AAML: Diamond and Pearl version

by EchidnaPower

Follow me as I remake the DP episodes in order and in sequence, all so I can add the biggest star besides Ash himself. Misty! Watch her and Ash's love grow as they go on their journey. A Pokeshipping series. Also includes Penguinshipping, Handymanshipping, slight mentions of Contestshipping, and a Brock shipping to be named later. Oh yeah, there's PikachuXBuneary here too.

41. Dealing With Defensive Types

Hey folks, I'm back finally! Whew, lemme tell you guys something, I worked all day to finish this chapter up, almost literally all day. But the point is I made it right? ^^ Also, I would like to thank all of my awesome reviewers! Thanks to you all this story has passed the 500 review mark! Of course, that still leaves me only half as good as Texas Longhorn, but hey, a guy can dream can't he? xD And now, some anonymous reviews.

pidgeotexpress: Well you know Charizard, he isn't quite as...friendly as Ash's other Pokemon, he's got a bit of an attitude. lol

lightningblade49: Naturally Ash forgot, Japan doesn't really go for nostalgia apparently, that's why Misty hasn't come back. -_- I couldn't resist writing that chapter, it was just too obvious to ignore, I mean, hello? How could Ash forget all the trouble Charizard gave it when he was travelling Kanto and Johto? It's ridiculous really, so I added back in that little tidbit of info. Don't worry about Gible, he'll be there, but he's not THE eighth Pokemon.

charizardlover: Hmm, not a bad idea, I may use that, thanks! ^^

Polly: Well here's your arc, read for yourself. ^^

Airoh: Well I don't mind, no offense taken, but I'll be working on making my original chapters better, don't worry. ^^

tray125: Mewtwo? Eh, I didn't have any plans for Mewtwo, but in my story you never know, so don't count him out.

darky/Darkness Shadow: lulz, funny D. xDD

() Well Gible WILL be there, but he isn't THE eighth Pokemon, you'll have to wait and see. ^^ PS: Please leave a name from now on k? Thanks. ^^

Star: Wait's over! ^^

Mudit: Congrats on being my 500th reviewer! You should get an account so I can congratulate and thank you in person, I'm glad you like my story and I hope you keep following it! ^^

Queen: Done!

sparky1001: The wait is over, here it is!

Infelice: Here it is!

Well, that's a lot of reviews. o_O You know guys, if you get accounts here I can send messages letting you know when I'm updating, so try to make your reviews signed ok? But if you can't that's fine too. Anyways, here's the next chapter! ^^
_

Chapter 41

Misty's POV

Things got really hectic earlier as Dawn tried to use her newest Pokémon in a training session. Piloswine simply refused to obey orders and even went on a rampage and attacked us! If it weren't for Charizard, Grotle, and Gliscor, we would've been run over! Dawn started getting discouraged again when Piloswine stopped listening to her, after all, even after it had evolved from Swinub it still held affection towards Dawn, but now it just plain felt apathetic towards her.

Me and Ash explained our experiences with disobedient Pokémon by telling her our stories about my Gyarados and his Charizard, for a second there though, I felt my face heat up when Ash mentioned the day his Charmander evolved into Charmeleon, it was also the day of the carnival that I had volunteered to put on a skimpy Goldeen dress for the Exeggcute magician.

Even though at the time Ash was totally clueless about my feelings for him, he managed to make me blush furiously when he said he liked the outfit, despite the fact he was just teasing me. I was simply too embarrassed and shy to retaliate. At any rate, we found a poster in the Pokémon Center advertising a Pokémon Friendship School, so for Dawn's sake, we gave it a shot.

At the time, everything seemed legitimate, if you can call Psyduck's stupidity legit. But Psyduck showed SLIGHT signs of intelligence yesterday during the training sessions; maybe Psyduck was starting to get a little smarter after all this time? I wouldn't get my hopes up. Psyduck was Psyduck and that's the way he would stay.

Right after we went outside for the next training session, our Pokémon were put in a cage and we found out that it was really Team Rocket! When would we stop falling for their moronic plans? Charizard tried to break out and failed, which gave us very little room for hope if even Charizard couldn't break free.

Then Dawn's Pachirisu launched a 'Discharge' out of desperation, and wound up sending the rebellious Piloswine into a frenzy! With all the turbulence Piloswine and the others were making, Team Rocket's balloon was forced down and they started abusing Piloswine! But one thing was for sure, that would prove to be a costly mistake.

In its rage, Piloswine evolved into Mamoswine! And sent Team Rocket blasting off on ice! But then Mamoswine turned on us, and Charizard, Grotle, Gliscor, and my Gyarados combined weren't powerful enough to stop it. The thing that saved us was that Dawn recalled the enormous Pokémon back to its Pokéball before it could hurt us. Afterwards, we headed back to the Pokémon Center for a much needed rest.

Normal POV

"So Misty, what did you have in mind for our date?" Ash asked. "Well I was kinda hoping we could go to a fancy restaurant and have a candlelit dinner." Misty replied romantically.

"Tough for you two because there's no fancy place on this island." Brock said matter-of-factly. Misty grumbled while Ash pretended to be disappointed. The truth was, Ash didn't feel ready to get too far out of his comfort zone. Dinner and a movie? Sure. Fancy restaurant requiring manners and A TIE, the tie would've been the worst part, that was not Ash's idea of fun.

"You can stop pretending Ash; I know you're relieved about this." Misty grumbled. Ash chuckled nervously and took a step or two away from his bummed out girlfriend. "Hey, you know there's nothing wrong with just ordering pizza and watching a movie in our room, I think 'Angels in the Outfield' is on tonight." Ash suggested.

"(Sigh) I guess it'll have to do for tonight. But mark my words Ash Ketchum; we WILL eat in a fancy restaurant one of these days. And IF you let it, you'll have fun doing it." Misty said, "Lemme clean myself up a little, see you up there." The water-trainer walked off and left Ash with Dawn and Brock.

Ash was beaming until he saw Brock's serious expression. "What…? Do I have something in my teeth?" Ash asked with confusion. "No. But I just wanted to remind you that your mom left me in charge of your relationship, so I should supervise." Brock said.

Ash laughed. "Nice try Brock, you just want a piece of our pizza!" But Ash studied Brock's expression again, he was dead serious. "You're not seriously gonna watch us on our date are you? I mean, aren't you taking this chaperone thing a bit too far?"

"This is what a chaperone does Ash. You don't have to like it; you just have to accept it." Brock said sternly. Ash laughed dryly. "And this is coming from the guy who falls in love with every girl that – whoa! Check HER out!"

Brock looked around excitedly for the girl Ash was pointing at, but he quickly realized it was a hoax when Ash started laughing hysterically, even Dawn found the whole thing amusing. "Very funny Ash." Brock grumbled.

"Aww come on Brocko, you can trust us." Ash said light-heartedly. "I do trust you, but it's just a precautionary measure." Brock replied.

"I've got an idea!" Dawn exclaimed suddenly, "Why don't we get a room that's connected with another room so that Brock can keep an eye on you without keeping an EYE on you?"

Ash beamed at that idea. "Whaddya say Brock, is it a deal?" Ash asked, holding out his hand for the breeder to shake. Brock thought about it for a moment, and then smirked and shook Ash's hand. "Deal…on ONE condition."

"Sure, you name it!" Ash exclaimed happily. "I get a slice of the pizza you order." Brock replied. Ash face-faulted at that, but promised Brock a slice anyway. "Good, now lemme check in." Brock walked away just as Misty had come from the bathroom from washing her face.

"What's wrong with Ash?" she asked. "Um, let's just say he and Brock just finished discussing your date." Dawn replied with a sweat-drop.

"Discussing? What do you mean by discussing?" Misty asked. "Um, well Brock wanted to literally watch you on your date so you wouldn't do anything…bad. But don't worry! I fixed everything!" Dawn replied.

"Thanks a lot Dawn, I owe you." Misty said. "Well in that case, there is one thing you can do for me." Dawn replied. "Sure, name it." Misty said.

"When your pizza gets here, I get a slice." Misty also face-faulted, which left Dawn to sweat-drop at her two floored friends. "What's so wrong about sharing a pizza?" she wondered out loud.

Then, Brock came back with two room keys and a message. "Nurse Joy just told me there was a message for Ash; the Canalave City Gym Leader came back today." Brock said. Ash quickly got up and pumped his fist. "Alright! That means tomorrow I get to get my sixth gym badge!"

Misty got up more slowly and smiled at her boyfriend's childlike enthusiasm. That was one of the things she loved most about him. The passion he had for battling and for Pokémon, but she was determined to make sure he didn't forget that tonight was THEIR night, so she advanced and gently clutched at his arm.

Ash automatically turned towards Misty and smiled, he knew what she wanted, they had been together too long for him not to. "But tonight, I've got a date." Ash walked by Brock with Misty holding his arm, but not before Misty grabbed the key to their room from Brock.

"One of these days I need to get a girlfriend." Brock whined. "One of these days you need to stop acting so crazy around girls so you can get a girlfriend." Dawn countered. It was Brock's turn to face-fault now, and the coordinator grabbed their key and Brock's hand so she could drag Brock to the room.

Inside the couple's room, Misty quickly hopped onto the bed and patted the spot next to her, silently telling Ash to lie down next to her so they could watch the movie. "Come on Mist, I need to wash up myself, today was brutal after all. Lemme take a quick shower and then we'll order the pizza, ok?" Ash said.

Misty pouted and crossed her arms, but she knew Ash could tell she was kidding. The trainer chuckled and grabbed his clothes so he could shower. "Might as well get comfy myself." Misty thought. Making sure Ash had turned on the water, Misty started taking off her clothes so she could put on her pajamas. But that would prove to be a mistake.

"Ok you two, let me just make – aaah!" Brock covered his eyes in both shock and horror, and he was now also fuming with anger, Misty stripping was NOT what he wanted to see. "THIS is how you make me trust you guys?" Brock said angrily, still covering his eyes while Misty got dressed.

Misty slipped on her pajamas before replying, but she was fighting to keep her flustered voice level, Brock had really caught her by surprise. "Take a good look around Brock. I'm dressed, don't worry." Misty said, calmer than the breeder expected. Cautiously parting his fingers to make sure she was totally dressed, Brock looked around the room and noticed the only thing in it was an obviously frustrated Misty.

"Uh…where's Ash?" Brock asked hesitantly. "Taking a shower, taking the grime from the whole Mamoswine thing off of his body, you know, getting CLEAN?" Misty replied. "So then…why were you…you know…taking your clothes off?" Brock stammered.

"Face it Brock, you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. All I was doing was getting into some more comfortable clothes, I don't wanna wear my regular stuff after all the diving in the dirt we did today." Misty said exasperatedly.

Just then, Ash walked in wearing a pair of shorts and a black muscle shirt. "What's wrong Brock? You look kinda flushed." he said, confused. "N-Nothing. Listen; please promise me that you'll behave yourselves. After all, Mrs. Ketchum put me in charge of…" Ash cut him off.

"Brock, relax. Misty and I were just fine before Mom put you in charge of us, we'll be just fine now." the trainer said. Brock sighed and walked out without another word.

"Brock's really being a pain about this." Misty grumbled. "Well you know my mom; she can be pretty scary when she wants to be. Brock's probably under a lot of pressure…but yeah you're right, he's being way too serious." Ash replied.

"Well he'll leave us alone now, that's all that matters I guess." Once again the water-trainer sat herself onto the bed and patted the spot next to her; she was simply giddy about having Ash next to her. The excitement just never diminished.

Ash smiled and sat down next to his girlfriend, wrapping one arm around her shoulders, and his opposite hand reached for the room phone. "What do you want on the pizza Mist?"

"Sausage!"

"Peppers!"

Those two voices came from Brock and Dawn, who were still demanding their agreed slices of pizza. Misty shuddered for a moment before shouting back. "No peppers Dawn!"

"Ok…pineapple then." Dawn replied. Misty smiled and nodded at Ash, silently telling him that was her preferred topping as well.

