Ash and Raiden rose early in the morning the next day in order to get some training done before challenging the Gym for the Boulder Badge. Ash went to the pool and released his Water Pokemon, mainly Melody, into the pool in order to train them all. He set about doing everything that they had previously done before and with the building of resistances to the types that they had a disadvantage. He told Wesp and Angel that since they were Bug types then they needed to wait until there was a Fire type on the team to build resistance to that, which they understood completely. Ash then called a break from training to feed everyone breakfast and then returned them, except for Raiden. He then left the pool area to have Nurse Joy heal his team and found Misty waiting for him in the waiting area of the Pokemon Center.
"Good morning Ash," Misty greeted him. "I see you were training your Pokemon before the Gym battle today."
"Good morning Misty and yes that was exactly what I was doing," Ash replied with a smile.
"Ash Ketchum, your Pokemon are done being healed," Nurse Joy called through the intercom and Ash quickly retrieved his Pokemon.
"Do you want to head to the Gym after getting some breakfast for ourselves?" Misty asked.
"That would be great," Ash responded.
Ash and Misty went to the cafeteria where they ate in a calmly manner despite Ash's excitement of having his very first Gym battle and he knew that his Pokemon would do their best for he believed in them. They quickly dealt with their dishes and then proceeded to walk out of the Pokemon Center to the Gym. It didn't take them that long to find the Gym and Misty asked Ash if he was sure that he didn't need to use her team. He replied that would make him a cheater for using someone else's Pokemon in order to win a Gym Badge and that he wouldn't be able to handle the guilt. She didn't say it out loud, but she was thinking that he was intelligent for knowing the difference between right and wrong. They then walked into the Gym to find it pitch black in the room and couldn't see anything in front of them.
"Who goes there?" a booming voice asked causing both Ash and Misty to jump in surprise.
"My name is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and I would like to challenge you to a Gym Battle," Ash replied and then the lights suddenly turned on to see a teenage boy sitting with his legs crossed and with squinty eyes.
"I accept the challenge," he answered while getting up off the ground. "Is this your first Gym Battle?"
"Yes, and I am aware of the rules. I made sure to know everything that I could about Pokemon and the official League rules before leaving on my journey," Ash told him causing the teen to raise his eyebrows in surprise.
"Well, then you would know that I do a two-on-two battle and only the challenger may make substitutions in the battle," he simply said.
"Yes," Ash answered.
"Before you two start, can I please know your name?" Misty asked.
"Oops. I am sorry for not introducing myself. My name is Brock," Brock answered while looking embarrassed.
"I'll be cheering for you Ash from the bleachers," Misty told him while walking over to them.
"Brock, is it all right if I let three of my Pokemon come out to watch the battle?" Ash asked.
"I don't see a problem with that," Brock told him. "I see you have four Pokeballs on your belt and a Pikachu riding on your shoulder, so I am just curious why only three?"
"That would because one of them I am using for this battle with you and my Magikarp cannot breath without water and I don't want her to suffer just because I want her to see the battle," Ash simply answered.
"I am very happy to see that you, the Trainer, care about your Pokemon so much," Brock said with a smile.
"Thanks," Ash replied with a grin.
He then ran over to the bleachers to let out Hermes, Wesp, and Angel onto the bleachers and told them that they would be watching the battle. Ash could see the excitement in their eyes to see Aurora and Raiden fighting especially since this would be Aurora's first battle every. He then ran back into the Trainer's box on his end while Brock was already in his. Then a referee appeared with a red and green flag in his hands.
"This is two-on-two battle between the Pewter Gym Leader Brock and the challenger Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. Trainers release your first Pokemon!" the referee called.
"Go Geodude!" Brock said while throwing his Pokeball releasing a rock with two arms protruding from its side.
"I choose you Aurora!" Ash said while releasing her onto the battlefield.
'Lets do this Ash!' Aurora exclaimed.
'Why are you trying to talk to your Trainer? It's not like he can understand you,' Geodude said.
'You are seriously asking a question when our Trainers are about to give us orders to battle one another since this is a Gym Battle,' Aurora asked while looking at Geodude in confusion.
Ash pretended not to hear the two having a conversation not wanting to reveal the fact he could understand them. He pulled out his Pokedex and scanned Geodude.
