" Brock ordered.
Geodude did as his trainer requested, so Ash said, "Counter with your own Rollout!"
They clashed again, however, this time Geodude pushed Phanpy attacked and then hit another three times. "Quick! Use Mud-Shot!" Ash called.
Phanpy managed to hit Goedude with Mud-shot, which stopped the fifth rollout from hitting. "Now! You use Rollout, Phanpy!" Ash cried.
The roles were reversed this time! Phanpy managed to attack all five times with Rollout. "Use Rock Polish!" Brock called to his tired Geodude.
"Stop it with Mud-Shot!" Ash called.
"Phan!" Phanpy cried, using mud-shot.
"Geo!" Geodude cried in pain as the attack hit. Phanpy landed the attack before Rock Polish came through, which Ash was glad about.
"Quick! Use tackle!" both Brock and Ash ordered.
Both Pokémon flew at each other with tackle, and both were sent flying back. The attack exchanges went like that for a little longer, until Ash called for one last mud-shot. Geodude didn't dodge, and it fell back and landed on the ground with a thud.
"Geodude is unable to battle, Phanpy is the winner!" Forester said.
"Yay! We won! Well done, Phanpy!" Ash cried excitedly. Then he felt fear: which was odd, considering there was no reason for it. He supposed it was one of those bad days where he had random bursts of random emotions. Part of the brain trying to finish the repairs after such a long and tiring time of healing, he knew. He did remember there was one more Pokémon before victory in the battle, though.
"No!" a chorused cried from the stands. Ash jumped about a foot in the air, then he looked up to see the kids who looked like Brock's younger siblings watching. He sighed, relaxing: they must have come in during the battle. His memory wasn't that bad, so he would have noticed if they were there earlier.
"Don't get overconfident, Ash!" Misty called.
"I won't. Wanna keep battling, Phanpy?" Ash asked his Pokémon. Phanpy nodded.
"Well done, Ash," Brock said, as Geodude was returned to its ball. "You've defeated Geodude. However, you haven't won the battle yet. Go, Onix!" Brock said, throwing another Pokéball.
What came out was a long snake-like Pokémon made of rock. ´Onix, the rock snake Pokémon. It burrows at high speed in search of food. The tunnels it leaves are used as homes by Diglett."
"Right, sounds powerful," Ash commented as he listened to the Pokédex entry. He glanced at it nervously.
"Onix sure is. You make the first move," Brock said, gesturing to Ash. If Ash didn't know any better, he'd say Brock really looked like he was enjoying the battle.
"Alright! We will be fine, Phanpy!" Ash said, seeing Phanpy looked a little intimidated. Ash was intimidated and as nervous as ever. Phanpy relaxed a little. "Now! Use Mud-shot!" Ash cried.
"Dodge Onix, and use Rock Throw," Brock said calmly.
Onix easy dodged, then a rock went flying at Phanpy. "Dodge! Phanpy!" Ash cried frantically.
Phanpy did dodge, but quite clumsily. Onix then used Iron Tail. Ash asked for Defence Curl then Rollout. Phanpy did take the hit, however, it meant Phanpy could get a clear shot and Onix's head.
"Use Rock Throw again!" Brock called.
"Dodge and Use Mud-Shot!" Ash called. Phanpy again got brushed by the rock, but he avoided most damage, then he used Mud-shot which hit this time, too.
"Use Harden!" Brock ordered.
"Use Growl!" Ash cried.
"Now! Curse!" Brock said, gritting his teeth.
"Quick! Use Rollout while it's using that move! Then Mud-shot!" Ash cried.
Onix withstood two rollouts and Mud-shot until curse was over. But then, Brock called, "Bind!"
"Get out of there!" Ash cried, realising his Pokémon was in serious trouble.
"Phan! Phanpy!" Phanpy cried, trying to dodge to no avail. Phanpy then cried in pain as Onix tightly wrapped it's body around him and used bind.
