Cherrygrove City: Pokemon Center
With Serena's win yesterday, today was all about Ash and Jimmy taking on the Cherrygrove City gym leader, Justy. Danielle simply had an order for the gyms, and Justy wasn't one of them. Everyone left it at that as the pair. who would take him on, began strategizing.
They knew Justy was a fire type specialist and given his proximity to New Bark Town, he arranged his first badge battles to be two on two. It was a precaution not to force trainers into catching too many pokemon or utilizing pokemon they were uncertain about.
For Jimmy, that was appreciated since he caught Aipom days ago and wasn't certain about taking him into a gym battle. A two on two meant he could go with Cyndaquil and Murkrow, who he was far more confident in. Ash knew Larvitar was in a similar boat to Aipom.
He'd have his newest pokemon out at his side to observe the battle. This left him with Pikachu, Wimpod, and Teddiursa. While they were all gym battle ready, Pikachu wouldn't stand to gain much in these early gyms. As such, he'd be using Teddiursa and Wimpod.
Cherrygrove Gym
The group soon made it to the gym, which was a more circular, cool red building that led into the earth.
"It says in the guide book that the gym battles take place on the lowest floor of the building." James informed while putting it away.
"Well, the further down you get the cooler the air, so it could be a place best suited to minimize potential risk to the city in the case of stronger fire types." Serena reasoned.
Filled with excitement, the two gym challengers led the way inside. They saw gym trainers moving about shipments of pokefood, which seemed to indicate the group arrived on a gym resupply day. Upon noticing the group, one of the men whispered something to another.
"Welcome to the Cherrygrove City gym." This man, who was young, made his way over to the group. "What, may I ask, is the reason you've come here?"
"Jimmy & I are here for a gym battle." Ash explained.
"Ah, excellent." The man smiled. "Justy certainly enjoys challengers." He turned towards an elevator. "Follow me."
The group walked into the elevator with the man who pressed the button labeled 'basement'. The elevator was mostly glass, so as it descended, the group could see the levels they passed. There were floors with various rooms, gym trainers, and various fire type pokemon.
Eventually, the elevator came to a stop and opened to let the group out into a large room. Justy stood in the middle of a battlefield, illuminated by lights, as he tossed a pokeball up and down examining the space with a noticeable smile.
"Justy, you have a couple of challengers." The man informed.
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you all." Justy greeted with a confident smile. "Since you have the winner of yesterday's Pokeathlon, it'd be common to assume you know me, yet assumption makes a fool of us all." He bowed. "I am Justy, Cherrygrove City's gym leader."
"Hello Justy, my name is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town." Ash introduced himself. "I'm here to win a badge from you."
"I'm Jimmy from New Bark Town, and I am also here to win a badge." Jimmy added, filled with enthusiasm.
"New Bark Town…" Justy mused. "Pardon me, but if I were to wager a guess, I'd say this could very well be your first gym battle."
"Yeah, that's right." Jimmy replied.
"To take it further…" Justy looked to ash. "I'd wager you being from Pallet Town means this likely isn't your first gym battle."
"This will be my first here in Johto, but I've already competed in the Indigo and Orange Leagues." Ash responded.
"Well, good to see I avoided making a fool of myself." Justy nodded. "With that sorted, if it's alright by you two, I'd like to take Jimmy's challenge first. As I am sure you know, it can be intimidating for a new trainer to watch a seasoned trainer duke it out. Me personally, I like my challengers to be in the right head space to give me their best."
"Makes sense to me, and I'm perfectly fine with it." Ash declared.
The young man who led them down here took his place as the ref while Jimmy and Justy took their place in their respective trainer's boxes, and the rest of the group went to a couple benches at the side of the field.
"This gym battle shall be between Cherrygrove City's gym leader, Justy and Jimmy from New Bark Town." The ref declared. "Each side may use two pokemon, and the battle ends when both pokemon, on either side, are deemed unable to continue. Furthermore, the gym leader shall reveal his pokemon first and is unable to substitute while the challenger may make substitutions any time."
"Burn on, Ponyta!" Justy shouted as he threw out his pokemon.
In a flash of light, the fire horse pokemon appeared and tapped her hooves against the ground as an indication of her readiness to battle. Jimmy pulled out his pokedex:
Ponyta, a Fire Horse Pokémon. Its mane is made of intense flames.
