Chapter 3
Waking up the next morning, Ash ate a small plate of breakfast with Azrael before getting ready for his day. He took off the wrapping that Joy had put on his leg from the Meowth and took a quick shower. The scratch wasn't too bad and wouldn't leave a scar.
Walking out of the center he took a deep breath as the morning sun shined on him. There weren't many people out and about yet, so Ash decided to take advantage and began a quiet walk toward the training fields. He went to one of the further fields with a set of large boulders set in it.
He released Azrael and gave him instructions.
"Alright, we will work on Dragon Rage for the first part of the day. Once you've exhausted yourself doing that like yesterday, we will take a small break so I can show you some videos and tips for Metal Claw before working on that. Does that sound good?" he asked his partner.
Azrael merely gave him a nod before turning around and attempting Dragon Rage. Just like yesterday, it only had bits of draconic energy in it.
He stood there watching Azrael for a good ten minutes. Seeing that he was getting nowhere he stopped him.
"Okay, first off, I want you to use a regular Ember attack." Azrael complied and released Ember from his throat.
"Now, use Dragon Dance."
Azrael closed his eyes and focused. Draconic energy enveloped his body for about the same amount of time as yesterday before fading away.
"Okay, can you feel the difference in energy for your Ember and Dragon Dance?" Ash asked.
Azrael squinted his eyes for a moment before giving a nod.
"Now when you use the attack, instead of channeling the feeling of Ember focus on the feeling of Dragon Dance."
Azrael turned around and took a deep breath. He stood there for a few moments with his eyes shut.
Then right when he opened his eyes, he sucked in a deep breath before releasing his attack.
Before, when trying to use Dragon Rage, the attack would look like a cone of orangish red flames with tints of purplish-blue. Now, it was the opposite. The attack was covered in draconic colors with tints of yellow in the center.
Ash grinned before taking out his Pokédex. He pressed the Charmander icon under his captures and smiled at what it showed.
Moves are Scratch, Ember, Dragon Dance, Dragon Rush, and Dragon Rage.
"Great job buddy! That was Dragon Rage. The attack isn't mastered yet, but we will work on it as we go. The important thing is that you can at least use it now. Go ahead and practice it a bit more to get a few of it." Ash said with a grin.
Azrael let out a small roar before releasing another Dragon Rage. Ash was happy to see that each attempt came out looking more stable, but they were getting smaller each time. It was clear that the move was taxing on his stamina.
Ash wondered if that was because Azrael wasn't a dragon type or because Dragon Rage was more powerful than Ember so cost more energy.
Perhaps it was a bit of both. Pokémon were able to use the moves of their personal typing easier than other moves so it made sense that learning other typing moves would be harder and more taxing. There were some exceptions that had access to other typing just as easily as their own without being classified as that type. Charizard was an example of that. Despite not being dragon type they could still use dragon moves just as easily. Gyarados was another example.
"Okay, Azrael that is good for now. Come over here and take a small break. I want to show you some stuff." Ash walked towards a tree. He sat down under it enjoying the shade with Azrael taking a seat right next to him.
Grabbing his Pokédex out, he opened it up and showed Azrael.
"Okay, so Metal Claw is basically a steel version of Scratch. From what I have read, the Charmander line can learn the steel move quite easily. All you need to do is continuously scratch a hard item. Eventually, your claws will adapt and begin to harden. You'll know when you have it down as your claws will be tinted in steel while using the attack. So, get your breath back and whenever you are ready go ahead and start scratching one of the boulders over there. If your claws begin to hurt or you get tired go ahead and take a break."
Azrael hummed before standing up. He had a determined look on his face as he walked towards a boulder and began to furiously scratch at it. It brought a smile to Ash's face.
Ash began to plan their trip through the bug-filled forest. Viridian Forest, besides a colony of Pikachu that was not too hard to find if you looked hard enough and Pidgey, were the only non-bug type that you had a chance to find. Of course, it wasn't a complete 100% chance to only run into those two, there could be other types of Pokémon somewhere, but it would be most unlikely to find one. For bugs, the main ones you would find were the Caterpie line and Weedle line. If you went deep enough, then you might even find a Scyther.
