AN: Thanks for 1,000 views.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, otherwise, Ambipom wouldn't of left for f & $&*2&$ &$* &$&*#$ing" Pokemon Tennis.
6: The Trials of Vermillion City
Vermillion City. It was quite a shock to be here again so soon. It was just about three weeks ago that Ash had found his way here by the S.S. Aqua with Misty and Brock in tow. Now he was approaching the seaside city by way of Route 11. Though if just the tail of it. Once he got to the Pokémon Center, he needed to figure out two things. One, how was he going to investigate the S.S. Anne incident? It happened over a year ago. Guess it'd come to him once he got there. Two, where would he go after that? He still had the book, so there was a list of locations that he could go to. He'd have to choose one of those. He didn't really need to investigate the S.S. Anne's situation, actually. But the more information he might have, the better.
But when Ash finally did step foot in Vermillion City. He was assaulted by all of the sights. There was a colorful market place that seemed to be selling seafood among other things. It smelled really good, and made Ash start to drool. On top of that, there were some cool buildings. The Pokémon Fan Club, and the Pokémon Gym. The infrastructure of this place made it feel pretty modern, even with its shorter buildings compared to say, Saffron City. And the seaside salty smell did wonders for Ash's nose. He felt rejuvenated in a few seconds, and rushed towards the Pokémon Center with Nidoran and Diglett by his side.
"Can you please check up on my Pokémon?"
Ash asked Nurse Joy at the counter. She smiled, "Of course. But I will have to say, please keep your Diglett in its pokeball when in buildings."
Ash rubbed the back of his hand. "Sorry, Nurse Joy. Diglett, return." Diglett was sucked up by the red energy of his pokeball before Ash handed over Diglett's pokeball and Nidoran to Nurse Joy, and her Chansey took them in. Ash walked over to a cushioned seat as he waited. It looked like Nurse Joy hadn't recognized Ash, so that was good. He could probably walk around Vermillion City without being recognized. So what was the game plan? How would he find information about the S.S. Anne operation? If memory served, he had sunk with the ship and woke up on that creepy giant robot Pokémon island. He'd never got to see the police report, or even check in with the police about it. Hey, thinking of it now… Weren't they pronounced dead? Did that mean that the police contacted his Mom? But she'd been on vacation to that beach with those two restaurants so she must've not been able to hear about it. Wow, that was lucky. He kinda wondered if the police still knew he was alive… probably.
"Your Pokémon are now healthy." Nurse Joy announced as Chansey wheeled Nidoran and Diglett's pokeball to the front desk. Ash nodded before grabbing Nidoran and Diglett's pokeball. Nidoran gave a happy chirp as she was set on the ground. He thanked Nurse Joy and Chansey before heading out. He wanted Diglett to be there while he explained what they were going to do. Sitting on a desk right outside the Pokémon Center, Ash then released his mole Pokémon.
"Okay, guys. Listen up, this is the game plan." Nidoran and Diglett faced Ash to show he had their attention. "Thing is… I don't really know what we're gonna do here." Both Nidoran and Diglett mentally facepalmed before Ash continued. "Team Rocket was here before, but they all escaped and they weren't caught. I don't know how we're gonna find any information if there's nothing to investigate. So I guess we'll head to… the docks? If we don't find anything, we can always go to the police station. They probably have a case about the incident. And then… I guess we've got to head out. We can stay here for long, in case anyone we meet recognizes us and reports to the police that we've been here."
Nidoran and Diglett seemed to think the plan was fine. It was a bit vague, but Ash wasn't really working with a lot of information exactly. They cried out in approval, and Ash smiled.
"Unfortunately that means we've gotta camp out, but it's fine. Might as well get used to it. Alright, guys. Let's start our invest—"
Ash's stomach bellowed out a long and deep growl. Ash fell over with the realization that he was really hungry, and let out a groan. "Before that, let's eat…"
Ash and his team decided to eat out, since they wouldn't be able to do it as much when their name was more widely known over Kanto. After asking for some directions, Ash made his way towards a breakfast restaurant. Nidoran and Diglett stayed outside, where they'd be able to eat since there was an outside patio area. Ash ordered some pancakes, and was delighted to see that there were nutritious pancakes specifically for Pokémon, so he got some of those. After that, he headed back outside to enjoy the food with his Pokémon. He set up plates and loaded them up with the Pokémon pancakes.
"The food's food, huh?" Ash said, after finishing up his own pancakes and patting his belly.
Nidoran chirped happily, signifying that she liked it while Diglett simply said it's name.
"So do you like being on the team?" Ash asked Diglett, trying to create some conversation.
Diglett responded with a simple "Diglett".
Ash scratched his head. "I can't tell what you're saying… Hey, can you change your expression or is it always so stoic?"
"Diglett."
"Um… Okay, I guess not. Wait! I just remembered. We've got to find out what food you like."
"Diglett."
"I guess that'll be kinda hard if I don't know what you're talking about."
"Diglett."
"Haha… ha."
Once again, Ash asked Nurse Joy to borrow the Pokémon Center's kitchen. He wanted to get this out of the way now beforehand so in case he was found out and got chased out of town he'd already had Diglett's recipe. It was extremely similar to finding what Nidoran liked, though the miscommunication with Diglett and Ash caused some confusion. Also, Diglett had to sit in a flower pot that was filled with dirt so it didn't damage the floor. He looked rather odd, sitting there. It made Ash wonder what was under his head. Anyways, after about an hour or so. They finished and were on their way. Ash had to spend a bunch of his money buying new supplies, which really sucked since he was already running low. But on the other hand, this should fuel them for a month. After that, Ash headed towards the dock to see what it could offer.
"Well, here it is." Ash announced.
They had arrived at the docks, which were busy, even now. Ash hadn't taken the time to look around the last time he was here since they had to hurry back to Viridian City. But now, Ash could see there were a bunch of boats waiting to start sailing. People boarding boats, and crews preparing for voyage. The ocean was a pretty sight, though Ash wasn't here for all of that.