Jimmy debated his choice between Murkrow or Cyndaquil. Ultimately, he felt his starter might be the key to bringing this battle home, so he opted to utilize his darkness pokemon first.
"You're up, Murkrow!" Jimmy declared.
In a flash of light, the darkness pokemon appeared, eager for the battle ahead.
"Ponyta vs Murkrow…Begin!" The ref declared.
Jimmy vs Justy (P. I)
"Alright, time to put the strategy I've worked out with Ash into play." Jimmy held out his hand. "Murkrow, ascend and put up a rain dance."
"Well, that's an interesting little strategy, but one my fire types are apt to counter." Justy stated. "Ponyta, use sunny day."
Murkrow flew up and moved about the air in a dancing motion while Ponyta's fire strengthened. Dark clouds rolled in above the battle field before a sphere of fire type energy fired off into the air, heading above the clouds. This all resulted in a steamy mist fall on the field.
Ash had warned Jimmy the leader might have a counter in place; however, this still seemed like it'd work for the second part of their strategy. While the rain would have been nice to weakenfire moves, that wasn't the end all be all the two moves Jimmy taught Murkrow.
"Murkrow, use thunder wave." Jimmy ordered.
"Ponyta, use bounce." Justy commanded.
Murkrow sparked with electric energy while Ponyta lept into the air. As she came down on the darkness pokemon, he managed to let loose that energy. The fire type drove Murkrow to the ground while she was paralyzed, but the darkness pokemon hadn't fainted.
"Murkrow, return!" Jimmy held out his flying type's pokeball, getting him back to safety. "Now, you're up, Murkrow!"
"Ah, I like the way you've been thinking." Justy smiled. "You sure this is your first gym?"
"I had a good teacher." Jimmy stated. "Murkrow, get in there and use wing attack."
"Ponyta, use ember." Just ordered.
Just as Jimmy had been banking on it, Ponyta was afflicted by paralysis which allowed Murkrow to strike true with wing attack and dole out some damage.
"Let's rack it up with an astonish." Jimmy ordered.
"Ponyta, use flame charge." Justy commanded.
This time, Ponyta was able to cloak herself in fire, but Murkrow glowed with ghost energy as he turned his back on the fire type. The darkness pokemon then turned around suddenly, stunning the fire type as she took some damage. Then, Murkrow was afflicted with burn damage.
Jimmy noticed his pokemon was tinted red as well. "Wait, what is that?"
"Any time you've utilized a physical move, my Ponyta's ability, flame body, has had the chance of inflicting burn." Justy declared. "Now, those physical moves will be operating at halve strength. Additionally, Murkrow will take burn damage every so often."
"In that case, we'll be wrapping this up!" Jimmy declared. "Murkrow, use gust at point blank range."
"Ponyta, use flame charge!" Justy declared.
Ponyta was once again afflicted with paralysis, leading to Murkrow getting off a point-blank gust and dishing out a critical blow. This knocked Ponyta down with swirls in her eyes. Murkrow was proud of his victory before taking burn damage and collapsing to the ground as well, swirls also in his eyes.
Cherrygrove Gym
"Ponyta and Murkrow are both unable to battle." The ref declared. "This round is a tie, meaning it'll be up to Justy to send out his next pokemon first."
"Return Murkrow." Jimmy smiled at his darkness pokemon's pokeball. "You hung in there and brought us to this point." He put the ball on his belt. "Now, leave the rest to Cyndaquil and I."
After returning and thanking his Ponyta, Justy smiled at his challenger. "I'll admit, that was one interesting battle, especially for the start of the season. You've clearly been training your pokemon well."
"Thank you, Justy." Jimmy replied genuinely.
"That said, this battle's been taken to a one on one." Justy selected his second pokemon. "No matter the battle, I'm not one for rolling over. Burn on, Cyndaquil!"
The gym leader's Cyndaquil appeared with the fire on his back roaring, clearly ready for battle.
"He's using a Cyndaquil?" Jimmy looked to his belt concerned. "Maybe I should use Aipom instead…" He shook his head and firmed up his expression. "No, dad would never doubt using his Typhlosion, so I can't doubt my starter." With confidence, he selected his starter. "You're up, Cyndaquil!"
