Well~ hello again friends! I'm a writer-man, returning from the dead; determined to be relevant again!
They didn't have any more trouble or detours for the rest of their trip to the docks. Certain parties, (who shall remain nameless but have a habit of using Thunderbolt) called it a miracle.
Ash was offended, there were plenty of times they managed to get exactly where they planned on going without any problems!
Unless you counted the brief boredom of waiting for the ferry.
Brock was the one to pick it out, it wasn't the nicest trip but it was a good mix of cheap and accommodating, so it was the best choice. Interestingly, this ferry was on a schedule, visiting most of the ports around southern Kanto and stopping at some islands, including of course Cinnabar.
In fact, it normally started from Vermillion City, so they could have taken it to get here in the first place if it hadn't been canceled, some miscreants had apparently stolen the wheel.
That would explain those Zorua rolling a sailing wheel away with them as the Bamboozle departed.
"In a way, it's probably for the best that Sunny went back to the lab now." Eevee mused as they boarded. "He would have had to deal with both the rainstorm and then getting back on a boat if he stayed."
"The boat we knew about, unless we were planning to swim to Cinnabar." Storm nodded. "I wonder if I could manage that."
"I bet you could!" Art started egging her on. "We can make it a race! Whoever gets there first!"
"Slight problem." She patted his head. "I don't know where it is. I'd have to follow the boat. Besides, I don't think I have the stamina, maybe someday though."
"Hm," Pidgeotto hummed. "Hey Ash, do you think we should try training our endurance more?"
Ash thought about it. "We have trained it, but not like that. It could be something we work on while training for the league. It would probably be a lot more exhausting than our normal training."
"What's that?" Misty asked, overhearing part of the conversation.
"Training our endurance." He explained. "Like running, swimming, and flying in Pidgeotto's case."
"Huh, yeah that could be useful. Although most battles don't last long enough for it to matter, it could still be useful in ones that turn into wars of attrition." She considered. "But you're right, I don't think you should work on it right now."
"It is something you should work on," Karen spoke up. "Don't just forget about it."
"Alright then." Ash accepted. "Besides, I have some other ideas for training."
"Ninja stuff?" Pikachu checked.
"Ninja stuff." He grinned. "I'm gonna go over all the ideas while we're on our way to Cinnabar, then we can just start practicing as soon as we get there!"
"Is there nowhere to practice on the boat?" Eevee glanced around. "I bet a lot of trainers use this ferry."
"We should look around!" Selene bounced forward. "Now starting Selene's Tours! Step right this way!"
"You've never been on this boat before." Storm pointed out. "Although it might be more of a ship?"
"Just because I've never been here doesn't mean I can't figure it out!" She claimed. "For instance, here we have… the deck! Complete with lounging chairs for passengers!"
"Huh, there are even some made for Pokemon…" Pikachu sounded pleased, but that changed with his next sentence. "...wait is that who I think it is?"
"I think so." Ash walked over to a boy around his age, wearing sunglasses with his arms behind his head, one leg perched on the other. "Hey Gary, long time no see!"
"Sup Ashy-boy." Gary was wearing sunglasses and swim trunks, relaxing in one of the chairs with a coconut drink on the table next to him. He made no move to look at them as they approached.
"How's your gym challenge going?" Ash tried to push the conversation.
"Done." He didn't change position but his grin morphed into a smirk. "Which is more than I can say for most people. I'm the proud owner of several badges that can never be earned again."
Misty winced slightly and Brock frowned. "Who are you again?"
Gary snapped his fingers and off to the side, three girls began a cheer. "Gary, Gary, he's our guy! If he can't win it, no one can!"
"I forgot about them," Pikachu blinked. "I wonder if he still has the car?"
"Where did he get a car?" Eevee asked.
"I'm more curious where he left it," Pidgeotto wondered.
"Oh right, now I remember you." Brock sighed and pinched his brow. "Not every day someone comes in with a cheer squad."
"So you're just on vacation now?" Ash asked Gary.
"Course not." He finally saw fit to look at Ash. "Remember? I'm getting every badge. Well, every one I can. The Purge kind of screwed me in a few places. Couldn't get Fuchsia, the gym was gone."
"No, it wasn't." Misty corrected him.
Gary sneered at her a bit. "What are you dumb? I went to where it was supposed to be and there was nothing there."
Ash realized what must have happened. "No, it's there, well, not where it's supposed to be. If you go to Fuchsia City a ninja starts trailing you to determine if you're a good enough trainer, if they think you are they give you the passphrase so Nurse Joy can give you the real location of the gym."
Gary stared at him, his sunglasses dipping slightly. Finally, he huffed and sunk back into his chair, arms crossed. "Of course, great now I need to go back, I didn't bother staying in that dump, my tent was nicer than anything in that town. Whatever, I take it you managed to get it? Impressive considering everything I've heard from Gramps."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ash frowned.
"Last I heard you only had six Pokemon, and not a single one evolved while you had them," Gary smirked at him. "Can't say I'm impressed."
"Storm just evolved!" Ash defended, "And evolution isn't everything! Pokemon can get real strong without evolving!"
"Sure." Gary didn't seem convinced. "Remind me how many badges do you have? Six or seven? I'm at nine."
"Seven," Ash confirmed. "And I have eight Pokemon now… sort of, it's more like seven. But that means we know each other really well!"
"Know each other?" Gary snorted. "You're kidding, right? Look I train my Pokemon, we don't sit around a campfire playing truth or dare."
"I think I know where this is going." Pidgeotto guessed. "And I'm looking forward to it."
"Does this mean I have to cancel the tour?" Selene asked.
"We barely even started the tour…"
"How about we put it to the test?" Ash challenged Gary. "We can show you just what we're capable of!"
The other trainer hummed. "I'd love to but it'll have to wait, at least until we get to Cinnabar Island. There's nowhere to battle on board."
"Seriously?" Karen seemed surprised. "You'd think this ship would be more accommodating to trainers."
"It's mostly tourists." Gary shrugged. "But anyway, if you're so eager to see how much better than you I am now, then fine Ashy-boy. You and me once we get to Cinnabar, we'll find a field and my monsters will pick your friends apart!"
Pikachu giggled. "We've seen monsters, and you'd pee your pants if you saw what I did to the last one."
"A full battle then?" Ash clenched his fist with a savage grin. "We'll show you what we're made of."
"You owe me a win." Gary narrowed his eyes. "And I plan to collect with interest."
"...wait what's interest mean?" Ash realized he didn't quite understand Gary's meaning. It sure sounded like a threat.
