Chapter 6
The trio collectively yawned, rubbing their eyes. Now wasn't the time to be sleepy. Not when their first obstacle was in the way.
The Pewter Gym was a large building with boulders as the exterior. It was imposing, especially with the moonlight highlighting its silhouette. From the sliding doors, a receptionist was seen working intently while absentmindedly nodding along to a teenage boy and girl with boulder-branded jackets.
Gym trainers, Ash thought as he and the others walked in.
The receptionist noticed the trio, shooing the gym trainers away. "Hello and welcome to the Pewter City Gym, how may I help you three?"
Ritchie stepped forwards, "Hi, we would like to have -"
"-a gym battle!" Ash also stepped forwards, almost lunging at the receptionist from excitement.
The receptionist smiled at Ritchie's annoyed glare. "All three of you?" The trio all nodded. "Well I'm afraid that Brock only has time for one more victi- challenger! He only has time for one more challenger." Ash exchanged uneasy glances with Leaf. "So, who will it be?"
"Ooh! I wanna go first!" Ash grinned, looking at the others.
"What, no! I want to!" Ritchie uncharacteristically raised his voice, wringing his hands.
They stared at each other challengingly, neither giving in.
The male gym trainer snorted, "If you guys still can't decide, why don't you let the girl go first? She's the only one who hasn't been an annoyance so far." Leaf's eyes widened.
"Hey!" Ash glared at the trainer, "wait, yeah! You should go first, Leaf." Ash smiled at Leaf.
Ritchie nodded as well, smiling softly at the nervous girl.
She grimaced, "I - I'm not that good, and you two have been training hard for this…" Ash frowned at her oddly subdued demeanour.
"Well you also trained hard, especially with all those bug trainers and bug types," Ritchie reasoned.
"And besides," Ash added, "you just need to have faith in Forest and Misty, well more in Forest, not sure how helpful a magikarp will be."
"Alright then," Leaf turned to the receptionist, "I'll go first."
Ash released Froakie, Sera and Mankey on the bleachers, while Ritchie sat a bit away with his camera out, hands almost hesitantly reaching his pokeballs. Down below, Leaf fidgeted her pokeballs nervously, eying the empty pedestal on the opposite end.
It was relatively quiet in the room. The two gym trainers from before had came in free of charge to spectate the battle, but were currently whispering to each other. Mankey started getting rowdy. He swiped at Froakie playfully, who leaped away in annoyance. Ash smirked at Froakie, who rolled his eyes and went along with Mankey's game.
Ash ignored them, absentmindedly brushed Sera while he stared at Leaf in concern. She had been…off, even during the latter half of their time in Viridian Forest. More quiet, more isolated, more doubtful of herself. She had always been unsure, especially with what her dream was. Even with small decisions, it took a long time to decide.
Ash blinked as the clanging footsteps of a sturdy-looking man rang through the hall. Soon, his face came into the light and Ash gulped at the sheer intensity of his gaze. In the light he looked to be around 17, with short brown hair and the iconic dark skin of a Pewter native. He had a dark green vest over his orange shirt, and a fierce and stony look.
"You are Leaf Underhill?" Brock stepped onto the stone pedestal.
"Y-yes, I am." Leaf tensed up.
"And you have no badges?" Leaf nodded quickly. "Then it will be a 2 vs 2 battle. Be ready!" Brock pulled out a pokeball. "Go Geodude!"
A rotund rock-scaled geodude appeared on the battlefield, slamming its fists in the ground. Leaf responded by releasing Forest, vines snaking out.
A referee, the male gym trainer from earlier, turned to a video camera set high up on the bleachers. "This will be a 2 vs 2 official gym battle between the Pewter Gym leader Brock Harrison and gym challenger Leaf Underhill of Pallet Town, with no badges. Is the challenger aware of the rules and guidelines of gym battles set by the League?" Leaf nodded.
"Then the challenger will have the first move. Begin!"
"Vine Whip!" Forest lashed out at Geodude, who was knocked back into a protruding rock.
"Rollout," Geodude slammed the ground multiple times before curling up and rolling towards Forest.
Forest moved to the side, but to no avail as the Rollout scraped his side.