Scyther was probably one of the few bug types throughout the entire world that Ash would be happy to catch. Its evolution Scizor was an amazing battler.
An excited sound rang towards Ash. He looked up to see Azrael holding up his right hand. His middle claw was the color of steel. Behind him, the rock he was practicing on had a single large scratch indented in it.
Ash grinned as he got up and went over to him. Inspecting his single claw that was tinted in a silver tone, he gently touched it to find it feels like metal. Grabbing his Pokédex, he once again tapped on the Charmander icon. Metal Claw wasn't a move listed yet, but it was still progress in the right direction.
"Azrael, do you think you could do the same thing to your entire hand?" he asked.
Azrael looked at his hand before closing his eyes in focus, they glinted slightly but remained the same.
"Okay, could you turn off your middle claw and turn it back on?" Ash asked.
Azrael nodded as he lifted his hand and allowed his claw to turn back to normal before easily turning it back to metal.
Perhaps he was using his middle claw the most and it adapted faster than the rest.
"Okay, why don't you try to scratch with the rest of your claws, but don't use your middle one. I think that one was just the first to adapt, the others are probably close though." Ash said as he stepped back slightly.
Azrael nodded as he turned around and began to slash again. Around ten minutes passed before another claw turned to metal. His left claw on his left hand.
Azrael looked at it for a moment before scowling. He went back to scratching before Ash could even say anything.
He chuckled slightly, at least he wanted to get it down. Slowly but surely, each claw began to turn metal. After thirty minutes, the last one turned silver.
Ash grinned as he pulled out his Pokédex.
Moves are Scratch, Ember, Dragon Dance, Dragon Rush, Dragon Rage, and Metal Claw.
He looked up to his Azrael turning his new move on and off with a smile.
"Great job! You got two new moves down before noon. They are not mastered completely yet. It'll take more time and some battles for you to learn how to properly use them, but we will work on that in the forest." Ash said as he went and patted Azrael on the head who leaned into his touch.
"Well, we finished a lot earlier than I expected. Do you want to try out Smokescreen or stop for the day?" he asked.
Azrael tilted his head for a moment before pointing towards his mouth. Ash grinned, a little workaholic he had.
"Alright, let's get to it."
Scene change.
Moves are Scratch, Ember, Dragon Dance, Dragon Rush, Dragon Rage, Metal Claw, and Smokescreen.
Handing Azrael's ball to Nurse Joy, he was very satisfied with the day.
Smokescreen had been the easiest of the moves to learn. All Azrael needed to do was let Ember burn away in his throat before it became smoke and release it like he would have if it was still a fire move.
The only thing was that he had to drink a decent amount of water while trying it out as he had plenty of coughing fits during the attempts.
After he got it down, they stayed a bit longer to work on his moves and test them out a bit more.
He was very proud of him.
Looking at the clock above the counter, he saw that it was only slightly passed noon. Perhaps they would head for the forest earlier than they originally planned.
Walking over to the video phones, he called Professor Oak.
"Ah, good morning, Ash, how are you?" the man said with a pleasant, but exhausted smile.
"I am good professor, how are you?"
The man let out a small sigh, "That Meowth has been nothing but trouble."
Ash winced slightly at that.
"Did he do something." he asked warily.
"Nothing serious, he isn't too strong. He just has a very colorful mouth." the older man said drily.
"Oh." was all Ash could say to that.
"I am happy to say that he truly is a talking Pokémon though. It truly is fascinating. He hasn't said much of anything regarding how he learned to talk, but I am hopeful we find out on peace terms. I would rather he openly tell me than have Alakazam search through his mind." Oak said softly.
Ash nodded. If he forced his way, then it could only make it harder in the long run.
"Now, I believe I did say I would get you a Pokémon in exchange for equal value. Do you have any options in mind?" he asked with a smile.
"Officer Jenny rewarded me for helping with the rockets last night. It was a thunderstone. Perhaps something that could evolve with that?" Ash questioned.
The Professor rubbed his chin with a thoughtful look before snapping his fingers with a grin.
"Well, how about we exchange a unique normal type for a rare normal type." he said.