"Huh, I guess you'd have no reason to know what was." Brock realized. "So when someone takes a loan to pay for something they couldn't normally afford, they have to pay back the money over time, interest is an added amount to the money they pay back."
Ash's main understanding of money was you used it to buy stuff and if you didn't have enough then you couldn't buy that thing. "That's dumb."
"It's how banks make money." Brock shrugged.
"Tell him he's a capitalist!" Eevee encouraged.
"You're a capitalist!" Ash pointed at Gary.
"...I guess? I like buying things." Gary admitted.
"I don't think that was the best trash talk we could do." Pidgeotto sighed.
Misty groaned. "Come on Ash, you used to be good at this."
"Pikachu and I don't argue as much!" Ash defended himself. "We've been too busy!"
"It's true, we don't have as much time to make fun of each other while we're planning to conquer the league!" His best friend nodded.
"Maybe we could make fun of the people we're beating?" Pidgeotto suggested.
"Yeah!" Art agreed.
"I don't know, that doesn't sound very heroic." Selene pointed out.
"No but like the ones who suck." Pidgeotto clarified and pointed a wing at Gary. "Like him."
Gary glared at the flying-type. "Tell your bird to stop making fun of me. I had enough of this with your demon of a Pikachu."
"Then don't suck," Ash told him. "See you soon!"
It took approximately five minutes after stepping onto Route 1 for Delia to realize she had utterly forgotten what it was like to be on the road.
"I've gone soft." She realized in horror when she nearly turned back after stepping in a puddle of mud.
"Toise." Shelldon mused.
"It's just mud on my shoe, why was I going to turn around?" She asked, more to herself than anyone else. "Why did I even wear white shoes?"
"Blast." Shelldon cocked a brow at her.
She took a deep breath and set her resolve. "Alright. Okay. We find some Pokemon who might be interested in joining us. Just like Arnold and Pix. That shouldn't be hard right?"
Professor Oak had set her up with a fresh set of Pokeballs and after picking out a comfortable outfit she'd taken Shelldon and stepped out of her comfort zone for the first time in years.
Well, she'd traveled out of town more recently than that, but not on a proper journey. Not that this was a proper journey, she was just going to try to catch some new Pokemon to help her out in case Team Rocket or anyone else with ill intentions came calling.
Also, a part of her was excited to have some new Pokemon on her team. Meeting Ash's teammates had awoken the part of her that wanted to make new friends and see them grow.
The trainer and starter duo didn't have much company on their trip. This late in the league season no new trainers were starting and without a gym in Pallet Town there wasn't much foot traffic on this route. Unless a trainer was looking to visit Professor Oak, and the main roads were a faster trip in that case.
"Do you think we should look for any specific Pokemon?" Delia asked her oldest friend.
Shelldon frowned and mulled over her question. "Blastoise." He shook his head.
"Yeah, I guess you're right, we probably shouldn't get tunnel vision. We just need to find someone interested in joining us." There was no need to find a specific species of Pokemon. "Then again, maybe we shouldn't ask any Pidgey."
Shelldon tilted his head and then let out a rumbling chuckle. "Blast blastoise."
"Arnold would not take it well." She agreed. Shelldon started laughing harder for a reason that escaped her but she was glad he was entertained at least.
As it turned out, finding Pokemon was a bit harder than she thought it would be. Most of the local Pokemon took one look at Shelldon and immediately bolted in the opposite direction. Delia wasn't sure why, it wasn't like a five-foot-tall walking tank was intimidating.
It was a good thing she had sorted out her affairs in advance. This seemed like it would take more than a single day.
Truth be told it would be incredibly easy to just lob a Pokeball at the first Pokemon she saw and then head home, but that wasn't how she did things, it had never been how she did things.
The other trainers who started with her had nicknamed her "Delia Don't Catch" due to how few Pokemon she'd managed to catch. Possibly making fun of the last name Ketchum but she wasn't sure they were creative enough for that.
Regardless of hated nicknames from her childhood, she still felt guilty about taking a Pokemon from their home and potentially their family without their consent. Some Pokemon may be more willing for that but those would probably be the ones to come out and challenge her.
And as she'd already noted, there seemed to be a lack of Pokemon willing to do that.
They didn't have much luck on the first day, and by the second they were beginning to approach Viridian City. Not having much reason to visit the city itself they ended up skirting around the border, hoping to find some Pokemon who were perhaps a bit less skittish around trainers.
It wasn't until late afternoon on their third day of travel that they found one.
Or rather Mankey found them.
The pair had literally just been walking, Delia was humming a bit of a tune. While it had been years since the last time she traveled like this she was enjoying the experience. So far at least.
She was certainly looking forward to a soft bed when they got home but for the moment she was content.
And then a furry ball of fluff and anger had dropped on top of Shelldon's head.
Delia had encountered Mankey before, they were energetic, gluttonous, and perhaps overly enthusiastic about violence.
Her initial observation confirmed at least two of those traits.
Shelldon of course was not pleased to have an angry fighting-type on his head and immediately did his best to get the problem as far away as possible by chucking it down the path.
"EEEEEEEEY" The other Pokemon hollered and kicked at the ground as it pulled itself back up.
"Oh!" Delia pulled herself out of her own thoughts "This is it! They challenged us to a battle right?"
"Blas…" Shelldon grumbled with narrowed eyes. The canons on his back clicked as he prepared to use them.
"Uh, you ready for this Mankey?" Shoot she was really out of practice, wasn't she? How do you start a battle with a wild Pokemon? Then again, Mankey had already started the battle so they should probably just continue.
Mankey didn't give her a sensible answer and instead just screamed louder and charged at Shelldon.
"Hyd-" She was about to direct but reconsidered. Mankey may have started the fight but Shelldon was much stronger than they were. Maybe it was better to limit things for the moment. "Water Gun." She amended.
Her starter gave her a look that spoke more words than a picture of his disappointment. He slumped a bit and then fired a burst of water that while strong was not apocalyptic in destructive capabilities.
It hit Mankey dead on and knocked them back down the path and to the ground.
The duo paused for a moment. "See, no need to-" Delia started.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE~" Mankey was back on their feet and charging again.
The sudden scream made Delia jump and Shelldon immediately fired again without waiting for a direction. Mankey went down again…
And then was back up screaming once more.
Delia and Shelldon shared a confused look, neither of them quite sure what to make of this situation. "I guess keep using Water Gun?" She shrugged.
