WTB Creative Juice x10k
Rota was fantastic looking.
Literally, fantastic, as in fantasy.
There was a castle in the middle of a crystal clear lake that reflected the sky like the world's biggest mirror. It connected to the shores on either side via a huge bridge with stylized arches and columns. On one side of the lake sat the city itself.
Walls marked by regular turrets marked the borders, cobbled streets, and buildings that straddled the line between medieval and Renaissance. The architecture was quite different from the old buildings normally seen in Kanto, bearing a far greater resemblance to old Galar cities than the local cultures.
At least this was what Pidgeotto claimed from her fly by and the walls were coming into sight for the travelers now.
"We still have two days before the tournament," Karen noted. "That could give Ash enough time to do his gym battle and recover. Assuming he did it today and won of course."
"I guess it is still morning." Ash wondered at his chances. "And we did a lot of training on the way here."
"I was hoping to explore around a bit first," Misty admitted.
"Yeah, I was really hoping to catch a Pokemon that's both water and bug-type." Her voice continued and Karen stopped with a sigh.
"Alright, that was good." She turned around and was met with the sight of two Mistys both holding hands over their faces in exasperation.
Karen's eyes flicked up for a moment. "Ash, Eevee is still on your head."
One of the identical girls drooped and shimmered, reverting to his accustomed disguise. "I forgot."
"Eh-veh?" The normal-type poked at his face and he grumbled more under his breath.
A part of Karen wanted to grin with triumph, this was a new achievement in his disguise department. They had developed it over the past week on the way here.
Unfortunately, despite all the attempts and techniques Ash had tried, he still hadn't managed to figure out how to do auditory illusions. At least not yet. So instead they pursued a different line of thought.
The Zorua was very good at disguising himself as other Pokemon, the visual appearance was a big part of that. But he also had to sound like that Pokemon as well.
At first, he had claimed it was just an accent he had to get used to, but Misty had pointed out that his voice seemed to rise or drop, sounding completely different in some cases. With that knowledge, Ash, rather than try to use his illusions to sound different, just worked his vocal cords and practices his range.
There was probably some scientific study to be done on the nature of Zorua and their ability to mimic the sounds of other Pokemon but for training purposes? Ash had made strides in accurately recreating virtually any other sound he had heard.
He'd been practicing that, as well with a few moves, while training his own team. They had caught the training bug badly. Even the newest member, Storm, was giving it her all.
"I'll admit, I actually am curious now." The blue-haired trained looked at Misty. "How would you react to a water and bug-type Pokemon?"
The shorter girl turned a bit green and stuck out her tongue. "I don't want to think about it. Please don't make me think about it."
"There's plenty to choose from." Ash 'helpfully' reminded her. Whatever the intended effect of this comment, it led to Misty tackling the dark-type and bursting his illusion. He remained cackling the whole time.
Eevee was the only one displaced by this. Karen wasn't entirely sure of the mindset behind it but Ash's team had concluded that it was getting a bit crowded on their trainer. So rather than all of them climbing on him at once, they took turns, either one at a time or in pairs.
They still remained out of their Pokeballs though. They just preferred things like that it would seem.
After Ash had reapplied his illusion they hiked the rest of the way to the main gates, wide open thankfully.
It was one thing to be told a city looked like a fairy tale. It was another thing entirely to see it in person.
Misty and Staryu seemed to be in their own little world as the group walked the streets. Despite Squirtle's best attempts to drag them out of their stupor.
"You would think they'd never been to a kingdom before," Pikachu muttered to Ash, taking his turn on his friend's shoulder.
"Pikachu, none of us have been to a kingdom before." Ash shot him a questioning look.
"Cities are like kingdoms aren't they? Just more modern." The electric-type asserted.
"He almost has a point there." Eevee acknowledged. "But they're more focused on the style of this place than anything else. It is a bit like stepping back in time."
She looked at the horizon and blinked. "That is a bit weird though." Ash, Pikachu, and some of the other Pokemon followed her gaze.
"Is that a tree?" Sunny stared.
"It sure looks like one." Storm agreed.
Selene shook her head. "It's not a tree, it's a mountain disguised as a tree."
Pidgeotto hummed. "Would it be alright if I go and take a closer look? I'm kind of curious now."
"Mind waiting a couple of minutes until we find the Pokemon Center? That way you can find us easily." Ash suggested and the flying-type nodded her consent.
If Misty was lost in fantasy land before, she diver all the deeper into it when they found the Pokemon Center. It wasn't a newer building, although it had clearly been refurbished somewhat.
"It's a tavern!" She grabbed Karen's arm and started shaking her. "I'm going to be staying in a tavern! I've decided! I'm moving here! Goodbye, Cerulean! Hello Rota!"
