A/N: Glad people enjoyed the surprise Pokémon! It's quite the shame many authors ignore Ferroseed and Ferrothorn because they are such cool Pokémon.
If you didn't get the hint, last chapter's title referred to Ferroseed. Wink wink nudge nudge. His personality won't shine through until this chapter, however.
I'm just gonna answer reviews here because some people don't check their inbox it seems. That or they just don't reply.
ultimateCCC: You do love stating the obvious, it seems. Persian loved Ash a lot, so that's why he wanted him to stay. He just didn't want to be separated again. As for Joltik, she's an older Pokémon with more life experience than most starter Pokémon. She's not invincible, though, as you'll see later.
FlyingCephalopod: Yes, just one more for Kanto. The rest will be from the other regions.
Damon: I don't think anyone was, ha. The rest of his Pokémon will be shockers as well.
Killshot Kamikaze: I don't think anyone has ever considered Joltik/Galvantula. It saddens me. And I'm glad I could surprise you.
ROCuevas: Thanks!
tempreader: I know a lot of people want me to continue TDT. One day, maybe. That's a big maybe. Of course anything I wrote for it was on my old laptop which I don't even use anymore, so... Mm. But regardless, thanks for the review! Glad you enjoyed what I wrote for it so far, even if I haven't touched it in 2 years, lol.
8/25/2020: My god has it been ages since I've written for this story. Some stuff I have forgotten what I originally wanted to do, but I have come up with new ideas. Thankfully I wrote down what Pokémon he was going to get and have kept to that. Going to have to account for the new Pokémon that have come out as well at some point. Alright, let's get this show on the road!
Chapter 3: Ferroseed's Frustration
"Hello, Gary."
"Heh, didn't think you'd ever get ahead of me, Ash, but that's going to change," Gary said, with a confident smirk on his face, tossing a Pokéball up and down in his hand.
"Oh I don't know about that, I've always been one step ahead of you," Gary growled as his smirk dropped.
"You just got lucky in school, Ashy-boy, but luck's only going to take you so far!"
"You're right, I've always been lucky, lucky that I got more talent than you," Ash retorted, laughing at the angry scowl on his friend's/rival's face. Ash always enjoyed this back and forth he had with Gary; it was fun.
"That's it! You and me are going to battle, right here, right now!" Ash just shrugged casually.
"Sure, why not."
"Tch. How many Pokémon do you have, so I know how many will have to fall before my might!" Ash just rolled his eyes. Gary had always been a bit... eccentric. It's what made him a thrill to beat in battle.
"I have two." Gary's mouth dropped at that.
"Only two Pokémon?! What are you, some kind of amateur? I already have six Pokémon, but I'll play your game, Ketchum. A two-on-two." Ash could not believe the young Oak standing across from him. Six Pokémon, already? It had only been four days since their journey began.
Well, Ash was going to show him that quality beat quantity by a long shot. Though he still had to be careful, Gary was no pushover.
They quickly stepped away from each other to allow some room for the battle.
"I'll go first since I doubt you have anything to counter this Pokémon. Sandshrew, go!" Gary shouted, throwing out the Pokéball he had been tossing up and down in his right hand.
"A Sandshrew? Where the heck did you get that Pokémon, Gary? They don't live around here," Ash asked, surprised to see the yellow pangolin Pokémon.
"Ha, wouldn't you like to know? Quit your yapping and choose a Pokémon already, Ashy-boy."
"Ugh, fine, Mr. Impatient." Grabbing Ferroseed's Pokéball off of his belt, he tossed it gently onto the ground in front of him, the ball popping open to reveal the spiky seed.
"A Ferroseed? They aren't found around Kanto, where the hell did you get it?" Gary asked, a look of shock on his face.
"Wouldn't you like to know," Ash countered, smirking as Gary growled. 'Ha ha, don't like your own words used against you, do you?'
"Whatever. Sandshrew, go with a Rollout!" Giving a cry, Gary's Pokémon obeyed and curled up in a ball, and started to rapidly roll towards Ferroseed.
