Author Notes: This will be the last week that I am uploading on Tuesday / Thursday as I want to shift my schedule to Wednesday / Friday. This does open a room for some potential Monday uploads (depending on how ahead I am at that time).
With that being said, enjoy this chapter as Ash and Gary battles for the Thunder Badge!
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In Vermillion City Gym, Ash and Gary were staring at Wattson in surprise as they were processing the fact that they would not be challenging Lt. Surge after all. When the raven-haired boy realized that the older man was waiting on to see what the two Pallet Town natives wanted, he knew he'd have to speak up.
"Wattson." Ash spoke up, stepping forward as he gave a grin. "Me and Gary would like to challenge you for the Thunder Badge! We currently have two badges as we speak." He declared.
"Very well," the Hoenn electric-type gym leader mumbled as he chuckled to himself. "I'll accept your challenge, except that I want to do something different if you two are up to it."
The two Pallet Town boys looked at each other, blinking as they hadn't expected for Wattson to want to do something different. Ash then looked over at the older man before speaking again.
"Sure, what is it that you want to do for our gym badge challenge?" He raised his eyebrow as he awaited Wattson's answer.
Wattson smirked at this before answering, surprising both boys.
"I want a double battle with you two at the same time," the Hoenn native declared as he crossed his arms with a grin. Ash and Gary had to look at each other for a moment before turning to Wattson.
"Alright, we accept the conditions." Gary nodded, chuckling to himself as Wattson nodded and walked the two to the battlefield while Misty walked towards the audience stand to watch the battle.
"This should be interesting," Ash mumbled, glancing over at Pikachu who nodded in agreement.
"For sure, I wonder what Wattson has up his sleeve if he's asking for a double battle," the electric mouse mumbled as he scratched his cheek.
"Only one way to find out," Ash chuckled, ruffling his electric starter's head as he and Gary took their placement while the Hoenn native went to retrieve the Pokeballs.
"Hey Ashy-boy," Gary spoke, turning towards the dark-haired boy as he crossed his arms. "I'd like to try to battle for myself without your help."
"But…it's supposed to be a double battle," Ash pointed out as he sighed at his rival.
"I don't care, just let me do what I want," Gary sneered, glaring at the other Pallet Town boy. Ash just sighed in response. It did not take long for Wattson to be ready for the battle.
"Ya boys ready for this double-battle?" The older man chuckled as he grinned. "I've taken the liberty to handpick my team for you two. I'll do four rather than 6 as two of my Pokemon aren't your typical strength for the third gym. Because I'm in Kanto, the League has asked me to use Kanto Pokemon with the exception of my ace Pokemon."
The Pallet Town boys looked at one another as they listened to Wattson's explanation. They gave a firm nod before looking over at the electric-type gym leader.
"We'll accept your challenge," Ash spoke out with a chuckle. "I know we will do our best."
"What Ashy-boy said pretty much," Gary crossed his arms with a smirk.
"Alrighty then, boys." Wattson nodded towards his referee who cleared her throat before she began to speak.
"This is a double gym battle between Vermillion City Gym Leader Wattson and the two Gym challengers - both from Pallet Town, Ash Ketchum and Gary Oak. Both the gym challengers will be permitted 3 Pokemon at a time with substitutes allowed. The battle will end when both challengers are unable to battle or when Gym Leader Wattson is unable to battle, if this is agreeable then send out your Pokemon!"
"Let's roll out, Magneton and Voltorb!" the Hoenn native hollered as he threw two Pokeballs, resulting in both Magneton and Voltorb emerging, floating up in front of Wattson.
"Nidorino, I'm counting on you!" the brunette-haired boy called out, tossing a Pokeball as his Nidorino came out and gave a roar.
Nodding to himself, Ash moved to grab his Pokeball as he looked over the two current Pokemon that Wattson had. He knew his Gible wasn't going to be useful at the moment as both Pokemon were in the air, so his next best choice was - "Chimchar, I choose you!" he called out, tossing the Pokeball. Chimchar came out, already in a battle stance.
