A/N: I know this chapter was supposed to be released two days ago, but family and work stuff popped up at the last minute and I had to throw this on the back burner. It also did not help that this chapter went way beyond my expectations in content, so much I had to split it into two chapters. I hope you all enjoy these two battle-oriented chapters. This was definitely the most difficult two chapters I have ever written.
Chapter 8: Battle for the Boulder – Part 1
October 5th, 2007 – 6:00 AM
-The Harrison Residence-
He lived in a large house in a quiet neighborhood, but his house was anything but quiet. He appreciated the fact that he had brothers and sisters, but never in his wildest imaginations did he manage to have nine of them. It made him wonder what his parents do on their spare time whenever his mother was home. He only shuddered at the thought, not to mention it was his first thought upon awaking from his precious slumber. He turned over to his side to shut off the three blaring alarm clocks he set up to make sure he was fully out of bed.
The sky glowed a deep blue to the east while the west was still black as night. Brock had large bay windows overlooking his garden of various rock pokemon. He cared for them as much as he cared for his siblings. They were still sound asleep, appearing like normal rocks. Letting loose a rather loud yawn, he stretched his long arms into the air, almost touching the ceiling. He stood a massive 6'3", with his arms giving him another 3' of stretch.
'What to do…I need to wake the kids up for them to go to school…' He made his way to the intercom down the hall and pressed a large red button. It was the same routine every day. Alarm clocks blared from each of the rooms in the hallway with groans of displeasure following it. All of the rooms' lights went on and slow, sluggish shuffling can be heard. Brock made his way to the bathroom at his end of the hall to get ready before the other kids get a chance to hog it.
It was 15 minutes later we find him in the kitchen laboring away with breakfast. He knew his dad had an early start at the lab, so he spent the morning preparing a large breakfast for himself and his siblings. After 45 minutes of preparations, there were 10 plates of eggs, bacon, and toast. He sat them all down in the dining room with a long table in the center. The silverware was of high-grade platinum and the dishes were of china found in the mountains just north of the city. They were a very well-off family in Pewter City.
Brock came across a note on the counter, most likely written by his father. He picked up a note, and was rather dismayed at its content:
Brock,
I have a lot of research I didn't get done last night and it may take a couple days to catch up. I need you to run the gym today and tomorrow for me. Sorry I had to spring this on you. Take care of the gym for me.
Dad
He let out a short huff in exasperation. He was not supposed to be at the gym until 9 AM, so he had some time to care for his garden of pokemon. It was his life-long dream to become a Pokemon Breeder, but he was stuck here looking after the gym and following in his parents' footsteps to become a Pokemon Archaeologist. He even took two years of classes at Pewter City College in preparation for the role. It also did not help that his family ran the Pewter City Gym for generations, displaying their love of rock pokemon. He needed to get out of this city if he wanted to remain sane. He was at the top of his limit. He let out a long sigh before dropping off his siblings to school and making his way to the gym where he awaited challengers. He was expecting at least three today.
-Pewter City Pokemon Center-
10:00 AM
A yellow mouse woke up from his peaceful slumber to a sleeping trainer that lie next to him, snoring away. He checked his surroundings and saw the alarm clock, which no one had set due to the events of last night. He figured if it was this late in the morning, he would have to wake him up fast if he wanted to battle in time. Pikachu began shaking his master aggressively.
"Hey, Ash! ASH! ASHHH!"
"Huh?...what?" Ash groggily said, as he slowly awoke from his rather questionably appropriate dream. He also checked his surroundings and looked at the clock. He yelped in surprise at how late it was.
"Oh crap! There may be a line at the gym! WE WONT'T MAKE IT IN TIME! LEAF! WAKE UP!"
Leaf, however, did not wake up, let alone moved an inch. Jigglypuff, however, heard loud and clear and saluted Ash, who was now in full panic mode. He hurried into the shower while Jigglypuff started to beat the living crap out of her master. Leaf, in sudden pain, shot up at Jigglypuff, giving her the full on glare with Jigglypuff smirking back. She pointed over to the clock, which now read 10:15 AM.
'SHIT! We overslept! We forgot to set the alarm clock last night!' She threw herself off the bed and headed towards the bathroom door. She could hear the shower stop, but she did not care. She threw open the door, which Ash did not lock since he was in too much of a hurry to care, and ran into Ash who was just getting out of the shower with a towel.
"Hey, what the?!" Ash screamed as Leaf began grabbing a toothbrush.
"Dude, we're both in a hurry and I'm not giving a damn about anything right now. I'm going to shower."
"Wait! At least let me get out first!" It was too late. Leaf threw off her clothes, seemingly onto Ash, and hopped in the shower…all within about 3 seconds. Ash froze for a second to count what was on him.
'Hooookay…there are a pair of socks thrown at my midsection that landed on the floor, her dress draped over my left shoulder, her panty on my right shoulder…great…, and that leaves…oh hell…' Draped over his head and down his face…was Leaf's bra. He blushed rather intensely and threw them and the rest of the clothing off. He ran back out to the room with his outfit and changed rather quickly, slamming the door behind him. Pikachu and Jigglypuff were found outside rolling on the floor, laughing their guts out. Ash straightened his hat and glared at the two.
