A/N: Originally I was going to upload this a day early, however proofreading slipped my mind at the last minute and now it's just a boring scheduled release. Boo.
Also, I forgot to state this in the story summary, but this takes place in the AU that my other two stories "Natu-rally the Best" and "Steps to Championship" take place in, wherein it's set a few years after the events of HeartGold & SoulSilver while also being a small mix of the anime. Also, there's minor moments of Bloomboltshipping (Ash & Chloe), so I understand if that turns people away. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and Misty's debut!
UltimateCCC: Yeah I guess his identity was kind of obvious. I'm not gonna spoil what exactly I'm planning with him, but just know he'll be central to the plot in the future.
Chapter 4: The Water Flower of the Cerulean Gym!
"Before you all leave for lunch break, I have an announcement to make!" Professor Oak shouted to be sure the students who were quick to leave would stick around.
"Tomorrow we're going to have a guest speaker in the morning after Training Class! She's a Gym Leader from the Cerulean City Gym and has graciously given us the time out of her day to explain some things regarding her job as a Gym Leader." At this, some of the battle-crazed students cheered, even Ash was excited, though he was unsure of who the Cerulean City Gym Leader was since he was only familiar with the Elite Four members whose battles would be broadcast on live television, and Koga more recently.
"Hey Ash, are you excited for tomorrow? I think it'll be cool hearing about a Gym Leader's battle experiences." Goh asked Ash as the two, along with Chloe, were on their way to the cafeteria. He gave a nod and patted Pikachu's head.
"Yeah. I also heard that most Gym Leaders use only one type! I wonder how she handles that?" Goh shrugged while Chloe placed her finger on her chin in a thinking pose.
"I imagine she has certain kinds of strategies to deal with trainers who challenge the gym with counters to her central type." She hypothesized, earning an eyebrow raise from Goh and an excited grin from Ash.
"Huh, I didn't realize you were into Pokémon battles that much." Goh pointed out, softening his expression after she glared at him.
"So what? Well, I uh, I'm not actually sure about the battling part itself," she started, emphasizing the 'itself', "but the theorizing is actually kind of fun." Goh shrugged at this as Ash spoke up next.
"I get where he's coming from, but I think it's awesome that you like Battle Theory like that!" At this she scratched her cheek and glanced away from his bright grin.
"Well, I guess… But if we ever start doing practice battles then I don't expect to win very much." She replied with a shake of her head.
"Don't sweat it Chloe, you'll do just fine!" Goh reassured her, as she gave him a smile.
The next day, during Training Class, Chloe was just about to release Eevee before she spotted Ash releasing Pikachu. Noticing Sanelia was making no attempt to approach him, she took a small breath and walked up to him.
"Hey Ash, I was wondering, but have you ever considered becoming a Gym Leader in the future?" She asked the boy out of curiosity, as she released Eevee beside Pikachu.
He turned to her with a confused look at the sudden question. "Huh? Err, I don't know, staying in one place like that doesn't really sit well with me." He said with a small chuckle as he noticed he was now sitting in one place on the grass in front of an oddly-behaving Pikachu. Indeed, he would probably prefer travelling across the region to hone his battle skills as well as see what the world has to offer.
With a small smile and a bit of courage, Chloe sat next to him with some distance between the two, before she gave him an understanding nod.
"I guess that makes sense. Being cooped up in one city or town and only battling as a Gym Leader whenever the regional circuit begins would probably get old fast for someone like you, who can't seem to sit still." She said with a small giggle. He turned to her with a small look of surprise.
"You've really been studying about battling, huh? I didn't even know about the regional circuit thingy." He said with a small smile. At this, she suddenly turned to him with a slightly embarrassed expression.
"W-well, I uh… I kind of figured it'd be easier to find things to talk about with you if I knew about battling and stuff, so uh… you know…" She trailed off as her cheeks turned pink. His smile morphed into a grin, before he held his fist up.
