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 Five

Ebb and Flow of Battle

Clyde repeatedly hopped backwards, narrowly avoiding the repeated swipes from the wild Sandshrew. All the while, Clyde was wondering how he had managed to get himself into this situation. Only a day earlier, he had been happily living out a normal life for a Clefairy. Now he was battling a wild Sandshrew, intent on taking a strip off him.

"Good going, Clyde!" Rina called out to him from about ten feet away. "Now attack Sandshrew with Pound!"

"-Ok, here I go then!-" Clyde hopped back, dodging yet another swipe of Sandshew's claws. Landing on one foot, Clyde pivoted around to pass on Sandshrew's right side and brought his fist into the wild pokemon's hard gut. Sandshrew squealed in pain and scurried away, distancing itself from Clefairy before turning around to launch another assault.

"Rina, physical attacks won't do much to it! You need to slow it down somehow!" Ashley called out from behind Rina, holding her pokedex in her right hand. She was making use of it to obtain data on Sandshrew.

"-Bah! Don't listen to her!-" Bulbasaur called out after his trainer. "-Stay on the offensive! Smash that Sandshrew good, Clyde!-"

The two trainers woke up early the next day and were well on their way to Cerulean City. In fact, they were just outside Cerulean City when they encountered the wild Sandshrew. It was Ashley who suggested Rina try to catch it so she could learn the proper way to catch a pokemon. Knowing Pippi's attacks wouldn't do much good against a Sandshrew, Rina sent Clyde out to fight it.

"Ok, now, uh..." Rina hesitated for a moment, trying to decide which of Clyde's attacks to use. In her moment of hesitation, the wild Sandshrew went on the offense again. Sandshrew began clawing at the ground, digging itself a hole and disappearing before Clyde could launch another attack.

"-Did it get away?-" Pippi asked Rina. Pippi got no response from her though, Rina was already focusing on her next move.

"Sandshrew will probably try to attack from below, but can it compensate for Clyde jumping?" Rina wondered. She tried to picture Sandshrew's movements underground, trying to figure out the right time to act. Too soon, and Clyde would land on Sandshrew as its attacking. Too late, and dodging would be pointless.

"Clyde, now! Jump!" Rina called out when she was finally sure on the timing. She guessed correctly, as Clyde jumped up just as Sandshrew burst out of the ground below it. Sandshrew took a swipe at Clyde and just barely missed.

"Attack it from above with another Pound attack!" As Clyde began to fall back towards Sandshrew, he shifted his weight in the air to come down sideways. Clyde came down hard on top of Sandshrew, landing a strong blow to the pokemon's head. Sandshrew was stunned for a moment and knocked onto its back, where it was pinned by Clyde.

"Ok! Now I'll try a pokeball!" Rina quickly threw an empty pokeball she had been carrying at Sandshrew. She was a few inches off her target, but Clyde jumped off Sandshrew to catch the ball and throw it towards its intended target.

The pokeball smashed off Sandshrew's head and opened up, firing out a red beam that dragged Sandshrew into the pokeball. The pokeball then closed up and began shaking on the ground, eventually shattering into pieces as the Sandshrew broke free. Sandshrew looked mad as it appeared from the ball and was no longer stunned.

"No! Its still too strong!" Rina cried out in dismay. "Clyde, watch out!" Rina's warning distracted Clyde more than anything, causing him to turn away just as Sandshrew struck out at him with a metal-coated claw attack. Clyde was sent sprawling onto the ground as he was struck from behind by a Metal Claw.

"Rina, a pokemon is easier to catch if its asleep!" Ashley called out to her.

"Asleep?" Rina wondered for a moment what Ashley was talking about, then remembered one of Clyde's techniques. "Right! Clyde, use your Sing attack!"

"-I don't like this technique much...-" Clyde muttered, rolling over to face Sandshrew. "-But here goes!-" Clyde began singing in a melodic tone, producing a gentle lullaby. Sandshrew was moving to make another attack against Clyde, but its movements soon became sluggish. Sandshrew began to waver, then fell over onto its side as it fell fast asleep.

"Ok! Lets try another one now!" Rina looked to Ashley and nodded. Ashley reached into Rina's backpack, which she was once again carrying, and took out a pokeball and tossed it to her. Rina fumbled for a moment but managed to catch it, then threw the pokeball straight at Sandshrew.