So after Ash ordered, they started watching the movie, enjoying each other's company. However, the night would not go without incident. About halfway through the movie, Ash and Misty closed their eyes and relaxed during the commercial break, their bellies full from the pizza they had eaten.

Unnoticed by the couple, a white light had emerged from Ash's backpack, and Charizard appeared, snickering. The dragon rummaged through Ash's backpack and found Buizel's Pokéball, and tossed it.

Buizel emerged with his arms crossed, wondering why Charizard had summoned it. Charizard held a claw up to his mouth, and snuck over to Ash, sticking matches in between his toes. The trainer wasn't even aware of it due to the state of tranquility Misty always provided him with.

With a quick 'Ember', Charizard effectively put his revenge plan into action by giving his trainer a hotfoot. Ash sniffed the air and opened his eyes, "Is something burning?"

Misty opened her eyes as well and looked down to the foot of the bed, and saw another foot. Ash's foot. "Ash!" she cried. Ash looked down and quickly jumped out of the bed, stomping his foot to try and extinguish the flames.

Now Buizel understood why Charizard had summoned it. It launched a 'Water Gun' at its master, and not only did it put out the flames, but it left Ash sopping wet. Then Brock and Dawn came running in. "What's going on here?" Brock exclaimed.

They looked to the corner of the room, and there was Charizard, laughing heartily at the prank he had pulled. "Very funny Charizard. You been taking lessons from Haunter and Rotom?" Ash grumbled.

Charizard just shrugged and crossed his arms, but his toothy grin remained. Still dripping water, Ash reached for the dragon's Pokéball. "Alright Charizard, you've had your fun, return." Ash returned the practical joking fire/flying-type to his Pokéball, then returned Buizel after thanking it, and then headed to the bathroom for his second shower of the night.

"Well…thanks to Charizard, I won't be able to finish the movie with Ash." Misty grumbled. "You don't think Charizard's disobeying Ash again do you?" Dawn asked worriedly. "You know what I think? I think Charizard was just getting Ash back for putting him through Team Rocket's friendship course." Brock said with a laugh.

Misty groaned and went back to the bed; her date with Ash had been pretty much ruined thanks to the vengeful dragon. "You know what Charizard? You better watch your back from now on."

The rest of the night went without any notable incidents, although Brock didn't get much sleep, as he instinctively checked on Ash and Misty in the other room every other hour. "This is a lot of pressure…"

Dawn didn't get much sleep either, but it wasn't because of one of her own problems. "Brock…PLEASE go to sleep." the coordinator had begged.

"I wish I could. But someone's gotta watch them." Brock replied. Dawn sat up in her bed and huffed. "Alright, you're just being ridiculous now. Ash and Misty have been together for a while now, and if they haven't done anything before, they won't do anything now, so chill out! No need to worry! Ok?"

Brock sighed and laid back down in his bed, trying to get his mindset into what Dawn had told him. "Gah, come on Brock, you've known them for years, they won't do anything crazy." The breeder worked on convincing himself of that all night. The morning would show if it had worked.

The next morning, Ash woke up to the sharp twinge of a shock of electricity to his feet, courtesy of Pikachu. "Aww come on Pikachu, gimme like five minutes." Ash groaned sleepily. "Pikapi!" (Ash!) Ash looked at the excited electric-mouse, and then remembered what day it was.

"Oh yeah! Today we get our sixth gym badge! Thanks for waking me up Pikachu!" Ash threw the covers off of him, but in the process he also threw them off of Misty, who shivered before waking up. She opened her eyes and saw Ash running around the room like a maniac, grabbing clothes and his Pokéballs.

"What happened Ash? Charizard give you another hotfoot?" Misty giggled. "Sorry for waking you Mist, but I'm psyched! Today, I'm getting my sixth gym badge!" Ash replied determinedly. "Pi pika chu!" (We sure are!)

The water-trainer stretched and sighed contentedly. "Brock and Dawn up yet?" she asked. "Dunno, I haven't heard anything yet." Ash replied. As if on cue, the couple heard the shocked squeal of the coordinator on the other side of the wall. "That's cold Buneary!"

"I'll take that as a yes." Ash said. "Pikachu…you weren't playing wakeup tag-team with Buneary were you?" Misty asked suspiciously. Pikachu smiled and put up his fingers in a peace sign, which answered her question.

Then Buneary came walking through the door. "Bun buneary." (She's up.) the small rabbit said. "Pika." (Thanks.) Pikachu replied with a thumbs-up. Buneary winked and walked out just as the cold-footed Dawn walked in.

"Rude awakening?" Misty giggled. Dawn made a face at the water-trainer and then turned to Ash. "Guys, Brock's not up yet." she said. Misty stepped out of bed and walked up next to Ash. "What's wrong with that?" she asked.

"Well, he only got like four hours of sleep; he was up more than half the night." Dawn said. "What's wrong with him?" Ash asked. "Well…he was actually keeping an eye on you two all night." Dawn replied.

Ash and Misty both rolled their eyes exasperatedly. "He just can't seem to get it through his rock hard head. WE. ARE. FINE." Misty huffed. "Yeah well, he wasn't convinced." Dawn replied.

Just then, Brock came walking, rubbing his eyes wearily. "So…had a good night's sleep?" the breeder said, obviously exhausted. "WE did, but YOU sure didn't." Misty replied.

"Yeah, guess I had a rough time last night." Brock chuckled half-heartedly. "You had a hard time because you kept staring at Ash and Misty!" Dawn replied.

"Mrs. Ketchum may have put you in charge of us, but that doesn't mean you sacrifice your health in exchange." Misty said. "I'll be fine guys, trust me. Hey Ash, don't we have to get moving for the gym?" Brock asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Oh yeah! Come on guys, let's get going!" Ash ran into the bathroom to change, which left Misty and Dawn to glare angrily at the breeder. "You're lucky Ash is battle-crazy." Misty huffed. Dawn followed the water-trainer out, leaving Brock alone. "Phew, dodged that one."

After a quick breakfast, the group hurried and soon found themselves in front of the steel-plated gym once more. "Our battle with Byron is finally here!" Ash exclaimed excitedly. Ash ran up to the door and pounded his fist against it, "I'm here to challenge Byron to a battle!"

Ash backed up, and then gym's caretaker walked out, the bags under his eyes now gone thanks to the defeat of Darkrai. "Hey, you're looking a lot better." Misty said friendlily. "I know you guys, you were just here the other day." the caretaker replied.

"Right! I got the word from Nurse Joy that Byron the Gym Leader is back in town!" Ash said. "Well Byron IS back, you're right. But now's not such a good time." the caretaker replied. "What are you talking about, how come?" Ash asked, frustration already starting to build up inside him.

The caretaker put his hand behind his head rather embarrassedly. "Well the thing is…his son's visiting today."

"Well I can understand the importance of visiting family, but what's that have to do with having a gym battle?" Misty asked. "Well uh…let's see…how should I put this?" the caretaker stammered.

"How should you put this? Put what exactly?" Ash asked. "Well…maybe it'd be easier if you came in and saw for yourself." the caretaker said with a sweat-drop. The well-built man led the group of teens into the gym, and led them down a corridor.

"To be perfectly honest, those two are quite a pair if you know what I mean. If something goes wrong between those two it can take a while to fix." the caretaker explained.

"I LOVE FOSSILS!" a loud, booming voice yelled.

"I love them MORE!" a not as powerful voice yelled back.

"Uh…whose voices are those?" Dawn asked. "From my experiences of family quarrels, I'd say we just found Byron and his son." Misty replied. "You guessed it." the caretaker sighed.

"I work as the chief of ancient Pokémon excavation operations in the Oreburgh Mines!" the younger voice yelled. "Gimme a break! You're still just a kid! You wouldn't know a fossil if it hit you on the head!" the rough voice yelled back.

"You'll be sorry you said that, DAD!" the younger voice spat. Now the group had walked into the battlefield area, and Ash, Dawn, and Brock immediately recognized who was yelling back at the gym leader. "Ash, Brock, is that who I think it is?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah! It's Roark from the Oreburgh Gym!" Ash replied. "Does that mean you battled him already Ash?" Misty asked. "Yeah that's right! You weren't here yet when Ash battled Roark." Dawn said.

"What's Roark doing here?" Ash asked himself. "Excuse me Byron, a challenger's arrived." the caretaker said. "Hey Roark, good to see you." Ash greeted.

Roark's expression immediately softened at the sight of his friends. "Hi Ash, you and Pikachu look well!" the young gym leader said. "Thanks." Ash replied.

"So he's the first one you got a badge from?" Misty asked. "Yeah, it wasn't easy though." Ash replied. "And what's your name?" Roark asked.

"My name's Misty, former Gym Leader of Cerulean City in the Kanto Region." Misty said proudly. "Wow, you're a Gym Leader? What are you doing so far away from home?" Roark asked. "It's a long story Roark, I'll explain later." Ash said.

"The challenger is your friend?" Byron asked. "That's right. My name's Ash and I'm from Pallet Town." Ash replied.

"He already challenged me at the Oreburgh Gym, he won a badge." Roark explained. Byron glared at Ash, and the trainer tensed up with uneasiness. But then Roark spoke up. "Ash I'm sorry, but you're going to have to wait. I am NOT about to just let this one go."

"Huh?" Ash asked, obviously confused. "Because when it comes to fossils Dad, you won't outdo me!" Roark yelled. Byron growled viciously at his son, which intimidated Roark to the point of backing off. "I'm telling you I love fossils the most and that is that!" Byron roared. "No way! I dooooo!" Roark yelled back.

The father and son duo growled angrily at each other, the group could practically see the electricity shooting from the two Gym Leaders, angrily sparking. "Tell me I'm crazy, but Roark somehow seems different from last time." Dawn said. "You're not crazy." Brock said with a sweat-drop.

Byron broke the stare down and chuckled arrogantly. "You're soft…so soft that going up against you will be a piece of cake! Up with the lights!" Byron ran off, which made the others follow the scratchy-voiced Gym Leader. He finally stopped in a large room, filled with fossils of all kinds. "Feast your eyes on my collection." Byron chuckled proudly.

"Wow, check it all out." Ash said. "He sure has a lot of stones." Dawn added. "Actually, those are all fossils." Brock said.

"Those are fossils?" Dawn asked. "Leave it to Brock to recognize anything involving rocks." Misty laughed. "Well hey, being the Pewter City Gym Leader made me have to do a lot of research on stuff like this." Brock replied.

"Wow!" Roark ran up to something in a large display case. "Could it be? What a colossal Anorith!"

"He seems impressed." Ash said. "Of course he is, take a good look at that comparison." Brock replied. The three younger teens gasped in shock and awe at the poster. "That just isn't natural! Look at the size of that thing!" Misty said.

Byron chuckled proudly. "If I were to restore this fossil completely it would be three times bigger than a normal Anorith, so give up!" Byron laughed heartily, thinking his son would most certainly back down from their competition.

"Imagine the size of the Armaldo it would evolve into." Ash fantasized. Misty cringed at the thought. After all, Anorith and Armaldo were both part bug-type.

"I will say this. I don't think I've ever seen an Anorith fossil as big as this one…" the light shined off of Roark's glasses as he spoke, "But when it comes to Pokémon restored from fossils there's nothing that tops my Rampardos for sure!"

Byron wasn't even fazed. "Sorry to have to correct you but when it comes to Pokémon restored from fossils my Bastiodon tops EVERYTHING."

"Not again." Misty groaned. "At this rate, I'll never get my battle!" Ash added.

"Come on! There's no Pokémon stronger than my Rampardos!" Roark yelled angrily. "Uh, didn't you beat his Rampardos once?" Misty whispered. "Yeah, but it wasn't easy, Turtwig managed to beat it." Ash replied.

"You're wrong again! Nothing can beat my Bastiodon!" Byron bellowed. "Except Rampardos!" Roark quickly added on.

"Bastiodon's the best!"

"Rampardos is the best!"

"Bastiodon's the best!"

