Ash has unfortunately lost his battle against Kai, but Kai has a plan to train Ash into victory.
Kai was leading Ash, Pikachu, and the others through his Gym until he brought them to a room full of students practicing their moves on inflatable practice dummies shaped like Snorlaxes.
"I don't understand," said Ash. "How are you gonna train me and my Pokémon?"
Kai suddenly stopped walking and held up a finger, without turning around to face Ash. "Grasshopper, if you really want to learn how to battle, I will need you to be silent, and you must do everything I tell you without question, understand?" He then walked over to a training dummy and said, "I want you to send out your Pokémon and put this dummy down."
Ash looked at him weirdly, but then shrugged and sent out Humbeat, and said, "Humbeat, Pikachu, I want you to use Wing Attack and Iron Tail on that dummy and knock it over."
Pikachu and Humbeat nodded, and their tail and wings respectively glowing and then moving to attack the dummy. They bashed the dummy again and again, but then the dummy just bounced right back, and managed to bat Humbeat away, with Pikachu barely dodging it. Frustrated, the two both whacked harder, but were met with the same results.
"Okay, guys, stop!" Ash said, and the two Pokémon ceased their attacks and looked back at him. "I don't get it," Ash said, looking at Kai. "What exactly do you want us to do?"
"Have some patience for once, my boy," said Kai. "This is your biggest problem. You rarely think about the problem before to attempt to tackle it."
"But you said knock it down."
"If a tree falls into the river, does it make the water stop flowing?"
"Huh?" said Ash.
"The answer is no. The water simply makes a new path around the tree."
"I don't understand a word this guy says," Vernon complained.
"Ash, my child, I ordered you to put this dummy down. But I never said how."
Ash concentrated on what he said, until he noticed the small plug on the side of the dummy's head. "Hey, guys, unplug that plug over there."
Humbeat and Pikachu looked confused, but Humbeat decided to fly over and plug the plug off with its beak. The dummy immediately deflated with a loud hissing sound, and fell forward, and Pikachu used its tail to push it over on its side.
"Congrats, you figured it out, youngster!" Kai congratulated.
"That's it?" said Ash. "That wasn't even fighting! I could've done that!"
"Silence!" said Kai. "Now onto step two."
"Now, we will require assistance from my dear friend," said Kai, as he pulled out a PokéBall. He opened it and out came a small, black Pokémon, who had a square head, stubby arms and legs, two, piercing red eyes underneath a red bandana it wore around its face, and a red belt around its waist. It had the appearance of the world's tiniest ninja.
RotomDex quickly scanned it and read out, "Kuninja, the Stealth Pokémon. A Dark and Fighting type. Kuninja can spend hours upon hours meditating in order to keep its mind completely clear. Despite its diminutive size, it is a master of stealth and can flip opponents as heavy as a Hariyama. Evolves into Kunobi when traded while holding a Black Belt."
The little Kuninja quickly got into a fighting stance, saying, "Nin, Kuninja!"
"Alright, now we're talking!" said Ash excitedly.
"Hold it!" said Kai. "I want you to find him."
Kuninja suddenly used Haze, which caused it to disappear. It was nowhere to be found once the smoke cleared.
"Where is it, my boy?" said Kai. "The clock is ticking."
Ash looked all over the arena frustrated, but Pikachu couldn't help but feel like he could hear something. He quickly concentrated on that sound, and looked towards a nearby staircase. It quickly ran over and saw Kuninja hiding under the first stair, slowly scraping a tiny kunai knife on the floor, creating an only barely audible sound.
"Pika, Pikachu!" Pikachu called out. Ash and Humbeat quickly ran over and spotted the Stealth Pokémon, as Kai then strolled over and said, "Hmm, I'd say Pikachu gets the point of this exam. Do you?"
"Um, that Pikachu noticed the sound of the knife?" said Ash.
"Not just the sound," said Kai. "Paying close attention. Now for your third test."
Kai led the group into the training section of the Gym, where various students were attempting to dodge balls launched at them by tennis ball machines. The group was led to one tennis ball machine that happened to be operated by the Machop from earlier.
"This one is simple," Kai explained. "Simply ask your Pokémon to dodge the tennis balls. Get them to the other side of the machine."
