Ash and his friends gasped in awe as they reached the city's border. After several days of walking through the wilderness, they had finally made it to Vermilion City.

"We did it!" Maria said in awe. "We're finally here!"

"Rattata!"

"Yeah, and we didn't even need that map!" said Mikaela.

"Vee!"

"Pika."

"I can't wait for my next gym battle!" said Ash.

"And I can't wait to resupply," said Sam. "After that incident with the Squirtle Squad, I'm going to need some more Pecha berries. And I'm running low on food too."

At the mention of food, everyone's stomach began to rumble at the same time.

"Uh… can we go get some grub now?" Meowth asked.

"Yeah!" said Ash. "I'm starving!"

They then rushed into the city, prompting the rest of the gang to chase after them.

"Ash, wait!" Maria yelled. "Do you even know where you're going?!"

Fortunately, they made it to the Pokémon center without much trouble. As they made their way towards the counter, they noticed a boy talking nervously to Nurse Joy.

"Is Rattata going to be okay?" He asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, young man," Nurse Joy said with a reassuring smile. "Your Rattata will be just fine!"

"Thanks, Nurse Joy," the boy said. "I was really worried after he got beaten by Lieutenant Surge."

"Lieutenant Surge?" said Ash. "Who's that?"

"I think it's the name of the Gym Leader," said Sam. "He uses electric type Pokémon, and he's known for being pretty ruthless."

"Why?" Mikaela asked. "Did he have a wife named Ruth who left him?"

"That's not what ruthless means," Maria muttered.

"Ratta!"

"Anyway," said Sam, "Surge is very strong, and he never holds back when in battle. If you're not prepared, you'll get crushed."

"Chuu…"

"Wow, that sounds bad," said Ash. "But we won't give up! Right, Meowth?"

"You betcha!" said Meowth. "We're going to get our next badge for sure!"

At that moment, a girl came running into the Pokémon Center, carrying a female Nidoran that was clearly badly injured.

"Nurse Joy!" the girl said. "I was fighting Lieutenant Surge, and my Nidoran was hurt really bad! Help!"

The gang turned towards her, worried about what had happened, while Nurse Joy just sighed.

"Not another one…"

Ash and his friends watched as the injured poison type was loaded onto a stretcher and wheeled away. Ash and Meowth turned to each other and winced.

"Well, maybe not totally for sure," said Meowth.

Ash groaned as he looked at the TM selection. It seemed as if there had been some TMs for Dig and Bulldoze, but they were currently out of stock.

"Well, looks like we'll have to do this the old fashioned way," said Meowth as they walked out of the PokeMart section.

"Yeah," said Ash. "Don't worry, I'm sure we can beat Surge!"

"Yeah, I know," said Meowth. "But it still looks pretty scary to me."

They both looked towards the lobby and saw another trainer carrying an injured Pokémon.

"I'm sure we can figure something out," said Ash.

Ash and his Pokémon stood outside, trying to figure out how to beat the Vermilion City Gym.

"Alright, guys," said Ash. "Lieutenant Surge is really strong, so we need to make sure we're ready to face him!"

His Pokémon all chirped with determination; Riolu, Meowth, and Charmander in particular seemed determined to go up against this newest gym. Bulbasaur seemed a bit less enthusiastic, though he still seemed curious. Krabby and Spearow, on the other hand, had elected to simply stand on the sidelines and watch. Considering their electric weakness, this was just fine for Ash.

"Surge's Pokémon are all electric types, so we need to be ready to avoid being shocked," Ash continued. "So Sam and Pikachu are going to help up."

He turned to the blue-haired boy, who was holding an irritated-looking Pikachu in his arms.

"Alright, buddy," said Sam. "I want you to use your Thunder Shock attack to help these guys train."

"Chu," Pikachu said in a tone that was only slightly more irritated than usual.

"He's not happy about being used as a training instrument again," Meowth translated.

"Sorry bud," said Sam. "I'll make it up to you somehow, I promise."

Pikachu grunted, then unleashed a big blast of electricity. Meowth and Riolu yelped and jumped out of the way, while Bulbasaur and Charmander were hit by the electric attack.

"Buuul!"

"Chaaar!"

Pikachu!" Sam said in alarm. "I never told you to start!"

