With Courage I Will Face
Arc II: Pewter
Chapter Eight: Friendships Forged
"And then Pikachu landed his last Brick Break like this!" Ash swung his arm down, slamming it into the counter. "And Onix just couldn't take it anymore, so I won my first badge!"
Elaine was giggling happily over the phone as Ash dramatically reenacted the story for her.
"Your so lucky, Ashy! That sounds so cool!" Elaine cried out.
"It was super cool! Pikachu's the best!" Ash replied, scratching Pikachu.
"It looks like you two are getting along much better these days, huh?" Delia asked as she entered the frame.
Ash and Pikachu smiled in unison.
"You bet!" "Pika!"
Delia and Elaine laughed at the pairs enthusiasm.
"Does this mean I can pet Pikachu when you come home?" Elaine asked excitedly.
Pikachu's expression changed immediately, stepping slightly away from the camera. Ash couldn't help but chuckle a bit. Pikachu had improved leaps and bounds with him but was still relatively reserved with other people right now. He really liked Misty, Ash could tell that the way he went out of his way to speak to her, but Pikachu wasn't as cuddly with others as he was with his trainer.
"We'll see, you can ask him then. Maybe he'll come around eventually." Ash replied, leaning in and petting Pikachu. Pikachu relaxed a bit at the action, and Elaine cooed again.
"Ash, what happened to your cheeks?" Delia asked suddenly, leaning in towards the camera.
Ash put a hand up to one of his cheeks, suddenly feeling self-conscious.
"What do you mean what happened? What's wrong with my cheeks?" he asked, feeling around on his face. Had she known about the recent burning that had been happening? How?
"You have what looks like… birthmarks on both sides. But you've never had a birthmark on your face at all, let alone two and let alone matching ones." Delia said, squinting further. "They look like 'z's. Or maybe just zig-zags?"
Lightning bolts. Ash wanted to correct her. They were lightning bolts. But he wasn't sure that was the best move, as he was certain he got them from Pikachu's huge explosion of electricity back on Route 1 and that was still something he was not eager to tell his mom about. Especially that they were more like scars than birthmarks, and probably closer to brands than scars the way it felt like they burned still.
"I dunno mom, I haven't noticed anything like that. Puberty?" Ash tried to play it off with a laugh, but Delia would not stop staring.
"What's pub-arity?" Elain thankfully interrupted. Ash laughed again while Delia sighed and put a hand on her daughter's head.
"That's what I'm going to beat your brother with when he gets home, sweetie." Delia replied gently. Ash gulped.
"Did I tell you about Misty?" Ash changed the subject swiftly. "She's a girl I met in Viridian City. We're heading the same way, so we've been traveling together. She's been a big help!"
"Maybe it has more to do with puberty than I thought." Delia commented slyly. Ash blushed, and Delia laughed. "I'm glad your making friends out there, not that I had any doubts. But it's nice knowing you aren't all alone."
"I'll never be all alone, mom. I have Pikachu with me. And you guys!" He replied. "I should go, we have a big day tomorrow, I think. We didn't come up with a plan so we're waking up pretty early to talk it out."
"Okay, sounds good. Goodnight Ash, thanks for calling. We love you!" Delia told him.
"Night Ashy! Love you!" Elain cried too, jumping closer to the camera. Ash laughed at her, tapping the screen with his hand.
"I love you too. G'night, guys." He hung up the phone with a smile.
Then he let out a deep sigh. He missed them a lot more than he thought, especially considering how much fun he was genuinely having. Nothing about his journey was boring or less exciting than he imagined, much less made him second guess his decision. But even still, his mom and Elaine were enough to think about Pallet Town and home frequently.
"You'll come around," Ash said to Pikachu. "If you don't, that's fine too. But I think you'll like Elaine. All I ask is that you don't electrocute my mom and my sister if you can help it."
Pikachu nodded. He supposed that was fair enough. He was working on giving people a chance now. Ash had proved him wrong at least a million times in the week they had known each other, so maybe he was a little wrong about people and needed to reevaluate his attitude and beliefs. But that did NOT mean he wanted to be grabbed at and squeezed by any old person, and his human seemed to understand that too.
"Pipi, Pikachu." Pikachu said in return. All he did was promise Ash he wouldn't, and Ash stared at him for a moment before nodding.
Pikachu found it weird when Ash did that, like he understood him. Had it been anyone else, it would've looked like a bluff or like they were pretending to understand. Somehow, though, Pikachu felt like Ash did understand. Sometimes Ash proved he did, by responding properly to him, as if Pikachu had spoken plain human language. Sometimes it was enough that Pikachu simply felt understood after he spoke to Ash that did it.
