Ash ran his thumb across the sleek surface of the Cascade Badge before setting it back inside his badge case one slot to the right of the Boulder Badge.
Only six more badges to go before he could qualify for the Indigo Conference. He was making progress but he was still far away from the finish line of his goal.
The remaining six gym leaders would be more challenging than Brock and Misty. Ash and his team would no longer have the luxury of facing off against inexperienced gym leaders. He and his team would have to bring their A-game. Holding back or not, the smallest mistake usually meant a loss at the more skilled gyms.
That also didn't account for the fact that the conference was only about eleven months away. He'd have to plan his travels out carefully. Challenging gyms he wasn't ready for could waste lots of time, especially if it involved traveling in and out of cities so he could train for rematches. The last thing he wanted was to run out of time to challenge the gyms.
He needed a plan of action going forward and one that wasn't just limited to his decisions regarding gyms but applied to team building as well. As a generalist, he needed a well-rounded team that could not only carry him past the gyms, but through the Indigo Conference.
After all, the gyms would only be the beginning. Beyond the gym challenges awaited the Indigo Conference and its tournament. If he wanted to avoid humiliating himself on live television for most of the world to see, he needed a team that could hold their own against the best of the best.
He would be throwing down with seasoned veterans and prodigies like himself. He needed to know his weaknesses, know his strengths, and learn to cover those strengths and weaknesses as best as he could.
If he didn't outright fill each of the Pokemon types, he would have to focus more on filling specific team roles – not that trainers always limited themselves to filling specific team roles to the letter. Most teams featured at least one physical, close quarters combat specialist; a ranged, elemental specialist; a speedy "sweeper" that could take out opponents quickly and efficiently; a psychic barrier specialist; and a tank that could take a lot of punishment.
While most of his team fit into those roles or could eventually fit into one of those roles, there were a few more roles that he needed to fill. Namely an aerial fighter. Pokemon with the ability to fly had so many advantages over Pokemon restricted to the ground.
It served as just one more reason that he couldn't afford to grow complacent. He had a long road ahead of him before he was even close to reaching his goals and judging by the videos of last year's conference the Indigo Conference would not be easy.
He wasn't anywhere near ready to take on the level of competition at the Indigo Conference. Competitors in the tournament generally had fully evolved teams with their own unique twists on the traditional roles.
Last year's tournament featured two veterans with very unique applications of Venusaur and Blaziken's abilities.
Assunta's Venusaur showed aggression uncommon among the Venusaur line, matched with a devastating array of techniques ranging from Toxic to Earth Power.
What made the grass type particularly dangerous was how it attacked. It whittled down opponents with traditional stall game tactics before switching gears by amping its power to go on the offensive. Curse and Ingrain went a long way to make it a bigger offensive threat with a combination of unnatural energy coursing through its veins and Venusaur absorbing nutrients from the ground.
Harrison's Blaziken, on the other hand, went with a more straightforward approach with multiple uses of Bulk Up and Flame Charge with Focus Energy to help the fire type to remain focused despite all the adrenaline pumping through its system. What made it unique was that Blaziken continuously generated fire around itself to create an armor around itself similar to Orion, the main difference being the fire around Blaziken was more fluid. The fire cloak Blaziken used bent to its will and the most intense flames could be shifted to specific areas of the body.
Conference competitors boasted aces with unbelievable firepower. Their Pokemon usually were trained to use powerful combos and setups that could boost firepower. Their trainers were clever thinkers, always looking for an edge.
It was why Ash was fairly rigid in enforcing a daily regimen and routine for both himself and his team. Training and battles would help his team grow physically by building muscle and strength along with helping them gain the experience and hone the instincts they would need to be able to win at the Indigo Conference.
His team not only needed to hone their skills but prepare for evolution. Trainers generally made sure their teams were fully evolved for the conference since Pokemon that were fully evolved were usually stronger than their unevolved counterparts.
While he would have to be careful not to force evolutions and make sure the steps occurred naturally since forcing the growth would actually hinder his team's growth, he could try to help speed up those steps and help prepare the conditions needed for them to evolve and mature. Training obviously played a major role in that maturation, but there were other things he could do to help aid proper growth. Nutrition was a major part of that. Making sure his team had the proper vitamins and minerals. He could increase food intake, much like he was with Titan to help him gain weight which was needed both for evolution and mastery over his attacks.
Ash glanced over at his team as they took aim at another line of ice pillars set up by Aurora. The crackle of fire and ice along with the sound of grinding stone snapped him out of his thoughts.
Speaking of their training.
His team unleashed another volley of attacks – except Typhoon who once again opted to rush at several of the pillars and slash at them with his claws.
Ash took a deep breath before cupping his hands together and issuing a long string of commands to his team.
"Orion, try prolonging the duration of your fire breath. I want to see if we can build the foundations for Flamethrower!" he exclaimed, looking at the fire type.
Orion whinnied and bobbed his head in acknowledgment.
Ash turned to Aurora. "Try making Ice Shard bigger!"
Aurora yipped in agreement.
"Titan, have you finished the extra food I gave you?" Ash asked.
The Larvitar nodded, pointing a stubby arm at his empty food dish.
"Good, I know you are having trouble eating the increased portions; but I want you to bulk up some more. It's an important step in your evolution but it also will let us work on true mastery of Rock Tomb and Stealth Rock."
Titan grumbled in acknowledgment.
"I guess since you finished eating we can change gears. I want you to work on Stealth Rock a bit. I want you to practice setting up shards of rock up around a target!"
Titan grunted in acknowledgment and sunk his jaws in the ground to pull up a chunk of earth to toss.
Ash sighed as he turned to Typhoon. "Will it kill you to work on your ranged combat instead?"
Typhoon hissed at him, annoyed by the mere suggestion.
"You can't fight everything in close combat, you'll have to use ranged techniques in battle. Overspecialization is not a good thing, you have to find a balance." Ash scolded. "You want to be the strongest, right?"
Typhoon's eyes narrowed, seemingly insulted that Ash had to even ask the question.
"Then you have to work on being more balanced. Not everything can be fought up close. Would you really want to trade blows with something like Machamp when a single punch could level you?"
Typhoon grunted reluctantly acquiescing to his trainer's advice. He shuffled backwards, taking ten to twelve steps back before cutting down several ice pillars with pressurized jets of water.
Ash grinned and flashed the water type a thumbs-up. "Good start, Typhoon, I appreciate the effort. Let's try it from further out."
Typhoon growled at him, causing Ash to raise his hands defensively.
"Hey, do you want to improve or not? This is for your benefit, remember?"
He begrudgingly took more steps back.
"Besides, if you work on your ranged combat and accuracy, I'll teach you something new and we'll go find some trainers to battle. Does that sound like a good deal?"
Typhoon's eyes lit up at the promise of a new technique and some battles.
"I want you to use Water Gun, but from further out because I want to test your accuracy on long-distance shots. Water Gun has lots of range because compressed water can go far."
Typhoon grumbled in acknowledgment before firing off a few jets of water, some of which hit their target and sliced through icicle targets while others missed wide of their mark.
Ash tilted his head. Not terrible, but he had room for improvement. They had some work to do. "Alright, Typhoon, again!" he instructed, pointing to several more icicles.
"Growlithe, Dragon Rage!" Ash's opponent commanded.
The fire type spewed a ball of blue flames at Typhoon, forcing the water type to dart to his left. He hissed at Growlithe taunting him for missing before charging at Growlithe again and lashing out at the puppy Pokemon with his claws. Growlithe narrowed ducked out of the way of the first slash, only to get raked in the face and chest by Typhoon's claws during his second and third strikes.
"Dragon Rage, follow it up with Flame Wheel!"
Growlithe growled, launching another ball of blue flames from its mouth at Typhoon. The Totodile snarled as the second fireball expanded to a larger size than the first due to the burst of air propelling it forward. The unnatural flames sizzled and crackled as they slammed into his chest. Typhoon winced and doused the fire with a weak stream of water only for Growlithe to leap into the air and somersault forward, rolling towards Typhoon cloaked in a ball of fire.