This time, Rina's aim was dead on. The pokeball landed on Sandshrew's back and opened up, pulling Sandshrew inside and closing around it. The pokeball fell to the ground and began rolling around as Sandshrew tried to escape. This time it had no such luck. The pokeball clicked, locking tightly and securing the Sandshrew inside.

"WOOHOO! We caught Sandshrew!" Rina cried out in delight, grabbing the pokeball and holding it up in the air.

"-Yay! Way to go Rina and Clyde!-" Pippi also gave a loud cheer before bounding off to her trainer.

"-Whew...-" Clyde breathed a sigh of relief, now that the battle was finally over. "-These fights are tougher than I thought...-"

"Congratulations on your first pokemon capture, Rina!" Ashley congratulated Rina. "So what are you naming this one?"

Rina looked at the pokeball and thought for a moment. She released Sandshrew from its pokeball and found the pokemon was still asleep. The Sandshrew soon woke up, though, and peered around cautiously at the people and pokemon surroundings it before focusing its attention on Clyde.

"-HEY! You! What kind of cheap tactic is that?!-" The Sandshrew demanded of Clyde.

"-I was just following orders.-" Clyde replied with a light shrug.

"Welcome to the group, Sandshrew!" Rina greeted her newly caught pokemon. "My name's Rina, and the Clefairy is Clyde..."

"-I'm well acquaited with...Clyde.-" Sandshrew muttered bitterly, his attention still on Clyde. "-Real men fight hand to hand! None of this putting opponents to sleep!-"

"-Hey! Like I said, I was just following orders!-" Clyde shot back. "-Get used to it, pal, because you'll have to follow orders as well...-"

"I hope I can handle this one..." Rina thought, realizing Sandshrew seemed to have his own ideas when it came to battle. Rina cleared her throat, then moved on to introduce Pippi. "And this Pichu here is Pippi..." Rina gestured towards Pippi, who was now standing next to Clyde.

"-Nice to meet'cha! I bet we'll be great friends!-" Pippi said, extending her hand to Sandshrew. Sandshrew shrugged and shook her hand. As usual, Pippi's body sparked up in her excitement. Sandshrew, being a ground-type pokemon, didn't really notice though.

"And this is my friend Ashley and her pokemon Bulbasaur." Rina finally looked away from Clyde as she introduced Ashley and Bulbasaur, whom Sandshrew could recall giving Rina tips during their battle. Ashley gave a slight wave, but Sandshrew was more interested in Bulbasaur.

"-You there! Don't you realize how pointless it is trying to give advice to humans?-" The Sandshrew said to Bulbasaur. "-Even if they could understand us, they wouldn't listen to a thing we said.-"

"-Thats where you're wrong...-" Bulbasaur began, but Rina interrupted him before he could answer in full.

"I can understand pokemon just fine actually." Rina said to Sandshrew, smiling widely and leaning over towards him.

"-Is that so then?-" Sandshrew turned to face Rina. She nodded in response to him. "-Well understand this then, I greatly despise your underhanded battle tactics. Real warriors don't rely on such underhanded techniques!-"

"Yes sir..." Rina replied timidly. "I'm definitely going to have trouble with this one..." Rina then blinked and shook her head, "Right! I still need a name for you! How about..." Rina thought for a moment. She was tempted to say 'Sandy' but didn't think it would go over well. She managed to come up with a better name, however.

"Sarge! How about Sarge?" Sandshrew hummed thoughtfully and scratched his chin with his small claws, thinking over the name Rina had chosen for him.

"-I don't see why it is necessary, but Sarge is acceptable I suppose.-" Sandshrew nodded and gave a light shrug, accepting Rina's nickname for him.

"Ok, gang! Lets head into Cerulean City now so we can get you all rested up!" Rina began marching off towards Cerulean City, with her own pokemon falling in behind her. Ashley blinked in disbelief, but then shrugged and followed behind her. Bulbasaur ran to catch up with Rina and walked alongside her.

"-You know, you could probably give Ashley some tips...-" Bulbasaur quietly suggested to Rina. "-Like actually catching pokemon for a change.-"


Once the group reached Cerulean City they headed to the first stop most trainers make upon arriving in the city, the pokecenter. Ashley and Rina recalled their respective pokemon upon arriving in the pokecenter, then handed them over to the nurse to heal. Rina went through her supplies to see what she still had with her while she was waiting for the nurse to finish.

Once their pokemon were fully healed, Bulbasaur and Pippi were released from their pokeballs to follow their trainers on foot as usual. They then left the pokecenter to head off to Ashley's first intended stop in the city, after the pokcenter of course. The Kanto Times office in Cerulean City. She was in for a bit of a shock, however.

