"Congratulations, Miss Bosqueverde, you're now officially a trainer!"

Maria looked at her new trainer ID with fascination. The process of getting her registered as a trainer so she could officially catch her new Rattata had been easier than she had expected. After providing her information and filling out the required forms, she had gotten a picture taken, then received a couple of Pokeballs. She had barely used her first ball to catch her starter when she was handed her ID.

"Wow," she said as she sat with her Rattata. "I always thought about making friends with Pokemon, but now… I'm actually a trainer!"

"Rattata! Rat!"

"That's so cool, isn't it?" said Ash. "Now you can take part in battles and stuff!"

"I… don't know if I want to have battles," Maria admitted. "I don't like seeing Pokemon get hurt. And I really don't want to hurt them."

"Oh," said Sam. "I mean, you don't have to make your Pokemon battle if you don't want to. There are a lot of other things you can do with Rattata."

"Pikachu."

"Yeah!" said Mikaela as she grabbed Maria. "Like being a breeder! Ooh! You'd be a great breeder, and we could be breeding buddies!"

"Eevee! Eevee!"

"I don't think I want to be a breeder," said Maria. "But thanks anyway."

Mikaela pouted, and Ash and the others laughed.

"Well, whatever you want to do, we'll be there for you," said Meowth. "And Rattata will be there with you too!"

"Rat!"

Her heart swelling with joy at her friend's encouragement, Maria smiled.

"Muchas gracias," she said. "For now, though, I think I'll just focus on making Ratty happy."

"Ratty?" said Ash.

"Yeah," said Maria. "I think I'm going to call him Ratty."

"Rattata Ratt!" Ratty said, clearly happy with his new name.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Ratty!" said Meowth. "Welcome to the team!"

"Rattata!"

Ash and the rest of the gang stood in front of the Pewter Gym. Ash and Meowth were somewhat nervous, but they felt much more prepared than they had been the first time they entered the building.

"Well," said Ash, "I don't know about you, but I'm ready to get my first badge!"

"Yeah," said Meowth, "I'm ready for this!"

"I sure hope you are," the man said. "You saw how easily he was able to defeat that young lady, even though she had a significant type advantage."

"I know," said Ash. "But type advantages aren't everything!"

"Well," said Sam, "I sure hope that you're prepared enough for this. Otherwise you're going to end up just like that girl."

"Oh, I know," said Ash. "But I know exactly what I need to do to win!"

"I sure hope so," said Mikaela. "The Brock is really strong!"

Ash didn't answer. He just smiled as he walked in.

"Welcome to the Pewter City Gym," the referee said. "Are any of you challenging the gym today?"

"That would be me," said Ash. "I'm Ash of Pallet Town, and I'm going to get the boulder badge today!"

"I see," said the referee. "Well, I'd advise you to get to the battlefield. The Brock will be with you shortly."

Ash walked up to his side of the battlefield, while his friends got up to the stands. It didn't take too long for loud music to play as a familiar figure arrived on the opposing side.

"Finally, The Brock has come back… to Pewter City!"

"...Did you go somewhere?" Ash asked.

"The Brock goes where The Brock wants to go!"

Unsure of what that was supposed to mean, Ash shrugged and got ready for battle.

"This will be a battle between The Brock, leader of the Pewter City Gym, and the challenger, Ash of Pallet Town," the referee announced. Each trainer will be allowed to use two Pokemon, and only the challenger will be allowed to switch Pokemon. The battle will be over when one side has no more Pokemon left to continue."

With that, The Brock let loose his first Pokemon, Geodude. At the same time, Ash grabbed one of his Pokeballs.

"Well," the man said, "let's see what the boy has in store for us. Since he's not just sending in Meowth, clearly he's going to send-"

"Caterpie!"

The group stared blankly.

"What," said Maria.

"Why?" said Sam.

"Pikachu, pika."

"Well," the man said, "that is certainly… an unorthodox choice."

"You can do it, Caterpie!" Mikaela yelled.

"Eevee! Eevee!"

Back on the battlefield, The Brock seemed just as confused as everyone else.

"...A worm."

"Yeah," said Ash.

"You think you can beat The Brock with a worm?"

"Yup."