A huge mistake on their opponent's part. Typhoon loved a good brawl and longed for close quarter fights. A faint violet aura flicked through his body, sending a wave of adrenaline and weak draconic energy through him. Typhoon reached out his arms to intercept Growlithe and pushed back against it, shoving the fire type backwards and sending it tumbling across the battlefield.
Growlithe sprung to its feet again and sprung into the air to perform another Flame Wheel.
"Typhoon, finish this – Water Pulse."
The water type's crimson eyes glimmered with maniacal glee. He was finally getting an opportunity to use his new technique. Typhoon formed a large sphere of water in his left hand and held it with his claw. Typhoon swung his arm forward and practically punched with the Water Pulse, slamming it into Growlthe's head.
Steam hissed from the water and fire clashing before a loud bang echoed through the room. The psychic barriers around the battlefield flickered momentarily from the force of Water Pulse exploding while Growlithe twirled through the air from the explosive force and crashed into the barrier behind it with a loud thump.
Ash raised an eyebrow. He wasn't sure he ever saw anything quite like that. Typhoon didn't throw Water Pulse. He turned it into a weapon, literally punching opponents with it and using its explosive force to enhance his close range combat.
He shook his head. It wasn't how he instructed Typhoon to use Water Pulse when they trained to form and compress water, but how could he argue with the results? It certainly worked and Typhoon was comfortable with it. Besides, the water type earned the right to have some fun and fight the way he wanted after putting in hours of training to work on Water Gun and Water Pulse.
"Another round, uhh, Pete?" Ash asked, inwardly hoping he remembered his opponent's name correctly.
His opponent gave him an incredulous look. "Absolutely. Not." the trainer hissed, shuddering at the very thought as he returned Growlithe to its Poke Ball. "Those three were my best, I'm out."
Ash snorted. "Come on, one more?"
Pete ran his hand through his messy black hair. "I know when I'm beat, your team is strong," he replied, reaching into his wallet and pulling out several hundred dollars.
Ash tipped his cap and reached out, taking the money and tucking it into his pocket until he could put it in his wallet without prying eyes around.
"Anyone else want to take me on?" Ash asked, glancing around the room.
Typhoon stared down the trainers around him, practically daring them to accept the challenge.
He frowned as the other trainers opted to step back instead of stepping forward. It was clear he wouldn't be getting another challenge from the trainers at the Pokemon Center.
Not that Ash really needed to battle more.
Orion got some more practice with extending the duration of using Ember on something other than ice, Titan got some decent practice with Stealth Rock against moving targets, and Typhoon got the action he craved and even got to try out Water Pulse against an opponent.
He ceded the battlefield to another trainer and headed up the stairs. They made enough progress for one day and needed to prepare to hit the road again anyway.
They had more gyms to challenge, but more importantly he needed to plan their course since he wasn't entirely sure what city he wanted to visit next.
He sighed. Lots of research awaited him.
Ash looked over his shoulder, taking one last glance at Cerulean in the distance. Forty minutes of jogging and Cerulean was little more than a distant silhouette.
He was already moving onto the next adventure.
He just wished he had more time to spend in Cerulean since he probably would have visited the lighthouse out by the harbor, tried his hand at fishing, checked out the medicine shop, or stopped by one of the many markets in downtown Cerulean. He especially would have enjoyed checking out Cerulean Cave, if for no other reason than to be able to say he had explored the cavern and to check out if the rumors were true.
Supposedly the caves were inhabited by fairly rare Pokemon. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to spare and Cerulean Cave wasn't currently open to the general public due to water levels being higher than normal because of flooding.
Not that Cerulean Cave would have much to offer in terms of team members. With the amount of water running through the caves when it wasn't flooded by overflowing rivers, the wild Pokemon were most likely water types. He didn't exactly need another water type since he had Typhoon already. His best course of action at this point would be to focus on his next gym battle and to move onto the next adventure.
Not that he was entirely sure where that next adventure led. Hours of research at the Pokemon Center the previous day about the road ahead and his traveling options told him he was approaching a crossroads in his journey. He would have to make a decision on whether to head to Vermilion to face Surge or head to Celadon to face Erika.
There was no question that Surge or Erika made the most sense to challenge next due to the location of their gyms and their skill level. Neither were pushovers by any stretch of the imagination but compared to the other gym leaders were far less of a challenge.
However, Surge and Erika were from two entirely different schools of thought.
Lt. Surge was considered the stronger gym leader between them and his team had a reputation for their brute strength while Erika relied less on raw power, putting more of a focus on a tactical approach to battles with various spores and energy draining techniques.
Ash imagined his team might have difficulties with Surge's electric types. Aside from Titan, none of his team members resisted electricity or had armor that would help protect them from electrical shock. His team also lacked any specialized techniques that could give them an edge against Surge.
He wasn't even sure his team was ready to challenge the Vermilion Gym. Surge's Raichu and Electabuzz were the stuff of nightmares for rookies starting out their journeys because of their overwhelming physical strength. They didn't call him the "Lightning Bruiser" for nothing. While his team weren't necessarily the fastest like the name implied, his electric types all hit like a truck.
Erika's team, on the other hand, was a more favorable matchup for his team due to Aurora and Orion having type advantage and his other teammates having ways to defend themselves. Aurora's ice and Orion's fire would be devastating to a grass type. He also doubted Erika's Pokemon could shrug off the explosive force of Water Pulse or shake off getting cut on the razor sharp edges of Stealth Rock, even if grass types had type advantage over Typhoon and Titan.
A part of him told him that he should travel to Celadon and challenge Erika for the Rainbow Badge before heading to Vermilion to take on Surge. Battling Erika would likely be easier and give his team a chance to gain more battling experience before taking on Surge. However, another part of him – the voice in his mind that was prevailing – told him that they should head to Vermilion to take on Surge.
They hadn't spent time training and battling for no reason.
He prepared his team so they would be ready for a challenge. It was why they spent an entire week and a half on the outskirts of Rota doing nothing but heavy duty strength and speed drills along with dedicated sparring sessions from sunrise to sunset.
He hoped that the Cerulean Gym would be the challenge that tested their mettle, but it turned out to be a disappointment given its gym leader situation. The official gym leaders barely did their job and while Misty was skilled for her age, she was far from the sort of test of adversity he and his team were seeking out.
Perhaps, they had been looking to the wrong gym as a benchmark of true progress. The Vermilion Gym was far more fitting of that role given the fact that only skilled trainers could win at the gym. Surge was the first Kanto gym that trainers couldn't just bash their way through with pure power since his entire shtick was brute force and physicality. Trying to beat Surge at his own game was like the average guy deciding to get into a fistfight with a pro boxer.
Fortunately for Ash and his team, they didn't necessarily have to beat Surge with brute force. He had a couple plans to handle electric types, although he wasn't sure how well they would work.
He and his team worked on improvisation for a reason. He wanted his team to be able to handle themselves with and without his input and ultimately wanted to teach them to think outside the box. The path he had taken on his journey taught him the value of thinking through problems and adapting quickly.
Besides, they were taking the long route to Vermilion. Three days through the Vermilion Forest were more than enough time to get even more training under their belt.
Ash smiled at the sight of the forest canopy. Gold streaks of sunlight peeked through the tree tops and the leaves practically glowed a fluorescent green from the sunlight behind them. He couldn't help but be a bit disappointed they would be leaving the forest behind soon, at least according to his PokeNav's map.
He would miss looking up at the canopy and the multitude of trees along with the wildlife inhabiting them. He enjoyed watching Pidgey glide above the treetops and hearing their simple songs every morning. Seeing Rattata scamper up the side of trees carrying nuts or the occasional pine cone back to their nests amused him.
After forty-five minutes of a beautiful, morning nature walk, he finally reached his destination. He glanced around, taking a moment to take in his surroundings and get a feel for Vermilion City.
Traditional minka houses stretched across the horizon while blossoming cherry trees occupied the few spaces in between the rows of homes. A stiff wind picked up, carrying whiffs of the sea on the breeze and flurries of pink cherry blossoms.