"What? Closed?!" Ashley cried out in disbelief, standing outside the Cerulean office of the Kanto Times. A sign on the door said they were closed until twelve.

"Well...not everyone opens at nine I guess?" Rina suggested with a light shrug. "I guess you'll just have to wait before handing in those pictures..." Ashley hung her head in defeat and groaned.

"-Hey, here's an idea. While you're waiting you can go challenge the gym leader.-" Bulbasaur suggested in a somewhat bitter tone, thinking Ashley may have forgotten about her little promise to him.

"Thats a great idea!" Rina commented in response to Bulbasaur. "Ashley, Bulbasaur thinks you should challenge the gym leader now. I remembering hearing about her, she's Misty and she uses water type pokemon. If you use Pippi and Bulbasaur in the match you're sure to win!"

"-I get to fight in a gym battle?-" Pippi asked, her ear's perking up at the mention.

"Ok then, I'll challenge Misty!" Ashley declared, quickly turning to face Rina and Pippi. "I'll do it with my own pokemon though." Pippi's ears drooped in disappointment as she groaned quietly in disappointment.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense..." Rina smiled sheepishly and patted Pippi on the head. "Sorry for getting your hopes up..."

"-I wanted to show off my Volt Tackle again too...-" Pippi snapped her fingers in dismay.

"So what pokemon are you going to use then?" Rina asked Ashley.

"Well Bulbasaur of course and...hmm..." Ashley folded her arms and thought over her other choices. "I guess any of my other three pokemon could work...I'll decide when I get there then."

"-Great! Lets get going already! I'm itching for a good fight!-" Bulbasaur was grinning widely, eagerly anticipating another gym match.

The girls and their pokemon left the closed Kanto Times office to head to the Cerulean City gym. When they arrived outside they stopped in front of the double doors leading inside. As she had done at Brock's gym, Ashley approached the doors and gave them a hard push to throw them both open.

"I'm here to challenge the..." Ashley stopped midsentence and stared in disbelief. A boy, about her age wearing a pair of blue jeans and a red vest over a black shirt, was standing with his back to her. On the other side of an olympic-sized swimming pool was an orange-haired girl, also about Ashley's age, wearing a blue bikini.

"Staryu, now! Water Pulse and aim for its tail!"

"Charmeleon, turn around and take it head on!"

In the gym's pool, a battle was already taking place. A red lizard pokemon with large, sharp claws and a flame-tipped tail was standing on one of four platforms floating in the pool. There was a platform in each corner, and each platform was about five square feet. Charmeleon's opponent, a star-shaped pokemon, was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, the pokemon burst from the water behind Charmeleon and fired three ring-shaped pulses of water aimed at the fire pokemon's vulnerable tail. Charmeleon moved just as quickly though, its speed enhanced by a technique it used before Ashley had arrived on the scene. Charmeleon staggered back slightly as the water attack struck it, but looked relatively fine even after enduring the direct hit.

"I guess you wasted that dramatic entrance, huh?" Rina said to Ashley, giggling quietly. Ashley didn't respond though, her gaze fixed on the male trainer. She walked into the gym and moved off to the side of the pool to watch the battle unfold.

"Now, Charmeleon! Smokescreen!" Upon the trainer's command, Charmeleon opened its mouth and spewed out a thick screen of smoke to cover the platform Charmeleon was standing on. The thick cloud of black smoke concealed Charmeleon from view.

"We won't fall for that again!" Misty announced with a smirk. "Staryu, Water Pulse! Fire into the cloud!"

"I wasn't expecting you to fall for that again anyway." The trainer replied. "Charmeleon, now! Attack Staryu with Scratch!" Staryu once again jumped up out of the water to get a better shot in at its target, but at the same time Charmeleon jumped forth from the smoke screen towards Staryu.

Staryu fired the Water Pulse attack, scoring a direct hit on Charmeleon. The fire pokemon plowed through the rings though, continuing towards its target despite the water splashing off its skin. Charmeleon reached out and struck a harsh blow on Staryu with its claws, sending the starfish pokemon spinning down into the water.

Charmeleon's momentum, however, also carries it into the water. Charmeleon splashes down into the pool and disappears below the surface, a small column of steam rising from where it went under. Both pokemon soon surface again, Staryu clearly knocked unconcious while Charmeleon looking exhausted. Charmeleon's flame-tipped tail rises from the water, the flame noticably smaller.