"Ohh... Well, if battling doesn't pan out, at least the experience will be a good one. If I remember right, Pokémon Contests require battle skills, for example." She nodded quickly while hastily bumping her fist against his and turning before he could see her face become more red.
Had Pikachu been his normal self during that whole conversation, he would have tried teasing Ash about it in some way (and failing because he can't really communicate with him directly), however he was busy being focused on the cute Eevee who was chasing her tail in one place. If he weren't so distracted right now, he'd be grateful that the two humans behind them were distracted as well. That wouldn't last though, as it was now time for the next class, which would be occupied by the appearance of the guest speaker.
"OK class, let's head back to homeroom and welcome the guest speaker!" Pikachu was suddenly snapped from his stupor before his trainer could notice he was making a goofy face at Eevee, who hadn't noticed it herself.
Chloe sighed in disappointment that the teacher concluded Training Class as she stood back up from the grass before Ash did, while returning Eevee to her Poké Ball. Soon followed Ash, as Pikachu climbed up to his shoulder before he stood back up.
"Man, I'm psyched! I have a good feeling about the next class!" Ash exclaimed, at which Chloe giggled lightly.
"Hey, do you think Professor Oak is going to have us start doing practice battles some time? I'm sure it'll happen at some point in the future, but I do wonder if it'll happen soon." Chloe asked Ash, who shrugged.
"I dunno, but maybe that's the good feeling I'm getting, with the guest speaker being a Gym Leader 'n all." He wondered. "Hmm…" came Chloe's response. She felt his reasoning was plausible, but they wouldn't know for sure until after the guest speaker finishes.
Once they returned to the classroom, there was a girl who appeared to be slightly older than the rest of the class standing by the blackboard. She had medium orange hair spiked one way and blue-green eyes, and wore a light blue vest over a mainly white one-piece swimsuit with two blue stripes on the sides by the waist area. To Ash, she looked a lot like a swimming instructor, though her identity would soon be revealed by Professor Oak.
"Ah, you're already here Misty." He greeted the young Gym Leader. She gave him a smile before loudly introducing herself as the students poured into the room.
"Good morning Professor Oak. So! My name is Misty Kasumi, and I'm one of the Gym Leaders of the Cerulean City Gym!" She said with a bow, as the students clapped.
"Wow, that's one of the so called 'Water Flowers of the Cerulean Gym'!" Goh said excitedly. "Curiously, "Water Flower" is just a stage name, but some people have mistook it for her last name, including me at one point." He continued with a sweatdrop at that last bit.
"Huh, I didn't know you knew about her." Ash said to Goh, who shrugged.
"Well, I decided to research the Kanto Gym Leaders so we could have another topic of discussion considering you're aiming to take them on." He revealed while rubbing the back of his neck. Then, Misty started talking.
"I'm sure Professor Oak has talked about it, but just as a refresher, I'm here today to talk about my experience as a Gym Leader as well as talk about how I approach the challenges of training one central type." She started, as Chloe smiled after realizing she was right. At this, Ash turned to her and chuckled, whispering "Heh, guess you were on the mark the other day.".
Misty continued, causing the two to turn back to the speaker. She detailed her attempts at balancing covering counters smarter trainers would carry while also trying to be a good challenge for beginning and advanced trainers alike.
"Normally, the exact team I use and the rules of the battle are decided depending on how many badges the challenger has, however these determining factors have no bearing on those who graduate at any point from this school." Before she continued, she turned to Professor Oak who gave her a nod.
"For students who have graduated from the Normal Class, the rules and team are chosen the same as if the challenger had 3 or 4 badges until their 5th. For those who have graduated from the Great Class have the team chosen as if they had 6 or 7 badges for every Gym Battle, while those who have graduated from the Master Class must fight the toughest team the gyms have to offer." Some students murmured to each other. Some were now determined more than ever to do their best to graduate from the Great Class, while others felt reaffirmed in their decision to graduate only from the Normal Class.