He reached out his hand and caught a few of the petals in his palm. He had never seen so many cherry blossoms fluttering through the air before. It was like watching snowflakes in a blizzard.
Vermilion wasn't at all what he expected. In a way it reminded him of Cerulean, but it seemed more traditional than Cerulean. There were no signs of urbanization, Unovan style housing, or even apartment complexes like what he had grown accustomed to seeing in large Kanto cities. Vermilion lacked high-rise office buildings, gaudy restaurants, and large chain stores. It was far more traditional. If he didn't know better, he would have believed he was in Fuschia City rather than Vermilion.
He couldn't help but be a bit surprised since he expected it to be more modern since Vermilion was known for its commerce, marketplace, and income from tourism. He expected packed fruit markets, florists peddling local and exotic flowers, tables of jewelry made from minerals and pearls, and tents showing off imported goods from other regions.
Then again, he had yet to hit downtown Vermilion or the harbor. He imagined it would be busier and have more shops. The gym and the harbor were the main attractions of Vermilion City and attracted the most people.
An hour and a half of wandering through the neighborhoods of Vermilion and he finally reached downtown Vermilion and its bustling commercial district.
His eyes widened at the sight of colorful tents and people flocked around them. He expected markets and for them to be busy, but he didn't expect as many of them as there were or the amount of people visiting them as there were.
It did not take him long to figure out why crowds gathered. Faint whiffs of fruit, chocolate, and cinnamon wafted through the air and caused Ash's stomach to rumble. Countless children and adults alike swarmed to a tent with a red awning and left carrying a wide variety of crepes.
Other customers flocked to a yellow tent next to it where a faint crackle of hot oil bubbling could be heard and left with paper trays filled with takoyaki.
He stared at the food vendors longingly but forced himself to look away. As tempting as it was to stop for a bite to eat, the long lines discouraged him from stopping.
He didn't feel like waiting in line, especially so late in the day. It was already almost three in the afternoon and he hoped to stop by the gym to see if Surge was available to battle – if not now, to schedule a gym battle with him in the next few days.
He gave a quick look at some of the other booths set up on the street and couldn't help but be impressed by the variety. Shoppers rushed off with treasures ranging from the fresh fruits, flowers, and sea shells to more exotic things like evolutionary stones and training equipment. He paused, getting a glimpse of a display table with shiny floppy disks.
Were those TMs?
He sighed at the sight of at least fifteen to twenty trainers standing in front of the booth. Stopping to buy some TMs was even more tempting than the food booths, but still convinced himself he would have to pass due to the lines of other shoppers.
The bustling market was much more in line with what he expected to see. In fact, the crowds were far larger than he imagined. People spanned as far as the eye could see and every booth had scores of people waiting for their chance to shop. He inwardly wondered just how busy the gym would be if there were this many trainers and tourists shopping.
He supposed he could only know once he got there and checked his PokeNav to make sure he was still headed in the right direction. He felt a bit like a Magikarp swimming upstream the way he was pushing against a stream of people headed in the complete opposite direction. A couple times Ash still got caught up in the crowd and pulled away from his destination.
Each step to the gym felt like a battle and it took forever to finally reach his destination which made his long awaited arrival even more satisfying.
He grinned at the sight of the gym. Vermilion's gym was far nicer than what he expected based on the photos on the internet. The internet depicted the gym as a grungy, gray warehouse with lightning insignias decorating the front. Instead, the gym he was looking at was ornate with its massive golden stadium that dwarfed even Cerulean's large stadium and sparkled in the sunlight. It even had a giant insignia of the Thunder Badge adorning the front of the building which also seemed to sparkle in the sunlight.
The dramatic changes made him wonder if Surge had renovated the gym recently. Whatever the case, he had finally arrived at his destination which was what mattered. The first major challenge as a trainer was waiting for him.
Ash stepped through the automatic doors into the Vermilion Gym and gave his surroundings a once over. He winced at the sight of garish pink walls, ceilings, bookshelves behind the reception desk, and floor the flower pots for the plants were painted pink. It hurt to look at the decor because of how bright the color was. Just about the only thing that wasn't pink was the service desk and the chairs around the lobby.
His jaw dropped in unbelief. Why was Surge's entire gym lobby pink? The color scheme felt completely out of place given Surge's reputation and the theme of his gym. It looked far more befitting of a poorly decorated Pokemon Center than a gym. Judging by the perplexed looks from the other trainers waiting in the lobby, he wasn't the only one baffled by Surge's choice in decor.
"You ain't been 'round here before, have you?"
Ash flinched, caught off guard by a teenager sitting at the service desk with his feet kicked up on his desk. How had he not noticed him? His bright orange jacket should have given him away.
"I'll take that look as a yes," the teen chuckled. "Lemme tell you what you're going to do then, noob. Take a number and sit down, Surge will get to your whooping soon enough."
Ash frowned, but begrudgingly followed his instructions. As obnoxious as the teen was, he appeared to be in charge of clerical duties and judging by the Poke Balls clipped to his belt was likely a gym trainer for Surge.
He glanced at the small strip of white paper in his hand to read the number after pulling a ticket from the dispenser.
His eyes widened.
Five was a surprisingly low number given the time of day, how many visitors there seemed to be in the city, and the fact that there were only three other trainers in the lobby. Did Surge just not get many challengers?
A steel door Ash hadn't noticed due to it blending in with the wall swung open and a sobbing blonde rushed into the lobby with a singed, spasming Growlithe cradled in his arms.
Ash's heart sank upon noticing the charred fur, electrical burns, and nasty bruises on Growlithe's body just before the young trainer darted out the door.
"Next challenger!" a gruff voice from the intercom on the gym trainer's desk barked out.
The clerk grinned with sadistic glee and turned to the other trainers. "Next victim?" he laughed.
Ash looked around the room at the would-be challengers. None of them were enthusiastic about challenging Surge in light of seeing what Surge's team was capable of.
A brunette teen in a white school uniform fiddled with the chain of her golden necklace and reluctantly stood up.
"Come on, we don't have all day!" the secretary scolded. "You next?"
The brunette scrambled for the door, clearly wanting no part of a challenge with Surge.
The secretary turned to the remaining two trainers – a short black-haired kid in a sports coat and a lanky redhead in shorts and a t-shirt – that looked potentially a few months younger than he was. "You man enough to take on Surge?" he asked, pointing at the boys.
Both of them exchanged glances with each other and sprinted for the door like the room caught on fire, leaving Ash as the only trainer left.
"One noob left, huh? Well then, are you ready for this match or are you going to run like the rest of the cowards?"
Ash tensed and clenched his fists. He didn't appreciate the attitude or the edge of the gym trainer. "I came here to battle the gym leader and I don't intend to leave without a battle."
"Good luck then," the trainer jeered. "You'll need it."
"I won't need luck, I have skill." Ash retorted with a smirk.
"We'll see about that, won't we?" the gym trainer fired back.
"I'm waiting!" an impatient Surge barked.
"Sending in a challenger now," the gym trainer said into the intercom before pointing to the door the distressed blonde had bolted out from.
Ash took the cue to head into the gym, entering through the door and arriving in a very dimly lit hallway. He squinted to try to make out his surroundings, but to no avail. Even after his eyes adjusted to the dim light, all he could tell was that the hallway was long.
A few minutes of walking and dead silence – aside from the sound of his own footsteps – and he quickly arrived in what appeared like a workout room with far more conventional walls colored a warm rust-orange. It took him a while to count all the machinery between the weight benches, treadmills, ellipticals, climbing walls with netting made of rope, and punching bags. There was even exercise gear Ash was not as familiar with – something akin to a Nordic track and some brightly colored bands.
He continued through the exercise room until he reached a set of automatic doors that opened, giving way to another long hallway that was far brighter than the first one. He grimaced at the familiar sight of walls painted with whatever shade of horrendous pink Surge chose for the lobby, although didn't focus on it long due to the faint echo of voices.
Ash's heart sank upon reaching the end of the hallway and arriving on the battlefield of the Vermilion Gym. He hadn't expected packed bleachers on both sides of the battlefield since he didn't expect people to be watching his battle against Surge. It was one thing to see packed stadiums, but to stand in the midst of them was something entirely different.