"Stay on the lookout for anything suspicious." Ash mentioned to Nidoran and Diglett, who obliged. And for thirty minutes, they kept on the lookout for anything suspicious. Ash put his hand to his eyes to shield his eyes for the sun as he looked. They walked up and down the dock, and Ash… "investigated" the place where the S.S. Anne had left previously, which was mostly just looking at it strangely. But after that, Ash slumped back by some cargo.
"We're not getting anywhere… there's no one here to tell us what happened with Team Rocket and no inconveniently placed notebooks to tell us about the Team Rocket attack. There aren't any leads here."
Nidoran and Diglett sighed, or, well Ash thought Diglett sighed. He couldn't tell. They agreed with him.
"Alright then, if we can't find anything. Then let's look back in this journal. Oh, yeah, Diglett. We got this journal about a secret spy for the police in Team Rocket. They have a bunch of valuable information, so we can see where to go next by reading it."
Ash dug the journal out from his backpack and opened the pages. He skipped over a bunch of it until he got to a notable page.
'I've learned that grunts are also being dispatched to One, Two, and Three something. I got this information by eavesdropping on a conversation, so it wasn't all clear what they said. Whatever it is, is not of the Kanto Region, obviously. I'll make sure to do research when… if I get out of here.'
Ash had skipped over this before because he hadn't understood what One, Two, and Three was. He supposed they were locations, but he didn't know anything about them. And he still didn't know anything about them, so he decided to skip over the page again and get back to the page with familiar locations.
'I'm getting worried. The G-Men don't seem to know where I am. In any case, I have to keep gathering information. It's my job, after all. Anyways, there was a meeting today. Giovanni didn't want so many grunts around the Viridian City, so a bunch of them were getting shipped out. I was able to gather the locations on where. Celadon City, Saffron City, and Lavender City. That means that Team Rocket are operating in those locations. But that's all I got, I don't know what they're doing there, either. I'll be working to find some more information.'
"There. Saffron City, Celadon City, and Lavender City. From what I know, Saffron City is North from here, and Celadon City is east from Saffron, Lavender is East of Celadon too. So we went to Saffron City, then Celadon, then Lavender. Hopefully, by then, we have enough information to know where their headquarters is and then we can bust Team Rocket once and for all." Ash explained. Nidoran and Diglett seemed to get the plan, but there was no doubt some confusion.
"First, we should see if they have the S.S. Anne incident documented. Maybe they'll be willing to share it with us. So… off to the police station?"
Ash started to walk towards the Police Station, before realizing that he should probably prepare. The police were probably on the lookout for any missing people and would recognize him in an instant. He also… didn't know where the police station in this town was. So… yeah. But before Ash could put on his new hat—and then ask for directions—, he heard a voice.
A loud, but somewhat familiar voice called out to him. "If it isn't baby…" It said, Ash knew that voice. He hadn't heard it in maybe a year or so, but if was definitely familiar. Spinning around to see who it was, he was met with a behemoth of a man. They stood almost at twice his size (well, Ash wasn't exactly the tallest eleven year old, so I guess that doesn't count as a lot) and was built. With muscles, and the whole thing. He had uncanny yellow hair too, kinda odd. I'm It was the Lightning American, and gym of Vermillion City, Lt. Surge.
"Still raising baby Pokémon, I see." Lt. Surge added, obviously referencing Diglett and Nidoran. Ash was almost petrified to see him, he could only hope Lt. Surge didn't read the newspaper if the news of his disappearance had reached this far. Nidoran and Diglett didn't really understand Ash's fear, crying out in anger to be called baby Pokémon. Lt. Surge laughed.
"Hey, I didn't mean it! Calm down, little guys."
Ash finally spoke. "I didn't think I'd see you here."
Lt. Surge gave another laugh, for some reason. "I am the Vermillion Gym Leader, am I not?"
"Yeah…" Ash muttered.
"Hey, baby, why don't I take you back to the gym? I've got something to show you."
Ash nodded nervously. What could Lt. Surge possibly have to show him? Ash was so rattled that he barely minded being called a baby. The last time he'd met Lt. Surge, he'd beat Pikachu really badly, and told him that he should evolve it. Ash had come back and beat him but it had left a sour taste in his mouth. Lt. Surge seemed more chill now, but maybe that was because Ash wasn't a challenger anymore. In any case, Ash had already agreed to follow Lt. Surge so he suppose it didn't matter now. Had that been a mistake too? He'd have to see.
After a short walk, Ash approached the Vermillion City gym with Lt. Surge in front. He walked into his gym, and was greeted by his lackeys. Ash remembered them from before, rather rude. Ash said nothing though, and was led to a side door. You couldn't see it from the challenger's box on the battlefield because the lights were dimmed and the spotlight was focused on the battlefield. But like the one in Viridian City, there was a sign that said only authorized personnel could enter. He sure was getting to see the interior of a lot of gyms in this journey, huh? Anyways, Lt. Surge led him down a white hallway with no decorations, unlike Agatha's gym (at this point, Ash had returned Diglett). After a while, Ash was led into a room with a table and a chair. It seemed… pretty basic to say the least.
Lt. Surge finally said something. "So baby, what are you doing so far from home?" Did… he know? Lt. Surge had been uncharacteristically quiet so far. Was this why? He had to test the waters first.
"What do you mean?" Ash asked, with a nervous smile.
Lt. Surge's face was suddenly dead serious, no smile. He held up a newspaper on it, it read "Viridian News" at the top of the page."I sent my assistant a few hours ago through Diglett Cave for an errand around Viridian City. He just came back with this, and I was bored as hell, and decided to read it." He explained. Ash's eyes narrowed towards it. That couldn't possibly be… Letting Ash see it in full, Lt. Surge flipped a few pages before finally stopping. Ash scanned the page in full. As he got to the end of the page, there was a story, with a picture. And of course, it was a picture… of Ash. In fact, it was the same one the Nurse Joy from Viridian City had earlier.
Ash stuttered his words. "Uhh… hehe." What was he supposed to say? With the Pokémon on hand, was there any chance of defeating Lt. Surge if he was forced to go home. Ash looked around, what chance of escape did he have? He didn't really know abo—
"Don't worry so much, baby." Lt. Surge said, clearly able to tell what he was thinking. "You're a trainer now. And you beat me, I trust you can make decisions for yourself, even if you are a baby. I just want to know why. Why would you do that to your family?"