Geodude the Rock Pokemon. Found in fields and mountains. Mistaking them for boulders, people often step or trip on them.
Ash then put the Pokedex away and nodded his head at Brock to signal he was ready. The referee then shouted, "Battle begin!"
"Geodude use Tackle!" Brock called.
"Dodge then use Water Gun!" Ash called to Aurora, who easily dodge thanks to her training and hit Geodude hard causing him to cry out in pain.
"Geodude are you okay?" Brock asked in concern for his buddy and received a nod from him though he could tell the Water Gun caused a lot of damage. "All right. Use Rollout!"
"Aurora jump onto one of the rocks to dodge and then use Water Gun," Ash said knowing that Aurora was in danger of being hit.
She jumped onto one of the rocks and Geodude crashed into it and then she hit him with another Water Gun causing him to cry out once again and then he fainted with swirls in his eyes.
"Geodude is unable to battle. The winner is Shellder!" the referee called out while Brock returned Geodude.
"Take a nice long rest buddy," Brock said to the Pokeball containing Geodude.
"You did it Aurora! You won your very first battle!" Ash exclaimed in excitement while hugging her, who cooed in happiness. "Now why don't you go join the others on the bleachers for a well deserved rest."
She went over to the others, who began to cheer her on for winning her first battle and Hermes gave her a knowing look. Brock was a little shocked to hear that a Pokemon that was battling for the first time had beaten his Geodude.
"Are you ready for the last battle Ash?" Brock asked.
"You bet!" Ash exclaimed.
"Go Onix!" Brock yelled while letting out a big snake like Pokemon and Ash pulled out his Pokedex to scan it for the information.
Onix the Rock Snake Pokemon. As it grows, the stone portions of its body harden to become similar to a diamond, but colored black.
He then put the Pokedex away and nodded at Raiden, who jumped onto the field and Brock knew that he shouldn't underestimate his opponent just because he was using a Pikachu.
"Battle begin!" the referee yelled.
"Onix use Tackle!"
"Use Double Team, Raiden."
Multiple copies of Raiden appeared on the battlefield and Onix ended up hitting a copy. Ash then ordered Raiden to run up the body of Onix and Brock ordered Onix to try to shake off Pikachu. It proved useless when Raiden continued to run up Onix's body.
"Now use Iron Tail full power!"
Raiden's tail gained a silver sheen and he jumped up bringing his tail swinging down on Onix's head causing said Pokemon to roar in pain. Onix then fell down in a complete faint with Raiden landing safely on his side of the field.
"Onix is unable to battle! Pikachu is the winner!" the referee called. "And with both of the Gym Leader's Pokemon unable to battle, Ash wins the Boulder Badge!"
Brock returned Onix and told him that he deserved a nice rest. Brock then walked over to Ash after Ash returned his team and Misty walked over to congratulate him.
"Here Ash," Brock said while presenting a gray rock shape badge to him. "You've earned this fair and square. Now with the Boulder Badge, you are one step closer to the Indigo League."
"Thanks Brock!" Ash happily replied while taking the badge and putting it into the badge case.
"Keep training your Pokemon the way you are and I am sure it will have great results with your battling skills," Brock said with a smile. "Although, I am a little curious of how long you have been on your Pokemon journey."
"About three to four days, but I made sure to train my Pokemon and catch new ones while making sure my Pokemon don't over work themselves since the way I see it is that the Pokemon on my team or that end up in the corral with Professor Oak are family," Ash told him while looking serious.
"That is great Ash. You are a heck of a lot better than another Trainer, who walked in arrogantly with just a Squirtle that he didn't even bother to train before challenging me," Brock replied.
"Was his name Gary?" Ash asked while sighing.
"That would be the one," Brock answered.
"He has let the fact that he is Professor Oak's grandson go to his head and thinks nobody can beat him," Ash said while shaking his head. "He also use to be my friend until he became arrogant and started to bully me just because at the time I didn't know the answers to all of his questions."
Misty put a hand on Ash's shoulder and said, "If we run into him, then we will show just how wrong he is."
"Thanks Misty," Ash replied while giving her a small smile. "We should probably go heal our Pokemon."