"Sounds easy enough," said Ash.
"Begin!" ordered Kai. Machop nodded and turned the machine on, and tennis balls were launched towards Ash's Pokémon.
"Pikachu, move faster with Quick Attack!" Ash ordered. Pikachu was outlined in white and raced forward, but it didn't take long for it to get pummeled by the balls.
"Pikachu, no!" said Ash, concerned, when he noticed that Humbeat was now flying into the fray. "Humbeat! Wait! I didn't say start!"
"I can tell your Humbeat is very independent," Kai said simply. "It is important that both the Trainer and their Pokémon stay on their toes, but why control someone who is not meant to be controlled?"
Ash looked confused, until he noticed Humbeat was already about halfway through. Oddly enough, it was flying completely straight. Slowly, he stared at the bird Pokémon, until he got a feeling of what Humbeat was going through. Concentrating, he noticed one tennis ball coming Humbeat's way, and shouted, "Humbeat, left!" Humbeat dodged to the left, exactly as Ash had expected. Ash did notice a few more tennis balls about to hit Humbeat, but with his orders, Humbeat dodged them all and made it to the other side.
"Excellent," said Kai. "Now for your Pikachu."
Ash nodded and told Pikachu to run straight forward. He concentrated hard on Pikachu as the Mouse Pokémon raced through, until he noticed several tennis balls about to fall on Pikachu.
"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" Ash called out. "Knock those tennis balls back where they came from!" Pikachu leapt into the air and its tail turned metallic silver, and it bashed the incoming tennis balls away. In doing so, the knocked-away balls collided with some of the other balls in the air, causing them to roll over towards Machop, Ash audibly gasped at that, as he had been noticing those other balls at that exact moment.
Pikachu was almost to the other side, and above the area on the rafters was the shiny Charmor, carefully observing the scenario in front of it. Suddenly, it noticed that one tennis ball in particular was about to land on Pikachu. In a panic, it emitted a small Smokescreen attack, so small, one could not see it. But it landed right in front of Pikachu, and some smoke seeped into its eyes. Pikachu blinked in response, but it almost fell backwards in the process. It suddenly used its tail to slide on its backside, right underneath the tennis ball that was about to hit it.
Finally, Pikachu made it to the other side, and Charmor secretly cheered in the background.
"Fantastic!" Kai applauded. "You've passed all the tests!"
"What?" said Ash, confused. "That's it? But we barely did anything! We never even practiced fighting."
"Grasshopper," said Kai. "Everything you witnessed in your training, believe it or not, was exactly what you needed to win a fight with me. If you trust me, then we can have our rematch right now."
Ash looked confused, but after looking towards his Pokémon, giving him encouraging grins, he nodded at Kai and said, "Alright, then let's do it."
Who's that Pokémon?
It works in large colonies, where it links its tails with other of its kind to form rings, apparently in friendship.
Ash and Kai were once again standing on opposite sides of the battle arena, with Serena, Vernon, RotomDex, and Machop sitting on the bleachers to the side. Serena and Vernon decided to let Braixen and Floattery out again so that they could observe the match.
"The rematch between Ash, the challenger, and Kai, the Gym Leader, will now commence," said the referee. You both know the rules, so let's begin!"
"Guys, I'll be honest," said Serena. "I have no idea what Ash was supposed to be learning in his training."
"Me neither, Serena," said Vernon. "And frankly, I bet Ash doesn't know either."
"Well, he'd better learn fast!" said RotomDex.
"I will start with you, Kuninja!" Kai said, whipping out his PokéBall and causing Kuninja to appear in the arena.
"Kuninja!" said Kuninja, getting into its battle stance.
"Looks like Kai's changing the strategy now," said Serena. "We haven't even seen what Kuninja can do."
"Humbeat, I choose you!" Ash cried as he threw Humbeat's PokéBall into the arena. Humbeat appeared and quickly gained a game face for the battle."
"Okay, battle begin!" called the ref.
BATTLE BEGIN!
"Humbeat, use Wing Attack!"