"You'd have to buy a house." Karen reminded her and gave the other trainer pause.
"I need to do some quests first." Ash and Karen shared a look. Misty had dropped hints of her interest in fantasy before but this place seemed to be bringing it out in spades.
"Misty I don't think they're going to have a notice board filled with requests from the local villages to fend off bandits or collect red bandanas." Karen pointed out.
"Well, we don't know until we check! Come on!" They entered the building and Ash let Pidgeotto fly off to check out the weird tree thing.
Unbeknownst to both the trainers and their Pokemon, they were being observed.
Not maliciously, for the moment at least. Simply, they had managed to catch someone's attention.
Trainers came into Rota fairly often, sometimes in groups, sometimes alone. But it wasn't often they had so many Pokemon out with them.
Having nothing better to do, their watcher decided to tag along and see what they did. It could be interesting.
The Pokemon Center seemed to know exactly how to present itself to fit its environment. It still had all the usual amenities but they were stylized, partly out of necessity due to the original purpose of the building (possibly a house or a real tavern).
There was a roaring fire, thatched walls, wood columns, and tables. Even the front desk looked more like a bar than a counter. That's not to say it was wholly trapped in the past. It had electric lighting and the food court while aesthetically different, still had all the normal features. And of course, there was running water, always welcome in any setting.
As Misty continued to live out her medieval fantasy with Staryu, Ash sat down with his team and started working out a plan.
"We could challenge the gym either today or after the tournament." Ash proposed. "I don't think we'll have any nasty surprises or need extra time for recovery but I'd rather have that extra day than not."
"I think we should be good to challenge it today, we haven't done any training yet so we're all pretty well rested, especially after that check-up." Eevee considered.
"Pidgeotto seemed like she wanted to give it a shot today, even if she didn't say it," Sunny added and glanced at a window as though he expected her to return any moment.
"This gym is supposed to fairy-type right?" Selene connected. "That might limit me a bit."
"It won't actually!" Eevee told her. "Fairy-type doesn't resist itself. But it does resist dark, bug, and fighting-types. And dragon-type attacks can't even hurt them."
"I think the only one of us to even know a dragon-type move is Pidgeotto," Pikachu remembered. "Yeah, we don't have much to worry about here, since Ash won't be fighting himself, no real advantages or disadvantages."
"True." Storm nodded. "I don't think I have any moves that would be particularly useful here, but I could help set up a brick wall to prepare for the rest of the team."
"Good idea." Ash nodded, remembering his battle against Erika. "But we need to have multiple plans in place, that way if one goes wrong, we have a backup we can switch to easily."
"Oh, good idea!" Selene nodded. "Like, if Storm doesn't finish setting up Reflect and Light Screen I can take over."
"Maybe." Pikachu tapped his chin, "but I feel like if it failed the first time it might not be worth repeating the same thing."
"We could wait for Pidgeotto to get back." Storm suggested. "She tends to have good ideas."
"I can come up with good ideas too!" Sunny claimed and crossed his arms. His eyes narrowed as he plunged into deep thought.
"It'll probably be a four versus four battle this time." Ash guessed as the fire-type brainstormed. "So we should work out ahead of time who's going to battle."
"Me!" Pikachu raised a paw in the air. "I call dibs! I haven't been able to fight for two gyms now! It's been almost a month and a half!"
"Huh, time flies," Selene muttered.
"And so do I!" Pidgeotto chose now to fly in through the open window. "Thanks for the setup Selene!"
Pikachu quirked an eyebrow at her. "And how long were you out there waiting for a good moment?"
"Not important!" Pidgeotto pointedly did not look at him.
"We were talking about challenging the gym, probably today, and we're figuring out who is going to battle, although at least two of you are probably going to be left out." Ash summarized.
"We could wait and see what he has to offer?" Storm suggested. "I mean sure it's good to plan ahead, but sometimes you have to decide in the moment, you know?"
"She makes an excellent point." Pidgeotto agreed.
"But…" Eevee seemed to want to protest, obviously preferring to have a concrete roster beforehand.
"Think of it like this, it may be a fairy-type gym, but they might have other typings too!" Ash pointed out. "But all of you could do pretty well in this gym with the moves you know. And without any weaknesses either!"
"I guess." Eevee sighed. "Do we know anything about this gym other than the typing?"
"Joy mentioned the leader's name." Ash furrowed his brow. "Gah, I can't remember. We can probably ask around, or check the board, it normally mentions the gym."
As they approached they were nearly bowled over by Misty dragging Karen with her. "To adventure!" She declared, a grin plastered on her face.
