(Changes were made to the chapter, Ash has caught a Bulbasaur instead of a Treeko)
World of Pokémon #9
A Gym leaders' role has changed over time. Under the master they were his strongest followers to carry out his will throughout the region. Now they were the strongest trainers in the area and would do their best to protect the people who called their territory home.
A gym leader under the Master were required to have at least two Pokémon on the same level of the Master. Now they needed to have a team that was considered close to or at Elite level to make sure that they were ready for their position.
Never let it be said that the distance between Celadon City and Fuchsia City was a short one.
Ash rubbed his feet after his twenty second day of nonstop walking. Thankfully, his Pokégear told him that he was within ten miles of the city so tomorrow he should be staying in a Pokémon Center rather than a sleeping bag. Not that he hated camping, it was part of the trainer lifestyle after all, but he needed a mattress a least every other week.
After the first few hours of walking, Umbreon would whine until he put her back into her ball, so he's been on his own except for the times he let out Pidgeotto to fly around or the occasional training session with his Pokémon. His team brushed up on some knew moves and combinations but overall no drastic changes. Hydro and Pidgeotto were the closest to evolution but they would need a bit more work for the final push.
He had received updates from Oak on his Pokémon's progress back at the ranch. Both Snorlax and Charmeleon have been training with the residents of the Oak ranch for the better part of the last week.
Ash quickly put together his camp and relaxed in front of his campfire. Reaching back, Ash released his team letting them take a break from their Pokéballs.
Hydro saluted Ash before running off to explore the immediate area. Pidgeotto screeched a greeting before taking off into the sky with Blast shortly following at a much more relaxed pace.
Pikachu and Umbreon relaxed in front of the fire next to Ash while Metang hovered in place while occasionally letting out a soft hum. Ash felt a wave of contentment flow over him and smiled at the psychic type knowing that it was at ease with the situation.
"Well, tomorrow we'll arrive in Fuchsia," sighed Ash getting a few cries of happiness from his team.
"I don't think we'll challenge Koga right off the bat. But we will within the week, so everyone needs to be ready for that. Metang, you'll be very important in this gym since you are immune to his poison types." Ash said to the levitating Pokémon.
A hum from Metang was his only response.
Hopefully the rumors about Koga were a bit exaggerated. He'd heard from Gary that the poison specialist was a candidate for the Elite Four and if Agatha ever retired that he would be the leagues first choice. No matter the progress he'd made these past few months, Ash was quite sure that he would be wiped by a team that strong. The Salamance on the S.S. Anne was evidence that he had a long way to go.
Ash looked through his Pokégear for any areas around him that he could explore. Unfortunately, nothing other than the bike paths that ran from Celadon to Fuchsia. Ash dropped his head when he though about bicycles. He had more than enough money to buy one and he forgot to before he left Celadon. He could have made it to Fuchsia in a week compared to nearly a month.
An alert to his trainer account brought him out of his thoughts, someone sent him a message.
It was from Gary.
Just got the Soul Badge! I waited for you in Fuchsia, but you never showed! Where are you Ash? I wanted a battle! I will tell you that I got a nice Pokémon from the Safari Zone and you'll meet him in our next battle. Try to keep up Ash!
How did Gary beat him to Fuchsia? Thinking back, didn't Gary have a Kadabra, it would mean that he was going to be able to travel much quicker and that he was going to be able get across Kanto much easier giving him a big advantage. More time to train if he didn't have to travel.
The only Pokémon on his team that would be capable of Teleportation would be Metang, but the psychic abilities of the Beldum line weren't strong enough to teleport until they evolved into Metagross and even then, it would take the TM. Ash smiled when he thought about his trip to the department store in Celadon, he had the Teleportation TM ready for Metang when it evolved in the coming months.
Ash frowned when he thought about his psychic's evolution. Other than Steven saying that learning and mastering Meteor Mash was a sign that Metang was getting closer to evolving he couldn't see any other signs. Metang hasn't exactly gotten stronger with training, rather getting better at manipulating the psychic energy, using it more effectively whereas Blast was bringing out more and more power showing his progress.
Looking over at Hydro, his starter, who was looking ready to evolve any minute, likely one more tough battle would do it. The Wartortle's shell was thickening and his skin was turning more and more blue with his skull hardening as it was readying for the huge thick skull of a Blastoise. Ash knew that once Hydro evolved it would take a few days for him to get used to his new body - larger and heavier and not to mention the two cannons he now had to work with, with which a Water Gun's strength would be enough to crack a tree's bark.
Unfortunately, a Pokémon's final evolution took far more time to get used to and could even be dangerous if a Pokémon underwent the process in a bad circumstance. Hydro would triple in size and Blast would literally grow four limbs and two wings that would all have incredible strength. So he was honestly hoping that his Pokémon evolved outside of battle.
Pikachu was an odd part of his team where evolution was considered. Ash would admit that the small rodent was stronger than his size would have one think. The electric type's lightning was potent and well conducted but Ash was seriously considering having him evolve into Raichu, the boost in power and strength was too much to ignore. But Pikachu was also his fastest Pokémon at the moment and Ash had made his battle style reflect that and a Raichu was just far too slow to use it affectively so Ash would have to change it completely meaning weeks of training. Ash didn't want to mess up what was already working so he'd wait to speak with Surge after he got his eighth badge and did another round of the gym circuit.
But that was where immediate changes to his team stopped. Charmeleon was getting close to evolving likely right before he challenged Sabrina and it would help, he'd need the power to take the Mistress of the Mind and her ridiculous Alakazam. Ash would work with Charmeleon after Koga and he knew that Blast would help so that he'd have an even stronger sparring partner.
Umbreon purred while crawling over to him.
Ash rolled his eyes and began petting her. It was getting late, so he started unrolling his sleeping bag.
Fuchsia City, more a large village than city, but Ash wasn't going to argue semantics with anyone. Ash stood at the top of a large cliff that overlooked Fuchsia, unlike Celadon or Vermillion there weren't any tall towers, most buildings were under four stories and were more conservative in style.
He could make out the gym at the center most point of Fuchsia while in the southern most part of the village was a large square shaped building with the words Safari written on the front. That would be his first destination.
Ash started making his way to the Pokémon center to get his team checked on. Professor Oak also was likely going to want him to get Snor from the corral, the large beast was running him ragged with all his exercise.
The Fuchsia Pokémon Center was the same as all the others, Ash walked to the nurse joy and handed his six Pokéballs over to her.
"Hello, Nurse Joy. I need my team checked on, we've been training pretty hard on the road." Ash said politely.
"Of course, we just need to run them through this machine for a scan." Joy said while pushing the tray into a large machine.
"This is new proprietary technology, cutting edge from Silph. They're only in the eight cities with the main gyms. No longer will we need to give thorough checks on every Pokémon that comes in here." Nurse Joy said cheerily.
Ash nodded without really thinking, the company that was headed by a psychopath. The machine hummed and lit up and Ash watched as the screen next to Joy turned on and a bunch of words flew by.
"The scan shows that they only need a bit of rest and relaxation for a couple hours. Nothing more than that is needed." Joy said happily while sliding the tray back to Ash.
"Thanks."
"Welcome to the Kanto Safari Zone." an automated voice said as Ash walked into the building.
Looking around, Ash noticed that most of the entry way was empty except for the man staring at him from behind the front desk.
"We're not open yet." The man said in a dull voice.
"I was on the ship." Replied Ash while walking toward the desk, "I was told that we get a free pass into the safari zone."
The man nodded and stood up, "In these renovations many rules have changed, please follow me while I explain."