Ash and Co. sweat-dropped at the stupid argument taking place. "Uh oh, here we go again." Dawn sighed. "They look two other people we know." Brock said. Ash and Misty shot Brock a quick glare after that comment, but the father and son were yet another good example of how stupid they looked when they argued.

"Rampardos!"

"Bastiodon!"

After that, Brock boldly stepped in front of the arguing father and son. "Excuse me, but I think you're both going around in circles."

"I've got an idea! Why don't you both pit your Pokémon against each other in battle?" Dawn suggested. "That's a great idea, that way no matter what happens, we have an answer." Misty added.

"Perfect! That means once you figure which Pokémon is best, Byron can battle with me!" Ash exclaimed impatiently.

The father and son glared at each other. "You up for it son? Byron asked. "You bet! Thought you'd never ask!" Roark replied determinedly.

"Alright. The battle will begin in ten minutes! Be there!" Byron said. "Right." Roark replied confidently.

Byron left the room to prepare, and the group followed Roark out so they could have a quick talk with him. "Wow Roark, I had no idea Byron was your father." Ash said. "Yeah…obviously we both get a little carried away with fossils and whatnot." Roark replied, rather embarrassed.

"Excuse me for asking Roark, but you didn't really come all the way here just to argue with you dad did you?" Misty asked. "No, I actually came to ask him if he could make it back home to Oreburgh City for his and my mom's anniversary." Roark replied.

"So your dad's from Oreburgh City then, that's great!" Brock said. "Yeah, my dad actually used to work at the Oreburgh Gym, as the leader there." Roark said.

"That was right around the time I was assigned to lead the ancient Pokémon excavation operation at the Oreburgh Mine. He just left…he didn't even consider what my mom and I would think about him leaving. The only person he ever consulted when he was making important decisions was himself…he always took the two of us for granted." Roark ranted.

"I hear you." the breeder said with his arms crossed, "He sounds like another dad I know, namely mine."

"I have to agree too. My sisters would take my opinion and toss it out like an old tissue, like I didn't even exist." Misty added.

"He would say his whole reason in coming here to Canalave City was to find lots of fossils…there are a lot of fossils on Iron Island nearby." Roark said.

"Hey, isn't that where Barry is?" Dawn asked. "Yeah, maybe that was what the special training was all about." Ash said. "We're talking about Barry remember? He's too impatient for something like that." Misty said.

"Listen Ash, I'm sorry for having to make you wait like this, really. I just don't want my dad out-fossiling me!" Roark said determinedly.

"Don't worry about it, it's fine. Good luck in the battle!" Ash said. "I appreciate it…well, time to get started." Roark said.

The group got up and headed back to the battlefield. Roark took his place on the field, while Ash and Co. sat up in the stands. "So what do you think Ash?" Misty asked. "I dunno, Roark's pretty tough, but I've never seen Byron in action." Ash replied.

Then the gym's caretaker appeared from the corridor. "Ladies and gentlemen! The Gym Leader special exhibition battle will now get underway! Both Gym Leaders will be using one Pokémon each and the battle will be over when the Pokémon on either side is unable to battle!"

"Hey Dad! Keep in mind that it's already been ten years since I dug up my first fossil!" Roark yelled. Byron wedged his shovel into the dirt and replied sarcastically, "Oh, it's been that long has it?"

"And also keep in mind that since then I've devoted all of my energy to studying fossils of every kind! Just because you're my dad doesn't mean I'll go easy!" Roark yelled.

"Just because you're my son doesn't mean I won't whup ya." Byron chuckled cockily. Roark growled and clutched a Pokéball tightly. "Rampardos, let's go!" Roark's ancient Pokémon emerged and immediately got into battle-ready stance.

Dawn pulled out her pink Pokédex to scan Roark's Pokémon. "Rampardos, the Headbutt Pokémon, and the evolved form of Cranidos. Like a spear, it's 'Headbutt' can pierce even the strongest of defenses." the Pokédex chirped.

Now it was Byron's turn to choose. "I love Bastiodon!" Byron threw the Pokéball, and his Bastiodon emerged with a low grunt. "So that's a Bastiodon." Dawn scanned it with her Pokédex. "Bastiodon, the Shield Pokémon, and the evolved form of Shieldon. It's massively powerful shield-like face can deflect even the strongest of attacks."

"I wonder which one's stronger." Dawn said. "I know, they're both the best of their kind at two opposite strategies." Misty added.

"Amazing. This'll be like a showdown between a spear that can pierce anything, and a shield that can't be pierced." Brock said. The gym's caretaker raised his hand into the air, "Let the battle begin!"

"I'll start! Alright Rampardos, use 'Zen Headbutt', let's go!" Roark ordered. The ancient Pokémon ran forward with its head low to smash into Bastiodon. "Bastiodon, 'Iron Defense'!" Byron countered.

Bastiodon ran ahead with raised defenses and totally blocked Rampardos' attack. "Wow, Rampardos is looking as strong as ever!" Ash exclaimed. "But Bastiodon's no slouch either." Brock replied.

"Zen Headbutt' again!" Roark ordered. Again Rampardos charged like a raging Rhyhorn, as it readied to impact with Bastiodon. "Use 'Iron Defense' 'Iron Defense' 'Iron Defense'!" Byron countered over-excitedly.

Bastiodon ran with its steel hard face at the ready, and the two Pokémon traded hits a few times, battling for superiority. "Whoa, check out that power!" Ash exclaimed excitedly. "That Roark sure knows how to keep on keeping on!" Dawn added.

"One thing's for sure, Rampardos is giving it its all." Misty added. "Maybe…but look closer and you'll see that Byron and Bastiodon are MORE than holding their own." Brock said.

The group looked back down towards the battlefield to see what Brock was talking about. "Bastiodon's using 'Iron Defense' to stop every attack cold. I think it's safe to say that Byron's got the upper hand." Brock said.

"There's no defense like a good offense!" Roark roared, "Rampardos, 'Zen Headbutt' again!" The Headbutt Pokémon charged forward once more. "Now! 'Iron Defense'!" Byron countered.

Once more, Bastiodon raised its defenses and bounced off Rampardos' attack, but then it pushed forward and knocked Rampardos down to the ground.

The group gasped in shock. "The shield beat the spear!" Ash exclaimed. "That Byron battles a lot like Brad, his defenses are top notch." Misty pointed out. "Yeah, except Byron changed his defense into an attack!" Brock said.

"Come on Rampardos!" Roark exclaimed. Rampardos struggled to push itself up, but then Byron made his move. "Bastiodon, use 'Flamethrower'!" The Shield Pokémon opened its mouth and spewed a blazing flame. "Rampardos, out of the way!" Roark yelled.

Rampardos barely dodged the flame and got back to its feet, and as it stood up to face the Shield Pokémon, it panted wearily. "Wow, Dad's something…nicely done…" Roark admitted to himself.

"Roark my boy, I want you to give me everything you've got so I can prove I can take whatever you dish out and then some!" Byron bellowed.

"One thing's for sure; Byron isn't shy about his words." Misty said. "Well the way the battle's going right now, Byron has that right." Brock replied.

"Come on Rampardos! We can't give up! Use 'Zen Headbutt'!" Roark ordered. Rampardos shook off its fatigue and ran forward again, but this time Bastiodon merely ignored the impact without retaliation. Rampardos jumped back and awaited further orders, but it was obvious that Bastiodon had the upper hand.

"I wonder what's wrong with Rampardos." Dawn said. "After all that attacking, maybe it's tired." Brock replied.

"You should be ashamed!" Byron yelled, pointing an accusing finger at his son, "You think you're going to take us down with those embarrassing excuses for attacks? You're a pitiful excuse for a Gym Leader!"

"What kind of a father is he? It's bad enough they have to argue all the time, but to shamelessly spew garbage like that at his own son? It's disgusting!" Misty said furiously. The group silently agreed with Misty's angry statement, Byron wasn't showing any mercy in his words and he showed no signs of letting up, but if anything, those words provoked Roark to battle even harder.

Roark growled furiously, "Rampardos, jump first and then use 'Head Smash'!" Fueled by its master's determination, Rampardos leaped up and charged forward like a blue, aura enveloped spear flying through the air. "Ah ha! Bastiodon, 'Iron Head'!" Byron countered.

Bastiodon glowed in a white aura and charged forward to once again collide with the Headbutt Pokémon, and the two clanged into each other, causing smoke to cover the battlefield. "Those moves are their strongest!" Ash said in awe.

"There's no telling which one's stronger! But when Rampardos uses 'Head Smash' it causes sizeable damage to itself as well!" Brock said. When the smoke cleared, the two Pokémon still had their heads smashed against each other, before finally jumping back and panting with fatigue.

"Looks like Byron struck a nerve with that little rant of his, Rampardos is finally making headway." Misty said. "Maybe, but at what cost? Rampardos can't handle too many of those or it'll exhaust itself to the point of helplessness." Brock replied.

"Snap out of it Rampardos, and use 'Flamethrower'!" Roark ordered. The Headbutt Pokémon once again shook off its fatigue, and spewed a powerful flame at the Rock/Steel-type. "Alright Bastiodon, use 'Flash Cannon'!" Byron countered.

Bastiodon also opened its mouth, and a shining beam of energy blasted out and countered the flame. When the smoke cleared, both Pokémon were once again staring each other down. "Boy, it seems that everything Roark does, Byron has a perfect counter for it." Dawn said.

"You taking notes on this Ash?" Misty asked. "Yeah Mist, I'll have to be careful with my attacks or Byron'll wear out my Pokémon with his defenses, like Brad did kinda." Ash replied.

The two battling Gym Leaders were about to call off attacks again, when a loud alarm started buzzing, and the whole gym area started flashing with red warning lights. "What's going on?" Dawn asked.

"Dad what's that?" Roark asked. "That's the exhibition room alarm! This battle is now over! Bastiodon, return!" Byron returned the Shield Pokémon to its Pokéball and took off running towards the source of the alarm.

"Quick Rampardos, return!" Roark returned the panting Headbutt Pokémon to its Pokéball and followed his father down the corridor. "This doesn't look good." Ash said. "The exhibition room...you don't think…?" Dawn asked. "Someone may have stolen some fossils? Maybe." Misty replied.

"Come on guys, let's go!" Ash exclaimed. The group ran out of the stands and quickly caught up with Byron and Roark. When they finally reached the room, their suspicions were proved correct. "Look!" Byron exclaimed.

They looked down and saw that a hole had been dug out through the floor. "Somebody dug this hole!" Roark said. Byron got down on his hands and knees to examine the apparent point of entry. "I don't believe it…and still…I love this hole!"

Roark, Ash, and the others all face-faulted simultaneously, as Byron had apparently missed the entire point of what was going on. "You like this hole? What do you mean?" Ash asked. "Well take a good look!" Byron said. The group looked again.

"Look how perfectly shaped it is, how it slopes gently downward." Byron was beginning to tear up at this point, "Whoever dug this has the skill and craftsmanship of a fearsome hole digger!"

The group face-faulted again, and Misty for one, had quite honestly had enough of Byron's idiocy. Misty got up and slowly stomped over to Byron, who was still gushing over the hole in the floor, "I've just got to track down the artisan who did this. Imagine what this could do for my excavations!"

Now as steamed as she could get, Misty grabbed Byron's head and pointed it at her face. "Take a good look around Byron! Doesn't anything seem wrong here?" Misty exclaimed angrily. Needless to say, Roark was surprised by the nerve Misty had to stand up to his dad like that. He glanced over at Ash and the others, and they just shrugged with smirks on their faces; for Misty, this was common temper tantrum behavior.

"You're right!" Byron freed himself from Misty, who was now beaming with pride at a job well done. "Closer examination reveals that THIS hole was dug by a machine." Byron grumbled. "Not that!" Misty face-palmed and fell over backwards while the others did face-faults for the third time. It amazed them just how oblivious Byron was to the current situation. "I give up. Ash, you're no longer the champion of density." Misty said. Ash rolled his eyes at that comment.

