Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon and am in no way affiliated with Nintendo or Gamefreak, or other companies that write or produce pokemon. Now that that legal stuff is out of the way, on to the story!
Pokemon Legends: Kanto Saga
Chapter Three
Changing Directions
Ashley and Rina arrived in Pewter City near the middle of the afternoon. Their first stop, like for any trainer, was the city's pokecenter. Ashley handed over her pokemon to be healed, and Rina handed over her newly caught Pichu for a checkup as well. Ashley's pokemon were returned to her, fully restored, and Rina's Pichu was determined to be fully healthy after an examination. Both girls released their pokemon when they received them.
"-Ooooh I swear! The next Pikachu I see is getting vine whipped so hard they'll...-" Bulbasaur began, but then noticed the Pichu. "-Ok, who's the new kid?-"
"-Hiya! I'm Pippi!-" Pippi the Pichu replied, waving her tiny hand happily.
"-How nice, she even gets a nickname...-" Bulbasaur grumbled, looking up at Ashley. "-Where's my nickname, wench?-"
"Umm...I think Bulbasaur wants a nickname..." Rina hesitantly said to Ashley.
"A nickname huh?" Ashley tapped her index finger against her chin and thought for a moment. "Aha! How about Rose then?"
"-Bleh! If thats the best she can come up with, nevermind...-" Bulbasaur grumbled. "-I'm a guy, damn it...-"
"He... uh... said nevermind..." Rina once again informed Ashley. "Anyway! Lets get going!"
"Right!" Ashley quickly agreed. "I want to drop off some pictures at the Kanto Times first though."
"Well it looks like we're in Pewter City now..." Bulbasaur thought, following Ashley, Rina, and Pippi out of the pokecenter. "In that case, time for me to challenge Brock..." Once they were outside the pokecenter, Bulbasaur took off running.
"Bulbasaur! Get back here!" Ashley called out after him. The girls all gave chase, with the exception of Pippi. The young Pichu seemed confused at first, watching as everyone took off running. Thinking it to be a game, she soon took off as well, smiling gleefully as she charged past Ashley and Rina.
"-Heyyyyyyy! Wait for me!-" Pippi called out eagerly, soon catching up with Bulbasair and jumping up on its bulb. The sudden weight brought Bulbasaur to a halt.
"-Hey! Get off!-" Bulbasaur cried out, desparately trying to shake Pippi off of it before Rina and Ashley caught up with them. Bulbasaur didn't put much distance between them, however. Though it was able to throw the Pichu off of it, it was too late. Ashley and Rina had caught up with it, and Ashley was blocking its path and holding a pokeball.
"Bulbasaur whats gotten into you?!" Ashley questioned him fiercely.
"-Damn it! Get out of my way!-" Bulbasaur angrily demanded, glaring up at the girl and not backing down an inch from her. "-I'm challenging Brock whether you like it or not!-"
"We're going to see Brock anyway..." Rina quietly stated. Bulbasaur's jaw dropped and he quickly turned to Rina.
"-Say WHAT?! No one told me this!-"
"I just did!" Rina replied, smiling brightly. This seemed to take all the steam out of Bulbasaur's rage, only managing to mutter quietly in frustration.
"-I'm confused...-" Pippi stated, quietly observing Bulbasaur.
"What was that all about...?" Ashley asked Rina.
"Bulbasaur wants to challenge the gym leader, Brock." Rina explained to her. "He didn't know we were going to visit him anyway. He seemed pretty anxious though..."
"-Well duh!-" Bulbasaur added in angrily. "-Of all the trainers I ended up getting paired up with the one that doesn't want to challenge the Elite Four!-" Rina thought this over for a moment while Ashley looked at her expectantly.
"Ashley...why don't you just challenge the gym leaders anyway?" Rina suggested, smiling as she continued. "Its not like its going to hurt your progress as a photographer any, and I bet it'll make all your pokemon happy and not just Bulbasaur!"
"Well..." Ashley sighed, staring off into the distance while thinking it over. She nodded slightly as she came to a decision. "Alright...I'll think about it I guess. If we challenge Brock and beat him I'll challenge the rest of the gym leaders as well."
"Great! I can't wait to see you and Brock battle!" Rina replied happily. Bulbasaur was also grinning, but said nothing, thinking only about how it knew its victory against Brock was assured.
"Well first we're going to the Kanto times, remember?"