Ash followed the man though the building towards the back where he assumed the entrance to all the reserves were.
"We used to allow trainers to use their own Pokéballs, now everyone is required to use the Safari balls so we can monitor them, and the Pokémon caught by trainers. Also, trainers are allowed to walk around with one of their Pokémon out of their balls, we think that it will help trainers befriend and capture Pokémon. We are also required to inform you that there are several locations that are still under construction, the volcano and Ice shelf are still locked down so you can't go there. All Pokémon are open to be caught, you are being provided twenty Safari balls if you want more you can buy them. All Pokémon caught will be transferred from a Safari ball to one of your own and you are required to return all Safari balls before you leave. Any questions?"
Ash blinked several times while listening to the man explain the rules. But none of them were that ridiculous, but that meant that he couldn't catch more than four Pokémon since that was all the regular Pokéballs he had on him, he also had the five ultra balls from the tournament, but they were going to be saved.
The man handed him a pouch with the Safari balls and gestured to a stand with a map on it.
"You are allowed four hours to explore and capture whatever you can." the back doors opened, and Ash walked out.
The first thing Ash noticed was that the first habitat was very similar to the Viridian forest. Tall trees standing several meters high creating a canopy that only let beams of sunlight through to light the forest area.
Ash quickly released Pidgeotto, she would be able to scout out the area for Pokémon and help him find his way. The large golden bird screamed on release and began soaring in a circle above him.
"Keep a look out for potential teammates." He told her to which she nodded and took to the sky.
Unfortunately, for the first half mile in the forest Ash hadn't found anything more than a few bug-types, not any strong ones either, only the kind he ran into in the Viridian Forest.
After awhile Ash saw the end of the forest and made his way out, the light shining through the exit was too bright to see what the next area was. Pidgeotto swooped down and out of the forest right as he did.
The next area was vastly different, a canyon like area with several rock and ground types milling about. A large Onix was chewing on boulders with several Geodude and Graveler playing and battling. The ground started to vibrate then a large crack formed in the ground several meters away before the earth exploded to reveal a huge Steelix emerge from the earth next to the Onix who butted heads with the enormous steel type as a greeting.
Ash saw that Pidgeotto was soaring around the canyon but wasn't calling him to her, so he assumed that there wasn't anything that caught her eye. He may need a ground or rock type to round out his team, but he wasn't going to just take anything.
Exploring further, Ash made his way toward the edge of the canyon area to try and find something else that could have potential.
A large rock was thrown from his left and nearly hit him. Ash spun around quickly to see the one responsible. A grunt sounded out and a large Machoke was pounding its chest while staring at him challengingly. Before another rock could even be picked up, Pidgeotto swooped down and hovered protectively in front of him.
"Don't attack it, we could get into trouble. Only protect me." Ordered Ash making sure that she understood the rules of this place.
Machoke, however, knew that it was at a disadvantage against Pidgeotto and smartly backed down with a noticeable frown. Ash thought for a moment, Machoke were powerful fighting types and Machamp were regarded with reverence for their abilities as the four-armed Pokémon was one of the physically strongest Pokémon in the world.
"Hey!" Ash shouted to the fighting type. "How would you like to join my team? We're strong and could use a fighter like you!"
The Machoke scoffed and walked away.
Ash sighed and turned away, it wasn't like he expected the first Pokémon he saw to work out and just join his team. But he would be lying if he said that a Machoke wouldn't be a useful addition to his team.
Continuing on Ash kept looking around the area, a different assortment of grass-types running around the edges of the canyon area and the forest area that he was walking between. Pidgeotto swooped down and hovered right in front of him while cawing at him.
"Find something?" asked Ash getting another caw from his bird. "Lead on."
Ash followed Pidgeotto as she flew into the forest then landed atop a branch over looking a small stream of water and a little clearing. Ash crouch walked closer and hid behind a bush to look at the scene in front of him.
At the stream two Pokémon were talking with one another. A Gloom was looking to reassure a small grass type that was walking around the small area smelling the flowers. It was a very recognizable Pokémon for Ash, Bulbasaur.
Incredibly rare in the wild and known to live in deep forests protected by Venusaur and Ivysaur, they were generally uncatchable by anyone less than an experienced trainer. Ash knew that this would be the perfect grass type for his team, and he was going to do his absolute best to get it on his team. He could even ask Professor Oak for tips in training it since his very own Venusaur was a champion level Pokémon that keep peace and order in the corral.
Ash took out his Pokédex to scan the Pokémon just to get the scan on file.
Bulbasaur. It bears the seed of a plant on its back from birth. The seed slowly develops. Researchers are unsure whether to classify Bulbasaur as a plant or animal. Bulbasaur are extremely calm and very difficult to capture in the wild.
Ash nodded to himself and slowly made his way out of the bushes to approach the two Pokémon. First to notice him was the Bulbasaur who got low to the ground and barked out a warning with two fines extending out to show that it was ready to attack.
Pidgeotto blurred in front of Ash with a screech of warning, her wings were raised, and she glared imperiously at the grass type. Ash reached out to rub her feathers to calm her and walked closer to the two Pokémon with his palms outward to show he meant peace.
Bulbasaur - who was still looking at Pidgeotto with a nervous glare - allowed Ash to approach and turned his gaze towards him. Gloom - who had been silent so far stepped next to Bulbasaur to show its support of the small grass type.
"Hello," Greeted Ash using a calm voice to make sure that neither were startled. "My name is Ash, that's Pidgeotto she's a part of my team and can be a bit protective." Ash said while giving a fond rub to Pidgeotto's beak.
Bulbasaur and Gloom calmed at the interaction and didn't look as defensive as before. Bulbasaur even extended one of its vines toward him that Ash shook with a smile.
"I wanted to offer you a spot on my team." Ash said to Bulbasaur after letting the vine go, "We travel around training and battling—"
Bulbasaur interrupted with a bark and hopped forward toward Ash with a happy pant. Ash was unsure at the grass types reaction but bent down and gave it a pat on the head.
"Do you want to come with me?" Asked Ash tentatively, "I will be more than happy to bring you with me on my journey, but we train a lot and battle seriously strong Pokémon. You'll have to train with my other Pokémon to catch up. Will that be okay?"
Instead of what Ash expected to be a rejection after hearing his description of life as one of his Pokémon, Bulbasaur barked happily as his two front feet jumped up and down.
Ash smiled and took out a Safari Ball, "This will catch you so that you'll be able to come with me, okay?"
Bulbasaur nodded and barked again getting a laugh out of Ash. Tapping the Safari Ball to the grass types head it was captured without struggle.
Ash turned to the Gloom who was watching the exchange silently, "I'll take care of Bulbasaur, I promise."
Gloom didn't make a sound, but a sweat smell wafted through the area before it slowly made its way out of the clearing back into the thicker, deeper, parts of the forest.
Ash ran a scan over the Pokéball to see where Bulbasaur was at.
This Bulbasaur is Male and knows the moves: Tackle, Growl, Vine Whip, Growth, and Leech Seed. Its abilities are Overgrow and Chlorophyll.
Ash smiled at the Pokéball, honestly, he was just impressed that he found a Bulbasaur. Chlorophyll was an uncommon ability in Bulbasaur and allowed them to fight better in direct sunlight, it also allowed them to recover and heal by sunbathing even better than a normal grass type.
Overall, Ash couldn't ask for a better Pokémon to catch in the Safari Zone.
Pidgeotto shot back up into the air to scout for more Pokémon while Ash was stuck smiling at finally finding a grass type for his team, he was far weaker than his other teammates but a few months of training with Hydro and Blast should bridge the gap nicely.
