Chapter 4: Mineful of Trouble
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON
Otherwise enjoy!
After attending the opening ceremony for the Gym Challenge at Motostoke's large stadium, Ash was now on the route of Route 3 within the Galar Region in order to make his way to Turffield where the first Gym he was supposed to challenge was, however, Ash now found himself getting lost on Route 3 as he continuously scrolled through the app on his Rotom Phone, with Ralts looking down from the top of his head.
"What's the matter, Reil?" Ralts asked, while peeking at his phone.
"The staff member said that Turffield is pass Route 3, but no matter how hard I look at the navigations, it keeps saying that Turffield is beyond something called the Galar Mines." Ash answered, already confused about where to go.
It wasn't as though he was bad at reading the map or signs around the area, however, the map that shows Ash where he should go was pointing arrows at two directions which leads to him being confused about which arrow to follow.
"Why not follow this arrow?" Ralts pointed at an arrow which faces north.
"I don't know, what if we got more lost?" He responded, causing Ralts to shrug his shoulders.
"You'll never know, Reil. If we do get lost even more, then we'll just come back here and try again at the other direction." The Feeling Pokémon answered.
Ash shrugged before taking up Ralts' suggestion by walking up the path that the Psychic and Fairy Type had pointed out for them to take, and after a few good minutes of walking and to Ash's already expected outcome, they were even more lost then before with nothing but Hills ranging from the height of short to tall all around them, and since the hills were the same colour as the main road, Ash scratched his head having already forgotten which way was the way they came from.
"As much as I have expected, we're lost." Ash sighed, as this was the first ever problem he had came across ever since he started his journey.
"Look on the bright side, Reil, we're surrounded by hills and that means height, and with heights comes view, and with view comes with proper direction." Ralts told his Trainer, making Ash look at Ralts.
"You're right, Ralts, how come I've never really thought of that?" Ash responded, as Ralts shot out his chest.
Ash quickly kept his Rotom Phone into his pockets as he started to climb the shortest hill he could find, and with quite an impressive amount of athletic skill for his first time climbing since he lost his memory, Ash managed to climb the hill and reach the top, before sitting on the ground with Ralts on his head as the two of them took a few minutes to admire the scenery before them.
"This view sure is great, right, Ralts?" Ash asked, only for Ralts to nod his head.
"Sure does, who would have thought that a small area like this could be this great." The Feeling Pokémon remarked.
While they were admiring the scenery for the next few minutes, a sound suddenly stopped behind them or rather beneath the location they were at.
"You, the one up there!?" A female's voice yelled, catching Ash's attention.
The amnesiac Trainer quickly turn to take a look at who was calling him, and when he did, he could see a girl slightly younger then him, with green hair, black eyes wearing a classic green shirt with a short blue jacket and skirt while having a pair of green shoes staring at him from beneath.
"Is there something you need?" Ash asked, making the girl nod her head.
"Sort of, but do you mind coming down first? It kind of hurts my neck to have to look up to talk." She responded.
Ash nodded as he slowly made his way down the hill, before hitting the ground in a short span of time to face the girl who was talking to him earlier, as she scratched her head not knowing how to start things.
"I haven't really seen any Trainer around for the last hour, and since you're the first one I found, I was thinking if you would like to have a quick battle?" She told Ash, who nodded his head.
"Sure, I'm sure a little exercise won't hurt my Pokémon, besides you're the first human I've seen in three hours." Ash responded, chuckling at both of their lucks.
The girl giggled at his response before walking a few distance away from the amnesiac Trainer, as she took out a Poke Ball from her jacket before enlarging it in her hand.
"My name's Victoria by the way, and how are we going to do this?" Victoria asked.
"I don't mind doing a three on three, Victoria, and the name's Reil." Ash answered, wanting to give all three of his Pokémon a little bit of exercise.
"Sure, first to two victories wins the whole thing." Victoria accepted.
Ash then took out his own Poke Ball before enlarging the device in his hand, as both Victoria and himself threw the device into the air to call out their individual Pokémon to the battlefield.
"Pawniard, go forth!" Ash called out.
"Dottler, go!" Victoria yelled out.