The Brock sighed, then pointed his finger at Geodude.

"Whatever! Geodude and I are gonna make you shine that worm up real nice, turn it sideways, and stick it straight up your candy ass!"

The referee scowled in disapproval, but decided not to comment.

"Battle begin!"

"Geodude!" The Brock yelled. "Use Rock Throw!"

"Dodge it and use String Shot!"

A barrage of rocks were sent flying towards Caterpie. The little green bug jumped out of the way before shooting out a stream of string at Geodude.

"You think you can impress The Brock with your little strings?!" said The Brock. "Geodude! Rollout all over his monkey ass!"

"Duuuude!" the rock Pokemon cried as it began to roll… just a bit more slowly than usual.

"String Shot again!"

Caterpie continued to spray his opponent with string as it got closer, seemingly not worried about being hit. However, Geodude's speed was getting noticeably slow, to the point that Caterpie could dodge easily.

"What's going on?" said Mikaela. "Geodude wasn't that slow the last time!"

As if to answer her question, Geodude then stopped rolling, revealing itself to be coated in string.

"Whoa!" said Maria. "It's all covered in string!"

"That's what Ash must have been planning!" said Sam. "He's slowing it down until it can't move at all!"

"Well," the man said, "he might be more clever than I gave him credit for."

Down on the battlefield, Geodude was trying to untangle itself from the thick string it was now wrapped in. But Ash and Caterpie were not going to let it go.

"Alright, Caterpie!" Ash called. "Full power String Shot!

"Piiiie!" Caterpie called, spraying the rock Pokemon with a huge load of string, enveloping Geodude and leaving it immobile.

"Geodude!" The Brock yelled. "Get outta there!"

Geodude tried to respond, but it's voice was muffled by the strings. Ash grinned as he gave Caterpie his next command.

"Tackle! As hard as you can!"

Caterpie cried as he charged forwards, slamming into his opponent with so much force that the rock type was sent flying into the wall. The Brock rushed to recover his Pokemon, quickly realizing that it was no longer able to fight.

"Geodude is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Caterpie is the winner!"

Alright!" Ash cheered. "You were awesome, Caterpie!"

Caterpie chirped in joy. Then, he pointed his head upwards and began to shoot string as his body began to glow.

"What?!" said Ash. "What's going on?"

"He's evolving!" said Meowth.

Within seconds, Caterpie's entire body was covered in string which soon hardened into a shell. The glow then dissipated, revealing the bug type's new form.

"Metapod."

"Whoa!" Ash said in amazement as he pulled out his Pokedex. "That's so cool!"

"Metapod, the Cocoon Pokemon, and the evolved form of Caterpie. A steel-hard shell protects Metapod's tender body. It quietly endures hardships while awaiting evolution."

"Wow!" said Maria. "I can't believe Caterpie evolved!"

"Me neither!" said Mikaela. "I'll bet he can take down anything The Brock can throw at him now!"

"I wouldn't be so sure," Sam cautioned. "Remember, his Onix is his ace for a reason."

Meanwhile, The Brock returned his Pokemon to its pokeball and smirked.

"You're not bad," he said as he pulled out a second pokeball. "But now you're in for a world of pain! It's time for you to welcome the people's champion!"

He then let the pokeball open, revealing Onix.

"So," The Brock said as he crossed his arms, "can you smell what The Brock is cooking?!"

"...I can't smell anything."

It was then that Ash realized that this was probably not the wisest answer.

"Onix! Rock Tomb his candy ass!"

"Whoa!" said Ash. "Dodge it, Metapod!"

Metapod tried to move, but was unable to do so. Unfortunately, he was not used to moving in his new body, and was slammed by rocks.

"Metapod!" Ash cried. "Are you okay?"

"Meta, met," the cocoon Pokemon replied, clearly in pain.

"Now use Slam!"

"Metapod!" said Ash. "Dodge and use String Shot!"

Metapod moved as much as he could, spraying long strands of string as he did. However, he was once again unable to move, and felt the full weight of the rock snake Pokemon landing on top of him.

"No! Metapod!"

Metapod squirmed as he tried to move. The Brock smirked as he gave his next command.

"Slam it again!"

To his surprise, however, Onix did not move. It was clearly trying to, as it was squirming to try to escape, but seemed to be stuck to the ground.