Mankey was a determined little Pokemon and took a total of twelve blasts of Water Gun before they gave up screaming. Even then, they still pulled themselves to their feet and stubbornly marched toward Shelldon, refusing to give up.
Deciding that this was as good a time as any, Delia finally threw a Pokeball, and the fighting-type was sucked in.
It rocked back and forth before eventually clicking.
"Woo!" Delia cheered and felt a sudden thrill of excitement. This was her first new Pokemon in over ten years! "We caught a Mankey!"
"Blastoise." Shelldon gave the ball a skeptical look, evidently not sure what to make of his new teammate.
"That's one down." She scooped up the ball. "We should probably head to the Pokemon Center and get them checked up. And maybe try to talk to them a bit? Hopefully without screaming…"
She glanced at the other empty balls she'd brought with them. "One down, four to go."
Delia Don't Catch was well on her way to becoming Delia Can Catch.
Or er… Ketchum.
Cinnabar Island was a mix of civilization and nature. It was a volcanic island and the volcano still dominated the landmass, but dense forest covered a significant chunk of the terrain and the city remained the sole bastion of human settlement on the island.
That said, the city took up a solid fourth of the level terrain and spread thin on the edges to accommodate as much beachfront as it could. There was a reason it was such a popular tourist destination.
But neither Ash nor Gary were interested in the luxury vacation destinations advertised in pamphlets as they hit the dock running, no the only thing in mind was their rematch!
Ash and Pikachu had won pretty thoroughly the last time they'd battled, and while that set a good precedent, it was obvious Gary hadn't earned his nine badges through goofing off. They needed to come at this with a strategy and all the effort they could muster.
Fortunately, Ash was able to start introducing some of his ideas to the team on the trip over. True, they hadn't been able to properly train them yet, but sometimes experience was the best teacher!
Or the teachers who brought snacks and encouraged creativity without refusing to answer questions, they were pretty good too.
"Now then, mind if I set up a camera Ash?" Gary called as they took position at a local battlefield, it was far enough from the beaches that there was no crowd. "I want to get a good picture of your expression when you lose."
"Did you always have such an attitude or did it just get worse?" Ash shot back.
"I'd say it's just some well-earned pride." Gary shrugged. "And you're one to talk, always swaggering about with your "best friend" Pikachu. Shoving it in everyone's faces."
That… actually stung a little. Ash had never been trying to show off or brag when he brought Pikachu with him in Pallet Town. He just wanted to hang out with his best friend, hanging out with the humans came secondary in a lot of ways.
"Can we kick his butt now?" Pikachu asked.
"Gladly." Ash narrowed his eyes. "How about we do this right?"
"Of course." Gary took his meaning. "Go Blastoise!"
"Pikachu!" A rematch from their first day as trainers.
Admittedly, Gary's starter was a bit bigger this time.
"Huh, I guess you're still not that big a chip," Blastoise noted as he looked down at Pikachu.
"...what?"
"You mean you don't- of course you don't. Screw you mouse, I know how to deal with electric-type moves now." The larger Pokemon cracked his neck.
"It's funny how often people tell me I can't shock them and then act surprised when I do anyway," Pikachu claimed. "Besides, I have a lot of experience fighting Blastoise."
Ignoring the fact he didn't have a lot of experience beating Blastoise, but that was beside the point.
"You couldn't wait five minutes for the rest of us to catch up?" Misty called as their respective entourages finally arrived.
"I thought you guys were right behind us!" Ash defended.
"I swear you two were using Extremespeed!" She ranted. "One second you were next to us on the boat and the next you were halfway up the road!"
"I don't think Zorua can learn Extremespeed." Eevee pointed out. "...actually how do you know Quick-"
"Do you guys want to watch?" Ash asked his friends.
"No, we just really wanted to go for a run." Karen huffed.
"I can referee if you want." Brock volunteered. "I know it's not strictly necessary…"
"As long as you don't start making bogus calls to help Ashy here win, fine by me."
"I wouldn't violate my integrity like that." Brock crossed his arms. "I may not be a gym leader anymore but I still have some honor."
"Sure you do." Misty coughed.
"Can we fight now?" Pikachu pleaded.
Brock had to get into position and say the word "Start." But then they were allowed to start fighting.
"Thunderbolt!" Might as well start with old reliable.
"You know what to do!" Gary shouted as Pikachu charged up.
As Pikachu fired off his attack, Blastoise coughed up a globe of water and tucked into his shell, spinning as he did so. The water seemed to submerge and coat him as he spun.
The Thunderbolt hit its mark but the water caught the attack and splashed away carrying the electric charge with it, leaving Blastoise unharmed.
Pikachu summed up his feelings on that very easily. "That's not fair."
"Hydro Pump!"
Ash didn't even need to warn Pikachu, he was already on the move and trying to think of a way to deal with this new problem. He would have to shock Blastoise before he got that weird water shield up, and fortunately one of their new tricks would let him do just that.
The problem was, it would probably only work once. At least until they worked out a better way to disguise their plan.
Then again, if electricity wasn't working, maybe he should just start hitting the big guy.
Dodging more blasts of water Pikachu rushed in with Quick Attack, getting under Blastoise's guard and jumping into his chin.
"Slippery little-" Blastoise cursed and stumbled. Pikachu took the opportunity to use Discharge, try and block that one!
"Nice one Pikachu! Don't let him recover!"
Pikachu hadn't planned to and was already charging again, but underestimated Blastoise's recovery time. One of Blastoise's arms came up and caught Pikachu, throwing him to the ground and stunning him for a moment.
That moment was all it took for a Hydro Pump to be unleashed point blank.
"Looks like you're all washed up," Blastoise called.
The electric-type staggered to his feet. "That was terrible." As painful as that attack had been, Pikachu had been hit by worse.
"Sneak Attack!" Ash seemed to realize what was needed.
Using Quick Attack, he blurred into motion, running at Blastoise, and began the process of using Iron Tail, his limb taking on a metallic sheen.
"Block it!" Gary told Blastoise.
Blastoise turned so his shell could take the brunt of the attack as Pikachu leaped up, but rather than swing down with his tail, he unleashed the true attack, a Thunderbolt at close range.
Misdirection had its uses.
The attack did its job and Blastoise screamed in pain and went down, twitching a bit. Not taking a second to let him recover Pikachu made use of the Iron Tail he'd prepped as a follow-up, and then unleashed a Discharge for good measure. There'd be no recovery this time!
"Blastoise is unable to battle!" Brock signaled the water-type's defeat. "Send out your next Pokemon!"