"…shut up…"
He gathered up his belongings, threw them on the bed, and waited patiently for Leaf to finish. She threw the door open, dressed in her little black dress, white gloves, and white fedora and shoved the rest of her belongings into the bag.
"Well, are we going or not?!" Leaf shouted from the door.
"Yeah, yeah. Let's go grab a quick breakfast and get to the gym." They both made it to the cafeteria and wolfed down and entire plate of eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, and toast in less than three minutes, busting out the front lobby right afterwards running towards downtown.
Fridays were always busy days in Pewter City; there were more people out today to start their weekend early whether it was shopping, eating overpriced brunches, weekly meetings, and so on and so forth. This made traffic problems much worse and an influx of crowds. It did not help Ash, Leaf, Pikachu, and Jigglypuff at all. They were shoved forwards, backwards, and side to side attempting to shove their way out of the crowds. It was absolute mayhem. Leaf grabbed Ash's hand and pulled him along with an iron grip.
"OW! What the hell?!" Ash yelled.
"Hey! Do we want to get their together or not? PokeMaps said it was at the corner of Pewter Avenue and Marion Boulevard. It shouldn't be too long from here…maybe another half a mile. Man this crowd sure is thick. Don't wanna lose each other, right?"
"Right! Now let's press onward!" They eventually got to the corner and stared at the enormous stone building. It looked like the building was carved from a giant piece of stone that was dropped in the middle of the city. The giant lettering appearing atop the double doors read "Pewter City Pokemon Gym and Training Center". They made their way across the wide street and through the double doors where to their surprise, there was no line. In fact, it was nearly empty. A massive hall, similar to the museum, greeted the trainers with the reception desk in the middle. Ash walked up to the desk and made eye contact with the woman behind it.
"Uh…hi. We're here to challenge the Pewter City Gym..." he began nervously. The lady kindly smiled back at him and looked him straight in the eye.
"Very well," she calmly said throwing Ash's heart in a tremble, "I will need to see your Trainer's ID to see if you are registered with the Pokemon League. Only registered trainers are allowed to participate in Gym Leader Battles." Ash and Leaf pulled out their pokedexes and opened the information section. The receptionist seemingly knew what was going on and gladly accepted them.
"Now, you all are familiar with the rules of Gym battles, am I correct?" Ash and Leaf nodded in response.
"Good, now just to review, take these pamphlets and make sure you understand the rules and regulations of these special battles. The viewing area is in the arena behind the door to your right. Leaf, your battle is at 12:00 PM and Ash, your battle is at 1:30 PM. Please schedule your day accordingly."
"Thanks," they both said as they made their way through the steel door to the right of the desk. There was a long hallway that lead to another set of doors. This hallway was tall and narrow, and was lit with torches and a low flame. There were vents near the top of the corridor that provided air and got rid of the smoke. Sounds of battle can be heard from the far end. From what Ash could tell, the battle was tough, fierce, and most of all, exciting. Loud sounds of growling, screaming, and destruction rang through the hallway. Violent vibrations from the impact shook the tunnel. Ash quickened his pace towards the end, almost at running speed. He threw the door open to a white light.
After Ash stepped further into the arena, he spots a massive battlefield below with two people and pokemon battling it out. There was a charmander on one side of the field and a giant rock snake at the other end. Leaf made it just in time to watch the charmander and rock snake rush each other again. They could not understand what each trainer was saying; the sounds blended together and dispersed all over the arena. The dust cloud grew to an enormous size and blinded everyone below. When the dust settled, Leaf could make out the features of each of the trainers. The trainer to the left had on a purple polo shirt with dark blue jeans as well as a stern attitude and aura. The trainer to the right also had spiky brown hair, squinty eyes, and had on a pair of brown pants and an orange shirt with a green vest. He was also quite tall, having a couple of inches over the other. Leaf knew exactly who these two people were: Gary and Brock, the researcher they met yesterday.
"Oh look, Ash! There's Gary and Brock battling it out. It looks like Brock's having a hard time keeping up…" Ash was awed by Gary's performance. He has definitely improved his skill in battle…must be all that training he has done while Ash and Leaf got lost in the forest. Charmander single-handedly took out the rock snake with an attack that surprised Brock. What normally would be a scratch should not have made a large gash like this attack did. The rock snake fainted where it revealed a large gash on its head. Charmander stood at the other end with its claws abnormally shiny and chrome. He was breathing heavily as it slammed its claws at the ground in victory. Gary looked around to find the source of the gasps that echoed throughout. He spotted the two trainers from the viewing area, and smirked. The referee on the other side of the viewing area held a red flag in Gary's direction.
"Onix has fainted, Gary Oak is the winner of this match," the referee bellowed over the PA system.
"Seems like you missed a good show," Gary said, now facing the audience, "I know I beat him fairly easily. Let's see if you can do the same. I'm sure you can give 'ol pretty boy here ("HEY!") a run for his money since you can beat me, right?" Ash gulped. He was not sure if he could do it since he noticed the sheer improvement in Gary's pokemon. He started to sweat profusely.