"Oh right..." Rina rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. Rina picked up Pippi and placed her on her shoulder before the three of them started on their way again.
After about ten minutes of walking, the group arrived at the Kanto Times office. Ashley went in alone and handed over her pictures to one of the publishers when she met with him. He went through them all, one by one, tossing them to the side as they were all rejected. Ashley felt her heart sink as each of her pictures were rejected, but the man finally stopped when he came to the last picture.
"Hm...this one is actually pretty good. We could use it for our trainer of the day section if we could get a brief interview with her." The picture the publisher was referring to was the most recent picture she had taken, the picture of Rina and her newly caught Pichu.
"You want that one?" Ashley asked, blinking in surprise. "But...but what about the rest?" The publisher sighed in frustration.
"Look, miss..." He began, leaning back in his chair and folding his hands over his stomach. "Anyone could bring in pictures like that. There's nothing special about a picture of a flock of Pidgey, or a bunch of Mankey. If you want to get a picture in our paper it needs to be something...I don't know...special, or rare. Like a picture of a legendary pokemon, or pictures of pokemon engaging in rarely-seen behaviours, that kind of thing..."
"Oh..." Ashley replied dejectedly. She brightened up a bit when she remembered what he said about the picture of Rina. "So wait...if I could get that girl in here for an interview you could take that last one?"
"Sure could." Ashley bolted out of the office almost as soon as he had replied, returning moments later dragging in a reluctant Rina with Pippi on her shoulder.
"A-Ashley! Whats all this about?!" Rina cried out in confusion. Ashley finally let go of her as she was brought to stand in front of the publishers desk. Rina greeted him timidly. "Umm...h-hi?"
"Ah! You're the girl from the photo! A pleasure to meet you!" The publisher smiled and stood up, extending his hand to Rina.
"Um...thanks..." Rina replied, timidly shaking the man's hand. Pippi suddenly jumped down off Rina's shoulder and onto the man's desk. Pippi growled, and sparks danced across its cheeks causing her to cry out in pain. She jumped back up on Rina's shoulder, hugging her face and sobbing quietly.
"-Rina! I shocked myself!-" Pippi sobbed into Rina's face. Rina reached over with her opposite hand and patted Pippi on the head.
"Its ok Pippi, just calm down and you'll be fine...it'll just happen again if you get too excited like that." Pippi stopped sobbing and nodded quietly, though there were still tears welling up in the corner of her eyes. Rina carefully wiped Pippi's eyes with her hands.
"Wow...Rina really cares about Pippi..." Ashley thought as she watched the two.
"Well now, I can see you and your Pichu really are close!" The man behind the desk commented. "Would you mind if I asked you a few questions for our trainer of the day section?"
"Oh, thats what this is for?" Rina blinked in surprise, then smiled as she nodded affirmatively. "Sure! Ask away!"
"Ok then, first question. Where did you meet Pichu?"
"We met in Viridian Forest." Rina replied with a nod. Pichu looked on curiously from Rina's shoulder, taking an interest in the interview.
"Next question, how long have you two known each other?"
"Umm..." Rina put her finger to her lip, staring off at the ceiling for a moment as she thought about it. "An hour or two I guess..." She eventually replied. The publisher stared at her blankly for a moment.
"Ok...then..." The man coughed to clear his throat. "Alright, last question. On a scale of one to ten, how well would you say you get along with your Pichu?"
"Definitely 10!" Rina replied quickly with a noticeably enthusiasm in her voice. Pichu cheered loudly in agreement. The man chuckled lightly as he wrote down Rina's answers.
"Alright, thats all. Thank you for your time." The man reached into his desk, producing two white envelopes. He handed one each to Rina and Ashley. "There you go, five hundred each for the interview and the picture. You'll probably see it in the paper soon."
"Thank you!" Both girls replied, receiving their envelopes and leaving the building. Just outside, Bulbasaur was waiting impatiently for them.
"-Now what the heck was that all about? We're losing precious battle time here!-" Bulbasaur demanded of the three once they were outside.
"Five hundred...well if nothing else, thats two pokeballs with a hundred leftover." Ashley said, ignoring Bulbasaur. She took her bag in hand and opened it to place the envelope inside.
"They wanted to interview me." Rina replied to Bulbasaur, giggling quietly.
"-Yeah! That was fun!-" Pippi added in, hopping up and down on Rina's shoulder. "-He was asking about how we're such good friends!-"
"-Yeah. Sure. Whatever. Can we go already!-" Bulbasaur growled loudly.