Gary's expression spoke volumes as he returned Blastoise, but his next Pokemon was flying through the air at the same moment, Graveler took the field and Pikachu couldn't stop the grin from spreading on his face.
"Something funny little guy?" Graveler asked.
"Just thought of a good prank." Pikachu started dancing without waiting for direction from Ash.
"...what is your Pikachu doing?" Gary was clearly confused. "Some sort of victory dance?"
"No, Rain Dance." Ash clarified as the drops began to fall. Off to the side, Gary's cheerleaders complained and Karen cursed. Staryu used Psychic to create an umbrella over his team.
"...why would you teach your Pikachu Rain Dance?" Gary asked.
"I didn't," Ash answered. "He taught himself, Thunderbolt!"
Gary was prepared to tell Ash off for being an idiot and opened his mouth to do so. It stayed open and started hanging wider as Gravel screamed in pain, feeling the power of an electric-type attack for the first time.
"WHAT THE HECK WAS-" Graveler started yelling and then saw Pikachu charging up for another. "OH HECK NO!" Now it was Graveler's turn to act without direct, she used Dig and dug deep underground, out of reach of Pikachu's attacks.
"It's like Onix Pikachu! Watch for the vibrations!" Ash warned.
"The mud is making it a bit difficult," Pikachu noted, they had never tested that before, it was probably good to keep in mind.
Too difficult as it turned out, Pikachu was caught completely by surprise as Graveler burst from the ground and put him down for the count.
"Pikachu is unable to battle!" Brock announced. "Send out your next Pokemon!"
Ash collected Pikachu and nodded at Storm, between the rain and Graveler's typing they had a pretty good shot.
Unfortunately, Gary thought so too, and decided to make a substitute.
"Gary swaps Graveler for Exeggutor!" Brock called.
"Jerk," Storm muttered. "I'll stay out though, I still got the weather on my side."
"You-might-for-now." Exeggutor spoke through different mouths, each head said a single word.
Ash made a mental note in case he ever disguised himself as one. "Storm set up!"
Storm went through her normal defensive procedures, Light Screen and Reflect went up, and Gary wasn't standing by.
"Future Sight and Grassy Terrain!" Gary told his Pokemon.
All of Exeggutor's eyes glowed for a second and a flash of light shot out the top of their stem and vanished. Then they stomped and the muddy ground found itself firmed up with grassy roots.
"Oh, that's gonna suck." Storm realized, "Welp, let's give it all I got!"
"Ice Beam!" Ash told her. "Ground-up!"
"Right!" Rather than trying to fire the beam straight at Exeggutor, Storm started pointing the attack at the ground and then bringing it up toward the other Pokemon. The purpose of course was to mess with the Grassy Terrain that had just been put down.
Exeggutor wasn't very fast and had to tank the attack but Gary was still setting up his perfect sweep. "Sunny Day!"
"Remember Erika?" Eevee asked. "I think we're seeing her techniques put into action again."
She was right and Ash was trying to work out how to clear to stop it before it was too late. "Iron Defense and Rapid Spin! Crash into Exeggutor! Throw them off balance!"
"On it!" Storm tucked into her shell, and it shimmered as she shot down the ice path made from her Ice Beam. Already it was starting to melt but it lasted long enough for her to crash into the other Pokemon.
"Ice Beam again!" She fired the attack straight into one of Exeggutor's faces, freezing over one of their heads.
"Giga Drain!" Gary called in return and Storm gasped as she felt her energy leave her.
"Keep up the Ice Beams!" Ash called. "Don't stop!"
Storm began firing, and jumped back as she did so, trying to avoid getting caught in another Giga Drain. Even with Light Screen, it hurt a lot and helped out Exeggutor.
The Sunny Day made the Ice Beams just a little weaker but they still clearly hurt the grass-type. But they weren't idle, firing their own attacks at Storm, Magical Leaf and Bullet Seed in particular left her on the defensive.
The finishing blow came with the Future Sight though, which caught Storm when she paused for a moment to breathe.
"Storm is unable to battle!" Brock confirmed. "Next Pokemon!"
"Art?" Ash glanced at the Ralts.
"WOO!" The little fairy-type raced onto the field and pointed his stick at Exeggutor. "I know what to do!"
Mystic Fire lanced out of the stick like a spell from a wand. Unlike Ice Beam, it was made stronger by the sunlight of Sunny Day and finally put a cap on the grass-type's plans.
"Graveler, back to it!" Gary decided after Brock confirmed the knockout.
The rock-type immediately opened with Rollout and Art barely managed to avoid it. "Hey watch it!" Using Psychic he pulled up a wall of dirt to stop the follow-up Rollout.
It reminded Ash a little of what Sabrina and Kadabra had done, but unfortunately, the dirt was still muddy below the surface and Graveler crashed through with little trouble, running down Art.
"Owie." The younger Pokemon announced but got back up. "Alright, you. Take this!" He pointed his stick again but this time Psybeam came surging out.
Graveler met it head-on, still caught in the momentum of Rollout. The rock-type slowed down under the force of the psychic-type attack, but it wasn't enough to stop her. Art once again was run over.
He struggled to his feet once more. "You big… rock!"
"Psychic!" Ash called to Art, "Use it to catch Graveler!" He would have called it sooner but he thought that had been Art's intention instead of Psybeam.
"Oh right!" Art waved his stick and Graveler was wrapped in the pink-purple light of Psychic. "Ha! Caught ya!"
"Graveler, Rock Blast!" Gary ordered and Gravler spat a rock at the gloating Art.
This last attack proved a bit too much for Art, Reflect having worn off somewhere between the first and second Rollout, there was no cushioning the blow. He went down and Ash was down to three Pokemon.
Thinking it over, he was caught between Selene and Pidgeotto. Pidgeotto was a flying-type so she'd be able to avoid the ground-type moves as long as she stayed airborne, and her Steel Wing could do some damage, but Selene didn't have any weaknesses to rock-type moves.
Before he could be pressed to hurry up he made his choice. "Pidgeotto! Carve her up!"
"Done!" Pidgeotto shot across the field with Quick Attack and smashed an Aeriel Ace into Graveler's face for good measure. It may not have done much damage but it sure got her attention.
"Crafty little-" She muttered as Steel Wing crashed into her.
"Sorry, say that again?"
"Stone Edge!" Gary roared and a column of pointed stones split the ground below Pidgeotto.
She shrieked in pain but managed to recover. The flying-type banked and had to roll out of the way of a Rock Throw, using stones from the new land feature.