"Hey Gary, are you going to try to graduate from the Master Class?" Tony asked his seatmate. Well, they weren't seatmates originally, he asked to trade seats with Blake yesterday.
"For sure, after all, I believe fighting tough battles is the quickest way to become the strongest." He replied with a cocky grin.
"Hey kid, wipe that cocky grin off of your face, there's a reason there are so few Master Class graduates, even I am a Great Class graduate myself." Misty revealed. This raised a question that Chloe asked right after.
"Could you have become a Gym Leader regardless of whether you're a Vermilion Trainers' Academy graduate?" At this, Misty turned to her and shook her head.
"I'm not actually sure, the way I became a Gym Leader wouldn't be considered traditional to begin with. B-but that's a story for a different day." Professor Oak stood up from his chair and stood beside the Water type specialist.
"Alright alright, I have a little announcement to make." Ash's ears perked up as he looked on in anticipation, as did a few of the other students considering what the discussion was related to.
"Talking isn't the only thing Misty came here to do today. In fact, she's also going to hold test battles against all of you," All of a sudden most of the students started cheering, while a few seemed less excited. "...As I was saying, besides that, practice battles will be allowed starting next week, so long as you get permission from me or other teachers. Additionally," He emphasized before more cheering could be heard. "There will be test battles at the end of every month to test your knowledge. Now, bear in mind that winning itself won't ensure a perfect mark, what matters is that you've shown you're growing in terms of character and knowledge." Chloe raised her eyebrow at this as Ash joined in on the cheering with the students, including Gary much to the former's mild surprise.
"Character, huh?" She mused to herself with a light frown. As Ash's cheers came to an end, he noticed Chloe had a frown.
"Hey, are you OK?" He asked with a bit of worry. She turned to him with a softened expression.
"Oh, it's fine Ash, you don't have to worry." A grin returned to Ash's face as he nodded.
"Alright, but you have Goh and I in case you ever need someone to talk to." He assured her, causing her to smile again.
"Yeah! I doubt this guy will have anything actually useful to say, but you'll appreciate the attempt at least, I'm sure." Goh said. He was only half serious, but he wasn't entirely wrong either, at least about Chloe, who nodded.
'Well, you're not exactly wrong…' She thought to herself as glanced at Ash who was looking ahead.
"So each battle will be determined in order of seat number, starting from 1 and ending at 18." The teacher started.
"That's right, and each battle will be a simple one-on-one! Now remember, the point isn't to win, it's to enjoy the battle with your Pokémon." Misty ended.
"Alright students, let's head back to the school garden. By the way, a Nurse Joy will be present to heal your Pokémon." The class headed back out to the garden.
The first student to battle was Janine, as her seat number was 1. She managed to hold her own for a while, but made a mistake that cost her the victory, however Professor Oak seemed pleased.
"My apologies Zubat, I was careless." Janine said as she returned the fainted Pokémon and retreated to the Nurse Joy on the side of the field she assumed the defeated trainers would hang out by.
"You did pretty well! I was caught off guard when Zubat used Absorb since Water types are weak to Grass type moves, but I gotta hand it to you with how you commanded Zubat to dodge the Electro Ball attacks from Chinchou." Misty praised as she returned her Pokémon.
Goh then pulled out his Rotom Phone to scan Misty's Pokémon, beating Ash to it.
"Chinchou, the Angler Pokémon, a Water and Electric type. On the dark ocean floor, this Pokémon's only means of communication is by its flashing antennae." Pictures of a small Pokémon with a round, blue body and yellow eyes with plus-shaped pupils flashed on the screen, showing different angles of the Pokémon that reveal two long, curved antennae, the ends of which glow yellow with light.
"Oh wow, that's an Electric type fish Pokémon? That's so cool!" He exclaimed with sparkles in his eyes. Apparently Tony overheard Goh's Pokédex.
The battles continued one by one. Naturally, most of the students had no direct battle experience, but some did watch battles broadcast on live television, or even in-person for various reasons. Four more students have battled so far, but only Janine has gotten close to defeating Misty.