"Thanks," He replied. "It'll be a while before we're back in Pallet Town anyway, I hope. We've got a lot of traveling to do, and if we're lucky we don't end up back in Pallet Town until we've gotten our eighth badge."
"Pikachu! Pikakachu!" Pikachu agreed happily.
"C'mon, better not make myself a liar. Let's turn in." Ash stood up from the desk in the lobby.
He was already in his night clothes, even his hat was abandoned. Everything was in their room already where Misty was, with any luck, fast asleep. Pikachu followed suit, and the pair slipped quietly into their bedroom.
After a quick inventory check, two quick showers and an even quicker breakfast, Ash and Misty were ready to hit the road again. They passed by the gym on the way, and decided to say goodbye to Brock before they left town.
"Hey, Brock, we just wanted to," Ash cut himself off in pure shock. "What are YOU doing here?" He shouted.
The old man from the stone store was inside the gym, talking with Brock! His sudden outburst got their attention, and the old man laughed while Brock smiled widely.
"Hey, Ash, Misty, welcome back!" He said, before pausing. "You guys, uh, know each other?" He asked next.
Flint continued to laugh.
"We met last week; he told me I'd never beat you or earn your badge." Ash replied. "When I proved him wrong, he gave me a Hard Stone."
"Ah, cool it, kid. I apologized, what's with the cold shoulder?" Flint asked. "Especially since I'm here doing you a favor."
At Ash and Misty's confused looks, Brock stepped in.
"Ash, Misty, this is my father. He disappeared a long time ago, and that's why I haven't been able to chase my own dreams; because I had to stay here and look after my family and the gym, because nobody else could." Brock said. "But he showed up at my doorstep last night, practically begging forgiveness."
"I didn't beg," Flint interjected quickly. "Just because I was on my knees doesn't mean I was begging."
"He was just encouraging me to follow my own dreams when you showed back up." Brock continued as if he hadn't been interrupted. "My dad said he would step back in as Pewter City's gym leader if I wanted to go on my own Pokemon journey."
"Alright!" Ash cried happily.
"That's amazing!" Misty agreed.
"And it's all thanks to you, Ash, for inspiring my dad again. I can't thank you enough." Brock finished, turning to Ash. "I'd love to go on a journey, but only if that means I can accompany you guys. I think I'd learn a lot if we all traveled together, but I understand if you don't want me to tag along."
Ash and Misty hardly had to think about it, both practically beaming out at Brock.
"Of course, you can come along! Right, Misty?" Ash told him quickly. Misty nodded.
"The more the merrier!" She replied.
Brock could hardly contain his enthusiasm.
"Okay, okay I've been convinced! Just give me a minute to pack and say goodbye to my brothers and sisters, I'll meet you right by the entrance to Route 3, okay?" Brock was practically bouncing with glee, and then he left the room.
"Ash," Flint called out as they turned to leave. They wanted to give Brock and his family privacy before he left. "Thank you. It was your determination that inspired me to man up and come home. If someone as young as you could stare down such a huge, impossible challenge and come out on top, what's my excuse?"
"No problem! I just did what anyone would do. Thanks for giving Brock this chance, we won't let either of you regret it!" Ash replied eagerly.
Then they made their exit.
"What anyone would do, huh? You really don't get it, do ya kid?" Flint said to himself quietly but had to smile.
Ash Ketchum. What an odd kid.
Soon enough, they were well on their way out of Pewter City. Ash, Pikachu, Misty, and Brock were traversing Route 3 on their way to the entrance of Mt. Moon.
They made small talk along the way, learning more about each other as they went. Misty and Brock divulged their ages, both older than Ash. Brock was fifteen, beating them both by a few years, while Misty was barely an entire month older than he was. But she refused to let him live it down.
Brock liked to cook, something they were both looking forward to trying, and Misty's affinity for water Pokemon had naturally come up on conversation.
"What are you heading to Cerulean City for? Is it to watch the water show in the gym?" Brock asked curiously.
"No!" Misty's reply came louder all the sudden, before she reeled herself in. "Sorry, I just can't stand that stupid show."
"But it's put on by the lovely, talented, and beautiful Sensational Waterflower Sisters! They're incredible!" Brock replied, and Misty soured more.
"They're my sisters, and they're complete and total airheads." She replied hotly.
Ash and Brock both did a double take at the news.
"Is that why you don't perform with them?" Ash asked, and Misty growled.