"Hold still!" Graveler demanded but Pidgeotto circled her for a minute before shooting in with both wings hardened by Steel Wing. She brought them both down on Graveler and the other Pokemon finally went down.
Brock announced Graveler was down and Gary sent out his next choice.
"Kingler huh?" Ash hadn't seen one in person before. It surprised him a little bit. "Alright Pidgeotto, you know how to do this!"
"I hope you're right!" It was something they'd talked about on and off for a while but Ash had given her a run down on the trip here, telling her everything he knew about how it worked.
At Gary's word, Kingler fired a blast of water at her. At least… he thought he did. But the fact there were now three Pidgeottos made that a bit confusing.
"Double Team huh?" Gary mused. "What's with all the tricks? Kingler use Surf! Wash them away and put the real one down too!"
Kingler belched out water and summoned a wave that washed over the battlefield. As it wiped away the Double Team a splash exploded as Pidgeotto used Aeriel Ace and Peck to cut through it, shooting at Kingler like a bullet train.
The Pincer Pokemon tanked the attack, but it must have hurt. Pidgeotto continued a barrage of pecks as she shook her wings, trying to dry them as quickly as possible.
She wasn't quick enough though as Crabhammer came down and crushed her into the dirt.
Down to his last two, Ash picked Eevee, placing faith in Selene that she'd be tough enough to wrap things up after this.
"I'm afraid I don't know any therapists," Eevee told Kingler. "Hopefully Nurse Joy will be able to help."
The water-type stared. "Huh?"
"Well, after the crushing defeat, I'm about to give you, you'll clearly need help recovering from such a traumatic experience." Eevee elaborated on her trash talk.
Kingler didn't know what to make of that. It was only Gary's call for a Mud Shot that spurred him back into motion.
But Eevee was already on the move, speeding around with Quick Attack and then diving into the ground to use Dig.
"Ha! Fill up the hole Kingler!" Gary called and Kingler made to shoot water down but as soon as he was over the hole Eevee shot back out and crashed into him. She then unleashed a fury of Bites onto the other Pokemon until he stopped struggling.
"...sometimes I forget how brutal she can be." Selene stared.
"Ruthless is more accurate." Ash mused, remembering a conversation. "But yeah."
"Kingler is unable to battle!" Brock did the spiel. "Send out your next Pokemon!"
"I think it's time we wrapped this up Ashy-boy. Can't say it hasn't been fun, but I've got better things to do."
"Things look pretty even from here Gary." Ash shot back. Eevee hadn't even taken any damage yet and he still had Selene.
"Pfft," the human boy snorted. "If this is what you call even, I'd like to see your version of unfair. "Nidoking I choose you!"
A part of Ash was impressed that Gary had a Nidoking, another part wondered if he had just evolved a Nidorino as soon as possible. The last part was having flashbacks to Celadon.
Eevee had a similar interpretation. "The last time I fought a Nidoking they were pretty strong. Are you strong or do you just look strong?"
"Let me answer your question with another question." Nidoking rumbled in answer. "BRICK BREAK!"
"That's not a-" The fighting-type move slammed down on Eevee, knocking her down into her own hole.
Ash and Selene winced. "Are you alright Eevee?"
Nothing for a moment, then a blast of dirt shot out as she used Sand Attack, Nidoking stumbled and rubbed at his eyes and she shot back out of the hole. Rather than attack his torso she went for his legs, trying to bring him down.
"Double Kick!" Nidoking swung at Eevee, the first kick missed but she accidentally moved into the second kick as she regained her footing. She practically bounced across the field and rolled to a stop near Ash.
"Want to switch out?" Selene asked her.
"No…" She stumbled and got to her unsteady feet. "I'm good. I've lasted longer this time than against the last Nidoking we fought!" She had a pained smile.
Ash was still concerned but did his best to keep a brave face. "I got an idea. Use Dig to maneuver, you can't afford to get hit again. Then hit him with another Sand Attack, it doesn't matter what he does if he can't hit you. Then Swift-"
He did his best to keep his voice down as he explained but Gary got tired of waiting. "Stop saying your goodbyes! It's just a battle. Nidoking finish off Eevee!"
Nidoking surged forward and Eevee dug back underground, ready to enact the plan.
Unfortunately, Nidoking had one more trick up his metaphorical sleeve.
"Earthquake!" The attack shook the field and while they couldn't see Eevee, she was definitely down after that attack. Which was a problem in its own way.
"Timeout!" Ash demanded. "Shoot… I…" He worked his mind as he tried to figure out how to retrieve Eevee.
"Eevee is unable to battle! Ash calls for a timeout!" Brock announced and fished out Geodude's Pokeball. "Don't worry I can send Geodude to get her."
"Fine, but let's speed this along. Unless you're ready to just surrender already?" Gary pressed Ash.
"Never!" Things may look bad but Selene was still in this and ready to go!
Geodude retrieved the injured Eevee and Ash quickly returned her. She looked really bad. "Are you ready Selene?"
She looked at Nidoking and took a deep breath. "I don't think I can win. But I know I can at least knock this bully down."
Ash smiled softly and gave her a quick hug. "Do your best."
"Always!"
"Selene, you're up!" Ash called officially and the Clefairy eagerly took the field. "Sing them a clock!"
This apparent nonsense was a signal to try the new idea they talked about on the boat ride over.
"Do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do~" Selene sang and started hopping around the field, staying in motion so it would be harder for Nidoking to target her.
"Toxic while you still can!" Gary demanded and Nidoking spat out globs of poison in a spread, making it nearly impossible for Selene to avoid them all.
Sure enough, one managed to catch her and she winced in pain. But she kept up her song, and neither Gary nor Nidoking realized the double purpose.
As Selene sang, she also waved her arms from side to side, repeating the melodic scale over and over.
It took longer than it did when she wasn't trying to use Sing at the same time, but she soon felt the fully charged Metronome ready to be unleashed.
Nidoking rumbled and he tilted forward, apparently asleep. As he did, Selene stopped singing, feeling a sudden need to hit something and also… be hit? What?
"Sleep Talk!" She got her chance as Nidoking rushed into motion, still asleep, and unable to consciously choose his moves, but still able to attack.
The larger Pokemon hit Selene with something, it was hard to tell what exactly other than an attack but when he did she felt the energy built up from Metronome double in strength and she slammed her arms into Nidoking, knocking him to the ground.
"...what?" Gary had no idea what to make of that.
"Selene! Don't wait!" Ash warned her. "Do everything you can!"