Ash watched worriedly at Forest's injuries, a cluster of small cuts, and Leaf''s worried expression. The geodude was coming back, much faster than before.
She bit her lip, "Vine Whip away!" Forest's vines lifted him onto the rocks just in time as the Rollout passed by them harmlessly.
She should wait till Geodude is dizzy. Ash thought, remembering his loss to Gary.
"Stay up on the rocks and use Growth," Ash grinned as Forest continued to outmaneuver Geodude.
His body started to glow and his muscles rippled in temporary growth as the hormones took effect.
"Cancel the rollout," Geodude abruptly stopped himself, teetering a bit. "Are you alright?" Ritchie frowned at that. "Great, widespread Rock Throw." Geodude grabbed chunks of rocks that it had broken and flung them at Forest.
Forest ducked behind the boulders, bracing himself for the flurries of projectiles that chipped away at his barrier. Geodude rolled up the boulder above Forest, a large rock in its hand.
Leaf's eyes widened as the geodude readied himself, about to throw. "Swing it with Vine Whip!" Forest's vines reached up, ensnaring Geodude before flinging it around the battlefield.
"Geodude! Rollout!" Brock yelled but it was no use.
Forest continued slamming Geodude everywhere. The ground. The boulders. The psychic barrier. By the time Forest released it, it had fainted, webs of cracks almost everywhere on its shell.
Ash cheered and Ritchie clapped for Leaf's victory, who blinked in surprise before pumping her fist in excitement. "We did it, Forest! We can do this!" Forest called out in excitement, trotting back to the centre of the battlefield.
Brock nodded and returned Geodude, "You did excellent Geodude," - Ritchie's eyebrows furrowed - "I'll heal you up later." He clipped Geodude's pokeball on his belt. "That was a job well done, there were areas you could improve in, but a job well done. Now," he pulled out a great ball, "let's see how you do against Onix!"
An absolute behemoth appeared. The gym challenger's eyes widened and Ash's pokemon stopped whatever they had been doing to stare in awe at the next pokemon. A huge serpent with a rocky exterior coiled up on the battlefield.
No wonder the field is so huge! How big is that thing! Ash gulped, he had to face that. How was this allowed!
Brock smirked and the battle began again.
Leaf gulped. "Razor Leaf!" Forest shook his body, and threw the leaves.
Onix suddenly dived down to the ground, somehow digging a tunnel underground to hide under. The field itself shook occasionally, throwing Forest off balance.
Brock stomped the ground four times in quick succession and the earth below Forest burst open. Onix launched out like a geyser and Tackled the bulbasaur.
Onix grabbed a large rock and swung it at the wounded Forest. "Vine Whip it!" Leaf's fists clenched in worry and Forest's vines lashed out at the projectile.
It broke but small fragments still hit him. At Leaf's next command, Forest's vines lengthened and entangled Onix, before he tried to swing Onix around.
Brock smirked, "Give it a taste of its own medicine Onix!" Onix roared and lightly clamped its jaws around Forest's vines.
Forest screamed in pain but it didn't end there. Onix jerked its head around and Forest came flying with it. Forest was slammed everywhere, the ground, the boulders and the psychic barriers. Very much like Geodude, at the end of it all, Forest was knocked out, bruises and gashes everywhere, and his vines damaged.
Ash's mouth opened in astonishment. Forest wasn't weak by any means, but that Onix took him down just like that. Froakie and Sera observed Forest in concern while Mankey started to become more agitated with Onix.
Ash realised something else, Leaf only had Misty the magikarp left. Leaf seemed to realise this as well and wiped her eyes before returning Forest's defeated form.
"Challenger Leaf, please release your next pokemon." The gym trainer tapped his foot impatiently, causing Ash to frown. Couldn't he see she was hurt?
"I - I forfeit." Ash's mouth opened in shock, this wasn't how it was supposed to go! Leaf had the type advantage, she should have won!
"Leaf!" Ash called out, "you can't give up!"
Leaf didn't look up. "I only have a magikarp Ash, she can barely survive on land, let alone fight."
The gym trainer looked at Leaf and then Brock, sighing. "Well in that case, since challenger Leaf forfeits, gym leader Brock wins the battle by default."
