Chapter 21, everybody! In which the battle with Lt. Surge is resolved and Ash has a moment of crisis….
And drat it all, the thing repeated—that's what I get for not checking the preview right away like I usually do. Thank you, first two reviewers, for pointing that out, it's fixed now.
Dunkaccino, thanks for the review! Perhaps—I didn't follow the Sinnoh season all that closely, so I'm not sure. I'm going with helicopter—helicopters can fly. :D
Aegorm, thank you for the review and the input! I'll try to incorporate that when I can—I'm not sure if Darkrai or Pikachu would know or care how humans quantify the data, and I think Ash and Brock might just take what the Pokédex says at face value without fully understanding the mechanics behind it (like how we understand the basics of how a car works, but if we were asked to fix one, we wouldn't know)—maybe Professor Oak would be the one who explains it at the depth you provided (Darkrai explaining it would probably end up sounding like "It's a bunch of numbers to make humans feel better. Now throw that stupid thing away"). Thanks again! :D
Dragonkeeper10, thanks for the review! Yes! Get the fire extinguisher! D:
Foreman88, thanks for the review! Thank you, I'm glad you like it! I enjoy writing humor, so I'm glad it carries through. :)
Thor94, thanks for the review! Yes…although I wonder how much maturity we can honestly expect from a ten-year-old most likely living in a society where adults are twenty (which brings up the question of how society is structured in the Pokémon world—obtaining a personal Pokémon can't be a sign of adulthood, considering we see preschoolers with their own Pokémon. And then we take their money…).
Luktopius, thanks for the review! Well….
ChangelingRin, thanks for the review! Yes it will….And thank you! I shall!
Pokeevee57, thanks for the review! Yes! That's actually quite surprising….
Wings of an Eternal Blaze, thanks for the review! That's actually an accurate assessment of the end of that chapter….
Yami-Chan and Unrealistic, thanks for the review! Eheheh….Yes! Darkrai's a bad influence, apparently….Perhaps. *also shrugs*
Calzifer, thanks for the review! I think Frenzy has that effect on everyone. Thank you! I love writing for him. :D Thank you! I try to keep a good buffer going so I don't have schedule slip (although I tend to fail when inspiration doesn't return to me before the buffer runs out—we've got a good twenty more chapters on this before that's a problem, though). Thank you, I will! Same to you! :D
Chermayne, thanks for the review! Thank you—hopefully this fits the bill! :D
Thanks for the review, guest! Yes, Ash using his head—one of the signs the world will end (or maybe that's the Clefairy talking—get away from my keyboard, you…).
IceDragonGirl36, thanks for the review! Yes, Frenzy should—but will he? Thank you! Hopefully that gets answered this chapter….
Ardtornismyname, thanks for the review! Soon….
Thanks for the review, Gust! Good question—it is my intention to intimate the identity of Ash's father in this story….Ha! Except—going through fan-canon on here, that isn't too far out to left field (I've seen it mentioned that Ash might have a Lucario father, although how the logistics for a human/Pokémon interaction in that regard work is beyond my willingness to imagine). Perhaps Ash is a young Darkrai hiding under a Zoroark illusion (Delia, perhaps), and Darkrai is his erstwhile father come back to take him off her hands….*mind blown*
Potina Septum, thanks for the review! I…have never figured that out either. *looks up* Okay, I just looked it up on Serebii (my computer doesn't like Bulbapedia for some reason), and she learns Moonblast, which is her only offensive Fairy move, at Level 99, and she can learn Signal Beam and Fury Cutter via Move Tutor, which are both Bug moves, but that would also require her being 1) faster than Darkrai, and 2) being more evasive than Darkrai. Darkrai can easily outspeed her, but she does start out with Double Team, so if she could get that in….Although in my reasoning for my Pokémon stories, Darkrai are frequently hunted down by humans, rendering them endangered, so it could be that Cresselia has humans helping her out frequently, and before all that the two species just minded their own business. Who knows. Thank you, I'm glad you like the story thus far! Ah, yes—that's probably the problem with Pokémon who see the future all the time: they don't understand the immediate effect they're having. I am too. :D Thank you! I hope to continue to please! :D
Pokémon © Game Freak; Nintendo
Transformers © Hasbro ("Autobot used Rollout! It's super effective!")
And now, for something completely different:
In other news, the fire raging in the small village of Boonhicks has finally come to a halt. The Pokémon League would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone of the dangers of having a Fire type in the house. Please keep your Fire types in an asbestos-lined Pokémon kennel at least ten feet away from your residence. Asbestos kennels can be purchased at any hardware store.
The hole dug underneath Magnemite had been a blind, one designed to collapse right after the first use.
Which meant that the second, more powerful Ember burst through the multiple holes that Patches had dug but not quite completed, taking Magnemite and Lt. Surge completely flat-footed.
"Magnemite is unable to battle," the referee observed. "This round goes to Charmander!"
"All right!" Ash cheered. "Good job, Charmander!"
"Don't get cocky, kid," Lt. Surge said, tossing out another Pokéball. "You've got two more Pokémon to deal with."