Jimmy's Cyndaquil appeared, and immediately got his fire stoked upon seeing who his opponent was. This was a mirror match between a gym badge one Cyndaquil and a Cyndaquil Jimmy acquired a little over a week ago. Both fire types were ready for this, as were their trainers.
"Cyndaquil vs Cyndaquil...Begin!" The ref declared.
Jimmy vs Justy (P. II)
"Quick attack!" Jimmy/Justy commanded as one.
The two fire starters rushed at and rammed into one another at the dead center of the battlefield.
"Now, follow it up with a double kick." Justy ordered.
"Dodge it and use leer." Jimmy commanded.
The gym's Cyndaquil attempted to kick out at Jimmy's Cyndaquil, but he maneuvered around the opposing fire type before leering at his back to lower defense by one stage.
"Double kick, now." Justy commanded once more.
"Smokescreen." Jimmy ordered.
Jimmy's Cyndaquil managed to expel the black smoke, but due to their proximity, he was struck by the opposing fire type's hind legs, knocking him back.
"Tumble into it." Jimmy instructed, and Cyndaquil tumbled with the fall to ended up outside the black smoke. "Now, use fire spin!"
Jiimy's Cyndaquil came to a stop before expelling a stream of fire which wrapped through the black smoke. This formed a huge vortex of black smoke and fire which melded together to eventually leave a brilliant, orange vortex that had the gym's Cyndaquil feeling this attack.
When the attack ceased, Justy's Cyndaquil was visibly damaged from that little combination. Justy knew he'd been out battled; he wasn't above admitting it. Still, he wasn't about to simply call the battle. That isn't how he and his pokemon rolled.
"Cyndaquil, use tackle." Justy declared. "Put your all into it!"
"We'll do the very same." Jimmy smiled. "Cyndaquil, full power tackle!"
The fire starters faced each other before rushing and colliding forcefully; however, only one of them had been hit with a stat lowering move. Jimmy's Cyndaquil overpowered Justy's, knocking him past the gym leader. The opposing fire stater ended up with swirls in his eyes.
Cherrygrove Gym
"Justy's Cyndaquil is unable to battle." The ref declared. "With both his pokemon having fainted, this battle goes to Jimmy from New Bark Town."
Jimmy broke out into a huge grin before rushing out and scooping his starter into his arms. "You were amazing Cyndaquil!" He lifted the starter above his head. "Thanks to all the hard work you and Murkrow put in, were one step closer to entering the Silver Conference!"
Justy returned and thanked his own Cyndaquil before approaching the new trainer. "That was a mighty fine battle." He produced a red badge which had three points jutting out a circle, like a fire. "It's my honor to present you with the scorch badge."
Jimmy took the badge with a huge smile as he showed it to his starter. "Not too shabby a badge for our first, huh Cyndaquil?"
Cyndaquil cheered. "Cynda!"
"I knew he had it." Ash declared proudly.
"He was amazing." Danielle agreed, happy for her friend. "If he's come that far learning under Ash, I wonder if I've truly improved?"
While she was curious about that, it wasn't enough to deter Danielle from her present plan of challenging the gyms in the order she knew from the games.
"While this battle is one battle I'll remember, it's also got my blood pumping." Justy turned to Ash. "It's time I take on the guy who cultivated you into a trainer like this."
"If that's your way of saying it's my time to battle, I'm up for it!" Ash declared as he stood.
"Good luck Ash." Serena stated, having stood, and planted a kiss on his cheek.
"Thanks, Serena." Ash stated happily.
He then moved to take his place in the trainer's box while Jimmy sat on the bench.
"Time to see what Ash has been cooking all this time we've been in Johto." James thought.
Ash took one of his pokeballs and held it to his side. "Come on out, Larvitar."
The rock skin pokemon appeared and was curious why he was sent out next to his trainer. "Lar?"
Ash smiled at him. "Hey Larvitar, what do you say to watching how I gym battle?"
He was hoping the rock/ground type would agree because he just knew seeing a gym battle in action would further motivate Larvitar out of his shell. If everything went to plan, he could then start preparing Larvitar for the next gym and take their training further in general.
Fortunately, Larvitar has had a lot of exposure to the group to the point he was more than willing and signified it with a nod. "Vitar!"
