I have finally gotten this part of the guide up... Hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I still do not own Pokemon.


(Part V: Exercise) Written by Brock Stone.

Now pokemon, just like everyone else, need proper exercise. Under normal circumstances, this is no problem, as trainers battle with their pokemon and it serves as a great form of exercise. But if your pokemon hasn't been in a pokemon battle for a while, or not at all, you will have to have them work out. I suggest taking them to any number of gyms that dot the country. I am not talking about Pokemon League Gyms; I mean the ones where those who want to work out go to, well, work out.

Ash carried Pikachu into the Fitness Center in Pallet Town. The little mouse pokemon squealed in protest, trying unsuccessfully to zap his trainer. The black-haired trainer smartly wore rubber gloves and held him away from his chest. Ash brought himself and his irate pokemon to the front desk. The secretary looked away from her computer screen (where she was playing Minesweeper) and brought her bespectacled gaze to the trainer and his pokemon.

"Hi...I'm here for use of the Center..." Ash managed to grunt out. Pikachu was trying to bite him.

The secretary looked back at her screen and maximized the schedule window. "Mr. Ketchum, 9 am. Go right ahead." She handed him his pass and watched him enter the gym, then resumed her 'important' work.

The best way to cover the price is to get a special pass, which will be prepaid and will allow you quick access to the gym.


Ash continued to carry Pikachu as he showed the mouse around. "See, there's the dumbbells, the thing that works those muscles in your legs, and the crunch machine thing." Pikachu was overwhelmed by the sight of sweaty fighting pokemon and their equally sweaty trainers. He thought they looked gross.

Ash and Pikachu looked inside numerous rooms, where classes ranging from karate to yoga to ballroom dancing were taking place. Pikachu liked these a lot better than the previous one.

It is better to let your pokemon get used to the gym before starting your workout. When you do, be sure to join you pokemon in working out. This will make them more eager to do the workout too.

In fifteen minutes, Ash was in a tight full body suit. He sat next to Pikachu on a yoga mat, and they faced the instructor at the front. She spoke quietly, and wore a black full body suit. The class was filled with an assortment of trainers and their pokemon.

"Now, bring your arms down like this..." She cooed, and showed the class. Pikachu followed the motions, but Ash had a little difficulty...

"AGGGGGGG!"

He swore that he pulled something. Pikachu laughed as he twisted his tiny body into a very difficult pose with no pain involved.

Please do not over exert yourself; your pokemon will most likely not have the same difficulty and will laugh at you.


One class later and over ten icepacks later, Ash and his pokemon stood in a line in the line dancing class. They looked up at the instructor, a woman in sweatpants and a tank top.

"Now, we need to do two box steps followed by a grapevine followed by an electric slide followed by another electric slide in the opposite direction." The woman said as she demonstrated the motions. Ash and Pikachu sweatdropped at this quick example, but the other trainers appeared very calm.

Ash and Pikachu were soon well underway in the dance, and had progressed at an alarmingly fast rate. They were so astounding that the teacher (Lets call her Ms. Bob for reference) entered them in the Kanto-wide dance-off in Saffron. They would later win a first prize ribbon and a spot on the cover of Pokemon Health Weekly.

Well, in actuality it was only Pikachu who progressed that far. Ash had botched the first box step, and sped up in order to compensate for his bad timing. This, coupled by the fact that he had two left feet, led to him falling on top of some other trainer's Raichu. In anger and surprise, the larger mouse pokemon had sent out a Thunderbolt attack, where it shocked Ash and severed the light just above Ash's head.

As the black-haired trainer stumbled around dizzily, he knocked into a Hitmonchan. This set off a domino effect among the occupants of the room and led to a total of two sprained ankles, twenty-five cracked ribs, and one very singed room (After a Wartortle landed on top of a very volatile Charmeleon).

Encourage yourself and your pokemon to take your time in learning something new. Rome wasn't built in a day, and dances are not mastered in a day.


After being ushered out of the room by a frazzled teacher, who took Pikachu's name for the contest, the trainer and his pokemon entered a room comprised of stationary bikes, treadmills, and similar machines. Ash escorted Pikachu over to a set of treadmills.

"Now I'll go first, and then you." Nodding in agreement, the electric mouse waited for Ash to get on the machine before hopping up onto the controls. The pokemon had unknowingly turned on the treadmill to maximum speed, reserved for pokemon such as Arcanine. Ash, being Ash, had not placed his feet on the starting positions. Because of this, he was almost thrown off the belt, and clung desperately at the ends of the handgrips.

"Turn it off! Turn it off!" He shouted as he ran with it, quite literally. Pikachu tried to find the button or switch with such a function, but as he was a pokemon, he couldn't read the markings on the buttons. So he pressed anything that came to mind.

The first button pressed increased the incline sharply, and made Ash work even harder at not falling off. "For the love of Mew, TURN IT OFF!"

Pikachu finally found the switch to shut the machine down and pressed it. But it was too late, and Ash went flying into the wall at the other end of the room.

I urge you to follow all the safety notices on the equipment for your own safety. You will not regret it at the end.


Hours later, Ash stood in front of a mirror in the locker room, admiring his physique. His bulging pecs, the huge size of his triceps and biceps, and every other muscle in his body. "I am awesome, aren't I?"

It was at this moment that two men hefted up the plywood display with the awesome physique and carried it away. The regular Ash stood behind it, and he began to pose as Pikachu looked on. The little pokemon looked like he was struggling to contain his laughter.

"So how did you do, Pikachu?" Ash asked his pokemon. In answer, the little pokemon stood up and began to pose. But this time nice, small muscles made themselves known. "I see..."

But Pikachu increased the size, making himself look like a small bodybuilder. Ash looked back down at his unchanged body, then back at his pokemon, who had concealed his muscles again. "So what's your secret?"

A well executed exercise routine for both you and your pokemon can result in an impressive payoff. It will increase your health and your pokemon's health, and boost the immune system. Pikachu later went on to win the Mister Pokemon contest as well as his dance contest. Ash was pushed out of the way by Pikachu's fanpokemon, and later slipped out the back of the building.

(End)


I hope to have the next soon...