Leaving the forest, Ash went to where he heard streams of water and found that the next area was a rolling valley with perfect grass and a large river running through the middle of the area that several Stantler were drinking from.
Ash called out to Pidgeotto who swooped down next to him, "I'm going to give someone else some fresh air."
The large golden bird cawed as he returned her to her Pokéball and took out another, she would have a bit higher standard and may scare some smaller Pokémon, but he released Umbreon anyway.
Umbreon yawned after looking around the plane's environment.
Ash knelt down to rub her ears, "This is the safari zone, we already got one new teammate so let's see if we can get another."
"You can't attack anyone you can only defend me if something happens," Ash stared down at Umbreon more seriously, "You can not attack anyone."
Umbreon snorted and started looking around at the variety of Pokémon around the plains. Small normal and grass types playing together, happily basking in the sun.
Ash and Umbreon looked around the plains for a while but quickly moved on to the next area, a rainy tundra. Water types galore and neither Ash nor Umbreon saw anyone he wanted to add to the team. Hydro was the best water type he could ask for and he didn't want the commitment of training another water type when Hydro was already a powerful and capable Pokémon.
Last location that he would have time for was a mountain peak that somehow resembled the top of an actual mountain. Ash didn't even bother trying to understand how such a thing was possible.
Ash heard an extremely loud roar in the distance, Ash lowered his head in resignation, and turned around to leave. He got Bulbasaur so that was more than enough for this trip. He didn't need nor did he think he was capable of training another dragon, Blast was only just getting to the point where he was a team player rather than a loner that only liked to train and sleep.
"Only one, too picky or were Pokémon against partnering up with you?" asked the man that lead him into the safari zone in the first place.
Ash narrowed his eyes at the man, "I already have a strong team, so I was just looking for something that I didn't already have, and Pokémon love me. Right Umbreon."
The dark type rubbed her head on his leg in affection make Ash smile and rub behind her ears.
The man noticed the Umbreon and looked at her with wide eyes, "I'll say that you must be some trainer to be that young with a pure dark type completely under control. I saw another kid your age with a dark dragon actually, so it's not that impressive now that I think about it."
"What!? Who were they?" Ash questioned in shock, there was only one dark dragon and if Gary or Paul caught one then his rivals were going to be even harder to defeat in the Indigo League.
"I don't remember everyone that comes here but I do remember he spent nearly all of his time in the misty peaks section looking for a dragon." The man perked up suddenly, "He had purple hair, now that I think about it."
So Paul, who could potentially have a Tyranitar and Hydreigon and whatever else he had in his team was going to be a real threat by the time the Indigo league comes around and he was sure Gary had some powerful Pokémon himself.
Ash's pseudos were coming along well. He was sure that Metang would evolve before the league but Blast was a different story, it could take months or even years of training before the signs showed, he had 12 months before the league started so he had plenty of time but he really wanted Blast to have complete control over his final form by then or it could be more of a hinderance than a boon to have him evolve.
"Thanks." Ash said as he was handed his Pokéball that contained Bulbasaur and put into his pocket. He had just sent Pidgeotto back to Oak's to make room for Bulbasaur, who was going to need a lot of attention for the next few weeks.
"No problem, please return to the Kanto Safari Zone in two to three years when we officially open." The man said while looking at his computer screen and waving him out.
Ash entered a secluded part of the forest with enough room for his team and released everyone. Metang hovered near him while staring at the unopened ball in his hand, likely knowing that it was a new team member. Psychics were like that.
Blast yawned lazily as he slithered around the area.
Hydro and Pikachu looked around, ready to either train or relax, while Umbreon laid down at his feet ready to nap not caring about anything else.
"Okay everyone, we have a new teammate who I'd like to introduce everybody to."
His team gathered around and he released Bulbasaur. The small grass type barked a greeting but after seeing all of the Pokémon staring at him, he got a bit shy, he was particularly nervous under the looks of Blast and Umbreon.
"This is Bulbasaur," he said with a smile, "He has the ambition to become strong and the want to travel as a member of this team. I hope everyone will welcome him and help him climb to your levels."
Unsurprisingly, it was Hydro that stepped forward first offering a nod and began speaking to Bulbasaur in their language. Pikachu wasn't far behind with Metang happily watching from a comfortable distance.
Ash sat down and started looking through his Pokédex. He was going to challenge Koga tomorrow, and he wanted to be ready.
From what he had found out about Koga in his journey to Fuchsia was that his family was one of the founding members of the City and his Gym had been one of the original eight that started after the Master made his debut.
He came from a long line of poison-type trainers all fashioning themselves as shinobi. It had to have been close to a thousand years since anyone seriously considered themselves an actual ninja, but he guessed that the Gym Leader's family were highly traditional and proud of their history.
Notable fact about the Fuchsia City Gym was that Koga was notorious for low number team battles. It was rare for a battle to be more than three on three unless it was at a seventh or eighth badge level and even then, most fail two or three times before claiming the badge. That was with advantages heavily stacked in their favor, after all it was never a surprise as to what kind of Pokémon a gym leader had.
He would go with Blast, Hydro and Metang if it was three on three. Blast's shed skin ability meant that poison could be neutralized the first time and he had the power to take down most Pokémon at his level. Hydro was a Pokémon with high defense and offense, but his mobility suffered in turn. Ash hoped that being patient would be the key for Hydro to walk away with a win. Metang was obvious since poison didn't work on steel types and psychic was highly effective, a perfect secret weapon to keep in his back pocket if he was pushed that far by the poison master.
This would mark his fifth badge and he was going to take a while to train before tackling Blaine, Sabrina and Giovanni. All three were considered to be the most powerful gym leaders in the region one being a former elite four member and the other two were either heavily considered or have turned the position down in Giovanni's case.
Giovanni was a strange case, considered stronger than all other gym leaders but rarely appeared in public forums. The last league he attended was three years ago when rumors of a trainer having the strength to take on the Elite four were going around. The guy didn't even take down two of Lorelei's Pokémon when he challenged them.
Ash wanted to have some of his team fully evolved before he went to Blaine, the fire master would hopefully fall before a Blastoise and Pidgeot, he was sure that Charmeleon would love to try his hand at the notorious Magmar that Blaine kept in his back pocket. Speaking of Charmeleon, the pseudo dragon was getting well on his way to evolution and he was sure that Blast would be pleased by that.
Hours past and Ash relaxed into his sleeping bag feeling a little too drained to make his way to the Pokémon Center for a room despite just this morning swearing that he wasn't going to sleep in anything but a genuine bed.
Tomorrow would be a big day for him and his team, they were going to take on the poison master of Kanto.
The Fuchsia City gym was more of a modest dojo than the league official buildings he was used to with his previous gym battles.
A large open room without a league official in site. It was possible that this wasn't even the gym and he had just walked into the wrong building.
"Are you a challenger?" A disembodied voice asked him to jolt him out of his thoughts.
Ash looked around and responded, "I am, I'm Ash Ketchum and I seek to challenge Koga for a soul badge."
"I see." Someone whispered from behind him.
Ash spun around and was shocked to see Koga looking down at him with crossed arms.
Koga wasn't a large man, likely only five eight, but he held a strength to him that made him seem larger than life. He was wearing a Gi with armor on his forearms and shins with a red cape like scarf. He was middle aged, and his eyes held the same look that a veteran would, shown with experience and fire.
"How many badges do you have, Mr. Ketchum?"
"Four."