"Try and get free!" Ash called. Phanpy tried to wiggle free to no avail. "Try using an attack to get out!" Ash called.
This had some effect. When Phanpy used Mud-shot, Onix loosened its grip which meant Phanpy could get free. However, he was very tired.
"Iron tail! Finish it!" Brock cried with a smirk.
"Phanpy! Flail!" Ash ordered.
Phanpy tried to use the attack, however, he was so tired he was slow to move, which meant even with a lowered speed stat, Iron tail still landed before Phanpy could move.
"Phanpy is unable to battle, Onix wins," Forrest cried.
"Yay! Go Brock!" his siblings cried from the stands.
"Great job, Phanpy, you did awesome: I am really proud of you," Ash said, returning Phanpy.
"Charmander, you ready?" Ash said, turning to his fire-lizard.
"Char!" Charmander nodded, with determination in his eyes. He was going to win, no matter what.
"A fire-type? You do know type-wise Charmander is weak against Onix?" Brock said, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, I know!" Ash said, irritated. He might be a ten-year-old with memory issues, but he did know how typing worked.
"Onix! Use bind!" Brock said, starting things off quickly.
"Dodge, Charmander! Use Ember!" Ash called.
"Onix, watch out!" Brock exclaimed as Charmander dodged and then released the fiery embers.
Onix gave a small roar in pain. "Now, use Rock Throw!" Brock cried.
"Dodge and use growl!" Ash called.
"Charmander!" Charmander responded, doing as Ash asked.
"Quick! Use iron tail!" Brock called.
"Dodge and then use Ember!" Ash called. For now, he wanted to keep as far away as possible and do as much damage as possible, before getting close to using Metal Claw to decrease getting caught in a bind attack. That attack was powerful, as he saw with Phanpy. Then he had heard others comment on the powerfulness of the move bind, especially the one which came from Brock's Onix.
"Dodge!" Brock cried. Onix just managed to dodge the ember attack.
"Keep using ember until you hit!" Ash called.
"Use Rock throw until you hit!" Brock ordered.
The two Pokémon attacked mercilessly for a while, and both got hit with each other's attacks. "Now! Use Rock Throw then bind!" Brock called.
"Dodge!" Ash cried. However, Ash widened his eyes as he saw Onix use rock throw as a distraction, so Charmander would be concentrated on that rather than the snaking rock tail: it meant Onix could grab Ash's Charmander with bind.
"Try and get out of there, Charmander!" Ash called, paling.
"Don't let it escape!" Brock ordered.
Ash quickly thought. Ember probably wouldn't hit, and he doubted Onix would feel scratch and growl probably wouldn't do anything, either. "Use Metal Claw!" Ash cried.
"Don't let it move!" Brock said calmly.
"CHAR!" Charmander cried in pain as Onix held on tighter. Ash could only watch and horror, and wonder if he should forfeit.
"Try Smokescreen! Then Metal claw if you can!" Ash cried.
"Char!" Charmander said, releasing the black smoke. Ash just stood there, hoping (praying) it would work. Charmander was aiming the attack straight for its eyes, so hopefully, it would distract it so Charmander could move and attack.
When the smokescreen cleared, he saw Charmander had broken free and was on the ground panting. Onix was beginning to look worn, too. "Onix! Charmander is weak! Another attack or two should do it! Huh?" Brock said as Charmander's tail flared up.
Ash was trying to work out what it was. He thought it might have something to do with Charmander's ability, blaze, but he couldn't remember what.
"Blaze, an ability that fire-types have. When the Pokémon is getting into a hit or two before fainting, the power of fire moves doubles."
"Okay! Use Ember rapid-fire, Charmander!" Ash cried.
"Dodge!" Brock cried. However, Charmander was a bit quicker than Onix, which meant the bombard of embers hit first.
"Use Curse!" Brock cried as Onix cried in pain.
"Use Smokescreen then bombard it with Ember again, and then metal claw after running to get onto its head!" Ash cried.