"Is Onix stuck or something?" Mikaela asked.

"I think it was the String Shot," said Sam. "Onix must have been glued to the floor!"

Ash seemed to realize this as well, as he quickly gave his next command.

"Metapod! Use Harden!"

"Meta!" Metapod replied as his shell began to glow. Meanwhile, The Brock seemed to have formed a plan of his own.

"Onix! Bulldoze yourself outta there!"

Onix roared as it shook the ground, displacing rock and dirt from the floor. Metapod cried out in pain, doing his best to harden his shell as much as he could. Finally, the large rock type was able to squirm free from its prison and move again. However, as it rose up, everyone was surprised by what they saw.

"Metapod?!" Ash said in shock. Indeed, the cocoon Pokemon was still stuck to Onix, barely conscious, but still not out.

"Metapod's still going on?!" said Mikaela.

"That's definitely a tough bug," said Sam. "Though it doesn't seem like he'll last much longer."

"Yeah," Maria said quietly, clearly unhappy about seeing Metapod in this state.

"So your little bug isn't giving up, huh?" The Brock said, clearly impressed. "Well, now let's see if it can stand up to The Brock! Slam it, Onix!"

"String Shot! As hard as you can!"

Metapod unleashed a huge flurry of strings all over his opponent as the larger Pokemon rushed downwards. Then, with a huge crash, Onix hit the floor, flinging dust and dirt upwards. As it rose back up, it revealed a huge crater, with an unconscious bug type in the center.

"Metapod is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Onix is the winner!"

Ash sighed and returned Metapod to his pokeball.

"You did great, Metapod," he said as he looked at the pokeball. "Now just leave the rest to us."

He then turned to Meowth, who gave him a determined smile.

"Alright! Meowth, I choose you!"

"Yeah!" Meowth said as he jumped out onto the battlefield. "Let's do this!"

Upon hearing this, The Brock actually stopped for a moment.

"Did that Pokemon just talk?"

"Yeah," said Ash. "He's special like that."

"You know it!"

"How?"

Ash opened his mouth to answer, only to realize he didn't know how to answer.

"I… don't know, actually."

"Oh yeah," said Meowth. "See, I learned to speak like people because-"

"IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW YOU LEARNED TO TALK!" The Brock yelled, causing them both to jump. "You think The Brock is scared of some talking pussycat? The Brock ain't gonna be impressed unless you can fight as well as you talk! So why don't you come out and show me what you got before The Brock gives you an ass-whuppin' of a lifetime!

Ash and Meowth stared at the Gym Leader blankly, before they turned to look at each other. They then shrugged, and Ash gave his first command.

"Iron Tail!"

"You got it!" Meowth yelled as he rushed forwards, his tail glowing with steel type energy. Onix roared as it moved to dodge. However, as it moved, it was suddenly jerked back, and was unable to avoid a direct hit from Meowth.

"Ooooniiix!"

"What just happened?" Mikaela asked.

"Look!" said Maria. The gang looked down towards the ground, and were amazed to see strands of string anchoring the rock snake Pokemon to the floor.

"Onix is stuck to the ground!" said Sam. "Which means there's no way it'll be able to dodge!"

Seeing this, Ash and Meowth grinned.

"Iron Tail again!"

"You got it!" Meowth yelled as he swung his metallic tail at Onix, causing it to cry out in pain.

"Don't let him get you!" The Brock yelled. "Slam his ass!"

Onix tried to use Slam on Meowth, only for the smaller Pokemon to jump out of the way. He then countered with another Iron Tail.

"Oh yeah!" said Ash. "One more-"

"Trap him with Rock Tomb!"

Onix tossed out several rocks, which landed right on top of Meowth.

"Ow!" Meowth cried. He then tried to move, only to realize he was now trapped between the rocks.

"Meowth!" Ash yelled.

"Now use Bulldoze!"

"Oniiix!" the rock snake Pokemon said as the ground began to shake. Meowth cried out in pain as the ground slammed against him.

"Now another Rock Tomb!"

Onix flung another round of rocks at Meowth, squeezing him even more tightly.

"Oh no!" said Maria. "Meowth's getting hurt!"