"Right!" She winced as Toxic continued to do its job. But she used Slam again and again on Nidoking.
Gary shook the surprise off. "Don't lose like this Nidoking! Sleep Talk!"
Still snoring, Nidoking lurched up and his shining horn crashed into Selene and she tumbled across the field.
"Defense Curl full speed!" Ash called in retaliation.
Selene curled up and launched forward, just as Nidoking finally came out of his slumber.
"Why does my everything hurt-" He started as Selene crashed into his head and he went down.
He did not get back up.
Selene stood, breathing hard. "Woo! For the Moon!"
Then Toxic finished the job and she collapsed.
"Nidoking and Selene are unable to battle!" Brock called. "Double knockout! However! Gary still has one Pokemon remaining, meaning he is the victor!"
"Ha!" Gary grinned and rubbed a finger under his nose. "About time! Finally, put things right with the world!"
Ash wasn't listening to his bragging or even his cheerleaders, instead, he just moved to recover Selene. "You did awesome Selene, come on, let's get you and the others to the Pokemon Center."
He retrieved Pikachu's unconscious form as well and then turned to Gary. "You're a lot stronger now Gary! But we'll show you! See you at the league!" Then he started jogging toward the Pokemon Center.
…then he turned around and came back.
"Does anyone know where the Pokemon Center is?"
There were signs pointing the way and with a bit of help from the less directionally challenged members of his friend group, they arrived within about five minutes of travel.
The trouble began when they had to wait in line. There were a lot of trainers waiting in line.
Gary eventually came in behind them but he was far enough back in line that they weren't able to talk easily.
"You're taking this pretty well." Karen pointed out. "If I'd lost to my rival in the final stretch I'd be seething."
"Did you have a rival?" Ash asked.
"Some theater kid named Will." She recalled. "Wonder where he is, haven't seen him since Galar. He ran into the same problem I did there."
"Not having a local sponsor?" Misty recalled. "I guess if any of us decide to go to Galar we need to plan ahead of time."
"Missing my point." Karen rolled her eyes.
"I mean…" Ash shrugged. "I wish we had won, but Gary's gotten a lot stronger! I'm impressed actually. He and Squirtle were barely able to work together when they started, and now they're really in sync!"
"You're one to talk." Misty elbowed him lightly. "You're really in sync with your team."
"Yeah, I guess so." Ash frowned. "And we were trying some new things there, but I'm trying to work out what we could have done to win. Maybe if I had switched out Storm? Or if we'd had Sunny with us."
"I think you need to become a bit more subtle with your tricks," Brock suggested.
"Yeah, Sneak Attack? You mean run straight at the enemy and hit them?" Misty snorted.
"We were being sneaky about which attack it was!" Ash defended. "And I just came up with it! I think it was a good test run though!"
"But you lost."
"...it was an okay test run." He found the middle ground.
"Fair enough," Karen shrugged. "You made a few mistakes in there, at least from my point of view. You're not calling as many directions because you're trusting your Pokemon, but you can see things they can't and you might think of things they didn't."
Ash thought about it. "I guess, we can talk about it once everyone is recovered."
That would be a few hours as it turned out, the Pokemon Center for all intents and purposes was full. So there was a line of Pokemon currently being treated, never mind the time it would take for them to actually recover.
Things got worse though, there weren't any rooms available either, which meant they would need to find other accommodations for the night.
"This sucks." Karen summarized as they stepped away after dropping off their teams. "One of the best parts of being in a city is sleeping in a real bed."
"Why is it so crowded anyway?" Ash asked. "I can't remember any Pokemon Centers being this packed!"
"It's because of The Purge." A nearby trainer spoke up, they glanced at him and a familiar note tugged at Ash.
"Oh hey! Mac right?" He checked.
"Yeah." The boy nodded, "You ever manage to beat Surge, uh… sorry I don't remember your name."
"It's Ash, and we got it on our next try." Ash nodded. "How about you?"
Mac slouched. "No luck, but we've been able to beat other gyms! But the way things are going I doubt we're going to the league."
"What did you mean by The Purge?" Brock asked.
"I think Gary mentioned it too," Misty recalled. "And I think I can make a guess."
"The whole gym inspection thing. So many gyms have closed up! Some trainers started calling it The Purge, saying it was purging all the weaklings. Can't say I like it but the name kind of stuck." he explained.
A furious expression briefly crossed Misty's face. "Weakling my…" She trailed off into dark mutterings.
"Uh…" Mac looked concerned. "Yeah, Cinnabar is supposed to be one of the gyms to survive, but it turns out the Gym Leader has some sort of weird pre-gym trial or something. I've got no clue about it."
"Huh," Ash wondered if it was anything like Fuchsia with the ninjas. "I guess I'll have to work out what that is."
"Good luck, you'll need it." Mac sighed. "Machoke and I need to train more anyway. See ya around Ash." he waved off.
Mac walked toward the training field as Ash and his friend left.
They turned away from the Pokemon Center and Brock began leafing through the city map, trying to find a place to stay. They'd go back to pick up their teams once they had lodgings. Once they were down the road a bit Karen glanced at Ash, "Does he..?"
"What?" Ash blinked at her. "He's just a kid we met in Vermillion, Surge beat him before I challenged him, we got to talking at the Pokemon Center after. You were there too actually."
Karen's brow furrowed as she thought back. "I don't remember-"
BEEP
The sudden alarm cut Karen off. The others looked around in confusion for a moment but the beeping soon continued and she struggled to get her bag off quickly.
"Wait!" Brock perked up, "Is that…"
Karen gingerly lifted the beeping Egg Incubator from her bag. "Heck of a time you picked." She muttered.
"Oh wow!" Ash felt a sudden wave of awe fill him. He'd never seen another Pokemon hatch up close before.
The beeping grew more rapid before stopping completely as Karen took apart the incubator to give the egg space to hatch properly. It was probably a good thing they'd left the Pokemon Center, it would have been really crowded for the newborn.
The egg glowed and they all held their breath as it obscured the shape of the new Pokemon, Karen bit her lip, still lost on exactly what Pokemon she was about to be raising.
Her answer was… not what she expected. She choked as she recognized the Pokemon.
The newly hatched Pokemon stood back on their hind legs and looked around at the world with wide eyes, clearly unsure what to make of it all. Brock would later realize they probably should have tried to move somewhere a bit more quiet as soon as the beeping started.
"Is this a joke?" Karen managed.
Riolu looked back at her and narrowed his eyes. "NO!" He shouted and slugged her in the stomach.