"They won't even let me even if I wanted to, which I don't! I can't stand being around them for too long, they make my head hurt." She said simply. Ash and Brock dropped the subject for now, instead Ash drew attention to a trainer approaching them.
"That's a Master Trainer, isn't it?" Ash asked his friends, gesturing to the trainer looking out into a grass field. He was dressed all in red, with a red jacket and black boots being his most identifying factors.
"Yeah, I think so. Are you gonna challenge him, Ash?" Brock asked curiously.
Master Trainers were set up all over the region, identified by their red gear given to them by the League. They were exceptional trainers, each picked to represent a single species of Pokemon native to the Kanto region. If you could defeat every one stationed around the region in battle, you would be awarded a special prize from the League President, Charles Goodshow himself.
"Absolutely! I've heard about this challenge too, and it's just another stepping stone to my dream!" Ash bolted over to him. "You're a Master Trainer, right? Do you think we could have a battle? This will be my first against a Master Trainer!"
The Master trainer smiled at Ash's enthusiasm.
"You bet! Always happy to accept a new challenger of the Master's Line. My name is Ronnie, Master Trainer of Nidoran, female." Ronnie introduced himself. Ash grinned.
"My name's Ash, and this is Pikachu! We're gonna go all the way to the top one day." Ash replied.
Ronnie released his Pokemon. It was a small, light blue, quadrupedal Pokemon. It had red eyes and oversized teeth, and its back was covered in toxic quills, matching the one on his head. Ash quickly pulled out his Pokedex.
Nidoran, female, the Poison Pin Pokemon and the first-stage evolution of Nidoqueen. This is a mild-mannered Pokemon that does not like to fight. But beware- it's small horn secretes venom.
"You'll find that plenty of Pokemon don't line up one-to-one with Pokedex entries. My Nidoran, for example, loves a good fight." Ronnie said. As if proving his point, Nidoran stomped its foot in the dirt eagerly.
"Good, she's in for a good one! Pidgeotto, I choose you!" Ash cried, releasing his bird Pokemon. She looked ready for a good fight as well.
"Nidoran, Poison Sting!" Ronnie called eagerly.
Nidoran shot a needle, glowing purple, straight at Pidgeotto, who easily dodged.
"Go in for Scratch!" Ronnie tried next. Nidoran ran ahead and jumped up at Pidgeotto, moving to slash at her with its front arm.
"Gust, blow it away!" Ash cried.
Pidgeotto quickly flapped its wings. The force of that alone was enough to push Nidoran back, but the gust of wind that kicked up sent it back even further. Nidoran pushed back to its feet quickly, and Ronnie smiled.
"You didn't just kick back and relax in Viridian Forest, did you? You've trained well." Ronnie complimented. "Super Fang!"
Nidoran ran and jumped again, its oversized tooth glowing a bright white as it launched into Pidgeotto. It made contact and bit hard. Pidgeotto flapped its wing hard, managing to dislodge the for after a few shakes, but found herself exhausted after. Ash was shocked.
"That's so cool that your Nidoran knows Super Fang already, Ronnie!" Ash praised. Ronnie laughed awkwardly, unused to such reactions from opponents. "I bet that catches everybody by surprise."
"It does." Ronnie confirmed. "And usually, they're not so… happy about it." He remarked.
"What's not to be happy about? The stronger you are, the more satisfied I'll be when I win! And we'll just get that much stronger!" Ash replied. "Pidgeotto, Wing Attack!"
Pidgeotto pulled herself together and swooped in, glowing wing making easy contact with Nidoran's form. Ronnie gasped at the pure speed and ordered Nidoran to put space between them, but Ash wouldn't let up.
"Chase it with Quick Attack!" Ash said.
Pidgeotto practically appeared above Nidoran, striking it from above. Nidoran jumped and avoided a direct hit but was thrown to the side rather roughly. Still, she pushed back to her feet.
"Finish it, Pidgeotto, use Wing Attack!" Ash cried.
Just like before, Pidgeotto practically appeared above Nidoran. She struck the poison-type hard with her glowing wing, slamming its body into the ground. This time it did not push back up, and Pidgeotto took a quick victory lap.
"Awesome job out there, Pidgeotto! That make up for missing out on the gym?" Ash said as Pidgeotto landed before him. She nodded happily, and Ash reached out to pet her.
"That was a great show, Ash. You're well on your way to becoming a Master Trainer in your own right." Ronnie said. "This is a button, you should get one every time you defeat one of us." He held out his prize. "And of course, your prize money was already deposited into your trainer account."