He then turned towards the field as Ash grinned and did the same. "Alright, we're ready to get this underway."
"To think I'd get two interesting battles this early into the season." Justy smirked as he didn't tend to see trainers like these two until the latter half of a gym season. "Alright, let's begin."
"This gym battle shall be between Cherrygrove City's gym leader, Justy and Ash from Pallet Town." The ref declared. "Each side may use two pokemon, and the battle ends when both pokemon, on either side, are deemed unable to continue. Furthermore, the gym leader shall reveal his pokemon first and is unable to substitute while the challenger may make substitutions any time."
"Burn on, Houndour!" Justy declared.
In a flash of light, the dark pokemon appeared and stood at the ready.
"Ah, that's a Houndour." Ash had wondered what Luca's lost partner looked like, so he now got out his pokedex:
Houndour, the Dark Pokémon. Houndour travel in packs and communicate through barks in order to surround their prey.
"I choose you, Teddiursa!" Ash called out as he selected and threw one of his pokemon out.
The little bear pokemon appeared, more than ready to battle and test his strength.
"Houndour vs Teddiursa…Begin." The ref declared.
Ash vs Justy (P. I)
"Houndour, let's start this with a thunder fang." Justy commanded.
"Teddiursa, dodge and use metal claw to carve out some of the arena." Ash instructed.
Houndour's maw sparked with electricity as he charged the little bear pokemon. The normal type deftly dodged before utilizing metal claw to cleave a square from the arena.
"Given he taught Jimmy to battle smart, I shouldn't underestimate anything he does." Justy thought. "Houndour, use ember."
"Teddiursa, heft the section of the arena you cleaved while using bulk up." Ash instructed. "Then, defend."
Teddiursa's muscles bulged briefly, raising his attack and defense by one stage, as he lifted that slab of the arena up. As Houndour utilized ember, the normal type slammed the slab down to defend from the attack.
"Well, that's unique." Justy smirked, having a good feeling what Ash would do next with that slab. "Houndour, show them your reversal."
"Teddiursa, use bulk up and brace the slab." Ash instructed.
As Houndour charged the normal type, Teddiursa's muscles bulged once more, resulting in his attack and defense going up another stage, and he hefted the slab up. Just as Houndour was about to reach him, the normal type slammed the slab into the arena, digging it into the ground.
Houndour, as per the name, reversed around the slab and slammed into Teddiursa's back with fighting type energy. While a super effective blow, Teddiursa has risen his defense by two stages and the fact his back hit against the sturdy slab of earth helped offset that further.
"Houndour, use foul play." Justy commanded.
"Teddiursa, move around the slab and use bulk up once more to pick it up." Ash instructed.
Teddiursa shuffled behind the slab as Houndour glowed with dark type energy before expelling it forward. Rather than be stopped by the slab, the energy moved through it and afflicted Teddiursa. The normal type radiated dark type energy before crying out in pain as that blow had been extraordinarily strong.
"For those who raise their attack, foul play is a truly devastating move." Justy commented.
Despite the rather large well of pain the normal type was feeling, he fought through it to firmly grasp the slab. Once again, Tediursa's muscles bulged, attack and defense rose a third stage, as he hefted the slab of earth upwards.
"I won't argue that; however, bulk up is a move that raises the attack and defense together." Ash declared. "You'll be hard pressed to stop what's coming when the two rise in tandem."
Justy hadn't expected Teddiursa to be able to fight off the pain. Even with parallel increases to attack and defense, this normal type was known for having a higher base attack than defense. As both rose, the gap between the two should have expanded further.
"Houndour, dodge!" Justy tried.
"Teddiursa, time to wrap this up by throwing that slab of rock into Houndour." Ash declared.
As Houndour tried to move clear of the slab's coming path, Teddiursa threw it with all his strength. Despite the dark pokemon's best efforts, the slab nailed him head on. It shattered on impact and dealt a massively powerful blow that saw Houndour fainting.
Cherrygrove Gym
"Houndour is unable to battle." The ref declared. "This round goes to the challenger, Ash."
"Alright, well done Teddiursa!" Ash called out.
"Teddi!" Teddiursa called out, feeling good after his victory.
Larvitar was starry eyed upon the completion of that battle. "Larvitar!"
"You into the spirit of things, Larvitar?" Ash asked.