'Okay, let's see... Ferroseed knows Ingrain, Mirror Shot, Protect, Gyro Ball, Bullet Seed, Self-Destruct, and Iron Defense, if I remember what the Pokédex told me back in the Pokémon Center. Not too bad, for a start, but we're definitely going to have to increase his movepool soon. It should work fine for now. I don't plan on using Ingrain like intended until I can teach him to release his roots when needed, though. Otherwise, he'll be stuck in place and that's a bad situation to be in.'
"Iron Defense!" Ferroseed did as told, his body taking on a metallic sheen as his body's shell hardened.
"Sandshrew, avert your path!" But it was too late as the Ground-type was far too close to Ferroseed to shift to any side, and it slammed straight into the spiky seed, howling in pain as the Rollout was canceled and it was sent reeling backward. It rubbed the sore spots on its body, wincing at it did so.
The pangolin had managed to knock Ferroseed back a bit from the sheer force, but he was not injured in the slightest.
"Ggggrrr, we're going to have to avoid touching it. Use Swift!" Ignoring the pain, Sandshrew opened its mouth and let out a volley of shining stars, that connected against Ferroseed's spiky body. He winced a bit at the attack but was otherwise unharmed.
"Is that the best you've got, Gary? We're getting bored over here."
"Yeah? Then why don't you attack? Afraid you're going to lose, Ashy-boy?"
"Because you're doing all the work for us!"
"That's it! Sandshrew, Magnitude!" Lifting its foot, the yellow Pokémon slammed it back down, a decent-sized tremor started rippling through the ground. It caused some of the nearby wild Pokémon, who had been watching the battle, to scatter in fear.
Ferroseed closed its eyes as the tremors surged through its body, injuring him a lot more than any of the previous attacks did. Ash was a bit worried now. 'That had to have been at least an eight-powered Magnitude. Time to go on the offensive before Gary uses another one.'
"Bullet Seed, and follow it up with a Mirror Shot!"
"Oh, crap!" Gary said, now very worried.
"Forgot Ferroseed was a Grass-type as well, didn't you?"
"Yes," Gary gritted out, his teeth clenched.
Ferroseed's spikes glowed white before he launched multiple seeds at Sandshrew, who dodged the attack without command, causing Gary to sigh in relief.
But not for long.
"Track it," Ash simply and calmly said, and the metallic seed changed the course of his attack, landing a direct hit on the pangolin's stomach, causing it to cry out in pain from the super-effective attack. It did not get a breather as a metallic mirror slammed into it soon after, causing Gary's Pokémon to go sliding across the ground.
It slowly stood back up on shaky legs with Gary's encouragement.
"Yes! Use Sand Tomb!" The yellow pangolin waved its arms as its eyes glowed a sandy color, causing the ground beneath Ferroseed to swirl up in a vortex, trapping the spiky seed within. Ash was getting a bit frustrated at this point, but he had a final plan since Sandshrew was weakened.
"Break through that Sand Tomb with a Gyro Ball and get in close." Ash knew he could break through it. It was not a completely mastered Sand Tomb, so Gary must have just taught Sandshrew the move. Thus, it was thin and easy to pass through.
Glowing silver, Ferroseed jumped and spun at a high speed, passing through the Sand Tomb with ease, ignoring the little bit of pain it caused him to do so, much to the shock of Gary and his Pokémon.
"No way..."
"Now, entrap Sandshrew with an Ingrain!" Getting what his trainer meant, Ferroseed canceled his Gyro Ball and slammed bottom-first into Sandshrew, releasing multiple roots that ensnared the Ground-type, preventing it from moving.
"Sandshrew, bite through the roots, get them off of you!" Sandshrew tried, but with each root it chewed through, a new one took its place.
"Not going to work, Gary. Finish this, Ferroseed! Self-Destruct!"
"NO!" Ferroseed shined a blinding white before a powerful explosion went off as he detonated. The high-pitched squeal of pain was the only thing they heard before the smoke cleared, showing both Pokémon out cold.
'Man, if that is his Self-Destruct, I can't wait to see what his Explosion will be like!'
