Brock waited eagerly for his friend to return from the Whirl Islands. Ash had informed him that he'd be taking part in the Whirl Cup and was eager to know how it went.
Nothing prepared him for the sight that welcomed him when Ash got off the ship that brought him to Olivine City. Ash smiled at him, his throat, both hands and his forehead all bandaged. Brock demanded to know what happened and Ash explained to the older boy everything that occurred on Ogi Island.
Brock regretted leaving Ash alone now.
But Ash smiled, patted him on the shoulder and assured him that he was alright, before asking him if Sparkle had recovered yet. Brock's positive answer made Ash grin.
"Should you be pushing yourself too much already?" Brock asked.
"I'll be fine. Now tell me about Jasmine.
Brock was not completely sure about it, but he relented and gave Ash all the information he needed. Jasmine used Steel types, and those were weak against Fighting and Fire types. Ash had both, so he was already prepared for the fight.
Brock on the other hand watched Ash with worry.
Before Ash went to the Gym for the battle, the duo of Ash and Brock visited the Pokemon Center. Ash brought over his choice of Pokemon, before gifting Brock the Corsola he'd caught for him (Brock was very happy with the gift and Ash was sure Brock was choked up), and then traded Pokemon with Brock to evolve his Poliwhirl with the King's Rock Silver had given him. Politoed was not a Pokemon Brock or Ash had ever seen, nor were branching evolutions things neither knew were possible. It was a new thing they both learned.
After all of that, the duo headed to the Gym.
Jasmine waited for Ash on the battlefield, shrieking when she saw the state Ash was in. Ash assured her that he was fine and that he was ready for the battle. A little hesitant at first, Jasmine agreed to the challenge.
Like most Gym Battles Ash had in Johto, it was a Three-on-Three battle with no switching allowed. The last Pokemon standing would be declared the winner.
The referee called for the battle to begin and Ash sent out his Cyndaquil, while Jasmine sent out a Magneton.
"Magneton's a steel type?!" Ash asked in shock.
Jasmine giggled. She explained how the environment in Johto and the food found influenced Pokemon differently. There were more minerals in the soil and the fruits that Pokemon enjoyed, and some Pokemon were influenced to the extreme that their skin hardened and they received a Steel typing.
Ash was reminded of Professor Ivy and research back at Valencia Island.
The match began with Magneton using Thunderbolt. Cyndaquil used Agility to dodge the attack, before using a smokescreen to obscure the Pokemon's vision. Jasmine called for another Thunderbolt, but this time launching it in every direction. Magneton's attack spread all over the field, but due to his the Pokemon's attack was weakened. Cyndaquil's Flame Wheel protected her enough against the waves of electricity before hitting Magneton. Cyndaquil sank back into the smoke before jumping out to attack again. Again and again, Cyndaquil attacked, taking minimal damage from the Thunderbolt waves but doing maximum damage to Magneton. Eventually, Cyndaquil knocked it out.
Jasmine called her Magneton back and sent out her next Pokemon.
"Forretress, the Bagworm Pokemon, the evolved form of Pineco. Forretress conceals itself inside its hardened steel shell. The shell is opened when the Pokémon is catching prey, but it does so at such a quick pace that the shell's inside cannot be seen."
Brock had a Pineco too. It looked sturdy, but it was a bug and steel, double weak against Cyndaquil.
Ash called for a Flamethrower and Jasmine called Protect. The Flamethrower bounced off harmlessly and Forretress followed it up with Sandstrom. The Pokemon spun and summoned a tornado of sand that got rid of the smokescreen from before, obscured Cyndaquil's vision and was also doing damage to her. Forretress went with Double Edge next and Cyndaquil used Flame Wheel. Forretress overpowered the fire mouse easily and sent her tumbling back. Forretress used Double Edge again, sending Cyndaquil crashing into some rocks. Forretress used Double Edge again, but Cyndaquil countered with Flam Wheel. The power behind Flame Wheel was stronger this time, the flames growing and growing until the entire wheel of fire began to glow. The glowing larger wheel of fire overpowered Forretress and sent it back flying. The flame wheel vanished and revealed some different from before.
"Quilava. The Volcano Pokemon, the evolved form of Cyndaquil. Quilava keeps its foes at bay with the intensity of its flames and gusts of superheated air. This Pokémon applies its outstanding nimbleness to dodge attacks even while scorching the foes with flames."
Ash grinned at his newly evolved Quilava and commanded a Flamethrower. The power behind it was immense and if not for the Protect, Ash knew Forretress would have fallen. Forretress ran forward with Double Edge and Ash commanded another Flamethrower. But Forretress used Sandstorm to block the fire, still racing towards Quilava. The Double Edge hit and Forretress glowed before exploding with Explosion. Forretress fainted from the suicidal move, and Quilava fainted from the force of the Explosion.
Both trainers called their Pokemon back and sent their next ones out. Ash sent out Primeape and Jasmine sent out Steelix.
Steelix attacked with Headbutt and Primeape Charged with Cross Chop. While Cross Chop was super effective against Steelix, its size allowed it to overpower Primeape. Primeappe skidded back before charging again with Cross Chop and Steelix countered with Headbutt for the same results. Steelix used iron Tail and Primeape grabbed the tail and used Seismic Toss, tossing Steelix onto the ground hard before following up with a Cross Chop that hit the steel snake directly. Primeape charged another Cross Chop but Steelix used Sandstorm to send Primeape back. Steelix followed it up with Dig and Primeape immediately used Earthquake to force Steelix back out. Steelix rushed with a Headbutt, but Primeape jumped out of the way and landed on Steelix fist raised and hit with a direct Earthquake. Steelix cried out, the part of its body that received the impact crashing on the ground. Primeape went for another Earthquake and the ground beneath cracked. The pig monkey then raced to Steelix's head and hit the top of it with Cross Chop, knocking it out.
Ash had won the Gym battle, and the moment he went to celebrate his whole body locked up and he fainted.