"Help me." Karen hissed at Ash as they went by.
Ash did not stop them, a bit too confused to react quickly enough. As the door swung closed behind the girls, he shared a look with Pikachu.
"They'll probably be fine right?"
"They might miss the gym battle though," Pikachu noted. "I wonder what has Misty so excited?"
"We'll give them a call when we get to the gym." Ash shrugged and checked the board. "Gym… gym… gym… here!" He tapped one of the posters.
"It's a play?" Sunny guessed, looking at a drawing of a stage with curtains.
"No, it's a puppet show." Ash clarified, reading the text. "Gym Leader's name is Gepetto, apparently he makes puppets and does shows when he's not acting as a gym leader."
"The lines up with the rest of the region." Pidgeotto nodded. "It seems like every gym leader has their job and then something else going on."
"Kind of?" Eevee thought about it. "Misty's sisters had their shows, Erika had the perfume thing, and Brock and Surge didn't seem to have much else going on. As for Sabrina…" She trailed off.
"What about Sabrina?" Storm asked the only one who had not been present for that battle.
"We don't talk about Sabrina," Selene answered.
"Alright, the gym doubles as a theater and there shouldn't be any shows today, there is one tomorrow though so it's a good thing we weren't planning on waiting," Ash confirmed. "Let's get a move on, we have a badge to win!"
While Ash and his team made their way toward their sixth gym battle, Misty dragged Karen across the city. Where to?
Why the knight school of combat and fencing of course!
"The first class is free but after that, you have to pay." Misty yammered at Karen, uncaring for the older girl's discomfort. This looked like fun and Ash was busy with gym stuff right now.
"Aren't you the one who doesn't like missing Ash's battles?" Karen complained.
"It's one battle, there will be others. Besides we probably won't get to come back here for a while! I need to make the most of every second!" She insisted.
Karen was silent for a moment. "You are really into this place." She stated the obvious.
"As she should be!" Staryu claimed. "This place is marvelous!"
"I guess it's kind of cool." Squirtle accepted. Considering his normal disrespectful disposition, this was high praise.
"No idea what they just said, Misty please explain a bit of context to me. Why do you like this place so much?" Karen asked and Misty turned to give her an incredulous look.
"Are you telling me that this place isn't the coolest thing you've ever seen?" She demanded.
"I've been to actual Galar, remember?" Karen reminded her. "But I won't deny it, this place is nice, I wouldn't mind staying here a bit. But you are acting a little bit… obsessed."
"I'm not obsessed." The ginger girl protested. "I just really like it here. I just… I don't know, castles and towers just appeal to me okay? I think they're cool."
"You've dropped hints of that." Karen acknowledged. "Not to this level though, I just want to make sure everything is…"
"Alright?" Misty finished after Karen trailed off. The implications sobered her somewhat. "I just don't want to think about it okay? Battles and Behemoths and the other fantasy stuff I was into were something I kept secret. My sisters never knew about it, I knew if they found out they would… I don't know, taint it for me somehow."
She straightened and started walking again, Karen following more willingly this time. "So here I am, in a place from one of the few completely unspoiled parts of my childhood and I am going to have the best time of my life while I'm here."
"Fair enough." Karen accepted. "I guess sword fighting could be fun."
"I wish I could hold a sword." Staryu looked at one of his arms. "Without psychic I mean, it's just not the same as the weight of cold steel in your palm."
Squirtle gave him a look. "How would you know what that felt like?"
The combat school was one of the newer buildings in Rota, although it kept in the tradition of the others. It was still noticeable that it was using newer materials though, with less visible signs of wear and repair.
Misty and Karen had good timing, apparently one of the free classes was going to begin in just a few minutes, they put their names down and lined up with the rest of the students. Misty found herself standing next to a girl with pink curly hair.
"Welcome to your first day of combat school." A bearded man wearing steel armor with blue accents stepped forward. "We'll mostly be covering the basics today. That means some of the simple techniques and essential sword and armor maintenance."
Not as exciting as Misty had hoped but it was still pretty good for a free class. And besides, even the greatest master had to start somewhere. The girl next to her was a bit more verbal about her disappointment though.
"I really wanted to get to fight someone today." She whispered, more to herself than either of her neighbors.
"It's a free class, they probably don't want any liability or anything," Misty whispered back.
"That makes sense." She straightened a bit. "At least I'll be here for a bit, so I have time, maybe I'll stick around after the tournament."
That caught Misty's interest. "The Pokemon tournament in a couple of days?"
"Yeah!" She looked over at Misty. "Are you a trainer too?"
"Sure am, my name's Misty." She shook the girl's hand quickly as the class began to properly begin.