Lt. Surge's face was still serious. Ash could sigh a breath of relief as Lt. Surge revealed his intentions. That didn't make this confrontation any easier though, even if he wouldn't be forced to go home. There was no point in lying, right? Besides, Lt. Surge might even help him. So… he decided to come clean.
"I'm trying to take down Team Rocket…" He blurted. "Because they stole all my Pokémon."
Lt. Surge was shocked, but regained his composure. "That's it, then? That's… interesting. Team Rocket is a dangerous group, you know. I have no doubt you're ready to battle 'em. But I don't know if you're really ready to handle them."
Ash didn't really know what that meant. What did Lt. Surge mean by that? Ready to handle them? Of course he was. The war veteran stood up.
"Okay then, we're going to battle. And if you lose, you're going back home. If you win, I'll let you go on your quest of revenge."
"What?!" Ash yelled. Not again. He had to put his whole journey on the line again. This went from a conversation to a challenge. Ash had thought he was in the clear, and that he could relax. But in this journey, it seemed he could barely ever relax.
Lt. Surge nodded in response to Ash's surprise. "My time in war has been incomparable to anything. I can't just let you go against Team Rocket unprepared. I have to make sure you know what you're doing. So this isn't a request. You're going to battle me. Right now."
Ash swallowed, finally getting over the shock. "Okay." He said simply. Nidoran sat silently in his lap, but seemed to have been going through the same stages of emotion Ash was. Ash didn't get around to telling her about Lt. Surge much, but she was able to deduce he was the gym leader of this place. He'd be a tough fight, but Nidoran would win it. For Ash. And so, she gave a determined chirp.
Lt. Surge chuckled. "Just keep up that spirit, baby. And you might come close to winning."
Ash and Lt. Surge stood on opposite sides of the battlefield. It was quite plain, so there was no real way to use his environment to his advantage. Despite Lt. Surge technically being the challenger, he stood on the gym leader's position. Fair 'nuff. He had also ordered his lackeys away, this being sort of a personal fight. But with all of that out of the way. The battle was left to commence.
Lt. Surge started to talk. "Alright, baby. Since you've only got two Pokémon. This'll be a two on two. No substitutions for you and me. Now let's get this started… Magneton, come on out!"
With an over the top throw, a floating robotic looking Pokémon with three eyes, a bunch of magnets and bolts came out of its pokeball. Ash expected an electric type, though it was also a steel type meaning Nidoran would have the disadvantage. Since he wasn't allowed to switch, he might as well let Diglett go ham.
"Alright Diglett, you can do it!" Ash yelled as he sent the mole Pokémon out. It had been able to hear Lt. Surge's challenge from inside its Pokémon. He knew what was at stake. And with that, the battle finally commenced.
"Metal Sound!" Lt. Surge commanded.
Ash reacted quickly. "Outta the way!" He yelled.
Magneton started to make a terrible screeching as the three Magnemites that made it up started to grind against each other. Lt. Surge seemed to be used to such sounds, but Ash had to cover his ears. He did his best to focus on the battle though. Diglett quickly retreated into its hole before the sound could reach him. Even though it was in his hole, the Metal Sound could still reach it. Diglett cried out in pain as it emerged from its hole. Lt. Surge put on a knowing smile. Unlike AJ, he wouldn't reveal all of his techniques. But he'd dealt with plenty of Diglett before. Being an electric type gym leader situated next to a trove of ground types. It was the most common Pokémon used against him. He knew how to fight one.
Of course, he followed up on his commands. "Alright, now Supersonic!"
"Diglett! You gotta avoid this one!" Ash yelled desperately.
Diglett tried to, but its body wouldn't move due to the Magneton's Metal Sound. Ash expected Magneton to stop using Metal Sound but it didn't. Instead, a hypnotic pattern was emitted by its three eyes moving towards Diglett. It was using Metal Sound and Supersonic at the same time! Diglett started to get used to the Metal Sound but it was too little too late. He was hit by the supersonic. Diglett moved around aimlessly without any sense of direction. Lt. Surge saw his opportunity and took it.
"Alright Magnemite, let's start whittling away at 'em with Flash Cannon!"
Ash bit his lip. Nothing was going to plan. "Okay! Diglett, you've gotta use Bulldoze and stop him!"
Using its magnetic powers, Magneton summoned up a ball of steel energy that took the form of a gray ball of energy. Diglett, however… didn't do as Ash said. Luckily enough, it used Astonish! Showing a scary face at Magneton, it did damage, and Ash expected it to flinch Magneton and interrupt its attack. But Magneton released its Flash Cannon and it exploded in Diglett's face. It wasn't very effective, but it did a bunch of damage because Metal Sound lowered Diglett's special defense heavily.
"I guess you were expecting Astonish to flinch, right?" Lt. Surge questioned, noticing Ash's surprised face. "I guess Magneton's robotic tendencies don't let it flinch like that. Works for me! Now use Flash Cannon once again!"
This wasn't looking good for Ash. He needed to turn the tables somehow. "Diglett, dodge and use Bulldoze!" He commanded.
Another Zap Cannon was sent towards Diglett's direction. But as the smoke cleared from the last one, it was revealed that Diglett had disappeared. That meant that it had listened to Ash and was no longer confused! Zap Cannon hit the floor, and didn't connect with Diglett. Diglett appeared a few seconds later, closer to Magneton as small seismic quakes started to spread throughout the field. With a monumental impact right below Magneton, a spike suddenly jacked up from the ground to hit Magneton! Filled with ground type power, it did super effective damage, which caused Magneton to cry out in robotic pain. Lt. Surge's sunglasses almost fell off, he hadn't expected that. Ash's Diglett was rather powerful.
"Good shot, kid. But my Magneton won't go out that easily."
As proof, Magneton's horseshoe magnets started to spin as it used its magnetic powers to hover off the battlefield. Ash wouldn't let his advantage go to waste. A Bulldoze would take too much time to reach Magneton, so…
Ash called his next attack. "Headbutt!" Diglett used its speed to rush forward towards Magneton and stretched its head out of its hole to connect with Magneton. It was forced back but quickly recovered and hovered over the battlefield. It wasn't super effective, so that was to be expected. Ash noticed that Magneton was floating higher off the ground than it had been before. Probably in an attempt to prevent another Bulldoze hit. Drats. Though with its concentration partly on that, its attacks would be a little weaker, hopefully. There was no time to rest though, Ash made sure to call out his attack before Lt. Surge did.