Ash stared in horror while Misty started laughing. Brock went to help Karen back up as she lay on the ground clutching her stomach.
As the trainers recovered Riolu took off down the street and out of sight.
"That little-" Karen stared after the distant fighting-type. "Oh, of course, that figures. Well, I didn't want you anyway!" She shouted after the Pokemon. "Just don't give me any more headaches!"
A violent flinch tore through Ash. "Take that back."
"What?" Karen turned to him, astounded by the venom in his voice. "What do you-"
He grabbed her arm. "Don't say you didn't want him. We need to go after him."
"I uh…" Karen glanced at Misty and Brock looking for answers. "Yeah, I guess we should…"
"Then let's go!" Ash snapped and ran after Riolu, the others following behind.
Through a mix of detective work and Ash's nose, they managed to track Riolu to the edges of civilized Cinnabar. The detective work was mostly just following the trail of chaos and destruction caused by a newborn fighting-type with no social skills.
"The woods. Why is it always the woods?" Karen bemoaned.
"We do end up in the woods a lot now that I think about it," Misty admitted. "Any ideas Ash? You're the tracking expert."
Ash got on all fours and started sniffing the ground. The others snorted at the sight.
"What?" He looked back up at them.
"Sorry, you just looked a bit goofy doing that in your illusion." Brock snickered.
Huh, yeah that might look a little odd from the outside. He dropped his human disguise entirely and set to work in his true form. "Right, he went this way." He pointed with his nose.
"Great, let's find him so I can get punched again." Karen gingerly rubbed her stomach.
"You might want to stay a few steps back," Brock suggested. "I wonder why he hit you?"
"I can guess." Karen groaned. "This isn't the first time I've met a newborn Riolu, and unsurprisingly, nothing has changed."
"With your family you mean?" Misty checked, Ash was focused on following his nose but he was listening in.
"Riolu don't like me." She shrugged. "They get over it eventually but I haven't met one who hasn't tried to attack me when they first saw me."
"..." Misty seemed torn between sympathy and amusement.
"That's no reason to tell him you don't want him," Ash spoke up, unable to keep quiet.
"You're kidding right?" Karen asked. "He obviously doesn't want me! Why else would he hit me and run away!"
"I don't know!" Ash snapped back. "Maybe because he expected someone else? Maybe that's just how Riolu works? Maybe you should give him more of a chance!?" he whirled on her.
Karen narrowed her eyes. "Ash, I am not a good choice to train a Riolu, I am a dark-type trainer, yes I have Pokemon who aren't dark-types but I know I wouldn't be good at raising a Riolu. They need a level of focus and care that I can't give one."
"I…" Ash wavered a bit. "I just… don't tell someone you don't want them. Ever."
"...how old were you when you were caught, Ash?" Misty asked him. "You talked about it but you never gave us an age."
"I don't know exactly," Ash admitted and went back to tracking, trying to keep focused. "Mom only ever had a ballpark, and I didn't know how to count days or nights back then. A lot of it is blurry. A month, maybe two, we think."
"And you're worried about Riolu being left alone like you were." Misty summarized.
Ash was silent for a minute. "I know it's not the same. I know Riolu hit you and ran from you. But I would have run from the big scary human too probably."
"Look, Ash, I'm sorry I said that I didn't want Riolu like that, but I'm serious, I should not train a Riolu," Karen repeated. "We can find him, and I'll do my best to make sure he goes to someone who will care, but that's it."
It stung a bit still, even if Ash kind of understood. But it still rubbed him the wrong way. "Come on, I think he slowed down a bit, the smell is getting stronger."
"Where was he running to anyway?" Brock wondered. "Does he have a destination?"
"He's going in a straight line mostly, at least he started to once he got to the woods," Ash noted.
"Maybe he saw something with aura sight." Karen guessed, they looked at her. "Right, uh, you remember my explanation about aura?"
"No." Brock hadn't been there for it.
"...right, uh, short version, all life has aura, it's basically life force, some life has more aura. Some Pokemon and humans can see aura, this is called aura sight. It's probably why he decided to hit me. Maybe he saw something with an aura that he liked better than mine."
"Like what?" Misty asked.
Something ahead of them roared.
"Probably whatever that was."
Rhydon.
Riolu had picked a fight with a Rhydon.
"Get lost, you little runt!" Rhydon roared at the comparably tiny Pokemon. "This is my turf! You're either here with my permission or you ain't here!"
"You're perfect!" Riolu stared at him with big eyes. "Which leg do you like the most?"
"The one that stomps on you!" Rhydon marched forward. "Hold still!"
Riolu did no such thing and ran straight at the approaching Rhydon, and jumped to attack him. Rhydon easily Headbutted Riolu back into the ground.
As Rhydon lifted his leg to crush the fighting-type, Ash was getting some uncomfortable flashbacks to his own young childhood.
He raced forward at full speed and tackled Riolu out of the way of Rhydon's foot at it slammed down. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" He hollered at the top of his lungs, not sure if he was talking to Riolu or Rhydon.
"Proving myself!" Riolu answered proudly.
"Getting rid of pathetic intruders!" Rhydon sneered.
"No, you're being a bully!" Ash snapped at Rhydon. "And you!" He turned to Riolu. "You can't just hit people for no reason!"
Riolu looked confused. "Who did I hit for no reason?"
"Karen!" Ash gestured at the teenager.
Rioly followed his gaze and just looked more confused. "But I was supposed to?"
Ash felt his eye twitch. "Why?"
He got no answer as they both had to duck under a swing from Rhydon that could have crushed him in an instant. He fired a Dark Pulse at the rock-type. "Back off jerk!"
"Get less busy talking and more busy being flat!" Rhydon raised his foot again.
"Really wish we had our teams right now!" Misty complained as she tried to think of a plan. Riolu had picked the worst time to run off. Her sword wouldn't do much good against a Pokemon like Rhydon.
All she had was some empty Pokeballs, and the chances of actually catching that monster were slim to none. He would just burst out as soon as he was sucked… in…
She grabbed one of the balls and threw it at Rhydon. "RUN!" She screamed.
Ash used his human illusion and scooped up Riolu. Rhydon easily broke out of the Pokeball but Misty had bought them a few seconds to get some distance.
"GET BACK HERE!" Rhydon roared and started charging.
"Ash! Now would be a good time to do something tricky!" Karen told him and took Riolu from him.
"No!" Riolu struggled in her grip. "I haven't done it yet!"
"Oh come on!" She complained. "Hold still until we're safe!"