Ash took the button from Ronnie. It was small, smaller than his gym badge, and didn't have anything to pin with like the badge that he was now wearing inside his jacket, but it was nice. It was red and had a stamped image of a female Nidoran on it.
"Thanks so much for the battle, Ronnie." Ash thanked him. He nodded gratefully.
"Let's battle again one day, okay?" Ronnie suggested.
Ash agreed, and they were off again.
The group continued on their way up towards Mt. Moon after that. Ash battled a few more trainers on the way, getting all three of his Pokemon some more experience and the group engaged in small talk.
"Mt. Moon." Misty said, as if testing the name out. "Sounds kinda spooky to me." She decided. "Or romantic." She added as an afterthought. "Definitely one or the other."
"Supposedly, it's called Mt. Moon because pieces of stars used to fall here all the time. Back in ancient times, anyway." Brock told them. "This is also where most of the moon stones in Kanto are mined. We think there's a connection, and that the moon stones are actually pieces of the meteorites and stars that landed here."
"That's pretty cool, Brock. I never knew all that." Ash said, gazing up at the mountain.
"I bet you know lots about this place from growing up so close, right?" Misty guessed. Brock nodded.
"I used to dig and explore these caves all the time before my dad left. I didn't have the time after, but I never forgot the feeling of exploring caves or digging for fossils." Brock said, almost longingly.
They were interrupted by the sound of screaming, catching all their attention. They followed the sound of the shouts and came upon a man down on the ground being ambushed by a dozen small, blue bat-like Pokemon.
"He looks like he needs help!" Misty said at the same time as Ash activated his Pokedex.
Zubat, the Bat Pokemon, and the first-stage evolution of Crobat. It has no eyeballs, so it can't see. It check's its surroundings via the ultrasonic waves it emits from its mouth.
"Pikachu, scare 'em all away with ThunderShock!" Ash ordered, charging through the frenzy of Zubat.
Pikachu released bolts of lightning from his cheeks on the way, not releasing it until Ash placed them in the middle of the huddle. Since the man in need of rescue was still down on the ground, there was no real risk of hitting him with stray bolts from atop Ash's head. Ash took a few zaps, but he paid them no mind; he was quickly learning to ignore being shocked.
"Are you okay, mister?" Brock asked as he ran up behind Ash.
"They say man's best friend is a Pokemon, and with you two I believe it!" He ignored Brock's question, beaming at Ash and Pikachu.
"That's… nice." Ash replied as they shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. Misty couldn't help but laugh at Ash being uncomfortable.
"I'm so moved! Such friendship I thought I'd never see, when the Zubat began attacking me!" He continued yet again as if nobody had spoken. "I thought I was done for, but who should arrive? Two heroes, thanks to whom I'm alive!" He shouted, throwing his arms up. "Yes, alive, I'm alive! Thank you so much!"
"Hardly think he was about to die." Ash muttered to Misty, who still looked like she was enjoying this at Ash's expense a little too much.
"He certainly doesn't look like the poetic type." Misty commented back. The man rounded on the three of them again.
"Did I mention how grateful I am?" he said eagerly.
"I think you might have." Ash deadpanned. "Why were the Zubat attacking you, mister?"
"Never call me mister! My name's Seymour, Seymour the scientist!" He gasped and recoiled back at the thought. "Knowledge. Research. That's me. I'm Seymour the scientist!"
"I changed my mind; I don't care anymore." Misty nudged Ash. "Let's just keep moving."
They did attempt to keep moving, but Seymour spoke out to them again.
"It wasn't their fault; they were just scared. Normally Zubat don't like to leave the caves, but there's been lots of activity inside Mt. Moon lately. I think it's scaring the Pokemon inside." Seymour said.
Ash, Misty and Brock all stopped at the same time.
"What kind of activity?" Brock asked curiously.
"There's been a lot of lights recently. Flashing lights coming from all different parts of the cave systems. And shaking, lots of shaking. So intense you can sometimes feel it down in Pewter City, too." Seymour told them.
"We just came from there; we didn't feel anything." Ash said. It wasn't accusatory, just a fact.
"It comes and goes, no rhyme or reason to it. None that we can figure out anyway." Seymour replied. He cleaned his glasses with his finger as he spoke.
"We?" Misty questioned. Seymour nodded.
"I work in Pewter City at the museum. We were getting worried about the integrity of the mountain; we spend a lot of time exploring these caves so we're very familiar with the tunnels, so they sent me to investigate." Seymour explained. "I've had no luck so far though; I just keep getting chased out by different wild Pokemon."