'Ummmm…crap…he got really strong in a really short amount of time…' Leaf noticed Ash sweating his brains out and put a hand on his shoulder. It seemed to calm him down a bit.
"Hey…don't worry, Ash; I believe you can do this."
"Thanks." Brock offered Gary the Boulder Badge as his reward, which Gary snatched up and sternly walked out of the building. Brock let out a very dissatisfied sigh, and grunted. He also looked up at the audience and waved before disappearing through the doors with his injured pokemon.
As soon as the door closed, Leaf looked at the clock, which read 11:30 AM. Her match was in half an hour. She decided it was good time as ever to read over the rules, which were oddly specific:
Gym Leader Battles for the Pokemon League Tournament Qualifier – Rules and Regulations
-Gym Leaders choose pokemon at various levels based on the number of badges the opposing trainer has
-As a gym leader's battles are the ultimate test of a trainer's skill, the gym leaders will decide the battle style
-These battles are always officiated by a Pokemon League Referee
-Bribing the gym leader is on grounds of cheating; it will not be tolerated
-Gym leaders may require tasks for the trainer to perform before earning the chance to battle said leader
-…
"So this would be like any other trainer battle, but it's closely regulated and monitored to enforce League rules. Huh," Leaf mused as she continued reading down the page, "Well, it's time to prepare for my match with Brock. I wonder if you're going to battle Brock or his dad. He said they both run the gym."
"Well good luck in your match! I'll be rooting for yah! I think you better make your way down to the field to stretch and stuff." Leaf nodded and headed down the stairs to the field where she took out all three of her pokemon. Ash smiled back as her form became smaller and smaller as she descended further down.
'I hope she does well. I know she'll do well.'
On the field, Leaf took her pokemon out and looked at them passion and conviction. She patted each of them on the head, smiling at each one as she went to the next.
"Okay, guys. This is our very first Gym Battle. I want you all to do your best and whatever happens, I'm still proud of you all. We've worked hard for this moment, right?" All of the pokemon nodded in agreement. Alright, let's start stretching out and warm up. We've got a long fight ahead of us." She started telling each pokemon what to do. Squirtle and Jigglypuff began running back and forth to warm up their speed while caterpie started shooting high-viscosity silk at makeshift targets. There was about a 50 percent hit rate from those and Leaf would have to make sure to train her harder. Squirtle began retreating and popping out of the shell at a rapid pace. Jigglypuff found a rock and started pounding the crap out of it until the rock crumbled. She also started to inhale a large amount of air, holding it for several seconds, and releasing it. Jigglypuff and Squirtle then started a shoving match to warm up their power. Caterpie took turns with them as well with this. This went on for the next half an hour.
Brock reappeared on the other side of the field and the referee appeared on the other side of the viewing area. He spoke to the PA system, alerting everybody in the arena.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. The next scheduled match will begin. Will the trainer by the name of Lily Greenway step up to the trainer's box." Leaf retreated all of her pokemon (sans Jigglypuff) into their balls and slowly made her way up to the box. To her, the light seemed to get brighter as she stepped up to the box, almost blinding her to where she shielded herself from the rays of light. She felt hot, but cold at the same time. Her nerves of steel melted into a mush of nervousness and delirium. All sense of confidence was thrown out the window in seconds. She reached the top of the box and dropped her bag beside her. She struggled to see the other side of the field, hyperventilating.
"So Leaf," Brock called out from the other side, "are you ready for your first gym battle?" Leaf hesitated answering back. She only nodded slowly.
"I can see you're nervous from over there, being your first gym battle and all. Just do your best and everything will be alright!" Leaf's confidence rose again as she grabbed her pokeball. Brock's tone became more sinister. "This will be a one-on-one battle. I will be using two pokemon. You will be able to use your entire party. Now…let's get started, shall we? Let's go, Geodude!" Leaf was expecting a behemoth of a pokemon to appear, only to be disappointed by a small rock with two appendages and a face. It was rather puzzling to her that there was an animate rock. She quickly pulled out Dextra for information.
"Well good afternoon, Leaf! Yah miss me? I missed being able to scan pokemon for you. Why don't you use me more? I could use a little exercise you know." Leaf let out an exasperated sigh.
'Why can't my pokedex be less annoying? Why can't it be like Dexter?'
"Just shut up and scan for me, please…"
"Very well, then. Geodude: the rock pokemon. It is found in fields and mountains. Mistaking them for boulders, people often step or trip on them. Its known attacks are Tackle and Defense Curl."
"Let's go Squirtle!" Leaf cried, "Let's start off with Bubble!" As bubbles collided with the rock pokemon, it whined in pain and rolled away, taking serious damage. Brock flinched a bit, but still had hope.
'Geeez…she's using a water pokemon; this is gonna be over rather quickly. Let's hope she doesn't catch on.'
"Geodude! Defense Curl!" The rock pokemon rolled up in a ball and planted itself in that spot.