Koga walked to the other side of the room with a silent nod of his head. "Very well, this will be a three on three battle. I will release first; you can switch during the battle, but I cannot."
No more words were said by the poison master who unclipped a pokéball and clicked the release button.
Ash didn't know what he was expecting, but it wasn't what emerged from the ball.
An, admittedly large, Beedrill hovered in the air in front of Koga awaiting the battle to begin.
Three on three against a gym leader who was known for his ruthlessness and was considered for an elite four position, he already knew who he was going to use so he threw he ball to get started.
Hydro stood in front of Koga with a determined look on his face and a ready stance for the coming battle. Ash smiled at his starters focus, he was so close to evolving that this very well might be the push if he won.
"Poison Spikes, Blink jab."
Ash and Hydro watched as several thin violet streams of energy cascaded onto the battlefield on his side. This was the first time that Ash would go up against someone using spikes or the move variants.
They were annoying in the best of circumstances; in the worst they could be the thing that took you out of a battle. Stealth Rock could take out a flying type on entry and poison spikes did as the name suggested, luckily Hydro was already out and Metang was immune but that didn't mean he liked the hazard being on the field.
In the second that Ash thought about the spikes Beedrill had covered the distance with its twin stingers glowing with energy and the tips dripping with poison.
"Withdrawl!" Shouted Ash, "Respond with Scald!"
Hydro, with his battle experience was able to avoid one of the jabs, the second one managed to hit his arm before he was safely inside of his shell.
Hours of training prepared Hydro for this moment. Inside of his shell movement was difficult, unless he utilized the rapid spin movement Ash had dubbed 're-position'.
Beedrill moved back from the Hydro who span in his shell rapidly and with the spin he rolled away from the poison-bug type. Three meters of movement later Hydro emerged from his shell and released a boiling stream of water toward Beedrill who calmly avoid the attack and spat several globs of poison that Hydro avoided them easily.
Ash frowned and called for a change in tactics. Hydro used Iron Defense while Koga made a few calls that Ash didn't recognize, likely alternate names for moves so that Ash couldn't counter them before they struck.
With higher defense, Hydro waited for Beedrill to approach with the icy energy gathering in his chest.
Unfortunately, Beedrill continued to attack from range using a combination of sludge bomb, Venoshock and Pin Missile. Hydro continued to dodge but was getting slower with each movement.
Hydro gathered an orb of icy blue energy in front of his mouth and fired a jagged stream of energy at the Beedrill who scrambled out of the way of the high-speed Ice Beam. Hydro kept up the assault with several more Ice Beams, none hitting directly but one managing to hit Beedrill's arm freezing it on contact.
After gathering more icy energy Hydro started to shake making Ash worry.
"Hydro!" Called Ash realizing what was wrong.
Before he could recall Hydro, he fell face first into the ground. Ash quickly recalled his starter and clenched his fist. He realized too late what was happening, Koga only landed one attack, but it was all that he needed.
Poison types were peculiar in their training. Once a poison move was learned it couldn't be improved upon in the same way a flamethrower or a thunderbolt could in that practice would make it stronger. Rather it was through diet and experimentation that a poison type increased the lethality of their poison, thus increasing their attacks effectiveness.
That was also why Koga was such a difficult opponent. Ash never thought exactly why this was such a challenging gym. Poison types weren't flashy like Fire or Electric types they were subtle, stalling battlers. It was all tactics and efficiency in their battle styles. Koga, being an Elite level trainer, even a Beedrill would be a force to be reckoned with, as he just saw.
"I made a mistake, Koga." Ash said getting a raised brow from the modern ninja, "In my studies I learned why your specialty was so dangerous but in my time as a trainer I had forgotten. Even a poison jab is terrifying from you."
Ash never out right praised an opponent before and never during a battle, but he just felt the words leave his mouth.
Koga, for the first time since Ash entered the gym changed his facial expression. He let out a tiny smirk, "I see you aren't as foolish as I thought, it only took you losing one Pokémon rather than the whole battle like most."
Ash nodded and took out the ball for his fiercest Pokémon.
Blast emerged from his ball with a low roar from his throat. The long blue serpent of legend locked eyes with his opponent while his tail lazily floated behind him.
Koga and Beedrill remained unfazed in the presence of his Dragonair.
"Agility into Flamethrower don't let it touch you!" Called Ash seriously.
Blast glided through the air at high speeds with red fiery energy coiled in front of his mouth before it exploded in a cone of fire that Beedrill avoided and responded to with a Pin Missile. The flying needles were avoided, and Blast kept up his assault not wanting to give the bug a second to breath.
"Coat!" Ordered Koga with a more pronounce frown on his face.
Ash didn't know what coat could mean, Beedrill couldn't learn mirror coat so it must be more of the custom moves that Koga made.
"Blast! Dragon Rage!"
Blast grinned viscously at the order, despite not being the most powerful attack at base, Dragon Rage was his best attack and he can use it to an incredible level. It was this move that earned him his name sake when he first met his trainer.
Draconic energy coalesced in Blast's mouth then was released as a compact ball of power that Beedrill predictively avoided. However, Blast's mastery of Dragon Rage allowed him to fire off another almost instantly, hitting the bug in the chest knocking it out of the fight.
A natural move from a dragon was devastating, especially when it was mastered to the degree that Blast had mastered Dragon Rage. Ash would have been surprised if the Beedrill would have shook the hit off.
"A win to you Mr. Ketchum." Nodded Koga for releasing another Pokémon.
Muk emerged from its ball and swayed back and forth on the ground in a congealed blob of poisons. The Muk was similar to the one in possession of the Rocket executive in that it was large and gave off a putrid smell.
"Thunderbolt! Follow up with Flamethrower!"
Blast slithered through the arena room so he could get into a better position as the top of his head crackled with yellow lightning. Muk stood firm in its place and watched lazily as the lightning bolt crossed the distance between them.
Ash didn't know what to make of Muk's lack of reaction but watched as Blast's Thunderbolt was shrugged off. Blast charged up a Flamethrower with Muk having the same reaction except for its slight tightening of its body.
The wave of fire crossed the distance between Pokémon with the room heating from the extremely hot fire. Muk spat out a thick stream of poison from its mouth that managed to stop the fire in its tracks and cancel out the attack.
"Blast use-" Before Ash could finish Blast fell forward unconscious. "What?!" He shouted unable to hold in his shock.
"That is my win Mr. Ketchum, your last Pokémon please." Said Koga, his expression unreadable.
Ash looked at Blast's ball silently, this was the first time his dragon tasted defeat so casually. On the S.S. Anne the battle against Salamance was tough but it was against a Pokémon with a vast amount of power and experience and even then, Blast fought his heart out. This time he was defeated without even realizing it, and Ash felt he was the sole person to blame.
"This is it, go Metang!" Shouted Ash tossing his steel-psychic type out.
The metallic roar from Metang sounded out as the large Pokémon hovered motionlessly in the air. Ash felt a wave of focus wash over him as he felt Metang's seriousness towards the battle due to Metang's psychic link.
"A steel type, how typical." Muttered Koga to his type specialties worst matchup. Troublingly, the poison master didn't seem upset at the turn of event rather unimpressed.
"Metang, Confusion into Meteor Mash!"
"Dark Pulse into Flamethrower."
Despite Ash's worry over the moves being called out he continued to keep his confidence in Metang's abilities.
The red eyes of the Hoenn native glowed as Muk felt its body destabilize from the effective psychic attack the momentarily stalled the charging of the dark attack. Metang used the moment to burst forward with speeds usually only attainable by agility. The two arms raised in front and gave off a silver glow as Metang rocketed forward like a meteor toward the poison type.