Ash's eyebrows furrowed, "Who are you thinking of?"
"Why, an Eevee! A very rare Pokémon, who happens to be able to evolve with a thunderstone. Joleon could be a very powerful Pokémon if trained properly, and it would help you immensely against the Cerulean Gym." he replied.
An Eevee.
They were very rare and expensive Pokémon.
They were a special case across the world. The normal Pokémon had the potential to evolve into multiple different forms.
Also, unlike most Pokémon who needed time to evolve, they didn't.
When evolving a Pokémon with a stone, it is usually recommended to wait a while until the Pokémon is as strong as it could get without evolving.
That thought doesn't fully apply to the Eevee line though. In fact, it's the opposite. An Eevee itself is rarer than its evolutions because most Eevee's evolve before they are even a year old.
When an Eevee evolves, it becomes a whole new type. No longer holding the normal type.
Most Pokémon when they evolve keep at least one of their previous typing. They grow that typing stronger until they can achieve evolution.
Eevee doesn't operate like that. You could consider an evolved Eevee a different line of Pokémon.
For example, Jolteon after evolving instantly learns a move that is an electric type. It gains a completely new typing that he had never had before.
The faster the Eevee can evolve the better so that it can adjust.
If he got an Eevee, he would allow it to stay in that form for a few days to see if he could get it to learn moves it couldn't learn as a Jolteon, but he would evolve right after.
"Would that be fair trade? Eevee is very rare and for a Meowth, even one that could talk?" Ash questioned.
"Well, perhaps it is more advantageous to you, but it would not be very hard for me to get an Eevee. You have given me something amazing Ash, the least I can do is reward you. Besides, you're my student so maybe I am a little biased and want to give you something a bit better. If it had been Gary, I would have done the same." he replied with a grin.
Ash smiled at that.
"How long would it take you?" he asked curiously.
"Just a few days. I believe by the time you reach Pewter City I shall have it and if not then before you head to Mt. Moon at the latest. Does that sound agreeable to you?"
"Yeah, that sounds perfect professor thank you!" Ash said excitedly at the new teammate he would soon have.
"Thank you as well! This is an exchange after all." Oak said with a chuckle getting a small laugh from Ash.
"Okay Professor, I am going to study a bit more on my Pokédex about the Viridian Forest. Azrael is getting a checkup from Joy right now and I plan to head over right after I get him back." he says.
"Alright, be careful in the forest Ash. Take some antidotes, they will come in handy!" he said.
Ash gave him a nod before the man cut the video off.
Scene change
"He's ready to go Ash!" Joy said with a smile.
Happily taking Azrael's ball, he gave Joy the key to his room and with a final goodbye left the center.
Releasing Azrael from his ball, he began to walk toward the entrance of the Viridian Forest.
"Okay, so we are getting a new member to our team soon from Professor Oak." Ash started.
Azrael looked up at Ash as he walked alongside with curiosity.
"The Meowth that we caught is going to be traded to the professor in exchange for an Eevee. I plan on using the thunderstone that Officer Jenny gave to us to evolve Eevee into a Jolteon. It will be great for the battle against the Cerulean Gym."
Azrael nodded with a small smile. Happy to soon have a new teammate.
"I think we should stay a couple of days in the forest to train and to give the professor more time to get Eevee. Depending on the condition of the Eevee, we might use it against Brock. We can spend some time around Pewter after as well to train." Ash replied.
Ash looked in the corner of his eye to see Azrael turning Metal Claw on and off.
"Try not to waste too much energy right now buddy. You'll have plenty of time to train in the forest." he said softly.
Reaching the sign for the exit of the city and entrance into route 2, Azrael climbed up onto his shoulder.
Route 2 was a lot shorter of a walk compared to Route 1. It was only about a five-minute walk to the entrance of Viridian Forest. The exit of Viridian Forest also connected to Route 2 and that was a short path to Pewter City from there as well. Technically, I guess you could consider Viridian Forest a part of route 2.
"You ready buddy?" Ash asked Azrael who clicked one of his claws on Ash's shoulder as confirmation.
The forest was a lot darker than the route. The trees were so large that they blocked out the sun. It made it kind of look nice.