"Give it your best try, hotshot." Misty said to Gary with a smirk. He only raised his eyebrow briefly before returning the smirk.
Misty stood on one side of the dirt battlefield, while Gary got to his side on the opposite end of the field.
"Let's go Staryu!" A starfish-like Pokémon came from the Poké Ball, prompting Goh to take out his Rotom Phone and scan it with the Pokédex App. While the description came, Gary released his Squirtle next without a word.
Professor Oak placed his hand on his chin. "A battle between two Water types? This should be interesting." Blake turned to the professor and then looked down at his Poké Ball with slight worry, realizing he also had a Water type Pokémon.
"Staryu, use Rapid Spin!" Staryu thrusted towards Squirtle while spinning rapidly. This caused its speed to become faster, signified by the blue aura sweeping the Pokémon upwards.
"Withdraw into your shell!" Gary called out. Squirtle was quick to retreat into its shell, and did so quickly enough for its Defense to raise before Staryu could fully make contact.
"Use Harden!" Staryu stiffened up its muscles as its Defense rose. Gary knew his Water type attacks wouldn't really do much to harm Staryu since Water types resist itself, so that use of Harden put him in a bind.
"If Staryu comes close, use Tail Whip on my mark." Gary told Squirtle, who nodded. Misty raised her eyebrow at this, before shrugging.
"Use Swift." She said with a slightly smug grin. Gary clenched his fist at this before commanding Squirtle to repel the stars with Withdraw.
"What's Gary doing? Swift is a Special attack, those attacks don't target Defense." Goh pointed out. While he was correct, that wasn't exactly the plan with that move.
Squirtle spun in place while hidden in his shell, causing some of the stars that came into contact with the top of the shell to be reflected and harmlessly explode against the ground. However, the ones that hit the side of the shell damaged Squirtle.
"Heh, smart move Gary, but Staryu is one of my stronger gym Pokémon." Misty said as Squirtle struggled to get out of its shell without toppling over. Gary started sweating at this now. He was confident he could at least get Misty to struggle, but she turned the tables on him.
"Yeah? Well Squirtle isn't ready to give up, and neither am I." Squirtle nodded before a smirk formed on his face. Gary wore the same smirk, causing Misty to giggle.
"Heh, well you certainly have the conviction of a strong trainer, but that won't be enough. Use Water Pulse!"
"What?!" Gary exclaimed as Staryu unleashed several pulsating rings of water at Squirtle. Despite the damage reduction due to the type interaction, it was too strong for Squirtle to withstand and survive for its ability to see use.
"Squirtle, return." Gary said with a frown. He knew what the outcome would be, but it still hurt somewhat.
"Your thinking wasn't quick enough for me to feel threatened by Squirtle's attempts, but you still did pretty well against me." Misty said to Gary, who quietly nodded and returned to the side with the rest of the students who have had battles so far.
"Hey Gary, that was awesome! I thought I would have had the advantage with Elekid, but then her Pokémon turned out to be immune to Electric type moves!" This got Gary to chuckle.
"She certainly planned pretty thoroughly for these battles." He replied as he handed his Poké Ball to Nurse Joy.
Next to the student's side was Vivienne, who had a confident grin.
"You're certainly flashy, huh." Misty said to herself, before she readied her Poké Ball. This didn't go unheard by Vivienne though.
"So what? I think it's cute." She said as she released Minccino. Apparently her Pokémon has started to take on her habits, as she struck a little pose.
"Aww, it's so adorable! I didn't realize the school would give you such a rare Pokémon." Misty cooed at Minccino, who rubbed the back of its neck bashfully.
"She's from Unova, so we thought a Pokémon familiar to her would suit her best." Professor Oak chimed in.
"Huh… Well whatever, let's get this show on the road. Come on out Corsola!" Out came a pink Pokémon that looked like a big chunk of coral with a cute face stuck on. Of course, Goh scanned it with the Pokédex App.