Brock thanked and returned Onix, before walking to the disappointed Leaf. He whispered in her ears, gripping her shoulder before hurrying off.
Ash watched Brock leave before turning to Leaf. He called out to her, but she just ran off. Ash sighed and started to get back, only to fall as something landed on his head.
"Ow! Wait what?" He patted his strangely empty head and growled at his missing hat. "Mankey!" The pokemon in question screeched in delight as he jumped away, with Froakie and a growling Sera chasing after him.
Ash grimaced as he picked up his dirty clothes from the communal shower floor. He had been trying to avoid it but it seemed that he would have to do his laundry. That or buy new clothes, which he didn't have enough spare money for.
The pokemon centre's second floor held rooms that trainers could bunk in, separated by gender. While it normally cost a bit for trainers to bunk there, if they were competing in the Gym Challenge, they were eligible for five days of free living and food per arrival.
Ash's mind drifted to Leaf's gym battle. The way Brock commanded his pokemon with that power. And there was Onix. Theoretically, Onix were supposed to be weak compared to other pokemon, but in reality it was not so. That sheer size was enough to scare off most pokemon and humans, not to mention their strength.
Oh Creator! How am I supposed to beat it! Ash sighed as he waved at a weary trainer.
Up until now, he had faced rookie trainers like him. Some of those battles went better than others. But Brock was the real deal. He was the first of many walls that challengers had to go against in the Gym Challenge. If he couldn't even beat Brock, then he had no hope against future challenges.
Ash suddenly stopped. Speaking of which, how's Leaf?
She hadn't taken her loss too well. He hadn't been able to get a word in as she had hurried to the pokemon center, booking a room.
What room was she in again? Uhh 20-something? Ash crossed the hallway.
Maybe 204? When he was greeted by four older girls in pajamas, he blushed, wished them a beautiful night and hurried out of there.
Ash took a deep breath. Maybe room 205 then. When he knocked on the door, it opened ajar and a ginger popped out. Recognition flashed in both of their eyes as they pointed at each other.
"You!"
"You!"
It was the loud and violent ginger from Viridian City, the one with the burnt bike.
"What are you doing here?" Ash declared, Was Leaf in here?
"I should be asking that! This isn't your room," she crossed her arms.
"I'm just looking for a friend, is Leaf here?"
The ginger pursed her lips, before widening the door enough that Leaf's hunched shoulders were visible. The girl gestured to him to go in before hurrying off with a laundry bag. The room had the same layout as his, with two bunk beds on opposite sides and four cupboards. Leaf was curled up on a bottom bed, staring into nothing.
Ash pursed his lips, cautiously sitting down next to her. "Are you doing okay?" Ash wanted to slap himself as soon as he said that, "sorry."
Leaf sighed, laughed and sniffled, "It's fine Ash, I'm fine. I…I'm just wondering if my parents were right that being a trainer wasn't for me."
Ash tilted his head quizzically, "Is… is this about how they want you to be a professor like them?"
Leaf nodded, sighing. "They told me so many stories of being a professor, and all the benefits. It sounded great and all, but I had also wanted to be a trainer! I couldn't decide at the time but in the end, because of you and Gary, I picked the path of a trainer."
Ash smiled nostalgically at the memories of childhood. He and Gary had somehow been close friends, both always set on becoming a great pokemon trainer. When Leaf had moved to Pallet Town a couple years ago, she and him had become friends when all the other kids were a bit wary of a city girl. Gradually, Leaf joined the fold and the duo became a trio, nicknamed the RGB, based on the primary colours of light or something like that.
That had all changed when he and Gary had a fight, driving a wedge in the group and breaking it apart.
Ash fluttered his fingers, "Well, just because you lost a battle doesn't mean you're not fit to be a trainer. We…we're all bound to make mistakes at some point in life, you just have to trust in yourself and…and keep moving forwards." Ash hesitantly patted Leaf's shoulder.
Leaf sighed before smiling. "You gave pretty good advice, you know, sounded quite mature for a moment."
Ash laughed awkwardly, "Gary would have something to say about that."
Leaf snorted. "He would have something to say about everything."
