Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.

"Finish it with a tackle Pidgeotto," Ash called, trying desperately not to sound bored. That would be rude to her opponent. Pidgeotto quickly did as told and defeated the rattata with ease. Ash gave an encouraging smile as she and her young opponent shook hands. "This makes the tenth battle... How many trainers are waiting on this road?" Ash questioned to herself.

"You're a really good pokemon trainer," the boy complimented, making Ash flush a little.

"Ah, thanks. You were a good opponent," she replied with a smile, making the boy's cheeks redden slightly at the sight. His eyes lowered in embarrassment and spotted the two badges on Ash's collar.

"Wow, you've got badges!" He suddenly exclaimed. Ash mentally cursed as she lifted her collar again to hide them.

"Oh, um, yeah, I guess," Ash mumbled.

"You've got two!" He enthused. "I bet you can even beat AJ!" Ash tilted her head curiously to the side.

"AJ?" She repeated curiously.

"Yeah, he lives over there," the boy turned to point behind him. "AJ trains savage pokemon. He built his own gym! He's never lost a single match," the boy continued. Ash frowned trying to remember this episode, but she only remembered the vaguest of details.

"His own gym? Savage pokemon? I think I'd like to see this...gym." Ash frowned. She loved all pokemon and didn't think of any of them as 'savage.' The fact that they could actively interact and participate in human conversations and make their meaning known was enough evidence for Ash to believe pokemon were equal to people rather than below. She didn't see them as pets or fighting stock for battles. They were her partners and friends. To hear someone was training 'savage' pokemon worried her.

Ash stared at the large sign, more like a scoreboard with 98 home wins and 0 losses. It also had a note that it wasn't licensed by the Pokemon League.

"At least they were smart enough not to lie about it being a sanctioned gym," Ash murmured. "People can't call him out for fraud that way.

"You almost sound like a lawyer, Ash," Brock commented with a smile. "You trying to get this guy arrested or something?" He mused.

"Not really, I just don't like how that kid before explained this guy," Ash replied.

"That's true. I don't really like anyone who thinks of any pokemon as 'savage'," Misty agreed, unknowingly voicing Ash's thoughts.

"Are you my next victim?" A fourth voice sounded, making the three turn to a bulky kid with red shoes, blue shorts, a black and red collared shirt, and weird green and black hair that reminded Ash a little of pidgeys. He was carrying a blue backpack over his shoulders.

"You must be the 'wild' pokemon trainer," Ash remarked with some disdain, trying not to sound too mean without knowing how he ran his operation first. He scoffed.

"That's my job, but beating chicks like you is my hobby," Ash bristled at that. "Ready to lose?" He questioned with a smirk, reminding me much too much of a certain red haired grandson I knew. The large wooden gates opened to reveal a large circus like tent with a raised, simple, dirt battlefield in front.

"Now this is not too shabby at all," Misty commented as she looked around. A familiar sound had Ash looking upward to see a butterfree flying in the air and lowering to grab the kid's backpack before flying off with it to the tent.

"What's in the backpack?" Ash questioned.

"The wild pokemon that I just caught. There's a whole bunch more in the tent and then some," he replied.

"Do you mind if I take a look after the match?" Ash asked kindly, admittedly batting her eyelashes a little to make him more agreeable. He coughed and averted his eyes, turning to climb the steps up to the field.

"If you want," he answered gruffly. He stopped at the top of the steps and turned to look down at her, that annoying cocky smirk back on his face. "So, which pokemon are you gonna choose for my 99th win?" He questioned. The three just gave him strange looks at his matching cocky attitude, Ash huffing indignantly at his assumption that she was going to lose. She stomped up to her side of the arena.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to change your sign after this match," Ash stated in a cool voice, annoyed at his attitude, not liking how it reminded her of that jerk Gary. The guy pulled out a whip from out of nowhere and snapped it taut in his hands.

"You may think that you're hot stuff, miss, but you're not playing in the pokemon little league anymore!" He stated, lashing the whip at her feet to intimidate her. She flinched at the cracking sound it made, but didn't jump back in order to not encourage him, instead choosing to glower at him. "After I win 100 matches in a row, I'm gonna start competin' for badges," he proclaimed.