"Corsola, the Coral Pokémon, a Water and Rock type. Its branches are prized for their beauty, sparkling seven colours in the sunlight. Charms are sometimes made from its branches, which can grow back the next day." As it was explaining, the battle had gone underway, but didn't last for long.
Corsola launched a Water Gun, however Minccino started bawling its eyes out once it got all wet from the Water type attack.
"Come on Minccino, just… Shake it off!" Vivienne shouted with a shake of her head. At this, Minccino sniffled and stopped crying before shaking off the water. This action fluffed up its fur and calmed it down.
"Lovely! Now Pound that meanie!" Minccino gave an annoyed glare at the Coral Pokémon before running towards it to Pound its body, narrowly avoiding one of the hard branches.
"Not bad, unfortunately Rock type Pokémon are resistant to Normal type attacks. Tackle!" Corsola ran towards Minccino to launch its pointy body at Minccino, whose fur didn't do much to cushion the impact.
A combination of the morale-reducing Water Gun and the particularly tough Tackle made Minccino faint. At this, Vivienne hung her head low.
"Return, Minccino." Before she could sulk away to the group of defeated students, Misty spoke up.
"Your efforts were not enough, but you did handle Minccino pretty well when it looked like you'd have to forfeit." She said, making Vivienne smile and thank her.
Ash remembered who he sat next to, before Professor Oak turned his way. Suddenly battling with Pikachu made him nervous, but he shook his head when he noticed Pikachu was giving him a determined smile.
"Come on Ash, show her who's boss!" Goh cheered as he made his way to the student's half of the field. Before Chloe could cheer as well, Eevee came out of her Poké Ball to do it for her.
"Vui! Eievui!" She barked, causing Goh and Chloe to smile at her.
"She's right. You got this Ash!" Chloe shouted. He turned to her and smiled before facing Misty.
"Another Electric type, huh? It would be kind of rude to send it out again… So let's give you another shot, Chinchou!" She released the Water/Electric type again. Pikachu hopped off of Ash's shoulder and in front of him, giving off a threatening crackle of electricity from his electric sacs.
"Bubble Beam!" Chinchou had the first move, using Bubble Beam from afar. Thinking quickly, Ash issued a command immediately.
"Use Thunder Shock quickly!" Pikachu unleashed a jolt of electricity at the beam of bubbles. The electricity travelled from the attack to the source, shocking it.
"Huh, alright then. Use Confuse Ray!" Ash's eyes widened before a set of purple, pulsating waves were released in Pikachu's direction. Ash has seen the move before, and knew he didn't have any options to prevent it from confusing Pikachu.
The move made contact, causing Pikachu to lose its balance and move back and forth. Ash grit his teeth at this.
"When a Pokémon is confused, it has a much harder time aiming its attacks. Think you can break free from it?" Misty asked rhetorically. However, she didn't expect him to try an answer.
"Pikachu, close your eyes and attack when I tell you to!" Pikachu shut his eyes, but still found himself staggering somewhat. Misty raised her eyebrow at this in amusement, before issuing another move.
"Use Bubble Beam again!" Chinchou shot a beam of bubbles at Pikachu once more, who was helpless to defend himself.
Ash furrowed his eyebrows for a moment before he noticed Chinchou wasn't stopping.
"Charge electricity in your cheeks!" Pikachu was puzzled by the command at first, but did so anyway. As the move made contact again, Misty realized she accidentally gave Ash an opening as the electricity traveled through the attack once more.
"Whoops, my bad. Use Water Pulse instead!" Misty corrected, as Chinchou shot rings of water at Pikachu, who couldn't use the same trick again.
"Uhh, use Tail Whip with force!" Pikachu finally snapped out of the confusion, before turning towards Ash on all fours and waving his tail rapidly. This action was enough to stop some of the pulses of water, but the attack finally made contact on the last ring.
