"Okay, so, Iron Tail!" Butterfree said. "Fortunately, you've got a really helpful advantage if you're going to learn Iron Tail, Pikachu."

"What's that, then?" Pikachu asked.

"A tail, really," Butterfree told him. "It's surprisingly useful, though not actually essential."

He fluttered down to look at Pikachu's tail. "So there's two parts to it, and the first part is being able to use your tail as a weapon. You already did that Tail Whip when you caught me, so that's part of it, but with Iron Tail you can use the edge just as well as the flat."

Pikachu was actually kind of surprised by how useful that was.

Somehow, he'd expected Butterfree's lessons to be less… helpful.

"So it's more like… this, then?" he asked, chopping his tail across.

"Yeah, like that!" Butterfree agreed. "But let's get started on the second bit, with the Steel type energy…"

While Pikachu was taking his lesson, and Ash threw a rubber ball for Zapdos to target with precise Thundershock attacks, Brock sidled over to Misty.

"You know that he's going to Cerulean next, right?" he asked.

"I'm aware," Misty agreed.

"And that's your gym?" Brock pressed. "Do you have a plan for that?"

Misty looked a little worried. "...I've been thinking about it," she admitted. "The annoying thing is he probably does deserve the Cascade badge, but I refuse to let him earn it without a fight."

Brock nodded. "Right," he said. "I just wanted to make sure you knew about that – all of that – and what it would probably mean."

She sniggered. "Maybe I could just leave my sisters to do it… actually, there's an idea…"

"What's that?" Brock asked.

"Nah, I'll explain later," Misty said. "Don't want to spoil the surprise!"

"Well, if you're sure," Brock decided.

He watched as Ash tripped over running after a rubber ball, then picked himself right back up again and said they'd better keep going. Zapdos seemed more amused than anything, and Brock shook his head.

"That is one weird trainer," he said. "But he's got a good heart, from what I've seen so far… and I kind of hope I can find out just how that Butterfree pulled that move off."

He shrugged. "Besides, I haven't actually had my Pokémon journey yet… and I may as well have one now!"

The three Cerulean Gym leaders exchanged glances.

"Well, all our Pokémon are too tired-" Daisy began, then saw that Misty was glaring at her. "...um… actually, I'll get my youngest sister to deal with you."

Ash frowned. "Which one's that?"

"That's me!" Misty said. "And, since my sisters have finally remembered I exist-"

"You're the one who left," Violet grumbled.

"-then I'm going to handle your badge challenge," Misty went on. "But there's special rules for this one!"

She pointed at Ash. "I've seen your Pewter Gym challenge, and, sure, you won the badge. But what was missing?"

Ash thought about it.

"...Zapdos?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, but what kind of answer is that?" Daisy blinked. "Why Zapdos for a Rock gym?"

Brock smiled. "I'm kind of glad other people are going to be experiencing those questions as much as me now."

"For this, Zapdos would have been worse," Misty told him. "What happened was that you beat both Pokémon with overwhelming force."

"Um…" Pikachu began. "I'm not sure she quite gets the idea of how a battle works."

"Pikachu's got a point," Ash said. "Isn't it okay to win a battle by having a stronger Pokémon?"

"It helps, but it's not the only thing you need," Misty told him.

She began pacing back and forth, and began ticking off the points she'd spent the previous two days coming up with. "Firstly, if you win with a much stronger Pokémon and that's all you do then you're getting into bad habits. The first time you run into a Pokémon that isn't easily beaten, you'll have loads of trouble."

Another point. "And it means you're not actually being a Pokémon trainer, because you don't need to train your Pokémon nearly as much as other trainers. That doesn't mean you need to get rid of your team, but it means you need to come up with ways to keep improving them."

"Oh, right!" Ash said, brightening. "So it's about making sure that I'm still challenging my Pokémon, and learning with them! That makes a lot of sense!"

Misty folded her arms. "I'm glad you see that!"

"Yeah, I do," Ash agreed.

After a moment where Misty considered the possibility that Ash was being sarcastic, and rejected it, she went on. "I can't make you do this on other gyms, but I can make you do it on mine! So, Daisy, Lily, Violet, you're going to be the judges!"