"Let's go!" Chimchar cheered, feeling pumped to be battling alongside Ash for the gym challenge.
"And go!" the referee shouted, signaling that the battle would begin.
"Nidorino, use your Fury Attack on Voltorb!" Gary called out as he decided to tackle the Pokeball Pokemon, as Ash's Chimchar had a type advantage against Magneton so he knew where to shift his focus for the moment.
"Chimchar, start out with Ember on Magneton!" Ash instructed, pointing his Chimchar towards the Magneton.
"Voltorb, start out with a Rollout towards Nidorino!" Wattson boomed before continuing. "Magneton, use Sonic Boom to block the Ember!"
The Pokeball Pokemon smirked as he dropped onto the ground, beginning to roll towards the Poison Pin Pokemon. At the same time Magneton shifted around before releasing the Sonic Boom move that shot towards the Ember and broke through it before slamming against Chimchar.
"Oww!" Chimchar cried out, but jumped out of the way from any additional Sonic Booms. He was okay to continue as he glanced towards his trainer for further commands.
"Take it as you use Fury Attack," Gary commanded calmly as Nidorino ran towards Voltorb while the Poison Pin Pokemon's horn began to glow. The poison-type Pokemon slammed against the Pokeball Pokemon as it began to jab over and over again, successfully stopping the Rollout in the process.
"Stop with the Rollout and use Shock Wave, Voltorb!" The Hoenn native hollered. "Thunder Wave the Chimchar, Magneton!"
"Dodge the Thunder Wave with Flame Wheel!" Ash commanded quickly, knowing that his fire monkey Pokemon would be paralyzed if he got hit..
"Ground yourself!" Gary called out in alarm at his Nidorino, pointing towards Voltorb. "Use Poison Sting on that ball!"
As the Shock Wave and Thunder Wave shot towards Nidorino and Chimchar respectively, both Pokemon used their respective Poison Sting and Flame Wheel moves. Nidorino's purple-glowing pins began to shoot towards Voltorb while Chimchar jumped to avoid the Thunder Wave before surrounding himself in flames and rolling towards Magneton.
Wattson was not able to command his Magneton in time as the Magnet Pokemon was struck by the super-effective fire move, causing it to buzz out in pain as it stopped attempting to paralyze the Fire Monkey. The Gym Leader could only focus on Voltorb as he spoke up, knowing that Magneton was likely out due to the Flame Wheel move.
"Keep up with your Shock Wave!" Wattson boomed towards Voltorb as he grimaced, watching on as his Magneton crashed against the wall. Chimchar rolled back towards Ash, surprisingly unharmed. As for Voltorb, the Pokeball Pokemon kept up with the Shock Wave in order to overwhelm Nidorino.
"Match it with your Poison Sting!" The brunette commanded, seeming to formulate a plan in his mind as he watched over the battle carefully.
As the dust clouds faded away, the referee took a look as she nodded to herself before loudly declaring. "Magneton is unable to battle!" She began before continuing. "The first victory goes to Ash Ketchum and Gary Oak of Pallet Town! Gym Leader Wattson, please send out your next Pokemon!"
The Hoenn native chuckled as he looked over at Ash, returning the unconscious Magneton while beginning to speak. "Great going, boy." He laughed softly. "Good usage of a super-effective move, but can you somehow combat Raichu?" He grinned as he tossed a new Pokeball which released the Raichu who smirked evilly.
Ash blinked, watching as Raichu was released into the battlefield. 'I don't have a good gut feeling about this one…' He thought as he looked over the evolved electric mouse before nodding as he grinned. "We'll do our best here, will we, Chimchar?"
"Of course, Ash. You betcha that we'll do our best!" The Fire Monkey chuckled as he watched Raichu warily.
"You may resume the battle!" The referee declared, signaling that the battle could continue.
"Keep up with your Shock Wave, Voltorb!" Wattson began, glancing towards Voltorb then towards Raichu. "Use Thunder Punch!"