Muk's dark pulse fizzled out and the poison type was hit by the steel attack getting a small grunt of discomfort but otherwise seemed fine. Metang however was finding the congealed mass of poison difficult to escape.
An extremely tight orb of fire condensed into Muk's mouth, as Blast's attack before it did, the room heated up from the fire attack being used. Metang took the flamethrower into the body dealing enough damage for a cry of pain.
"Psychic! Then Zen Headbutt!" Cried Ash hoping to turn the battle around.
Muk slid away from the psychic type but Metang's Psychic caught it and picked the blob off the ground and slammed it back onto the ground.
As soon as Muk hit the ground a cold ball of black energy condensed in front of Muk's mouth and shot toward Metang at blistering speeds. Metang avoid the attack with an application of Agility to close the distance between the two Pokémon. The front of Metang's face glowed with pink energy and Muk started to hum with golden energy.
"Finish it." Said Koga with a point of his hand.
Muk, with golden energy surrounding it the hum became more prominent. The energy crackled to life as the blob of toxins exploded forward with the ground cracking under the force of the movement. Muk now surrounded by crackling golden energy became a comet of energy as Metang closed in with a Zen Headbutt.
Ash let out a sigh when he realized what Muk was using.
The golden crackling energy exploded out of his body and the crackling energy became a powerful aura that surrounded Muk causing the room to hum with power. Metang, using Zen Headbutt, collided with Muk and for an instant the clash looked to be even.
Ash sighed; it was his loss. Zen Headbutt couldn't stand up to Giga Impact.
Metang cried out in pain and fell to the ground in defeat.
Ash recalled Metang with a tired sigh. He was hoping for the win, but it would seem that even an incredible advantage such as Steel and Psychic typing wouldn't matter at the higher levels.
Koga walked over to the introspective trainer. "You put up an… interesting fight. You were hoping to overpower my Pokémon, correct?"
"I was." Nodded Ash, now seeing the folly in the plan after witnessing Koga in action.
"That is a mindset that most rookie trainers and even experienced trainer think. I blame the dragon tamer for the mindset of power equaling strength." Sighed Koga with a slight annoyance when referring to Lance.
Ash wondered about that. Koga was considered a very strong trainer, easily elite level but his Pokémon weren't inherently powerful. It would seem that he had in fact been thinking along the power mindset.
"A battle is not only about power." Koga said seriously, "I make it a point to defeat trainers like you with subtle attacks and finesse to try and impart the knowledge that power isn't the only avenue to battling. If you walk in thinking that a Hyper Beam is going to win you the battle because it is such a powerful move, then my Beedrill will simply dodge and defeat you with a simple poison jab."
Ash looked down in thought, his battle in hindsight made it seem like he was a raging Taurus being led by the nose by a matador without knowing it. He expected Hydro to overpower the Beedrill, the same with Blast but he lost without even knowing it.
"I will battle you again any time after a minimum of three days, Mr. Ketchum." Koga didn't say anything more and walked off.
After a trip to the Pokémon center and a large lunch later and Ash was sitting in front of his team in a small clearing outside of the city.
"We lost today." Said Ash.
The assortment of Pokémon cried out in either sadness or shock. Blast was notably silent in the cry of responses. Ash knew that he was taking it the hardest.
"And it's my fault," some shouted to interrupt him, but he raised a hand to quiet them. "I have only been focusing on one part of the essential training I needed to be giving you. I have been in the mindset that power would win us the battle, and in a lot of cases it will but not all of them. I think for the next couple of weeks, we're going to focus on control and bettering your physical capabilities rather than increasing the amount of power you can harness. You're all powerful, now we need to make sure that you have excellent control over all of your abilities, changing existing moves that you haven't used in a while to something different or altering you signatures to make them more versatile."
Ash smiled at all of them and held up a fist, "We have three days!" Cried Ash, "Let's do this!"
None of his Pokémon held back a roar of approval.
Ash didn't like how he'd been training now that he thought back on it. In the beginning he had come up with some awesome combinations; Blitz Tail, and Thunder Gavel to name a few.
Where had that innovation gone?
Had he simply tossed that aside with Blast's evolution and Charmeleon's abilities showing such potential for raw power. Snor's power was inherently high and he never worked on control rather increasing the power of his moves. Hydro was naturally defensive, so it worked out and despite his foolishness Metang was the most balanced of all of his Pokémon.
Pikachu had excellent speed and power, could adapt to different Pokémon's fighting styles and was a natural battler. But what had Ash done with that? Nothing, thunder gavel was the first of many potential unique utilizations, but Ash shifted his focus to the more 'powerful' Pokémon on his team.
Luckily, he hadn't ruined Bulbasaur's abilities with poor training yet. The little grass type was showing an affinity for reactive fighting, preferring to wait for his opponent to attack and responding with Vines and Leech Seeds to finish off his opponent, he needed to practice against fast evasive opponents. He would team his grass type up with Pikachu and Pidgeotto in training to help with that.
Snor was still at the corral and he would call him back after the gym battle along with Charmeleon to help give the Fire type the last push toward evolution. Oak had sent him an update the other night that his hide was hardening, and his color was lightening. Meaning that evolution was imminent, and Oak didn't want him to evolve away from his trainer as Charizard's were as prideful as dragons and would be insulted if their trainer wasn't even there during their evolution.
Ash was actually surprised that so many of his Pokémon were close to evolution. Pidgeotto could evolve any day even without battling, Hydro was on the cusp like Charmeleon and he was sure that Metang was close considering the near mastery of Meteor Mash.
Day two of his training and he was witnessing a battle between Hydro and Umbreon.
Hydro was on the offense; he was focusing on combining Water Pulse and Scald to make a cannon of boiling water. Umbreon was trying to hit a Toxic attack by infusing the poison into a bite attack.
Both attacks were potentially catastrophic, a high-speed burn inducing Water cannon and a Bite attack that inflicted Toxic.
The water energy was gathering in front of Hydro's mouth and was giving off a high amount of steam masking his face from Umbreon. The water compacted and shot forward in a bowling ball sized orb that was losing its size from the steam constantly emanating from the attack.
Ash frowned at that, Scald was a compact stream of water because of the steam, he would either need to increase the water in the attack or decrease the heat.
Umbreon jumped away from the attack and started closing distance with her fangs bared with noticeable poison dripping from her mandibles. Ash smiled at his dark type; this wasn't a difficult attack to master but the problem was the amount of time to prepare the attack.
Hydro continued to gather energy all the while backpedaling away from the dark type who was trying to poison him. Steam gathered in front of Hydro's face as he prepared another attack while Umbreon got into Hydro's face.
The dark type managed to close the distance faster than Hydro could attack. Hydro cried out in pain from the bite and Ash could see the purple tint around the bite mark showing that the poison was injected. Hydro was now on a clock.
"Scald into Water Pulse!"
"Umbreon, meet it with Dark Pulse then Iron Tail the Water Pulse!"
Ash was trying to come up with different strategies for different situation where dodge just wouldn't work. He was hoping to make several options reflexive for his Pokémon through this training.
Hydro could fire off Water Pulse quite fast making it a great follow up move and the same with Umbreon's Iron Tail.
The Scald managed to cancel out the Dark Pulse attack despite the dark attack being inherently stronger. Hydro was the stronger Pokémon raw power wise giving him the upper hand in the clash.
Umbreon jumped and spun around hitting the condensed ball of water destabilizing the ball making it splash harmlessly.
"Excellent! Take a break you two!" Both Pokémon cried out happily while Ash went to cure Hydro's poisoning.