"Nice to meet you Misty, I'm Mina."
As Ash and his friends walked across town to the gym, a thought occurred to Selene, "Oh Pidgeotto, how was the mountain tree?"
"Impressive!" The flying-type acknowledged and the others started listening in. "You were right, it's one big mountain, although I have no idea how it manages to stay standing. Normal trees were growing on it and lots of Pokemon, some I didn't recognize."
"There must be a story behind it." Sunny marveled. "I bet if there's a place to hear that story it would be here right?"
"I'd bet, we'll see what we can find while we're still here." Eevee agreed.
The gym was one of the biggest buildings in town, it was nowhere near the size of the castle in the lake but it was still fairly large. Definitely on par with the so-called 'main gyms' that most trainers went to.
It was a round building, with a traditional-looking structure sticking out from one side to serve as the entrance. The white walls had wooden filaments and a thatched roof topped the structure.
Almost as soon as he stepped through the door, Ash got the feeling he was being watched. A creepy crawling on his back that reminded him of…
"Getting some major trap house vibes from this place." Pikachu hissed and pawed at Ash.
Sunny shook his head and stepped back. "There's no way a gym in the middle of a city would be a trap house, right?"
"NOPE!" A voice shouted and a shape dropped from the ceiling in the midst of the visitors. "Just a regular gym!"
This final remark was drowned out by the sharp screams of the visitors and a barrage of moves that crashed into the spot the shape had been standing.
There was a harsh silence that followed this initial cacophony of noise. "Hey, that was rude!" The shape emerged from a shadow on the ground ahead of them. "All I did was welcome you!"
"By trying to give us heart attacks!" Eevee gasped, still breathing heavily.
The shape, or rather the Pokemon, shrugged gray shoulders.
Ash snapped his fingers after staring at the Pokemon for a moment. "You're a Banette aren't you!"
"Oh a trainer who recognizes me!" The ghost-type took a bow. "How rare! Kids these days couldn't tell a Dusclops from a Haunter."
"Doesn't Dusclops only have one eye?" Ash remembered. "How could anyone mess those two up?"
Banette looked at Ash and gave himself a little shake. "Did your trainer just understand me?"
"He does that." Storm shrugged. "Don't think too hard about it."
"Right…"
Ash looked around the room. There was a booth labeled 'Box Office' and two doors on either side of it. Other than that and some benches lining the walls the room was empty. "We're here for a gym battle, are you Gepetto?"
"What?" Banette looked at him and started laughing. "Don't be silly! Pops is upstairs working out the kinks in a new puppet for tomorrow's show. But I'll let him know you're here," he pointed at one of the doors. "That door will lead you to the main stage. It doubles as the battle arena. He'll meet you there in a few minutes."
With that, the Pokemon vanished into the shadows again and they were left, presumably, alone.
Selene was the first to speak. "You know, if the ghosts from the trap house had just done that, there would never have been a problem."
"I think that's more along the lines of the 'fun houses' Karen was talking about. Where the ghosts give you a scare and chase you out." Eevee guessed.
"I didn't know Banettes were a fairy-type." Sunny muttered.
"They're not." Ash answered, "They're ghost-types, but there's no rule against a gym leader having other Pokemon… I think."
The Pokemon were a bit surprised to find the theater was open air in the center. The roof only covered the seating, although there did seem to be beams sticking in the air that a tarp could be draped over in poorer weather.
"Impressive!" Eevee exclaimed, standing on the central stage and looking around. "I think this place was designed before microphones and speakers. The way it's shaped implies that it was made in such a way that voices from the stage could easily project themselves to the audience."
Her trainer was not so easily able to comprehend her architectural analysis. "So it was a theater before it was a gym?"
"It's been a theater a long time!" An elderly voice answered him, he turned to where the stage met the wall. "It's only in my lifetime it's served as a Pokemon gym."
The man walking toward them, Banette at his side was an older gentleman. He had gray hair and a mustache, along with half-moon spectacles. Despite his age and slight slouch he still had a bit of a skip in his step. "Nice to meet you, young man, my name is Gepetto and I'm the gym leader of the Kingdom of Rota."
"Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" Ash introduced himself. "And this is my team."
"Out of their balls eh?" Gepetto smiled at the Pokemon. "Ah, you don't see that much anymore. But I won't take you down memory lane, you're here for a gym badge are you not? What badge is this for you?"
"This will be my sixth," Ash answered and Gepetto whistled.
"Been a long time since I've done a sixth badge!" He gestured Ash toward one side of the stage while he walked to the other. "Since we're so out of the way I tend to either get new trainers or final badge trainers. Which did me a bit of luck recently."