"Dad, can't you see that all of your fossils have been stolen?" Roark yelled at the top of his lungs. Once Roark pointed that out, Byron actually noticed and started panicking. "Stolen? No! My precious fossil collection is gone!" Byron cried, running from shelf to shelf in a panic induced craze.

"Dad, calm down!" Roark shouted. Byron was once again, not listening. "Oh all my precious fossils, I worked for years excavating them and now they've been taken away from me!"

"Can I borrow this a second?" Misty took Piplup from Dawn's arms and held it like a bazooka over her shoulder. "Ok Piplup, fire in the hole!" Piplup smirked as he figured out Misty's intention, and it quickly fired a 'Bubblebeam' at the panicking Gym Leader.

The beam hit Byron squarely in the face, which made him search around for the source of the water attack. "Misty's sure got guts." Roark said in awe. "Let's just say when it comes to nerve, nobody can top Misty." Ash snickered. Ash was tagged back by a 'Bubblebeam' from the same source that hit Byron. "And don't you forget it." Misty replied with her tongue stuck out. Ash smirked playfully as he wiped his face off.

"Don't worry Dad, I'm gonna find the criminals who did this!" Roark leaped down into the machine-dug hole. "Wait! I'm coming too!" Byron followed his son down the hole. "We can't stay here, we gotta help too!" Ash said.

The others nodded in agreement, and together the group jumped down into the hole themselves. When they landed, they saw Roark and Byron running through the tunnel that had been dug out, and they ran after them.

"Man, this tunnel seems to go on forever!" Ash exclaimed. "Who do you suppose could've dug a tunnel this long?" Dawn asked. "It could've been any number of ground-type Pokémon, but then again they wouldn't have interest in fossils." Brock replied.

"You wanna know what I think? I'm placing my bet on Team Rocket; it's been at least twelve hours since we saw them last after all." Misty said. "Only one way to find out!" Ash poured on the steam and pumped his legs harder, provoking the others to do the same.

When the group finally made it to the end of the line, they climbed out of the hole and found that Misty was right. "Team Rocket!" Ash growled.

Jessie: "Is that the voice of twerps surfacing I hear?"

James: "Trespassing through OUR hole I fear."

Jessie: "On the wind!"

James: "Past the stars!"

Meowth: "Diggers without fear!"

Jessie: "Forming holes at a breakneck pace!"

James: "Shoveling earth, leaving air in its place!"

Jessie: "Our skill knows no boundary when it comes to the pit!"

James: "When it comes to pit-traps we don't miss a trick!"

Jessie: "Jessie!"

James: "And it's James!"

Meowth: "Meowth! Dat's a name!"

Jessie: "Putting all you ground-hogging do-gooders in your place!"

James: "You've got to dig Team Rocket!"

Team Rocket: "Because we're in your face!"

"Listen up! I've got something I wanna say to you three!" Team Rocket flinched at the sound of Byron's bellowing, "Clearly you're all incredibly skilled diggers, but from now on why don't you lose the machines and dig your happy holes by hand?"

Team Rocket, along with Ash and Co. face-faulted in utter disbelief. "What's up with him and holes?" Jessie mumbled. "Weird." Meowth replied.

"Listen! Those crooks are called Team Rocket and they're bad!" Roark said. "Bah. No one could dig holes that beautifully and still be called bad." Byron replied stubbornly.

"But Dad, don't you realize they stole your fossil collection?" Roark asked. Byron made a huge sweat-drop and whined, "No fair, I love my fossils!"

"Look here, those fossils are our link to the past, not things for you to steal!" Roark yelled. "My son's right! Give them back right now!" Byron added.

"Dream on Digger Derek." Jessie quipped. "Now will never come." James added. "If you wanna play rough, we'll show ya rough!" Ash yelled. Ash and Misty reached for Charizard and Gyarados' Pokéballs respectively, but Roark stopped them.

"No, this is between them and us!" Roark then turned back towards Team Rocket, "So you want it that way huh? Rampardos, let's go!" Rampardos, rested and ready once again for battle, emerged from the Pokéball to fight.

"I love Bastiodon!" Also rested and ready, the Shield Pokémon emerged from its Pokéball and prepared to join forces with its previous opponent. "Wow, they're working together." Misty said. "Well they have a common goal." Brock replied.

"Keep 'em! I love Mecha Man!" Meowth pushed a button on his remote control, and the drilling robot rotated and dropped the fossils it was holding so it could fight the two ancient Pokémon.

"Alright! Rampardos, 'Zen Headbutt'!"

"Now Bastiodon, use 'Iron Head'!"

The two ancient Pokémon charged towards the drilling robot, and bumped it backwards. Team Rocket screamed in terror at the sheer power the two ancient Pokémon had. "You sure you love Mecha Man?" Jessie screamed at the cat-Pokémon. "Long as we get da win! Dig in!" Meowth had the robot dig its arms into the ground to stop its momentum.

"Dirtballs for dirtbags!" Meowth had the robot dig down into the earth, and it found a huge boulder that it held overhead and readied to throw. "Rampardos, be careful!" Roark yelled.

The robot began chucking boulders at the ancient-Pokémon, who managed to dodge them as they came. "Now 'Zen Headbutt', go!" Rampardos charged and blasted through the small rocks being thrown at it, obliterating them with its powerful skull.

"It's time ta flatten dat pointy head!" Meowth had the robot throw sand into the Headbutt Pokémon's eyes, which stopped Rampardos in its tracks. "And da pitch!" The robot grabbed one more decently sized rock and launched it, and Rampardos exhaled forcefully as the rock knocked the wind out of it.

But the robot wasn't letting up, as it threw more rocks to finish the job against Rampardos. "Rampardos, out of the way!" Roark yelled. But Rampardos couldn't move, its breath was gone and it needed a minute to recover. Byron saw that and took action. "Iron Defense' Bastiodon! Protect Rampardos quick!"

Bastiodon jumped in front of the gasping Pokémon and bounced off each and every rock that came its way. "So see why I always talk about the value of a good defense?" Byron asked his son. "Dad…"

Byron didn't have time for a sentimental moment, so he quickly spoke up. "Listen Son, it's time for you to show off that attack you say is so great!" he bellowed. "Right! You got it Dad! Alright Rampardos, use 'Head Smash'!" Roark ordered.

Thanks to Bastiodon's defense, Rampardos had the chance to recover and was now hurtling towards the robot with the viciously brutal rock-type attack. The power and impact from Rampardos knocked the robot on its back, but the intense recoil damage Rampardos took made it fall down from exhaustion. "Rampardos, no!"

"C'mon Ash, now we need to get in there!" Misty said. "Right. Pikachu, use 'Thunderbolt' quick!" Ash ordered. Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder and launched a furious 'Thunderbolt' at the downed robot.

"Corsola, come out and use 'Bubblebeam'!" Misty threw out her water/rock-type and it emerged firing bubbles at the robot.

The two attacks hit dead-on, but the robot didn't seem to feel it as it ignored the attacks and got back up to keep fighting. "What the?" Ash gasped.

Meowth cackled cockily, "Dose water and electric-attacks barely even tickled Mecha Man!" the cat-Pokémon snickered, "Of course dose headbutts could cause me ta lose a little sleep." he whispered to his cohorts.

"Sleep later! Grab the fossil bag!" Jessie exclaimed. "Oh yeah! See you twoips on the flip side!" Meowth had the robot grab the bag that contained Byron's fossils, and they took off running. "They're getting away!" Dawn cried.

"No they're not! Alright Rampardos, 'Zen Headbutt'!"

"Bastiodon, use 'Iron Head'!"

Now with a second wind, Rampardos joined Bastiodon and combined for a mighty dual-attack that pierced two holes into the metallic structure of the fossil carrying robot. Team Rocket gasped in shock, "Come on! Don't you take that guff from them!" Jessie hissed. "I love tagbacks!" Meowth turned the robot around and started spraying sand at the two ancient-Pokémon, and then it turned again and exposed the holes in its back.

"Ash, Misty, quick! Aim for the two holes in that thing's back!" Brock exclaimed. "Right Brock! Alright Misty, cover me!" Ash said determinedly.

"Alright Corsola, bounce the sand off with 'Mirror Coat'!" Misty ordered. "Pikachu, stay behind Corsola and then use 'Thunderbolt'!" Ash ordered.

The two Pokémon surged ahead, Corsola blocked the sandballs so Pikachu could aim, and once Pikachu locked onto his target, his cheeks sparked furiously and he jumped and fired. The blast of electricity went right into the internal mechanism of the robot, and once it started smoking, that was their cue to get out of there. Pikachu, Corsola, and the two ancient Pokémon backed off, and the robot exploded in a huge blast of fire and smoke, sending Team Rocket blasting off again.

"Pikachu, we did it!"

"Nice job Corsola!"

The two Pokémon jumped into their respective trainer's arms, but the happy moment would soon turn to horror as the bag filled with fossils fell from the sky, and the ancient artifacts hit the ground with a loud smash. "All those precious fossils!" Roark and Byron said simultaneously.

The two archeologist Gym Leaders went to examine the fossils, although Byron had his eye set on one in particular. "What a relief, they're all safe and sound." Roark looked up and saw his father kneeling over something, "Hey Dad, what's wrong?"

"Look." Byron showed his son a box that contained a tiny fossil with a leaf pattern. "Whoa…is that a Sunkern fossil?" Roark asked.

"It is. I remember it like it was yesterday…you were just a little squirt, and you came to give me the first fossil you found as a present…" Byron said.

"You mean…that's the same Sunkern from ten years ago?" Roark asked. "It's by far the most important fossil in my collection." Byron replied.

"I don't know what to say…" Roark just stared into his father's eyes, deeply moved by the fact that he had kept the first fossil he had ever found, "That means…you actually do care about the family!"

"I realized as long as I was running the Oreburgh Gym that you'd be my apprentice and that's how you'd stay. So I thought it was a fine opportunity for you to take the reins by passing the Oreburgh torch to you as Gym Leader." Byron explained.

That's when it all fell into place for Roark. Byron didn't abandon the family for any selfish reasons; he left to man the Canalave Gym so that he could help him grow as a trainer and an archeologist. "Wow, I've been wrong all this time, now I know, thanks so much Dad!"

Byron nodded in acknowledgement, "Hey, it was nothing."

"You know, after hearing so much about Roark's family, I'm starting to miss my mom a little as well, you know?" Dawn said, wiping at her damp eyes.

"Funny you should say that because I've been thinking I need to give my family a call and see how everyone's doing." Brock said.

"Yeah, me too. I think it's about time I called to see how my sisters are holding up without me. Give 'em a little encouragement, you know?" Misty added, her eyes also watery from watching the heartfelt scene.

"Awesome. Me too, my mom will love to hear from me again." Ash added.

After all that, Byron changed the subject and looked at Ash. "So Ash I know it's been a long wait, but you're next!"

"Wow, great!" Ash exclaimed. "But the wait's not over…since I have to let Bastiodon rest up how about we hold off until tomorrow?" Byron suggested.

Ash nodded in understanding. "Right."

"If you don't mind, I would love to referee your battle." Roark said. "Wow, how cool is that?" Dawn squealed. "It'll be a battle to remember." Brock added.

"But Ash, you're going to have to want my gym badge in the worst way, prepare yourself for the battle of your life!" Byron bellowed.

"Oh don't worry, he'll be prepared, I'm gonna run him ragged later!" Misty teased. Ash laughed, "Don't worry about me Byron, I'm in good hands, but YOU better be ready because that gym badge is mine!" Ash replied confidently.

"Well, we gotta get these fossils back to the gym, so we'll be on our way now." Roark said. "You guys want any help?" Misty asked. "No thanks, I have some catching up to do with my son." Byron replied.

The group nodded in understanding and waved goodbye to the two Gym Leaders, and they headed back to the Pokémon Center to get ready for tomorrow. "Hey guys, I'm gonna go and give my family a call now, you guys go and do what you want…Ash and Misty, why not go and train your Pokémon?" Brock suggested.