Ash's Poke Ball burst open to reveal the Sharp Blade Pokémon, as Pawniard decides to sharpen his blade with his hands, before looking at the front as Victoria's Pokémon came out of its Poke Ball, to reveal a orange insectoid-like Pokémon with a blob-like body with multiple circles on its shell, as they slowly blinked one by one.
"I wonder who's that." Ash mumbled while taking out his Rotom Phone.
"Dottler, the Radome Pokémon, Bug and Psychic Type. Dottler's shell are extremely heavy which prevents it from eating food and drinking water, however as a means to protect Itself, Dottler will use its own psychic powers through its shell to sense its environment till it evolves." Ash Rotom Phone described.
After learning about Dottler's lifestyle, Ash kept his Rotom Phone into his pocket, before looking at the front to see that Victoria was also scanning Pawniard, as she kept her phone into her own jacket, before looking at Ash.
"You can go first if you want." She offered.
"Alright, Metal Claw!" Ash ordered.
Pawniard's blade glowed in a silver light as she dashed towards the Radome Pokémon with a high amount of speed, only for Victoria to grin as she put out her hand to command her Pokémon.
"Reflect!" She ordered.
Dottler's shell immediately glowed in a mass amount of light, before creating a invisible rectangular shield in front of itself to block Pawniard's attack, forcing the Dark and Steel Type to retreat, as the shield in front of Dottler retracted, with its shell stopping its glow.
Ash was visibly shock at the outcome, not knowing what Reflect does but he could guess that it was a move that stops physical attacks like Pawniard's Metal Claw, with Victoria putting out her hands.
"Bug Buzz!" She yelled.
Dottler's shell immediately emitted a loud noise, as the Radome Pokémon fired a ring of dark green energy at Pawniard who defended himself with his arms, as a small explosion occurred at where he was standing, with Pawniard sliding out of the smoke back to Ash, with his arms slightly grazed from the attack.
"You alright, Pawniard?" Ash asked, making Pawniard nod his head.
"Good, then we'll try another means to attack, Fury Cutter!" He instructed.
Pawniard's blades started to glow in a dark green light as he charged at Dottler once again, before swinging it at the Radome Pokémon, only for Victoria to put out her hand in order to issue a command to her Pokémon.
"Reflect!" She ordered.
Dottler quickly erected the same rectangular shield, as Pawniard's attack made contact with the invisible barrier dealing not as much as a single scratch to Dottler's Reflect, as Ash looked at the Sharp Blade Pokémon.
"Keep striking it hard, and don't let up!" Ash ordered.
Pawniard immediately did as told as he continuously struck Dottler's protective shield with his attack one after another, as each force from Pawniard's attack gave out a more suppressive force, which forced Dottler to move back in recoil, as its shield started to crack after the fifth blow, shocking Victoria of the result.
"What!? How!?" She gasped in shock.
"Finish it!" Ash yelled.
Pawniard swiftly gave Dottler's Reflect a sixth blow as the shield shattered into particles of white dust and shards, shocking the Radome Pokémon and its Trainer, only for Pawniard to give it the seventh blow, which sends Dottler flying back to Victoria's feet injured and unconscious from their fight.
"How... how did you break through Dottler's Reflect like that?" Victoria questioned, making Ash chuckle.
"You see, Fury Cutter hits harder the more it's lands on a target, so to put it simple, Pawniard's hits each got stronger to the point where Dottler's Reflect couldn't handle it." Ash explained.
Victoria looked rather impressed at the knowledge she was given by Ash, as the amnesiac Trainer took out Pawniard's Poke Ball to recall the Dark and Steel Type.
"I thought that it would at least take Pawniard ten hits to break Dottler's Reflect, honestly." Ash admitted, as he kept his Poke Ball.
"You're good, but the second round is mine for sure." Victoria remarked.
The two of them soon took out their second Poke Ball as both of them enlarged the device in their hand before aiming it at the field, with Victoria this time going first.
"Nincada, go!" She called out.
"Rookidee, go forth!" Ash yelled.