"You fought Joy for the gym inspection right?" Ash's question caught the man by surprise.
"How'd you know about that?"
"I met her in Cerulean City, one of my friends is- was," the trainer corrected himself, "one of the gym leaders there."
"I see, I'm sorry to hear about that. That Latias was quite the fighter. But my Pokemon have put down plenty of dragons, even one as well trained as that. Still, though, it was no walk in the park." Gepetto nodded.
"Latias was impressive." Ash recalled, "Anyway, what are the rules here?"
"Four Pokemon a side! This will be a doubles battle, the first side to lose all their Pokemon is defeated." Ash stiffened as soon as the word 'doubles' left Gepetto's mouth.
"Doubles battle is when two Pokemon are fighting on each side right?" Sunny checked.
"Yep, but we've never done that before. It's either one on one or all-out brawls." Pidgeotto thought out loud.
"Who sends out their Pokemon first?" Ash checked.
"Same time," Gepetto answered.
The challenger worked his mind into overdrive. "Can I have a minute? I need to rethink some things."
"Take your time." Gepetto gestured at him. "I have plenty myself!"
Ash and his Pokemon huddled up. "Alright, we've never done this before but I have a few ideas…"
A few minutes later Ash was ready, and Selene and Pikachu would be starting things out.
He'd originally planned to use Storm first since it would have been her first gym battle, but the doubles changed things.
Sunny was the only one who had any built-in type advantage here. But he was a fire-type so he might be at a disadvantage when working with Storm.
And Pikachu was definitely getting a chance to fight this time, but his moves could put Storm in serious danger.
Essentially Ash had to make a tough decision to win here. Either Storm was going to be left out or Sunny was. But he wanted to make sure they had a defensive fighter on the field with an offensive one to start the battle off. Thus, Pikachu and Selene.
Banette took center stage, sort of. He stood near the door to the stage on the wall.
"When Banette signals we begin, are you ready?" Gepetto checked with Ash.
"Let's do it!" Ash turned his cap around.
The ghost-type held his hands over his head and a Shadow Ball appeared it shot into the air over the center of the open-air theater and burst, marking the start of the battle.
As the explosion occurred both sides sent out their chosen Pokemon. "Go Pikachu and Selene!"
"Opening night Granbull! Break a leg Wigglytuff!" The two fairy-types emerged on the other side of the stage.
"Fairy versus fairy?" Granbull cracked her jaw. "This will be fun!"
"You two look like you could use a treat, after the battle of course." Wigglytuff offered.
Pikachu's cheeks sparked. "I appreciate the gesture." Ash had to resist laughing. Pikachu had tried to make the line sound threatening but it came off as silly.
"What sort of treats?" Selene asked. "I think I want something Light!" A glowing barrier surrounded her and Pikachu, Light Screen right from the start.
"Wigglytuff, Zen Headbutt on the Clefairy! Granbull use Rock Tomb on her as well!" Gepetto ordered.
"Pikachu they're going for Selene use Discharge when they get close! Selene use Reflect next!" Ash called to his teammates.
The two attackers were almost on top of Selene when Pikachu leaped in front of them, electricity surging around him and blasting outward in the Discharge attack. As soon as it was done Pikachu pressed his advantage, targeting Granbull, likely expecting him to be the more aggressive of the two.
Selene had to take some damage from the Discharge, but thanks to Light Screen it wasn't nearly as bad as what their opponents felt. As soon as she had used Reflect she went on the attack as well, using Defense Curl and bowling herself in Wigglytuff.
It was a gamble having them take different targets. But he had faith they could each defeat their own opponent. But it seemed Gepetto was taking the gang-up approach and he had been doing this longer…
No time for second thoughts now, he had to keep his head in the game!
Pikachu blasted Granbull with Thunderbolt but the fairy-type shook it off. "Try it again! I dare ya!" She Growled a lunged at him, using Bite.
He tried to get away using Quick Attack but was an instant too slow and had to shake off the damage, not as bad as it could have at least. "I could get used to having Reflect up." He mused.
"Brick Break!" Gepetto called. "First Pikachu and then Clefairy!"
"Shoot, dodge it, and use Iron Tail Pikachu!" Ash warned. "Selene, use Protect!"
Pikachu managed to avoid this strike and swung around and clubbed Granbull in the head with Iron Tail. "Come on? Is this the best you got?"
As it turned out Brick Break had been a command to both Granbull and Wigglytuff, so it was a good thing Ash had called Protect when he did. The fighting-type attack collided with that shield instead of shattering the barriers.