"That means he's only two wins away," Brock commented.

"And he'll be extra psyched to win," Misty added.

"I don't think you need to win 100 matches to prove that you're ready for gym battles. I haven't fought nearly as many and I already have two badges," Ash admitted a little reluctantly. He seems skilled enough if he's won 98 matches in a row.

"Did you buy those badges or steal 'em? Either that or you competed in some loser gyms. Where were they? Failure city or Wimpsville?" He taunted, unknowingly insulting all three of Ash's party, considering both of her companions were the gym leaders she had beaten, that was a given. Ash sweatdropped when she practically felt the heat radiating from the fires she swore she was hallucinating around them.

"What do you mean loser gyms?!" Misty exclaimed.

"Hey, Ash! Pulverize this guy!" Brock shouted next, making Ash laugh nervously.

"Let's get started!" AJ brought her attention back to the impending battle. "Sandshrew, go!" He threw his pokeball into the field, the sandshrew popping out and uncurling himself in the air before he landed.

"A sandshrew, huh?" Ash murmured to herself. She only had four pokemon and none of them had a type advantage. In fact Pikachu would be completely ineffective and Ash found herself wishing he knew iron tail at least. Her best options were either Butterfree or Clefairy though she was leaning more towards Butterfree. His psychic and confusion moves had become indispensable to her. Hopefully it would be enough for this battle as well. "This should be interesting.

"Be careful, Ash," Brock cautioned.

"Remember, sandshrew's a ground type so Pikachu's electricity is no good against it."

"Thanks Misty, I got it," Ash replied as she turned her cap back. "Butterfree, I choose you!" Ash called as she tossed her pokeball in the air. Ash frowned when AJ used the whip to spur his sandshrew into action.

"Sandshrew, go!" He commanded. Ash frowned as he spurred his pokemon to charge hers. It was strange as a flying type should have a slight advantage over a ground type so why would he send it charging head first.

"Butterfree get high up in the air! Don't let him reach you!" Ash shouted in realization. Butterfree trilled and flapped its wings in wide beats as it lifted itself into the air, just in time to miss a flying, spinning tackle by sandshrew, Ash's eyes widening at how high it had jumped and the velocity of its spin. She was worried that Butterfree wouldn't be able to take such a strong hit. "Use confusion!" Unfortunately sandshrew escaped underground with another flick from AJ's whip, confusing Butterfree as to where his target went. "Butterfree no!" Ash cried when it got closer to the hole his opponent made.

"Go, Sandshrew!" AJ ordered, cracking his whip.

"Dodge!" Ash called desperately, but it was too late and Sandshrew was too fast, flying out of the ground and tackling Butterfree to the ground hard, effectively ending the battle. Ash sighed and went to pick up her pokemon, kneeling down to hug him and smiling at him in comfort when he gave a low keen of disappointment over his loss. "It's okay Butterfree. You did your best. We'll train harder so next time hits like that won't affect you as much, how does that sound?" Ash encouraged. Butterfree trilled happily and perked his wings a little before she returned him to his pokemon. Ash stood again and brushed off her knees.

"Your sandshrew is amazingly well trained. What kind of training regimen do you give him?" Ash asked curiously, surprising the victor.

"Oh, er, well I did say I'd show ya didn't I?" AJ finally managed, apparently expecting Ash to be more bitter about her defeat. Her gracious acceptance had him acting courteous towards her as well as he allowed Ash and her friends to observe his training methods, answering their questions.

"Wow, your training is really intense. No wonder your pokemon are so strong," Ash complimented as she watched his sandshrew dive again. "You're building his resistance to water, right?" AJ puffed his chest at the praise.

"Yep, my sandshrew's the only sandshrew in the world that's strong enough to withstand water," he said proudly, making Sandshrew stand proud as well.

"What's that device on his body?" Brock asked curiously.

"That's a strength intensifier," AJ answered.

"Who invented that thing?" Brock continued.

"I did. It's my own secret weapon for unleashing a Pokemon's powers."