"Ancient Power!" He yelled out, deciding to reveal his usual ace in the hole. It was a move Diglett couldn't learn usually so it would probably surprise a lot of his opponents. Anyways, Diglett's eyes started to glow once more, but instead of breaking the rock out of the floor or something. It summoned boulders to use from nowhere. Ash's guess was that the floor was too soft to form hard boulders. The boulders were surrounded by a purple hue as they were sent to towards Magneton to pin it down. It was easily overpowered and forced to the ground. Ash hoped that was it, but Lt. Surge still had a grinned.
He applauded Ash. "Quite the unexpected move. But it won't work on Magneton. Metal Sound!"
Suddenly, a terrible screeching noise could be heard as the rocks started to break apart. Ash couldn't believe it. Magneton's Metal Sound was so strong that it was able to crack the boulders Diglett had summoned. After they all crumbled away, Magneton let out a Zap Cannon to blast away the remaining fragments. That revealed it's fourth move, at least. Not that Zap Cannon would work against Diglett. More urgently, however, one of the fragments had managed to hurt Diglett. It wasn't a lot of damage, but it was all beginning to chip away at Diglett. Magneton seemed equally exhausted though. It would only take a few attacks to decide the victor of this match up. This time, Lt. Surge and Ash commanded their Pokémon at the same time.
"Flash Cannon!"
"Get in close and use Bulldoze!"
Magneton started to charge up his magnetic fields to produce a ball of energy full of metal energy. At the same time, Diglett dashed towards Magneton as the ground started to the quake. Magneton was too high for a regular Bulldoze, but suppose Diglett could get in close…
"Magneton." Magneton droned robotically as it fired off a Flash Cannon. Diglett dodged into its hole, approaching Magneton rapidly. Magneton charged up another Flash Cannon, which Diglett dodged. Then another, and another. Magneton was really tired at this point, but Diglett was close enough to enact a Bulldoze so it knew it had to act fast. Charging up a Flash Cannon for longer than optimal, Magneton fired right in front of it. Diglett of course tried to dodge, but due to the longer charge up. There was more power into it, despite the lower accuracy. That didn't matter in this situation because Diglett was so close, so it was caught by the explosion. When the fog cleared, it revealed Diglett struggling to start Bulldoze.
"Finish it!" Lt. Surge commanded, and Magneton delivered, as in delivering one last Flash Cannon to the weakened Diglett. After the smoke cleared, Diglett was revealed to be knocked out.
Ash grimaced as Diglett had the finishing blow delivered. That looked like it hurt. But worse of all, that meant Nidoran had to defeat two of Lt. Surge's Pokémon. The war veteran smiled.
"Your move, baby."
Ash felt some anger bubbling up in him with that. He had to win. Without prompting, Nidoran ran onto the battlefield. Once he saw his friend, so determined to one. Ash calmed down a little. He could do this.
Lt. Surge seemed to think otherwise. "A poison type?" He remarked. "Not smart. Magneton, use Flash Cannon!"
Magneton tried to charge one, but its magnetic pulse seemed to be failing it right now. It was all Magneton could do to keep a float, but any energy it tried to charge would dissipate. Lt. Surge grunted.
"Zap Cannon, then!" He called.
Magneton seemed to be able to do that, so Ash quickly called out his counterattack. "Close in while avoiding the attack and use Double Kick!"
Nidoran started to run across the battlefield, as Magneton charged up its electrical power. A yellow beam was aimed at Nidoran as she ran, but she slided under to avoid it. Magneton adjusted to try and hit her, but Nidoran dashed to the side before continuing her charge. Lt. Surge recognized Magneton wouldn't be able to hit Nidoran under these circumstances.
"Out of the way, Soldier!" He yelled. But it was too little too late.
Nidoran jumped into the air as Magneton dispelled his Zap Cannon. He tried to move out of the way, but apparently sudden movements were too much for the trio of Pokémon and it was met with a kick to its center eye, twice. Nidoran jumped back and landed on the ground while Magneton ungracefully crashed. With the super effective hit, Magneton had been knocked out—though there were Xs in its eyes instead of a swirly pattern.
"Maybe I underestimated you," Lt. Surge said, though he still held a grin. "You still won't win, baby. Voltorb, it's time to roll out!"
With another over the top through, Voltorb was released. A metal ball that resembled a pokeball, except it had two eyes and surprisingly… eyebrows. Ash knew it to be an electric type. Nidoran was relatively fresh, so it was a fair battle.
Lt. Surge started things off. "Sonic Boom!" He yelled.
In response, Ash ordered a dodge. He had to fish out information, and couldn't be too hasty with attacks. The stakes made Ash think a lot more than he usually did. But that turned out to be a mistake because Voltorb's Sonic Boom cut through the air like a bullet. Nidoran was caught off by the loud noise and was immediately knocked to the ground by the fast moving attack.
"Nidoran!" Ash yelled out, panicked. Lt. Surge was the opposite. "Rollout next!" He shouted.
Voltorb wasted no time, rolling towards Nidoran with intensity. However, that worked. Unfortunately, Voltorb was perfectly circular and was practically made for rolling. That was how it moved after all, so it was able to build up much more power than AJ's Sandshrew. Ash, however, didn't think about that when he called for his next attack.
"Get up and use Peck!" He commanded.
Voltorb rammed into Nidoran right as she was able to get on her feet and face it. She mashed against Voltorb with a Peck but was instantly overpowered. Nidoran was knocked to the ground once again with a cry of pain. Ash was paralyzed at the sight. That Voltorb was strong and fast, a perfect combination. What's more, it was rolling around to attack Nidoran again. Ash knew that Rollout builds strength as it went, so he needed to interrupt if now, with his strongest move.
"Take Down, take Voltorb head on!" Ash called.