"He beat a water type with a fire type?" Ashley thought in surprise. "A gym leader's water pokemon at that! Could his pokemon really be that strong?"

"Well you're the first to beat one of my pokemon with a fire-type, I'll give you that." Misty commented, recalling her Staryu. "Your Charmeleon has to be very strong to have endured such attacks. Its definitely too weak for you to pull that off again, so Starmie will finish it!" Misty raised a pokeball and released the aformentioned pokemon, which looked like two purple starfish fused back to back.

"I don't plan to keep him in the water. Charmeleon, return." The trainer stated quietly, holding out Charmeleon's pokeball and recalling Charmeleon out of the water and into the ball. "Pikachu, you can take it from here! Go!" The trainer called out as he held up another pokeball, releasing a white-cheeked Pikachu onto the platform that Charmeleon had been previously occupying.

"-...Mommy?-" Pippi blinked in disbelief. The Pikachu that appeared from the pokeball did look like her mother from where she was standing. Pippi could feel her excitement building at seeing her mother again, but didn't want to jump to conclusions yet.

"Pikachu, we'll start off with Charge." The male trainer announced. Pikachu nodded and, in a bright flash, sparks began to surround her body. She was charging a large amount of electricity for her next attack.

"Ok Starmie, you know how to handle an electric type! Rapid Spin!" The two parts of Starmie's body began spinning rapidly and Starmie took off, skimming at least a foot over the surface of the water and flying past Pikachu in a sort of a tackle, knocking it to the side. Normally Misty would attack from the pool, but not against an electric type.

"Pikachu, use Double Team and form a circle!" Pikachu closed her eyes and concentrated. Her body shimmered briefly then began to split off into multiple copies, one appearing on either side of her at first and spreading out until they formed a complete circle. Pikachu also moved between the copies to hide herself, unknown to any onlookers.

"Your Pikachu won't escape that easy! Starmie, use Swift!" Starmie stopped and hovered in the air, the front of its body angled towards Pikachu. The gem in the center of Starmie's body glowed then fired out several star-shaped rays. The rays swirled around each other and honed in on the real Pikachu, striking her hard. The attack caused Pikachu's duplicates to disappear and nearly knocked her into the water.

"Escaping was never our plan..." The trainer responded quietly. "Pikachu, finish this now! Thundershock!" Seemingly unphased by the Swift attack, Pikachu launched her attack almost immediately. Even after using Charge to power up, the wide stream of electricity fired seemed too large for a Thundershock attack.

"That attack! How is his Pikachu so powerful?!" Misty wondered just before the attack hit her pokemon. It was then that Misty took notice of the Pikachu's white cheeks and it became clear to her.

Starmie tried to move out of the way of Pikachu's attack, but in the time it took Starmie to maneuver into a position to hover away the bolt had reached it. The blast of electricity surrounded Starmie in an instant, sending a powerful jolt through its body. Starmie fell out of the air shortly after and into water, floating to the surface flat on its back soon after to reveal it had been completely knocked out by the attack.

"Wow! What a strong Pikachu! I think it might even be stronger than that one we ran into!" Rina said to Ashley, but when she looked at her she realized Ashley was focused intently on the male trainer with a look of surprise and confusion.

"Now I see...I didn't stand a chance, your pokemon are too strong Red." Misty commented with a defeated look on her face. She recalled Starmie to its pokeball, then walked across the gym to hand Red the Cascade badge and a TM disc.

"Here, its the Cascade Badge and one of my Water Pulse TM's." Misty handed the items to Red, then glanced past him to Ashley and Rina. "I'll be with you two in a moment, I need to heal my pokemon..." Misty then went off towards the office at the back of the gym, and Red finally turned around to see Ashley and Rina standing off to the side. He was so focused on the battle he didn't even notice them come in.

"Oh, its just you." Red said, his lack of interest immediately striking a nerve.

"Just me?! Who the hell do you think you are then, mister big shot?!" Ashley shot back furiously. Red shrugged, not interested in starting an argument with her. He turned back towards the pool and was about to finally recall his Pikachu when Pippi suddenly ran past him.

"Pippi! Don't run near a pool!" Rina called out, chasing after her. Pippi jumped from the edge of the pool, leaping from platform to platform towards the other Pikachu. Rina tried to stop as she reached the edge but slipped on the wet surface. She cried out as she nearly fell into the water, but Red grabbed her by the arm and caught her.