"Tackle it, Squirtle! Make sure it loosens up!" Squirtle's shell collided with the pokemon, throwing it into the air, but not loosening like she planned. Squirtle came up with an idea: when it lands, Tail Whip it and it will swat back up, then aim a Bubble attack at the underside, since the arms doesn't seem to be protecting there. Leaf seemed to be thinking the same thing since she also saw the underside being unprotected. She smirked, making Brock quiver even more.
"Squirtle. Tail Whip, then follow with Bubble. You know where to hit it." Sure enough, the rock was swatted back into the air. Squirtle immediately turned back blew an enormous bubble blast at the underside of the geodude. It was knocked further into the air and landed at Brock's feet. Geodude now looked dead tired, but its will did not match its physical condition. It continued to hop towards Squirtle, preparing for a tackle.
"Geodude, I know you're tired, but try to tackle it the best you can." And it did just that, just missing entirely and dug itself into the ground. When it was able to lift itself, there was a mini crater with its imprint. There, it was panting heavily and on the brink of collapsing. Leaf decided to finish it to save it from further embarrassment.
"Finish it off with Bubble!" The bubble finally took out the remaining strength of Geodude. It twirled to its side and collapsed, closing its eyes out of exhaustion.
"Geodude is no longer able to battle. Will Gym Leader Brock send out his next pokemon," the referee announced. Curiosity held Leaf by the neck as she anxiously awaited the next pokemon. Seeing the small rock pokemon lowered her expectations quite a bit; she was expecting another small rock pokemon. Brock could not have more than one rock snake that Gary beat up on, right? She was very wrong.
"Onix! Let's finish them off!" A towering snake of boulders appeared, letting out a roar that made Ash and Pikachu up in the stands cover their ears. Leaf was actually frightened by this…rock snake. The head consisted of pieces of boulder in the shape of a face, eyes, and hinge-like mouth. The head had a tall, narrow dorsal fin for some unknown reason. The size of the individual boulders gradually got smaller as it moved towards the tail. Overall, it was one pokemon that Leaf would not want to mess with even on a good day.
"What the hell is THAT?" Leaf asked loudly out of fear. Ash pulled out Dexter to let him do his thing.
"Commencing scan of pokemon. Onix: the rock snake pokemon. It usually lives underground. It searches for food while boring its way through the ground at 50 miles per hour. Its known moves are Tackle, Bind, Harden, and Rock Tomb." Leaf looked at Squirtle and decided it was time for him to rest.
"Alright, it's time for you to rest. I'll get you later when I need you most, okay?" Squirtle nodded and hopped back into its ball. Leaf decided she wanted to give Caterpie a shot.
"Alright, you're up Caterpie!" Caterpie was generally a small pokemon. This was in contrast to the 29 foot behemoth that stood in front of her. But what surprised Leaf was that Caterpie did not back down like she expected her to; she stood there ready to attack. Leaf thought she could start off confusing the snake.
"String-shot!" Now during warm-up, there was a 50 percent chance the silk would actually hit and make its mark. Leaf was hoping it was not the usual case where Caterpie would completely miss and blind her or Jigglypuff. Fortunately, the silk hit spot on with the face, and it was a rather impressive shot being almost 30 feet away. Onix was now blind and started thrashing around to throw it all off.
"Onix, try to get the silk off! HURRY AND TACKLE!" Onix still thrashed around trying to get the silk off, but the tough silk held in place. It got impatient with itself and threw a tackle at where the source Caterpie's call was. She has not moved from that spot ever since the silk hit. Leaf looked on in panic as the silk-covered snake flew towards the tiny caterpillar.
"CATERPIE! MOVE NOW!" Small bugs like Caterpie were supposed to have been crushed by that instant, but this particular caterpie had an insane amount of speed and evasion. Caterpie moved itself to the right just in time as the snake made contact with the ground.
"Tackle it, now!" Caterpie head butted the snake, only to cause little damage. She bounced off and back onto the ground, next to the snake.
"Onix! Bind the bug to your left!" Onix wrapped its entire body around Caterpie before she could attempt another high-speed evasion. She was lifted high off the ground and put in an anaconda-style choke hold. This is where Leaf could hear cries of pain from the poor bug.
"Crap…hang in there Caterpie! Fight through the pain! I know you can do it!" Onix continued its choke hold for five full minutes until Caterpie magically slipped out. She was heavily wounded and could barely scrawl. Leaf was about to call her back when Caterpie decided she wanted to go out with dignity.
"Are you sure about this, Caterpie?" She nodded in response.
"Alright. One more tackle then you need some rest, okay?" She nodded again and readied herself for a tackle. Onix was particularly sure that he would not feel a thing from this tiny bug. It was sorely mistaken, however, when Caterpie launched itself at its head and had enough force to throw its head back and cause whiplash. It returned a growl with Caterpie lying in ground opposite and exhausted.
"Alright. You need to take a rest, sweety. Return." Leaf was about to use her next, and favorite, weapon in her arsenal: Jigglypuff.