"Of course, if you truly want to be a professor deep inside, then you can switch, but -"
"I've cleared my head Ash, thank.," Ash smiled, "I'm going to have to train my team more to beat Brock. Maybe get some affordable TMs as well! What's your plan Ash?"
He scratched the back of his head. "I thought Froakie and Mankey could deal with the gym, but now… I'm not too sure. I want to hold off a bit until I get a bit more prepared."
Leaf nodded, smiling sympathetically. "I get it, by the way, do you know where Misty is? I want to apologise for how awkward that must have been for her."
"Wait, isn't Misty your magikarp's name - Oh! She was the trainer that helped you catch magikarp. Uh, she's doing the laundry I think, should be back some time." Ash stared at Leaf again in concern, "I'll go now. Good night!"
"Good night," Ash heard before he closed the door.
Ash sighed. What was he going to do about Onix? Surely, it had some kind of weakness? Maybe he was going to have to do some research. As well as on his team, after all, he didn't know Sera or Mankey's pokedex data well. He would also have to visit a trainer store to buy some training equipment, and Ritchie's move book as well.
He clenched his fists, I'm not going to fail, I'll be the very best, like no one ever was.
Ash blinked tiredly as he finally exited the department store. Shopping, even for training items, was such a bore. He had gotten the weight bands, some small cones, a notebook and more camping supplies. It had taken a big chunk of his money but in the long run, it would be worth it.
Ash headed back to the Pokemon Centre's public training grounds. He dropped his stuff and using the cones, started making an obstacle course of sorts. Releasing his team, they appeared in a flash. Froakie stared expectantly at Ash while Sera brushed against Ash's pant leg before chasing Mankey who yanked her tail.
Once they had settled down, Ash started talking. "Alright, we'll be training for the next couple days to beat Brock and his Onix," Mankey screeched in anger, "by the time we're done, we should hopefully be able to beat it.
"So! Let's start off with this obstacle course," he gestured to it, "As rookies, we should be focusing on our agility, speed, strength and endurance as well as getting used to attacks. So I'll time you guys through this course and record it and over time, we'll be able to see your improvements."
Froakie started off first, hopping quickly through the long course, twisting and turning. He knocked over some cones and finished off a bit over a minute. Mankey didn't quite understand what was happening, as he barrelled straight to the finish line, knocking down any unfortunate cones. In the end after repeating it, he got at around a minute. Sera did much better, used to it from her time in the wild, and finished under a minute.
This went on for a bit more as Ash started adding weight bands, albeit sparingly. After all, he had to be careful not to stunt their growth or harm their bones.
Then, they started on their moves training. Froakie had gotten much quicker and more accurate with his Water Pulse, though it still lacked a large enough volume. There were two ways to improve this. The first was to have the pokemon soak in more water prior to the battle so it had a larger reserve to draw from.
The second way was to increase the capacity of…infinity energy? It had been confusing to read but it was some kind of theoretical energy that all pokemon had, that was responsible for all attacks and something called mega-evolution.
For an attack like Water Pulse, it was used to pull the water from a source, manipulate and compress it. In cases where water was limited, the infinity energy could be transformed directly into the water. This took more energy, which was why water types stored water in them, but because of Froakie's smaller frame, he could store less and so had to rely on the second method.
With Sera, she had Ember, Disable and Quick Attack. None of them were mastered, but relatively proficient. Since Ash was planning to keep Sera out of the gym battle, he decided to attempt to teach her two moves, Spite, that harnessed the dangerous and unknown Distortional energy, and Incinerate, which required greater control of her fire.
Mankey was a bit easier. His moves, Low Kick, Seismic Toss, Scratch and Fury Swipes were all physical and he was already adept with them. Despite having less experience than the others, Mankey was sure to be a key player with his powerful strikes.
Ash and his team continued training from morning to evening for three days straight, barely resting. Froakie and Mankey loved it, both determined to grow stronger. Sera, on the other hand, had to be bribed with grooming to keep training or riled up by Mankey's taunts. Ash himself spent a lot of time reading the pokedex once they had established a rhythm. It was surprisingly quite fascinating, learning about his team.
On the fourth day, Leaf had to intervene with both Ritchie and him, worried that they were getting too worn out. After much reluctance, the trio decided to explore the city more before rematching tomorrow.