"Well, we can't let that stop us. We have to pass through here to get to Cerulean City." Ash told him. Seymour clasped his hands together.
"Fantastic, I'll join you! With your help I'm sure I'll solve the mysteries of Mt. Moon!" Seymour cried out.
None of them could protest quickly enough before Seymour had started to enter the cave. They looked at each other and made to follow, resigned to their fate, when something caught Brock's attention.
"Hey guys, it's a Zubat." He said, pointing straight up. It was hanging upside down just over the entrance to the cave. "Kinda weird place for a nap, but I guess it doesn't want to be much deeper."
"It didn't get scared away by Pikachu's ThunderShock, though, so why would lights inside the cave bother it?" Misty pointed out.
"Maybe Zubat just marches to his own drum." Ash suggested, smiling up at the sleeping bat.
"Just like someone else I know." Misty said slyly. Even Pikachu chuckled while Ash rolled his eyes.
"I think Zubat could prove to be a big help to us. I'm going to try and catch it." Brock decided, pulling out a Pokeball.
The Zubat never saw it coming and was sucked into the capture device in a flash of red light. It put up no resistance. Brock scooped up the Pokeball as they all followed Seymour through the cave entrance.
"I thought you only trained rock Pokemon, Brock?" Misty asked curiously. Brock smiled at her.
"I'm not a gym leader anymore, Misty. Rock-type Pokemon will always have a special place in my heart, but I'm under no obligation anymore to train more of them. And certainly not unable to train other types." Brock answered.
"Good, that'll make it even more fun when we have a rematch." Ash challenged.
It was news to everyone that there'd be a rematch, but nobody could say they were surprised. Ash had proven very quickly to have a bit of a one-track mind.
Happy New Year's! I hope everyone had a good first week of 2024! One of my many, many resolutions is to write more! I hope you can tell that based on how many chapters I uploaded last week! Check out my other stories for more, I'm going to try and just work on them as I go instead of getting stuck on one or the other, especially since both time and projects get away from me most of the time.
RagingSceptile: Ahah, thank you! I really wasn't sure for a while what the outcome would be, but I think I settled pretty nicely. Ash can have a nice win at Brock, there's no reason to run through every lesson Ash needs to learn right away and he did put in the work to win here on his first go, unlike canon. And of course there will be Brock! How could you think otherwise! I couldn't imagine a world without him!
Speed Reader: Did you really think Brock wasn't sticking around? As if! Hope this is a pleasant surprise for you!
Vortex Lord: It did! I was uncertain for a while about how to play it, but I'm happy with the outcome I decided on!
Ash's Team: Pikachu, Butterfree, Pidgeotto
Pikachu: Electric - Male - Static - Rash | ThunderShock, Tail Whip, Growl, Nuzzle, Charm, Thunder Wave, Brick Break
Butterfree: Bug/Flying - Male - Compound Eyes - Hardy | Tackle, String Shot, Harden, Gust, Supersonic, Confusion
Pidgeotto: Normal/Flying - Female - Keen Eye - Hasty | Tackle, Sand Attack, Gust, Quick Attack, Wing Attack
Misty's Team: Staryu, Goldeen
Staryu: Water - N/A - Natural Cure - Modest | Tackle, Rapid Spin, Harden, Water Gun, Confuse Ray
Goldeen: Water - Female - Swift Swim - Careful | Peck, Tail Whip, Supersonic
Brock's Team: Onix, Geodude, Zubat
Onix: Rock/Ground - Male - Rock Head - Calm | Tackle, Bind, Screech, Harden, Rock Throw
Geodude: Rock/Ground - Male - Sturdy - Relaxed | Tackle, Defense Curl, Rock Throw
Zubat: Poison/Flying - Male - Inner Focus - Hasty | Absorb, Supersonic, Astonish
Jessie's Team: Ekans, Spearow
Ekans: Poison - Male - Shed Skin - Serious | Poison Sting, Bite, Wrap, Leer
Spearow: Normal/Flying - Male - Keen Eye - Hasty | Peck, Growl, Leer
James' Team: Koffing, Spearow, Weedle
Koffing: Poison - Male - Levitate - Bashful | Poison Gas, Tackle, Smog, Smokescreen
Spearow: Normal/Flying - Female - Keen Eye - Lax | Peck, Growl Leer
Weedle: Bug/Poison - Female - Swarm - Jolly | Poison Sting, String Shot
Meowth: Normal - Male - Pickup - Sassy | Fury Swipes, Scratch, Growl, Fake Out