Pikachu fell forward, but wasn't down quite yet. However, though Pikachu was noticeably tired, Chinchou seemed to be panting too. Would he be able to win against Misty?
"OK Chinchou, just keep your distance for now." Misty said with a frown. Ash was wondering what she planned, before trying to think about an attack he could use to win. He could use Thunder Shock, but the distance might be too much for Pikachu to hit his target. Quick Attack was a tempting option, but Misty could have something for that as well. Then, Ash remembered how Pikachu would seem to charge electricity in his tail whenever he'd pet him there, so he got an idea.
"I wonder what Ash could be planning?" Goh asked Chloe, who kind of shrugged. She'd never seen him battle before, so how could she know? Luckily, his question would be answered.
"Alright Pikachu, do you remember when I would pet your tail in the school garden?" Ash asked Pikachu, who turned to him and nodded. "OK, charge electricity in your tail and use Quick Attack to get close to Chinchou for a Tail Whip!" Misty was confused by the question and the command, but figured he was planning something.
"Chinchou, I don't know what he's trying to do, but wait for my signal." Chinchou turned to Misty and nodded. After the exchange, Pikachu initiated a Quick Attack while keeping electricity charged in his tail as Ash requested. From across the field, Pikachu had reached Chinchou in the blink of an eye and waved his tail at Chinchou. The electricity that was built up in Pikachu's tail then formed a ball shape that exploded against Chinchou, knocking Pikachu back towards Ash.
Misty blinked, before she shook her head and smiled. The dust hadn't cleared, but she knew what the outcome was. Then, both Chinchou and Pikachu were down with swirls replacing their eyes.
"You're really something, huh? Are you sure you haven't battled before?" She returned her Pokémon as she asked the raven-haired boy, who took that as a compliment and rubbed the back of his neck.
"O-oh not at all, I just remembered seeing a Pikachu on TV use the move Electro Ball and wanted to see if my Pikachu could do it as well. I certainly didn't expect that." He admitted. Just then, some of the students started cheering, especially Goh and Chloe.
"That was some splendid planning, Ash," Professor Oak started. "I imagine watching Pokémon League battles really helped you out, eh?" Ash chuckled at this with a light shrug.
"I guess so." He then turned to pick up Pikachu, who had recovered from fainting.
"Thanks Pikachu, I couldn't have done it without you." He thanked the Electric type, who hit Ash with a tiny jolt of electricity, just enough for it to tingle. Ash smiled at this before heading to his peers who had battled.
Gary glanced at Ash before giving him a smirk. "Not bad, Ashy-boy." He said while holding up a fist. Ash turned to him in surprise, but returned the fist-bump.
Next to battle was Chloe. 'I really don't know how I'm supposed to follow up that performance… So I won't.' She thought to herself with an unsure sigh as she got to her side next.
"Let's give it our best shot, Eevee." Chloe said to Eevee, who hasn't returned to her Poké Ball since coming out to cheer.
"Hey Pikachu, wasn't Eevee cheering for you during our battle?" Ash asked the Electric type, who suddenly turned to him with a shocked face.
"Pipi? Kaa…" Pikachu pulled his tail and slapped Ash with it lightly, who chuckled at his reaction.
Chloe wasn't nearly as inventive as Ash was, but she still somehow managed to pull off something she saw while studying Pokémon battles. As Misty's Wooper used Water Gun from a distance, Chloe had Eevee roll away from the attack, as she noticed during Training Class that Eevee was as fast as she runs when she rolls on the ground.
"Interesting… Use Mud Shot!" Wooper shot several balls of mud at Eevee, who was unable to dodge the attacks that time. Chloe winced at the impact, but realized that Eevee wasn't any muddier from the attack since the previous Water type attacks created puddles of water on the field.
"Eevee, get close and use Sand Attack!" Eevee yipped and ran towards Wooper, before stopping just short of it and kicking up sand at it. "Now Tackle!" Thankfully for Chloe, Eevee was pretty quick to take commands, as she threw herself into Wooper, causing it to roll back to Misty.