Humbeat flew straight forward, its wings glowing white. However, Kai simply said, "Disappear!" Kuninja once again used Haze to vanish, causing Humbeat to simply fly through a plume of smoke. It then looked back and forth, wondering what just happened.
"Now use Karate Chop!" Humbeat didn't even have time to blink when Kuninja quickly reappeared behind it and used a Karate Chop to bash down to the floor. Humbeat turned around, but saw that Kuninja had disappeared again.
"Get off the ground, Humbeat!" Ash ordered. Humbeat quickly soared upwards, and that's when Ash heard some movement surrounding the battlefield.
"Humbeat! It's coming down behind you!" Ash warned. "Fly away!"
However, when Humbeat spotted Kuninja appearing behind him, it instead decided to fly straight towards the other Pokémon. Unfortunately, both Kai and Kuninja anticipated this, and, after sharing a brief glance with its trainer, it used Karate Chop again, sending Humbeat flying down to the floor.
"Humbeat, I told you to dodge!" Ash yelled.
"Youngster, what have I told you before?" Kai stated. Ash looked confused for a second, until he remembered what Kai had told him earlier. "Why control someone who is not meant to be controlled?"
All of a sudden, Kuninja had disappeared, and Humbeat was flapping around the arena frustrated and trying to find it. Ash's eyes darted around until he heard some similar sounds. Suddenly, he had an idea.
"Humbeat, I need you to wait for my signal, then attack!" he called out. "Just pay attention to what I say!" Humbeat looked at its trainer confused, but then slowly nodded.
"He wants to attack?" Serena said. "That didn't work the first time." She paused. "Unless he's planning something..."
Ash noticed the sounds coming up right above Humbeat, so he quickly said, "Humbeat, above you!" Humbeat looked up to see Kuninja appear above it, and quickly soared upwards to attack again.
Kai said, "Karate Chop again!"
Kuninja prepared its attack, but Ash called, "Shoot Razor Wind at it!" Humbeat took half a second to register the thought, but then launched cuts of air at Kuninja.
"Use Karate Chop to deflect!" yelled Kai. Kuninja began deflecting the Razor Wind cuts away, but this unfortunately did not leave time for it to react to Humbeat getting in close.
"Now use Wing Attack and knock it to the ground!" Ash called. Humbeat's wings glowed white and they sent Kuninja falling to the ground. As it stood up, it lay there dazed.
"Quickly, use Drill Peck!" Ash called out. Humbeat quickly flew down, and rapidly pecked Kuninja's face, making it stumble backwards.
"Kuninja, vanish!" Kai called out. Kuninja used Haze again, and vanished into thin air, causing Humbeat to dart its eyes all over the arena looking for it.
"Don't let it confuse you this time, Humbeat," said Ash. "Just listen closely, like before!"
Humbeat then remembered the earlier training, where Pikachu managed to find Kuninja by listening for it. It then landed and sat still, listening for the slightest movement. Then, it could just barely hear a tiny footstep on the wooden floor.
"If you can hear, then use Wing Attack!" Ash cried out. Humbeat soared forward, and found Kuninja's hiding place, off the arena behind a piece of wood. It nailed Kuninja with another Wing Attack, forcing it out of its hiding place.
"Impressive," said Kai, "so you did learn from training. But we have one more trick up our sleeves. Kuninja, Double Team!"
"Kuninja!" Kuninja suddenly multiplied itself into many copies, which surrounded Humbeat and began running in a circle to confuse the bird Pokémon. Humbeat began moving its head back and forth, until Kai called for a Dark Pulse attack.
"Humbeat, duck!" Ash cried out, but Humbeat was still hit with the attack on the back of its head, as all the copy Kuninjas faded away.
Ash grunted in frustration, until he noticed Kuninja was only a few feet away from Humbeat. Suddenly, as he replayed the scene of Kuninja copies running in a circle in his mind, he had an idea. "Humbeat, quick! Use Wing Attack, but aim for the legs this time!"
Humbeat quickly jumped up and used Wing Attack, and struck Kuninja in the ankles, causing it to fall backwards.
"Shake it off, Kuninja," said Kai. "Use Double Team again!"
Kuninja once more made clones of itself, and they tried running in a circle, but one Kuninja suddenly fell over. At that, all the copies disappeared, and Ash and Humbeat noticed the mark on its ankle.