"Jump out of the way to dodge the Thunder Punch!" Ash called out towards Chimchar. The Fire Monkey nodded before jumping to dodge the incoming Thunder Punch.
"Use more of your strength on your Poison Sting!" Gary declared as his Poison Pin Pokemon gave all he had for his Poison Sting move, eventually overwhelming Voltorb's shockwave which caused an explosion.
Ash turned to look over towards Gary's side to see what had happened. Nidorino was in a rough shape, but it was battle-ready at least. He then glanced towards Voltorb, who had crashed into the wall and was now unconscious.
"Voltorb is no longer able to battle!" the referee declared before continuing. "The second victory goes to Ash and Gary of Pallet Town! Please send out your next Pokemon, Wattson!"
"You okay, Nidorino?" Gary asked, glancing over at his poison pin Pokemon.
"Yeah, as okay as I can be," Nidorino mumbled. Even though Gary couldn't understand his Pokemon fully, he understood enough that he knew Nidorino had confirmed that he was okay to continue battling.
"Well, I guess you two are going to be facing my two ace Pokemon," Wattson chuckled with a smirk as he returned Voltorb. He then retrieved another Pokeball as he threw it and it revealed a Manectric which worried Ash and Gary as both boys knew about its Mega Evolution from their experiences that they gained from their past battles. Their thoughts were interrupted by Wattson's comment. "You two may make the first move."
Ash and Gary looked at each other, deciding to discard their thoughts about Mega Evolution for now. It wasn't like a third-badge Gym Leader was going to use Mega Evolution. They could tell that both Raichu and Manectric were both powerful, so they'd need to be more careful from now on.
"I'll go first." Ash spoke, looking over at Gary who nodded in response before looking towards Chimchar as he took a deep breath. "Start out with a Flame Wheel towards Raichu to get some damage in!" He thought as he glanced at Raichu. 'I hope this will outspeed Raichu. If Wattson evolved it right after capturing it as a Pikachu, like Surge did…'
"Okay." Chimchar nodded as he began to surround himself in flames. He then started to roll towards Raichu who smirked at this.
"Nidorino, start out with a Fury Attack!" The brunette commanded. The Poison Pin Pokemon ran towards Manectric as its horn began to glow.
The Hoenn native was calm, strangely much calmer than usual. He did not say a word as both Chimchar and Nidorino slammed themselves against both Raichu and Manectric. To the Pallet Town natives' surprise, the evolved electric mouse smirked as he stabbed the ground with his tail to keep the fire monkey from pushing him too far. This slowed down Chimchar as he was forced to stop rolling in flames.
"Raichu, Discharge," Wattson boomed, causing Ash's eyes to widen as Raichu's cheeks began to spark.
"GET OUT OF THERE, CHIMCHAR!" Ash hollered out in alarm. Chimchar's eyes widened and he jumped as far away as he could from the sparking Raichu, but it was too late as some of Raichu's Discharge struck the fire monkey Pokemon, causing him to cry out in pain.
"Chimchar, are you okay?!" The raven-haired boy asked in alarm, but to his relief, Chimchar stood up shakily as some of the sparks surrounded his body. Ash knew that the Fire Monkey had gotten paralyzed, so he had to be careful.
As for Manectric, it did not get pushed away too far as a result of Discharge and Fury Attack; rather it stood firmly on the ground. It was glowing slightly as its special attack got boosted due to its Lightning Rod ability. This caused Nidorino to slow down, panting from exhaustion, which immediately worried Gary.
"Get away from there and use Poison Sting!" the brunette commanded. His Poison Pin Pokemon jumped back before firing the Poison Sting towards the Discharge Pokemon.
"Nasty Plot, Chimchar! Remember what Pikachu taught you!" the raven-haired boy reminded the Fire Monkey Pokemon, taking a deep breath as he attempted to keep calm.
Chimchar nodded as his body began to glow to boost his special attack. All the while, Gary's Nidorino continued to fire Poison Stings at Manectric who stood there and took the attacks calmly.