"Not bad. Though, Wooper isn't bad at taking physical attacks, what it would usually worry about is Special attacks, which I imagine your Eevee lacks." Chloe furrowed her eyebrow at this. Of course Eevee wouldn't know very many moves, this was the first time any of these Pokémon have battled.
"Use Water Pulse." Chloe's eyes widened, but it was too late to call off Eevee, who took the full force of the attack and rolled towards the center of the field in defeat.
Chloe sighed as she returned Eevee. Pikachu's ears lowered at Eevee's defeat, which Ash took notice of and raised his eyebrow at.
"Hey Pikachu, do you want to see if Chloe will train with us some time?" Ash asked Pikachu, who suddenly perked up at the thought of getting stronger with Eevee. He was distracted enough by this thought to attempt to tease Ash about Chloe, not that the attempts ever work, but it was worth a shot.
"Your Eevee was great at taking your commands, but you've gotta be more in sync with it." Misty said as Chloe nodded gratefully and walked towards Ash, who gave her a grin.
"You did great out there Chloe!" Her cheeks turned pink at the praise, as she nodded with a smile.
"Thank you. You were pretty good yourself." She awkwardly and lightly punched Ash's shoulder, causing him to chuckle.
The next challenger was Goh, who frowned as he realized his Pokémon would be at a disadvantage.
"Well, I may as well try at least." He said with a sigh.
Scorbunny was quick enough to dodge most of the Water type attacks launched at him from afar, however he couldn't do anything about getting close without risking taking a Water type attack from up-close, but Goh knew he shouldn't be complacent since there were other students who were going to battle next.
"Scorbunny, use Tackle." Finally issuing an attack, Scorbunny excitedly dashed at Slowpoke who hadn't moved a muscle since its last attack. In fact, Scorbunny was so fast that he ended up using Quick Attack instead, knocking Slowpoke back to Misty.
"Now that's a surprise! But I don't think this will be. Use Water Pulse!" Slowpoke slowly got up and released a series of pulsating rings of water… Five entire seconds after the command was issued.
'Well, she wasn't wrong.' Chloe thought with a sweat-drop.
"Quick Scorbunny, dodge!" Scorbunny attempted to get out of the way, but slipped in the mud and was blown back from the force of the Water Pulse attack. The Rabbit Pokémon skidded to a stop in front of Goh with swirls in his eyes, as Goh returned his defeated Pokémon with a sigh.
"Thanks for trying your best." He said to the Poké Ball before Misty returned Slowpoke.
"I certainly didn't expect your Pokémon to suddenly use a new move like that, but I think you should try a little harder next time and work on your reflexes a bit." Despite what she said, she knew he wasn't taking Slowpoke seriously because of its namesake, but she figured she should say something.
"I will, thanks." He turned to Ash and Chloe before walking towards them. He rubbed the back of his neck as he sighed.
"Scorbunny seemed excited to battle, but I feel like I didn't quite match that energy." Ash was first to say something, as he placed his hand on Goh's shoulder.
"Hey, you did your best out there! I'm sure Scorbunny will forgive you!" Goh smiled, before Chloe put her hand on his shoulder next.
"Yeah, besides, I think you did pretty well for your first battle." He nodded, feeling better about the defeat.
"I guess so. But man Ash, you were amazing back there! I wouldn't doubt it if you told me you were battling for over 20 years." He said with an excited look, causing Ash to rub the back of his neck. Chloe felt like he was exaggerating, as she shook her head.
"I don't know about that, but I wouldn't be surprised if you placed in the top 16 at least in the Pokémon League." At this point his cheeks turned pink.
"Come on guys, I basically copied what I saw on television, I'm not that special." Goh frowned at this, before flicking Ash's forehead.
"Hey, just take the compliment, OK?" Goh gave him a grin, as Ash rubbed his forehead.
"Alright, fine." He turned the other way, as Pikachu snickered at the interaction. He sure did have good friends.