"Brilliant!" said RotomDex excitedly. "Attacking the legs made it difficult for it to run!"
"Now use Drill Peck!" said Ash. Humbeat charged forward and rapidly pecked at Kuninja with a super effective attack. Kuninja stumbled backwards until its hurt legs made it fall over again, and Ash called for a Razor Wind attack. Cuts of air rained down on top of Kuninja, causing it to finally fall on its back, knocked out.
"Kuninja is unable to battle! Humbeat wins!" called the referee.
"You did it, Humbeat!" Ash said, pumping his fists in the air, and Humbeat flew back towards its trainer excitedly to celebrate.
Kai walked out on the battlefield and picked up Kuninja in his arms, who looked up at its trainer apologetically.
"You did a fine job, Kuninja. Now you need to take it easy, okay?" Kai calmly recalled Kuninja into its PokéBall.
He then returned to his side of the arena, and pulled out his second PokéBall. "So far you have learned well, grasshopper. I never thought Kuninja could be made to lose its balance like that. Before the next match, I must find a way to protect Kuninja from that happening again."
"So I guess we did get something out of training," Ash said to Humbeat, and Pikachu to the side.
"Training should never stop," Kai explained. "A Pokémon Battle can only be won if a Trainer and Pokémon truly understand each other. Like me and Kuninja. I knew that its best skill was stealth, so I trained it around that. And thanks to matches like these, I learn its weaknesses, too. It is my duty to protect my Pokémon on the battlefield."
Ash thought back to when Humbeat had ignored its orders on the battlefield, rushing in. Ash didn't even realize it, but listening to Humbeat's strategy of flying straight in was what allowed him to find his fool-proof counter-strategy against Kuninja. He understood what Kai was saying. He needed to trust his Pokémon's own skills and obey them as much as his Pokémon obeyed him.
"You're right about that," he said to Kai. "I guess Humbeat's own grit and determination gets us even farther than before, huh?" He glanced up to Humbeat, who nodded in agreement.
"Your lesson is far from over, grasshopper," said Kai. He tossed out his second PokéBall, which sent out white light and transformed into a familiar kangaroo Pokémon named Jumjoey.
"Jumjoey!" it cried out as it jumped up and down, ready for another fight.
"So its back to Jumjoey, huh?" Ash said before looking to Humbeat. "Whadda ya think? You good for round 2?"
Humbeat triumphantly landed on the battlefield again, spreading out its wings as if to say, "I'm ready!"
"Great!" Ash grinned. "Then let's do it! Use Wing Attack!"
Humbeat soared forward again, but Kai simply said, "Leap," and Jumjoey leaped off the ground, leaving behind a stunned Humbeat.
"Man, that Jumjoey can hop!" said Serena in awe.
"And worse, Humbeat no longer has an aerial advantage when it comes to jumping skills like that," Vernon mused.
"Use Double Kick!" Jumjoey came crashing back down towards Humbeat its feet outstretched. Humbeat narrowly dodged, but then Kai called for a Power-Up Punch, which sent Humbeat flying.
"Humbeat!" Ash cried out. Jumjoey came forward and was ordered another Power-Up Punch, and this time when it hit, Humbeat fell to the floor and could not get up again.
"Humbeat is unable to battle! Jumjoey wins!" called out the ref.
"Humbeat!" Ash raced out onto the battlefield and picked up his Pokémon in his arms. "You did such a good job out there. Thanks. Here, you should rest now," he said quietly as he recalled Humbeat into its PokéBall.
He returned to his end of the arena and looked back at Pikachu, who looked up to its trainer with a fierce determination in its eyes. Ash grinned and nodded and said, "Alright, buddy, it's up to you now! I choose you!"
Pikachu jumped out onto the field, its cheeks emitting sparks of electricity.
It's Ambipom!
"Alright, Pikachu," said Ash, "use Thunderbolt!"
"Pi-ka-chu!" Pikachu jumped into the air and let out a surge of electricity towards Jumjoey. However, Jumjoey only looked at the look on its Trainer's face before knowing it had to leap. It soared high up into the air.