She cracked her knuckles. "We're having a Contest battle!"

"What's a Contest battle?" Pikachu asked, glancing at Ash. "Isn't Contest just another word for battle? Or for competition, at least."

"I think I saw them on TV…" Ash said, thinking. "I watched one once when Silver visited. They're… kind of like battles, but you get points for your attacks looking impressive as well as for beating your opponent?"

"And that's how we'll do it," Misty replied. "Except that we're only counting the points for flashy attacks. If you just have Zapdos knock both my Pokémon out in one move each, then it had better look really good."

"Why do you keep mentioning Zapdos?" Daisy checked.

"Okay, um, hold on?" Ash requested. "I want to check with my Pokémon who I'm going to use."

He sent out Butterfree and Zapdos, and headed over to the corner of the room.

"...oh, that's why," Daisy said to herself. "...that's fair."

"I'm still annoyed," Zapdos said, about half an hour later.

"Well, that's why it's a good challenge, right?" Ash asked. "I know, I'm kind of annoyed too, but it is the gym leader who decides who gets her badge!"

"And I blew up the Goldeen in eight seconds," Zapdos grumped.

"I know!" Ash agreed. "It was great! But it kind of… didn't really look right for being a Contest, I guess?"

"I actually don't think any of us understood the concept properly," Pikachu confessed. "I thought beating your opponent in only a few seconds was impressive, and we were meant to be impressive?"

"You are meant to be impressive, but it's more… uh… a performance, I think is a good word," Ash said. "Or words. The point is to look good at the same time as winning, and that's looking good rather than just being efficient."

He waved his hands. "So, um… obviously, Zapdos, you can use moves like Thundershock and Thunder, but what about if you used them from all your feathers at once? And… maybe if instead of the attack just going straight to the target, it stayed in the air?"

Zapdos looked a bit less offended and a bit more interested.

"I never thought of doing that," she admitted. "And… wait, if they stayed in the air, that'd make obstacles that I wouldn't care about but that would hit other Pokémon. Right?"

"Yeah, exactly!" Ash agreed. "So it's not making yourself worse at battling, even. It's doing it so you're not relying on raw power."

"What about me?" Butterfree asked. "The stuff that Zapdos and Pikachu are learning is going to be Electric-type, and obviously Pikachu can pick up something with Iron Tail too, but… um, wait, hold on… what would work with…"

She wiggled a foot back and forth, then yelped. "Uh-"

Butterfree used Eruption.

It was very focused, blasting her straight up in the air without hitting either Electric-type or their trainer, but when the explosion faded she fluttered back down to head level with smoke curling off her wings. "I need to be more careful with Metronome…"

"Don't you need fingers for Metronome?" Pikachu began. "Those Clefairy we met were doing it, but…"

"Nah, honestly, most of those restrictions on which Pokémon can use which move are a bit more like… guidelines," Butterfree summarized, then giggled. "Oh, I just thought! I should actually use Solarbeam, and combine it with the water!"

"Wait, hold on," Pikachu requested. "You actually do know Solarbeam?"

"Yep!" Butterfree agreed.

"...not sure why I asked," Pikachu admitted.

It was the next day before Ash finally went back to Cerulean Gym.

"There you are, Ash!" Misty said, pleased, then shook her head slightly and switched to stern. "I hope you're ready for a rematch!"

"You're right there!" Ash agreed. "Same rules?"

"I hope they are," Pikachu said. "Otherwise we've been training for something that's not really relevant."

Misty didn't understand Pikachu's words, but she was polite enough to let him finish.

"Of course they are!" she said then. "That way I can see if you bothered to learn the lesson I set!"

She held up a Pokéball. "Ready!"

"Ready!" Ash agreed. "Zapdos, I choose you!"

The Flying-type burst out into the arena in a shower of sparks, and Misty sent out her own Starmie with a flash of white light.

"With style, Starmie!" Misty called.

"By the power of the stars!" Starmie agreed, sending out a Water Gun – but not one aimed at Zapdos.

Instead the water coiled for a moment, held in their psychic power, then formed a symbol – and Starmie fired a glowing gemstone at Zapdos.

"Block!" Ash called, and Zapdos fired a surge of her electricity out at the incoming Power Gem – immediately showing part of the benefit of their training.