"Not so fast!" Wattson yelled as he pointed his finger towards the two boys before continuing. "Manectric, use Bite! Raichu, use Thunder Punch!" The Discharge Pokemon and evolved electric mouse ran towards both Chimchar and Nidorino in response.
"Jump outta there!" Ash shouted. Chimchar jumped and was able to avoid Raichu's Thunder Punch in time due to its boosted speed. The raven-haired boy quickly added, "Use Ember while Raichu is in range!"
"On it!" Chimchar responded as he spat out the flames from his mouth, hitting Raichu. This caused the evolved electric mouse to cry out in pain as he covered his face.
"Get out of the way!" Gary also commanded. Nidorino jumped out of the way, but to both Gary and Nidorino's surprise, Manectric jumped and bit down onto the Poison Pin Pokemon, causing him to cry out in pain as he struggled in the bite.
"Good, use Discharge to fry that Poison Pokemon!" The Hoenn native smirked as his Manectric kept the Poison Pin Pokemon in its mouth as it began to fire its Discharge, causing Nidorino to scream out from pain before he passed out. The Discharge Pokemon then dropped the unconscious poison-type Pokemon onto the ground, seeming satisfied with its victory.
"Nidorino is no longer able to battle, this third victory goes to Wattson, Vermillion City Gym Leader!" The referee declared before continuing. "Gary, please send out your next Pokemon."
Sighing as the brunette returned his Nidorino before whispering quietly. "You did great." He then put away the Pokeball before retrieving the next one as he tossed it up. The Pokeball opened and revealed a Growlithe. "Let's go, Growlithe, you're up next!"
The puppy dog Pokemon gave out a happy cry as his tail wagged, looking towards Manectric and Raichu.
"Raichu, use Slam against the monkey!" Wattson declared before continuing. "Manectric, start out with Discharge towards the monkey as well!"
Both electric-type Pokemon smirked as they glanced towards Chimchar who gulped from nervousness, with the Discharge Pokemon starting to be surrounded with sparks while Raichu prepared for Slam.
"Combat it with a Flame Wheel!" Ash commanded, deciding to use speed to his advantage as the fire monkey began to surround himself with flames before rolling towards Raichu and Manectric.
But to both boys' surprise, Raichu used a Quick Attack, jumping at an astonishing speed to dodge the Flame Wheel before slamming himself against Chimchar. This sent the Fire Monkey Pokemon against the wall. Before the said fire-type Pokemon was able to recover, he was suddenly struck by Manectric's Discharge causing Chimchar to cry out from pain. This also caused Raichu to glow as he gained the boost due to his Lightning Rod ability.
"Chimchar!" The raven-haired boy cried in worry as the evolved electric mouse jumped away from Chimchar with a smirk. While the Raichu was slightly damaged, he still seemed like he had tons of energy left.
"I told you that these two are my aces." Wattson chuckled, grinning. "My Raichu has gone through a lot of speed basis training as a Pikachu before he evolved into a Raichu."
'Shit…' Ash thought in worry as he glanced towards the dust, he had a moment of relief when he saw his Chimchar climbing out of the crater that was created into the wall. But the relief didn't last as the fire monkey weakly walked back into the battlefield. "Are you okay?" He asked from concern.
"Y..Yeah. I'm goo–" Chimchar answered, but was not able to finish his sentence as he collapsed and slipped into unconsciousness. The raven-haired boy could only sigh as he returned his fire monkey Pokemon, whispering quiet praise as the referee declared that Chimchar was out.
"Alright." The raven-haired boy took a deep breath, looking over at Raichu and Manectric who smirked at the Pallet Town natives. These two Pokemon were tough, so he knew that he needed to rely on this next one as he retrieved his next Pokeball before shouting. "Gible, you're up!" he declared as he tossed the Pokeball which revealed Gible who immediately jumped onto Ash's head, clamping his jaws down on his trainer's head. "Ow..Oww… Okay, you can bite my head later!" He gently placed the land shark Pokemon down as soon as Gible had let go of his head.