From Victoria's Poke Ball came a small whitish insectoid Pokémon with two rather sharp claws, as Ash's Poke Ball burst open to reveal his Rookidee, with the Tiny Bird Pokémon flying in the air, as he landed on the ground in front of Nincada.
"You'll get the first move this time, Victoria." Ash offered.
"Alright, then use Dig!" Victoria accepted with an order.
The Trainee Pokémon quickly dove into the ground with its sharp claws, becoming undetectable from the surface, with Rookidee taking flight in case Nincada appears from no where to attack him, as Ash and his Pokémon waited for Nincada to resurface from the earth beneath them.
"Metal Claw!" Victoria ordered.
The ground beneath Rookidee started to crack as Nincada emerged from the ground with its claws turning into steel, before delivering as decisive blow to the Tiny Bird Pokémon who barely avoided the attack, which made Nincada burrow back into the earth below, preventing Rookidee from touching it from where he was flying.
"How are we suppose to hit it if we can't see it?" Ash thought to himself.
Nincada once against resurfaced as it swung its claw at Rookidee, who once again barely dodged it by flying to the side, as Nincada for a third time burrow into the ground, becoming unseen for the entire duration till its next attack, with Ash looking at the hole on the ground as he cracked a small grin.
"Rookidee, go into the hole and follow Nincada with Drill Peck!" Ash commanded.
Rookidee looked shocked at Ash's command, but decided to trust his Trainer as his peak extended while glowing white before charging into one of the holes on the ground, while rotating at high speed, and it wasn't long right after Rookidee's entry into one of the holes, as sounds of something hitting against each other was heard, with small cracks appearing on the floor one after another, until one of the cracks burst open to reveal Nincada flying out of the hole with Rookidee following soon after.
"Alright!" Ash cheered, only for Victoria to look on with shock.
"Nincada, quick use Sandstorm!" She yelled in desperation.
The Trainee Pokémon quickly spin a small circle in the air to create a small tornado of dust and sand, covering itself from Rookidee's line of sight, only for Ash to wave his hand at his Pokémon.
"Rookidee, go after it with Drill Peck!" Ash commanded.
Rookidee once again spun in a rapid pace before charging into the small tornado of sand and dust, but the moment Rookidee entered the Sandstorm in order to chase after Nincada who was presumably still cast up in the air, a fuzzy image appeared in front of Victoria as a strange flying Pokémon appeared in front of her, with Rookidee still stuck in the Sandstorm.
"What the—who's that!?" Ash yelled out in shock, as he took out his Rotom Phone.
"Ninjask, the Ninja Pokémon, Bug and Flying Type. Ninjask is extremely nimble and can move at the speed of sound, due to its immense speed, it is believed by many people to be invisible during movement of flight, and with its swift capabilities, Ninjask likes to put its Trainer's skills to the test." Ash's Rotom Phone quoted out.
The newly arrived Ninjask let loose a loud screeching sound as the Sandstorm dispersed into nothing, revealing a lone Rookidee flying in the midst of the tornado created by Nincada, shocking Ash and Victoria at the result with the female Trainer looking at Ninjask.
"Nincada, is that you?" This made Ninjask nod its head, as Victoria brighten up.
"Great, you evolved!" She cheered.
Rookidee quickly flew back to Ash's side still slightly confused about where Nincada went, as the newly evolved Nincada looked at Rookidee, with extreme confidence now that it was able to fly like the Tiny Bird Pokémon.
"Rookidee, use Peck!" Ash commanded.
Rookidee immediately took flight as he charged at Ninjask with his peak bursting forth a reddish-orange flame, only for Victoria to look at her newly evolved Pokémon, as she waved her hand to the side.
"Dodge it and use Acrobatics!" She ordered.
As the Tiny Bird Pokémon closed in the gap between Ninjask and himself, the Ninja Pokémon swiftly vanished from view shocking Ash and his Pokémon, only for the Bug and Flying Type to swiftly hit Rookidee all over the place in the form of invisibility due to its immense speed, as Ash couldn't do much but watch as Rookidee was send all over the place until he eventually hit the ground unconscious, with Ninjask appearing before Victoria.