"It's not over yet, Brock. Jigglypuff! Go!" Jigglypuff stood ready to deliver her signature pound to the snake. She was fueled by anger, hatred, and determination. Her frown turned to a sadistic smile after Onix released its attack.
"Tackle that jigglypuff!" Onix threw its head at the balloon, the silk already wearing off. Jigglypuff was fast enough to roll to the left and throw herself back at the snake.
"Jigglypuff! Pound it like you wake me up!" She was lucky enough that she can keep herself afloat if necessary, so she flew up to the snake's head and proceeded to bitch-slap the fuck out of Onix. Jigglypuff was relentless with her attack. Hits, upon hits, upon hits kept making contact with the snake, forcing its head violently left and right. By this time, Onix was recoiling from the surprisingly massive damage it took from the tiny balloon. Ash, watching from above, stared dumbfounded at the damage Jigglypuff caused.
"Heh…must be all that training she got waking up Leaf every day, right Pikachu?" Pikachu snickered back in response.
Back on the floor, things were not looking too good for Onix at this point; it was only about to get worse. Leaf discretely took out a pair of earplugs and slipped them in while Brock was still in shock of what that Jigglypuff just did. Jigglypuff looked back at her master and saw her putting in the last of the earplugs. She smirked and started singing. The song echoed throughout the arena. The ref, noticing what was going on, pulled out his noise-cancelling earphones while Brock realized the attack a bit too late.
"Onix! Bury your head before you…uh…I'm tired…-zzzzzz-" Onix fell asleep as well. Leaf, admiring her work, took out her earplugs and looked at Jigglypuff.
"Alright. Should we finish it with the big guns? I know now that rocks are weak to water." Jigglypuff nodded, having had her fun for the day. She floated back up to the platform and sat next to her master. Leaf pulled out her last pokeball to finish Onix off, who was now asleep and heavily injured. One more super-effective hit and Onix would be completely done.
"Alright, Squirtle! Let's finish it off!" Squirtle, already knowing what to do, launched himself straight at the snake, head butted its head, and released a powerful Bubble, causing the snake to jolt awake. Squirtle took the chance and fired another round, taking advantage of the disoriented Onix. And thus, Onix was completely finished, lying on the ground unable to move.
"Onix is unable to battle. Lily Greenway is the winner!" the referee announced. Leaf, Jigglypuff, and Squirtle all rejoiced together while Brock made his way across the field. He smiled brightly at Leaf's astounding performance.
"That was some battle there, Leaf; you really had me there at the end. That was totally nuts what you did there with the singing and switching of pokemon. And the power of your pokemon was crazy, too! Here's the Boulder Badge as a sign that you have tested your skills as a Pokemon Trainer. Only seven more to go, right?" Leaf smiled brightly and Ash ran down to the field to meet with them.
"Wow! That was some battle there, Leaf! I didn't know you had it in you to battle like that!" Leaf's bright smile turned into a rather dark smile.
"So you're saying you didn't have faith in me at all?" Ash recoiled and Brock had sweat drops forming.
"Th-th-th-THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT! I meant that it was just a surprise that you were able to fight like that! I'm not doubting your skills."
"Haha, you better not doubt it. After all, I learn by watching the best, right?" Ash blushed at the complement.
"Aw shoot…you're too kind, Leaf."
"And here's what the Boulder Badge looks like!" Ash stared at the grey-colored gem that Leaf held out in her hands. He was mesmerized by the power and honor it beheld. It was a sign of a truly great trainer.
"Hey, Ash," Brock called out to get his attention, "you and I have a date at 1:30, right?" Ash suddenly remembered that he had a match today as well.
"Oh yeah!"
"Well, it's almost 1:00 right now. Why don't you go ahead and start warming up. I'll be in my office taking a short break. That was one tough battle." And Brock disappeared back behind the door at the other side of the arena.
"Well I can't tell how the battle will turn out for you, but remember to do your best and give it your all, right?" Leaf encouraged. Ash smiled back and nodded.
"Yeah. Who wouldn't give it their all after all? Pikachu and I got this, right?" Pikachu threw his tiny arm up in the air, energized.
"Well good luck to you both down there. I think you should warm up a bit before he gets back. I'll be watching you from up here!"
"Thanks!" And with that, Ash and Pikachu made it to the floor where the Trainers' box was. Ash released all of his pokemon to begin the warm-up session.
"Alright guys, this is the big day we've all been waiting for. This is our first real test as a team. Just do your best out there and give it your all! This is ours for taking, right?!" His entire party gave cries of energy and passion. They were pumped and ready to go. "Let's warm up, guys! I'll tell you what to do." Pikachu and Bulbasaur starting running back and forth while Weedle tried to shoot String Shots at the two. Unlike Caterpie, Weedle was able to hit Pikachu 75 percent of the time and Bulbasaur 85 percent. After about 5 minutes of that, Pikachu was continually charging himself, making sure he was fully of electricity. Bulbasaur and Weedle practiced Leech Seed launches with Weedle making a makeshift basket to catch the seedlings. Weedle also used that to shoot darts into the basket. The basket itself was pretty small, so they had to work on precision. Things looked pretty good on their end, so they moved to Tackles. Pikachu attempted to block Bulbasaur's tackle, much like Ash has seen in Unovian Football. The clock hit 1:30 and Brock made his appearance, once again with two pokeballs.