Their first day went by without a problem. They battled a few trainers, who only had weaker bug types like Caterpie and Weedle with a Metapod every now and then. Azrael had been easily able to beat those trainers with Ember. Ash would need to give Azrael a new fire attack to work on since there wasn't really anything he needed to do that could improve Ember.
They found a small little clearing where they would rest for the night and began to set their things.
"Okay, Azrael whenever we battle a Metapod or Kakuna, I want you to only use Metal Claw. They won't be able to dodge, and their shells will be good practice to strengthen your attack."
Azrael looked up from his bowl of food and gave his trainer a noise of agreement.
Ash pulled out his Pokédex and looked through the information on the Charmander line.
After looking through the moves he could potentially learn, he saw three different paths that he could take.
"So, I want your opinion. We won't work on the move today or even tomorrow most likely as I still want you to get used to Metal Claw in battle, but we can still have an idea of what you are working on next. The first option is to train you to use a stronger fire attack. We could go the long-range and teach you Flame Burst or close range and teach you, Fire Fang. The other option is giving you a more powerful dragon-type attack. We can start working on Dragon Breath if you want that option. Personally, I think we should go with a fire move as you just got Dragon Rage and should get used to it a bit more before upgrading it."
Azrael looked at him with a thoughtful look.
"Do you have a preference?" he asked curiously.
Azrael hummed for a moment before opening his mouth and tapping one of his fangs.
"Fire Fang?" Ash questioned.
Azrael gave him a nod before returning to his meal.
"Okay, that's the next move we will work on for you." Ash said as he unfolded his sleeping bag. He gently went inside and muttered a goodnight to his Pokémon before closing his eyes.
Scene change
Ash woke up as he felt a small pressure on his chest. He opened his eyes to meet large teal eyes staring right at him.
"AH!" he screamed as he jumped out of his bag, scaring the creature on top of him who jumped back from the sudden noise.
Azrael opened his eyes from his curled position. He instantly jumped up at the sight of a potential enemy and jumped between it and his trainer.
He let out a small growl at the Pokémon, one that he hadn't seen in the forest yet.
Ash furrowed his brows as he stared at the Pokémon. He didn't know what it was as he had never seen one before.
The Pokémon was a pale purple scorpion. Its claws and tail have been swapped, giving it two stingers and a claw tail. The miniature jaws, claws, and tail claws were white. Its arms were attached directly to its head, close to its teal eyes. A pointed marking joined its eyes. The head, arms, two tail segments, and all four legs were light blue, while the body, tail end, and other two tail segments were a darker shade of blue.
He pulled out his Pokédex to scan it.
Skorupi the Scorpion Pokémon. It attacks using the claws on its tail. Once locked in its grip, its prey is unable to move as this Pokémon's poison seeps in.
Ash noted that it was a poison and bug type. He looked back at the Pokémon who was staring curiously at both Azrael and him.
"Um, hi." Ash said a little awkwardly.
It clicked its teeth together making a little clattering sound as its back tail waved slightly at him.
"Do you live here?" he asked.
The scorpion gave a small nod with its teeth clicking again.
Ash looked back down at his Pokédex, trusting Azrael to keep him safe.
His eyes widened as he saw who this Pokémon evolved into.
Drapion, a poison and dark type that was native to the Sinnoh Region. He grinned at the sudden encounter, Drapion were ruthless Pokémon, and one of the elite four members of the Sinnoh had one in his team.
He contemplated having Azrael attack, before deciding to take a more friendly approach. If it didn't work, then Ash would have Azrael attack.
"Skorupi, my name is Ash, and this is my partner Azrael." he introduced.
Azrael, still a little weary of the Pokémon, gave a small wave.
The Skorupi gave a smile with more clattering as its tail waved back and forth.
"Anyways, I want to become a Pokémon Master and need strong Pokémon to help me achieve that goal. Would you be interested in joining us?" he asked cautiously.
Skorupi tilted its head while it looked at him before looking at Azrael and making a small noise. Azrael began to rumble back towards it and the two began a small conversation.
Ash didn't say anything, trusting Azrael to speak.
After a few moments, the two stopped and the poison type looked at Ash and gave him a nod.