Ash blinked—for a moment, he thought that Lt. Surge had tossed out another larger Pokéball.
And then he saw the eyes.
"Voltorb, Rollout!" Lt. Surge ordered.
Ash had to resist another reference, instead ordering Charmander to dodge. Charmander did so, barely.
"Add a Charge on that, Voltorb," Lt. Surge called.
Great. Now it was a rolling electro-ball.
"Charmander, return!" Ash said, using the Pokéball this time. "Patches, get out there and use Dig!"
Patches dove into his old hole just in time to avoid being run over.
"You know what the Voltorb line is famous for, kid?" Lt. Surge asked as Voltorb rolled to the center of the field. "Exploding."
And it did.
Ash hit the deck, Pikachu beneath him.
"Thing about your earlier trick," Lt. Surge said—Ash barely heard him over the ringing in his ears. "It weakened the floor enough that it didn't provide much protection—your Pokémon's either fainted or flat as a Stunfisk."
Ash blinked as Voltorb rolled out of the pit it had created. "What the—"
Lt. Surge was stunned too. Ash couldn't even speak as Patches gave one final nudge, sending the fainted Voltorb rolling out of bounds.
"Wow," Ash noised. "Patches, you're…bigger…."
Patches had finally evolved into a Nidorino.
He still had his namesake patch though, which Ash saw when Patches tossed his head before collapsing in a dead faint.
"Good job, Patches," Ash said, recalling the new Nidorino as the referee called it. "Ready, Pikachu?"
"Pika!" Pikachu declared, jumping to the edge of the pit.
"Go, Raichu!" Lt. Surge ordered. The larger orange mouse Pokémon obliged, standing on the other side of the pit.
This was it—Charmander didn't have enough health left to pose a decent threat to Raichu—it was either Pikachu or nothing.
"Okay Pikachu," Ash muttered. "Remember what we talked about—nail him fast, and don't let him touch you."
"Pika!" Pikachu said, cheeks sparking.
And with that, he dashed into action, running around the pit rather than risk slowing down on the uprise.
Raichu slapped him away with its long tail.
"Try again, Pikachu!"
Pikachu did so, using Quick Attack from every angle. Raichu was able to block most of the attacks, but more kept getting in—
"Enough of this," Lt. Surge ordered. "Raichu, overload that little mouse."
Raichu let out a wild call before unleashing a devastating Thunder attack.
Pikachu dodged, but the attack was strong and widespread enough to hit.
"Pika!"
"Pikachu!" Ash yelled—Pikachu was practically glowing; he could see the little Pokémon's skeleton—
"Better quit now, kid," Lt. Surge said. "Pikachu don't have the storing capacity that Raichu have—it'll fry in the next minute."
Ash scrabbled frantically for an idea—
"Pikachu! Use Quick Attack and Slam into that Raichu! Give that electricity back to him!"
Pikachu ran, the excess electricity lending him extra speed—
Woah.
"Volt Tackle!?" Lt. Surge yelped, stunned.
Raichu was caught off guard too—it was saved from devastating damage by dint of typing, but the attack still did a number on it.
"You okay, Pikachu?" Ash asked.
"Pika," Pikachu gasped—he wasn't glowing, so that was a good thing.
"Okay…." Regroup—need some thinking time. "Use Iron Tail on the ground and then Tail Whip."
Pikachu did so, producing a mild sandstorm and sending it Raichu's way.
"Tail Whip to clear it, then Thunder again," Lt. Surge ordered.
No way. Not in this life.
"Pikachu, Quick Attack with Slam and Iron Tail," Ash threw out. "Don't let it recover!"
Pikachu did so with earnest—he knew what would happen if he got hit with Thunder again.
Not today.
Raichu let off electricity in an attempt to stave off the smaller Pokémon, but Iron Tail kept the electricity focused and sent to the ground in the form of Electro Ball, thus perpetuating the sand blind. They simply couldn't afford to let it build up a charge again—keep at it, Pikachu!—
And then a final hit, and Raichu was down for the count.
"Yes!" Ash cheered. Pikachu did so too, then keeled over from exhaustion.
"As the challenger still has a Pokémon remaining, Ash Ketchum wins!" the referee declared.
Ash breathed a sigh of relief before running over to Pikachu.
"You okay, Pikachu?" Ash asked, picking the little Pokémon up.
"Chaa," he noised.
"There'll be a victory party involving ketchup…."
Pikachu instantly perked up at that.
"Hey kid."
Ash looked up to see Lt. Surge standing in front of him after recalling Raichu. He had a hand extended; Ash shifted his hold on Pikachu so he could shake it.
"Good match, kid," Lt. Surge said. "No one's given me a good challenge in forever. And since you won, you get this."
And he handed Ash a Thunder Badge.
"Awesome," Ash breathed, before being tackled by an ecstatic Misty and a more reserved Brock.
"I didn't doubt you for a second," Misty said.
"She did," Brock corrected. "The whole round with Raichu was 'I can't look—tell me when it's over.'"
Misty whacked Brock upside the head.
"Nice friends," Lt. Surge observed drily. Very Darkrai-ish.