Angry at the unexpected attack, Bulbasaur unleashed a Razor Leaf attack at Pikachu. Pikachu simply shot out another Thunder Shock attack, which Bulbasaur and Charmander were both able to dodge in time. Ash watched with bemusement for a moment, then shrugged.

"Okay, we can work with this," he said. "Guys! Focus on dodging Pikachu's attacks!"

"Got it!" Meowth said as he jumped out of the way of another attack. He turned to look at his two newest teammates, who were doing their best to avoid getting shocked. Finally, Riolu was not only avoiding the electric blasts, but occasionally trying to get close to Pikachu to strike back.

"Rio!" Riolu said as her paw became electrified. She then swung it forwards just as Pikachu shot out a Thunder Shock and caught it in her Thunder Punch attack, causing it to dissipate around her.

"Whoa!" said Meowth. "How'd you do that?"

"Rio, Riolu!" RIolu said as she activated her Thunder Punch again. "Riolu!"

"Whoa!" Ash said in awe. "Riolu, you're so cool! If you can do that in our Gym Battle, you'll be a big help in getting us to victory!"

Riolu grinned, then jumped out of the way of another Thunder Shock. At the same time, Bulbasaur and Charmander did their best to dodge the constant electric attacks. However, they were clearly less experienced, and they weren't always able to avoid getting shocked. Finally, one particularly big electric blast hit Charmander, causing him to cry out before he fell over.

"Chaaar…"

"Stop!"

Pikachu stopped his attack and looked up at his trainer.

"Chu?" he said in his typical irritated tone.

"You can stop now, buddy," said Sam. "I think Ash's team has had enough for now."

The two looked on as Ash picked up Charmander in his arms.

"Yeah, I think we should rest for now," he said. "You guys all did great dodging those Thunder Shock attacks. If we keep working on your speed, you'll be able to beat Surge, no doubt!"

The Pokémon around him all cried out enthusiastically.

Ash and his friends had gotten to a video phone, where he was about to dial a number. However, as his fingers approached the number pad, he stopped.

"What's wrong?" said Meowth. "Don't you want to talk to Cody?"

Ash swallowed.

"I mean, yeah, I do," he said. "I mean, I'm pretty sure Surge has an Electabuzz, and I know he'd love to hear about it. And he'd love to hear about all the electric types we'll find. But…"

"Are you worried that he'll still be grounded?" said Mikaela.

Ash sighed. He wished that Mikaela could be a bit more subtle once in a while.

"Well, yeah," he said. "I mean, I know he's not going to be grounded forever, and we'll be able to talk sooner or later. But after what his mom said… I'm worried about him."

Ash looked down, unsure as to whether or not he should try to contact his best friend. But then, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Surprised, he turned around and saw Maria smiling at him.

"Don't worry, Ash," she said. "I mean, he's your best friend for a reason, right? You two are always there for each other, and whatever trouble he's in, you'll be there to help him. So just call him, and you'll be able to work everything out."

"Ratta!"

Ash stared at Maria for a while, then smiled back at her.

"Thanks, Yellow! I needed that."

Maria opened her mouth, but then closed it, deciding not to correct Ash. Instead, she simply smiled as Ash began to dial his best friend's number. He then waited, each moment full of anticipation as he waited for a response.

Finally, Ash felt a great surge of relief as the face of his best friend appeared on the screen.

"Cody!" he said excitedly. "Man am I happy to see you again!"

"Hey Ash," Cody said with a smile, though his voice sounded noticeably more subdued than usual. And much to Ash's consternation, his eyes seemed unusually puffy and red.

"Are you okay, Cody?" said Ash. "Last time I called, your mom said you were grounded."

"Eh, don't worry about me," said Cody. "I'll be just fine."

"Are you sure?" said Maria. "You sure don't look fine."

"I'm doing just fine, honestly," said Cody. "But tell me about you, Ash! Are you in Vermilion city yet?"

"Oh, yeah," said Ash. "We just got here earlier today."

"Cool!" said Cody. "Oh man, I'd love to go there someday. I mean, Lieutenant Surge is so cool! And his electric type Pokémon are the best!"

"Oh yeah," said Sam. "You really like Electabuzz and other electric types, don't you?"

"Sure do!" said Cody. "They're the best!"

Ash chuckled as he watched his friend gain back a bit of his enthusiasm.