Hydro had increased the speed in which he utilized attacks and has made some headway into a new attack. Ash was quite pleased with his starters progress. Umbreon was going along like expected, soon she would get to a point where she couldn't keep up with power naturally and would need to really put in training to keep up.
Ash had looked at footage of Agatha's Umbreon and was surprised at the Pokémon's power. A dark pulse from the elite's Pokémon could meet a Hyper Beam head on and get a stalemate. Ash didn't know what kind of training Umbreon would need to get to that point, but he had a few ideas for training once he got his last badge.
For now, he'd work on Blast and Pidgeotto and their attacks control and accuracy.
"I didn't think I would hear from you Ash!" Came the voice of Professor Oak from the video call.
Ash sighed, "The journey from Celadon was a long one and not much happened. I called to ask your advice on some things."
"I will do my best to help." Said Oak with a smile.
"I lost to Koga-" Oak looked to interrupt but Ash shook his head, "That wasn't the problem, it was the battle that raised some problems with my training. I realized that I have only been focusing on power and not much else since I got my second badge."
"I see." Nodded Oak.
"I was wondering what kind of training I could put my team through to help further their control, I can't just have them practicing moves over and over and I'm running out of ideas for combination attacks."
Professor Oak smiled and let out a sigh, "You came to that conclusion far more calmly than Gary did. He called me after getting whipped by Koga in a rage and yelled for ten minutes all amounting to what you just said."
"Although he called mostly to vent and then hung up before I could say anything." Snorted Oak with a shake of his head that was mirrored by Ash.
"You have a team of remarkably powerful Pokémon, that is a fact and to a point you were training them exactly how you were supposed to. Before a Pokémon is fully evolved, they need to train to increase their power so that they can reach their final forms. Once a Pokémon reaches their final evolution then you can fully focus on control as they will be at a point where their move pools are fully available to be taught and trained."
"So, for now, you haven't been completely failing in training." Conceded Oak with a small smile, "But, you can't only focus on how powerful a move is, even at your stage. I would recommend increasing your Pokémon's defenses and resistances to their weaknesses. While some of your Pokémon will evolve to stronger forms, evolution increases your Pokémon's stats rather than changing them so the stronger your Pokémon are when they evolve the more they'll benefit from the evolution."
"So, I should train resistances and weaknesses not just moves. Understood, thank you for the help Professor. Also, I'm going to be sending you Bulbasaur and Pikachu for Snor and Charmeleon."
"Very well Ash, good luck against Koga."
Ash grimaced at Hydro and Charmeleon's battle. This was for Charmeleon to start building a resistance to one of his biggest weaknesses and for Hydro to learn increase the speed and control of Water Pulse.
A Flamethrower burst through the training field while a powerful cannon ball of water canceled out the attack. Hydro wasted no time in firing another Water Pulse off getting a direct hit on Charmeleon who cried out angrily. The fire type entered Blaze and sent another noticeably hotter and larger Flamethrower at the water type.
Hydro saw the power of the attack coming and raised an impenetrable barrier of protect in front of him. The fire washed over the barrier, but nothing came of the attack. Charmeleon roared once more and Ash knew that he was getting close, Hydro as well.
"Both of you use Fire Punch, and Ice Punch!"
Hydro's fist was covered in frost and the ivory subzero energy of an Ice type while Charmeleon ignited his own fist causing extremely hot fire to form an orb around his fist.
Hydro crossed the distance quite quickly with Charmeleon meeting him in the middle. Both attacks met and a wave of power was given off from the clash. The ground immediately under them changed, on Charmeleon's half it caught fire while it froze on Hydro's side. The clash looked even for a moment before Charmeleon's natural move enhanced by blaze won out.
Hydro crashed onto his back in defeat. Ash was about to recall him, but loud roars came from each of the Pokémon, Hydro's was a bit deeper than he'd ever heard while Charmeleon's was much louder than normal. Ash's other Pokémon all stopped to see what was happening.
Hydro was surrounded by the white energy of evolution. Ash watched in pride as his started evolved. The frozen ground under him shattered under his rapidly growing weight while the light grew brighter and large after each passing second.
The deeper than normal roar became even deeper during the process. Ash reached for his Pokédex and waited until the process was finished. The process for evolution, in Ash's experience, hadn't ever taken this long. Maybe it was because this was a final evolution?
Almost three minutes after the light appeared over Wartortle they dimmed and receded from Blastoise.
A large blue turtle with twin cannons protruding from his shell stood in the place of his Wartortle. Hydro was now a bit taller than Ash coming in at just under two meters while his width was enough that Ash likely couldn't even wrap his arms around half of him.
Hydro for the first time in his final form shaking the area from his baritone bellow.
Charmeleon's roar of victory earlier wasn't just for show as just as soon as he noticed Hydro's new form he exploded into a blinding white light. Louder and stronger were his cries as the light grew larger and brighter.
Ash couldn't contain his jubilation that two of his Pokémon evolving at the same time. He supposed this spoke to the amount of training Charmeleon and Blast put in at the corral with Oak's incredible Dragonite and his own battle crazy work ethic. Hydro wasn't lazy but he didn't spend every moment he could training like Charmeleon, who aspired to challenge Oak's Charizard.
The light started to die down, but the heat didn't, the first thing Ash saw was the large tail flame which grew to show the rest of the Fire and now Flying type's body. Charizard was now just at the two-meter mark coming in a bit above Hydro's head with a large wing span behind him and two large arms that looked far stronger than before.
Charizard and Hydro looked at one another for a moment before silently nodding to one another.
Ash watched silently at the mutual respect being shown and felt nothing but pride in his two Pokémon.
Blast was the one who broke the silence in the field by flying over to Charizard with a low horn like roar. The dragon and now pseudo dragon talked to each other with Blast hovering around Charizard taking in his new form.
Hydro stomped over to him and slapped him on the back, Ash grunted but smiled over at his starter.
"I'm proud of you Hydro, I still remember the small Squirtle I got from Professor Oak." Said Ash with a huge smile on his face.
Snor and Metang came over to Ash with Umbreon going to Charizard and Blast to look at the new and improved fire type.
"Metang, once you master Meteor Mash you will be able to reach your final stage." A wave of excitement washed over him making him smile, "I will be using you in the gym again, so be ready for that."
Metang flew off and Snor plopped down next to his trainer with a roar of hunger. Ash rolled his eyes and tossed one of his food pellets into Snor's waiting mouth who chewed on it happily.
"I will be using you in the battle tomorrow too Snor, so rest up."
Snor didn't complain at the order and instantly fell asleep to prepare.
Charizard started flapping his wings and took to the air with Blast following behind smoothly. Umbreon looked up at the dragons then ran over and curled up next to Snor to take some nap time.
Ash smiled to himself, this was the point of his journey where his team should start to get to their final stages. Except for Metang and Blast, the former's evolution was dictated by a mental state not considered ready to evolve until they mastered Meteor Mash with the latter needed a long while to accumulate the experience and power to trigger the change.
Snor, Umbreon, and Bulbasaur weren't going to evolve either as Snor doesn't have another form, Umbreon already is in her last form and Bulbasaur was still young and hasn't had much training yet. Ash looked down at his egg, it was a solid slate grey with portions of it turning a slight silver almost unnoticeable from the grey. He was unsure of what it would be but he was sure that it was a rock or steel type, a heavily defensive type that would help his team.
He knew that he would have been able to re-challenge Koga after three days but with Hydro and Charmeleon's evolution he was going to take a few days for them to get used to their bodies.