They went shopping at the Stonefield Mall, staring longingly through the windows most of the time. There were so many expensive pokeballs, Spacepacks, and more on display. The trio ate food there, relaxing in the food court that even had allocated space for pokemon as well.
Ash let out a sigh of satisfaction after his third bowl of noodles. He smiled. This was quite nice, hanging out with his friends after days of intense training and learning.
For their final destination before they rested, Ritchie pushed for the Pewter Museum of Science, and with no complaints, they headed there. It was grand. Huge pillars stood proudly at the entrance and two models of an onix and golem were on either side. Almost everywhere had large posters of fossil pokemon, which made Ritchie's eyes shine.
After paying the fee and entering the museum, they stared in marvel at everything around them. Huge fossils of tyrantrums and aurorus' towered over the visitors. Kids everywhere (including the trio) had their jaws dropped and eyes wide in wonder and slight fear. It was hard to believe that these beasts used to walk the very earth. There were even more exhibits, ones about nanotechnology, the history of transportation, space and even more. Ash, Leaf and Ritchie went through each, eventually stopping at the space exhibit to watch an informational video about meteorites.
"I can't believe that Brock himself excavated some of those meteorites." Ritchie mentioned curiously.
Ash was less enthused with glorified rocks but played along, "Yeah, you should ask him when we beat him."
"Hmm, I could ask that along with -"
"Beat Brock! Hah! What a bunch of fools!" An old lady with his grandson barked.
Ash and Ritchie whipped around in surprise.
The grandma smirked, "My apologies, I'm just simply stating the truth. Regular nobodies like you don't stand a chance against the gem of Pewter City."
"I'm sorry but who are you?" Ritchie's baffled voice asked.
Ash snorted, "Don't quite see how he's a gem."
She started on a tirade. "Who I am isn't important, and you're just ignorant, so I'll forgive you for saying that. When his no-good mother and father, the previous gym leader, left, at such a young age, our Brock had to single-handedly take care of his many siblings. On top of that, he trained and sacrificed blood, sweat and tears, to get to where he is now, one of the world's youngest gym leaders, and part of the nation's strongest trainers and protectors."
Ash and Ritchie just stared, still befuddled about the suddenness. When the grandma felt satisfied, she raised her head and walked off, dragging along an embarrassed grandson.
They stared back at each other, blinking.
"Did you have any -"
"Did you have any -"
They said at the same time, before frowning in confusion together.
Leaf came over and stared at them weirdly. When they told her what happened, she chuckled before moving to a more somber expression.
"That old lady wasn't wrong, you know. Brock is a local hero. He's one of the most popular gym leaders other than Giovanni because of everything."
"Jeez… I didn't know that…" Ash trailed off.
Leaf smiled at the two of them, "Don't worry guys, we're new here after all. Oh right! Brock's at the fossil section if you want to talk with him!"
Ritchie's head whipped up. "He is? Can we go ask him questions?"
Ash laughed, "You know you can ask him after the gym battle right?"
"No, I have something else to ask, I-I'm just a bit confused," Ritchie muttered before running off.
Ash and Leaf watched him run off worriedly. "You think he's alright?"
Leaf's smile wavered. "I'm not sure. He's been a bit agitated recently, even while training. Sometimes he's super cheerful with his team and other days he barely talks to them."
Ash scowled, "Maybe Brock will set him straight," Leaf stayed silent, "Anyways, are you ready for tomorrow? We're all going to challenge him."
The two started wandering into the modern history exhibition. "Yeah, my team's more powerful than before. I also have a couple surprises for tomorrow." Leaf grinned and stuck her tongue out at Ash when he asked.
Ash felt a bit nervous. But he smiled. "We got this! We're all going to beat Brock tomorrow, and get that badge of his!
"So… the target is in Pewter City?" A persian growled.
"Yes sir."
"I assume he wants to challenge Brock?"
"Yes sir."
"Do you believe he can win?"
"Yes sir."
"Very well, I will reach out to him tomorrow. Now leave us."
"Yes sir." The grunt scurried off.
"I can taste it Persian. Immortality. A second chance. My forefather had it, and soon, so will I."