The couple shrugged and went outside to train, they knew why Brock had aimed that suggestion at them, it was so he could feel secure without him being there. But they understood his reasoning, even if they didn't necessarily like it. "Hey guys, I'm gonna go call my mom too, you go on ahead ok?" Dawn said.

"Sure Dawn, seeya later." Misty said. So Dawn went to the videophones on her own while Ash and Misty stayed outside.

"Alright Misty, we got one day of training left, what do you think?" Ash asked. "Well you've done a lot of training with Chimchar, but you still haven't decided who your third one's gonna be." Misty replied.

"Well I've been thinking about that actually, and I think now's as good a time as any to give Gliscor a shot at a gym battle." Ash said.

"You're gonna use Gliscor? Er, no offense Ash, but Gliscor hasn't really proved himself to be that reliable, don't you think you should stick to someone you know can get you out of a jam?" Misty suggested.

"Actually Misty, Gliscor showed me something yesterday when it learned 'Fire Fang'. It's eager, determined, and with a little training, I know it'll be really tough for Byron to beat him!" Ash said.

"I guess you're right, but somehow I can't shake this bad feeling that Gliscor won't live up to the goal you're setting for it. I think you should have it battle more routinely first rather than throwing it under the gym battle bus." Misty said.

"That's what you're here for right? But just to be on the safe side, pick your weakest Pokémon for starters." Ash said.

"You want me to choose Psyduck?" Misty asked incredulously. "No not Psyduck, you could always…" Ash was cutoff. "Don't EVEN think about it Ketchum, Azurill is not going through a full-on battle with one of your Pokémon."

"Alright, alright. How about Surskit then?" Ash suggested. "Now Surskit I'll accept. You've got a match." Misty replied with a smirk.

"Ok, let's do this! Gliscor, I choose you!" Ash threw out a Pokéball, and the Fang-scor Pokémon emerged with a determined battle-cry. "Alright Gliscor, I wanna use you tomorrow in the battle against Byron, so – whaaa!" Ash was tackled by the ecstatic Gliscor, it was FINALLY going to get a chance to show its master what it could do. "I know, I know, you're excited and that's good, but don't squash me!"

Gliscor got off of Ash and faced Misty, it had seen enough sparring matches to know who to expect a battle against. "Alright! Misty calls Surskit!" Misty's one and only bug-type emerged from its ball with a ballerina-like twirl, and landed on the ground in battle-ready.

"Alright Gliscor, let's start this off with 'Fire Fang'!" Gliscor eagerly leaped forward with its mouth full of flame, ready to attack the small Pond Skater. "Ok Surskit, dodge and then use 'Rain Dance'!" Misty countered.

Surskit leaped high into the air and dodged the low-flying Gliscor, then its antennae formed a ball of water and launched it high into the sky. Clouds formed over the Pokémon Center and it started raining over the whole area. "Geez Misty, of all the moves you had to use, why that one?" Ash whined, wiping the rain from his face.

"Easy, now that the ground is wet, Surskit's gonna skate circles around you!" Misty exclaimed. "We'll see about that! Alright Gliscor, jump up and use 'Steel Wing'!" Ash ordered.

Gliscor tried to spring up, but he slipped in a puddle and fell down. "Ugh, Gliscor!" Ash groaned. "Now Surskit, 'Bubblebeam'!" Surskit fired and nailed Gliscor with the rain-strengthened stream of bubbles. "This is gonna be a long training session."

"I wonder why Ash and Misty are training in the rain…oh well." Brock shrugged after seeing the two Pokémon trainers battling their hearts out in the storm, as long as they weren't doing anything too extreme, he was happy. He dialed home and when the phone answered, Forrest answered.

"Hi Brock!" the eldest of the Brocklings exclaimed happily. "Hey Forrest, how are things going over there?" Brock asked.

"Well actually…Mom did a bit more renovating while you were gone." Forrest said. Brock sweat-dropped nervously. "What KIND of renovations?"

"Well…there's a hot tub in the gym now, but it's away from the battlefield so I don't think it's SO bad." Forrest said. Brock raised an eyebrow and pondered for a moment before finally shrugging it off. "Well, as long as she hasn't turned it into Misty's paradise island again."

"Oh no, that's at the second battlefield." Forrest said. "SECOND BATTLEFIELD?" Brock yelled in both anger and shock, "What do you mean a second battlefield?"

"Psyche." Forrest laughed. Brock sighed in relief before shooting his brother a glare, "You're gonna pay for that when I get home."

"Yeah yeah, anyways, you found yourself a girl yet?" Forrest asked teasingly. "Is there anyone else I can talk to? You're too snide." Brock scoffed.

"Ok ok, so what's up big bro?" Forrest asked. "Nothing much really, Ash is outside training with Misty for his gym battle tomorrow…" Brock was cutoff. "You mean the angry redheaded girl that was cheering for Ash when he challenged you years ago? I thought you said she left!" Forrest exclaimed.

"Well uh…she came back after Ash uh…told her…he…loved her." Brock murmured. Forrest tried to suppress a smile, but he simply couldn't control the laughter he was fighting. He laughed raucously and uncontrollably, which only irked Brock more. "Knock it off Forrest!"

"Ha ha h – I'm sorry! But if I held that in my teeth would've exploded!" Forrest said, still laughing, "I can't he found a girlfriend before you did!"

"Oh yeah? How's YOUR love life doing?" Brock asked. That made Forrest shut up almost instantly. "Uh well, not so good…I suppose." he mumbled.

"Uh huh." Brock smirked. "BROOOOCK!" attracted by Forrest's raucous laughter, the rest of the Brocklings quickly filled up the screen, trying to get the best view of their big brother.

"Bwock! I wearned how to swim with Mommy yestewday!"

"I learned all my Pokémon types!"

"Brock guess what? I know how to braid hair!"

"Brock when are you coming home?"

Questions just kept coming and coming, bringing a sweat-drop from the breeder's head. "Guys, calm down! I'm happy to see you guys too!"

"When you come home Bwock?" Tilly, the youngest of the girls asked. "Soon Tilly, I promise, ok? As soon as Ash is done with the Sinnoh League, I'm coming home to visit." Brock replied reassuringly.

After hearing that, Tilly squealed at the top of her tiny lungs and ran off in glee, dragging her make counterpart and a few others with her.

"Hey guys, go follow them and make sure they stay out of trouble." Brock said. The last three Brocklings took off running, leaving Brock and Forrest to talk once again. "So, how are YOU doing as Gym Leader?" Brock asked.

"Oh yeah! Brock, you won't believe it! A couple of weeks ago, I was using Geodude against this guy with a Lairon, its 'Metal Claw' was just ripping Geodude to shreds too! I was way over my head! But just when I thought Geodude couldn't take anymore, it evolved into Graveler and learned 'Earthquake'! The guy was so caught off guard that he didn't even react and we won!" Forrest exclaimed proudly.

"Awesome job Forrest! I'm proud of you!" Brock exclaimed. Forrest beamed with pride at his brother's approval, when Lola's voice was heard in the background. "Ugh, Mom wants me to do the dishes, you better get home so you can take your job back!" Forrest said.

"Don't worry little bro, you can handle it, I know it." Brock said. Then the Brocklings appeared once more and covered the screen, "We love you Brock!"

"I love you guys too, you be good ok?" Brock said. They all nodded and smiled brightly before the screen went black. "Way to go Forrest, keep it up."

"Mom! Would you stop asking me questions like that?" Dawn asked, her face as red as a beet. "Oh but Dawn, I'm just dying to know who you have your eyes on, is it Kenny? Or is it that Barry boy you told me about?" Johanna asked eagerly.

"I-I don't even know ok? Maybe I like them both…maybe I don't like either of them! Why are you so worried about it anyway?" Dawn asked.

"Because you're my daughter that's why, I wanna be able to go and say to the parents of the boy you like so I can make friends with them!" Johanna replied.

"Mom, that would be embarrassing beyond all reason! PLEASE don't go crazy telling people I have a crush on someone!" Dawn begged earnestly.

"Oh alright, but you sure know how to ruin a mom's fun." Johanna pouted playfully, "You know I love you Dawn."

"(Sigh) I love you too Mom, so how are things at home?" Dawn asked. "Well same old same old really, it's you things are happening with, how are things on the road?" Johanna replied.

"Well we're still here in Canalave City to get ready for Ash's next gym battle, and then we're gonna go and find another contest for me to participate in!" Dawn explained.

"Well it definitely sounds exciting! You think Kenny will be there too?" Johanna asked. "MOOOOM!"

Outside, Ash and Misty were finishing up their training session. "Alright Surskit, use one more 'Rain Dance' and then finish this with 'Bubblebeam'!" Misty ordered. "Come on Gliscor, stay strong! 'Sand Attack'!" Ash countered.

While Surskit made it rain again, Gliscor struggled to get up and face it, the ground/flying-type had had serious trouble keeping up with the swift movements of the tiny Pond Skater Pokémon, and in the rain, its weakness to water was greatly exposed.

Gliscor dug his claws into the ground to throw sand, but wound up throwing mud instead because of the multiple 'Rain Dances'. Surskit was caught off guard for a split second, but that split second would prove to be costly.

With a high squeal, Surskit tripped up and started wiping mud out of its eyes. "Now Gliscor! 'Steel Wing'!" Ash ordered. Gliscor leaped up and flew low with his wings hardened to nail the small bug.

Surskit took the hit dead-on and squealed in pain. "Surskit, no!" Misty cried. "Yeah Gliscor, keep it up! 'Fire Fang'!" Gliscor opened his mouth and bit down on the tiny bug with sharp, flaming teeth. "Ok Gliscor, let's finish this up with 'X-Scissor'!" Gliscor flipped into the air and charged to finish the small Pond Skater off.

"No you don't! Surskit quick, use 'Bubblebeam' before the rain stops!" Surskit struggled onto her wiry legs and blasted one last beam of bubbles at the Fang-scor Pokémon. "Gliscor, use 'Screech' to pop those bubbles!"

Still charging, Gliscor emitted painful, high-pitched sound waves that not only countered the 'Bubblebeam', but it seemed to paralyze Surskit as it covered its ears in pain. Finally Gliscor reached his target and slammed Surskit down with a powerful 'X-Scissor'. Surskit struggled to get back up, but its strength gave out finally as it fainted.

Gliscor landed back on his tail and panted wearily, but he was obviously happy that he had won. "Alright Gliscor! You won!" Ash cheered. Gliscor smiled as he panted, finally relaxing now that the battle was over. The rain stopped just as Surskit was returned to her Pokéball, "You did great Surskit, take a nice break."

Misty walked over to Ash and Gliscor with a smile on her face, while her pride was deflated due to her loss, her heart was inflated when Ash beamed brightly at her. "Looks like Gliscor might be ready for Byron after all." Misty said.

"Yeah Gliscor, you battle as hard as you did today, that gym badge is ours for sure!" Ash said excitedly. Gliscor sighed and asked to be returned to his Pokéball for a nice long rest. "Alright Gliscor, you earned it." Ash returned the Fang-scor Pokémon to his Pokéball, and took Misty's arm to return to the Pokémon Center.

"You know you look good when your hair's wet?" Ash asked. "Oh yeah? What about when it's dry huh?" Misty replied suspiciously. "Uh-uh it looks good dry too! In fact I think you'd look good with NO hair too!" Ash exclaimed.

"Ash!" Misty squealed incredulously, "I like my hair thanks, I don't wanna be bald!" the couple laughed with each other and entered the Pokémon Center, and they were greeted with a blast of cold air thanks to their wet clothes. "Geez it's cold in here." Ash complained.

"That's cause we've been out in the rain the whole time, our clothes are wet." Misty said. "And whose fault was that?" Ash asked knowingly. "Yours." Misty replied teasingly.

"Oh yeah? How's it my fault?" Ash asked. "If you hadn't told Gliscor to start with 'Fire Fang', I wouldn't've wanted to weaken the fire with a rainstorm." Misty replied with her tongue sticking out.