"Is it all right with you if I tag along since my Pokemon took a beating?" Brock asked.
"Sure," Ash answered.
On the way to the Pokemon Center they found out that Brock had been taking care of his little brothers and sisters since their father went on a journey and their mother sinking into a depression. He also had to take care of the Gym since he was the oldest and then told them that he had at first hated their father for leaving them, but then he realized that maybe their father had a dream he was trying to accomplish and maybe that he felt ashamed for not completing said dream. He then began to talk about his dream of being a Pokemon Breeder, so he did a lot of studying on his own about different Pokemon food recipes and trying to experiment on his own. They then arrived in the Pokemon Center with Ash and Brock handing over the Pokemon that had battled.
"Ash, why do you call your Pokemon by different names and not their species name?" Brock asked with curiosity in his voice.
"Let's go to a more secluded spot since I don't want everyone overhearing our conversation," Ash replied nervously.
"The pool is all cleared and you will be able to release your Magikarp," Nurse Joy said while handing their Pokemon back, who both thanked her.
"Ash, do you want me to be there for you?" Misty asked gently.
"Of course you can come along since you do already know what I am going to be telling Brock," Ash answered.
All three walked to the pool to see that was indeed empty of Trainers and Pokemon. Ash then released all of his team with Melody ending up in the pool and Brock's jaw dropped open in shock at seeing the shiny Magikarp.
"The reason why I don't call my Pokemon by their species name is that some of them have names given to them and the others I nicknamed," Ash began to say, "and I know their true names because I can understand Pokemon. I can prove it if you like with one of your Pokemon."
"I don't need the prove because it is talked about amongst my family because we had a great grandmother and grandfather that could understand Pokemon, so to me its not that big of a shock," Brock told him.
"Really?" Ash asked in surprise.
"Yes, but both of them passed away three years ago, otherwise I would introduce you to them," Brock replied with a hint of sadness.
"I am sure they are in a better place," Ash said while returning his Pokemon with Raiden on his shoulder.
"Ash, why does Raiden never go into his Pokeball?" Misty asked not realizing it was a bad subject.
'You can tell them what I told you, Ash,' Raiden told Ash before he could look at him.
"Raiden had a bad experience with a Trainer named Alaina, who had all her Pokemon attack him for losing his first Cute Contest and then released him after the attack to leave him to die," Ash told them while rubbing Raiden's head.
"That's terrible!" Misty exclaimed while stomping her foot in anger.
"I'm sure Ash will teach her the error of her ways," Brock said calmly and Ash nodded his head in agreement. "It was nice to meet and talk to you both, but I need to get back to the Gym."
Ash and Misty said their goodbyes to Brock and watched him walk out of the Pokemon Center. They then walked out of the Pokemon Center to replenish their supplies for their journey. Once that was done they walked to the outskirts of Pewter City and Misty decided to say something.
"We're going to Cerulean City next right?" Misty asked.
"Yeah we are. Is something wrong with that?" Ash asked in concern.
Misty opened her mouth to say something when they both heard, "Hey! Wait up guys!"
They both turned around to see Brock running to catch up with them with a backpack on his shoulders and when he did they saw he had a huge grin on his face.
"Hey, Brock," Ash said. "I thought you had to go back to the Gym?"
"I did," Brock replied. "Once I arrived, I found my dad standing in the Gym with all my brothers and sisters waiting for me to come back just so he could say sorry for all that he has done and to tell me to go and accomplish my own dreams. Immediately I thought that I could join you and Misty on your guys' journey."
"Welcome to the group, Brock," Ash responded with a smile. "Misty was just about to tell me something."
"Well," Misty started when she saw that she had their attention, "you see I am one of the Four Sensational sisters and seen as the runt just because my sisters believe that they are better than me in the looks department, so I stormed out and said I wouldn't set foot back into the Gym or Cerulean City until I became a Water Pokemon Master."
"That is low, even for family," Brock said while shaking his head.
"I'll show your sisters that they are not as good as they think they are," Ash muttered angrily.
"Thanks, Ash," Misty replied with a small blush.
All three then continued walking out of Pewter City and on to Mount Moon to travel through to Cerulean City, where Ash would be able to get his second Gym badge wondering what new Pokemon he was going to be meeting this time.