"Well sounds like someone is getting a bit impatient." Ashley said, rolling her eyes. "Guess we better go over to Brock's gym before Bulbasaur manages to evolve into a fire-type..."
"-Oh, haha. So the wench can make a joke.-" Bulbasaur grumbled quietly. With their business at the Kanto Times finished the group headed off to the Pewter City gym.
"I'm here to challenge the gym leader!" Ashley declared dramatically as she flung open the gym doors.
"That wasn't necessary..." Rina said to her, looking down to hide her embarassment.
"Hmph! Well thats how they do it on tv!" Ashley replied, folding her arms.
"Do you know her, Rina?" Brock asked, peering at the two from the other side of the gym. Or at least, he looked like he was peering at them. Brock was a brown-haired teen, looking to be about Ashley's age, wearing a black shirt with an orange stripe and a pair of green pants. He was sitting on the other side of the gym, on the gym leader's platform, and stood up when Ashley and Rina entered the gym.
"Hi Brock!" Rina called out to him, smiling brightly and waving to him. "This is Ashley, her and Bulbasaur want to battle you. She helped me catch a Pichu too!" Rina took Pippy from her shoulder and held her up for Brock to see.
"-Hiya!-" Pippy called out happily, waving to Brock.
"Actually I kinda just tried to catch a Pikachu and failed..." Ashley admitted quietly.
"-Blah blah blah! Less talking more battling!-" Bulbasaur growled.
"Well, you have my gratitude for being so kind to Rina." Brock said to Ashley. "If you want to battle me, then I accept! Don't think I'll go easy on you though. My rock-hard pokemon will withstand any attack you throw at them!"
"Well we'll see about that!" Ashley called back, running to the trainer's spot marked out on the floor with Bulbasaur beside her. Rina went over to a bench near the wall of the gym to sit down and watch the match. Brock's battlefield consisted of a rock terrain built into the gym floor. The entire ground of the battlefield was made of rock with stalagmites and boulders jutting up from the field.
"This will be a two on two battle." Brock said to her, taking a pokeball in his hand. "My first pokemon will be Geodude!" Brock released Geodude from its pokeball and onto the battlefield. Geodude appeared on the rocky ground, its rocky body nothing more than two arms directly attached to its head.
"In that case, I'll start off with Mankey!" Ashley replied, taking Mankey's pokeball from her belt. "Mankey, go!" Ashley released Mankey and the monkey-like fighting pokemon appeared in front of her on the battlefield. It hopped around and cried out loudly.
"-H-hey! What gives?!-" Bulbasaur growled at Ashley.
"Brock's known for having a strong Onix." Ashley informed Bulbasaur, a smile crossing her lips. "Onix is a ground and rock type, meaning you have twice the advantage against it. So I'm holding you back to fight it once Geodude's out of the way."
"-...Alright then. At least I get to fight the big one.-" Bulbasaur grumbled.
"Plus this gives me a chance to figure out Brock's battle style..." Ashley thought to herself. "Ok, Mankey! Go! Low Kick!" Mankey cried out loudly and rushed forward in a mad dash towards Geodude.
"Geodude, slow it down with Rock Throw!" Geodude threw its hands out, sending out a pile of small rocks towards Mankey. Mankey furiously clawed them aside and moved in to attack, delivering a kick at what would be considered Geodude's chin. Geodude rolled back once, landing upside down, then flipped back up again.
"Geodude, get out of there! Use Dig, then Tackle!" Geodude began quickly clawing at the ground, easily digging it up in chunks and digging its way under the battlefield.
"Mankey, careful! It could come up anywhere now!" Ashley warned it. Mankey turned to her and started hopping around and squealing.
"-IknowIknowIknow!-" It called back furiously. Its head darted back and forth, peering all around the battlefield. Geodude eventually dug up out of a stalagmite behind Mankey and used the rock to throw itself towards Mankey with a tackle attack. Mankey turned around just as Geodude was attacking and was struck in the face by the attack. Mankey cried out as it was sent rolling across the ground until it landed on its back. It didn't waste time lying around, though, and was quickly back up on its feet.
"You know, this is actually the first time I watched Brock battle..." Rina said to Pippi with a smile on her face. "I can see why he's a gym leader, he's really good! His Geodude doesn't look like it was slowed down by Mankey's Low Kick attack at all!"