"Alright, it looks like Gible and Growlithe against Raichu and Manectric." The referee declared. Misty looked on as she watched the ongoing battle. She hadn't said anything the whole time as she wanted Ash and Gary to focus.
Ash took a deep breath, taking a moment to decide the best first move. He then exhaled as he commanded his Land Shark Pokemon. "Gible, start out with Sand Attack to block Raichu and Manectric's view! Get underground if you have to avoid their attacks!"
"Ya got it!" Gible smirked as he ran towards the two electric-type Pokemon to do what his trainer had told him to do.
"Use Flame Wheel towards Raichu while he can't see anything!" Gary commanded, pointing towards Raichu as his puppy Pokemon barked before surrounding himself in flames before rolling towards Raichu.
Wattson nodded to himself before booming. "Manectric, try to get the Gible with a Bite!" He then continued. "Raichu, use your Thundershock towards Growlithe!"
Both electric-type Pokemon attempted to land their moves as soon as they saw a glance of their opponents. The Discharge Pokemon attempted to bite Gible as the Land Shark Pokemon kicked sand into its eyes, causing it to cry out as it missed Gible. Raichu on the other hand fired a Thundershock towards Growlithe which hit the Puppy Dog Pokemon - but it did not stop Growlithe from slamming the Flame Wheel against the evolved electric mouse, causing him to crash against the wall as a result.
"Owww…!" Growlithe whined. He felt sparks surrounding his body as his legs gave way. He was still conscious but he was not able to move which worried Gary. Wattson saw an opening, so he decided to direct his attention towards the paralyzed puppy.
"Finish the Growlithe on your right with your Discharge!" The Hoenn native declared as he commanded his Manectric who nodded, rubbing its eyes as it fired another Discharge towards Growlithe.
"Use Ember to combat the Discharge!" the brunette tried. His paralyzed puppy nodded weakly as he shot Ember towards the Discharge - causing the two moves to clash against each other before beginning a struggle to keep either attack from hitting its opponents.
Ash watched on with worry as Gible returned to his battle position while the dark-haired boy watched the intense struggle between Manectric and Growlithe. Deciding to try to help, he began to speak towards Gible.
"Gible, use Dra—" The dark-haired boy began before he was rudely interrupted by Gary.
"Don't even, Ashy-boy. I got this," Gary snapped, glaring at Ash. "My Growlithe doesn't need any help!"
"Geez, okay, whatever." Ash sighed, shaking his head as he turned his attention towards Raichu. But before he could call out a move, the Discharge Pokemon's attack started to overwhelm the Puppy Pokemon's Ember. Ash immediately tried to think of a move to help his rival against his wishes, but his thoughts were interrupted by an explosion.
"Growlithe!" Gary called with worry, covering his eyes to shield from anything to get into them. He received no response as the dust clouds created from the explosion eventually faded away. In the crater on the ground, was an unconscious Growlithe. Manectric was standing over him, slightly damaged but clearly still battle ready.
"Growlithe is no longer able to battle, so this victory goes to Wattson!" The referee declared. "Gary, please send out your final Pokemon."
Sighing to himself, Gary returned his Growlithe as he pinched his nose bridge. Raichu and Manectric were stronger than the two had expected. They needed to turn this around somehow. The brunette then made a decision as he grabbed his next Pokeball before calling out. "Kadabra, I'm counting on you!" he declared as he tossed the Pokeball which revealed the Psi Pokemon as he floated onto the battlefield.
"Yes, master." Kadabra nodded as he looked towards their opponents, awaiting further instructions from Gary.
"This is getting exciting," Wattson chuckled, grinning in response. "I haven't had fun like this for a long time!" He exhaled before declaring, "Raichu, Slam! Manectric, Discharge!"
"Take Raichu's Slam head-on!" The raven-haired boy called out towards Gible, who nodded before leaping in front of Raichu's Slam. It did do some damage to the Land Shark Pokemon, but he was still able to battle.