"Man, I didn't expect Nincada to evolve during that crucial moment." Ash sighed, while using his palm to hit his forehead.
"Well, you should expect what should have been the least to be expected, such as a Pokémon's evolution." Victoria remarked.
Ash and Victoria soon took out their respective Poke Balls to recall their own Pokémon, before keeping it into their respective pockets, as Victoria took out a third Poke Ball with Ash holding none for the current battle.
"Ralts, you're up." Ash commanded.
"Sizzlipede, go!" Victoria called out.
Ralts quickly entered the field through Teleport, whist Victoria's Poke Ball burst open to reveal a small red centipede-like Pokémon, with a orange "V" shaped pattern between its yellow eyes, as the unknown Pokémon screeched softly, while getting ready to battle against the Feeling Pokémon, with Ash taking out his Rotom Phone.
"Sizzlipede, the Radiator Pokémon, Fire and Bug Type. Sizzlipede uses its body to coil up its prey, before using the flammable gas in its body to cook it, once the prey is done being cooked, Sizzlipede will nimble on it viciously. Sizzlipede is known to get into fights with Venipede." Ash's Rotom Phone described.
Ash then kept his Rotom Phone into his pocket before looking at Victoria and her Sizzlipede, only for the girl in front of him to wave her hand in order to command her Pokémon to attack her opponent.
"Ember!" She yelled.
Sizzlipede quickly inhaled a small lungful of air, before firing off a small chunk of burning ember at Ralts who easily evaded the attack by walking backwards, as the Fire Type attack hit the floor before extinguishing.
"Ralts, use Shadow Sneak!" Ash commanded.
Ralts' shadow soon extended its way underneath Sizzlipede as a blackish figure emerged from the ground before sending Sizzlipede flying to the side, with the Radiator Pokémon flying back to Victoria's feet after being hit hard by Ralts' Ghost Type move.
"Flame Wheel!" She commanded.
"Dodge it, Ralts!" Ash yelled out.
Sizzlipede soon coiled itself up into a wheel before bursting in flames as it charged at Ralts at high speed, but before the Radiator Pokémon could hit the Feeling Pokémon, Ralts immediately vanished from view forcing Sizzlipede to stop its attack, as the Psychic and Fairy Type soon reappeared in the center of the field.
"Disarming Voice/Ember!" Ash and Victoria yelled out their respective commands.
The Feeling Pokémon immediately fired off a wave of pink rings at Sizzlipede 's direction with a loud scream, whist the Radiator Pokémon launched out a small ember at Ralts' direction, but as both attacks clashed with one another, Ralts' attack easily overpowering Sizzlipede's as the Fire and Bug Type was send flying back to Victoria's side of the field knocked out cold from its battle against Ralts, with the Psychic and Fairy Type returning to his Trainer's side.
"Great job, Ralts!" Ash praised.
"You did your best, Sizzlipede." Victoria told the Radiator Pokémon.
Sizzlipede groaned a little in depression before being recalled by Victoria back into its Poke Ball, as Ralts shift himself back to Ash's head, with the amnesiac Trainer making his way towards Victoria with his hand stretched out to shake hands.
"That was a great battle, Victoria." He told the female Trainer.
"Thanks, you too." She responded.
As the two of them shook hands, Victoria noticed a golden band on Ash's wrist, before looking at the Trainer with eyes of interest.
"You're taking part in the Gym Challenge as well, Reil?" She asked, making Ash nod his head.
"That's right, I was just on my way towards Turffield, until I got lost." He answered, admitting his lost of direction with a sigh.
"Since we're both going towards the same direction, why don't we go to Turffield together?" Victoria suggested, with Ash nodding his head.
The two of them soon spend the next few hours trying to make their way to the Galar Mines, and this time it wasn't hard due to the two of them using their individual navigation apps from their Rotom Phones, as the two of them stopped in front of a large entrance, that fits the description of the place on Ash's Rotom Phone.
"This looks like the place, the entrance matches the picture on my Rotom Phone." He told Victoria.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go in and get to Turffield." Victoria told the amnesiac Trainer.