'It looks like he's gonna use the same two pokemon…what does he have? A rapid recovery machine?' The referee than made his announcement for the third time today.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. The next scheduled match will begin. Will the trainer by the name of Ashton Ketchum step up to the trainer's box." Ash retreated all of his pokemon and stepped up to the box. He and Pikachu had a confident smirks on their face, like they were going to walk out of here in five minutes or less.
"Well, Ash," Brock started, with the same smirk, "aren't you confident today?"
"Yup, I'm ready to defeat you and take home the Boulder Badge."
"I like your attitude, but the smirk can be easily wiped off."
"Well let's see what you got. Let's go Bulbasaur!" Bulbasaur stood at the ready. Brock let out the same pokemon from before: his geodude.
"Alright Geodude, let's kick this off with a Tackle!" Geodude used its powerful arms to launch himself at Bulbasaur, who quickly dodged out of the way. Geodude rolled over to his side and got right back up, something Ash did not expect to happen after watching Leaf's match. He was expecting for Geodude to bury himself into the ground, only it did not attack high but straight across.
"Leech seed!" Seedlings flew over to the Geodude, who was busy stabilizing itself form the miss-attack. The seeds latched on to the boulder and began to grow, suffocating the boulder and slowing it down.
"Down let the seeds slow you down! Get up and tackle!" And thus began almost 10 minutes straight of repeated tackle after tackle of what looked like a stalemate. Blow after blow, it seemed like Geodude was finally slowing down since the seeds were constantly draining its energy. Bulbasaur's energy depleted as well from the constant blows. Both were losing concentration, but Bulbasaur still had enough energy for one more tackle. He was panting heavily, but able to stand on all fours, while Geodude was still trying to stabilize itself.
"Alright, Bulbasaur! One more Tackle to finish it off!" Bulbasaur used its remaining strength to completely take out the Geodude. It rolled over to the right and failed to get back up. Geodude was out cold.
"Geodude is no longer able to battle. Will Gym Leader Brock send out his next pokemon," the referee announced. Unfortunately for Ash, Bulbasaur was also very tired. Ash looked at Bulbasaur concerned that the seed pokemon would not be able to last the entire fight against the next pokemon, which he knew was a lot more powerful than the Geodude he valiantly took down with much effort. Ash was prepared to take out his pokeball when Bulbasaur glared at him.
'Don't worry, master; I've got this handled. All I would have to do is throw a Leech Seed and it should be easy sailing from there, right?' Ash could somehow understand what Bulbasaur was getting at based on its gestures. He did not like the idea, but Bulbasaur was dead set in finishing out this battle. He wanted to go out to please Ash. Ash could not stop him even if he tried.
"Are you sure about this? You really need some-"
'I told you I can do it!' Bulbasaur yelled at the top of his lungs.
"Alright, just be wary of your condition. You have to tread very carefully if you don't wanna be taken out. Got it?" Bulbasaur nodded and got into attack position. Brock held onto his next pokeball.
"I'm sure you know very well what this pokemon is. This round will be a lot tougher than the next. Are you ready for this?"
"Bulbasaur can take anything, right, buddy?" Bulbasaur yipped aggressively.
"Well, here comes the next pokemon. Onix, go!" The same (?) rock snake towered in front of the seed pokemon.
"Bulbasaur use Le-"
"Onix, tackle it before it gets any seed on you!" It reared back its head, charging the blow, and releasing it all within a blink of an eye.
"Shit! Bulbasaur, MOVE!" Bulbasaur tried to tumble to the right, but was not fast enough for the incoming jackhammer. The poor seed pokemon was hit straight on by the behemoth and tossed backwards towards Ash's feet. Bulbasaur could not even move a single limb with no remaining strength left. He was done for. Ash had to call him back to prevent any further damage.
To Ash, he had to go with one of two options: fight with Pikachu, or fight with Weedle. None of these pokemon knew any physical, damage-dealing moves that for sure would provide some damage. He was wary of electric attacks being even remotely effective against rock. The bug pokemon did not know anything than poison moves and a defensive move. This was all playing out bad in Ash's mind; his star pokemon he relied on was taken out of the match. Said pokemon did not have a very good move set other than Tackle. Ash was at a dilemma: which of the pokemon would start to continue this seemingly losing battle. He would die trying anyways.
He figured that Weedle should get some battle experience anyways, so Weedle made an appearance next. The spiky-horned worm stood where Bulbasaur was taken out, only to stand in front of the giant snake of rocks.
"Weedle! Poison Sting!" Weedle pulled his head back while launching himself towards the snake. It looked rather cute to see a small bug attempting to defeat one of the longest and largest pokemon. Once released, Onix seemed to be unaffected by attack and brushed it off.
"Bind it up, Onix!"
"Weedle! MOVE BEFORE IT GETS YOU!" Weedle tried to scurry away, but it was too late. Onix already had a full hold on Weedle and constricted it, causing the poor bug to cry in pain.