"Disable!" The brunette commanded as Kadabra's eyes glowed - causing the Discharge Pokemon to glow which Manectric found itself unable to use Discharge.
"Alright, Gible, give a Draco Meteor a try!" Ash called out, pointing towards the evolved electric mouse as Gible smirked before creating Draco Meteors which he happily redirected towards Raichu.
"Use Agility to dodge!" Wattson boomed. Raichu's body began to glow as he began to dodge all of the incoming Draco Meteors which created a lot of explosion dust on the ground.
"Damn…" The raven-haired boy mumbled, watching as the dust slowly cleared before his eyes widened as he saw Raichu standing there with a smirk. 'Raichu did not take any damage at all!'
Gary looked over at his rival, noticing how Wattson's Raichu was speedy. He knew that they were currently struggling at the moment, it seemed like that both Raichu and Manectric weren't something to not take seriously. He sighed. 'I'm being too arrogant and causing us to lose, am I?' The brunette thought to himself as he glanced at his rival. 'I have to fix this,' he decided, 'if we want to win this.'
Making a decision, Gary spoke up, catching his rival's attention. "Need help, Ashy-boy?"
"Yeah… I'd appreciate it. I know you didn't want me to help you, but Raichu and Manectric are something else. I don't think it's a good idea for us to continue battling on our own." Ash mumbled, scratching his chin as the boys watched over the battle.
"You're right, I'm sorry for getting arrogant with you." The brunette nodded before continuing. "You go on first, I think I have an idea."
"It's fine…I'll trust you on this," the raven-haired boy mumbled before clearing his throat. "Use Bulldoze on the Raichu!"
"On it!" Gible grinned as he began to stomp down onto the ground, focusing his efforts onto the evolved electric mouse and Discharge Pokemon.
"Manectric, use Quick Attack on Gible to stop the Bulldoze!" The Hoenn native boomed before continuing. "Raichu, use Slam on Gible as well!"
"Not so fast!" Gary called out as he realized what Wattson was trying to do. "Kadabra, use Ally Switch with Gible to take on the incoming attack then hold them down!"
The Psi Pokemon's eyes began to glow before he and Gible disappeared for a split second before appearing, having switched their spots as both Raichu and Manectric slammed against the Psychic-type resulting in Kadabra groaning slightly. But Kadabra stood firm, and before either Raichu or Manectric could get away, he was able to get a hold of both Raichu and Manectric with his Psychic. As a result, both electric-type Pokemon cried out as they were hit by the super-effective move that was currently being sent out by Gible.
"Get out of there!" Wattson called in alarm as both Raichu and Manectric attempted to scurry out of Kadabra's hold. "Use Bite, Manectric!" he called.
"Use Dragon Breath on Raichu before they can escape!" Ash called out as Manectric bit down onto Kadabra, causing the Psi Pokemon to cry out from the super-effective move and letting go of both electric Pokemon. The Land Shark Pokemon was quick to fire a Dragon Breath on Raichu, hitting him successfully before he could escape fully. The evolved electric mouse collapsed as he slipped into unconsciousness, though Manectric was able to get away with minimum damage.
"Raichu is no longer able to battle, which means that Vermillion City Gym Leader Wattson is down to his final Pokemon!" the referee declared as Wattson returned his fallen Raichu with a chuckle.
"Good job, boys." The older man clapped as he put away Raichu's Pokeball, grinning. "But don't forget you're still up against my strongest Pokemon." He crossed his arms with a smirk. "Let's continue."
The Pallet Town boys nodded at this as they got ready for the final branch of their gym battle.
"Alright, we can do this, Gible." Ash reassured the Land Shark Pokemon as he grinned in response. Both knew their third badge was close at this point. They could do this. "Use Draco Meteor!"
"Use Psybeam!" Gary called out, pointing towards Manectric as his Psi Pokemon's eyes began to glow once again.
However, before either Pokemon had a chance to fire their attack - they were surprised by the next command that Wattson would give.