"Is there a reason Sandshrew's training seems harder than the other pokemon?" Misty questioned.

"That's 'cause Sandshrew's the first pokemon I ever caught. I will never forget that moment. We promised to do whatever it took to become the greatest pokemon trainer of all time and nuthin' would stop us from reachin' our dream. No matter how hard the path. Enduring fierce storms and raging winds! We've sacrificed everything to achieve our dream and it was worth it. We're an unbeatable team!"

"That's an amazing goal," Ash commented, reminded of her own large and vague goal of being a pokemon master.

"Your pokemon are all in great shape. What kind of pokemon food do you give them?" Brock asked.

"My own recipe. C'mon, I'll show ya!" Ash stared at the shelves in awe when she saw all the separately labeled glass jars of pokemon food for each individual pokemon. "To get the results I want, I have to carefully monitor the pokemon diets. Of course, the recipe is secret," AJ explained amiably.

"Oh yeah, of course. You know Ash and I actually mix our own food too," Brock replied.

"Is that so?" He replied, mildly surprised.

"Yeah, Brock's dream is to be a pokemon breeder and Ash's dream is to be a pokemon master. Brock obviously focuses on everything that makes pokemon healthy and Ash makes sure their diets are specialized to their tastes but also provide all the right nutrients and vitamins that they'll need from the work outs she gives them," Misty praised the two. Ash flushed at AJ's sudden interest and scrutiny.

"Well yeah, but it's nowhere near the same level as you seem to do it on, AJ. I have a hard time managing just four individualized pokemon schedules and food," she remarked modestly, though she was being honest as well. She at first had a hard time managing it before she started to organize it all in a notebook and got help from Brock.

"Aw, don't worry about that. You get used to it when you start out with a few so it gets easier when you catch more pokemon," AJ encouraged, making Ash smile.

"I hope so because I want to make sure all my pokemon get enough attention." The four turned their sights to Pikachu and Sandshrew when Pikachu started to lift and pump a one hand dumbbell with both his arms, not nearly at the speed of the sandshrew next to him who was pumping two dumbbells with both hands and that strange coil suit on.

"I'm surprised your pikachu can lift that at all. Most pokemon that size that belong to trainers can't lift nearly as much without hurting themselves." Pikachu put the weight down after tiring a little and rubbed the back of his head at the praise, Ash doing the same.

"Well, I do my own exercise every day so Pikachu and my other pokemon usually join me. I started to individualize their work outs when I learned what they needed to improve on or reinforce," Ash replied. AJ nodded in approval.

Ash sighed in relief when she heard the ding of a bell followed by. "Okay, you wimps get a fifteen minute break." Both pikachu and her collapsed to the floor in exhaustion.

"Wow, it's a lot more intense a work out than I thought. I'm dead beat," Ash commented as she straightened where she sat and settled into a meditative stance, trying to regain regular breathing and cool down, Pikachu doing the same.

"You certainly handled it a lot better than I thought you would," AJ admitted. "What kind of training do you do exactly?" He asked in wonder, obviously not used to trainers that could actually handle themselves a little.

"Before we saw your training, I thought Ash's training was overboard," Misty answered for her, Brock joining in soon after.

"I wouldn't say overboard, just dedicated," Brock stated. "It's actually rather difficult to train while on the road so for Ash to have her pokemon so well trained definitely speaks for her work ethic," Ash flushed at the praise as she tried to ignore their conversation and focus on getting her and Pikachu re-hydrated. "She and her pokemon train three times a day; in the morning, before and after lunch, and before and after dinner. The exercises are different for each time and rotate each day to something different and repeat the next week or change to a different schedule." AJ whistled at that.

"Usually in the morning, the exercises are more along the lines of stretches and warm ups, but even those are rather hard since you have to be really flexible to do them. Her pokemon have gotten a lot more evasive and fast. The afternoon exercises are the hardest and are more about building strength and endurance. In the evening it's all about improving what they already have. I think her Pidgeotto can fly through an obstacle of bells on taut strings without making a single sound by now," Misty said in as much exasperation as she did admiration.