"That was a dirty, rotten trick, Ketchum!" Gary growled out as he returned his fallen Pokémon, Ash doing the same. Ash just shrugged in response.
"Self-Destruct and Explosion are legal moves, so I have every right to use them to my advantage in a battle." Gary glared.
"Whatever! Sandshrew was my newest Pokémon anyway. But not this one! Squirtle, go!" Gary called out, tossing said Pokémon's Pokéball onto the ground. It gave a gurgle and got into battle position. Gary had obviously trained it well over the past four days, but it would not be enough.
"Alright, Joltik, let's win this!" Joltik, who had been quiet the entire time, observing the battle, let out a chirp and jumped into position, much to Gary's shock.
"Wait, you said you only had two Pokémon, so where's the one you got from my grandpa?"
"Standing right in front of me."
"That thing? I thought you would have went for Charmander or Bulbasaur, not that thing!" Ash glared fiercely at his rival, causing Gary to take a step back.
"Joltik is not a "thing", Joltik is my partner and friend and I won't allow you to insult her!" Ash snarled, causing Gary to gulp, especially once Joltik started sparking threateningly.
"Alright alright, I'm sorry. Just forget I said anything," Gary said, with his hands up in surrender. Ash gave a harrumph before continuing to glare as he started the battle.
"String Shock! End this quick!" Ash cried out. String Shock was the name he had given to the String Shot and Thunder Wave combo before they left the Pokémon Center. Though he had switched Thunder Wave for Shock Wave for the electric attack. Sticky Wave was the Thunder Wave variation he had come up with.
Gary, not knowing what a "String Shock" was, quickly ordered his Pokémon.
"Withdraw!" Gary's Squirtle did as instructed, withdrawing into its shell in an attempt to protect itself. Ash just smirked as the electrified String Shot connected with Squirtle's shell, wrapping it up and sending waves of electricity through Squirtle's body.
The poor turtle cried out loudly in pain as it continued to get shocked, emerging from its shell as it could no longer maintain the Withdraw. Joltik was showing no mercy on her opponent and was using a full-powered Shock Wave.
"Alright, enough! I forfeit Squirtle!" Gary called out, ending the battle. He did not want to see his Squirtle get hurt anymore.
"Wise choice, Gary." Gary glared at him as he returned Squirtle to its ball.
"I don't know what's gotten into you, Ash, but I don't like it. You were never this ruthless of a trainer, not even in school." Ash narrowed his eyes.
"I've just had some revelations in the past couple of days, that's all."
"Tch, whatever." Gary strode over to Ash and handed him a thousand yen ($7.52) before turning back around and waving a hand in the air. "I'm out of here."
"Gary," Ash started, causing the other boy to stop. "You're never going to beat me, not with the way you are now. You've always relied on your Pokémon's power, and while I do the same, I always mix it with strategy. Until you do the same, you're always going to lose to me and be one step behind." The only indication of acknowledgment from the spiky-haired brunette was the clenching of his fists before he continued walking away, silent.
Ash sighed and ran a hand down his face in exasperation. Joltik looked up at him from her position on the ground and clicked in question at her trainer's mood. He should be happy they won, right? Why did he look so down?
"Don't worry about it, Joltik. I guess I just matured faster than Gary did, so his demeanor gets to me sometimes. Anyway, let's get going, I'll heal Ferroseed when we make our first stop in the forest," Ash stated and Joltik took that as an invitation to resume her perch on top of his head. The young trainer chuckled as the little spider leaped up and landed perfectly in her favorite spot, snuggling down to get comfortable.
Ash glanced at the imposing entrance gate to Viridian Forest with a determined gleam in his eyes. To many, this lengthy forest was their first real test as a trainer, and Ash felt no different. It was not the most dangerous forest in the world, or even in Kanto itself, not by a long shot, but it was vast and full of Beedrill and other threatening Bug-types that could end your trainer career in an instant if one was not careful and vigilant. Ash had total faith in himself and his Pokémon in getting through this forest safely, though.