Weighing his options, Ash decided to make a call. "Pikachu do whatever you need to finish Granbull!" Selene was struggling a bit more for the moment, stuck dodging Wigglytuff who seemed to just be absorbing her hits.
"Your trainer throwing you to the dogs?" Granbull mocked as Pikachu grinned.
"Nah, he just gave me permission to go nuts." His opponent had a moment to process that response before Pikachu shot forward with Quick Attack and used it to propel himself into Granbull's chin. As she stumbled he swept the ground out from under her with Iron Tail and she crashed to the ground.
"I thought Pikachu couldn't use Headbutt?" She groaned and tried to struggle back up.
The electric-type charged a finishing blow. "And yet that didn't stop me from hitting you with my head."
Thunderbolt exploded from him and crashed into Granbull, she roared in pain but when the glow faded she was clearly knocked out.
As this was happening, Ash had been giving directions to Selene. Mostly stacking Defense Curl and using Reflect and Light Screen again once Wigglytuff managed to get in a lucky Brick Break.
It was a tricky situation, Sing would put Pikachu to sleep too so that was out, and Metronome seemed like a bad idea in this battle.
He brainstormed and as Pikachu defeated Granbull he felt a strange rush. It was similar to the one he'd felt in the Team Rocket base but without the fear of Nidoking in him it was more noticeable. But the important part was, he had a plan.
Gepetto returned Granbull and made to send out his next Pokemon but Ash was already shouting orders.
"Selene get over to Pikachu! As soon as she's close use Tackle!"
"What?" Was the confused response from both of them.
"While she's using Defense Curl! Use Tackle and help propel her into Wigglytuff!" Ash elaborated a bit.
"Oh, that makes more sense." Selene decided and narrowly avoided another attack from the other fairy-type.
As the two worked together, Gepetto's next Pokemon joined the battle on the field.
"Your turn on stage Sylveon!" The evolved form of Eevee stretched their ribbons.
"Quickly!" Ash urged his teammates.
Pikachu hit Selene and she hurled through the air at Wigglytuff, faster than she'd ever been launched before. The two fairy-types collided with the sound of a Clefairy hitting a Wigglytuff at high velocity.
"I think that wor-" Pikachu was cut off as ribbons from Sylveon grasped him.
"You need a time out." The eeveelution told him and began swinging him around and hitting him against the stage.
"Pikachu use electric-type attacks! You won't be able to break those ribbons!" Ash warned his partner. "Selene, how are you feeling?"
"Dizzy." She stumbled out of the fluffy mess that she'd been part of. She shook her head. "But I'm good to keep going!"
She paused and glanced at Wigglytuff, who was starting to recover. "Sorry about this, you seem nice." With that apology, Selene used Pound a couple of times and Wigglytuff was out of the battle too.
Unfortunately, that didn't help Pikachu. He was still using electric attacks, possibly Thunderbolt, to hurt Sylveon since he could do much else, but he was getting worse for the wear.
When Selene began making her way toward Sylveon, Gepetto called out an order before sending out his next Pokemon. "Use Substitute, and speaking of which, you're up Clefable!"
As the evolved form of Clefairy took the field Ash felt like he should have expected it. There weren't many fairy-types native to Kanto after all.
"Use Meteor Mash on Clefairy!" The old gym leader ordered Clefable as Selene plowed into Sylveon's Substitute.
Pikachu was released from the ribbons, obviously down for the count, and Selene barely had a moment to process the steel-type attack that crashed into her.
Two down on each side. But Ash felt like he had a bit of an advantage here. He knew what two Pokemon Gepetto had out and Sylveon had taken some damage from Pikachu and from using Substitute.
Who to send in though?
He took a moment to think about it before making his decision. "Sorry Storm, I owe you."
"I figured, give a good showing kid." She told Sunny.
"Gladly!" The Charmander took the stage alongside Pidgeotto.
"Sunny and Pidgeotto, it's your turn!" Ash made a formal declaration.
"String up Pidgeotto, Sylveon! Clefable, use Water Pulse on Charmander!" Gepetto ordered.
"Swap!" Ash shouted and at the last second the two Pokemon switched places, or rather, Sunny let himself get grabbed by Sylveon's ribbons and Pidgeotto dodged out of the way of the Water Pulse.
"Rage and Flamethrower Sunny! Burn the ribbons!" Ash called to the fire-type. "Pidgeotto, use Quick Attack and Steel Wing! Just like Geodude!"
"Did he just compare me to a Geodude?" Clefable sounded highly offended.
"Eyes on the prize," Sylveon warned and winced. "My poor ribbons."