Nidoran nodded, slowly getting up to its feet again. She didn't have a lot of time, so she instantly started to run, building up speed and power as Voltorb rounded the bend. As they connected with each other, a fierce clash was initiated as metal churned against Nidoran's skin. She wouldn't back down though, it was do or die. And neither Nidoran nor Ash would give up. Voltorb finally backed off, seeing it would just exhaust itself like that.
"You got a fierce Nidoran there," Lt. Surge remarked. "Hey… what the?"
Voltorb seemed to be in pain, but why…? Ash caught on quickly, it had been in contact with Nidoran for quite some time. So Nidoran's poison point ability must have poisoned Voltorb. Awesome! Ash checked Nidoran's condition. She seemed to be more injured than tired, so he should avoid letting her take damage. On the other hand, Lt. Surge had finally broken his composure. He wasted no more time seeing that Voltorb was on a timer.
"Catch 'em with a Spark!" He called.
Ash recognized that that could spell danger. Spark was a pretty decent move, but with Voltorb being an electric type, it's damaged would be increased. He couldn't let that hit.
"Dodge it! Then use Double Kick!"
Voltorb closes in as its body begins to crackle with electricity. Despite its speed, Nidoran was barely able to sidestep Voltorb. Using her momentum to her advantage, she hard stopped, sending the latter half of her body into the air, to which she double kicked Voltorb for. With a cry of pain, Voltorb was sent backwards due to its round body, though he was able to stop after he traveled a few meters. Perfect. Voltorb was so round that anytime Nidoran attacked, it'd be sent back, meaning it'd have to come to Nidoran to attack. Voltorb groaned in pain, as it's poison status began to affect it.
"You're full of tricks, aren't ya?" Lt. Surge said. "Voltorb, Sonic Boom!"
"Nidoran, dodge it!"
Nidoran wasn't cut off by the sound of the Sonic Boom and was able to dodge the razor sharp wave of sound. Ash called for a Double Kick once he saw that Nidoran was in the air. She chained her jumps and was able to make it to Voltorb before it could react. Lt. Surge called for a dodge but Voltorb couldn't move in time and was Double Kicked again.
It had taken some serious hits, and on top of that, it took some more poison damage, wincing. Lt. Surge's expression darkened.
"You've pushed me real far, Ketchum." He admitted, though Ash had no idea what he was talking about. "I didn't wanna do this, but… Alright, Voltorb. Move in close with a Spark!"
Ash had no idea what Lt. Surge had up his sleeve. He still hadn't revealed his fourth move and it could be anything. That must be what Lt. Surge was talking about. But why was he opening up with Spark? Not knowing what to do, Ash choose to rely on what had worked before.
"Dodge it and use Double Kick!" He commanded.
Nidoran chirped, before quickly getting out of Voltorb's way. She seemed to be getting tired now, so Ash hoped this would be it and he could deliver the final blow soon. However, Lt. Surge changed tactics halfway through.
"Stop the Spark, and circles 'round Nidoran!" He commanded, and Voltorb did exactly that. Its electricity faded and it started to roll around Nidoran.
"What?" Ash questioned, clearly surprised.
Lt. Surge smiled grimly, "Now use Self-Destruct!"
"What?!" Ash repeated, now dumbfounded. There was no time for that though, Voltorb was rolling around Nidoran while vibrating as it began to glow. Ash didn't know what the rules were if Nidoran and Voltorb fainted, but he couldn't let it happen. Voltorb was spinning real fast though, what could possibly stop it? Lt. Surge saluted, as if respecting a fallen foe. Suddenly, Ash's mind went back to Nidoran using Double Kick after dodging Voltorb's first Spark. It had knocked Voltorb back. That's what he needed to do now. But it was moving so fast, so it would be hard for Nidoran to hit Voltorb and it had probably built up some immense strength too, so if she did hit Voltorb, it might not get bounced away. There were seconds until destruction though, so he had to go through it.
"Nidoran!" He yelled out. "You've gotta time this exactly right and hit Voltorb out of the park with your strongest Take Down!"
Nidoran, despite being told to do an almost impossible touch, simply nodded and turned towards Voltorb to perform it. It was going in perfectly round circles around her. In a few seconds, Nidoran was able to pin down its speed to know when it would be directly in front of her. Nidoran was left with just a second until Voltorb would explode, as it was glowing almost a perfect white. She charged forward, trying to build up strength despite not having sufficient time. Finally, she bashed into Voltorb with all of her might. It was hard to tell at first, since she immediately fell back due to recoil, and immediately after that, a white light shone in her vision as Voltorb went off, pushing her back. Would she stay conscious?
The same question ringed through Ash's head as he covered his eyes from the explosion, eventually having to close them.
…
Ash opened his eyes to see what had happened. Voltorb was on Lt. Surge's side of the battlefield, meaning Nidoran had succeeded in knocking it back. Nidoran was lying on his side of the battlefield. She was on her side, making it hard to see if she was conscious.
"Nidoran!" Ash yelled. "Are you okay?" Forgetting about the battle temporarily, Ash ran across the battlefield as Lt. Surge returned Voltorb. Before he could reach Nidoran, Ash could see the poison type Pokémon getting up. That meant… they'd won! Without hesitation, Ash hugged Nidoran, who let out an exhausted chirp. They'd beaten Lt. Surge!
"We did it, Nidoran! You did it! You beat a Gym Leader!"
Nidoran let out another weak chirp. Ash rubbed the back of his head as he realized he was kinda choking Nidoran. "Sorry," He said, before spreading his hands out so Nidoran could lay on them. Lt. Surge walked up to them.
"Guess you beat me. I'd normally give ya a Thunder Badge, but today. I'll just let ya walk away." Ash nodded in acknowledgement, but then he suddenly had an idea.
"Hey, I think you could help me with something if you do—"
"Nope." Lt. Surge interrupted. "I'm letting you go, but I can't be caught helping you. Hear me? I've got responsibilities. But I believe you can beat Team Rocket, Ketchum. So get outta here and do it already."
Ash nodded, slowly walking out of the gym with Nidoran in hand, quite literally. Well. He'd gained absolutely nothing from that encounter, unlike with Agatha. The satisfaction of beating a gym leader, maybe. But he had to spend extra time in Vermillion City to heal his Pokémon now. Ash decided the game plan would be to leave Nidoran and Diglett to heal. Go visit the Police Station, then go back to get his Pokémon and leave towards Saffron City. It was a plan.