"So, we're trying to figure out how we're going to beat him," said Ash. "He's apparently really ruthless, and all his Pokémon are really strong. So we've got a lot of work to do before we're ready to face him. But there's no way that's going to stop us!"

"Yeah!" said Cody. "It ain't over 'til it's over!"

Ash smiled at this. At the same time, though, the nagging feeling in the back of his mind refused to go away, and he knew he needed to address it.

"Hey Cody? Why were you grounded anyway?"

At this, Cody's body tensed up, and he looked away nervously.

"Cody?" said Ash. "Are you okay, dude?"

The purple haired boy's body tensed up, and he looked at Ash with a nervous smile.

"It's nothing, Ash. Just something silly that my dad didn't like. You know how he is sometimes."

Ash frowned.

"Are you sure? Because your mom sounded worried about you when we talked. She said something about you going through a phase or something."

Cody's eyes widened, and he looked away nervously. Ash couldn't help but worry. Had he said something wrong? Would Cody be angry at him for talking to his parents about stuff like that?

"I… it's nothing," Cody said finally. "Just family stuff."

Ash was worried. He knew that Cody was always enthusiastic and outgoing, and especially whenever baseball or Electabuzz was involved. And yet, for as long as he could remember, there had always been something about Cody that seemed… off. Almost like his energetic personality was hiding some deep insecurity that he never wanted anyone to see. And while it had never really bothered Ash in the past, his prior talk with Robin had made that aspect all the more visible to Ash.

And he wanted to know why it was.

"Hey, Cody?" he said. "You know we're friends, right? Best friends. So you can tell me whatever it is that's bugging you. I'm not going to laugh at you or make fun of you for whatever your problem is. You know that right?"

The purple haired boy was silent for a moment. And as he looked at Ash, he looked… vulnerable.

"You… do you really mean it?"

Ash was surprised by how soft his friend's voice sounded. And he was determined to not let his friend down.

"Of course I won't laugh at you, Cody. None of us will. Right guys?"

The rest of the gang shook their heads.

"Of course we won't," said Meowth. "You can count on us!"

Cody still seemed apprehensive, but he now seemed at least somewhat more confident.

"Thanks, guys. That means a lot to me."

He then frowned.

"Um, Ash? How much did my mom tell you?"

"Not much," Ash admitted. "Just that you were grounded, and she was worried that you were going through a phase again."

Cody sighed in relief.

"Okay, good," he said. "I-"

Before he could say anything else, however, he turned around at the sound of a voice.

"Yeah, I'll be done soon!"

He then turned around and gave Ash an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, Ash," he said. "My parents will get mad if I take too long. I'm still grounded right now, after all.

"Oh," Ash said with a frown. "Okay, I guess… we can still talk later, right?"

"Yeah, sure," said Cody. "See you soon. And Good luck with that badge of yours!"

With that, Cody hung up. Ash frowned as the image faded out.

"Man, I hope he's okay."

Seeing his concern his friends put their hands on his shoulder. And Meowth patted him on the head.

"Hey, don't worry Ash," Meowth. "We'll figure out how to help him out."

"Yeah," said Mikaela. "You're his buddy, so you'll figure things out somehow!"

"And you're a really good friend," said Maria. "And sometimes that's all you need to be."

"True," said Sam. "And no matter what happens, we'll be here for you."

Their Pokémon all chirped in support. And as Ash turned around to look at them, he felt a smile form on his face.

"Thanks guys. I needed that."

He then got up as a grin formed on his face.

"So, why don't we go out there so I can get another badge? I know we can beat Surge!"

The rest of the group laughed, amused by how quickly Ash was able to recover from his worries. Even if he was worried about his friend, he wouldn't allow it to get in the way of his dream. And though it all, Ash would never lose his confidence.

And while he didn't know it yet, Ash would soon need all the confidence he could muster.

A/N: With my history of updates, what else were you expecting?

Anyway, This one was particularly hard because of the final section; the conversation with Ash's buddy was... complicated. Let's just say that there's a direction I want to go in for this particular plotline, but it's potentially problematic if not done right. The original ending I mostly scrapped because I wasn't sure I was ready for it yet, and also because a friend/advisor who was helping me with that plotline hasn't responded to me for several months, so I'm mostly on my own for the moment. But I'm still going to do my best to get it done. Somehow.

Anyway, we're gearing up for Ash's third Badge. Finally. Might be a bit more difficult without a speedy Pikachu on their team.