A buff blonde man smiled at him and gave him a cordial wave. "Looks like I got another challenger, for a second I thought we didn't have any more waiting," he laughed, folding his arms against his chest.
"You have one more," Ash muttered, his voice far weaker than he wanted it to be.
"Hope you're better than the last challengers!" Surge boomed, prompting some laughter from the crowd. "Brought some active duty Pokemon Rangers in so they could watch a few battles and was hoping for someone halfway decent to show up today to give them a real show. Think you're up for the challenge?"
"I don't…" he stopped himself and took a deep breath to try to compose himself. His heart was racing and the adrenaline flowing through his veins had him practically trembling which probably looked absolutely pathetic. "Yes, I think we can handle this,"
Surge shook his head. "You think? That doesn't sound very confident, what are you doing here if you're not sure you can handle this? Now, I asked if you were up to the challenge...are you up for the challenge?"
His mind immediately drifted back to Rota and their strength training, to short spars at the Pokemon Center, and to hours of work put into Typhoon working on ranged combat with his teammates. Crowd or not, he was ready for this. They would rise to the challenge.
"I said I'm ready, Lieutenant!" Ash shouted.
The gym leader grinned manically. "That's more like it, let's see if you can back it up."
"What are the rules?" Ash asked.
Surge snorted. "If you don't know standard gym rules then I don't know what to tell you. Standard Indigo League protocol states a battle is determined when one side's Pokemon are unable to battle, whether through incapacitation or defeat."
Ash scowled. "I meant how many Pokemon each side will use," he groaned.
"How many badges you got, runt? Let's start there,"
"Two,"
Surge nodded in acknowledgment. "Only two?" he muttered, pausing momentarily. "Usually I would go one on one, but I want to give these fine folks something to watch so how's three vs three sound?"
"Three vs three?" Ash echoed.
"Unless you don't think you can handle that, runt,"
"No, no, that's fine!" he insisted. "I'm game!"
"Good, then shut up and let's begin," Surge replied, turning his back to Ash and making his way over to his side of the battlefield. He waved his arms upwards, causing the crowd to erupt into cheers and shouts.
Ash covered his ears in hopes of blocking out even a tiny bit of the sound threatening to burst his eardrums.
He never realized how disruptive sound could be. His ears hurt, he could barely focus on his opponent, and the entire building was shaking. He took another deep breath to refocus and reluctantly lowered his hands from his ears since they would not be of much use in blocking out the sound.
Surge gave him a smug look, seemingly amused by his difficulty acclimating to the noise. Ash shot the gym leader a dirty look only for him to ignore the glare as he reached for a Poke Ball clipped to his belt. Surge mouthed something that Ash couldn't make out and tapped the release button on the Poke Ball twice. A feline Pokemon with silky blue fur and a matted black mane emerged onto the battlefield in a flash of light, prompting the crowd to scream even louder.
His knees trembled. The noise was unbearable and it took immense concentration just to think. Ash took another deep breath to compose himself and fixed his eyes on Surge's Pokemon as it scraped the ground with its front paws. Yellow sparks flashed from the tips of its claws with each scrape.
Ash raised an eyebrow. He wasn't sure he was familiar with whatever Surge had sent out. The closest comparison he could think of was Shinx, but the fur color wasn't quite right. Judging by the sparks leaping from its claws would be an issue. Not only were its claws razor sharp but the electricity appeared to flow from its claws. A single swipe from one of those would not be good.
He reached into his pocket and whipped out his Pokedex to scan the mysterious Pokemon in hopes of learning more about the feline Pokemon to get a better idea of what he was facing.
"Luxio – the Spark Pokemon. Strong electricity courses through the tips of its sharp claws. Upon encountering an opponent, this Pokémon prepares for battle by extending its claws, which can put out 1,000,000 volts of electricity."
Ash nodded. Just as he expected, the claws were going to be an issue.
Fortunately, he had a plan. Electricity couldn't electrocute what couldn't be electrocuted. He reached to his waist for a Poke Ball and unclipped it from his belt. A quick tap of the release caused the device to expand and was followed by a second tap that caused the device to open.
Titan emerged in a flash of light and immediately cloaked himself in Iron Defense in response to the roar of the crowd. The Larvitar dropped to the ground and hissed, unnerved by the sound, vibrations, and amount of people in the crowd.
Ash tentatively reached for his Poke Ball again. Had he made the right choice? Was the stage too big for the timid rock type? Was the noise too much? Titan had an advantage over Luxio since his armor would shield him from getting shredded by the feline's claws and the electricity it could generate, but Ash wasn't entirely sure he could handle the pressure.
"Think you can handle it?" Ash shouted at the top of his lungs in hopes of Titan actually being able to hear him.
Titan grumbled at the sight of Luxio and staggered to his feet. Judging by the lack of protest on Titan's part and the dip to the ground to reach for a chunk of earth, the rock type had no objections to participating in the battle.
"Luxio, Spark!"
Not that he would have a chance to back out now, Luxio lunged at the rock type.
"Look out!" Ash warned, only to find his voice was largely drowned out by the crowd.
Luxio slashed at Titan's face with an electrified claw. Titan winced, his reflex born from reflex and instinct rather than pain. The Larvitar cloaked himself in a faint veil of light, channeling weak energy through his body to reinforce his already durable armor and batted Luxio away with a mass of earth pulled up from the ground.
Luxio whined as it skidded across the ground and righted itself before circling his foe like a predator looking for an opening.
"Spark!" Surge called out again.
Luxio sprung at his foe again, this time from behind and drew its paw back to swipe at Titan.
"Behind you!"
Titan pivoted and grunted as he ripped up a chunk of earth from the battlefield to fend off his attacker.
Luxio yelped as a chunk of earth smacked it in the face and fell on top of the feline Pokemon as it flew through the air before hitting the ground with a thud.
Luxio thrashed and shook the boulder off before sprinting back on its feet only for Titan to rumble forward and let out a shriek loud enough to still be heard over the sound of the cheering rangers. Luxio snarled and backed away from the rock type only for him to seize upon the opening. Larvitar ripped up boulders from the ground with his powerful jaws once more before slamming his fists into them to fling them at Luxio.
Luxio darted to its right, just narrowly avoiding the first boulder only for a second boulder to smack it in the head and stagger it before a third slammed into its side. The electric type hissed and tumbled across the ground before somehow managing to pop back up on its feet.
Luxio's dexterity was insane. Ash wasn't sure he'd seen anything like it.
"That's all you got, pipsqueak? It's gonna take more than that to bring us down!"
"Titan, Stealth Rock!"
Titan shattered multiple boulders and flung the jagged debris through the air, sending sharp shards of stone raining down around his foe and trapping the electric type in a labyrinth of sharp rocks.
Ash smirked. Boxed in.
Lt. Surge mouthed something he couldn't read, let alone hear over the crowd.
Luxio clawed at the ground repeatedly before a bright yellow cloak of electricity enveloped the electric type. Titan hurled more Rock Tomb boulders at Luxio only for the electric type to unleash a radiant beam of electricity that bore a hole through both of them before slamming into an Iron Defense shielded Titan.
While Titan's armor managed to shield him from the most dangerous aspects of the electrical current – they definitely wouldn't have to worry about nerve paralysis or nerve damage from the blast – the heat of the electricity singed Titan's armor.
Ash's eyes widened. Singing rock with heat wasn't normal, especially for an electric type technique. Just what had Luxio done to generate that level of power?
He didn't have time to piece together an answer as Luxio's first beam of electricity was followed up by channeling an ominous green electrical current through its body.
Luxio fired an even stronger, prolonged beam of electricity that practically disintegrated the shards of rock around it, freeing it from its confinement. The electric type charged at Titan and cloaked itself in golden electricity again before unleashing a third beam of electricity far more powerful than the first two, prompting the Larvitar to pull up a hunk of earth with his jaws to drop in front of himself in hopes of shielding himself from the electricity. The powerful beam of electricity seared through the boulder and cleaved it in half before striking Titan in the chest and leaving his armor charred where the blast had struck.