"Grr," Ash groaned. "There must be someway to beat its jumping ability."
"Use Double Kick!" Kai called, and Jumjoey came crashing down, knocking Pikachu back with its feet. Pikachu found itself skidding backwards on its back, a few feet away from were Jumjoey had landed.
"Now use Focus Blast!" Kai called. Jumjoey charged up a blue energy shot it between its hands, and it blasted Pikachu in the face with it. Despite this, Pikachu stood back on all four, as determined as ever.
Ash felt his hands shaking, as his brain struggled to put together a plan. But he knew that Jumjoey was so fast, and so jumpy, it was impossible to get in close.
Serena seemed to notice Ash's worried face, so she quickly yelled out to him, "C'mon, Ash, you're not gonna give up now are you?"
Ash turned to Serena surprised, while a certain Charmor of a different color peeked out from underneath the bleachers. "Just remember the training!" Serena continued, grinning encouragingly. "I think I got it!"
"Hey!" Kai yelled. "You are not allowed to coach him!"
Serena looked sheepish for a second, but looked back at Ash and said, "You can figure it out, Ash! I believe in you guys! Don't give up until it's done, right?"
Ash looked back at Serena, but suddenly gained his iconic look of determination, nodded at her, and turned back to Pikachu. "Serena's right, Pikachu. We can do this! We'll find a way. We always do!"
"Pi, Pika!"
"Use Quick Attack!"
Pikachu charged forward outlined in white, and managed to bash Jumjoey back. Kai ordered Jumjoey to hop and use Double Kick again. Within an instant, it was off the ground and plummeting downward towards Pikachu.
Ash looked on, struggling to come up with a strategy. Then, as Serena's words echoed in his brain, he suddenly remembered what Kai had said earlier.
"If a tree falls into the river, does it make the water stop flowing? The answer is no. The water simply makes a new path around the tree. Sometimes, the answer is lying in plain sight."
A lightbulb suddenly went off in Ash's head. "If we can't take it, Pikachu, we'll just go around it! Stay still and draw it in!"
Pikachu looked confused, but it listened to its trainer and remained motionless. As Jumjoey drew closer, Pikachu watched it intently, until finally, Ash yelled, "Now use your tail as a springboard to jump!"
Pikachu leaned back, compressed its tail against the ground, and the released it to launch itself into the air. Jumjoey was shocked as Pikachu soared passed it.
"Now use Iron Tail and send it crashing!" called Ash. Pikachu's tail turned metallic silver and it came down on Jumjoey's head. As a result it fell much faster, and it crashed into the floor so hard, it broke a hole in the wood and was stuck at the waist.
"Incredible!" said RotomDex frantically. "They figured out how to use Jumjoey's inertia against it!"
"It's stuck now!" Ash said overjoyed. "Use Iron Tail, again!"
Pikachu began slapping Jumjoey with its tail, but Kai yelled, "Power-Up Punch!" Jumjoey was able to knock Pikachu back, but Ash simply called for a Volt Tackle. Pikachu shot forward, surrounded in an arrow-shaped veil of electricity, and ran into Jumjoey so hard, it knocked it out of the hole.
"Quick, let's finish this!" said Ash. "Use-"
But suddenly, Jumjoey began to glow. Slowly it grew bigger, it turned gray-colored, gained black fur around its eyes to resemble a mask, and gained longer feet for kicking.
"I don't believe it!" said RotomDex. "Jumjoey evolved!" Quickly, it scanned Jumjoey and said, "Brawllaby, the Kickboxer Pokémon. A Fighting Type. In a mob of their own kind, they are then in charge of gathering food and training the younger Jumjoeys. It is their responsibility to gather young Jumjoeys to join the mob, and they only allow those that can defeat them in a kickboxing match to join. Evolves from Jumjoey at level 15 and into Kangarumble at level 30."
"Incredible," Kai said, suddenly out of breath. "Brawllaby!"
Brawllaby stood up into a fighting pose, pointing its fists towards Pikachu, who was now only half its opponent's size. Kai nodded and said, "Use Double Kick!"
Brawllaby leaned back on its tail, and kicked Pikachu away. At this point, Pikachu was having difficulty standing up.