"I wouldn't go that far, Misty," Ash said a little reproachfully. It was true she was working with Pidgeotto most recently on getting through a thick part of forestry without rustling leaves or crashing into anything which was extremely difficult as Pidgeotto would need to be used to high velocities in order to take in all the information his eyes are seeing as well as process it and choose the best route to get through the maze of branches without so much as brushing against a single one and shifting the leaves beyond the delayed rustling brought on by the wind caused by his speed. He wasn't quite there yet, but he was close.

"Sounds to me like you're more of a speed trainer than a strength one like me," AJ commented. Ash nodded in agreement.

"I am. My philosophy is that an opponent's strong attacks are useless if you're fast enough to dodge it and all the moves in the world can't help you if you don't get a chance to use them. What good would they do if you get knocked out after one hit just seconds after the fight starts?" AJ nodded, seeing what she meant.

"That's very interestin'. I'd like to see the results of your trainin' if we meet up again. Seems like you haven't been with your pokemon long but they're already showin' some promise," AJ complimented. Ash just smiled.

"I'll look forward to the rematch." AJ just laughed amiably at her reply.

Ash snapped her attention back to the present when her mind started wandering to new training methods she decided to add after getting ideas from AJ's own harsh methods. Obviously they weren't as harsh on her pokemon as AJ, she was much too soft on her precious pokemon for that, but they were definitely more trying and challenging for them than her previous ones. AJ had finally defeated his one hundredth opponent when Team Rocket showed up with another of their stupid schemes.

"When I return here, I'm gonna be the number one pokemon master," AJ declared as they stood outside his rather impressive gym.

"You're gonna have to fight me for that title someday," Ash stated with a wry grin. AJ smirked in return, both of them reaching to shake each others hand. "I'm sure we'll meet again at the Pokemon League competition," Ash remarked in a challenging, but still friendly tone.

"Okay, but next time make sure you've stepped up your training routine 'cause I wanna make sure that we both worked hard for our goals!" AJ stated with a grin. They pumped their joined hands once.

"Deal!" Ash agreed.

"So long!" AJ called in goodbye as he left in the opposite direction, Ash waving in her own farewell.

"He's tough, but pretty cool," Misty commented.

"Yeah, looks like you've found another rival!" Brock added.

"At least he's more tolerable than Gary. He doesn't brag every two seconds. One thing's for sure, we'll definitely meet again if we're both aiming to be pokemon masters." Ash stated with determination, silently promise to train harder than ever now, Pikachu seeming to share her sentiments as his own gaze was set in eager determination.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed in agreement.

"I warned you guys that I didn't have any sense of direction," Ash stated with a sigh as they walked through waist high grass in thick forestry.

"It's true. I suppose we're as much to blame for getting lost as you since we let you take point despite your warning," Brock said from his place in the back.

"I wish we had listened to you an hour ago," Misty sighed out as well.

"Ah, I see some boulders in a clearing in the trees. Why don't we take a break there?" Ash questioned, knowing Misty and Brock must have been tired.

"That sounds great!" Misty stated with enthusiasm, walking ahead more quickly to sit down. Ash and Brock followed at a more sedated pace, though Ash grew excited when she saw a pokemon drinking from the stream.

"An oddish, how cute!" Ash flipped out her pokedex excitedly, the device chiming to life.

"Oddish: This pokemon is typically found roaming the forest, scattering pollen as it walks around," Dexter voiced.

"Dibs!" Misty suddenly exclaimed, standing quickly from her resting spot and startling Ash.

"Aren't you a water pokemon trainer?" Ash questioned in confusion, having had no intention of capturing it. Maybe later or once she got to Johto since she liked the idea of having a bellosom. Bellosom would be great for contests.

"Well yeah. It was near water wasn't it?" Misty stated as if that explained everything and making both Ash and Pikachu sweatdrop at the weak argument.

"Don't look now, but your new pokemon is getting away," Brock stated casually, getting Misty's attention.