"-Yeah! This is exciting!-" Pippi cried out, excitedly nodding to Rina. She yelped in surprise when sparks shot out of the electric sacs on her cheeks.
"Mankey, use Low Kick again!" Mankey got up and started running towards Brock's Geodude to attack it again.
"Low Kick isn't doing much to Brock's Geodude, despite the type advantage." Ashley thought to herself, though a smile crossed her lips. "But the more damage Mankey takes..."
"Geodude, stop it with Rock Tomb!" Geodude slammed its fists into the ground, causing a pillar of rocks to come up around Mankey like a mouth and close down around it. Mankey seemed trapped for a moment but gave a scream of primal rage and burst through the rock nearest Geodude, leaping out at it and landing another kick on the lower half of Geodude's face. Once again, the attack seemed to have little effect on Geodude.
"I don't think Ashley can win this battle..." Rina quietly said to Rina. "Not with Mankey at least, it has the type advantage but it's attacks aren't doing much to Brock's Geodude. Brock's pokemon are really tough..."
"-Bulbasaur can beat him though!-" Pippi replied enthusiastically. "-Bulbasaur is really strong!-"
"Maybe..." Rina wasn't really convinced, especially having witnessed Bulbasaur's defeat at the hands of a wild Pikachu.
"Geodude, Tackle attack!" Geodude propped itself up on its hands then flung its body at Mankey again, knocking it back and sending it tumbling to the ground. Mankey growled and quickly jumped back to its feet. It didn't make a loud fuss this time, it was beginning to show signs of fatigue.
"Seems like your Mankey can't hold its own in battle." Brock said to Ashley. "Though it has the type advantage, it lacks an attack strong enough to even dent my Geodude."
"Thats where you're wrong! I wasn't relying on Low Kick to begin with!" Ashley replied with a smirk. Brock looked on curiously. "Mankey! Now! Reversal!" Brock gasped in surprise as Mankey let out a primal scream of rage, its injuries pushing it to increase its strength for an attack.
"Geodude, quick! Defense Curl!" Geodude quickly curled up into a ball as Mankey charged towards it, slamming Geodude with its hands outstretched. The impact from the attack sent Geodude flying into a nearby stalagmite like a cannonball, smashing it on impact. For a moment, it seemed as though Mankey had won, though when the dust settled Geodude appeared to be still barely concious.
"Geodude, Dig!" Geoduded forced itself to dig at the stalagmite in its weakened state to dig into the ground and disappear beneath the gym.
"No way! It can still fight back?!" Ashley cried out in surprise.
"Wow! Brock's Geodude is really tough!" Rina commented. "To take a Reversal attack head on like that!"
"-Yeah! I thought his pokemon was done for sure!-" Pippy added in agreement.
The ground beneath Mankey's feet ruptured as Geodude popped out, knocking Mankey back and sending it sprawling to the ground while Geodude safely came to a stop on flat ground. When Mankey hit the ground it collapsed onto its back, having been knocked unconcious by the attack. Ashley reluctantly recalled Mankey.
"You shouldn't bank the outcome of an entire match on an attack like Reversal." Brock advised Ashley. "While you made a pretty good dent in my Geodude with it, its an attack best used as a last resort instead of your main strategy."
"For a second there I thought maybe Ashley knew what she was doing..." Rina thought, giggling quietly to herself.
"Umm...heh...good point..." Ashley replied, grinning sheepishly. She then smiled and began to look determined again. "Alright, Bulbasaur! Its your turn now! Get in there!" Bublasaur nodded quickly and ran out in front of Ashley, taking up its position on the battlefield as it prepared to fight.
"Geodude, quick! Dig!" Brock called out. Geoduded quickly began digging its way under the ground.
"Bulbasaur, grab it with Vine Whip!" Bulbasaur ran towards Geodude while stretching out its vines, extending them towards Geodude as it disappeared below the ground. It reached into the hole and, after probing for a short time, pulled out Geodude wrapped in its vines.
"Now! Toss it and use Vine Whip!" Bublasaur tossed Geodude into the air then struck one of its vines across Geodude's body, sending it crashing into the ground and knocking it unconcious. Brock raised Geodude's pokeball.
"Pretty quick thinking there. Lets see if it'll help you against my next pokemon." Brock took his only remaining pokeball from his belt. "Onix! Go!" Brock held up the pokeball and released Onix. Almost immediately, the giant rock snake appeared on Brock's side of the battlefield. Its massive body took up a lot of space, and Bulbasaur grinned when it saw the size of its opponent.