"Oh that's a great excuse Mist." Ash rolled his eyes. "Glad you agree." Misty quipped playfully. The two laughed and giggled with each other and eventually found their way to the videophones. "Well, I think I'm gonna give my sisters a call, why don't you go talk to your mom for a bit?" Misty suggested.

"Sounds good to me, I have to ask her when she's gonna give me those new clothes anyway." Ash said. "Oh yeah, and now that your clothes are wet, they're gonna shrink on you." Misty giggled at the thought.

"That's just what I needed to hear." Ash said sarcastically. Misty giggled and gave Ash a swift kiss on his nose, and then gave him a finger wave goodbye. Ash smiled and walked to his own videophone.

"Like, hello?" a female voice asked. "Daisy! It's me, Misty!" Misty replied. "Misty! Like, how's it going little sis? How come your hair's all wet?" Daisy asked.

"Oh, Ash and I were training outside and I wound up using 'Rain Dance' a bunch of times." Misty said sheepishly, "How about you? How's your training coming along?"

"Well it hasn't like, been easy to give up some of my spa appointments I'll admit, but I'm like, having a good time with the whole battling thing. I was especially surprised when your Horsea like, evolved in the middle of a battle, I never like, knew how totally awesome it felt when Pokémon evolve with your training." Daisy explained.

"You had Dewgong." Misty said. "Yeah but like, we didn't really TRAIN Dewgong that much, it like, just stepped up to the plate when we like, needed it." Daisy replied. "I suppose you're right." Misty admitted.

"How is Seadra by the way? I'd like to say hi if you don't mind." Misty said. "Like, sure. Daisy pulled a Pokéball off her shining belt, which Misty couldn't help but gawk at. "A rhinestone Pokéball belt?"

"Hey, I still need to like, accessorize, being a good battler doesn't mean I have to be plain like you." Daisy teased. "Daisy, don't make me mad." Misty warned. "Hey, I'm like, just kidding Mist." Daisy replied with a laugh.

Misty smirked and waited for Daisy to call out her Pokémon. Seadra emerged on the screen, and upon seeing Misty it smiled brightly. "Wow Horsea, is that really you?" Misty squealed.

Seadra nodded with a proud smile, it loved being evolved and it loved its master's reaction. "Wow Hor – er Seadra, you're looking great!" Misty exclaimed. Seadra smiled even brighter and even blushed a little at the compliment.

"Alright you, that's enough for now, like, go see what the others are doing." Daisy said. Seadra smiled sadly and said farewell to Misty before hopping away to the pool. "So what do you think Mist?" Daisy asked.

"Daisy, I'm so proud of you! Seadra looks totally happy and healthy! You're doing an amazing job!" Misty exclaimed. "Like, thanks little sis. But can I like, ask a favor?" Daisy asked. "Sure, what is it?" Misty replied.

"Well…could you like, give me one of your Pokémon? Like, I need a few more so I can give the others a break." Daisy said. "Ahh, smart bit of reasoning big sis, ok, I'll send you someone." Misty replied.

"Like, can I have your Gyarados?" Daisy asked. "Don't push it Daisy, the only reason Gyarados listened to you versus Ash was because I was in the stands making sure it listened. I'll send you Politoed; it's not getting much work anyway." Misty said.

Misty pulled out a Pokéball and placed it into the videophone's send slot. Within a matter of seconds, Politoed arrived in Cerulean. "Thanks sis."

"I should be thanking you Daisy, you gave me a chance to live my life." Misty said sincerely. "Well, it like, took your boyfriend's arrival to get me to do it." Daisy replied.

"I know, but I still appreciate it…I love you guys, really I do, even if most of the time I don't act like it." Misty said sincerely. "Like, what brought on this mush-fest?" Daisy asked.

"Well…let's just say I saw a family moment that made me think of you guys, and how much I love you, Lily, and Violet as my family." Misty said. "Well…I guess we love you too little sis." Daisy replied. Just then, a loud knocking was heard at the door of the Cerulean Gym.

"Sounds like another challenger." Misty said. "Like, great! I'll use your Politoed!" Daisy replied. "Give 'em hell big sis!" Misty exclaimed. Daisy nodded determinedly, and then the screen went black.

"Hey Mom, how are you?" Ash asked. "Oh Ash, is everything alright?" Delia asked, taken aback by Ash's early call. "Yeah, no problem…just…I kinda missed you a little." Ash said sheepishly.

"Ohh, I miss you too baby, every day!" Delia said. "Come on Mom; don't call me your baby." Ash said embarrassedly. "Oh fine, break my heart. But you know you always will be." Delia said with a smile.

"Yeah…I know." Ash admitted with a smile. "So, you're probably wondering about the new clothes I have for you." Delia said, starting a topic.

"Yeah, actually I'm gonna need 'em REALLY soon now, me and Misty were training and she used 'Rain Dance' a bunch of times, so now both of our clothes are wet." Ash sweat-dropped.

"Oh Ash, why are you here talking to me then? Get into the shower before you catch a cold!" Delia exclaimed disapprovingly. "I'll be fine Mom, don't worry. Just send me those clothes before this set shrinks and I can't wear it!" Ash replied.

"I would love to accommodate you Ash, really. But I'm afraid I forgot where I put the clothes for you two." Delia said. Ash face-faulted, but quickly recovered. "Whaddya mean you forgot?" Ash asked in shock.

"Well when I left home, I put them down somewhere and now I can't remember where. But don't worry; I'll give you a call as soon as I find them." Delia promised.

"Alright then, thanks Mom." Ash said. "Well I gotta go, it's time for me to get my gardening done, Mimey's waiting for me outside." Delia said. "Alright Mom, talk to you soon." Ash said.

"I love you sweetie." Delia said, blowing a kiss to her beloved son. "I love you too Mom."

Night fell and Ash and Misty spent another nice night together, giving Brock awake nightmares, the poor breeder simply couldn't find it in him to trust the two ever since Delia told him that he was responsible for the relationship of her son and his girlfriend. As soon as Ash and Misty fell asleep, Brock went to his bed, only to wake up every other hour to check on them.

When morning came, Ash, Misty, and Dawn were already up and dressed by the time Brock woke up, they patiently waited for the breeder to get himself going, since they knew exactly why he was losing sleep. "Ash, I think you need to give your mom another call, Brock's gonna commit suicide if he keeps this up." Misty said, noting the saggy bags under the breeder's eyes.

Ash discreetly nodded, and once Brock finally arrived, they walked over to the Canalave Gym, where Ash would finally get his battle versus Byron. "Byron, I challenge you!" Ash roared upon arrival.

The caretaker of the gym immediately walked out and greeted the four teens, "You're just in time, Byron's been tearing up the field with excitement, any longer and I don't think we'd have a field."

"Well Byron's got nothing to worry about because I'm gonna give it my all!" Ash exclaimed determinedly. "That's just what Byron likes to hear, come with me." The caretaker led the group to the battlefield, where Roark was trying to calm down his hyped up father.

Byron saw Ash walk in and his blood began to boil with excitement and anticipation. "Ah hah! Ready to get this battle started Ash? I've been looking forward to it!"

"You bet Byron! And that gym badge is as good as mine!" Ash exclaimed. "Well we'll see about that." Byron replied.

The group bid good luck to Ash before walking to take their seats in the bleachers, Misty hung back a moment so she could plant a good luck kiss on his cheek. Ash beamed and his muscles surged with energy, thanks to Misty he could practically feel the win coming on.

"The battle between Ash the challenger and Byron the Gym Leader will now begin! Both sides will use three Pokémon each and the battle's over when all three of one side's Pokémon are unable to continue!" Roark announced, "And in addition, only the challenger is allowed to substitute Pokémon!"

Ash was plenty energized thanks to Misty, but Byron was pretty pumped on his own, as he roared out his battle cry. "I love fossils! And I love defense!" Byron chuckled viciously at the Pokémon Trainer, as he swung his shovel around, which for a moment caught Ash off guard.

"I know Byron's defense style is not gonna make this easy but there's no way I'm gonna lose!" Ash thought determinedly. "Just wait and see Byron, I'll get that Mine Badge for sure!"

"That's the kind of spirit I like! But mark my words; if you think this going to be a walk in the park, I've got news for you!" Byron roared, flexing his muscles proudly.

"Let the battle begin!"

"Bronzor, let's go!" Byron threw out his first Pokémon, and the floating steel/psychic-type emerged to battle its opponent to be named.

"Knowing Bronzor's a Steel and Psychic-type, there's no question a fire-type's the best for this job! So Chimchar, I choose you!" Ash threw out his own Pokéball, and the fiery little monkey emerged to battle his heart out.

"I can't believe it! I know that Chimchar!" Roark exclaimed. "Right, Chimchar used to be Paul's not so long ago, but now Chimchar's on MY team! Chimchar, ready to battle?" Ash asked determinedly.

Chimchar turned and gave Ash a determined nod, and leaped into the air to battle and make his adopted master proud. "Chimchar, 'Flamethrower'!" Ash ordered. Chimchar spewed a powerful flame at the steel/psychic-type, determined to start the battle off on a high note.

"Bronzor, brace yourself!" Byron bellowed. Bronzor was completely enveloped in flame in a matter of seconds, but it tensed itself and fought off the damage that the flame was doing. "How can Bronzor handle Chimchar's 'Flamethrower'?" Dawn asked in shock.

"It must have the ability 'Heatproof', which means it can limit the damage from any fire-type moves it encounters." Brock explained.

"Byron spent countless hours with Bronzor training intensively, I doubt Bronzor could feel that attack at all." the caretaker said. "We need more power! Chimchar, 'Flamethrower' one more time!" Ash ordered.

Chimchar finally landed after its attack, and immediately followed up with another powerful flame. Bronzor took the hit with some difficulty, but its 'Heatproof' ability was making things much easier. "You use that move all you want! So what? Bronzor, 'Rain Dance'!" Byron ordered.

Despite still being engulfed in flame, Bronzor managed to cool off its body by using the water-type move, and the steam that came from its body rose up into the air and caused huge, black rain clouds to form overhead.

Caught by surprise by the sudden rain fall, Chimchar stopped the attack short to cover its head. "Byron's using 'Rain Dance' the same way I did yesterday with Surskit." Misty said.

"It must all be part of Byron's strategy. He's using a water-type move to try and throw Chimchar off its game." Brock said. "And since it's raining, the power of fire-type moves goes down which means Ash will cause even less damage than before." Misty added.

"No you don't, we're gonna stall that rain out! Chimchar, use 'Dig' now!" Ash ordered. Chimchar dug underground to avoid the rain and any incoming attacks. "Dig' as a defensive move, I'm impressed with Ash." Byron told himself.

Ash's strategy worked to perfection as the rain finally stopped, leaving Bronzor to search for where Chimchar was without any protection from the rain. "Jump out now!" Ash yelled. Chimchar burst out of the ground, screeching determinedly. "Flamethrower' now!" Ash ordered. Chimchar spewed yet another flame at the steel/psychic-type.

Bronzor took the hit again, bracing itself with its 'Heatproof' ability, but regardless of that, it was obvious Bronzor was getting tired. "I guess Ash figures that even with 'Heatproof' Bronzor can't hold out forever." Misty said.

"It makes sense, 'Heatproof' only limits the damage, it doesn't make Bronzor immune to it. If Chimchar can keep hammering away with 'Flamethrower', Bronzor should eventually give out." Brock said.

"Alright Chimchar, let's try one more 'Flamethrower'!" Ash ordered. Chimchar fired once more, determined to finish the battle quickly. "Now Bronzor, dodge it and use 'Gyro Ball'!" Byron countered.

Bronzor began spinning like a top, and quickly dodged the flames and charged towards the off guard fire monkey. Chimchar took the hit hard and wound up in a crater, groaning softly. "Awesome at offense AND defense. Just like a Gym Leader." Brock said.

"Come on Ash, don't give up yet!" Misty shouted. "You can do it Chimchar!" Dawn added.

Chimchar slowly fought to get back to its feet, but it was having extreme difficulty. "You're fine Chimchar!" Ash encouraged. Chimchar screeched determinedly and forced itself back to its feet, as it glared angrily at the steel/psychic-type.