"Ah, wait! Go Starmie!" Misty called, throwing the pokeball into the air and releasing Starmie imposingly in front of the poor oddish before it could go into the bushes. It froze for a moment before turning on its heel and running to its left. "Watergun, now!" Misty cried. The poor oddish was lifted into the air, spinning rapidly. "Now that's the way to spray! Tackle it Starmie!" Misty followed up, Starmie readily complying as it spun towards its target like a shuriken. Ash winced a little in pity as the oddish bounced pitifully to the ground, its little eyes having become swirls. "That weakened it! I can catch it now!" She stated, throwing her pokeball at the poor thing "Pokeball, go!" The ball did not reach its intended target as something smacked it away before it could do so. Ash tried very hard not to smile when she spotted a familiar pokemon.

"Whoa, a bulbasaur!" Ash exclaimed with shining eyes, despite the fact that it was glaring and growling again. She once again took out her pokedex, one of her goals to fill in the Kanto pokedex.

"Bulbasaur: it bears the seed of a plant on its back from birth. The seed slowly develops. Researchers are unsure whether to classify bulbasaur as a plant or an animal. Bulbasaur are extremely tough and very difficult to capture in the wild." As soon as Dexter finished, the wild bulbasaur tackled Misty's Starmie away like nothing.

"Well, shouldn't it be obvious?" Ash questioned to herself.

"Oh! Oh, Starmie!" Misty cried in worry as she picked up her limp pokemon.

"What is, Ash?" Brock questioned curiously.

"That bulbasaur is an animal type not plant," Ash answered.

"What makes you say that?" He queried further.

"Well it said in the pokedex that it bears the seed of a plant on its back from birth right?" Ash repeated, making Brock nod in agreement. "That just means that bulbasaur are animal type pokemon that have a symbiotic relationship with the plant on their back. I don't see what's so confusing about it. It sounds pretty simple to me," Ash stated, wondering how that wasn't obvious, though Brock seemed amazed at the conclusion she had reached.

"Guys, the bulbasaur and oddish escaped!" Misty cried, calling their attention back to their companion and her fallen pokemon

"I wonder if that bulbasaur is around here," Ash mused aloud as the group crossed the narrow wood and rope bridge.

"But where is here?" Misty questioned, sounding a little shaky as she looked at the chasm below that led to raging waters.

"I can't find this bridge on my map," Brock added, his face buried in the paper in his hands, only to be blown in his face when a strong wind came upwards from the chasm and rocked the bridge violently, making some of the rope break and have them screaming and scrambling to grab something so as not to fall in the waters below. Ash's arms quivered as she clung to some rope, Pikachu and Misty's added weight making her struggle as Pikachu clung to her shoulder while Misty was desperately hugging her leg. Ash watched as Brock began sliding off the wood he was trying to get a grip on.

"Pikachu! Let out Pidgeotto! He needs to help Brock!" Pikachu nodded in determination as he quickly and carefully climbed down Ash's back to release Pidgeotto just as Brock lost his grip and shouted as he fell. Pidgeotto seemed to quickly grasp the situation and dove at high velocity, grabbing the shoulders of Brock's vest before he could hit the water and struggling to stay aloft with the hefty burden. "Just follow the river until you find somewhere safe to put him, Pidgeotto! Don't try to fly back up!" Ash called. Pidgeotto let out a struggled cry of agreement as it flapped its wings heavily as it lurched forward, Brock staying as still as possible so he wouldn't make it harder.

"Boy I'm glad Ash trained you so well. I doubt a normal pidgeotto would have been able to carry someone as heavy as me," Brock complimented, though his voice was strained with the peril he was still very much in. Pidgeotto gave a grunting response as Ash turned back to her own predicament.

"Misty, I need you to climb up so you're hugging my waist at least. It'll make it easier for me to climb," Ash managed to say.

"O-okay," Misty answered shakily as she slowly and carefully inched her way up Ash's leg until she was holding her waist in a death grip. Ash grit her teeth to keep from grunting, understanding Misty's fear.

"Try not to move too much," Ash warned as she tightened her grip on the rope and tensed her muscles, using her core and arm strength to lift herself up with the rope, extremely glad for all the exercise she did now.