The Larvitar grimaced and retaliated with several volleys of Rock Tomb only for Luxio to slice through them all with another electrical blast.
Ash frowned. Luxio was getting stronger with each subsequent attack. Whatever they had done to amp up Luxio's power output was allowing its electricity to carve through stone and judging by the rising power of each blast, it was likely only a matter of time until the electric type could cut through Titan's armor with one of those beams since it was already charring it.
Ash cupped his hands together to amplify his voice and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Go on the defensive, surround yourself with boulders!"
Titan nodded and tore up as much earth as he could to form a very crude wall in front of him only for Luxio to cleave the boulders in two with yet another beam of electricity.
Ash flinched. The wall hadn't even bought them a second of respite. If they wanted to beat Luxio, they'd have to take the fight straight to the feline Pokemon.
"Titan, distract with Screech, pummel Luxio with Rock Tomb!" Ash shouted.
The Larvitar shrieked at the top of his lungs, letting out a blood curdling cry so loud it could be heard over the top of the roaring crowd. Luxio stumbled backwards from the overwhelming noise, giving Titan time to launch a boulder that hit it in the head. The feline dropped to the ground and barely had time to recover from the blow before several more chunks of earth rained down around it, burying the electric type in a mound of stone and dirt.
Titan was overwhelming the electric type. Something wasn't right, it couldn't be this easy. Surge was known for a relentless offensive battling style and was far too experienced to be bullied by such a simple approach. He had to have at least one more trick up his sleeve.
The crackle of electricity echoed through the room and Luxio broke free from the stone piled on top of it before scraping its claws across the ground. Electricity coalesced around the feline Pokemon to form a golden coat of armor.
"Wild Charge?" Ash muttered.
Luxio barreled towards Titan and lowered its shoulder, ramming into the Larvitar at full speed. Ash shielded his eyes from the brightness as yellow sparks cascaded across Titan's entire body.
Despite Titan's armor and the additional protection granted from Iron Defense, the impact launched the rock type across the room and into one of the telekinetic barriers around the battlefield with a loud crack.
Ash shut his eyes tight from the psychic barrier by the sidelines flash blinding him. Titan plummeted to the ground with a thud. Ash opened his eyes to find the rock type lying on the ground, his entire body charred from the intense heat produced by Luxio's electricity and tiny cracks throughout his armored body.
The crowd roared again, cheering Luxio on and celebrating its victory. Ash shook his head and gave the crowd a disgusted look. He glanced over at an incredulous Surge. Apparently both he and the gym leader were the only two people perceptive enough to notice Titan rocking back and forth on the ground. Ash clenched his fist. This definitely wasn't over yet.
The crowd immediately fell silent from the sight of Titan rolling onto his stomach and willing himself onto his feet with his stubby arms.
Beaten, battered, his legs trembling from exhaustion, and gasping for breath – the rock type kept himself upright by sheer force of will. Judging by the rapid, shallow breaths of Luxio, the electric type didn't have much fight left in it either.
Using the last of his strength, Titan pulled two massive chunks of earth from the battlefield and launched the boulders across the battlefield. Luxio bore a hole through one with another focused beam of electricity only for the second to slam into its skull.
Between the exhaustion from its offensive and the jarring blow to the skull, the feline succumbed to the blow to the head and fell over unconscious.
"I think I should have been asking you whether you were ready for this battle. Looks like one down and two to go, unless you want to bow out now." Ash snarked, knowing just how much the gym leader enjoyed trash talk.
If it was banter and bravado he wanted, it was what he would get.
A portion of the crowd gasped at the remark and booed him while the other half started cheering for him, seemingly inspired by his confidence.
Surge cracked a smile, seemingly enjoying the turn of events and the confidence. "Laugh it up, runt!" his booming voice echoed, still somewhat distinguishable through the growing crowd noise. "Let's see if you're still laughing when I bring out the big guns!"
Ash snorted and watched Surge reach for a Poke Ball. He quickly followed suit after returning Titan to his Poke Ball and reaching for a second Poke Ball. He ran his thumb across the emblem of an orange flame etched on the front of the capsule.
Orion greeted his trainer with a prideful whinny.
"Get ready, Orion, we're in for a tough fight. Think you're up to the challenge?"
The Ponyta stamped his hooves and trotted around in a circle. Ash grinned. Always passionate and ready to go. He couldn't help but love his enthusiasm. He certainly would need it along with his speed and agility against Raichu.
Unfortunately, Raichu wasn't what emerged from Surge's Poke Ball. Instead, a beetle with massive blue and yellow pincers protruding from its face emerged from the Poke Ball in a flash of light.
Ash reached for his Pokedex to scan mysterious Pokemon in hopes of learning more about it. The device lit up, showing a picture of the beetle Pokemon on the screen and relaying the data entry in its familiar robotic monotone.
"Vikavolt, the stag beetle Pokemon. Vikavolt has an organ that generates electricity in its abdomen. It concentrates energy in its strong jaws and fires off powerful jolts of electricity and flusters opponents with acrobatic flying maneuvers. This creates an opening for it to deliver attacks."
Ash tilted his head. He hadn't ever seen a Pokemon with capabilities like this and he certainly hadn't heard of Surge using this one before. Not that he'd have to change tactics too much, even if it had mobility – bug types generally didn't handle fire well.
"Orion, Flame Charge!" Ash ordered.
The fire type reared up on his back legs for a moment and galloped ahead at full soeed.
Orion's fiery mane glowed brighter before flames engulfed his entire body and shrouded him in a cloak of fire. The Ponyta lowered his shoulder slightly and prepared to ram his foe. Vikavolt beat its wings to take to the sky and avoid the incoming Ponyta.
Or at least it would have if Orion wasn't upon the bug type before it could get more than a few inches off the ground. Vikavolt shrieked in pain as Orion's flaming body made contact with its own. The heat and flames singed its exoskeleton around its head and the force of the impact launched the beetle backwards towards the psychic barriers behind it.
Vikavolt kicked its back legs to rebound off the wall and darted forward. Both Ash and Orion winced, blinded by the glow of the barriers around the battlefield.
"Fry 'em with a Thunderbolt!" Surge exclaimed.
The pungent scent of ozone filled the air. Sparks leapt from the very tips of its jaws and surged forward in the shape of an arc of lightning.
Orion veered to his left just barely avoiding the lightning bolt before a slow, crackling wave of electricity sailed towards him.
Orion made a wide, looping turn to narrowly evade the wave of electricity and rushed at his foe again with the adrenaline surging through his veins making him a step or two faster.
"Lightning Cutter!" Surge boomed.
Instead of shying away from Orion, Vikavolt stretched its pincers wide before channeling electricity through them.
Orion slammed into Vikavolt head-on only for Vikavolt to clamp its electrified pincers down on Orion's chest, sending a powerful jolt of electricity through his entire body.
Orion whinnied in pain and thrashed hoping to shake himself free only for Vikavolt to clamp down harder. The fire type huffed in frustration and shook harder to try to get Vikavolt to let go, but it only caused the bug type to discharge more electricity.
"Not so tough now that you can't run!" Surge taunted.
Ash frowned. It was clear they wouldn't shake Vikavolt by force and he wasn't sure how much more electricity Orion could take. Orion was trembling, his knees about to buckle due to the current flowing through him.
"Blaze Rush!" Ash exclaimed.
Instead of shaking Vikavolt, Orion charged ahead with the combined force of Skull Bash and Flame Charge in hopes of bashing the bug against the telekinetic walls around the battlefield.
Vikavolt released its grip immediately and climbed into the air to avoid being smashed against the wall.
Orion veered sharply to the right and changed direction, clipping the edge of the psychic barriers in the process and causing them to flare up. Vikavolt beat its wings and pursued its foe, firing off beams of electricity similar to the blasts that Luxio fired at Titan but each being far larger than anything Luxio used. Orion darted back and forth, not only to evade the electrical attacks but to avoid the craters left in the battlefield from Titan pulling up chunks of the ground.