Larvitar nodded excitedly. "Lar!"
Justy thanked and returned his pokemon. "Can't say I've battled someone who could utilize the terrain as you have." He selected his next pokemon. "Additionally, you've forced my hand for the next selection." He threw his pokemon out. "Burn on, Vulpix."
Ash grinned since he hadn't forgotten his last encounter with a fire type gym leader. More specifically, he remembered his last encounter with that man's Ninetales. Rather than reshape his team to fit the circumstances, he merely made sure there was only one target.
"I'll be sticking with Teddiursa." Ash called out.
"Vulpix vs Teddiursa…Begin!" The ref declared.
Ash vs Justy (P. II)
"Teddiursa, start with scratch." Ash ordered.
"You may wish to stick with your normal type, but I'd fancy another challenge." Justy declared. "Vulpix, use roar."
Teddiursa charged forward to scratch their opponent only to be met by a cute roar, still it had the desired effect. Teddiursa was engulfed in red energy and sent back to his pokeball. The only other full pokeball on Ash's belt opened and a new red light shot out to reveal Wimpod.
Cherrygrove Gym
Being pulled out like this was a strange sensation for the bug/water type, but he was ready to battle for his trainer regardless of circumstance.
"Hm, a Wimpod." Justy noted. "What a strange pokemon for a Kanto native to have. You ever been to Alola or Galar?"
"Nah, I got this guy delivered to me through how far I made it in the Mandarin Tournament." Ash informed. "He's also the pokemon I decided to be my second before you ever pulled him out."
Justy looked at his challenger and the pokemon he'd already sent out before smiling. "Blaine…" He shook his head. "That old codger always ends up ruining the surprise with you veteran Kanto trainers who've faced him." He smiled. "Well done, Ash. Let's see what you got left for me."
"Vulpix vs Wimpod…Begin!" The ref declared.
Ash vs Justy (P. III)
"Wimpod, start with aqua jet." Ash ordered.
"Vulpix, match them with quick attack." Justy commanded.
Wimpod was cloaked in water while Vulpix was cloaked in normal type energy, and the two collided at the dead center of the arena; however, the former had the advantage due to their attack having stab. He ended up slamming into Vulpix and doled out a good chunk of damage.
"We won't fall that easily." Justy declared. "Use swift."
"Wimpod, brace yourself before then showing them your assurance." Ash instructed.
The turn tail pokemon was suddenly bombarded by stars, but he held on before being enshrouded by powerful, dark type energy. With double the strength this move would have otherwise, Wimpod slammed into Vulpix, doling out another strong blow.
"Vulpix, use zen headbutt." Justy commanded.
Ash grinned. "Wimpod, metal claw into the ground and rollout."
Wimpod dug his now metal sheening claws into the arena while Vulpix charged with psychic energy enshrouding her forehead. Upon nearing Wimpod, he rolled forward with his claws still embedded in the arena, resulting in a section of the ground being torn up.
As he rolled forward, the arena floor ended up in Vulpix's way, and she smashed head first into it. The flooring shattered as she smashed clean through it, taking chip damage from the arena floor's debris, and plowed into Wimpod.
"Now, bring it home with skitter smack." Ash commanded.
Suddenly, Wimpod skittered behind Vulpix and struck out with a strong burst of bug type energy. The fox pokemon had taken too much and ended up collapsing to the ground with swirls in her eyes.
Cherrygrove Gym
"Vulpix is unable to battle." The ref declared. "This battle goes to the challenger Ash."
"Yeah, we did it!" Ash ran out and scooped Wimpod up. "You were amazing Wimpod."
Pikachu nodded. "Pika!"
Wimpod didn't exactly show it, he hasn't shown emotion in large extents for a long time, but he could register that it felt good to have succeeded for his trainer. It was even to the point one could notice a slight smile.
Larvitar was in awe of the sheer strength Ash's other pokemon displayed, little did he know some of the monsters his trainer had raised before. Regardless, the rock skin pokemon was now fully committed to battling in gyms. He wanted to be strong like these other pokemon too.
After thanking and returning his Vulpix, Justy approached Ash with a smile. "Well, you did not disappoint, Ash." He produced a second scorch badge. "It is with great honor that I bestow this gym's badge to you."