"Thanks Nurse Joy, I'll be back." Ash said, before leaving the Pokémon Center. Now that that was taken care of, it was time to head to the police station. But first he had to change his look a little bit. Replacing his black and red hat with the blue pokeball print, Ash put on his oversized black and blue Aura Guardian hat on. It was easy enough to see what was in front of him at least, and he covered his wacky hair along with his z shaped birthmarks. Good enough. He then started his trek to the station.
One mini-episode of getting lost and asking for directions later. Ash arrived at the police station. He got some weird looks for having such a hat on that clashed with his looks and was way too big. But he'd have to deal with it. And if people were paying extra attention to him because of this Ash, he might have to ditch it. Anyways, Ash entered the Police Center. It was primarily blue, like the outfits of officers in Kanto and other regions. Ash was half expecting to see an Officer Jenny at the front desk, but it was a regular receptionist instead. It seemed Officer Jenny did more hands-on work, which required being away from the Police Station, unlike Nurse Joy's.
"Uh… hey." Ash said as he walked up to the desk. The receptionist gave him an odd look, gazing expectantly at him. Ash had known what he was going to request. But walking in and just… saying it felt odd. But what else could he do? Ash decided to just roll with it.
"I want to investigate an incident, if you don't mind." He began. So far so good.
The receptionist didn't seem fazed, replying instantly. "What kind of incident? Do you have a name for it?"
Ash swallowed. "The… S.S. Anne incident?" It was a complete guess. The receptionist fell silent as she started to type on her computer. A few more moments of silence before…
"Are you referring to the incident in which Team Rocket invaded and inadvertently sank the S.S. Anne?" She asked. Ash nodded, so she continued, narrowing her eyes slightly. "What authority do you have to ask to see any of that information?"
Ash lost his composure pretty quickly with that. He was one of the people reported supposedly did? He stammered a little bit, before muttering out a weak, "Please…?" At that, the receptionist started to become more aware. She scanned Ash up and down. Ash shivered, did she recognize him? Ash took a step back, as the receptionist realized she couldn't see his face. Her eyes narrowed further.
"Take the hat off," She demanded. Ash knew that this wasn't going to work. And his first instinct was to… run. He muttered a sorry as he turned around and got out of there as quickly as he could. Part of him wanted to look back and see if anyone was chasing him… so he did. And there was… no one. He was probably in the clear.
He stopped running to avoid suspicion. There was no reason to stay in this town. It had been a complete waste of time, in fact. Lt. Surge hadn't given him anything useful, there was no information that he could access at the docks or police station. He had to get his Pokémon and leave. That frustrated Ash. His plan had gone way wrong, man. Though he didn't want to attract any suspicion, he found himself rushing towards the Pokémon Center. He changed his hat from the oversized one to his blue pokeball print one. Before walking into the Pokémon Center, he reminded himself to calm down. As he entered, Nurse Joy smiled at him.
"Your Pokémon are healthy and ready for you to pick them up." She said, and Ash smiled too.
"Thanks, Nurse Joy."
Ash picked up all of his pokeballs—he'd returned Nidoran since it was really tired—and hurried outside. He quickly headed north of the city, and once he saw a sign that said "Route 6 -". He slowed down.
"Alright, guys. Come out." He said, letting his Pokémon out of its pokeballs. Nidoran let out a yawn while Diglett looked attentively at Ash.
He nodded, sitting down to join them. "The police plan was a bus. Guess they realized I was really suspicious… That means stopping here was a complete waste of time. Sorry, guys."
He was interrupted quickly. "Nido! Nidoran! Nidoran! Nido!" Cried Nidoran, Ash looked at her curiously.
"You don't believe it was a waste of time? Cause we got to prove ourselves to Lt. Surge?" He guessed
Nidoran nodded, and Ash looked towards Diglett. He seemed to agree with Nidoran, and Ash sighed.
"You're… right." He said. "I guess we really know we're ready for Team Rocket. And whatever comes next."
Nidoran and Diglett cried out in agreement. Ash stood up, feeling much better. Some of his anger had come because of failing to get any information, but now his Pokémon pointed out that it hadn't been all bad. He was feeling much better.
"Let's go to Saffron City right now then!" He yelled out, but he was immediately cut off by his own growling stomach. He rubbed the back of his head. "I guess… we should eat lunch first!"
Everyone laughed as Ash started to make the preparations for lunch.
Lunch was fairly basic, except for maybe Diglett. He had enjoyed it a lot more, now that Ash had written down the recipe for Pokémon Chop he liked. Ash decided to have lunch as a picnic, by the outskirts of Vermillion City. He wasn't sure if that receptionist had passed the news about him being there, but might as well stay outta there, just in case.
"Are we all set?" Ash asked, though it was clear that everyone had finished eating. He was met with "yes" and decided that it was time to rollout. Accordingly, he yelled out, "Then let's go!"
Ash and co. started their trek through Route 6 after this, and it was quite peaceful. Ash had the goal to catch a third Pokémon before he tried to visit Silph. Co and get some information. And he wanted to train his Pokémon. But he'd do that the next day because it was getting kinda late for training, and Ash wanted to get far away from Vermillion City. With no further distractions, he should make it to Saffron City at the very most, tomorrow. But as luck would have it…
"Hey!"
Ash froze at the unknown voice… Who was that? After a few seconds, Ash turned around slowly to find a kid. He was wearing a hat and had a bug catching net in hand. He couldn't be more than 7 years old. Ash had been worried that someone from Vermillion City had followed him but it was clear that wasn't the case.
"I challenge you to a battle!" The boy shouted, which was totally unnecessary. He was right next to Ash.
"Uh… really?" Ash asked. Getting challenged to a battle wasn't odd, but this was kind of out of the blue.
"Yeah, battle me right now!"
The boy yelled again, to which Ash grimaced. Jeez, this guy was rather eager. He then took out his Pokémon and instantly sent out a Butterfree. Ash would never say no to a challenge though, so a battle was instantly instigated.
So much for no distractions.
"Diglett! Finish with Ancient Power!"