"There's no accounting for taste," Ash said, deciding to use one of Darkrai's preferred phrases; Lt. Surge laughed appreciatively—yup, most definitely a Darkrai in disguise.
"Kid," Lt. Surge said, rubbing under his nose as he wound down from his laugh. "I don't want to keep you from the Pokémon Center, but I have to ask—where did you get that Pikachu?"
Huh? "From Professor Oak," Ash said. "He's my starter."
"And where did Professor Oak get him?"
Good question. Ash looked down at Pikachu, who shrugged. "He was chewing on wires at Professor Oak's lab."
"So he's wild?"
"He used to be. Where is this going?"
"That move he used earlier, when he was overloaded—that was Volt Tackle. It's only in the Pikachu line, and only available through special breeding. I think there's more to his story than just being wild-caught."
"Is there?" Ash asked Pikachu, who shrugged once more.
"Tell you what, kid," Lt. Surge said. "You go get your Pokémon healed and rest up—tomorrow I want you back here bright and early."
Ash blinked. "Uh, why?"
Lt. Surge cracked a grin. "Because you impressed me, kid. Come back tomorrow, and me and my 'mons will help your Pikachu master that Volt Tackle."
Lt. Surge had called ahead to the Pokémon Center, apparently—not only did the nurse not laugh when Ash told her he had won, but had also directed them to a hotel with a few rooms open and prepaid (since the Pokémon Center was packed full of previous challengers). Granted, it wasn't a great hotel—the rooms were small and needed a new paint job—but it was an improvement over sleeping in a sleeping bag on dirt in the middle of nowhere.
Even better, Ash's room had a window for him to chat with Darkrai, freshly returned from his little trip, as Charmander, Patches, and Pikachu recovered—the nurse wanted them to stay overnight for observation. He wasn't too miffed at the moment—he was too busy giving Darkrai the play-by-play of the gym battle.
He cumulated the story with showing Darkrai the Thunder Badge. "And Lt. Surge says he'll help Pikachu learn Volt Tackle, too," Ash finished, sighing happily.
"Good for you," Darkrai observed, examining the badge.
"You could at least sound happy."
"It's not in my vocal capabilities."
Ash flopped down on the bed, mentally beat.
When he did, he noted the discrepancy.
"I just realized," Ash said, sitting back up. "This is the first time in a while that I've been anywhere without Pikachu."
"Don't tell me you miss the yellow rat."
"I do."
Vee—who, like Lenny and Frenzy, was out of his Pokéball (and in Lenny's case, in a fish bowl)—jumped into Ash's lap and gave a low murmur, arching his back in a manner that clearly said pet me and you'll feel better. Ash did so. And he did, kind of.
At the very least, it enabled him to calm down somewhat and truly absorb the events of the day.
He flopped back down with a sigh.
"Now what's wrong?" Darkrai asked.
"I just realized," Ash said morosely. "Pikachu could have died today—he was overloaded…that could have fried him completely. I would have been burying my starter. And Patches was in the epicenter of an explosion, for crying out loud."
"Ah," Darkrai noised. "It finally sinks in."
"Maybe I should quit."
"Seriously?" Darkrai asked, as Vee sat up, startled. "You've been wanting to do this for as long as I've known you, and now you want to quit? What do you think you're going to do?"
"I don't know," Ash sighed. "But…this was just the third gym—the others are going to be even stronger. What if I can't hack it and get my team killed?"
"Might I direct you to a term called 'training'? I hear that's what Pokémon trainers are for."
"Yeah…but…." Ash propped himself up on his elbows. "You're the one who's always telling me how bad at the job humans are—do Pokémon even want this sort of thing?"
"Vee vee!"
Ash blinked as Vee jumped up on his chest, little Eevee nose inches from his own. He was talking vehemently, although Ash couldn't understand a second of it. He looked to Darkrai for the translation.
"He says you're an idiot," Darkrai supplied.
"Vee!" Vee snapped.
"Fine—he says these sort of things are signals to get stronger, not quit."
"That's…pretty deep," Ash admitted. "And apparently Pokémon language is pretty condense."
"Add yet another reason Pokémon are superior," Darkrai said, listening as Vee continued. "He also says that every…good trainer has a moment like you're having—that recognizing a brush with death is important to your growth. At this point, you could quit—or you could make sure that next time you're strong enough that it won't be a problem. All Pokémon have the desire to grow stronger, and travelling with trainers is the best way for them, for the most part. All right, that's enough—I'm not translating sappy stuff."
"That's okay, I get the picture," Ash said, petting Vee. "Thanks, Vee."
"Eevee," Vee noised, curling up on Ash's chest.
Ash glanced at Lenny and Frenzy—the former looked relieved, while the other looked like he always did—before laying back down. "Well," he noised. "I guess the next step is to go learn with Lt. Surge."
"I like that guy," Darkrai declared. "I can't put my claw on it, but I like him."
"That reminds me—I have a theory I've been working on for a while: is there such a thing as an underground Darkrai community?"
"Oh sure—we pay visits and throw parties all the time."
"I knew it."