Ash grinned as he grasped the badge and held it aloft. "We just got the scorch badge!"
"Pika!"
"Vitar!"
"Teddi!"
Seems the celebrations drew out the normal type and brought the rock/ground type closer to celebrate with their trainer and the electric type. While those four celebrated, Wimpod simply closed his eyes in contentment.
Cherrygrove City: Next Morning…
The group stood outside the Cherrygrove pokemon center as today was a sad day. Jimmy, Marina, and Danielle decided this was as far as they went with the group. The twins planned to stick around the city a bit longer.
They wanted to get in some extra training before heading out together. Danielle had already made sure she had everything and would be heading off immediately for Violet City. The trio still had to restock before they headed out after Danielle.
In short, Violet City was everyone's next location, but they'd be arriving at different times. Everyone ended up looking at one another, not quite sure what to say. The Kanto group were used to departures like this, but that didn't make it any easier.
Eventually, James was the one to break the silence. "Well, the three of us should get to stocking up if we want to make it out of Cherrygrove today."
Marina knew they couldn't keep everyone back another day, so she approached Serena before giving her a hug. "Thank you, for all your help."
Serena smiled and hugged the younger trainer back. "No problem."
Jimmy and Danielle merely stood before Ash.
"Thanks for teaching us all this time." Jimmy voiced.
"Yeah, we've certainly learned a lot from you." Danielle added.
She was doubly glad to have had such an experience as learning and training under Ash. He wasn't like his anime counterpart, but that was fine by her.
"No worries, it was fun teaching you two." Ash smiled. "Hey, I won't say goodbye since, knowing how these journey's go, we'll likely run into each other again."
Without anything else to say, Danielle took off, Jimmy and Marina moved to the pokemon center's battlefield, and the trio headed off towards the local stores. As they were, every one of them would eventually leave Cherrygrove to continue their journey.
Even as they pressed on, the six of them knew this had still been an interesting start to their respective journeys in Johto. Given how great a start they've all had, each of them knew there were plenty of great adventures ahead.
With that, Ash has obtained his first gym badge which allows me to reveal a little something I've been thinking about. The next chapter will be what I'm labeling 'Chronicles'. What are 'Chronicles'? Well, it links back to Pokemon Chronicles. For those of you who may not be aware, Pokemon Chronicles covered stories about side characters from the pokemon universe. You got an episode on how the rocket trio we knew came together, Ritchie's adventure in the past, and so on.
Essentially, it'll be a way for me to name chapters that don't focus on Ash and Co., I.E. those side chapters I'd sometimes do back in the prior story yet will typically deal with characters important to the current story. I'm thinking I can try to do one after each badge Ash earns, so that'd be eight extra chapters that theoretically do progress the story since it progresses the story of characters who the trio will meet up with.
Does this mean I won't potentially do more than eight extra chapters? Well, I can confirm that I am planning for Gary to be the focus of a Johto movie. If you remember back to the adventures, I had him undertake back in the first story, it shouldn't be hard to conclude which movie he'll be taking center stage in. Provided I can do these eight extra chapters, that in itself will be a little extra chronic content within this story. Perhaps it'll be counted among the eight.
Bottom line, next chapter, for that chapter, we'll be shifting focus to another person or group's adventures within the Johto region.
Vital Info (Ch. 9): I might be blanking here, but I think the bolstered police force angle, I.E. extra uniformed officers, only really happened in early pokemon. After that, it seemed we'd only really see Officer Jennys. As for James and his father, they're working towards it.
Vital Info: As for losses, not to worry for those will come for both Ash and Serena. After all, if they just breeze through a region, what's the point...unless you're intending to end the series. Personally, I got a lot of regions intended for this. Right now, I will say I am debating if the loss comes at her second Pokeathlon or the third. As for Ash, that's a simpler decision as every region has its hard gym leaders that are ripe for him to struggle on. As for Larvitar, he needed just a bit more build up, but now he's there. As such, he can begin to get some true shine.
Nightshadegirl: I mean, all Serena really needs is a protector and a willing trade partner to make the evolution happen. That said, it's not like I'm going to suddenly have her evolve Rhydon as he's just evolved last chapter. So, I'll say it could happen this story or in a future story. As for the next chapter(This chapter) it was, in fact, the gym battle; however, it's for Jimmy and Ash.