With a cry, Diglett put together a plethora of rocks that he'd summoned and crashed them into Beedrill who was buried between them. Upon further inspection, it was obvious that the Bee Pokémon had been knocked out. With a sigh, the kid returned his Beedrill. "My bug Pokemon were no match…" He muttered before running towards Vermillion City.
Ash congratulated his Pokémon before he started to move in. That was kinda weird, but it was a good experience. He wondered if any of his Pokémon were close to evolving, with all of the battling they'd been doing. It was always a nice treat when his Pokémon evolved, it was almost as important as catching more team members. Yeah, he should catch more team members. Ash started to look around for any Pokémon that might be beneficial for his team, but before he could do anything…
"Stop right there!"
A voice yelled, even though Ash was already standing still. Ash, with a confused expression and his team (with equally confused faces, except for Diglett) looked up. There was a rather high ledge right next to them that the trail they were following wrapped around. The guy who had shouted at them was actually… a girl. Ash was about to respond before she jumped off the ledge, performing multiple flips before landing on the ground right in front of him.
"I challenge you to a battle!"
The challenger had green hair, and a red bodysuit. Was it a training outfit or something? It looked kinda weird.
"Uh… sure." Ash accepted, still shocked by her random appearance.
"Finish up with a Double Kick!" Ash yelled out confidently.
The green-haired trainer bit her lip. No way she was losing. "Power right through with an Ember!"
Nidoran charged towards Charmeleon as it glared at her. Charmeleon stood it's ground as it started to spew small flames from its mouth. They shot out like bullets from its mouth. Clearly, it was very well trained. This didn't matter to Nidoran though, and it tanked the Ember and closed the distance. Once this had been done, it turned on its legs and bashed Charmeleon two times. Charmeleon lost its balance and fell backwards onto the ground. It was clear that it had been knocked out. Ash celebrated his Pokémon while the green-haired trainer slunk away muttering something about being a disgrace to ace trainers. But not before coughing up prize money.
Ah, yes. Prize money. In his Kanto journey, Ash kinda… lost a lot. And sometimes he did the same in Johto. But usually, he made fast friends with his opponents and he wasn't forced to give them any money. But now he saw that winning also made a good source of income. So all he had to do was… win. Ash had never been a stickler for the prize money either, mostly because he'd be called a hypocrite by Misty and fighting for prize money wasn't all too fun. But now… it was necessary.
Soon enough, Ash ran into a forest. Route 8 seemed to be a lot more interesting than Route 2 at least. Ash wondered if he should set up camp here. After all, it was starting to get late. He'd been challenged by multiple more trainers, all which he had won. They were pretty weak, neither Nidoran nor Diglett had ever been knocked out. But they were pretty tired, so maybe it was time to set up camp. Suddenly, he heard a chirp. Looking towards Nidoran, he could see that she was pointing at something. A building, definitely.
"What's that?" He asked, though he knew neither of his Pokémon would know. "Let's check it out."
Ash and his Pokémon kept walking until Ash could see the building in full. He recognized it. The school for training Pokémon or something. He encountered it in his Kanto adventures. There was this really ho—…cool girl named Gazelle that attended. But she was a little mean. Ash wondered if anything had changed since he left. Luckily, he didn't have to wait long to see, as a girl with brown or purple hair—it was hard to tell—burst out. She was wearing the school outfit, puffy white sleeves, turquoise vest and a blue skirt. Ash recognized her as Gazelle.
"If it isn't Ash." She said, walking down the steps of the school to meet him.
Ash didn't know how to respond. Seeing a girl as beautiful as Gazelle made him speech—Whoa. What was he thinking? Anyways…
"Hey Gazelle," He said. Usually, he didn't meet people in his journey again. Though there was the exception of people like Duplica.
"Hey, Ash. What are you doing out here? It's almost getting dark! You know? We're you trying to look for our school or something?"
Ash rubbed the back of his head. "Uh… no, I was just… passing by, and… saw it."
Gazelle nodded to show she understood.. "Well, hurry up and get in here."
"Huh?"
"You wanted a place to stay, right? Usually, we don't let anyone in our school, but you really helped me out so I'll let you stay!"
Ash was completely puzzled. "What do you mean?"
Gazelle grabbed Ash's arm and started to lead him inside. "Okay, so after you left. I realized that Pokémon wasn't just all calculations and whatnot. By considering their feelings, I was able to rise to be the #1 in all my classes! I was the best battler in all the school. I easily passed the final exams, along with Joe. But I decided that I didn't want to go to the Pokémon League."
Ash was surprised to see he had such an impact at this school. Or, at least on Gazelle and Joe. "Why?" Last time he remembered, if someone passed the final exam here. They could bypass the need of 8 badges and immediately go to the Pokémon League.
Gazelle kept leading him through the school as she answered. "Well, I decided that I wanted to teach all the other kids what I'd learned. Being so elegant and generous, I couldn't just leave them and their Pokémon in the dark, right?" Ash sweat dropped. Looks like she hadn't gotten any humbler. "Anyways," she continued. "Joe also decided he wouldn't go to the Pokémon League. Instead, he left the academy to take on the gyms, just like you. He felt like having all that experience would be way better than taking a test to get to the Pokémon League. Isn't he so sweet? Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention that we're totally dating now."
That wasn't too much of a surprise. They did mention that they were best friends before. Gazelle had stopped walking in front of a hallway that broke away from the rest of the school. Above the doorway, there was a sign that said "Boy's Dorms".
"Here you are," Gazelle said. "Second room on your right should be good."
"Thanks," Ash said, nodding. Gazelle smiled before walking up, leaving Ash and Nidoran a bit confused. They'd just walked up to the school and had gotten a free place to stay. Amazing. Ash walked down the hallway and followed Gazelle's directions, leading to an empty room that had two bunk beds. Much like the setup of the Pokémon Center. For that night, Ash decided to have dinner in his room. He had to return Diglett since he was inside the school and Diglett might mess up the floor. But he just let Diglett eat outside next to his window. Ash had mostly been thinking about how much this place had changed. Or, how much Gazelle (and probably Joe) had changed. There were a lot of people he had met and made friends with along his journey. He wondered if he'd impacted them in such a way. It was interesting to think about it, and that's eventually what Ash went to sleep thinking about.