"You should heed your own advice." Red said to her. Rina looked up at her saviour, but his eyes were focused on the two electric pokemon out on the platform. Rina followed his gaze and saw the two hugging each other, both with their cheeks sparking.

"-Mommy! I thought I'd never see you again!-" Pippi cried out joyfully, tears streaming down her face.

"-I was so worried about you!-" The other Pikachu replied, hugging her daughter with her tiny paws. "-I was caught by this trainer and all I could do was hope the others would look after you...-"

"-I have a trainer now too!-" Pippi stepped aside and pointed to Rina. "-See! She's over there! She's really nice and fun too!-" Pippi's mom smiled at Rina and waved.

"W-wait...your Pikachu is Pippi's mom?!" Rina stuttered out in her surprise.

"You can understand pokemon?" Red asked Rina, raising an eyebrow. He then smiled to himself and chuckled. "Well, even if you can understand their language, it doesn't mean you understand them..."

"So Red is the one who caught Pippi's mom then? Well that just figures..." Ashley thought, gritting her teeth in a barely-suppressed rage.

"Hmm..." Red turned back to look at Ashley. "I wonder...are you finally going to become a true trainer then and stop wasting your abilities?" He asked her while remaining completely expressionless.

"Listen, you!" Ashley shot back. "I'm only challenging gyms because Bulbasaur wanted to! I still am, and always will be, a photographer!"

"If you say so..." Red replied with a light shrug. "Well, listening to your pokemon is a good start I guess. I'll stay and watch the battle..." Red looked across the pool at Pippi and Pikachu. "I'm sure those two have a lot of catching up to do anyway..."

"-Ok, who is this guy? And why couldn't he be my trainer instead?-" Bulbasaur wondered aloud to himself, grinning widely. He had just met Red but was already starting to like him.

"Ok, I'm ready..." Misty announced with a sigh as she emerged from her office. For her, it has been one trainer after another challenging her. Losing so easily to Red had upset her a bit as well.

"Pikachu, we'll watch from the sidelines." Red called out to his pokemon. Pikachu nodded and grabbed Pippi, carrying her on her back and bounding over to the side of the pool. Red sat down on a bench off to the side, with Pikachu and Pippi sitting next to him.

"Wow...he has so much respect for pokemon. He's raised them to be so strong, and Pippi's mom at least seems happy with him." Rina blushed and giggled quietly. "And he's kinda cute!" Rina quickly moved over to the bench, getting out of Ashley's way as she approached the pool, and sat down next to Red.

"I don't think I introduced myself, so my name's Rina! Nice to meet you!" Rina quickly said to Red after she sat down, smiling widely. Red looked at her and, noticing her expression, gave a soft sigh and said nothing.

"We will use two pokemon each, with no substitutions by the gym leader." Misty called out to Ashley, explaining the rules to her.

"Got it." Ashley replied definitively. "I'll show you, Red. Even as a photographer I can still battle!"

"Then for my first pokemon I choose...Staryu!" Misty held up a pokeball and released her Staryu into the air. Staryu began spinning rapidly, like a circular saw, and cut into the water. It emerged only a moment after, with the top half of its body visible above the water.

"Ok then! Pidgey, you're up first! Go!" Ashley took out Pidgey's pokeball and released the bird pokemon onto the nearest platform. Pidgey didn't stay on the platform for long and began flapping its wings to hover over it.

"Figures, I'm going second again." Bulbasaur thought, rolling his eyes. He plopped down on the floor behind Ashley to wait his turn to fight.

"-Is your trainer's friend a good trainer?-" Red's Pikachu asked Pippi.

"-Yep! She's beat lots of tough trainers!-" Pippi replied excitedly. "-Bulbasaur is really tough and cool too! I want to be strong, too!-" Pippi smiled widely and looked over at her mother. "-Strong like you! How are you so strong, mommy?-"

"-Its a secret.-" The Pikachu replied with a wink. "-When the time is right, I'll pass it on to you.-"

"Its obvious what that power is. With a baby Pippi knowing Volt Tackle, powerful attacks, and those white cheeks, it could only be the power of a Light Ball..." Rina thought, eavesdropping on the two pokemon. "I won't say anything to Pippi about it, though..."

"Pidgey, lets start off with Air Cutter!" Pidgey brought its wings together, forcing air between them to form its attack. When it opened its wings a v-shaped blade fired out, skimming across the water towards Staryu.

"Staryu, block with Water Gun!" Staryu fired a small, steady stream of water from its core towards the incoming Air Cutter attack. The Water Gun added to the resistance the attack faced, slowing it down enough to stop it entirely.