A week, it was one week ago today that Ash was last in the Fuchsia City Pokémon Gym. He was ready and his team was ready. This time he wasn't going to worry about overpowering Koga, sometimes a scalpel was more important than a hammer.
The gym was as barren as the last time. The front was occupied by a young woman in her late teens who smiled at him as he walked in.
"Hello! Welcome to the Fuchsia City gym! How may I help you?" She asked pleasantly.
Ash smiled at her, "I am here to re-challenge Koga."
She actually looked surprised to hear that, "Wow, most don't come back to challenge my father after they lose. I'm impressed mister."
"Ash Ketchum."
She smiled at him, "Janine."
He was led to the gym arena, where as soon as they arrived, Janine was taken to the ground in a judo move with her father holding one of her arms behind her and a foot on her back.
Ash looked on with wide shocked eyes. He'd heard that they still practiced martial arts for traditions sake, but he didn't think it would go this far.
"You must remain aware of your surroundings at all times, a trainer easily caught off guard is a trainer that loses." Said Koga with the same low voice that wasn't loud but still reached the corners of the room.
Janine was let up and she stood with a sheepish look, "Sorry father, I won't let it happen again."
"We will train more later." Said Koga with a nod.
The poison master finally noticed Ash and got an interested look in his eye, "I see you are back for another challenge."
Ash nodded, "You taught me something important last time, I'll be sure to use it to win today." He said seriously.
Koga nodded, "Very well, as this is a rematch there are different rules. You may still switch Pokémon mid-battle but now so can I, also this will be a four on four rather than three on three. I will pick first."
From the gym leaders side a familiar putrid smelling pile of sludge was revealed. Muk slid around on his side of the field with a lazy expression on its face but still ready to battle.
Ash thought for a moment, Muk had some of the deadliest poisons naturally and he was sure that Koga had ways of making it worse. With that in mind he was going to use a Pokémon that wouldn't be too bothered by toxins.
Snor landed on the field with a thunderous thud shaking the arena under his enormous weight.
"A powerful Pokémon, you continue to impress me Ketchum." Koga said with the same interested look back in his eye.
Janine walked to the middle and raised both of her arms, "This will be a four on four rematch! Both sides may switch out their Pokémon, forfeiting is permitted. Begin!"
"Sludge Bomb!"
"Earthquake then Thunder Punch!"
Muk was normally the faster of the two Pokémon in the wild, however both Pokémon were naturally pretty slow. Ash however had taken a rather unorthodox approach to training a Snorlax, he wasn't fast in the slightest but compared to a Pokémon that was slow but normally faster than him, Snor had the edge.
Before the Sludge could be fired from the pile of purple toxins the arena was violently shook thanks to Snor stomping with all his might firing off an earthquake. Muk groaned out in pain while Snor rushed Muk with his right fist crackling with yellow lightning.
Koga and Janine watched as Snor charged forward with speed unheard of for a Pokémon of that size. Janine couldn't keep the bewildered look off of her face while Koga bounced back in an instant.
"Sludge wave then Purple Haze!"
Muk bounced back as soon as it heard its masters voice and released a wave of poison in all directions landing a solid hit on the approaching Snorlax who moments later landed a Thunder Punch on the poison type.
The move wasn't super effective as Muk's defensives were impressive, but he took on a slightly frazzled expression getting a grin from Ash. He was betting on a Paralyze with the Thunder Punch.
"Finish this with Hyper Beam!" Shouted Ash throwing forth a punch into the air.
"Get it off, Purple Haze!" Roared Koga.
Both Snor and Muk were hard at work preparing their moves. Snor had the orange energy collecting in front of his mouth as the room filled with tension as the incredibly powerful attack was being prepared. The sound of the Hyper Beam charged started as a feint hum and worked up to a loud buzz as if a dozen Beedrill were in the room.
Muk managed to attack first releasing a purple smoke bomb that covered the arena in dark purple smoke.
An instant later Snor fired the canon lighting the room with an orange light that was too bright to stare at.
Muk was overtaken by the attack as it traveled far too fast for the pile of sludge to move away from. The attack only lasted a second, but the damage was done. Thankfully the attack hit Muk dead center as the arena only had dark burns on the hard floor and slight cracks.
"Muk is unable to battle!"
Koga nodded, "I see you are more prepared this go around, let's see how you handle this!"
The same Beedrill that took out Hydro was released onto the field and hovered in the air ready for battle.
Ash smirked, "Return Snor." The large normal type was sucked back into his ball as Ash reached for his next Pokémon. "Koga, this was one of the reasons this re-challenge took so long."
Ash tossed out Hydro's ball releasing the large water type who let out a low call and stomped on the ground a few times to show his strength.
"I see," said Koga, "That Wartortle of yours did look close to evolution. I fear you may be underestimating the amount of time it takes for a Pokémon to acclimate to their final forms."
Ash just held his smirk, "I wouldn't worry too much."
"Very well, Poison Sting! Then Acid Missile!"
"Protect then Skull Bash! Ice beam then Brick Break!" Called Ash knowing that Hydro could take the list of commands without trouble.
Beedrill swooped in to attack with poison dripping from its stingers. As soon as the attack was about to land the invisible wall of energy formed in front of Hydro protecting him from any and all damage from the attack, the wall fizzled out the instant the attack ended.
Beedrill recoiled off of the wall and tried to fly away to gain distance but was nailed center mass by Hydro's large skull with tremendous force. The bug and poison type let out a cry of pain before Hydro launched two beams of ivory sub-zero energy that hit both of Beedrill stingers.
Not a second to waste, Hydro jumped forward with his right arm glowing with energy. Despite not being a super effective attack, the brick break hit with enough force that Beedrill was sent to the ground unconscious.
Koga cracked a smiled at the turn of events, "I'm impressed, you aren't just attacking first and hoping for the best you seem to have a strategy in mind this time around. Now, this will give you trouble."
A large Weezing was released onto the field. Its two heads both showing a sad or lame expression on their faces. Ash would be honest in that he didn't know much about the Pokémon other than the basics, like it was immune to ground attacks thanks to levitation and that it was a pure poison type.
"Hydro start off with Scald!"
"Cover then Belch!"
Hydro's twin cannons shot two beams of boiling water that Weezing lazily floated out to of the way of and continued to barely dodge the barrage of water as its mouth filled with gases.
Before Hydro could land an attack Weezing's mouths let out a very thick and dark cloud of poison that covered the arena. Hydro was immediately lost from sight as the smog overtook him, Ash cried out in worry and called for him to keep going.
Ash knew that this meant that Hydro was most certainly poisoned and would be on a very short timer until he passed out. He would have called for Hydro if he didn't hear a deep roar like sound that was followed by a crash. Ash didn't know what happened until the smog cleared and he saw Hydro played out and unconscious.
Taking a breath Ash recalled his started and sent a few words of thanks to him. Ash threw out Snor's ball one more time. The large Pokémon landed in a loud crash as it stared over at the floating poison type across from him ready to battle.
"Yawn! Follow up with Fire Punch!"
"Cover! Follow up with Sludge Bomb!"
Snor immediately Yawned in the direction of Weezing who watched with his lazy gaze. The poison type reciprocated the yawn before starting to build up poison to release another cloud of gas.
After the Yawn Snor charged in with the same impressive speed with his right arm ignited with fire. Snor closed in the same time the gas was released causing a clash with Snor knocking away the Weezing making it crash into the ground, however the gas was still released and Snor was overtaken by the attack.
"Snor! Use Body Slam!"