Pikachu had sent electricity coursing through them and now Sunny was wreaking his own brand of fiery havoc on them. Having been on the receiving end of both, Ash could sympathize a bit. Not enough to call it off, but he felt the other Pokemon's pain.
Pidgeotto was giving no quarter, immediately going to town on Clefable. The bigger Pokemon knew some electric-type moves though. Gepetto began giving orders for Thunderbolt.
But Pidgeotto had plenty of experience dodging that.
Bit by bit she whittled down Clefable, and the other Pokemon became increasingly frustrated as she tried to hit her. Despite all the hits though, she didn't seem to be slowing down at all.
Meanwhile, Sylveon had decided that his ribbons had suffered enough and instead decided to fight Sunny on even footing. This still meant he was going to get burned though.
"Smokescreen and Flamethrower Sunny!" Ash ordered and checked Pidgeotto's status. "Use Gust, throw her off balance!"
"Not fair!" Clefable claimed as she stumbled. Then she sparkled brightly and Ash had to shield his eyes. Dazzling Gleam if he had to guess, he heard a crash as Pidgeotto missed her follow-up strike due to the light and hit the stage.
On the Sunny and Sylveon side of things, it was a bit more clear-cut. Well, maybe not clear, since Smokescreen still covered that part of the battle. But Sylveon was breathing hard and covered in scorch marks.
A final column of fire roared out of the dark cloud and engulfed Gepetto's Pokemon. As the embers faded it was clear that Sylveon was out of this fight too.
Pidgeotto cried out in pain and Ash's attention immediately swapped. Clefable had grabbed the flying-type while she was down and had her in some sort of hold.
"Play Rough Clefable!" The gym leader ordered.
An almost comical cloud of smoke formed along with the sounds of a beating. Pidgeotto was tossed from the cloud and rolled across the ground, struggling to force herself up.
"Ow." She managed.
Sunny had not sat idly as this happened though. As Clefable had been using Play Rough he had tucked in his head and now that Pidgeotto was clear he rushed forward and crashed into Clefable with Skull Bash.
Despite this severe attack, the fairy-type still wouldn't go down!
"Please just give up now." Sunny requested, using a strategy Pikachu and Ash had only ever joked about.
"No, I don't think I will." Clefable used Water Pulse and washed Sunny away.
Suddenly, a blur shot across the field. "Did you forget about me?" Pidgeotto asked as she crashed into Clefable with Aerial Ace and followed up with dual Steel Wings.
With those final super-effective attacks, finally, the other Pokemon went down.
"Take a bow, everyone! The battles over!" Banette declared from the sidelines.
"Quite the show you put on there my boy." Gepetto congratulated him as they retrieved their Pokemon.
"They put on." Ash corrected as he checked his friends. That Water Pulse had knocked Sunny out and Pidgeotto was on her last wings.
"I suppose you're right." He fished something out of his pocket. "Here you are, one Tree Badge."
Ash took the piece of metal, it shone like silver and was shaped like a tree. "Is this because of the Tree of Beginning?" He asked.
"It is one of the most recognizable landmarks around here!" Gepetto laughed. "It's older than Rota. And it's a protected sight. No humans allowed!"
But Pokemon were… hmm. Maybe the whole team could go check it while they were nearby. It seemed like it would interesting to see up close.
With that, Ash thanked Gepetto for the badge and quickly began making his way back to the Pokemon Center, he had injured teammates after all.
As Ash left, his watcher remained. Or rather, he started following the trainer back to the Pokemon Center.
It had been a hassle pulling himself up the stairs to watch the battle. They had been made for human feet after all. But it had been quite the showing!
This trainer was different, he could feel it. He treated his Pokemon differently, and more than that he was cool! He even beat old man Gepetto!
But was it enough?
The watcher wavered back and force as they all returned to the Pokemon Center. He had lived in Rota his whole life! And he'd wanted to leave for a little while, but he wanted to do it a specific way. He wanted to seek battle and glory like the knights of old!
That meant finding a trainer. But it was hard. He had to pick the right one.
Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained! It was time to take the plunge!
While the trainer sat in the Pokemon Center, waiting for his teammates to recover, he sent a small psychic cry. Nothing major, just a small 'Hey look over here!' To get his attention.
He wasn't going to jump into this trainer's arms, oh no, if they were going to work together, he would have to work for it.
So he sent the call and… nothing.
The boy didn't even flinch.
Feeling a bit confused, he tried again, louder this time. Maybe the trainer was just worried about his hurt teammates.
Still nothing.
This continued for a bit until the Nurse called for him and he went to retrieve his friends.
The watcher was left bewildered.
"Am I being ignored?" he whispered to himself. As the words left his mouth, a fury filled him.