'Crap…this is exactly what I didn't want to happen…' "Hang in there, Weedle! Work through the pain and try to string shot the Onix!" Weedle tried to form a strand of silk, but the pain was too much to bear. Finally, the constricting stopped when Weedle was dropped, losing the majority of its energy in the process. He could barely crawl to the snake, offering one last poison sting.
"Weedle, you should know that poison sting is just not fazing Onix or other rock pokemon."
'I'm gonna do it anyways! I won't go down without a fight!'
"Okay, I'll let you finish out this one out." Weedle did a final poison sting, which missed its target by a mile.
"Finish it with Rock Tomb."
'What the fuck…Rock Tomb? What the hell is that?!" Onix slammed its tail onto the ground, throwing up massive amounts of rock and dirt. Onix then picked up its tail and slammed the pile of airborne rocks and pretty much buried Weedle, who by now was in no condition to fight anymore. Ash was now out of options; the only pokemon he has left was Pikachu and his confidence started to waver. Pikachu knew this was a losing battle, but he wanted to try anyways. He tugged on Ash's red vest.
'Let me give it a go, Ash. I may not win, but I'll think of something.'
"Are you sure about this, Pikachu. You don't look so sure of it yourself."
'Don't worry; I'll be fine.'
"Well I guess we have no other options. Alright, Pikachu. Give it your all! Thundershock!" Pikachu hopped onto the field and let loose a bolt of electricity at Onix, which bounced off and five different directions. Ash started to panic.
'Oh shit…electricity has no effect on rocks! And all of Pikachu's attacks are electric-based! CRAP WE'RE IN TROUBLE!' Pikachu was equally freaking out on the field after seeing his attack bounce off. Onix smirked and Brock issued a follow-up.
"Tackle, Onix!"
"Pikachu! Dodge it!" Onix's head came crashing down at the mouse, but Pikachu was quick, he dashed to the right…right into Onix's tail section. He tumbled backwards and Onix's tail section started to move.
"Onix! Bind it when you still go the chance!" And thus, Pikachu was in the same predicament as Weedle, only this time it took much longer to drain Pikachu's strength than it did the poor bug. Pikachu's screams of pain echoed throughout the stadium. Onix had him in a choke hold for over 10 minutes. This definitely looked like a losing fight for the glorious Ash Ketchum.
-Pewter City Gym Viewing Area-
Beginning of the battle
The battle from above was just as interesting as what was going on below. Leaf was waiting patiently for the match to begin; she leaned over the railing with Jigglypuff on her shoulders. She could feel the intensity of this fight from where she was at. As the match began, someone walked up beside Leaf, giving her a jolt of surprise.
"Heh…what do you know. Ash-y Boy's match is just about to start. He better win this if he has what it takes to beat me." Leaf's right eye brow went up.
"So you're not gonna wish for his downfall?"
"He needs to win this to keep everything consistently in order. I won against Brock, and Ash beat me twice in a row. It's only natural that he kick Brock's ass, right?"
"…huh? Matches can go either way…I still don't get your consistency logic."
"It's…never mind. It would just make me feel better about my win if he won too. It just wouldn't make sense to me if Ash lost and I won."
"…how…never mind. The match is about to begin. So quiet down, will yah!"
"Okay, okay, sheesh…pesky girl…"
~SLAP~
"…ow…"
The match began in earnest. Moves were being thrown all over the place. Gary and Leaf watched in awe as both Bulbasaur and Geodude gave brutal beatings to each other.
"Leech Seed, huh, slowing down the opponent, followed up with this current Tackle fest. Ash doesn't really have a game plan set, does he?" Gary mused from above.
"Well…he's not a strategist like you are; he plans on impulse and instinct," Leaf answered.
"Wait…how does that work? Don't you need strategy to win? Like a playbook or something?"
"Everyone has their own comfortable battle styles, if you haven't noticed. I doubt he'd do as well if he were to follow your mantle. He's a quick thinker in battle, no matter how slow he is to common sense outside battle."
"Whoa…someone's defending his honor dearly. Are you the man of this relationship? Heheheh."
"Sigh…at this rate, I'll end up being the man and asking him o-," Leaf stopped herself for a moment, 'WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST SAY?!'
"Hohooo…did I just hear Leaf confess her love for As-"
"You will NOT repeat ANYTHING I had just said. I know how to find you and when I do find you, I can GUARANTEE you WILL NOT be able to BEAR CHILDREN. GOT IT?!" Leaf exploded, jousting her finger at Gary's chest. This caused him to grow a lot smaller than Leaf.
"Y-y-y-yes, mam…"
"Good, now let's watch the battle, shall we. I think Bulbasaur is gonna take out Geodude."
Pokemon Switch
"So Bulbasaur barely has any strength left and is gonna fight against Onix?!" Gary yelled, "WHAT IS THIS IDIOT THINKING?!" As Gary thought, Bulbasaur was subdued quickly. "Well, there goes his only chance of winning. So I lost to an idiot?!"