Steeling his reserve, and, after glancing up at the setting sun to the west, the young raven-haired trainer entered through the gate with determination, the gatekeeper giving him a bored look as he passed before they went back to playing on their handheld device.
As he and Joltik entered the forest, he took note of how much darker and cooler, yet muggier, it was than outside the wooded area. It was to be expected though, the thick copse of trees in every direction provided a ton of shade and blocked out the sun by a large degree with the humidity being caused by trapped moisture around the forest. Ash knew there were plenty of open areas off the main path, though, and that is where other trainers tended to camp or hang out the most.
He was hoping to come across someone that would give him a decent challenge on his way to Pewter City. Not that Ash was expecting to, Joltik and Ferroseed just seemed too advanced for most of the new trainers that traveled this path. Honestly, he felt a little spoiled at this point. While the easy money would be a definite bonus, he still wanted to challenge himself and his Pokémon. 'Oh well, that will come in time I guess. In the meantime...'
"Hey Joltik," Ash started, gaining the yellow Pokémon's attention. "Let's get you started on some physical conditioning. Think you can leap from tree to tree as we walk? I think learning to dodge like that will help you out a lot in the future. We'll get started on that new attack I want you to learn tomorrow morning." 'And Ferroseed's as well.'
Looking a little disheartened at having to abandon her favorite spot, Joltik perked back up at the thought of learning a new move that she did not learn on her own. She hopped onto the nearest tree as her trainer began walking down the human-made path and zigzagged from tree to tree, avoiding obstacles as best she could. The little Bug/Electric-type even crossed over the path to the other side, nearly ramming into her trainer's side which caused him to laugh out loud.
By the time Ash had found a decent rest area that was cleared of any other trainers, it was completely dark out and Joltik was exhausted. It did not help that she had to battle three trainers in a row by herself since Ferroseed was still out of commission. Granted, they were all inexperienced opponents, but battling on top of training completely wore out the poor Pokémon, especially since she was not used to it yet.
Thus, Joltik flopped onto the ground when her trainer had found a suitable clearing and watched as he went about setting up their camp area.
Ash looked over at his first partner and smirked a bit.
"Might as well get used to it, Joltik, we'll be doing that almost every day from now on." He heard the little spider give a long, drawn-out clicking sound and laughed. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it, and in a few weeks you won't even feel tired anymore!"
The young trainer had firsthand experience with what he said. His school had a mandatory workout schedule for everyone, bar anyone with a medical condition that would not allow them to participate, of course. Those who did were given safe alternatives. All he knew for the first couple of weeks was pain, pain, and more pain until his body got adjusted to it.
No pain, no gain, they said, and Ash would take that to heart with training his Pokémon as well. 'No amount of physical conditioning could save a human from a flock of birds, though,' Ash thought with a grimace.
After camp was set up, he picked up Joltik and laid her on his sleeping bag so she would be more comfortable while she recovered her strength a bit. Then, he released Ferroseed, who was still unconscious, and rooted around his bag for a Revive. 'Ah, there it is.' Ash pulled the bottle out and popped the cap off. Normally it was meant to be swallowed for the full effect, but as some Pokémon, like Ferroseed, did not have mouths, simply pouring it over them would work.
Pouring the foul-smelling liquid over the spiky seed, Ash could not help but almost gag. He could not even imagine how awful the stuff must taste if the odor was this wretched. Thankfully his partners did not have noses, so they were saved from smelling the awful concoction.
Regardless, the stuff worked and Ferroseed's eyes fluttered open and the seed took in his surroundings as he righted himself into a vertical position.
"Hey, Ferroseed! How are you feeling?" Ferroseed just blinked and released a quiet, yet high-pitched, grinding noise in response. 'Huh, didn't know Ferroseeds could make any noise. Neat!' Ash took the noise as a "fine" since the Pokémon did not seem to be in any discomfort.