Orion turned his head back and spewed a gout of fire into the air, aiming for Vikavolt's head. The beetle Pokemon veered quickly to its left before the flames could hit. Orion unleashed another weaker, prolonged plume of fire. Vikavolt twirled gracefully through the air with a barrel roll before firing several lightning bolts that hit the ground with a loud crack, leaving scorched earth where they struck.
True to the Pokédex's description, Vikavolt was surprisingly agile. What it lacked in speed, the electric type more than made up for with its lateral movement.
Orion quickly peeled around, making another wide looping turn just before reaching the very edge of the battlefield in front of Ash.
"Orion, remember your target practice! You have to aim where your opponent will be, not where it is positioned."
The Ponyta bobbed his head in acknowledgment and fired weak flames into the sky that forced Vikavolt to its left with another barrel roll. Orion followed up the initial attack with a far more powerful blast of fire aimed where Vikavolt was supposed to be next.
Vikavolt screeched as the searing flames hit it in the face and washed over its body. A massive ball of electricity formed at the tips of Vikavolt's antlers.
"Orion, look out!" Ash warned.
The fire type looked up to see a large sphere of electricity and darted away from the electrical attack with the aid of Flame Charge before the ball of electricity hit the ground.
Ash winced startled both from the blinding flash and the loud bang accompanying it. He gasped at the sight of how much scorched earth was left from the explosion and made a mental note to avoid letting one of those balls of electricity hit.
Not that it mattered, he noticed something else more important. He couldn't help but notice how difficult it was for the beetle to line up a clear shot. The Pokedex was right. Its antlers seemed like they were not only where it channeled electricity but that it aimed with its antlers. Whatever its antlers pointed to was where the electricity went.
Ash smirked. That meant it was limited – it could only attack from the front and it would be vulnerable from its flanks and from behind.
"Orion, circle Vikavolt, put the heat on," he commanded,
The Ponyta whinnied in acknowledgment and circled Vikavolt, making sure to stay to its flanks while repeatedly unleashing his fiery breath upon the beetle Pokemon.
The electric type veered away from the first two gouts of fire with nimble barrel rolls but ultimately failed to react to Orion circling again before leaping through the air and slamming into Vikavolt while cloaked with a Flame Charge.
Vikavolt beat its wings to right itself and charged up another cannonball of electricity, taking aim at Orion.
Orion zagged out of the way and circled Vikavolt again, striking it from the side with yet another Ember attack.
Each time Orion used his speed advantage to position himself and flanked the electric type, it tried to make long, looping turns that left it vulnerable much like Ash expected. While it had great lateral movement, every time Vikavolt tried to line up a shot to retaliate it left the beetle vulnerable.
"Bug Buzz!" Surge exclaimed.
Vikavolt's wings shimmered with a radiant light as it beat them faster to produce a hideous high pitched whine. The beetle beat its wings faster and faster, causing the sound to get louder and louder.
Ash covered his ears and Orion voiced his own annoyance with an aggravated whinny.
"Clip its wings!"
Orion unleashed his strongest stream of fire yet, aimed for its wings that caused Vikavolt to climb higher into the air. Orion fired a second stream of fire that made his foe twirl through the air to its right to narrowly avoid the Ember attack.
Orion unleashed one last Ember, forcing Vikavolt to its left to position the beetle just where he wanted it to be.
Orion cloaked himself in surging flames and sprinted to the barriers at the very edge of the battlefield before kicking off the wall and launching himself into Vikavolt.
Vikavolt plummeted to the ground with a thud, its wings incinerated by the intense heat of Orion's flaming body scorching them.
Much to Ash's surprise, Surge seemed to anticipate the move and grinned.
"Impressive, I admire the plan; but you've had your fun. Playtime is over, runt," Surge remarked. "Finish this with Circuit Breaker!"
Portions of the crowd gasped and cheered at the mention of the technique, prompting Ash to frown.
"Orion, look out!" he alerted, uneasy about what would follow the command.
Vikavolt sunk its antlers into the ground and a large swath of the battlefield around Vikavolt sparked and crackled with electricity, including the ground beneath Orion. The fire type cried out in agony and convulsed from the overwhelming electrical current flowing through him.
"Up!" Ash ordered.
Orion forced his legs to work, using all his strength to spring himself into the air before cloaking himself in flame once more as he descended. The beetle shrieked and thrashed as Orion landed on top of it, hoping to throw its attacker off.
Orion ignited his body with all the intensity of a raging inferno, prompting a hideous screech from Vikavolt as the flames and heat scorched the beetle beneath him. The beetle slowly began to lose its vigor and will to fight due to the searing fire burning it. Sensing the tide of battle turning, Orion repeatedly bludgeoned it in the head with his powerful front hooves in hopes of sealing his victory.
Realizing the situation, Surge raised Vikavolt's Poke Ball to return it to the safety of stasis.
Orion huffed and stomped his hooves on the ground in frustration, seemingly irritated by being robbed of the chance to finish the fight and claim an outright win.
Large portions of the crowd that had originally been entirely in favor of Surge began to cheer for Ash instead, apparently impressed enough by his showing to support him.
Not that he really cared. The sentiment was appreciated but his focus was locked in on the battle and Surge more than on the crowd. He gave the gym leader a puzzled look, somewhat confused by why he withdrew Vikavolt. It wasn't like Surge to recall a Pokemon or concede without a fight.
Surge frowned. "Not a good matchup, it was over the moment you clipped Vikavolt's wings. That Ponyta is too fast." he explained before switching out Vikavolt's Poke Ball for another Poke Ball from his belt. "Unfortunately for you, runt, you won't have the luxury of a favorable matchup against this one."
Electabuzz emerged from the orb in a bright flash of light and twirled its arms.
"Electabuzz?" he muttered under his breath. He figured Surge would resort to either Electabuzz or Raichu, although he was inwardly hoping for Raichu. Electabuzz was bulkier and could take more punishment than Raichu. After taking a fair amount of damage from Circuit Breaker, Ash wasn't sure how much Orion had left in him.
Circuit Breaker left him with some electrical burns and Orion seemed to be breathing heavier than usual, although he wasn't sure how much was from excitement along with the adrenaline pumping through his system and how much was fatigue.
Fortunately for them, it wasn't anywhere near as fast as Raichu. Orion would still have a major speed advantage.
"Overwhelm them with your speed, Ember to pressure and strike." Ash instructed.
Orion whinnied and galloped full speed towards his foe while cloaked with Flame Charge, closing in on it in a matter of seconds. The Ponyta exhaled wisps of fire aimed at Electabuzz's face meant to probe its weaknesses.
Electabuzz jumped out of the way of the initial attack and hurled jagged lightning bolts at its foe in retaliation that proved to be far too slow to even remotely come close to hitting Orion. The Ponyta quickly circled his opponent and unleashed more flames from the side and from behind.
The fire swept over Electabuzz, causing it to hiss in pain.
"Rain Dance!" Surge grunted.
Electabuzz thumped its chest and exhaled a strange mist mingled with electrical current that rose into the air. Little by little the mist expanded into ominous clouds above the battlefield that released a torrential downpour.
Orion looked up and let out a whinny with an air of frustration to it. Ash grimaced as the driving rains soaked the battlefield and weakened the flames of Orion's mane along with the fire cloak around his body. Surge found a way to dampen their spirits, but fortunately they still had the speed advantage. They'd just have to change how they used it.
Orion circled around again, cloaking himself with a very weak Flame Charge. What little heat he produced invigorated him and the adrenaline surging through his body made him even faster. Even with the Rain Dance, Orion was an untouchable blur streaking about the battlefield.
Orion darted around Electabuzz repeatedly pelting the electric Pokemon with weak wisps of fire and occasionally ramming it from the side or hitting it from behind.
Electabuzz occasionally threw a wild haymaker at Orion or fired off a few lightning bolts in retaliation, but they never even came close to hitting and the ones that actually landed only hit Double Team illusionary copies.
Ash smirked. He knew they wouldn't be able to sustain the speed difference forever since the crash would soon catch up to the Ponyta but until then they would be virtually untouchable.