"No problem," Misty replied weakly. After what seemed an eternity, Ash managed to bring them up to the safety of the other side of the chasm and rolled on her back, panting for breath, Misty laying bonelessly on her legs, panting as well, as Pikachu lay on my arm. It seems the adrenaline of the moment tired the two out.

"Okay, that was really hard," Ash huffed. She groaned and sat up, her arms weak from the exertion.

"We can't rest now! We've got to find Brock!" Misty said. Ash waved her off as she huffed again when she stood.

"Pidgeotto should be with him. He'll lead us to Brock when he's safe," Ash brushed aside.

"A-are you okay, Misty?" Ash asked from the edge of the pitfall, trying hard not to laugh at the fact that she literally fell into a trap.

"Yeah, but ouch! What's a trap doing here?!" She complained.

"It is strange. Obviously someone doesn't want us to go further.

"Just help me out please," Misty prompted, making Ash give her an apologetic smile.

"Today's just not a good day for you is it?"

"I can't imagine Brock having washed this far downstream and I'm also wondering why Pidgeotto hasn't come found us yet," Ash muttered to herself.

"Misty looked around as well, nodding in agreement with Ash before she felt her foot catch on something and suddenly pull them both up into a rope trap, suspended by a tree branch.

"Oh great, up in a tree," Ash breathed out in exasperation and shock.

"It's another trap! Do something!" Misty cried.

"Well I have a pocket knife on me, but I'm not extremely excited about cutting us free to a one way ticket to a bruised butt," Ash replied dryly.

"We can't just stay up here!" Misty retorted.

"If you've thought of a way to get us down from here slowly and carefully, I'll be happy to hear it," Ash replied.

"Bulbasaur!" The cry had the two girls looking down to see the bulbasaur from before glaring at them before taking a few steps back and turning away.

"H-hey, wait a second! Don't ignore us!" Ash shouted after his retreating form.

Misty sighed from where she had made herself somewhat comfortable in the net, Ash practically reclining in it like a hammock, her eyes closed as she hummed.

"How can you be so calm in this situation?!" Misty complained.

"It doesn't do us any good to panic. Besides if someone set a trap, they eventually come back to check on it. It's not like we'll be here forever. We just have to be patient," Ash explained, not even bothering to open her eyes as she relaxed. Misty absorbed the words silently.

"I wonder what happened to Brock," Ash just shrugged, sitting up.

"I'm sure he's fine. I'm more concerned about why Pidgeotto hasn't come find us yet." Misty sighed again.

"Ahoy!" Ash and Misty looked down to see Brock looking up at them. "What are you guys doing up in that tree?"

"Pidgeot!" Ash grinned when Pidgeotto flew up to the net and hovered at eye level.

"Brock, Pidgeotto!"

AN: Ash's pokemon thus far-

Pikachu(male), known moves: thundershock, thunderbolt, tackle, quick attack, double team, growl, tail whip

Pidgeotto(male), known moves: tackle, sand-attack, gust, quick attack, whirlwind, wing attack

Butterfree(male), known moves: string shot, harden, confusion, poison powder, stun spore, sleep powder, gust, psychic, supersonic

Clefairy(female), known moves: pound, growl, sing, double slap, metronome

Bulbasaur(male), known moves: tackle, growl, vine whip, razor leaf, leech seed, poison powder, sleep powder, sweet scent, take down

This list is more for my benefit than yours since I have a hard time keeping track of things like that, but I'm sure some of you will appreciate it, or at least I hope you will. I also decided to list Bulbasaur just because since Ash'll be getting him in the next chapter anyways. Ash may or may not teach her pokemon moves not strictly from Kanto later, but I'm still debating. For now they know mostly starter moves and a few semi-exceptional ones for their starting evolution.

I've noticed, as I rewatch the series to get the correct dialogue that the 'funny parts' consist of horrible puns and plays on words that I'm frankly amazed some of them made on air, especially when some could be interpreted in an inappropriate fashion. I realize that this is because the Japanese dub did more fitting play on words and that it couldn't be translated to English correctly. Regardless, they will more than likely be cut out because I believe they're stupid and they give me second hand embarrassment just watching. It makes me cringe, but I'll just focus on my story. Anyways, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. Reviews are much appreciated.