"HEY! Ash is just having a tough battle! Give him some slack, he doesn't have a stable party or move set for this match!"
"And that's the problem here! He should have figured that out! He should have done his homework! I'm disappointed."
They both watched Weedle get taken out in less than 3 minutes and Pikachu getting himself into his current predicament. Needless to say, Gary and Leaf knew the outcome of this battle.
-Pewter City Gym Battlefield-
Pikachu was getting rather tired. He had been in this bind for well over 10 minutes with no sign of the pain letting up. Onix decided to let go and recharge itself. Pikachu knew it could not use electric attacks on rocks now that it bounced off, so he was at a loss of what to do. Ash was pretty much thinking the same thing at this point. Pikachu took on serious damage from the Bind and struggled to keep himself balanced. Things were looking grim for Ash Ketchum.
"Onix, finish the Pikachu off with Rock Tomb."
"Pikachu! Try to dodge it!" Onix hit the ground again to throw up copious amounts of rock and dirt and swatted them towards Pikachu. Pikachu tried to move, but was not fast enough to completely dodge it. It was buried under a rather large amount of rocks. Pikachu was finished. After 10 seconds of no movement, the referee made his announcement, the announcement that Ash did not want to hear.
"Pikachu is unable to battle. Gym Leader Brock is the winner!" A dead silence followed, not even a single pin dropped. Ash stood still, clearly in shock that he lost. He felt his insides rip away from his body and his soul crushed by giant rocks. After Onix cleared the pile of rocks, Ash saw Pikachu lay there, limp. He ran down to the field towards his fallen friend.
"Hey Pikachu, are you okay?"
'I'm sorry I lost this one for you. I didn't know what to expect.'
"It's alright. I'm still proud of you…all of you…for going out there and giving it your all." Brock suddenly walked up to the trainer and offered his two cents. He patted the trainer on the shoulder as Ash picked up Pikachu from the ground.
"Hey, Ash."
"Yeah? Please tell me you aren't gonna gloat your victory…"
"Huh? Why would I do that? Anyways, this was some match we had. Although you lost, you did fight pretty well there. Using your best weapon at the beginning and not letting it rest was probably not the safest idea. But keep working hard and you'll beat me next time, right?"
"Yeah, that's what we'll do. We'll work harder to defeat you!" Ash said with a grin.
"That's the spirit. Now I shall take my leave. I shouldn't have any more scheduled matches for today I think." Brock turned around and disappeared through the doors. Ash just stood around when he heard footsteps approaching him. He turned around to find Leaf and…Gary?!
Leaf had a concerned look on her face and Gary had a disappointed look on his face. Leaf was the first to approach the brooding Ash.
"Hey…are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine; I just need to work harder, right?"
"I guess so. I'm sure you'll beat him next time, right Gary?"
"…hmmmmph…"
"And what's your problem, Gary?" Leaf sharply questioned.
"…"
"Anyways, let's go find something to eat to cheer you up, Ash."
"…okay…" All three trainers walked out of the gym and towards a Wild Duck Burger joint. Ash and Leaf had not eaten anything since the morning. A burger would do Ash wonders right now to boost his rather low spirits. As they got to the front of the restaurant, Gary refused to go in.
"Not eating with us, Gary?" Leaf inquired.
"No. I'm going on ahead to get to the next city. You can have Ash, unless you want to tag along and not be held back." Leaf gave Gary a glare that could rival that of an angry Tauros. Insulting Ash clearly pushed a red button.
"Why would I want to join someone who looks down on others and who constantly calls me a 'pesky girl'. So FUCK YOU! You can go on without me."
"Hmmph. As I thought. Well I'll see you both in Cerulean City." And with that, Gary walked away towards the east. Leaf was still fuming mad at her cousin, who would talk so lowly of her best friend. She could not believe he would further wound Ash's already deflated ego.
"C'mon Ash, let's go eat. I need something to take my mind off that asshole." Ash nodded and walked inside. They stood in line for what would be five or so minutes before ordering. They waited another five minutes before getting large hamburgers and finding a small table. They ate in silence for a while. Ash had barely touched his food.
"Geeez…I can't believe I lost today…" Ash said in a rather low tone. Leaf looked up from her burger and saw that Ash barely finished half of his burger, very unusual after about 15 minutes of eating. Wanting to do something, Leaf grabbed hold of Ash's free left hand and smirked. Ash was taken aback by such a gesture.
'Hoooo boy…she's grabbing my hand and smiling like she has something planned…what do I do, what do I do…'
"Well we're just gonna have to fix that, right?" Ash nodded, not sure where this was going. Whenever Leaf gets passionate, she can get pretty scary…at least in Ash's eyes. At the next table over, a man in a lab coat heard the entire conversation. He looked over to the table and saw that the trainer was clearly distressed about losing.
'Hmmm…he lost to my son pretty badly. I'm interested.'
AN: As I have stated before, the battle continues next chapter. It was originally supposed to be one large chapter, but length and flow issues made this chapter seem way out of hand. So read on to see if Ash can pull through! As always, read, love and critique! =)