"This ends now! Bronzor, use 'Gyro Ball' again!" Byron ordered. Bronzor began spinning once more, and moved in to finish Chimchar off. "Chimchar, 'Flame Wheel' go!" Ash countered.

Chimchar began spinning as well, enveloped in flame to meet up with Bronzor in a battle of superiority. When the two attacks collided, a fiery pillar of smoke was made, leaving the group waiting in anticipation. When the smoke finally settled, both Pokémon were grunting and groaning in pain.

"Quick! Chimchar, get up!

"Show 'em what you're made of Bronzor!"

Both Pokémon made a valiant effort to stand up, but in the end, Chimchar was the only one with enough strength and determination to remain conscious. "Bronzor is unable to battle! Chimchar is the winner!" Roark announced.

Chimchar whined in pain, hunched over from the damage it had taken, but it managed a small smile of pride because of its victory. "Success!" Dawn squealed. "So Ash takes the early lead." Brock said. "One thing's for sure, Chimchar earned its keep on that one." Misty added. The two other teens nodded in total agreement.

Chimchar slowly hobbled over to Ash with a tired smile on its face, and one of its eyes partly closed from exhaustion. "Chimchar, you were great!" Ash said. Chimchar chattered tiredly, but it was more than appreciative of the praise.

"I think it's time for you to take a good rest." Ash returned Chimchar to its Pokéball for a well-deserved rest.

"You didn't win but it was a great battle. Excellent defense Bronzor." Byron returned the fainted Pokémon to its Pokéball, despite his loss Byron was feeling more than confident. "They got you that time Dad." Roark said.

"I haven't felt the heat of battle in quite a while and it feels like I've just come back to life! I love defense!" Byron roared, holding up his shovel dramatically.

"Boy, Byron sure isn't shy about battle cries." Misty said with a sweat-drop. "That's just how Byron gets himself pumped up for battle." the caretaker said.

"Ash, don't start celebrating just yet!" Roark exclaimed. "He won't! If he does I'll kick his butt later!" Misty shouted from the stands. Dawn and Brock sweat-dropped at Misty's outburst, but Ash was pleasantly amused by the attention. "Don't worry Misty, I won't get overconfident, this battle's just getting started!" Ash replied.

"I'm not finished yet! I love Steelix!" Byron threw out yet another Pokéball, and his giant steel serpent emerged with a mighty roar. "Alright, Gliscor, I choose you!" The Fang-scor emerged with an excited battle-cry.

"What is he doing? If Ash wanted to attack from the air wouldn't Staravia be better?" Dawn asked in shock. "Don't be so sure, we did some training yesterday and Gliscor showed what it can do in a battle, and since it knows 'Fire Fang', a steel-type like Steelix should be weak to it." Misty replied.

"You think so?" the caretaker asked. The group looked at him in confusion. "An advantage based on moves doesn't always decide who the winner will be."

"True, but I'm pretty sure Ash knows that by now. Let's see what he does." Brock said.

"Maybe I was a little too hasty in picking Gliscor…with Byron's defensive strategies I may wind up using an attack and it'll bounce back and hit Gliscor!" Ash thought.

"Ash, is something the matter? You have the first move." Roark said. "Ash! Snap out of it! Remember we trained for this!" Misty shouted from the stands. Ash smiled and gave a thumbs-up to Misty in thanks, and then turned back to the field.

"Getting the least bit afraid of my steely-defense are you Ash?" Byron asked cockily. "Nah, not a bit!" Ash replied. "Then make your move! Come and get me I dare you!" Byron roared.

"Guess I better get things started…alright Gliscor, let's start with 'Sand Attack'!" Ash ordered. Gliscor slung sand at the steel/ground-type to try and blind it. "Alright Steelix, use 'Screech'!" Byron countered.

Steelix opened its mouth and painful, ear-piercing sound waves came out of it. It completely countered the 'Sand Attack' and made Gliscor cover its ears in pain. "Gliscor!" Ash cried.

"Steelix stopped Gliscor in its tracks! That's what I call defense!" Brock exclaimed. "(Gasp) That happened with Roark!" Dawn realized.

"What do you mean?" Misty asked. "Pikachu tried using 'Quick Attack' against Roark's Onix and it used 'Screech' to stop Pikachu! Wow, I guess Roark was taking a page from the family playbook." Dawn replied.

Steelix upped the decibels on its 'Screech' attack, making Gliscor cry out in pain. "Don't give up Gliscor! Counter with your 'Screech'!" Ash ordered.

Gliscor used its tail to jump out of range and then opened its own mouth to launch its own sound-based attack at the 'Screeching' Steelix. The sound waves collided, creating a painful explosion of sound that hurt both Pokémon and the humans on the field and in the bleachers.

For the sake of everyone, both Steelix and Gliscor stopped 'Screeching' to make sure the humans were ok. "Is everyone alright?" Roark asked.

"My ears are ringing a little." Misty admitted. "Yeah, mine too." Dawn added. "Well MY ears are just fine! And there's no way a little noise will make ME give up! Steelix, use 'Bind'!" Byron ordered.

Steelix swung its tail and grabbed Gliscor and squeezed it tightly. "Gliscor, no!" Ash cried. "Alright Steelix finish this up with 'Iron Tail'!" Byron ordered.

Steelix growled and threw Gliscor into the air, and then charged ahead to smash Gliscor into the ground. "Gliscor quick! Straighten out and use 'Fire Fang'!" Ash countered. Gliscor used the backwards momentum to swoop upwards and dodge Steelix's attack, and then charged forward and bit down on Steelix's iron body with teeth engulfed in flame.

Steelix growled in pain at the sting of the fire. "Yeah Gliscor! Way to hang in there!" Ash cheered. "Wow, check out Gliscor!" Dawn said in awe.

"Ash trained really hard with Gliscor yesterday, and we worked on Gliscor's 'Fire Fang' in the rain a lot so he could build up Gliscor's attack power." Misty said. "And Gliscor's flying has really improved, it dodged that 'Iron Tail' like a pro.

"Come on Steelix, show 'em what you're made of! Use 'Bind' again!" Byron ordered. "No you don't! Gliscor, fly up and then use 'X-Scissor'!" Ash countered. Gliscor hopped off of Steelix and dodged the 'Bind' attack, and then moved in and slashed Steelix with its claws.

"No, Steelix!" Byron bellowed. "Let's wrap this up with 'Fire Fang'!" Ash ordered. Gliscor charged again to finish Steelix off. "Steelix, 'Screech' and hurry!" Byron countered.

Steelix opened its mouth and the painful sound waves blasted the incoming Gliscor backwards. Out of nervousness, both Misty and Dawn had covered their ears to avoid any further damage to their hearing while they watched. "No, Gliscor!" Ash cried.

"Now Steelix! 'Iron Tail'!" Byron ordered. Steelix swung its tail downwards, and nailed Gliscor with an extremely powerful steel-type attack, and smashed Gliscor into the ground. "Gliscor!" Ash cried.

Ash's cheering section all gasped in horror at the sight of Gliscor taking the beating. When the smoke lifted, Gliscor was seen barely standing on its feet, growling angrily at the steel/ground-type. For a moment it seemed that Gliscor would be able to continue, but it finally gave out and passed out on the ground.

"Gliscor is unable to battle and the win goes to Steelix!" Roark announced. Steelix roared victoriously, making Byron nod proudly as well. Ash ran onto the field with Pikachu to check on the ground/flying-type who taken such a horrid beating. "Gliscor, you alright?" Ash asked.

Gliscor slowly opened its eyes that were starting to tear up with disappointment. "Gli scor." (I tried.) it whined sadly and painfully. "Hey, you did awesome for your first gym battle! Don't you even think about feeling bad, you were incredible!" Ash encouraged. Gliscor looked up at Ash and stuck its tongue out in its usual manner, as a way to say that it would be alright. "Alright Gliscor, nice job, return."

Gliscor was returned to its Pokéball for a more than well-deserved rest. "After all that, Gliscor just couldn't hang on." Dawn said sadly. "Well it was Gliscor's debut, battling my Surskit and that monster of a Steelix are two really different things, Ash should be proud." Misty added.

"Gliscor showed power and speed that it never had before in any other battle before this. Ash thought about Byron's strategy and utilized Gliscor's strong points…Steelix was just more than it could handle." Brock said.

"So where does this leave Ash?" Dawn asked. "Well now they have both two Pokémon left…it seems evenly matched…but…" Brock paused for a moment.

"Chimchar's already taken a lot of damage…I think it's safe to say that Byron has the upper hand at the moment." the caretaker said. "Don't count my Ash out just yet! He's got a knack for turning bad situations around and coming out on top!" Misty exclaimed.

"So Ash, what will you do? How do you plan on taking down my glorious Steelix, hmm?" Byron asked. Ash turned around and clutched a Pokéball tightly. "I'm betting on Chimchar, that's how! Chimchar, I choose you!" Ash threw out the fire monkey's Pokéball, and the spunky fire-type emerged with a determined screech.

"Chimchar, 'Flamethrower' now!" Ash ordered. Chimchar immediately fired the powerful flame, and unlike its previous opponent, Steelix took the hit with much difficulty and even fell to the ground from the attack's power. But after landing, Chimchar fell to one knee in exhaustion. "Chimchar!" Ash yelled in worry.

Ash's cheering section gasped in worry, "Chimchar's got the advantage by type…" Brock said. "But Chimchar's still exhausted from battling with Bronzor…" Misty added.

Steelix slowly got back up and faced the exhausted monkey, but Steelix's stamina was also wavering from the previous onslaught from Gliscor. "If Chimchar still hasn't fully recovered from the last time, how's Ash gonna pull this off?" Dawn asked worriedly.

"I'm not counting out Chimchar just yet, determination can be the making or breaking point in any battle." Misty said. "Strong defense! Alright Steelix, 'Iron Tail'!" Byron ordered. Steelix swung its tail to attack, but the speed of the iron snake's attack was considerably slowed due to exhaustion.

"Chimchar quick! Dodge and then use 'Dig'!" Ash countered. Chimchar flipped backwards and managed to avoid the iron snake's powerful 'Iron Tail', but then hunched over to gasp for breath. After a second, Chimchar looked up at its opponent and then dug a hole to attack from below.

"Make the earth tremble! Alright Steelix, 'Iron Tail'!" Byron ordered. Steelix swung its tail downward and made a huge earth shattering earthquake on the field that not only revealed Chimchar's location, but it sent Chimchar flying into the air. "Chimchar, no!"

"Good! Now Steelix, use 'Bind' let's go!" Byron ordered. Steelix slowly swung its tail to grab and squeeze the little monkey. "Chimchar, dodge it quick and use 'Dig' again!" Ash countered.

Chimchar managed to regain control of its body and dodged the snake's tail like an acrobat, then it jumped off of Steelix's tail and landed in the ground once more. "No flimsy defense is gonna get past us! Quick Steelix, use 'Iron Tail'!" Byron countered.

Steelix once again swung its tail into the ground, and the ground opened up and spewed out Chimchar as if it had left a sour taste inside of it. "Now use 'Bind' Steelix!" Byron ordered. Steelix swung its tail to grab onto Chimchar once more. "Dodge it Chimchar!" Ash shouted.

By some miracle, Chimchar managed to once again dodge the iron snake's attack, but Byron wasn't through just yet. "Steelix! Make sure Chimchar doesn't get away!"

Steelix waved its tail and turned it so it would grab Chimchar anyway, the frightened fire-type braced itself for impact, but it never came as Steelix fell into the ground like it was quicksand. "What's going on?" Dawn asked.

"The battlefield's been weakened thanks to Chimchar's using 'Dig'!" Brock explained. "Now's your chance Ash!" Misty shouted.

"This is it Chimchar! 'Flame Wheel' go!" Ash ordered. Chimchar regained its composure and charged towards the iron snake's face, but Byron was determined not to go down just yet. "Quick Steelix, 'Screech'!"