Ash turned and fired a Dark Pulse at Rhydon, the larger Pokemon winced but kept coming. Misty drew her sword and used it to help carve their way through the undergrowth. "Brock throw another ball at him!"
"Wait!" Ash demanded as dropped his disguise again and braced himself for what he was about to do. "Grab me as soon as you throw the ball… now!"
Brock threw the ball and as Rhydon was sucked in Ash pushed his Illusion to it's theoretical limit.
To their sides, two more groups appeared, each identical to the original. Catching what Ash was doing, Misty turned right and one of the illusionary groups continued on their old path.
Rhydon burst from the ball again, now even more angry and charged after the illusion heading straight.
Ash's head pounded as he kept up the illusion for as long as he could, ignoring everything else. Eventually, he couldn't keep it up anymore and he had to let it drop, his stamina spent and his head feeling like it was about to burst.
A distant roar of frustration filled their ears, but now they were far enough away that they should be safe. But the group kept running rather than risk taking a breather, they didn't stop until they made it all the way back to the city.
"That was… terrifying," Brock announced as they gasped for air.
"I think I'd like to go to the Pokemon Center please." Ash decided.
"Can someone take Riolu before he hits me again?" Karen requested.
"I can… try…" Brock handed off Ash to Misty and tried to take the violent baby from her.
"Where did Rhydon go? I need his leg!"
"Why do you need his leg?" Ash managed to repeat, his vision was spotty but he hadn't blacked out quite yet.
"Cause she needs proof!" Riolu insisted, stopping his struggles for a moment to point at Karen.
"Proof of what?"
"Of my skill! I couldn't believe it when I saw her but she was able to shrug off my punch so easily! I thought "NO!" she can't be real! But she is! She's bright! So I need to prove how good I am to her!"
Ash stared at Riolu, "I… okay uh… Karen? I don't think he's going anywhere. Unless it's to fight a powerful opponent."
"...I think I need more of an explanation than that?" She shook her head. "You know what, it can wait until after we get him checked up, I can't imagine being taking a Headbutt from a Rhydon right after being born is good.
"Why?" Riolu asked and looked at her again. "Wow so bright, how do you not explode?"
"Karen, why don't you explode?" Ash repeated the question. "Riolu wants to know."
"Oh cool, loopy Ash is back." Misty sighed. "I don't think we're getting any proper answers for a few hours. Can you use your illusion, Ash?"
"..." Ash spasmed violently as he tried to hit the mental switch and felt his previously cataclysmic headache double.
"That was a lot more illusions than he normally does," Karen noted. "He really needs to be looked at by Nurse Joy too. But good thinking, that was perfectly sneaky."
Riolu tilted his head at Ash. "You're weird-looking. I didn't think dark could look light."
With that curious observation, Ash lost consciousness.
Hey, remember when I thought I could get to the league by New Years?
Good times.
Work has really thrown me off, add onto that getting sick for about half of January and I've had to start kicking my own butt to get writing again, and over the past few weeks I've been writing chunks of chapter 45!
And then on Friday I decided it sucked and rewrote the whole thing!
This is not a joke. I literally had a 9k word chapter, got stuck for an ending, and realized the whole thing barely flowed and was hardly entertaining.
A couple of lines and scenes did get brought over and Delia and Shelldon's Excellent Adventure was part of the original chapter 45.
Overall this is better.
So then! Hi there Gary! You've certainly gotten stronger! Ash's Team is going to have opinions about that, we'll get to them next chapter! Which I swear to Arceus I'm going to get done sooner.
A big problem was this was kind of a gap in my planning, I had things up to Fuchsia planned, and I had things after Cinnabar planned, but everything between that was a bit blurry.
I thought once I got started it would all flow but it really wasn't. I kept throwing scenes in and they just kept not feeling right. Which is how we got to Friday where I sat back and realized I could do better. I needed to do better. Both for me and for you guys.
Gary beating Ash was something I debated, but I think it works. Ash doesn't mind losing, he doesn't like it. But it just means he needs to get better. Which is what we're going to be focusing on next chapter, possibly two? We'll see how far the next chapter goes.
I have it planned now, but like with Brock's chapter way back when, just because I have a plan doesn't mean I know how long it will take to fully execute.
Speaking of how long things take, Riolu finally hatched! I was kind of surprised how many people thought it would be a different Pokemon. I'd already established Karen's aura connections and Ash gets Riolu in the anime due to him calling out in his egg.
Riolu hatching was meant to happen sooner but things kept happening that made it feel like the wrong time and by the time I was doing Ash's gym challenge in Fuchsia, I decided he'd hatch on Cinnabar. I am mad at myself for not including Karen and Brock bonding over egg care, I even made a note of it and forgot to follow through.
Not much else to say now. I'm gonna do my best to get the next chapter done for next weekend. Assuming nothing completely wrecks my plans that should happen!
Nervously glances at work and health
Uh, yeah.
Let's get to the reviews!
Toffeecat15: Bold of you to assume Brock hasn't already introduced them to his famous JELLY DONUTS!
LEGOBRICK13: Interesting idea for Ditto! It could be a fun gag later! We'll see how long it takes for Selene to manage more than a few words! The team rocket trio is a weird bag, because sometimes one of them seems to hold the brain cell and then they do something so stupid there's no way they could be the ones with it. I've been trying to keep them in character but… they're tough to write sometimes.
Guest: You probably did!
Strike Wyvern: Sunny is a good kid. Ash was bound to end up with cryptid status somehow!
Yama-sama: *Brief google search* Oh Ranma's dad. Uh, huh. No that's a bit more extreme than what Squirtle had in mind.
The one who reads and writes: I'm not sure there is Pokemon jail… actually there probably should be. Hm, might need to worldbuild that a bit. To be honest the TRio has been a bit of a mixed bag in this story, and they're not really the main focus, but they are around. They have been trained wrong, as a joke. We'll see if they can fix it or if they're too far gone.
Pokemonever1994: Saying Ash and co gave those two a beating might be stretching things a bit, considering how they all needed to step in to do it. But we'll see what the TRio pull off.
Pawswarrior2: I've rested long enough. TONIGHT WE WRITE IN HECK!
ProfessorCatPro: Interesting reasons! We'll see what she ends up as!
I think that's about all for now! As I said, I'm gonna do my best to get the next chapter out this weekend! I hope to see you then!
Discord: discord gg kESdTfhAwG
TVTropes: tvtropes org / pmwiki / pmwiki php / Fanfic / ZoruaTrainer
~FriTik
R&R