Charmander quickly released Smokescreen as Onix used Curse. Charmander ran up to Onix and used Ember, stunning Onix temporary. Charmander ran up the rock snake onto it' s head, and used ember again, whilst charging up his claws for metal claw.
As Charmander attacked, Ash couldn't help but feel proud of how far his metal claw had come. It was looking much like a metal claw now, and he was sure soon it would be the real thing. Ash was really happy and proud.
Charmander kept attacking as the smoke cleared, and he managed to stay on even with Onix trying to get him off. As soon as Charmander felt Onix start to fall forward, he jumped off, knowing he had won, Onix had fainted.
When the smoke cleared, Ash and Brock saw Onix lying there, fainted, and Charmander still standing with his tail looking normal, but looking utterly exhausted.
"Onix is unable to battle, Charmander wins! Which means the winner is the challenger!" Forrest cried.
"Yay! Great job, Charmander!" Ash cried, he and Charmander running towards each other. When they met, Charmander jumped into Ash's arms and they had a victory hug.
"Good job, Onix, return," Brock said calmly but a bit disappointed, returning Onix.
The siblings who had been watching, all had disappeared, disappointed Brock had lost, most likely. Misty came down with the battle being over, while Brock walked towards Ash.
"Well done, Ash: great battle," Brock nodded.
"Thanks, Brock! It was a blast!" Ash cried.
"Here's the boulder badge: it's proof of your victory here," Brock said, pulling out a grey badge shaped like a rock.
"Hold on," Ash said, pulling out Phanpy's ball and releasing him. Then he said, taking the badge, "Thanks a lot. Look, guys! We won!"
Ash showed his Pokémon the badge. "Char!" Charmander cried.
"Phanpy!" Phanpy also cried.
"Alright, we got the boulder badge!" Ash said, jumping in the air with the badge above his head. Charmander and Phanpy jumped with Ash, and they struck a pose.
"Great job, Ash," Misty said, smiling as she came over.
"Thanks, Misty," Ash nodded. He went to put the badge in his case, but he dropped it: luckily, he caught it before it hit the ground.
"It must be nice to travel to around," Brock commented, when they got over Ash almost dropping his badge.
"Yes, it is. Do you want to travel, Brock?" Ash asked Brock. Misty looked interested by that comment, too.
"Yes, actually. You see, I have a dream to be the world's best Pokémon breeder. Before I can do that though, I feel I'd need more experience," Brock explained.
"Ah. You could come with us!" Misty suggested, and Ash nodded.
"I have to stay here with my siblings and the gym. I am not actually supposed to be the gym leader, my father's supposed to be it, so I am not that strong for one. It was never an aim I had," Brock said sadly. They could both hear the venom in his voice when he mentioned his father.
"That's a shame," Ash nodded, pretending he didn't know as much as he did.
"Go and follow your dreams, Brock," a voice said from behind Ash and Misty. They both jumped then turned around to see Flint coming in. So, he had thought about what Ash had said, after all. Ash couldn't help but feel a bit smug.
"Dad? I don't believe it!" Brock exclaimed, disbelieving.
"The gym and your siblings will be fine with me," Flint said calmly.
"How could you walk out on us like that?!" Brock cried, getting mad.
"I wanted to become a stronger trainer. But I felt so bad, and when I hit the road, I failed miserably. Until Ash talked to me the other night, I hadn't had the courage to come back," Flint tried to explain.
"So, you're a coward, too!" Brock growled.
"Err, we'll leave you to it, shall we?" Ash asked.
"Sorry: you can go if you want," Brock nodded.
"We will stop by before we leave tomorrow, just in case you decide to come!" Ash said. He, Misty, Charmander and Phanpy then quickly left the gym. As they walked back to the Pokémon centre, Ash admired his badge a bit longer before putting it away in his badge case.
"One down, seven to go," Ash said happily.
"Don't say it like that," Misty said.