"Great! Well, we're in Viridian Forest now. We're one step closer to Pewter City, and that makes us one step closer to entering the Indigo Pokémon League and showing everyone else just how strong we really are!" Ash expressed with vigor while striking a pose. Joltik let out a tired, yet passionate, chirp. Ferroseed's eyes just lit up with a fiery, burning passion at the thought of crushing his opponents beneath him. He imagined himself, a powerful Ferrothorn, standing over a downed Dragon-type as a crowd of humans cheered him on.
Yes, that is what he had always wanted. Power. Glory. Recognition. The last human he had been with had been useless in utilizing his strength and making him stronger, so he had gone searching for a better one, all the while training on his own as he did so.
Eventually, he had come across a group of young humans, and they took his bait. None of them had managed to defeat him, even with his weakness to fire, until his current trainer came along and won with a huge type disadvantage.
"First thing tomorrow, before we leave, both of you are going to start working on the new moves I want you to learn and master before our first gym battle. Joltik, it may be a bit difficult, but I want to upgrade your Absorb to a Giga Drain. Once you have it down, you can teach Ferroseed how to use it later if he wants." His trainer said to his teammate. Now the spiky seed was curious as to what Ash would have him learn.
"Ferroseed, I know it may sound absolutely crazy, but I want you to try and learn Vine Whip. If you learn Power Whip when you evolve, I don't see why you can't learn the weaker version of the move, despite what the data says. If you can pull this off, you'll be the first, and maybe the only, Ferroseed to know Vine Whip." Yes, this trainer was definitely the one for him. He would master this move in no time, Ferroseed was sure of it. He was talented already, this would be a cinch.
Ash yawned and stretched as he finished talking, rubbing at his tired eyes. He was not ready to go to sleep right now, though, the trainer still had to feed himself and Joltik before then. Ferroseed and Ferrothorn got their nutrients from the earth and sun, so he did not have to worry about feeding him. They did sell a special nutrient mix to enrich the soil for Pokémon like Ferroseed, but it typically was not needed for a journey. Not to mention it was rather expensive as well and really only used by breeders.
Quickly pulling out one of the many bowls he had, he filled it with a mix of Bug and Electric-type food and threw in a crushed Chesto berry. Ash had found out his little spider was obsessed with the things. As to why, he had no idea. They were dry and nearly tasteless, but a lot of Pokémon seemed to enjoy them, so who was he to judge?
After feeding Joltik and himself, and changing into some nightclothes, Ash got into his sleeping bag and got comfortable. He felt Joltik wiggle her way into his sleeping bag, the ribbon she wore tickling his face causing him to giggle a bit. The young trainer knew he should savor these moments with her because once she evolved, the "little" spider would be little no more. Of course, for all he knew, she would end up finding some way to snuggle with him at night.
"Alright, let's get started on those moves. Joltik, all you have to do is strengthen the power of Absorb until it's able to inflict more damage and you're able to recover more health. I'm probably making it sound easier than it is," Ash stated while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "But I know you can do it! I have faith you'll have it down before we get to the city. Ferroseed, this is definitely going to be difficult. You're basically trying to learn a move you naturally can't learn, according to all the research out there. But we're going to prove that wrong starting now!" Ash exclaimed while pumping his fist in determination. Ferroseed's eyes lit up in excitement.
"Alright, Joltik, go ahead and get started." Joltik chirped an affirmative and moved over to some bushes to practice on. "Ferroseed, I think the place we want to start at is gathering up Grass-type energy in your spikes and trying to extend them out into vines. So, start as if you're going for a Bullet Seed, but tighten your grip on the energy and form it into vines instead. If you can achieve even a little bit of a vine, that would be fantastic!" Ferroseed let out one of his high-pitched grinding sounds and started gathering energy, eager to get started.
Ash grunted and threw off his shirt, ready to start his own training, being sure to be mindful of his injuries. He had to stay in shape for his journey, after all.
Two hours later, the sun now fully above the horizon, Ash called for a break while panting and sweating from exertion.
Joltik had made some decent progress he noted. The raven-haired trainer knew she could do it without too much issue, it was just increasing the power of one of her other moves. Still, it would probably be a few days before it could be recognized as a fully-fledged Giga Drain.