"Pikachu, hang in there!" Ash cried out.
"Now, use Focus Blast!" Brawllaby shot a blue burst of energy towards Pikachu, who only barely dodged it.
"Don't give up, Pikachu!" Ash said. "Use Quick Attack!"
"Give Pikachu a barrage of Focus Blasts, Brawllaby!" Brawllaby rapidly began chucking out Focus Blasts at a charging Pikachu, and Ash grew worried again.
That is, until he remembered the training from earlier. Pikachu had avoided some of the tennis balls by sliding on its tail. "Pikachu, quick! Slide on your tail, like before!" Pikachu quickly let itself fall back on its tail, sliding like a sled beneath the Focus Blasts. Above, Charmor was secretly cheering that it was able to teach Pikachu how to do that.
"Awesome!" said Serena. "They got their training down!"
"Now use Volt Tackle to speed up!" Ash called. Pikachu was surrounded with electricity as it charged forward again. "Use Iron Tail to fight your way through!" Pikachu began slapping Focus Blasts away with its tail, until it appeared directly in front of a shocked Brawllaby.
"Go!" Ash cried. Pikachu charged straight into Brawllaby's chest, knocking it backward. Although Pikachu felt the recoil damage, Brawllaby landed on its back, and the dust cleared to show it now had swirls in its eyes.
"Brawllaby is unable to battle! Pikachu wins!" called the referee.
"Alright, you did it, Pikachu!" Ash cheered as his Pokémon leaped into his arms in excitement.
"Yes, I knew they could do it!" Serena cheered.
"An incredible battle!" said RotomDex. "Data updated."
"I'm totally blown away," said Vernon.
Kai slowly walked up to his fallen Pokémon, gently stoked its head, and said, "Thank you for trying so hard, Brawllaby. You truly have a warrior's spirit," before recalling it.
The group stood outside the gym, with Humbeat, Kuninja, and Brawllaby now outside of their PokéBalls.
"I'd say the student has become the master," said Kai. "Now you see what I've been trying to teach you all along, grasshopper?"
"Exactly," said Ash. "I need to trust my Pokémon, and remember to be like the water. Flow around every obstacle and work very hard to do it."
"Precisely," said Kai. "There are no shortcuts to success, but when you apply your skills and your strengths, you will always find a way. You adapt and continue to fight. I can tell from our battle that you understand that. And for that..." Machop slowly approached with a small, open box. Kai pulled out a badge shaped like a muscular, flexed arm. "...I present to you the Muscle Badge."
"Thanks so much, Kai," Ash said, as he took the badge. He triumphantly held it in the air. "Alright! I just got the Muscle Badge!"
"Pika, Pi!"
"Hum, hum!"
Ash pulled out a rectangular box Nurse Joy had given him when he registered for the Ralia League and opened it to reveal four empty slot on one half of the Badge case, and four more for the other half. He snapped his new Muscle Badge into its slot before closing it.
Kai turned to face his Pokémon before saying, "I'd say we learned much from this young lad ourselves. But now we can fight like never before, right?"
Brawllaby and Kuninja both raised their fists to give their Trainer an affirmative grunt.
"I'm glad you figured out that sliding trick during training, Pikachu," said Ash. "If you hadn't, we might never have won."
Pikachu paused for a second, but stated, "Pika, pika."
Ash looked confused. "Are you trying to say it wasn't your idea?"
Pikachu nodded, and from behind a bush, the Charmor peeked out and smiled satisfiedly.
Now matter how much of an expert you are, you can always learn something new. Ash and his Pokémon will only continue to grow and evolve, not just in battle, but together, as the journey continues!
Yeesh, has it been a whole year since I first started this story? And I'm only on chapter 9? What have I been doing?
Anyway, I wanted to bring something up for you guys. There is another story like mine on called "Pokémon Cosmic Quest", by Yuni Oha. It has been a good source of inspiration for me, and Yuni Oha and I have been talking too. They even asked for my opinion recently. I highly recommend that fanfiction to you, though, because they are so much better than I am.
Also, I know I said Team Rocket would be up to something in Corwald City, but we're not leaving the city yet. I decided it would be easier to wait for that.
Well, until next time!