The rest of the battles went by pretty quickly. Many of the students could hit Misty's Pokémon at least once, but it was never enough to make Misty sweat like Ash did. Looking down at his watch, Professor Oak noticed that it was almost lunch time now. The battles seemed to take up the math class of that day.
Sanelia was the last student to battle against Misty, using her Seel for the first time in battle. Misty called Staryu out, which was perhaps the strongest Pokémon she brought with her that day, not breaking a sweat despite all of the battles so far.
"Are you ready Seel?" Sanelia asked her Pokémon, who turned to her and waved its flipper. Sanelia smiled as she took a breath and calmed her nerves.
"I'll make the first move. Use Rapid Spin!" Staryu spun rapidly and launched towards Seel, increasing its speed in the process. Seel couldn't dodge in time, and Sanelia seemed to be frozen in place from the sudden pressure.
"Come on! You can do it, Sanelia!" Ash called out to her, which made her jump before she turned to Ash with a grateful smile.
"OK, um, use Headbutt!" Seel shook its head and hopped towards Staryu to give it a headbutt, causing Misty to give an amused smile.
"Take it and use Water Pulse!" Staryu stood its ground and took the headbutt, though the attack managed to push it back somewhat. It wasn't enough though, as Staryu unleashed pulses of water at Seel who was way too close to dodge. The proximity of the attack caused it to faint, as Sanelia looked down at her feet sadly.
"Hey, you just need more practice with Seel and you'll get somewhere in no time. In fact, I'd say you two work pretty well together, it's just the experience that's lacking." Misty assured her, as she recalled her Pokémon for the last time that day. Sanelia nodded and slowly joined the rest of the class after returning Seel to its Poké Ball.
"Alright class, I've had each battle recorded on my Rotom Phone, these battles can be considered the assignment for Battle Theory." He said to the students. Ash wondered how well he stacked up against Gary, given that he managed to get one of Misty's Pokémon to faint.
At the end of the day, Ash was about to leave for the lab with Goh when he was suddenly stopped by Gary.
"Hey Ashy-boy, how'd you like to have a little practice battle on Monday? Squirtle's been itching to battle you since you managed to make Misty's Chinchou faint." Gary asked the stunned boy. He rubbed the back of his neck before shrugging.
"Well, I kinda think it was just a fluke that time, I don't think Misty was expecting her Pokémon to be hit by Pikachu's electricity more than once." He said, causing Gary to frown.
"Heh, well if you really wanna see if it was just a fluke, maybe you should try your luck against me, you have the type advantage after all," He started, as Ash awkwardly nodded. "However, I think from the Pokémon League battles that you've watched, you're pretty well aware of how type advantages aren't always the deciding factor." He was right. Ash started to sweat a little before he stepped back a bit. Goh was about to speak up before Ash responded.
"Th-that's true enough, but I won't back down from a challenge." He gave a determined frown at Gary.
"Just what I'd expect from my rival. Try not to disappoint me next week." He smirked, before turning and leaving school. Once again, Ash let out a sigh of relief he didn't know he was holding. Also once again, he couldn't really tell what Gary's intent was behind some of his words.
"Ash, I know you'll show Gary which of you is better," Goh said, causing Ash to turn to him with a raised eyebrow. "B-by that, I mean you'll show him that you're the one of the two who is better." He corrected.
Ash chuckled and shook his head. "Heh, thanks Goh, I'll give it my all with Pikachu, even if it is only a practice battle." Goh nodded, as the two headed for the lab.
Next time: We're in this Together: Part I
A/N: Thanks for reading! Ash sure knew what to do back there, huh? I was kinda debating to myself whether or not I should have him outright win the battle, or lose it, so in the end I made it a tie, I hope in the end that it's believable for someone of his skill level. By the way, try not to get used to Misty, she isn't going to be a permanent member of the cast considering she's a Gym Leader and has already graduated from that school. Anyway, hope you look forward to the first of the three-chapter arc!