Ferroseed on the other hand... had not made any progress whatsoever. Every time he attempted to keep the energy he needed to be contained, he always lost control and let off increasingly powerful Bullet Seeds instead. 'Well, this has certainly made Bullet Seed more powerful at least.' Ash could see the sheer frustration and anger growing in his Pokémon's eyes at his continued failures, however. He knelt down in front of the spiky creature, making sure to keep a safe distance for the spikes, and looked Ferroseed in the eye as he spoke in a soothing voice.
"Calm down, Ferroseed. This is something you can't naturally learn, so it's going to take some time. I have complete and total faith in you overcoming this hurdle. Even if you don't learn it for a few months, you will learn it, that's how much I believe in you," Ash consoled, the negative emotions slowly draining out of Ferroseed.
Ferroseed knew Ash was right and the trainer's faith in him was heartwarming, but that still did not mean he was not frustrated beyond belief at his total lack of progress. He was used to getting anything new he learned within an hour or less, this was just straight-up pissing him off.
"Think of it this way- once you finally have Vine Whip down after struggling with it, the feeling of accomplishment from it will overpower your anger from trying to learn the move. It will make you feel even more powerful in the end. After all, you just mastered a move no one said you could learn!" Ash exclaimed with arms stretched out for emphasis. Joltik came over, clicking her encouragement to her teammate.
Well, when he put it that way... Ferroseed gathered his resolve and started to gather the necessary energy to keep going, only to be stopped by Ash laughing.
"No no, Ferroseed, it's break time! We have to travel some time today or we will never get through this forest," Ash stated and returned the pointy seed to his Pokéball and proceeded to pack up his things before heading out, Joltik deciding to continue her jumping exercises on her own as she followed her friend.
They were not even five minutes in before they were accosted by a newly minted trainer asking for a battle, causing the raven-haired trainer to sigh. Deciding to give Ferroseed a chance to battle, Ash sent him out, telling the Steel and Grass-type to just do whatever he wanted to win against the Poochyena the other kid had sent out. That had earned him a rather snarky remark from the other trainer which Ash ignored, of course.
A single Mirror Shot later and the Dark-type hyena went down, causing its trainer to slump over in defeat and shuffle away after handing Ash his prize money. The young trainer was beginning to wonder if he would ever find a real challenge at this point. He wanted to push his two partners to their limits and see where they were in terms of strength.
Had he been facing the Gary that he had faced in school, he would have had that challenge already. The grandson of Professor Oak had always been a cocky and insufferable bastard, but he had at least been talented enough to push Ash to his limits in battle, despite his lack of tactics. Whatever happened between graduation and the first day of their journey to make him like he was, Ash would probably never find out. He could only hope the next time they met, Gary would be back to his old self.
If he wanted him and his team to become the personification of the word 'power', they would need to battle stronger Pokémon. Training was good and all, but actual battles, tough battles, were where they learned what they needed to train on, after all. His partners were quite strong, that much was clear, but Ash needed to know their current power in order to unleash the true beasts within them.
Going deeper into the forest off the main paths was ill-advised if you were just starting out, but the young trainer was seriously considering it at this point. The Pokémon were stronger the deeper you went, and he was absolutely desperate. Ash would hold off for now, though.
He returned Ferroseed with a deep sigh and continued on up the main path, Joltik still doing her maneuvering exercise as they progressed. Once they got on to open plains, Ash would have her work on ground maneuvers instead, and when Ferroseed finally got Vine Whip down, whenever that happens, he would join her.
An hour later, and five easy battles down, Ash and his team of two arrived at another trainer clearing to take a rest and train some more. Much to his surprise, however, there was another trainer resting there already. Seeing as he looked friendly, if the affectionate petting he was giving to his Pikachu and Bulbasaur was anything to go by, he decided it would be alright to rest there. Not to mention he was curious as the kid sort of looked like himself a bit.
"Hey, mind if we rest here with you?" Ash asked him, gently holding down Joltik, who was back on his head, as she tensed at the sight of the trainer and his Pokémon. The other kid looked up from his seat and smiled.