"-Sweet...now THIS is what I'm talking about!-" Bulbasaur said, voicing its satisfaction.
"-You seem quite pleased...-" Onix began, then roared menacingly at Bulbasaur. "-For someone about to be squished!-"
"-Th-that thing is scary!-" Pippi cried out, hiding behind Rina.
"Don't worry! Its not going to hurt you!" Rina assured Pippi, but then looked out at Bulbasaur with a bit of concern. "I hope Bulbasaur will be ok though..."
"Bulbasaur, lets start this off with Leech Seed!" Ashley called out. Bulbasaur responded by crouching down to aim its bulb at Onix, firing a small seed towards it. The seed struck Onix in the head and latched onto the rock-type pokemon with tiny vines. Brock stood by and did nothing as Bulbasaur attacked.
"Onix, use Dig then follow it up with a Bind attack!" Onix began spinning its head around like a drill then smashed into the ground headfirst, drilling its way into the rocky floor. Its body began to spin likewise, propelling itself into the ground.
"Bulbasaur, be careful!" Ashley warned him. "That Onix could come up anywhere!"
"-You said the exact same thing to Mankey!-" Bulbasaur shot back while turning to face its trainer. "-It was a pointless statement then and its a pointless statement now!-"
Onix burst out of the ground from behind Bulbasaur and almost instantly it circled around the grass pokemon. Bulbasaur tried to jump up on Onix to get out of its grasp, but Onix grabbed it with its body and wrapped tightly around Bulbasaur. Only Bulbasaur's head was still visible from Onix's body being coiled around it. Onix then began to squeeze tightly and Bulbsaur cried out in pain as it was crushed.
"Why would he use Bind?" Ashley wondered to herself. "With Leech Seed on it, Onix will be drained of its energy faster than it can crush..." Ashley suddenly noticed why Brock had made such a seemingly reckless move, the seed was gone.
"Thats it then!" She realized. "Brock had Onix use Dig first so it could knock the seed off!"
"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip! You need to get out of there!" Ashley called out to her pokemon. Bublasaur grunted with the effort of trying to extend its vines while being bound by Onix, but it was no use. Bulbasaur just couldn't get its vines free.
"You're not the first to challenge my gym with a Bulbasaur." Brock informed Ashley. "Many first time trainers come through here with their Squirtles and Bulbasaurs, and from my battles with them I've learned how to deal with their techniques. With your Bulbasaur bound like that, it won't be able to use its Vine Whip technique. Even if your Bulbasaur happens to know Razor Leaf it won't be able to use that either. Its over..."
"Thats what you think!" Ashley replied with a smirk. "My Bulbasaur has a bit more in its arsenal than Leech Seed and Vine Whip! Bulbasaur, show him! Attack Onix with Bullet Seed!"
Bulbasaur opened its mouth and fired a barrage of four seeds, hitting Onix in the face with all four of them. Onix growled in pain as the seeds struck it and loosened its grip on Bulbasaur enough for him to gets its vines free. Bulbasaur extended its vines to wrap around Onix's body just below its head, then pulled itself free of Onix's grip and swung out onto the gym floor before retracting its vines.
"-Wow! I thought Bulbasaur was gonna lose for sure!-" Pippi gleefullly shouted."-Go Bulbasaur! Show that big bully whose boss!-"
"I'm still not sure if Bulbasaur can make a comeback..." Rina thought, watching the match intently. "Not unless Ashley really does something to surprise Brock..."
"I'll admit, that one caught me off guard." Brock stated, his face showing a more determined expression now. "I won't make that same mistake again. Onix, Bind it!"
"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip to dodge!" Bulbasaur extended its vines towards a nearby stalagmite jutting out of the ground, wrapping them around it and reeling itself towards the rock at the last second to escape Onix as it moved to wrap around Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur released the rock and retracted its vines as it came to a stop near the base. Bulbasaur stayed with his back to the rock to prevent Onix from being able to successfully bind it.
"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip and aim for the head!" Bulbasaur extended its vines towards Onix's head in an attempt to attack it. Brock was already prepared for such an attack however.