Surge let out a booming laugh. "A little stale don't you think, runt?" he taunted. "Besides, make no mistake, he's no Vikavolt!"
Ash flinched both from the remark and the sight of Electabuzz firing off blue rings of electricity that closed in on the real Orion almost instantaneously.
Orion's eyes widened, caught off guard by his opponent's attack. The fire type came to a halt and tumbled across the battlefield. Orion's legs twitched involuntarily from the electrical shock and he stumbled every time he tried to get back on his feet only to fall back down again, prompting a frustrated whinny from him.
"Finish this with Circuit Breaker!" Surge ordered.
Ash paled. Electabuzz slammed his hands on the ground. A powerful current traveled through the ground much like the one unleashed by Vikavolt, but thanks to the water from the battlefield there was nowhere on the battlefield that was safe.
Orion shook and spasmed from the overwhelming electrical shock until he crumpled on the ground unconscious. Ash frowned at the sight of Orion lying on the ground with electrical burns covering his body and suddenly realized why the Growlithe he saw in the lobby was covered in burns. Orion certainly hadn't been the first to fall to Circuit Breaker.
Now it was their job to figure out how to overcome it and still pull off a win.
Ash reached for Orion's Poke Ball and returned the fire type to the safety of stasis. "You did great. Get some rest, you've earned it." he whispered.
Ash clipped Orion's Poke Ball to his belt and took a deep breath. He cleared the first two challenges of Luxio and Vikavolt, but now was left with one more challenge in Electabuzz. More importantly, he faced the question of who he would choose to clear the final hurdle.
His hand instinctively reached for Aurora's Luxury Ball. Was it even a question of who to use? He hated to rely upon the ice type so much; but did he really have a choice?
Typhoon lacked the experience of Aurora and he definitely wasn't keen on having the Totodile try to deal with Circuit Breaker. If anything, Aurora offered the best chance of actually disrupting the technique with Disable and Confuse Ray.
Ash tapped the release on Aurora's Luxury Ball, causing his starter to emerge on the battlefield in a flash of light.
"Aurora, it's just you and me now,"
The Alolan Vulpix pressed a paw up against the psychic barrier around the battlefield and yipped to greet her trainer.
"We're up against Surge's Electabuzz, he's strong and he has a technique he can use to electrify the entire battlefield thanks to the rain." he said just loud enough for her to hear him. "We're going to need a way to counter it beyond Disable and Confuse Ray."
If only he could figure out just how to negate Circuit Breaker.
Aurora turned to face her opponent and scampered a bit further out on the battlefield. The cold air radiating from her body created thin layers of ice on the battlefield beneath her wherever she stepped, prompting Ash's eyes to widen. He hadn't stopped to consider how Aurora could work with the soaked battlefield and the rain, but seeing her mere presence freeze the soaked battlefield gave him ideas.
Surge snorted. "Are you going to issue a command or are you going to stand there staring at stuff?"
Ash opened his mouth but before he could speak a command or answer, Surge pointed directly at Aurora. "Time's up, my move. Electabuzz, Shock Wave!"
Ash clenched his fists, slightly irritated by Surge's impatience.
Familiar iridescent blue rings of electricity sailed outward from Electabuzz's hands and locked onto their target instantly. Aurora winced as electricity coursed through her body, causing her to stumble.
"End this with Circuit Breaker!"
"Freeze-Dry!"
Aurora righted herself and stood up straight before she took a deep breath, inhaling as much air as she possibly could.
Electabuzz lowered his sparking hands to the ground to flood the battlefield with electricity once more. An intense gale of supercooled air to freeze the rain saturated ground beneath Electabuzz and create a layer of ice on the ground just before he touched the battlefield.
Yellow sparks crackled from his hands but failed to travel through the ice.
Ash smirked. He was glad to have remembered Professor Oak's science lessons. Ice didn't exactly conduct electricity. Ice lacked the movement of ions found in good conductors of electricity.
Surge gritted his teeth. "Clever, but you're only delaying your loss! Shock Wave!"
Electabuzz fired off several more of the glowing rings of electricity far larger than any previous ones he had fired off previously.
"Shield with Ice Shard!" Ash shouted.
Aurora formed a massive chunk of ice and held it in front of her like a shield with telekinesis to block the electrical attack.
"Isn't that getting a bit stale, Lieutenant? I mean, Aurora has counters to this unlike Orion." Ash mocked, echoing the taunt used by the gym leader.
Surge let out a booming laugh and shook his head. "You're full of surprises, pipsqueak, but I like it. You're not boring!" he complimented. "Electabuzz, put the pressure on, Thunder Punch!"
The electric type grunted his acknowledgment and barreled towards his foe, changing tactics from ranged attacks to close quarters combat. Electabuzz threw a wild right hook which Aurora blocked with her Ice Shard shield.
Aurora winced as fragments of ice flew everywhere from the force of the Thunder Punch connecting with the ice.
A second right hook prompted Aurora to tilt her head to the left. Electabuzz reared back again and swung a third wild haymaker with his left to try to hit Aurora in the face. The Alolan Vulpix tilted her head back to the right just in time to avoid the full brunt of his electrified fist with his hand only brushing against her whiskers.
Aurora retaliated with a quick spin, attempting to sweep her opponent's legs out from underneath him with her now glowing tails. Electabuzz recognized the maneuver and jumped up, leaping backwards to put more distance between them.
"Circuit Breaker!"
"Turn this place into an ice skating rink!"
Aurora exhaled again and turned her head back and forth, making sure the cold gusts blew over every inch of the battlefield around Electabuzz to cover it in ice just as the electric type unleashed more electricity into the ground.
Aurora slid across the ice and fired off Ice Shards and Powder Snow to harass her foe, occasionally rebounding off one of the psychic barriers around the battlefield to change direction.
Electabuzz swatted away an Ice Shard and shielded himself with a barrier to block a weak wisp of chilly wind aimed for his face only for Aurora to position herself behind him. She formed a small ball of ice and hurled it at the back of Electabuzz's head, staggering him momentarily.
"Enough of this, Dynamic Punch!" Surge barked.
The electric type slammed his fist on the ground, hitting the ground with three successive punches that sent powerful shockwaves through the ground that shattered all the ice on the battlefield.
"Circuit Breaker!"
Ash frowned. This was becoming the definition of insanity. Repetition in which Surge was expecting a different result.
Electabuzz whirred and slammed his hands on the ground to unleash the devastating technique, pumping the battlefield with thousands of bolts of electricity once more. At least he would have, if not for Aurora's eyes flickering with a faint violet aura that locked Electabuzz in place long enough to fire off a blast of subzero air.
Electabuzz grunted and groaned, trying to break free from Aurora's telekinetic hold on him to touch the battlefield with his hands. Aurora's blast of frosty air hit the electric type with the bulk of the cold air focused on her foe's arms to cover them in ice.
Electabuzz hissed and slammed his hands on the ground in frustration, trying to chip and shatter the ice covering his hands and arms.
"Get in closer and use Freeze-Dry!" Ash shouted, changing tactics.
Aurora closed the distance between her and Electabuzz, circling around him much like Orion had done and unleashing an even stronger blast of frigid air that swept over Electabuzz's entire body. The coating of ice on the electric Pokemon grew thicker due to the cold air and a thin layer of ice formed on the rest of his body. Drenched fur froze as he expected; but more importantly, his opponent couldn't use Circuit Breaker if he was frozen.
"Ice counter!"
The electric type created a small glowing dome of energy around himself to shield himself from the rain and keep in heat as he channeled fire into his fists to melt the ice buildup on his body.
"Aurora, don't let him thaw himself!" Ash exclaimed.
She yipped in acknowledgment and unleashed another gale of supercooled air that did little to Electabuzz's Protect, making her change tactics. Aurora formed a massive sphere of shimmering, pink light and hurled it at the dome before following it up with a second and third Moonblast far larger than the first.
The first explosion rendered cracks in the protective dome, the second shattered it, and the third exploded in Electabuzz's face sending the electric type careening across the battlefield.