Agreeing to her words, Ash and Victoria made their way into the mines to see that the interior was just as beautifully lit up as the exterior, with the whole road brighten up by the lights hanging by the walls, as the two of them travelled through the mines, while surveying the area for any Pokémon they might want to catch.
"This place sure is beautiful." Ash remarked with straightness.
"I wonder how much does one of the jewel on the wall cost, because it seems to me that they're everywhere." Victoria added.
True to her words when Ash started to survey the whole area, gems of various colours and sizes were indeed all around the place, as the two of them continued to walk deeper into the mines, only to notice that midway through their adventure, did the gems on the wall become lesser and lesser in numbers, making the two of them open their mouth in question to the situation.
"Why are the jewels getting lesser and lesser?" Ralts whispered to his Trainer.
"No idea, but something tells me that the news isn't going to be good." Ash responded.
Sounds of something clashing can be heard as the two of them ran towards the source of the sound, and upon arrival, Ash and Victoria could see a Machop flying out of one of the tunnels as it hit the floor hard, while rolling back to a man's feet, groaning in pain as it failed to get back up on its feet.
"Machop!" A miner yelled, as he went to pick up his Pokémon.
"What happened?!" Ash yelled, as he ran towards the miner.
"That thing is the problem!" One of the many miners yelled, while pointing inside of the tunnel.
Ash and Victoria soon took a peek into the tunnel that the miner had pointed out, before noticing a humanoid Pokémon with a brown skin while wearing a pair of red boxing gloves, with body build that of a boxer, as he begins to punch the walls of the mines, destroying it in the process while shattering the gems that were on the walls.
"That's a Hitmonchan!" Victoria exclaimed, only for Ash to take out his Rotom Phone.
"Hitmonchan, the Punching Pokémon, Fighting Type. Hitmonchan can deliver punches that is as swift as the wind, and by punching its opponent in a drilling motion, Hitmonchan is able to drill through concretes, it always displays the will of an unwavering boxer even in difficult situations." Ash's Rotom Phone spoke out.
"That Hitmonchan has appeared here just yesterday, while it didn't cause any sort trouble when it first came to the mines, but after a while it started to punch everything in its way." The miner explained, making Ash and Victoria look at the front.
True to their words, Hitmonchan was now punching the walls of the mines, breaking it in the process with each consecutive punch, as the cracks on the walls got larger and larger each time Hitmonchan struck it with his fist.
"We tried to stop Hitmonchan from doing any damage, but it's just too powerful for us to handle, since our Pokémon aren't trained for fighting." The miner told the two Gym Challengers.
"If you're Trainers, can I please ask you to drive that Hitmonchan away from the mines?" He pleaded.
Ash and Victoria then took a glance at one another before deciding that there was no choice but to help, because to their knowledge, the only way to Turffield was pass Hitmonchan and there was no way they were going to get there without fighting the Punching Pokémon, and second of all, the miners would be in a bigger predicament if they didn't help, as Victoria chuckled.
"I'll handle that Hitmonchan, after all, I've got the perfect Pokémon for the job." She told Ash who nodded.
"Alright, but be careful, we don't know what moves Hitmonchan can use." He warned with a tone of agreement.
Ash who decided to let Victoria handle the situation stood by the miners side with Ralts on his head, as the female Trainer took out her Poke Ball before enlarging it in the palms of her right hand.
"Ninjask, go!" She called out.
The Poke Ball burst open to reveal the Ninja Pokémon, as the sound of Ninjask's buzzing wings caught the attention of Hitmonchan, who turned around before narrowing his eyes down on the Bug and Flying Type, before getting into a fighting position getting ready to engage Ninjask in a fight.
"Acrobatics!" She ordered.
The Ninja Pokémon immediately vanished with incredible speed as it charged towards Hitmonchan, but as the invisible Ninjask was making its way towards the Fighting Type Pokémon, Hitmonchan's eye blinked in a blue light as he begin to evasively dodge all of Ninjask's strikes despite the speed of the Bug and Flying Type, before bending down with his right fist glowing in an orange light as he struck the Ninja Pokémon in the abdomen, sending it back to Victoria's feet.
"Ninjask!" She yelled in concern.