"You want to come with?" he asked wanting to make sure.
The scorpion gave him an enthusiastic nod while clicking its teeth together.
Ash quickly grabbed one of his Poké Balls before the Pokémon could change its mind.
"Okay, this is a Poké Ball. It will kind of act like a home for you and make sure no one can steal you from me." Ash said.
It nodded while looking at the ball with curiosity.
Ash threw the ball toward the Pokémon, and it let the ball hit him before sucking him into it. The ball wiggled a bit before letting a small ding ring throughout the area.
Ash grinned as he looked at his Pokédex and clicked the new icon that appeared under his captures.
Skorupi the Scorpion Pokémon. It attacks using the claws on its tail. Once locked in its grip, its prey is unable to move as this Pokémon's poison seeps in.
This Skorupi is male and has the ability Battle Armor which protects the Pokémon from critical hits
Moves are Poison Sting, Hone Claws, Fell Stinger, Poison Fang, Bite, Knock Off, Pin Missile, and Poison Tail.
Ash let out a small whistle as he looked at the move set. He was glad they didn't need to battle to capture him.
"Great job on convincing him, buddy!" Ash said with a smile towards his starter who gave him a grin.
"Let's pack up and get walking. We can speak with him more later today." he said as he began to gather his stuff.
Scene change
Another day of walking through the forest with not much happening. Azrael had battled against a trainer with a Beedrill who proved a little difficult but was defeated in the end.
He had even used Skorupi who was more than happy to battle. He had a decent grasp on his moves, but Ash felt confident that Azrael could beat him if they fought.
Ash walked through the forest before flinching as someone jumped out from behind a tree with a sword in his hand.
"Stop, are you a trainer from Pallet Town?" the weirdly dressed boy asked with a stern gaze under his odd helmet with his sword pointing towards Ash.
Ash froze unable to think about the sudden change of events. Azrael, who had been on Ash's shoulder, started growling harshly at the new encounter.
The boy looked towards Azrael for a moment, "Well are you from Pallet Town?"
Ash slowly nodded his head as he took a step back.
"Hm, I was beaten by a trainer from Pallet Town yesterday. We shall battle so I may regain my honor." he replied, pulling out a Poké Ball and releasing a Butterfree.
Ash took a deep breath to calm himself. He felt a bit of anger rise.
"Why would you jump out of nowhere with a sword if you just wanted a battle?" Ash said quietly, but with clear anger and annoyance in his voice.
The boy looked at him for a moment before shrugging.
"You must always be prepared for a battle novice, now let's going started!" he shouted.
Ash felt his eye twitch as being called a novice. Even if it was true.
"Fine, Azrael let's go." Azrael jumped in front with a growl as he glared at the trainer.
"Butterfree use-"
"Ember."
Azrael instantly released a harsh blast of fire that engulfed the bug type completely.
With a small thud, the Butterfree hit the ground out for the count.
"WHAT! HOW DARE YOU USE SUCH CHEAP TACTICS YOU MONGREL!" the boy shouted while pointing towards Ash.
Ash couldn't help but quip back.
"It's a battle, you have to always be prepared." Ash said with a grin. Azrael snickered as the boy's face grew red.
He returned his Butterfree before grabbing another Poké Ball and releasing a Pinsir.
Ash actually felt surprised at that as they were pretty rare Pokémon. Pinsir was one of the few bug types that could prove to be good battlers.
"CURSH THAT LIZARD!" the boy shouted furiously.
"Ember." Ash said.
Azrael once more unleashed a strong stream of fire toward the bug type. The Pinsir grunted in pain but remained standing as it rushed towards Azrael. Jumping back as the bug type went in for a grab with its horn, Azrael let out a smokescreen directly on it.
Ash frowned. He had hoped that the Pinsir would be knocked out with Ember like the Butterfree, but perhaps it was trained well.
Butterfree and Beedrill were easy to get as bug types evolved very fast, but they usually were never strong unless trained by a great trainer.
"Azrael, keep your distance with Ember and Dragon Rage if you need to." Ash said quietly as the smoke began to dissipate.
"Use Close Combat Pinsir!" he commanded causing Ash's eyes to go wide.