How dare this trainer ignore him! He picked this one to be his trainer! And that was going to happen!
He would not be ignored!
With the unspoken challenge accepted, he began working on a plan to get his new trainer's attention.
Remember when I said I wanted to get Rota done in one chapter?
Oops.
Anyway, been a couple of weeks. I apologize. I've just felt so… drained. Creatively at least. This chapter felt like a chore to get done. I mean, I know what I want to happen, why can't it just be written down already?
Bah, whatever. The next chapter will have the tournament and should wrap up Rota. And it will be longer than this chapter!
Ash gets a new gym badge, Misty gets combat lessons and meets someone, and Karen is dragged along for the ride!
Not to mention the Pokemon watching Ash, who I need to clarify, is NOT Mew. Just so we're clear.
Also out of curiosity how did this chapter turn out? As I mentioned I had some trouble with it and I want to make sure it's still fun and entertaining to read. Let me know if you think it's not up to the best quality.
Now then, review time.
ThePilotArchangel: Storm just needs to get used to things. And you have put to words something I feel quite often, to the point I always try and end phone calls or departures from family members with something along the lines of "I love you." Sometimes it's okay to be a little selfish, just not to the obvious detriment of others.
Shaonics6: He probably won't discover any powers here. As for Daisy and Misty… the thing is I originally planned for them to have a conversation at the end of chapter 33, but then I realized it didn't make sense for Misty's mindset at the moment. Maybe they will make up someday, but not quite yet.
Pegasus Sword Master: Rota is honestly just a cool place. I definitely wouldn't mind staying and/or living there.
LEGOBRICK13: The Squirtle Squad actually had slipped my mind up until I was writing chapter 32 and I realized that they would be there and involved in what was going on. I mentioned them cheering on their leader during Misty's battle but with the gym gone… what happens? Shelldon and Ash to the rescue! The Kanto gyms are a mess and with Sabrina, people had to be going to other gyms in order to get eight badges for the league, so there must be more than eight. Yeah, Battle Frontier was a little odd, like I think the Sinnoh games were out by that point and both movies had Sinnoh Pokemon in them. But hey! More Kanto stuff I can use. And you guessed right on the Mina front!
PenguinBandit523: Haven't quite kept to it yet, but I can make up for it. Time? What's that? But the energy thing… yeah. As I said I've felt quite drained and it's been tough making myself sit down and write. Once I start I can normally get a lot done but it's starting in earnest that's the hard part. Giovanni made a tiny oopsie. We'll see how he deals with that later. Brock will be making an appearance soon! I owe him that after what I did to him offscreen. Also reminder, this is not going to be a rehash of the movie. Yet.
Strike Wyvern: Yeah, this is one of the bigger examples of the snowball effect in this story. I enjoy writing Sunny quite a lot.
Uber Ghidorah: Huh, interesting idea. I hadn't considered that but I might use it when we get to Cinnabar.
Talesfanjmf: Misty has a weird relationship with her sisters, she hates them but they're still her sisters and she decided to throw them a bone.
Vilkath (chapter 13): I love this review so much.
He: Just a little bit.
Pokemonever1994: It'll sting for a while, it was a big loss, but she will recover and be better for it eventually. Don't be too sure about Lucario.
BigSplosions: Misty should be proud of how well she did, but the loss still hurts.
Guest(x17): I have no idea if all these reviews are from the same guest but assuming they are, thank you!
The one who reads and writes: After the previous few chapters with team rocket, and the aftermath, and then everything with Cerulean, both the characters (and myself) needed something a bit more light hearted and positive. As for Storm, it wasn't quite a last-minute decision, but it was pretty close to one. In the end, I like Squirtle, Ash needed more type coverage, and I decided, "Why not?" I can confirm 100% that Ash is not related to Aaron.
Wargrey123: Appropriate reaction.
Vilkath (chapters 33 and 34): It depends on the leader and the team they're using. Type advantage is a valid strategy but I understand yout reasoning on the matter. But there was a bug-type gym that lost as well. In the end, it's down to the leader and their Pokemon and how well they strategize and prepare.
AzulAztech: Do people actually read reviews before reading a story? …now that I say it that does sound reasonable. And I am well aware of the feeling of not being able to stop reading a fic. I'm glad you like it so much! And the confusing bits of the world building will be explained, right now that's just planting to allow theorizing and "aha!" Moments when the truth is explained. As for the questions, I mentioned this a looong time ago but if a chapter doesn't answer a spoiler question, I won't answer it in the reviews. Although since I did mention it already, yes Brock will show up again.
I love pokemons: I uhh… what?
That's all for now folks! See you this weekend for the next chapter!
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~FriTik
R&R