"Now, strike back with Rapid Spin!" Pool water begin splashing in all directions as Staryu began spinning around in the water, then took off flying across the surface of the pool towards Pidgey.

"Pidgey, knock it back with a Gust attack!" Pidgey began flapping its tiny wings, creating a strong gust of wind. Staryu seemed hardly affected though, its flight path continuing almost unhindered as its narrow form sliced through the wind and struck Pidgey head on. It was a light hit, but still almost knocked Pidgey into the water. Pidgey just barely recovered in time, regaining flight inches from the surface of the water.

"Looks like Gust won't work to block Rapid Spin..." Ashley thought in dismay. "Have to stay on the offensive then and try to hit it hard and fast with physical attacks."

"Pidgey, use Quick Attack to gain speed then turn back for a Tackle attack!" Pidgey shot across the surface of the water with Quick Attack, flapping its wings as it came out of its increased speed to maintain some of the momentum. It then angled upwards to pull a split-s, turning over in the air to right itself then flying towards Staryu to attack.

"Staryu, dive into the water." Misty called out in mild annoyance at Ashley's seemingly simple method of attack. Staryu dove down and cut into the surface of the water, diving under.

"Pidgey, now! Dive towards the water and use Air Cutter!" Pidgey dove down while bringing its wings together, then flung them out and caught itself before hitting the water while firing its attack down on an angle to intercept Staryu. The blade carried extra momentum from Pidgey's maneuver and sliced down into the water, striking Staryu. Staryu was driven down further, too deep for anyone to tell what happened.

"That was definitely a good hit!" Ashley thought with a smirk. "Ok, Pidgey! Get ready with another one!" Pidgey readied itself mentally, as actually preparing to attack would have meant dropping into the water while it was hovering stationary.

"Staryu! I know you can hear me down there, so attack with Water Pulse!" Pidgey waited, ready to strike at a moments notice and watching for Staryu from where he last saw it. He didn't see Staryu pop up out of the water behind him, however.

"Pidgey, quick! Behind you!" Pidgey turned around just as Staryu fired a several watery rings from the gem that formed the core of its body. Each pulse struck Pidgey one after the other, with the final pulse sending Pidgey spiraling down into the water. Pidgey began struggling once it hit the water, fighting to get into the air again.

"Now, one more time! Water Pulse!" Staryu fired another Water Pulse at the struggling Pidgey, striking it dead-on again as the rings fired out from Staryu's core and blasted Pidgey. Pidgey was pushed under the water for a few seconds after being hit and was unconcious when he finally surfaced again.

"Al-already?" Ashley stuttered in disbelief at Pidgey's defeat. "Misty's Water Pulse technique must be pretty powerful then..." Ashley recalled Pidgey into its pokeball, rescuing it from the water. At that point, Red got up from the bench.

"Lets go, Pikachu. There's nothing for us to see here..." Pikachu looked up at Red and nodded as he took out her pokeball.

"-Well I guess this is where we say goodbye, dear.-" Pikachu said, turning to see a teary-eyed Pippi looking back at her sadly.

"-Mommy! I don't want you to go!-" Pippi latched onto her mother and hugged her tightly. Pikachu sighed and hugged her daughter back. Pippi's cheeks were sparking wildly now.

"Red, don't you think you should stay? So they can be together a bit longer at least?" Rina asked Red, giving him a questioning look

"Yeah, whats with that attitude anyway?!" Ashley angrily asked Red. "I still have Bulbasaur left, which was all I had when I beat Brock!"

"-Whats it matter? I'll take her on even if he's not watching.-" Bulbasaur said, getting up off the floor and jumping to the nearest platform.

"I only stayed to see if you're any good battling, and let Pikachu reunite with her daughter." Red replied with a shrug. "Thats over with now, so I need to get going. Gary's ahead of me as it is, and my pokemon and I are determined to become the next champion."

"-Right! We're going to be the strongest in Kanto!-" Pikachu added in, giving a determined look. "-So don't worry, we'll see each other a lot. I know we will!-" Pikachu smiled down at Pippy, and Pippy tried to force a smile as well.

"-Ok, you better look out though! I'll evolve into a Pikachu someday and be even stronger than you!-" Pippi replied, also trying to give a determined look though her face was still streaming with tears.

