The waters around Trovita Island were chaotic thanks to all the whirlpools that surrounded the island. But Ash and Tracey were on a ship that had sailed these waters any time, so they were not worried.
What did worry Ash, was the girl and her Seel struggling in the waters. Ash sent out Charizard without hesitation and saved the girl and her Seel.
"What were you doing out in the dangerous waters?" Ash asked the girl in his best impression of his mom once Charizard dropped her and her Seel on the Ship.
"We were just playing and the water sucked us in" The girl lowered her head, her Pokemon doing the same.
Sighing Ash brought out his towel and wrapped it around the girl with a smile.
"Dry up. We'll take you back to the island little girl."
"Thank you mister!" the girl smiled widely at him. "My name is Mahri."
When Ash and Co stepped on the island, a man rushed to them. Mahri rushed forward as well and hugged the man.
"Thank you for saving my sister! I looked away for one second and suddenly she'd vanished. Is there any way I can replay you?"
"It's no problem" Ash smiled.
"Brother, he's here to challenge the Pokemon Gym," Mahri said excitedly.
The man, who was her brother, smiled. He extended a hand for Ash.
"My name is Rudy, and I'm the Trovita Island Gym Leader" the man introduced himself with a grin.
Usually, the Gyms in the Orange Archipelago had a few challenges that a challenger had to pass before he could challenge the Gym Leader. Rudy's Gym was no different.
But, since Ash saved his sister, he'd waived the challenge for Ash and directly accepted Ash's challenge.
The rules of the battle were simple. It would be a three-round set battle with no switching out allowed. Ash was given the choice of three types, and only Pokemon of similar typing would be allowed to battle each other. The one with the most rounds won would be named the winner.
Ash had chosen Electric, Water and Fire as the three types, thinking of the three Pokemon in his team.
The battle would take place on a field Rudy called the spike field, a large rock that protruded from the oceans and had a whirlpool swirling around it. Ash and Rudy were the only ones allowed on the field, anyone wanting to watch was present on a hot air balloon at a safe distance.
Ash sent out his Wartortle first, and Rudy sent out a star Pokemon with ten points and a gem in the middle.
"Starmie, the Mysterious Pokemon. Starmie's centre section - the core - glows brightly in seven colours. Because of its luminous nature, this Pokémon has been given the nickname "the gem of the sea."
Ruy called for Starmie to use Double Team and spread across the field. Ash immediately cut off that advantage with a shell-spinning Hydro Pump that knocked all the clones out and hit the real one as well.
Rudy smiled at that.
The Gym Leader quickly followed it up with a Bubblebeam and Ash called for a Skull Bash. Wartortle broke the bubbles apart as it flew towards Starmie, and right as it was about to the Pokemon, Rudy called for a Thunderbolt that pushed Wartortle back and did some serious damage. Rudy quickly called for a Psychic and followed it up with a Thunderbolt. The Psychic lifted Wartortle and held him in place and The Thunderbolt flew to Wartortle like an arrow. Ash called for a Hydro Pump as a counter. The two moves met halfway before cancelling each other out. Wartortle dropped to the ground and Ash immediately called for a Hydro Pump. Rudy Called for a Thunderbolt and the two moves cancelled each other again. It happened a few times, both moves cancelling the other out every time. Ash called for another Hydro Pump, but this time the spinning-shell version. Starmie spun as well, electricity covering its body as waves of water continuously crashed into it until Starmie lost its bearing and was swept off its 'feet'. Ash quickly capitalised with a normal Hydro Pump and a Skull Bash afterwards. The Skull Bash hit the core, cracking the gem on impact.
"I didn't mean to break it!" Ash called as Starmie fell.
Rudy only laughed and called his Starmie back.
"Don't worry they heal" he assured Ash.
Ash called Wartortle back and sent Pikachu out. Rudy sent out an electric-type Pokemon to match Ash.
"Electabuzz, the Electric Pokemon. When a storm arrives, gangs of this Pokémon compete with each other to scale heights that are likely to be stricken by lightning bolts. Some towns use Electabuzz in place of lightning rods."
Ash called for a quick attack to begin proceedings. Electabuzz did not attempt to dodge the move, and not surprising that it didn't considering how the move seemed to bounce right off of it. Ash and Pikachu tried their trusty combination of Double Team and Quick Attack, but that didn't work either. Ash switched to Thunder and the Electabuzz seemed to absorb the attack. Electabuzz's eyes lit up after that and it looked energised.
Rudy called for a Quick Attack of its own and Electabuzz hit Pikachu at blinding speed and overwhelming force, so fast that Ash and Pikachu did not have time to react. Rudy quickly followed it up with a Thunderpunch that sent Pikachu flying back into Ash's arms, knocking him out.
"And now we are down to the last performance" Rudy grinned, calling back Electabuzz and sending out his Ninetails.
"I'm not done yet" Ash gripped Pikachu a little tighter before sending out Charizard.
Charizard landed on the battlefield gracefully and looked at the opposing Ninetails with a frown.
"Charizard!" the flaming lizard looked back at his trainer, "I know!" Ash exclaimed. Charizard stared at Ash for a moment before sighing with amusement and turning back to Ninetails.
The battle began with a battle of dominance between two Flamethrowers. Charizard took to the skies immediately before diving down for a Slash. Ninetails used Reflect to parry the move, before using Quick Attack to get a hit in. Charizard flew back before coming back down again for a Slash. Ninetails used Reflect and followed it up with a Quick Attack. Only this time Charizard grabbed the fox by the neck and flew it to the skies. Charizard spun the fox a few times before sending it shooting for the ground, using Fire Blast to accelerate the speed at which Ninetails fell. Ninetails crashed into the field taking major damage but was still able to move. Charizard swooped in quickly with a Slash and knocked Ninetaiils out.
With another badge under his belt, Ash and Tracey head for Kumquat Island, where the next Gym awaits.
On the way the duo and Lapras almost get hit by a boat. The captain of the boat apologizes profusely for the almost accident but quickly recognizes Ash from the Trovita Gym.
Tad, the captain of the ship and an aspiring Pokemon League Challenger challenged Ash at once to a battle. He explained that Rudy had complimented Ash's battle skills and his understanding of his Pokemon and Tad wanted to test himself against Ash.
The battle was against Tad's Poliwrath and Ash's Charizard. Pikachu wanted to battle but Charizard came out of his Pokeball and was raring to go. Pikachu just sighed and stepped back.
The battle was a hard-fought one with Charizard coming out the victor in the end. It was by the barest margins, but it did not activate the bluish-white flames of the fire-type Pokemon.
Pikachu watched Tad compliment and Ash praise the fire-type with a small frown.