After achieving the first strike against Ninjask, Hitmonchan begin to once again punch the air as if training his punching methods, before eyeing at the recovering Ninja Pokémon who successfully regained its composure against the Punching Pokémon.
"What were those moves Hitmonchan just used anyways? It dodged Ninjask's Acrobatics like nothing and was even able to strike back with full force." Ash questioned, only for a miner to look at him.
"Those were Detect and Counter, a perfect combination against a fast opponent like Ninjask." He told the young man.
Ash then turn his head back to the battle between Victoria's Ninjask and Hitmonchan, only to notice the Punching Pokémon swiftly evading Ninjask's attack with the same combination yet again, right as he struck Ninjask with his left hand instead of the right, instantly knocking Ninjask out from the sky, before punching his fists together.
"This just isn't working, Hitmonchan's too good." Victoria voice with worry, as Ash tapped her shoulder with his hand.
"Let me try, Victoria, I think I know how to beat it." He told the female Trainer.
Victoria nodded her head before lifting Ninjask out of the field as she swapped places with Ash, who took out his Poke Ball from his pocket before enlarging the device in his hand, and aiming it at the field.
"Rookidee, go forth!" He yelled.
Ash's Poke Ball burst open to reveal the Tiny Bird Pokémon, as the Flying Type Pokémon flew in front of Hitmonchan, who once against was drawn to the sound of his flapping wings, before getting into a ready position against the Tiny Bird Pokémon.
"I wonder how Reil is going to beat Hitmonchan?" Victoria voices out with curiosity.
"Now, use Peck!" Ash commanded.
Rookidee quickly dove down upon Hitmonchan with his peak glowing in a white light, but before the attack could reach Hitmonchan, the Punching Pokémon simply duck down to avoid getting hit, before resetting his motions instantly in a blink of an eye to attack Rookidee with his right fist glowed in an orange light, as he struck down upon the Flying Type Pokémon sending him back to Ash.
"Rookidee!" Ash called out in concern, not knowing what move Hitmonchan had just used.
"That Hitmonchan knows Feint?!" Victoria yelled out with surprise.
After hitting his target, Hitmonchan once again clashed his fists together before getting into a ready position, with Rookidee getting back into the air while panting slightly from the hit he had just took from the Punching Pokémon.
"Are you sure you're able to continue, Rookidee?" Ash asked, only for the Tiny Bird Pokémon to nod his head.
"Alright, then use Drill Peck!" Ash commanded.
Rookidee's peak instantly grew in length as it glowed in a white light, before charging at Hitmonchan with a spiralling body, with the Punching Pokémon deciding to clash his fist with Rookidee's attack, before forcing his way through the Super Effective attack, knocking Rookidee off the sky, making him hit the nearby wall.
"What?!" Ash yelled in shock.
The miners and Victoria too were shocked on how easily Hitmonchan had forced his way pass Rookidee's attack, much less without getting hurt too badly as Ash ran towards his Pokémon's side, before kneeling down beside him.
"Rookidee, you alright?" Ash asked in concern, hoping that Rookidee was fine.
"Roo!" The Tiny Bird Pokémon nodded slowly before getting back up.
The Tiny Bird Pokémon was now panting quite heavily as he got back up into the air, before eyeing at Hitmonchan who was still boxing the air, before giving Rookidee his attention with Ash looking at his Pokémon.
"Then we'll give this one last shot, Drill Peck!" He yelled.
Rookidee screeched loudly before charging at Hitmonchan with full force and mighty cry, before glowing in a bright light as it lit up in an orange flare, shocking Ash and the humans who were around at the sudden display, but when Hitmonchan send his right fist glowing orange at the glowing Rookidee, he was instantly send flying backwards by the force of the attack, as the light returned back to Ash's side before shattering to reveal a new Rookidee.
The new Rookidee was now much larger in size and in the shape of a medium sized raven, the wing span of said Pokémon also got bigger with his eyes now becoming much sharper, as the newly Evolved Rookidee begin to extend out his wings to check out his new wing span.
"Rookidee... evolved?" Ash mumbled, before taking out his Rotom Phone.