"-I'll look forward to it...-" Pikachu turned to red and nodded to him. She looked to Rina briefly just before Red recalled her and smiled. "-Pippi told me you can understand us, so allow me to say I am glad my daughter has found a nice trainer to look after her...-"

Rina sighed, realizing this was goodbye whether she liked it or not. She forced herself to smile as she turned to Pikachu to respond. "It was nice meeting you too! I hope you and Red will give it your best against the pokemon league!"

Red recalled Pikachu and started off out of the gym. He stopped near the door and turned around to address the girls one last time. "Misty, thanks for the battle earlier. It was a good match. Ashley, Rina, Pippi, see you all later." Red then turned and exited the gym.

"-What, I'm not good enough for you now?-" Bulbasaur called out after Red. "-Fine! I didn't like you that much anyway...-"

"Well I came here to battle the gym leader..." Ashley muttered angrily, turning her attention back to the battle at hand. "Not to impress him!"

"I don't know whats going on between you two, but I hope you won't let it affect you in battle." Misty said to Ashley, arms folded over her chest. "On the other hand though, the faster this is over with the sooner I might get a chance to relax..."

"I don't plan to! Lets finish this up already!" Ashley shot back. "Bulbasaur, start off with a Leech Seed attack!" Bulbasaur nodded and quickly fired a seed out of the bulb on its back. Staryu made no attempt to dodge the seed, which landed on its core and sprouted vines to latch onto it.

"Staryu, shake it off with a Rapid Spin and attack!" Staryu began spinning like a sawblade again, quickly shredding the seed that latched onto it. Staryu then flew by Bulbasaur, striking him in the side. Bulbasaur winced and grunted from the impact, but held his place.

"-Damn, guess Leech Seed won't work...-" Bulbasaur grumbled to himself.

"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip and grab it with just one vine, then keep extending!" Bulbasaur hesitated for a moment, finding the idea odd. It lashed out with but a single vine and managed to grab a hold of the rotating Staryu. The slack in Bulbasaur's vine was soon wound up around Staryu's body, stopping it dead as it became entangled and dragging it down to the water.

"Now grab it with a second vine!" Bulbasaur reached out with a second vine towards Staryu, wrapping around it as it tried to struggle free of its bindings. Bulbasaur had it completely detained once the second vine grabbed it.

"Staryu's pretty much done for, but I can still try to weaken her Bulbasaur." Misty thought. "Staryu, attack Bulbasaur with Swift and keep it up!" From the two free pointed tips of its body, Staryu began firing starshaped bursts at Bulbasaur. The effect was light at best and Bulbasaur easily held up its grip on the water pokemon.

"Bulbasaur, smash it around the platforms and attack it with Bullet Seed!" Thus began a rather one-sided affair between Bulbasaur and Staryu. Bulbasaur would repeatedly smash Staryu off the various platforms around the pool, while Staryu was practically helpless, and fired Bullet Seeds at it. The seeds rarely hit, though, from the constant movement while Staryu's few shots are all dead on.

Eventually, this brutal beating from Bulbasaur comes to an end with one final smash. Staryu is smashed against a platform near Misty and suddenly ceases firing its Swift attack. Bulbasaur unwraps its vines from Staryu, leaving the starfish pokemon lying limp. Bulbasaur has taken a moderate amount of damage overall, but still looks like he's doing well.

"Still confident you can win with your Bulbasaur?" Misty asked Ashley as she recalled Staryu. "I think you'll find my Starmie to be quite strong!" Misty then held up Starmie's pokeball, releasing the evolved starfish pokemon out into the pool with the upper half of its body visible.

"We're ready for you! Bulbasaur, wrap it with Vine Whip!" Ashley went straight to Vine Whip this time after learning Leech Seed wouldn't work. Bulbasaur lashed out with both vines, each grabbing onto one of the points on Starmie's body.

"Starmie, use Rapid Spin with your back!" The back half of Starmie's body began spinning around, repeatedly striking Bulbasaur's vines until it was forced to let go. "Good! Now, attack Bulbasaur with Swift!" As Bulbasaur retracted his vines, Starmie attacked again. A star-shaped burst fired from each point on the front of its body as well as its core, each burst striking Bulbasaur and pushing him back slightly on the platform.

"Leech Seed won't work, and I can't wrap with Vine Whip." Ashley thought, realizing her situation wasn't looking good. "Best I can do is go straight offense then."

"Bulbasaur, get onto Starmie with a Tackle attack!" Ashley commanded. "Once Bulbasaur gets on, I'll have him hold on as long as he can and blast it with Bullet Seed at point-blank..." Bulbasaur took a running start, putting as much speed into his attack as he could to try to make it through whatever offense Starmie might throw at him.