"Onix, grab those vines in your mouth!" Onix opened its mouth and moved its head to grab Bulbasaur's vines. Bulbasaur was surprised that its attack had been blocked so easily. "Now! Toss it back!" Onix rose up towards the ceiling with the back end of its body holding it up. It then twisted its head around, pulling Bulbasaur along the ground as it turned to toss it. Ashley immediately saw her opportunity to gain the upper hand.
"Bulbasaur, grab Onix when it tosses you!" Onix raised Bulbasaur in the air and finally let go of his vines, but as per Ashley's orders Bulbasaur wasn't about to let go and instead wrapped its vines around Onix's neck. Bulbasaur grunted as it felt its vines being stretched from the momentum Onix had used in an attempt to toss it.
"Now, reel yourself in fast and use Tackle!" Bulbasaur immediately saw what Ashley was planning and began reeling its vines in, pulling itself towards Onix's head from above. It struck the top of Onix's head with enough force to send its head falling towards the ground from the impact. Bulbasaur quickly jumped back to distance itself from Onix as the two of them fell. Onix hit the ground hard while Bulbasaur managed to land on its feet with little impact. Onix wasn't hurt much by the attack, but it was enough to stun it for a moment.
"Bulbasaur, now! Hit it hard with Bullet Seed and don't let up!" Bulbasaur opened its mouth and began firing seed after seed straight into Onix's face while standing in front of it on the ground, getting in as many hits as it could before Onix finally lifted its head up again and gave a loud bellow in agony.
"Now, quick! Smash it with a Vine Whip before it can attack again!" Bulbasaur quickly shot out one vine to the side of Onix and brought it down hard into the side of Onix's head. Onix roared in agony as it was sent crashing towards the ground again, its head smashing against one of the rocks on the gym floor. After hitting the ground, Onix laid still for several moments before Brock finally recalled it. Onix had been successfully brought down by Bulbasaur's assault.
"Alright! We did it!" Ashley cheered loudly.
"-Heh. No sweat...-" Bulbasaur grinned proudly and turned to walk back towards Ashley, but fell onto its stomach as its feet gave out under it. "-Ok...so maybe every part of my body hurts...-" Bulbasaur grunted in pain. "-But I still won damn it...-"
"Wow! She actually did it!" Rina said in surprise. "She came up with a new tactic on the spot to take down a larger foe..."
"-Yeah! Bulbasaur was awesome!-" Pippi squeaked out happily in agreement. It hopped up excitedly, but was startled when its cheeks sparked and fell back on the bench.
"You have some skill as a trainer, I'll admit that." Brock said to Ashley, a slight smile forming on his lips. "I've never seen anyone use a technique like that before, combining a Bulbasaur's Vine Whip technique with a simple Tackle attack to increase the attack's power. It was strong enough to give your Bulbasaur time enough to gain the upperhand and bring my Onix down..."
"Hmm! Thanks! I think I'd like to try to perfect that technique actually..." Ashley smiled at the praise. She took out Bulbasaur's pokeball and looked down at the weakened pokemon. "Bulbasaur, maybe you should rest in your pokeball until we get to the pokecenter. Return!" Bulbasaur gave no complaints as he was recalled into his pokeball. Ashley placed Bulbasaur's pokeball on her belt, and by then Brock, Rina, and Pippi were all standing with her.
"Here, you've certainly earned this." Brock said to Ashley, holding up the Boulder Badge and a TM. "Its the official Kanto League Boulder Badge, as well as my Rock Tomb technique. Its the perfect technique to use on the kind of terrain in my gym." Ashley took the badge from Brock and put it on the back of her trainer card and took the TM as well, putting it in her bag.
"Well looks like you won!" Rina said to Ashley, grinning widely. "Guess this means you'll be challenging the rest of the gyms now too, huh?"
"Yep, guess so..." Ashley replied, rubbing her head sheepishly. "Well Bulbasaur should be happy for a change..."
"So then this match was to decide whether or not you would challenge the Kanto League?" Brock stroked his chin curiously. "Interesting...but I would say you definitely have the skill for it."
"Well, I'm going to give it my best anyway!"
"In any case, it was nice to meet you Ashley. You as well, Pippi." Brock said, smiling to Pichu.
"-Nice to meet you too mister Brock!-" Pippi responded happily.
"I'm going to show Ashley my place now. See you later Brock!" Rina said to Brock, waving as she turned to leave the gym.
"Alright, I'll probably come by later. See you then." Brock rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he watched the girls leaving. "I think we might have something to discuss..."