"Corvisquire, the Raven Pokémon, Flying Type. Corvisquire is intelligent enough to use tool such as sticks and stones in battle, and because Corvisquire goes through a lot of hardship, it is able to assess the strength of its opponent's extremely well." Ash Rotom Phone described.
The now evolved Corvisquire soon stared at Hitmonchan who was still recovering from the attack he had just took from the Raven Pokémon as he got back up on his feet before getting into a ready position against the Flying Type Pokémon.
"Let's try out your new move, Corvisquire, use Brave Bird!" Ash instructed with confidence.
Corvisquire soon took flight as he charged towards the ceiling before diving down upon the Punching Pokémon with his body clad in a reddish-orange flame, but as Corvisquire was approaching Hitmonchan, the Fighting Type Pokémon soon raised his right hand as it glowed in a orange light, before delivering it towards the charging Raven Pokémon.
The moment Hitmonchan threw out his fist, Corvisquire quickly flew to the side of the Punching Pokémon before slamming into Hitmonchan's side, causing him to rile back in pain before falling to the ground on one knee, as Corvisquire returned to Ash's side.
"Great job, Corvisquire!" Ash cheered loudly.
"Now to see what Hitmonchan wants." Ralts responded before getting off his head.
Ash and Corvisquire watch as Ralts approached the fallen Pokémon, as the Feeling Pokémon started to converse with the Fighting Type Pokémon, as Victoria and the miners watch with no idea of what the two Ash was trying to do, as Ralts returned to Ash's side.
"What did Hitmonchan say, Ralts?" He asked, with Ralts sighing.
"Hitmonchan came here to train up its skills, but when it saw the miners having a hard time getting a stone out of a wall, it decided to see if it can help by destroying it with its fist instead, but didn't know it was instead destroying the stone." Ralts explained.
Hitmonchan immediately hung his head down in both shame and apology, as the miners chuckled at the sight of the disappointed Punching Pokémon, with one of them approaching the Fighting Type Pokémon, before placing his hand on his shoulder.
"Don't feel too down, Hitmonchan, we too were at fault for not understanding. If you want, we have several other jobs you can do to train your punches." He offered, immediately making Hitmonchan brighten up.
"Chan, Hitmonchan!" He immediately nodded his head in agreement.
Ash and Victoria watched as one of the miners led Hitmonchan into one of the tunnels, with the miner who had just talked to Hitmonchan turning his head to both Trainers before smiling brightly at the two of them.
"Thank you two, young Trainers, if it weren't for you, I'm afraid that things would have gotten much uglier." He thanked with sincerity.
"The credit goes to Reil and his Corvisquire, after all, they're the ones who defeated Hitmonchan." Victoria waved off, making Ash laugh a little.
"I know this isn't much, but please accept this as a token of my thanks as well as the rest of us here." He told the two Trainers.
He then held out his hand to both Trainers, with a yellow-like cube on his left hand and a metal-like coat on his right, with Ash and Victoria taking the cube and coat respectively from the miner, as he look at the two Trainers.
"That is a Electirizer and a Metal Coat, I'm not sure if it's going to help you out in your journey, but please take it as a token of our thanks." He told the two of them.
"We will, and you're welcome, after all, it's only right." Ash told the miner.
The two of them soon bid the miner farewell as both Ash and Victoria ran out of the exit, before coming into view of a large farm where the greenery was even more beautiful compared to Route 3, with farmland almost everywhere and a large building with a symbol similar to a leaf not far from them either.
"Turffield, we're close to our first Gym." Ash mumbled.
"Yeah, how about we race to see who can best Milo first?" She suggested, making Ash chuckle.
"Remember I'm not going to be second in line, Victoria." Ash retorted.
The two of them quickly ran down the hill of the land they were on, in order to challenge their first Gym.
And that's it for the fourth Chapter, next will be Ash vs Milo!
A/N: I know most of you are probably confused about why Hitmonchan was called both a it and a he. How I do it is simple, if a Pokémon's gender is not known, I'll put the Pokémon as an "it", but if the Pokémon has a fixed gender such as Hitmonchan I will naturally put the respective gender of he or she when describing them.
Otherwise,
PEACE!