"Flame Wheel' full blast!" Ash yelled. Steelix opened its mouth once more and launched an absolutely deafening sound wave that made Misty and Dawn cringe in pain. However the fire monkey just wouldn't be stopped as it continued on and nailed Steelix with the powerful 'Flame Wheel'.

Steelix fell down and for a moment fought to maintain consciousness, but it eventually gave out and fainted from exhaustion. "Steelix is unable to battle, the winner is…huh?" Roark was about to announce Chimchar the winner, when he saw Chimchar on both knees in pain. "Come on Chimchar, you can make it!" Ash encouraged.

Chimchar tried to get back up, but that tiny bit of effort it exerted was it all it took to knock Chimchar out. "Um…correction, both Pokémon are unable to battle, so this battle is a draw!" Roark announced.

Ash walked over and scooped the exhausted fire monkey in his arms. "Chimchar, thanks so much, you did it, you beat Steelix!" Ash said. Chimchar chattered softly in thanks. Ash gave the small fire-type a quick squeeze before returning it to its Pokéball.

"Excellent defense Steelix, it was a battle well fought." Byron said. "Well now it all comes down to this." Misty said. "One Pokémon each, and we all know what Byron's going with." the caretaker said.

"Yes, I can see how you managed to win a badge from my son! But you're not getting past my Bastiodon, no way!" Byron threw out his final Pokéball, and the ancient Pokémon emerged, ready for battle.

"I knew he'd save Bastiodon for last…Bastiodon's 'Iron Head's really tough, and its defense is like nothing I've ever seen…" Ash said to himself.

"In case you didn't already know Ash, Bastiodon is my ace in the hole! Very few people have been able to get past its amazing defense." Byron said.

Ash clutched his final Pokéball tightly. "Well you haven't met MY ace in the hole yet! Charizard, I choose you!" Ash threw out the Pokéball, and the mighty dragon emerged with a determined roar. "Whoa, what an impressive looking Charizard!" Roark exclaimed.

"Yeah! Charizard was on my team all the way through Kanto and halfway through Johto, and now he's back for good and ready to take Bastiodon down! Ain't that right Charizard?" Ash exclaimed. Charizard roared determinedly in response.

"Awesome! If Ash is using Charizard versus Bastiodon there's no way he can lose!" Dawn exclaimed. "Don't count Byron out just yet, lots of challengers have come here with powerful Pokémon and been blown away by Bastiodon's defensive power." the caretaker said.

"Maybe, but you haven't seen Charizard's OFFENSIVE power." Misty said. "It's your move Ash." Roark said. "Alright Charizard, 'Flamethrower'!" Ash ordered. Charizard opened his mouth and spewed a mighty flame at the Shield Pokémon.

"Bastiodon, 'Iron Defense'!" Bastiodon's face glowed and the flame that Charizard had fired was bounced off, but Charizard's power was more than Bastiodon was prepared for, so it flinched in discomfort.

"Your Charizard must be really strong to make Bastiodon flinch like that, but the perfect defense makes for the perfect victory! Bastiodon, use 'Metal Burst'!" Byron ordered. Bastiodon allowed the flames to engulf it, and then launched a ball of pure white energy that nailed Charizard in the stomach. Charizard roared in pain and flew backwards at the sheer power of the 'Metal Burst'.

"Bastiodon's using 'Metal Burst' to return all the damage it took from the attack." Brock said. "You can do it Charizard!" Dawn encouraged. Charizard slowly got up and rubbed its aching midsection. "You ok Charizard?" Ash asked. Charizard turned back to Ash and nodded affirmatively. "Man, Bastiodon's lot tougher than I thought." Ash said.

"I love defense! And I love Bastiodon too!" Byron roared. "Man, if Charizard can't power through Bastiodon, this might be harder than ever." Ash grumbled.

"Ash wasn't expecting Bastiodon's defense to be so powerful." Misty said. "That's exactly what happens with a lot of Byron's opponents, they underestimate Bastiodon's strength and they pay for it in the end." the caretaker said.

"Alright…let's try a different approach…Charizard, fly up!" Ash ordered. Charizard opened his wings and took off into the air. "Attack Bastiodon from behind!" Charizard flew at high speed and got behind the Shield Pokémon. "Now use 'Steel Wing'!"

Charizard's wings glowed white as he charged forward. "Bastiodon, 'Iron Defense'!" Byron countered. Bastiodon turned around and faced the dragon with a glowing face. Charizard slammed into Bastiodon's face and fought, but after seeing that Bastiodon wasn't going to budge, he backed off and landed.

"Charizard, come in from behind again!" Ash ordered. Charizard took off again and flew over and behind Bastiodon. "Now use 'Flamethrower'!" Charizard opened his mouth and unleashed a blazing flame. "Bastiodon, use 'Flash Cannon'!" Byron countered. Bastiodon turned around again and launched a glimmering beam to counter Charizard's 'Flamethrower'.

The attacks collided and the resulting explosion caused smoke to fly everywhere. "Time to switch from defense to offense! Bastiodon, use 'Iron Head'!" Byron ordered. "Charizard, use 'Steel Wing' now!" Charizard flew out of the smoke and flew towards the charging Bastiodon. Again they collided, and they were bounced back in a stalemate.

"Stalemate." Misty said. "Ash is taking chances by hitting Bastiodon head on, he needs to come up with something else or Bastiodon will just stall until Charizard gets tired like Rampardos did." Brock said.

"Alright Charizard, use 'Heat Wave' on the field near Bastiodon!" Ash ordered. Charizard flew into the air again and launched a wave of heat towards the part of the field that Bastiodon was standing on. "What's going on?" Byron roared. "Keep it up Charizard!" Ash yelled. Charizard continued to blast the field with heat, and Bastiodon was starting to get a bit of a hotfoot.

"Now Charizard, use 'Flamethrower'!" Ash ordered. Charizard opened his mouth and launched an attack right for Bastiodon. "Bastiodon, 'Iron Defense'!" Byron countered. Bastiodon's face glowed, but since the field was now hot on its feet, Bastiodon couldn't concentrate, and the 'Flamethrower' hit dead on.

"Yeah Charizard, awesome!" Ash cheered. "Now that's smart! Charizard gave Bastiodon a hotfoot so it couldn't focus on its defense." Misty said.

"I'm not finished yet! Bastiodon, jump and use 'Flash Cannon'!" Byron ordered. Bastiodon jumped to avoid the hot ground and blasted a shimmering beam at the fire/flying-type. Charizard took the hit hard and fell to the ground. "Now use 'Iron Head'!" Byron ordered. Bastiodon was on the move by the time Charizard got up, and the Shield Pokémon rammed Charizard's stomach with a powerful steel-type attack.

"Charizard, get up!" Ash pleaded. The dragon slowly got up and faced Bastiodon, despite its type advantage, Bastiodon's defense was proving to be a pain for Charizard. "Looks like your Charizard's starting to get worn down by my defense!" Byron chuckled.

"You think so huh? Alright Charizard, let's try another 'Heat Wave'!" Ash ordered. Charizard opened his mouth and spewed a powerful wave of searing heat at the Shield Pokémon. "You don't honestly believe those flimsy attacks are gonna get through us do you? 'Iron Defense'!" Byron countered.

Once again Bastiodon's face glowed, and since the field had cooled down, the hotfoot issue was no more. Bastiodon bounced the attack off and waited for Charizard to tire out. "Charizard's running out of gas, if I don't think of something soon we're gonna lose this battle!"

"Alright Bastiodon, let's wrap this up with 'Flash Cannon'!" Byron ordered. Bastiodon opened its mouth and charged the shimmering beam. "Charizard, dodge it!" Ash yelled. Charizard managed to dive out of the way, but he fell to one knee afterwards.

"Charizard's looking weak." Dawn said worriedly. "Come on Ash! Don't give up yet!" Misty shouted. "Misty's right! This battle isn't over until Charizard goes down!" Ash thought.

"Alright Charizard, into the air!" Ash yelled. Charizard weakly opened his wings and took off, and awaited further orders. "Alright, I want you to spin and use 'Steel Wing' to hit Bastiodon head on!" Ash ordered.

Charizard looked at his master in disbelief, he seriously wanted him to attack head on despite Bastiodon's incredible defense. But after another look down, he saw that Bastiodon was also getting worn down by the constant attacks, so he complied.

Charizard swooped down, spinning as he used 'Steel Wing'. "Ha! This is all over! Bastiodon, 'Flash Cannon'!" Byron ordered. Bastiodon opened its mouth once more and fired the shimmering beam at the incoming dragon.

"Now Charizard, use 'Overheat' at full blast!" Charizard launched his most powerful fire attack while he spun, and beautifully countered the steel-type beam. "Hey, this is just like when Chimchar used its Counter Shield against Fantina's Mismagius!" Misty pointed out. "That means only the 'Overheat' hit!" Dawn added.

Charizard flew out of the smoke and nailed the off guard Bastiodon with a hard 'Steel Wing' and knocked it down. "I don't believe it! I was caught with my defenses down!" Byron roared in shock.

"Here it comes!" Misty and Brock exclaimed in anticipation.

"Let's wrap this up Charizard! 'Seismic Toss'!" Charizard flew forward and grabbed Bastiodon by the horns on its face, flipped three times in midair and slammed the Shield Pokémon into a rock on the ground. Bastiodon bounced off the rock, shattering it in the process and fell to the ground.

Charizard landed and panted with exhaustion and waited to see if its signature battle clinching attack did its job. Bastiodon slowly got up and glanced over at Charizard and attempted to take a step, but once it moved its foot it fainted, giving Charizard the victory.

"Bastiodon is unable to battle and Charizard's the winner! The victory goes to Ash of Pallet Town!" Roark announced. "Alright Charizard! We did it!" Ash cheered. Charizard roared in victory and walked over to Ash.

"Congratulations!" Misty had run down from the bleachers to embrace Ash into his congratulatory hug, and as usual, Ash was more than happy to accept the loving gesture. "Thanks Mist, I owe you for all that training." Ash replied.

"I'll put it on your tab." Misty giggled. Then Dawn and Brock came from the bleachers to congratulate their friend. "That was great Ash!" Dawn exclaimed. "The way you used Charizard to do an improvised Counter Shield really showed how strong he really is. Charizard's never looked better!" Brock said.

"Thanks Brock, but in the end it was just Charizard's determination that won it. Well Charizard, it's nice to see that you haven't gotten out of shape for gym battles, in fact you've gotten even stronger! Awesome comeback battle!" Ash said. Charizard nodded and gave a thumbs-up to his master.

A few minutes later, Roark, Byron, and the gym's caretaker met the group outside. "You worked really hard! It isn't easy to beat my dad. Your Pokémon are so well-trained too. Ash, congratulations." Roark said.

"Yeah, that's my Ash." Misty giggled. "Oh yeah, Roark I said I'd explain about Misty…" Ash was cutoff. "Don't worry about it, I already figured it out." Roark chuckled.

"Ash, in recognition of having broken through my perfect defenses and toppling my prized Pokémon as well, I hereby present you with the Mine Badge." Byron said.

Ash took it eagerly, "Finally! And thanks so much!" Ash did his signature victory pose, "Wow check it out! I got me a Mine Badge!"

Ash's three Pokémon shared his enthusiasm, but Charizard didn't cheer out loud, he just nodded. "And now where will you head?" Byron asked. "Well now we gotta head to Dawn's next contest." Ash replied.

"Well good luck to you then, hope to see you guys around." Roark said. "For sure! See you guys later!" Ash exclaimed. The group waved farewell to the two Gym Leaders, and in the morning, they'd continue on the road to Sinnoh.
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A/N: Well guys, there ya go. Charizard's gym comeback! I sure hope I made it seem realistic, and I hope the fluff was acceptable to all your Pokeshipping tastes. ^^ Well, the next chapter...will NOT have the eighth Pokemon yet unfortunately, I wanna get in an original chapter first, but that gives you guys a little more time to figure it out! If you want more hints though...forget it, too many people have guessed already. =P lol, anyways, I hope you enjoyed this! And if you did, lemme know with a review! ^^