"This is your house, Rina?" Ashley asked, looking around inside the small home. It was only a single storey house with two bedrooms. Most of the rooms in the house could be accessed from the main hallway which Ashley, Rina, and Pippi, and Bulbasaur were standing in. They had made a stop at the pokecenter on the way, so Bulbasaur was back on his feet.
"I know...its not much..." Rina replied, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. "Feel free to look around, I'm going to make some dinner."
"Oh...do you want any help then?" Ashley asked her. "I mean, I'm not that good at cooking but I know enough to get by..."
"Nope! I can do it myself!" Rina replied cheerfully. "Brock taught me to cook, so I usually make my own meals anyway."
"Oh, ok." Ashley blinked in surprise. "She's really independant for her age...but then again she's still a year older than most trainers. She just acts childish..."
Rina took Pippi into the kitchen with her, leaving Ashley and Bulbasaur alone to look around the house. Ashley wasn't sure where to start though, or if she even wanted to. Rina's house didn't seem like anything special to her at all, so she contented herself to take a seat on the couch in Rina's living room. Bulbasaur didn't mind that either, as nothing about a person's home really interested it.
"What a day..." Ashley sighed out as she plopped back down on the couch. "I've walked into traps, faced strong wild pokemon, and even battled a gym leader..."
"-Technically, all you did was walk into traps.-" Bulbasaur muttered grumpily. "-Facing wild pokemon? Battling the gym leader's pokemon? That was all us, thank you very much.-"
"You know I don't have a clue what you're saying without Rina, right?" Ashley said, looking over at Bulbasaur. It was then that she noticed a table next to the couch with a picture of Rina's family. Scooting over on the couch she picked up the picture to take a look at it.
"These must be her parents..." The picture had a man and a woman in it, both of whom were wearing outfits similar to a standard police uniform. Their badges were notably different, but Ashley couldn't tell what was on them from the picture. The woman had the same hair color as rina and the man had brown hair. Both looked like they were in their early thirties at the oldest.
Alongside the two officers in the picture were their pokemon. A purple, feline pokemon with a long tail and a red gem in the center of its forehead stood next to Rina's mother and next to her father was a long purple serpent pokemon with a white underbelly. It had tiny wings on the top of its head and a blue orb under its chin.
"That serpent pokemon is a Dragonair I think...but aren't they usually blue?" Ashley thought out loud. "I don't recognize that other pokemon though..."
"Its an Espeon..." Ashley looked up and saw Rina standing at the entrance to the room. "Sorry...I just wanted to see what you were up to..."
"Don't be! Its your house after all!" Ashley called back. "So they must be your parents then?" Rina nodded her reply and Pippi hopped down off Rina's shoulder, rushing over to Ashley to take a peek at the photo.
"Those were their only pokemon too...their pokemon were partners to them, just as much as my mother and father were partners." Rina added sadly. "They always told me to cherish pokemon above everything...they really loved pokemon..."
"Rina...I'm sorry, I..." Ashley began, but was cut off by Rina.
"No, don't be..." Rina shook her head. "It won't make any difference now...my parents are gone, but their pokemon are still alive somewhere I know they are. I don't know how, but I want to find them and get them back...its what my parents would have wanted..."
"Rina..." Ashley was about to say something, but was once again cut off. This time, by the screeching of a fire alarm.
"Oh no! The food!" Rina cried out and rushed back into the kitchen to take care of things.
"-Rina! Wait for me!-" Pippi cried out, chasing off after her trainer. Ashley stared in disbelief.
"Well at least that sappy scene is over with..." Bulbasaur thought, sticking his tongue out distastefully. "-Bleh!-"
"Still just a kid..." Ashley sighed at Rina's sudden change in attitude. "Still though...Bulbasaur?" Bulbasaur looked up at Ashley expectantly. "We need to get stronger...strong enough to beat guys like Shocks and whatever other Hunters are out there so we can save those pokemon!"
"-Normally I'd disagree with everything you say, but that kid is starting to grow on me and its for the pokemon, so count me in.-" Bulbasaur replied, nodding to Ashley since she couldn't understand him.
"Umm..." Ashley and Bulbasaur looked up as Rina appeared in the entrance again, smiling sheepishly. "Dinner's ready..."
Dinner for the two girls consisted of pizza, and a bit overcooked at that. Neither pokemon were particularly interested in trying human food. After eating, Ashley helped out with the dishes until there was a knock at the door.