Instead of a single overwhelming surge of power, little arcs of electricity zipped off from each of her feathers. They didn't all combine together at once, not quite like Ash wanted, but they were fast enough that most of them had gathered in a single point by the time the Power Gem arrived – making a sizzling locus of electricity which the Power Gem hit with a snap and which made both explode.

"That's a lot better," Lily said. "You can tell the difference immediately."

Zapdos flew backwards, gaining height, and Starmie's trapped coil of water reshaped itself. It twitched for a moment before taking on a new symbol, and this time a surge of pale blue light lanced out towards Zapdos.

The Ice Beam wasn't powerful enough to actually down Zapdos, or really even cause her serious inconvenience, but it was a move that had been delivered with flair and that meant more in this kind of battle.

"Let's keep them too busy!" Ash called. "Thundershocks!"

Zapdos twisted to avoid ramming into the gym roof, then furled her wings for a moment and spread them out again. "Hah!"

This time, the wave of electrical pulses didn't all concentrate together into a single point. Instead they spread out to almost the entire room before focusing back in again on Starmie, and Misty's Pokémon made a new symbol and blocked them with a Light Screen.

"Aha!" Ash said. "That's just what we're after – Drill Peck!"

"Rapid Spin!" Misty ordered, and Starmie began spinning in place. Their shield did as well, layering in Reflect and speeding up quickly as Zapdos banked around to gain momentum, and the Flying-type dropped into a high-speed spin just as Starmie got up to full speed.

The contact point shed showers of sparks, some of them from the Thundershocks which flowed over Zapdos' feathers and some from the friction, and after about three seconds Misty glanced up at Ash.

He was grinning.

"Stop the spin!" he called.

Zapdos slammed her wings out, using them as brakes, and the sudden shift threw both Pokémon away from the other. Zapdos went down, into the water, and Starmie went up into the air – and Ash pointed.

"Thunderbolt!"

"Flip over!" Misty called, but Starmie wasn't able to react in time. The whole surface of the pool lit up with wasted charge, but one of Zapdos' wings was wholly out of the water and she was able to direct the charge from those feathers into hitting the airborne Water-type.

Misty's sisters held up cards with numbers on them.

"I guess Zapdos needs to dry out," Ash added, recalling the Electric-type and then sending her out again. "Is it okay if we have a break while I towel her off?"

"I'll be okay, I've flown in storms before," Zapdos told him, a bit indistinctly. "I'm kind of famous for it."

"I'll still get you an extra dessert," Ash promised. "Okay, Butterfree, your turn!"

A few days later, somewhere outside Cerulean City, Ash frowned at a map.

"Um… which way did we go when we left Cerulean?" he asked. "I think we were heading for Vermillion, right?"

"You can't get to Vermillion without going through Celadon, or Saffron, or Lavender," Misty told them. "Not without a lot of effort."

She frowned. "Though, in hindsight… Ash, if we're aiming for Vermillion then why didn't you say something when we went onto a trail?"

"The main road from Pewter to Cerulean goes through a cave," Ash defended himself.

"It doesn't," Brock corrected. "That's the route we took because we were interested."

"I certainly managed to zap a lot of Zubat," Pikachu conceded. "Seriously, though, we're lost?"

He jumped up at Ash's belt. "If we're that lost, then get Zapdos to see where we are!"

"That's a good point," Ash agreed, plucking a Pokéball off his belt and expanding it out. "Is that okay with you, Zapdos?"

Zapdos emerged with a flash, wobbled slightly, then thumped onto the ground.

The impact woke her up, and she blinked sleepily. "Huh?"

"Oh, uh… sorry, Zapdos," Ash said. "I never really thought about when Pokémon sleep before."

"Those things are surprisingly comfortable," Zapdos said, getting up and shaking the grit out of her feathers.

"Speak for yourself," Pikachu snorted. "What does Bulbasaur think about them?"

Brock sent out Bulbasaur so they could check, and the Grass-type shrugged.

"They're not bad," he said. "A bit zen. But I'd much rather sleep under the stars."

"So… outdoors, unless it's raining?" Ash checked.

"That seems about right," Bulbasaur confirmed.