Ash was betting on a theory of his, he was hoping that Snor's large body and large amount of movement would blow away the cloud before it took too much out of him. Ash was also banking on Snor's incredible endurance and constitution to withstand the onslaught of poison.
Weezing, still on the ground was incapable of dodging was hit by the incredibly heavy Pokémon's attack.
When the smog cleared both Pokémon were on the ground, one unconscious while the other was awake but tired.
"Weezing is unable to battle, Snorlax is the winner!"
Koga recalled his downed Pokémon silently and immediately released his last Pokémon. A small but fast Pokémon was released into the arena, it had four wings and a frown on its face. This was the first Crobat that Ash had ever battled, and he was eager to beat it.
Knowing that it wouldn't take much for Snor to go down he recalled his large normal type and reached for his third Pokémon already knowing who he was going to use.
An extremely loud roar sounded out as soon as Blast took to the field. The dragon glared at his opponent with a scowl on his face as he hoped to avenge his loss last week.
"He had been training nonstop for this match." Said Ash with a smile.
"I can see that he isn't pleased with the last battle's outcome. I will warn you; this will not be an easy win." Koga said with a stone-faced expression.
Crobat's wings were flapping so fast that Ash's eyes couldn't see more than a blur and Blast was merely waiting for his order so he could take down this flying rat.
Crobat blurred into action as Ash and Koga called out attacks for their respective Pokémon to carry out.
Crobat came in first with a wing attack that wasn't strong enough to get more than a tilt of Blast's head. Blast reared back and roared as he manipulated his draconic energy to create a spinning vortex of energy to lock Crobat in a Twister.
The flying and poison type was hit but it left the immediate area in a blur, escaping most of the damage from the attack. Blast charged the golden draconic energy in his mouth to ready his signature attack.
Crobat wasn't idle as it swung all four of its wings in an X like formation that sent a dark purple energy attack that hit Blast's chest. Thankfully the Cross Poison didn't poison Blast as his favorite dragon fired off his signature attack.
The extremely fast poison type avoided the first two Dragon Rages but was clipped by the third making it cry out in pain. The Crobat blurred around the arena as it started to pick up sped with energy starting to come off of it in droves.
Recognizing the maneuver Ash knew that he was going to be able to end the match if he timed his next move right.
"Blast, ready Ice Beam fire when it gets close." Said Ash trying to make sure that Koga didn't overhear it.
Crobat having picked up enough speed let the energy building around it exploded into a cloak of power. The Brave Bird attack even further increased Crobat's speed and the powerful flying type attack was one that could case massive damage to any type of Pokémon barring large Rock types.
Blast let the ivory sub-zero energy gather in his mouth as he was building more and more of the ice type energy as he waited for his perfect moment. Both Ash and Blast knew that they had Pidgeotto to thank for their ability to even keep up with Crobat's attack. If Ash were to guess, he would say that Pidgeotto was only a bit slower than Crobat while using Brave Bird.
Crobat got in close enough that Blast was a confident in his ability to land the attack and fired the compact beam of energy that hit Crobat center mass with the super effective attack but the Brave Bird attack was too strong and the attack landed hitting Blast in the chest knocking him onto his back.
"Poison Fang!"
Blast managed to get back up but as soon as he could only in time to see Crobat's open mouth chomp down on his neck injecting venom into him inflicting him with toxins. Blast roared out in anger and threw off the poison type causing it to hit the ground hard before it took back off into the air.
"Blast Agility, Thunderbolt then Ice Beam, keep it up until its out!"
Blast's body glowed with psychic energy increasing the dragons speed. Crobat came forward to attack with another cross poison but Blast was fast enough to dodge the attack. Blast's horn crackled with yellow lightning that fired off as soon as it appeared.
Crobat was fast enough to avoid being hit center mass but its wing was clipped by the attack. As soon as the attack grazed Crobat's side a follow up attack hit Crobat dead center. The super effective ice type attack was the attack that did it as Crobat fell to the ground defeated.
"Crobat is unable to battle, Dragonair is the winner. With no Pokémon left, Ash is the winner!" Called Janine with her arm raised in Ash's direction.
Ash sighed out happily as he recalled Blast into his ball hoping to spare him too much time poisoned.
Koga walked over to Ash with a small smile on his face. "I must say I'm impressed with your growth, these past few days. Not only did you take your loss and learn from it but you were already a talented trainer. I believe you have more than earn this Soul Badge. Good luck on your journeys, Ash Ketchum."
Without another word Koga disappeared from the arena. Janine offered her congratulations before returning to the front desk to make sure someone was there to greet challengers.
Ash let out a breath, he was done, he managed to beat Koga a Gym leader that marked Ash's beginning to enter a tough league of opponents like Blaine, Sabrina, and Giovanni all of whom were as strong as Koga.
He knew that he would need to work extra hard to prepare himself for the upcoming battles. He actually had a few ideas for that.
But before all that he needed to go to the Pokémon center, and after that Blaine awaited him.
End Chapter
(Edited 12-8-19)
Those of you might have noticed that I changed Ash's capture from Treeko to Bulbasaur. I was writing chapter 11 and decided that I didn't want Ash to have too many foreign Pokémon, so I changed it to Bulbasaur, my favorite and the honestly the best grass type in Gen 1.
Ash's Team and Move sets.
Trainer I.D - 438297
TM's on hand: Fire Blast, Blizzard, Focus Blast, Hyper Beam, Thunder, Teleport, Thunderbolt. All one use.
Ice Beam, Flamethrower. multi uses.
Hydro/ Blastoise:
Move Set: Tail Whip, Tackle, Water Gun, Rapid Spin, Withdraw, Water Pulse, Scald, Ice Beam, Brick Break, Protect, Iron Defense, Ice Punch, Skull Bash, Hydro Pump.
Pidgeotto:
Move Set: Sand Attack, Peck, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Gust, Steel Wing, Roost, Brave Bird, Aerial Ace, Twister.
Umbreon:
Move Set: Leer, Tackle, Quick Attack, Agility, Iron Tail, Moonlight, Confusion, Dark Pulse, Bite, Thunder Fang, Dig, Toxic, Confuse Ray.
Combo Moves: Blitz Tail: Combo of Agility, Quick Attack and Iron Tail.
Blast/Dragonair:
MoveSet: Leer, Wrap, Thunderwave, Twister, Dragon Rage, Agility, Iron Tail, Aqua Tail, Flamethrower, Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, Dragon Rush.
Metang:
Move Set: Take Down, Confusion, Metal Claw, Psychic, Psyshock, Flash Cannon, Earthquake, Meteor Mash (not mastered), Zen Headbutt, Rockslide.
Pikachu:
Move Set: Tail Whip, Thundershock, Thunderwave, Growl, Quick Attack, Agility, Iron Tail, Electro Ball, Thunderbolt.
Combo Moves: Blitz Tail
Special Moves: Thunder Gavel: Charging a Thunderbolt into Pikachu's body at the same time as Iron Tail, then releasing the electrical energy at the exact moment the steel type attack strikes for a powerful hammer strike.
Charizard:
Move Set: Scratch, Growl, Ember, Smokescreen, Dragon Rage, Flamethrower, Metal Claw, Dragon Claw, Fire Punch, Twister, Wind Attack.
Snor/Snorlax:
Move Set: Defense Curl, Yawn, Rest, Body Slam, Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Hyper Beam, Giga Impact, Thunder Punch, Shadow Ball, Earthquake.
Bulbasaur:
Move set: Tackle, Growl, Vine Whip, Growth, and Leech Seed
Abilities are Overgrow and Chlorophyll.