"Manectric, USE ROAR!" The Hoenn native hollered as he pointed towards Gible and Kadabra, which the Discharge Pokemon smirked evilly before letting out a mighty roar - stopping the Land Shark and Psi Pokemon as they were shocked by the roar.
"Roar…?" Ash mumbled, confused as to why Gible and Kadabra had stopped their attacks before his eyes widened as both Pokemon were immediately sent back to their respective trainers. "What the?!"
"This can't be good…" Gary mumbled, seeing that his Kadabra had been sent back. A few seconds passed before the Pallet Town natives' Pokeballs opened and sent out two new Pokemon in the battlefield. Both boys' eyes widened in horror, seeing what Pokemon had been sent out in replacement of their Gible and Kadabra.
Standing in the place of Gible and Kadabra was no other than Ash's Pidgeotto and Gary's Wartortle - both of whom were weak against electricity. Gary was worried about breaking the rules even unintentionally so he spoke up.
"Hey, I'd like to stop the battle for a second! What's going to happen? Technically, Wartortle is my fourth Pokemon. Would this be considered as a substitute or am I just breaking the rules?" the Oak boy asked, looking towards the referee.
"I am going to count Wartortle as a substitute for Kadabra, I wouldn't say that you're breaking the rules." The referee explained before looking towards Gary who sighed in relief. "The battle may resume!"
"Oh my!" Wattson roared in laughter, seeing the two Pokemon that had been sent out as a result of Manectric's Roar. "Looks like our luck is turning, Manectric," he commented with a smirk before asking Manectric. "Are you able to use Discharge now?"
The Discharge Pokemon hummed as he tested his move out. His body started to radiate in electricity and he nodded over at Wattson.
"Good, use Discharge on both Pidgeotto and Wartortle! Full power!" The Hoenn native boomed as Manectric shot a large discharge, causing both the bird and turtle Pokemon to cry out in pain from the super-effective move.
"Ground yourself, Pidgeotto!" Ash called out quickly in alarm as Pidgeotto opened one of her eyes, as she dug her feet into the ground which decreased the power of electricity that she was feeling in her body.
Gary was about to command for his Wartortle but he saw his starter collapse as Wartortle slipped into unconsciousness. Thankfully, Pidgeotto was still conscious but she had taken a lot of damage from the super-effective Discharge. However, this shocked Gary for a moment as his starter had gotten one-shot but he remembered that Manectric was still boosted by his Lightning Rod ability. It didn't help the fact that he had gotten hit with a super-effective move that sealed Wartortle's fate.
"Wartortle is no longer able to battle! As this was Gary Oak's third Pokemon, he is officially out of Pokemon!" the referee declared, nodding over at the young Oak boy to return his fallen Wartortle.
Exhaling from all of the battle excitement, the brunette reluctantly returned his Wartortle as he turned towards his rival. "Looks like it's all up to you now, Ashy-boy." He chuckled as he crossed his arms.
"I'll try my best." Ash exhaled as he glanced over his Pidgeotto as he thought. 'She's clearly in a bad shape…I don't want to risk trying to switch out and giving Manectric a free attack.' He then looked over at Manectric, who was panting heavily. It seemed like it was heavily damaged at this point. The raven-haired boy grinned at this. 'Manectric is barely standing…so I think Pidgeotto can win this despite the type disadvantage'
"Ash, what do you want me to do?" Pidgeotto asked, turning towards the raven-haired boy for guidance. She knew that she was at a disadvantage against Manectric but it hadn't stopped Ash in the past.
"I got an idea." Ash explained as he grinned. "Can you combine Sand Attack and Gust?"
The bird Pokemon raised her eyebrow before chuckling. "I can certainly try. I trust you."
"Great, let's do a combination of Sand Attack and Gust. Send…um…Dust Devil towards Manectric, dodge any electrical moves!" the raven-haired boy commanded as his Bird Pokemon flew up a bit before going into a circle close to the ground - which gradually but surely created a dusty looking Gust.