"Yeah," said Sam. "Ash needs to figure something out, and quickly!"

Ash grit his teeth as he tried to find a way to get his partner free. But none of Meowth's moves were capable of getting him loose from the rocks.

But maybe Onix was.

"It's over now!" The Brock called out. "Onix, finish it with Slam!"

As the huge rock type came down, Ash quickly called to Meowth.

"Meowth! Use Iron Tail to block it!"

"What?!" Meowth yelled. However, as he saw Onix lunging for him, he activated his attack and held his tail above himself. The rock type landed with as much force as it could muster, throwing dust up everywhere and reducing the rocks that had been trapping Meowth to gravel. Fortunately for Meowth, the Iron Tail move managed to block out most of the damage. And even better, he could now move freely again.

"Grab onto him!"

Meowth jumped forwards, and sunk his claws into Onix. As the rocky giant rose back up, it did not notice its smaller opponent clinging onto its hide.

"Now give him an Iron Tail to the face!"

"Take this!" said Meowth as his tail glowed with steel type power. He then slammed his tail into Onix as hard as he could, causing his opponent to cry out before it began to fall once more. Finally, Meowth jumped off and landed on the floor right as the large rock type collapsed.

For a moment, there was no sound. Everyone who was watching the battle was silent, hardly able to believe what they had just seen.

Then, the referee declared the outcome.

"Onix is unable to battle! The winner is Meowth! As he has managed to knock out both of the leader's Pokemon and still has one Pokemon remaining, the victory goes to the challenger, Ash of Pallet Town!"

Ash grinned at the news, and his grin widened even more as Meowth rushed at him and jumped into his arms.

"We did it, Meowth!" Ash said happily. "We won our first gym battle!"

"Yeah, we did!" said Meowth. "I knew we would!"

The two continued to cheer for a moment, then looked away to see their friends approaching.

"Pika, Pikachu."

"VeeVeeVeeee!"

"Ratta, Rattata!"

"Thanks guys," said Meowth. "That means a lot!"

"You guys were amazing!" said Mikaela. "You totally showed The Brock!"

"You sure did," said Sam. "That String Shot move you and Metapod were doing was pretty creative."

"It was kind of scary," Maria admitted, "but I'm glad it worked out!"

"Thanks guys," Ash said happily. "It was definitely tough, but I think it worked out well!"

"It certainly did," the man said, drawing their attention. "You are definitely a trainer who will go far, Ash."

He then looked up at The Brock with a smirk.

"I'll admit, it seems a bit excessive to use this much force on such inexperienced trainers, doesn't it son?"

"Son?!"

"Ah, you're no fun, pops," The Brock said as walked over to the gang. "You know the world ain't a picnic, especially for young trainers. Someone's gotta teach them, otherwise they'll never be ready for all of life's challenges."

"I suppose you have a point," the man admitted. "Still, you could try to tone it down at least a little."

"Wait," said Ash, "you're his dad?"

"Yep," the man replied. "It's me, Flint Johnson, former Gym Leader of Pewter City. And of course, father of The Brock."

"Huh," said Meowth. "So you were helping us beat your son the whole time?"

"Come on, you make it sound so sinister," Flint laughed.

"Well," The Brock said, "help or not, you beat me fair and square. So take this Boulder Badge."

Ash's eyes widened as he saw the badge being presented to him.

"Alright!" he said as he grabbed the badge. "I just got the Boulder Badge!"

"Yeah!" said Meowth. "And soon we'll have all of them!"

"I certainly hope so," said Flint. "I look forward to seeing you at the league."

"You'd better not disappoint The Brock!"

"Well I don't intend to!" Ash said with a smile.

"Yeah, we won't!"

Ash and Meowth looked at each other and smiled. Though it had taken some skill, and plenty of luck, they had managed to emerge victorious. Thus, they had gained their first badge. Their first step towards their goal of reaching the Pokemon League.

And they were determined to make it all the way to the top.

A/N: Well, there's Ash's first Gym battle! It may not have been easy, but it was worth it!

Also, Maria is officially a trainer. And Ratty is officially part of the team.

So now, our heroes are headed to Cerulean! Should be a lot easier without some girl constantly nagging Ash about a bike or something.