Ash then snapped his fingers. "Right! Um… yeah, we're kind of lost, and I was wondering if you could have a look to see where we are?"

Bulbasaur blinked, then looked at his trainer. "...didn't you only catch me yesterday?"

Brock didn't reply, but he did look at Ash for translation as Zapdos took to the air.

"Yeah, we did only meet you yesterday," Ash confirmed. "But I think we might already have been lost then."

Zapdos came swooping back down, then. "There's a town over that way," she said, indicating with a wing. "I think that's the place we were at before. But it kind of feels like it's going to rain, and there's a Charmander sitting on a rock over in that direction…"

"If it's going to rain, it's going to rain," Charmander said. "But Damien told me to wait here for him, and I'm not going to let him down."

"You know, that's kind of-" Pikachu began, but Bulbasaur stepped in front of him.

"This Damien, he's your trainer?" he asked. "Pretty much has to be but I want to make sure."

Charmander nodded. "Well… yes, he is my trainer."

"Then why do you trust him?" Bulbasaur said.

Charmander blinked a few times, like he wasn't sure what the question was getting at.

"Maybe I'm not the same sort of Pokémon you are," Bulbasaur went on. "But I don't really trust humans, in general. I kind of trust Brock now, a bit, because he's a doctor for Pokémon, but if he told me to stay somewhere dangerous and that I had to wait until he got back then I'd have a lot of questions. I don't trust him enough yet for that."

"But… I'm his Pokémon," Charmander insisted. "Isn't that enough?"

"It's nothing like enough," Bulbasaur said.

Then another one of Ash's Pokéballs burst open with a white flash.

"Actually, I think I know a way to test this," Butterfree said. "So, Charmander, I think Damien might have released you, and if he did then that sucks. Right?"

Charmander tilted his head, confused. "But he said I was still his Pokémon?"

"I think I get it," Ash said. "Butterfree is saying that either he released you, and if he did then you're not his Pokémon, or he didn't release you and then you're still his Pokémon. Right?"

"Exactly!" Butterfree agreed. "And if he released you and lied about it, that means he's a meanie buttface. But it's actually kind of easy to check."

He flew over to Ash, landing on his bag, and rummaged around inside.

"Umm…" his voice drifted out. "No, wait, that's a lunchbox… and… hold on… there!"

Emerging again, the Bug-type put a Pokéball down between them.

"If he released you, this'll work," Butterfree explained. "And he's a buttface. But if he didn't, this won't work. Hey, Pikachu, want to demonstrate what happens?"

Pikachu crossed his arms, but didn't object, and Butterfree blew the Pokéball at him with a gust from his wing. It bounced off Pikachu with a fizz, and Butterfree did a loop.

"Ta-da," he announced.

"Well…" Charmander said, a bit concerned. "If he did, then… won't that just mean that your trainer's caught me instead? How do I know he's better, if my old trainer was that kind of person?"

"Because Ash isn't a meanie buttface," Pikachu answered, then blinked. "...wow. Sometimes you end up saying the strangest things, don't you…"

"Thanks, Pikachu," Ash said. "That means a lot to me."

Later that evening, the friends sat down outside a Pokémon centre.

"When you think about it, that was kind of an amazing coincidence," Brock said. "I mean, really, it's astronomically unlikely."

"Is it as unlikely as a kid trainer befriending a Zapdos with mochi?" Misty asked.

"Hey, Zapdos likes mochi," Ash protested. "So, really, that's kind of likely if you think about it."

"If you think about it the way you think about it," Misty said. "But I don't think it's astronomically unlikely, Brock, it's just a bit weird."

"To run into the same trainer who abandoned Charmander, while he's bragging about abandoning him on a rock?" Pikachu said. "Yeah, that was… kind of unlikely. And awkward."

"I know what you mean," Ash said. "Poor Charmander…"

The Fire-type had been so angry and upset that he'd emerged from his Pokéball, shouted something incoherent even to other Pokémon, and then returned himself to his Pokéball and not come out yet.

"I'll see how he is in the morning," Ash added. "I don't think he's met Zapdos yet."

AN:

And that's around Ash getting his Cascadebadge!

I'm working through the backlog. Things might slow down in a bit.