Ash woke up with a bed head. Just wasn't fair. He finally got to sleep in a really comfortable bed and this happened? It was still way better than camping out though. Nidoran had slept in the same bed as him, so he made sure not to wake the poison type as he exited the room. He was going to try and find the bathroom so he could, you know, take a bath. But as he was heading out, Ash found a note that had been sent under his door.
Skimming towards the bottom, Ash found Gazelle's signature. It was surrounded by a bunch of directions, like hearts and stars though. The rest of the note was written in fancy cursive, Ash had never learned to write or read cursive. But there was also a map of the school attached to it. There were three red circles on it, one of the circles had the cafeteria highlighted, the second had the boys' bathroom, and the third had the training grounds. Ash guessed that Gazelle was letting her use these areas. Though the raven-haired boy had wanted to get out of there, and eat breakfast on the road. But he knew the school was fancy, and the thought of a gourmet breakfast was too much for him. He had to stay here for the morning, and he'd get some extra training in while he did.
Ash somehow got lost, even with a map. So that proved he just couldn't read maps for the life of him. Anyways, he headed to shower first, and successfully did it without much fuss. Good thing he learned to wake up early, otherwise there might've been a line. Ash picked up Nidoran by his room and then took all his stuff as he went to breakfast. He didn't plan on coming back. The raven-haired boy quickly found out that they were serving pancakes. Something he hadn't eaten since he left home. This was one of the best decisions he'd ever made. He took his pancakes outside so Diglett could enjoy them too, and so he could get started on training.
"Okay, guys. I guess we've gotta do some training for Silph. Co, I don't know what we should train just yet. But Nidoran, let's train your Poison Sting and overall strength. Eventually, you might evolve into a Nidoqueen, which isn't too fast, so we don't have to focus on that. Diglett, we should train your speed! With an ability like that, you should barely ever be able to get hit! So let's hone on that!"
Everyone seemed to agree with Ash's plan, so they ate their food quickly so they could train. Nidoran started to focus on Poison Sting, mostly because it was her weakest move. Take Down and Double Kick were so strong that they could be perfected later, while Poison Sting was almost a deadweight on Nidoran's move slot. Ash borrowed a book on how to make physical attacks hit harder, and they trained according to that. Ash was also sorta hoping that Poison Sting might evolve into a new move, but it was no dice. That was fine though, as long as Nidoran got stronger.
Diglett's speed couldn't really be tested, as any obstacle course would be pointless. It couldn't jump. Ash just stuck to agility tests and whatnot, Diglett also practiced trying to dodge Poison Sting. He also learned to be fast while retracting his body into the ground. It was an OP way to dodge, and Ash would almost feel bad about any person who had to go against Diglett. Ash was fairly confident that he could take on Silph. Co but he really wanted to catch a new Pokemon for backup. However, anytime Ash set his sight on one on Route 6, a trainer would ambush him. It was uncanny how that happened.
"K, guys. Let's wrap it up. I wanna make it to Saffron City by noon. If we don't, then we'll have to postpone visiting Silph. Co until tomorrow." Ash announced. All his Pokémon agreed. They were quite satisfied with the results.
So with that, Ash set out from the Pokémon Academy. He didn't get to say goodbye to Giselle, but she'd probably hear all about him and his antics soon. As Ash hit the road, he thought about what would happen at Silph. Co. If he couldn't keep this information exchange quiet, his name would probably be all over Kanto. He was able to avoid his reputation for now, but there wouldn't be any avoiding anything after that. He wouldn't be able to stop at Pokémon Centers, either, and—
"Battle me!"
Ash's thoughts were interrupted by a little girl in a blue dress challenging him to a battle. She seemed quite eager, having already released her Clefairy for battle. Ash smiled. A battle would be a great distraction, it was so on!
"Alright, finish it up with a Bulldoze!" Ash yelled out.
The youngster in front of him wouldn't go down so easily it seemed. "Pichu, hurry and hit him with a Thunder Shock!"
Despite having tenacity, the boy simply didn't know his type matchups. Diglett gladly let the Thunder Shock hit him, and simply dissipated as he charged up for a powerful Bulldoze. The super effective attack sent Pichu through hell and back, and after the ground cleared up, it was revealed to have fainted. Sniffling, the boy retrieved his Pichu before giving Ash prize money and running away. It kinda left Ash wondering how these kids were getting Pokémon. They weren't 10–despite the fact that he wasn't ready at all when he was 10–, but they still had teams of Pokémon. Ash supposed you COULD just buy a pokeball and catch one.
Anyways, Ash spotted a Pokémon Center just ahead, which was good. He'd been traveling for about an hour but his Pokémon were already tired. Mainly because there'd been so many trainers along the way. As Ash walked into the Pokémon Center, he quickly realized this was the same one he'd brought Charmander to when it was out in the rain. Good times… depending on how you look at it. Despite that, the Nurse Joy there didn't seem to remember him. Oh well, he hadn't made that much of an impact here.
Ash decided to have an early lunch at the Pokémon Center, which was fair, right? Since his last two lunches had been rather late. He supposed he had been busy. Ash set out towards Saffron City not too long after that. No need to stick around the Pokémon Center. He was challenged by a few more trainers along the way. While he traveled he started to wonder about the Silph. Co operation. He wanted to get information peacefully, but there was always a chance he'd have to fight. The Silph. Co company had intentionally kept their Team Rocket problem under wraps. They must not want it to get out. And if they want to keep their secrets really bad, then they would probably fight Ash for it. The people at Silph. Co were scientists and researchers, not trainers. But Ash was sure that there were guards there too. It would be a tough fight, but Ash was determined to make sure there wouldn't be one. Ash's thoughts were interrupted by Nidoran's chirping. She was saying there was something up ahead.
Finally looking at what she wanted, Ash could see them. The skyscrapers of Saffron City. They stood tall and grand, and the tallest was the Silph. Co building. With Saffron City on the horizon, Ash knew what he had to do. In that building, Ash knew, that evening, he would attempt the first operation of his journey.
AN: Thanks again for 1,000 views! Note that I didn't really like the part between 7,500 and 9000 (where Ash leaves Vermillion City to when he wakes up in the school), so I may make edits.