"Starmie, knock Bulbasaur back with Water Pulse!" Starmie fired a pulse of water, sending out three blue rings from its core and into the oncoming Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur was knocked back by the strong blow and sent sprawling across the platform it originally jumped from. Bulbasaur grunted from the effort as it struggled back to its feet, the bulb on its back beginning to glow as he had been weakened enough now for his Overgrow ability to kick in.

"-Bulbasaur! Hang in there! Use that vine...tackle...thing!-" Pippi called out, waving her arms frantically.

"It won't work though..." Rina informed Pippi. "Misty's Starmie is too light, the attack only worked because Bulbasaur was so much lighter than Onix..." Pippi stopped waving her arms and blinked at Rina in confusion, not sure what to make of her statement.

"That Water Pulse was strong!" Ashley thought in surprise, seeing how much of an effect it had on Bulbasaur. She quickly shook her head, returning her focus to the battle at hand. "Ok, Bulbasaur! Now's our chance! Give it the strongest Bullet Seed you've got!" Bulbasaur stood strong as he made his last stand, spitting out a steady stream of five seeds at Starmie. Misty didn't seem impressed by this last ditch effort.

"Starmie, finish it off! Swift!" Starmie fired another barrage of star-shaped bursts, aiming around the incoming seeds. The seeds struck Starmie head on, causing it to stagger back. Starmie held strong through the attack, though, which was more than could be said for Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur winced as each burst struck him, collapsing as the final burst met its mark in the dead center of Bulbasaur's forward.

"Maybe that was inevitable..." Ashley said to herself with a sigh. "I thought I could win though with Bulbasaur after he pulled it off alone against Brock, but thinking back even that was coming close against Brock's Onix..."

"You need to worry less about types and more about strategy and training your pokemon." Misty said to Ashley, looking mildly annoyed that the trainer thought she could win so easily. "Starmie, you did great out there! Try to rest up a bit for the next one." Misty held up Starmie's pokeball and recalled it, letting her pokemon rest inside it.

"Training..." Ashley repeated the word in her mind, then quickly shot a look to Rina. "Rina! Lets go!" She called out to her, then quickly recalled Bulbasaur and started on her way out of the gym.

"H-hey! Where are you going in such a hurry?" Rina asked her, quickly taking a confused Pippi into her arms. Fortunately, Ashley stopped at the door to answer her and give her time to catch up.

"Training, of course." Ashley replied with a smile that betrayed the fact that she just lost a gym match. "If we're going to be fighting gym leaders and people like Ying and Yang, we're going to need it!" Ashley exited the gym, leaving Rina stunned with her response.

"She's really serious about this..." Rina mumbled in shock. She shook her head and smiled. "Well, we could use a bit of training too anyway!"

"-Yeah! I need to work on my Volt Tackle and get stronger than my mommy!-" Pippi and Rina both nodded to each other and left the gym to follow after Ashley. Once the two were gone, Misty gave a heavy sigh and hung her head in exasperation.

"Finally..maybe now I can finally get a break from all these battles..." Misty muttered tiredly. Ever since the Elite Four announced the title of Champion was up for grabs, it had been one battle after another. She began to climb down into the pool, hoping to take a relaxing swim, when another trainer burst into the gym.

"I'm here to challenge the gym leader!" The young boy declared as he threw the door open. Misty groaned, halfway into the water when the trainer burst in. She hung her head in defeat and began to climb back out. For Misty, there was no break in sight...


Author's Notes: Bit late with this one, I know. I was trying to rush to finish it last night and stopped with only a paragraph or two to go when I realized how horrible it was going to turn out like that. So this morning I fixed it up, finished it off, and here it is. Still would have been on time, though, if I hadn't gotten complacent in the past few weeks because I had such a head start on each chapter. This is the first chapter this saga that I had to do from start to finish within the week, the others were either finished (1-3) or I had a huge head start (4).

Anyway, meet two important characters in this chapter. Red and his Pikachu. Pikachu, of course, is only important in that she's Pippi's mom and explains how Pippi came to know Volt Tackle.

I wanted Red to appear as a very, very talented trainer (because his pokemon grow so quickly) and far more interested in pokemon than people. In other words, his people skills suck but he has a very strong bond with his pokemon. Kinda taken from the game character's silent protagonist bit, since he's the only main character you ever meet and speak with that has no real lines.