"Not so fast!" Wattson boomed as he pointed towards Pidgeotto. "Use Discharge!"
The Discharge Pokemon nodded as its body radiated with electricity before sending out a Discharge, which Pidgeotto was able to dodge and use her Dust Devil to tank out the electricity. This caused Wattson and Manectric to pause from surprise as neither the gym leader nor his ace Pokemon had expected this.
"Now!" Ash shouted when he saw that the Dust Devil was ready. The Bird Pokemon smirked as she sent the dusty gust towards Manectric which slammed the Discharge Pokemon into the gym walls, causing it to groan in dizziness.
"You can do it, Manectric! Try one more Discharge!" The Hoenn native declared as Manectric got up weakly and began to surround himself with electricity before attempting to send it towards Pidgeotto. However, it collapsed before it could fully send out the super-effective move towards the Bird Pokemon.
The referee blinked in surprise as she watched what had happened. "Manectric is unable to battle, despite the type disadvantage - Pidgeotto is able to secure the victory! As Vermillion City Gym Leader, Wattson no longer has any Pokemon battle-ready and Ash still has two battle-ready Pokemon… This means that Ash Ketchum and Gary Oak of Pallet Town are the winners!"
"That was amazing, girl!" Ash shouted out from excitement as he hugged Pidgeotto who was battle-battened but was okay otherwise.
"Yeah, you did really well!" Pikachu commented from Ash's shoulder, chuckling. "I'm upset that I didn't get to battle, but I'm glad that you made it through it."
Pidgeotto chuckled, shaking her head with a smile. "It's not a problem, boys. Though, I do think Ash deserves all of the credit for this victory." She admitted. "I would not have won on my own, as I'm weak to electricity."
The dark-haired boy chuckled as he patted his Bird Pokemon's head before she returned herself. He and Gary then walked up towards Wattson who was waiting on the Pallet Town natives.
"Great battle, boys!" The Hoenn native grinned as he patted Ash and Gary onto their back before retrieving the Thunder badges. "You two deserve this badge." he explained as he gave the boys their Thunder badge before digging into his pocket. "I also think that you guys also deserve this."
"Deserve what?" Ash blinked, tilting his head in confusion as he took the Thunder badge from Wattson. The older man just chuckled as he handed Ash three tickets, which the raven-haired boy's eyes widened from surprise. "A… Are these the tickets for SS. Anne?" he asked.
"Sure are!" Wattson grinned as he crossed his arms. "I think you, Gary, and Misty deserve some time off after busting your butts for this gym battle. I do hear that they have a tournament going on, in which the grand prize is a Pokemon egg. I would go, but I have to make sure that Vermillion City is up to tourism standards."
"T..Thank you.." Ash let out a soft laugh, taking the tickets with a smile. "To be honest, I wasn't expecting for your Raichu to be speedy. I heard that Lt. Surge didn't train his Raichu with speed related moves as a Pikachu before he evolved it."
"Unfortunately, these rumors are true," the Hoenn native mumbled with a long sigh before chuckling. "I'm glad that you were impressed with my Raichu."
"So how come you didn't have your first two Pokemon to help each other?" Ash asked, now remembering that he had noticed that Wattson's Pokemon weren't helping each other nearly as much.
"I overheard your conversation with Gary." Wattson explained with a smirk. "I figured if you were going to do separate battles, then I'd do the same. But once you beat them, I figured I'd take the kid gloves off."
"Oh, I see. That makes sense." The Pallet Town native mumbled, nodding at Wattson's response.
The duo continued to chat among each other for a couple of minutes before it was time for Ash, Gary, and Misty to move on from Vermillion City to check out SS. Anne after getting their Pokemon healed up at the Pokecenter to see what the tournament was all about. While Ash was worried about Team Rocket, he knew that they would be fine. He wasn't sure if the Pokemon egg that was being offered as a prize belonged to anyone from the present, but he knew it was worth checking out the tournament at least.