"I'll get it!" Rina rushed out of the kitchen to answer the door, dropping her dishcloth in the sink.
"Probably just Brock..." Ashley picked up Rina's cloth and continued to wash the dishes, cleaning them off one at a time and placing them on a rack next to the sink to dry. She was finished washing what little was left when Rina walked into the kitchen with, as Ashley had guessed, Brock.
"Ashley, I need to talk to you and Rina."
"About what?" Ashley set the dishcloth down and turned her attention to Brock. "What could Brock want to talk to me about?"
"Ashley, I want you to take Rina with you."
"You...you want her to what?!" Rina cried out in surprise.
"Rina, you're almost twelve now, and you finally have your own pokemon." Brock stated quietly. "I think its about time you set out as a trainer. If Ashley wouldn't mind you tagging along with her that is..."
"But..."
"I don't mind..." Ashley replied, cutting Rina off. "If Rina wants to go with me, I don't think I could turn her down." Brock gave a slight smile and nod at Ashley's response, as if it was what he expected her to say.
"Well then, what do you say Rina?" Brock asked, looking down at her. Rina looked over at Ashley and thought it over.
"I'll...I'll go then..." Rina replied quietly, smiling at Ashley. "Besides, someone needs to let her know when Bulbasaur is talking about her behind her back!"
"-Oh, so now you're going to rat me out huh?-" Bulbasaur said to Rina, grinning widely. "-Well you can start by telling her I think this is the first good decision she's ever made!-" Rina giggled quietly at Bulbasaur's request.
"Well then what'd he say, Rina?" Ashley asked her curiously. Rina gave her an innocent smile before replying.
"He said this is the first good decision you ever made."
"WHAT?!" Ashley growled menacingly and glared at Bulbasaur. "ARE YOU TRYING TO IMPLY SOMETHING MISTER?!"
"-Imply nothing, I came right out and said it.-" Bulbasaur replied, still grinning from ear to ear.
"Hoo boy...I hope this wasn't a bad idea..." Brock wondered, placing his hand against his forehead in dismay.
Rina spent the rest of the evening gathering various supplies from around her house. Brock didn't stay long after speaking with the two, only long enough to advise Rina on what she'd need on the road. Rina didn't sleep much that night, she was too excited by the prospect of finally becoming a trainer and even the possibility of finding her parent's missing pokemon.
The next day, the two girls set out together from Rina's place and headed towards Mount Moon.
"Don't you think you overpacked a bit?" Ashley asked Rina.
"Hmm?" Rina looked over her shoulder at the large travel back strapped to her back. It was much larger than Ashley's and as full as it could get. "Well if we're going through Mount Moon we'll need all of it!"
"Yeah but...you're going to hurt your back carrying all that..."
"You might be right... Hey! Maybe I should have used a shoulder bag too, like your's!" Rina jokingly suggested.
"You'd still be carrying a lot of weight..." Ashley replied with a heavy sigh.
"-You could help her, I'm sure you have plenty of empty space available.-" Bulbasaur suggested mockingly, following along beside Rina and Pippi.
"-Hey! I wanna help too! I can carry stuff!-" Pippi cried out, looking up at Rina tearfully.
"Pippi, you're too small to carry any of this! Sorry!" Pippi sniffed sadly in disappointment.
"Hey, Rina?" Rina stopped and looked up at Ashley, who was grinning mischeviously. "Race you to Mount Moon!" Ashley called back to her then took off running, leaving her and the pokemon behind.
"Ashley! Thats not fair! Wait up!" Rina called out, taking off after her. The two girls were both well on their way now, travelling together across the Kanto region with their pokemon at their side. First stop, Mount Moon!
Author's Notes: And now the group's together, at least as far as the human part of the group is concerned. Chapter title was originally referring to Ashley taking up gym battles, but thats kinda misleading since she's not giving up her goal as a photographer still. Does apply to Rina too though, as now she's setting off with Ashley.
I toyed with different travelling companion ideas for Ashley. The three options I had in mind were Rina, Misty (who would have been in disguise, but Ashley would have been aware it was Misty from the start), or just have her travelling alone. I eventually decided to go with Rina because I had a bit of backstory in mind for her that'd connect her to the plot. Even had her make a brief, relatively unimportant appearance in the last Emerald history chapter. Didn't have enough of an involvement to really recognize her as having any connection to Yellow though, let alone Rina.