"Yeah, probably a good idea," Ash nodded, putting the badge's case away.
Upon returning to the Pokémon centre, he dropped Phanpy and Charmander off with Nurse Joy, while he and Misty went and ate with the other Pokémon. Dinner was a merry affair, and despite the fact there was food, both Butterfree and Pidgeotto stopped eating to examine the badge Ash had won with the other two. They both looked keen to win one themselves.
After dinner and Charmander and Phanpy were healed, so they headed back to their room where Ash gave the two Pokémon some special treats. He had to give the other two some, but not as many as Charmander and Phanpy got.
Misty stayed around for a little bit and chatted with Ash. "Gee, Charmander looks really close to evolving," Misty commented.
"Yes, he does. At a guess, how long do you think it will be away?" Ash asked the water-type trainer. He tried to remember if Misty had said or not that she wanted to be a water Pokémon Master; random thought he knew, but still. He decided she had, right at the beginning of Viridian Forest, just before or after they entered it.
"A bit of training and a few battles, I'd think," Misty said, looking thoughtful. Then she added, "I can't really be sure, though: as I have never trained a fire-type up."
Ash nodded, then said, "Thanks, Misty."
"You could always ask Professor Oak," Misty suggested.
"That's a good idea, actually," Ash nodded.
They stayed up talking for a little longer, then they went to sleep, with Ash putting out his new fire-proof blanket for Charmander to sleep on, much to Charmander's happiness. He didn't like being returned to his ball.
###########
The next morning, after packing everything up and taking his medicine, Ash went downstairs and met Misty and Leaf in the cafeteria. While they ate, Ash met Leaf's other Pokémon, an Azurill. Azurill and Phanpy got on really well, surprisingly.
After breakfast, they got their Pokémon checked up on while Ash made a couple of phone calls. The call to his mother consisted of showing her the badge, and saying he'd call her at the next Pokémon centre he reached. He forgot to ask about buying the Pokénav, though.
Then Ash rang Professor Oak. Professor Oak said when Ash asked about Charmander's evolution, "He is looking close. If you train and battle even a little bit, I'd say he will evolve within the week."
"Really? Thanks, Professor! I beat Brock, by the way," Ash said.
"Good job. You know Gary has two badges now, and has captured sixteen different types of Pokémon!" Professor Oak informed Ash.
"That Gary! I don't want to catch every Pokémon I see, as I won't be able to train them all up if I did," Ash explained. "It's good for you professors, though."
"I see. Well, talk to you later!" Professor Oak said. Ash wasn't sure, but he wondered if he offended the Professor, by his first comment.
Five or ten minutes after that, their Pokémon were ready to pick up, so they picked them up. After saying goodbye to Leaf and promising to battle her next time they met, Misty and Ash left the Pokémon centre. As they made their way to the gym, they discussed the road ahead with Charmander riding on Ash's shoulder.
Outside the gym was Brock with a backpack: it seemed he decided to come after all. "You decided to come, then?" Ash said.
"Yes: after talking with my father, he's promised to look after the gym and my siblings so I can travel," Brock nodded. He then added, "I don't think I can spend too much time around him anyway: I'd get tempted to murder him."
"Great! Shall we head out, then?" Misty suggested. The two boys nodded, and they headed toward the edge of the city closest to Mt Moon.
Along the way, they passed the police station with Officer Jenny out the front, whom Brock went gar-gar over. It seemed he had a fondness for Jenny. Misty dragged him away by the ear, fortunately. Ash was too embarrassed, and wouldn't know how to deal with it.
Ash smiled as he, Brock and Misty entered route four: how nice it was to be on the road again! He had a feeling with Brock along for the ride there would be plenty of interesting moments. Not being able to resist, Ash broke into a run, and they all ran forward through the start of the route.
I can't think of anything else to say, so I won't say much. Thanks for reading! The next update might not be for a while, I'm not sure. I might add more AN later on, but I am in a hurry.