"Impressive, but not enough!" Surge laughed. "Shock Wave!"
Electabuzz righted itself as he skidded backwards. Using the psychic barrier to spring off of, he rushed towards Aurora before unleashing another series of specialized rings of electricity for what seemed like the umpteeth time.
She countered with Freeze-Dry which met Shock Wave head on and weakened it until it was practically little more than weak static electricity, allowing the ice type to shrug off the electricity rather easily.
"Circuit Breaker!" Surge commanded.
Ash raised an eyebrow. How many more times could he fire off electricity with how liberally Electabuzz had used it?
"Freeze-Dry!" Ash shouted.
Electabuzz practically grinned, slamming his hands on the ground and pumping thousands of bolts of electricity into the ground. Aurora countered with her strongest gale yet, creating a small ice wall to disrupt the flow of the electrical current.
Electabuzz hissed and charged ahead, shattering the wall with a Dynamic Punch and causing jagged pieces of ice to rain down across the battlefield.
Ash frowned. They had a problem. He wasn't sure how much longer Aurora could last. Using Moonblast and Freeze-Dry so much had her winded if her panting and her tails being down were any indication. At this point, Confuse Ray was off the table to help clinch the win due to how tiring the technique could be.
Surge's Electabuzz, on the other hand, kept coming and showed no sign of fatigue.
Aurora ducked under a Thunder Punch. narrowly sidestepped a Dynamic Punch, blocked a Shock Wave with a large Ice Shard. She hurled the ball of ice at Electabuzz's head only for the electric type to leap out of the way and fire off another Shock Wave.
She countered, unleashing another Freeze-Dry that caused the rings of homing attack to fizzle with a blast of air weaker than the previous ones. Electabuzz swung his fists wildly, jabbing and swinging haymakers at Aurora and forcing her to weave back and forth erratically.
Her movements slowed as the barrage of punches continued before she ultimately took a Dynamic Punch to the chest. She yelped, flung through the air towards Ash's side of the battlefield. Aurora twirled and landed on her feet, digging her claws into the dirt to stop her skid backwards.
They had a challenge and one that needed to be solved fast. They need to figure out a way to turn the tide of the battle and finish Electabuzz without completely draining Aurora, especially since Electabuzz was barreling towards their side of the battlefield.
Ash's eyes scanned his surroundings and fixated on the craters left in the battlefield filled with ice chips and water.
Why hadn't he thought of that earlier?
"Aurora, Electabuzz could use an ice bath," he said just loud enough she could hear his plan.
Aurora nodded and yipped in amusement, catching onto his plan and charging towards Electabuzz.
"Thunder Punch, Electabuzz, beat 'em into submission!"
The electric type drew back his right arm to throw an electrified punch aimed for Aurora's head. She backpedaled and ducked underneath her foe's fist before splitting into four – creating three illusionary clones alongside herself to throw Electabuzz off.
"Shock Wave!" Surge commanded.
The electric type unleashed the homing attack once more with the rings of electricity locking onto the real Aurora.
Aurora countered with a weak stream of cold air that caused the attack to fizzle out enough to take most of its bite away before it struck.
"Fire Punch!"
Electabuzz cloaked his fists in fire and swung wildly. Aurora backed up and backed up, drawing Electabuzz to the very edge of one of the largest crater in the battlefield before making her move.
As Electabuzz threw another punch, Aurora ducked underneath his fist and darted behind him before tripping him up and sending him tumbling over the edge.
Electabuzz gurgled as he landed face down in the crater of ice water with a splash. The electric type sputtered, accidentally inhaling some of the water before he managed to stand upright again. Unfortunately for Surge, by that time it was too late.
Chest high. Exactly how deep he needed it.
"Freeze-Dry!" Ash exclaimed.
Aurora unleashed one last stream of cold air that instantaneously froze the water and trapped Electabuzz in ice. The electric type snarled and thrashed – if one could call his twitching thrashing – to no avail. With his arms frozen to his sides, he couldn't fire electricity since he appeared to direct it with his arms and Fire Punch couldn't help him with how much ice was around him.
Either way, it was over and even the crowd seemed to understand this if the cheers and the few boos from Surge loyalists were any indication.
"Game over, Surge – I believe Indigo League rules state battles are over when one side's Pokemon is unable to battle whether through incapacitation or defeat!" Ash remarked with a smug grin. "Pretty sure this counts as one or the other."
"So you do know the rules after all? Not as dumb as you look," Surge chuckled and ultimately reached for the electric type's Poke Ball.
Ash snorted at his barb. He couldn't help but like the man. Even in defeat he still had some one-liners left.
The gym leader withdrew Electabuzz and flashed a thumbs up to a catwalk far above the battlefield. "We won't be needing the barriers anymore!" Surge shouted.
Ash looked up, although couldn't help but be surprised he hadn't noticed the narrow walkway above the battlefield or the Alakazam perched above them to generate the psychic barricades around the battlefield for the gym battle.
Surge met him on his side of the battlefield. "I like your style, kid. Your team has moxie and you used some brains. Maybe you aren't like some of the weaklings that come in here."
"Of course," Ash replied. "You told me to make an impression on the crowd, right? Had to bring my A game."
Aurora barked in agreement.
"Was that what that was? I couldn't tell." Surge teased, smirking slightly to indicate he had no true ill-will. "Don't let this go to your head, you aren't bad but let's wait until you have a full team and can beat a full team before we starting calling things an A-game. That being said, I believe these are yours."
Surge reached into his pocket and pulled out both a badge and a TM, holding them out for Ash to take.
Ash reached out his hand and took them, staring at the gym badge with a sense of pride in both himself and his team. He wasn't foolish enough to let the success go to his head, but he wasn't going to act disappointed either. They had worked hard to prepare for tough opponents like Surge and the Thunder Badge was proof that their hard work was paying off.
His eyes quickly shifted to the TM after taking a moment his shiny, new badge.
"Thanks, although can I ask what technique this is?" Ash asked, pointing to the TM Surge had given him.
"The TM contains Shock Wave, I think you saw how that one works and should be able to figure it out."
"It's some sort of homing attack, right? Or some sort of rapid fire technique."
Surge gave him a dismissive wave. "You're a smart kid, you should be able to figure it out." he repeated.
Ash frowned. He was definitely going to need to look up the technique in the Pokedex later, but a far more pressing question that lingered in the back of his mind the entire battle took precedence. His mind couldn't help but return to the color and decor of the lobby. "Fair enough, how about you answer the other question that's bugging me instead?"
Surge raised an eyebrow. "And that would be?"
"The lobby, I don't get it,"
"You're a smart kid and you still haven't figured it out yet," Surge laughed.
"Can't say I have,"
"Advantages take a number of forms, runt. Mind games can be just as powerful as any technique and keep your opponents off-balance."
Ash raised an eyebrow, putting two and two together. It made more sense now that he thought about it, Surge relied heavily upon reputation which made his opponents nervous and easier to beat. After all, one didn't necessarily have to be the strongest to be intimidating. "The brutality inflicted on opponents, the lobby, the obnoxious gym trainer secretary, the crowd...those were all mind games?" he wondered out loud.
If Surge heard the question at all, he seemingly ignored it and reached for a handheld transceiver clipped to his belt. "Next challenger,"
Taking the cue to leave, Ash headed for the exit.
"One more thing, runt," Surge said, causing Ash to stop and turn to look back at the gym leader. "Thanks for making this worth the time, come back when you're ready for a rematch and we'll see if you actually have an A-game."
Ash grinned, excited by the mere thought of him having a full team to battle Surge's full team with. "You can count on it."
Author's Note: It has been a while and after a year of personal difficulties and struggles really screwed up my writing motivation, even causing me to consider shutting everything down. However, in that time I decided that I am not one to quit easily. I've been sitting on this half written chapter for a while and if nothing else, I decided I wanted to finish this chapter and post it. It's probably not up to my standards but it is finished, haha!
If nothing else, I have this up my sleeve and hopefully this is just the start of continued writing inspiration.
God bless, StandingMan, signing off.