Close Combat was a very powerful fighting type move that was extremely difficult to control. Even if the Pokémon itself wasn't strong, the move would still prove to be painful if it could use it properly.
The Pinsir's eyes became red for a moment before launching forwards toward Azrael who responded with another Ember. The Pinsir just went straight threw it as it smacked into Azrael with both its hands and feet with a nasty combo. Azrael released a cry as he was sent hurling into a tree.
Ash grimaced as he saw his starter slowly pulling himself up. Azrael was clearly hurting. He grabbed Azrael's ball and prepared to return him to it, before Azrael's tail engulfed the vicinity in a bright roar of orange and red flames. Before anyone could do anything, Azrael released the most powerful Ember Ash had seen from him which caused him to bring his hands to his eyes in surprise. After the warmth went away, Ash lowered his hands to see Azrael panting and the Pinsir completely roasted on the ground.
The boy looked shocked at the turn of events before recalling his Pinsir and running away.
Ash himself was shaken out of his own surprise as Azrael wobbled towards him.
"Azrael that was amazing!" Ash said with a smile as he quickly grabbed a potion from his bag.
Azrael gave him a tired smile as he sat on the ground and allowed his trainer to spray his injuries.
"I'm pretty sure that was your ability, Blaze. It powers up your fire-type moves whenever you are in trouble." Ash said softly.
Azrael nodded before releasing a sigh.
"We can set up here for the night. You rest up while I prepare our meals." Ash said as he released Skorupi who chittered happily.
Azrael gave another nod before turning his attention towards Skorupi and letting him know what had happened right now as their trainer prepared their meals.
Scene change
A few more days passed by in the forest as Ash spent time training his team. Azrael's scales were beginning to gain a reddish shine to them which indicated that he was getting closer to the point of evolution. Ash hoped he would evolve before they reached Cerulean City. Skorupi had been a joy to have and was clearly a strong fighter if the winning streak he had was anything to indicate.
Or maybe it was just that the trainers around here weren't the most talented.
Although thinking about Skorupi did leave Ash a little worried. Bug types were supposed to evolve fast which normally wouldn't be a problem, but when the little guy evolved, he would lose his bug typing and gain dark typing.
Ash didn't know if Skorupi had an increased growth rate like all the other bug types, but it was still a worrying factor.
Dark types were one of the three hardest types to train alongside ghost and dragon types. They were ruthless Pokémon.
Azrael even after he evolved probably wouldn't be able to handle a Drapion so soon.
He hoped that Skorupi wouldn't lose his joyful personality when he evolved. It wasn't too rare to hear about a Pokémon refusing to listen to their trainer after evolving and sometimes even going as far as to harm them. He would need to contact the professor right when he got to Pewter to ask more about his line.
Ash cleared his head from those thoughts. He smiled as he saw the exit of the forest. He enjoyed his time training his team, but he would prefer the open wilderness to the forest any day. He was also very eager to take a shower and eat some freshly cooked food.
He looked down in his arms to where Azrael was currently being held as he took a nap. Ash smiled as he softly nudged his starter. He had offered to return him to his ball, but Azrael preferred to stay outside.
Azrael opened a single eyelid as he looked at his trainer.
"We are almost at the exit. Pewter City is only about a ten-minute walk from there." Ash said softly.
Azrael hummed quietly as he stretched his arms out with a yawn. He shuffled in his grasp before jumping onto the ground.
"Let's get going then."
Author's Note
Charmander Male (Azrael)
Skorupi Male (?)
Here is chapter 3 a little early!
I won't lie and say that I rushed through the encounter with Samurai as I was tired. Hope it wasn't too bad.
I know I said that this chapter would have the first gym battle, but I didn't want to make the chapter too long.
What do you guys think about Skorupi joining the team? If you have any ideas for a nickname, then let me know because I will just end up naming him something like Scorpio.
I am currently studying and getting ready for my finals so I will try my best to upload next Friday again but if I can't then the following Friday will be a chapter that is at least 10,000 words. I am going to try to keep each chapter between 5000-6000 words.
How much do you all think is a good amount of length for each chapter?
R/R