"Sure, go ahead! There's plenty of room," he responded. Taking the invitation, Ash strolled over to a different log and sat down, ignoring the worried look the kid gave as he saw his limp. Much to Ash's relief, the kid did not ask about it.
"Name's Ritchie, by the way. This is Sparky, my Pikachu, and Sap is my Bulbasaur." The now named Ritchie introduced, pointing to each corresponding Pokémon as he named them off. Sparky gave a wave and squeaked out a greeting while his Bulbasaur, Sap, just grunted and gave a single nod. "Don't mind Sap, he's just a bit of a grump and way too serious for his own good." This comment earned his trainer a dark glare from the Bulbasaur, and Ash just laughed aloud and reciprocated the introduction.
"I'm Ash, and this little ball of energy is Joltik. I also have a Ferroseed, but he's resting in his ball at the moment," Ash introduced, holding out Joltik a bit. He gave a toothy grin at the astonished look on Ritchie's face.
"How did you get one, let alone two, Unova-native Pokémon?" he asked with extreme curiosity, so Ash decided to oblige him and explained. "Oh, that's cool! Sap here was my first Pokémon, and I just caught Sparky a couple of days ago. Maybe one day I can find a Unovan Pokémon of my own to add to my team."
"Well, there's plenty of the more common species found around Kanto now. Pidove, Patrat, Purrloin, Woobat, and of course Joltik, just to name a few. They were all imported a few years ago to diversify the wildlife outside of just Kanto and Johto species," Ash rambled off, counting off each Pokémon mentioned with his fingers for emphasis.
"How on Earth do you know all that?" Ritchie asked in surprise with wide eyes. Ash scratched his cheek with a sheepish grin.
"I studied a lot in school. I wanted to know everything I could about Pokémon, even though I hated reading books." Was Ash's answer, a grimace at the thought of all the books he read. Books, specifically educational books, were pure evil, but a necessary evil that he learned to put up with rather begrudgingly.
"Oh! What school did you graduate from?" Sheesh, Ritchie's questions were never-ending it seemed.
"Viridian Pokémon Academy," he said simply. "But I'm from Pallet Town, so I traveled to and from the school."
"Awesome. I'm from Frodomar City, but I went to the Pewter City Trainer School since it was the closest school to my hometown. Definitely not as prestigious as Viridian's, though. I wanted to go there, but it was too far away," Ritchie explained. Ash just raised an eyebrow.
"Why didn't you just use a teleportation service? They are all over Kanto," Ash asked, curious. The other trainer just looked away and did not answer, but he decided to not pry into it.
They fell into a somewhat uncomfortable silence, causing Ash to shake his head and release Ferroseed, after moving off to the side away from the center area, so they could get started on their training. Ritchie and his Pokémon's eyes followed him, but he ignored their stares.
"Okay, you two continue working on your new moves for a while. I need to work on a plan of action for Brock and for our travel path afterward. Ferroseed, remember, just keep at it and you'll get it soon! Okay, hop to it!" Ash clapped his hands to signal his two partners to start and he limped his way back to the center of the clearing and sat down on a log with a relieved sigh. He was not going to tell his Pokémon, but his leg was bothering the hell out of him. Without his medicated baths, it just was not getting any better and they were going to have to hunker down in Pewter City for a while until his leg was healed, much to his disgust. He did not want to be stuck in one place for too long, but he really had no choice right now.
Well, at least he could still travel through the forest for the time being, despite all the walking being a bother to his right leg.
Ash pulled out his Pokédex and opened the map feature to begin mapping the route he wanted to take through Kanto. The first three gyms were mandatory to take on in order as a test for trainers. If you defeated all three, you were then allowed to travel the region in any way you wanted. Johto was the same way, but the other regions of the world tended to be a lot stricter when it came to this. Ash had no idea why they were so restrictive, but maybe it had something to do with the way their gym circuit was set up. 'Ah, who knows.'
"So, uh, I know this may seem sudden," Ash, interrupted, looked up from his Pokédex to look at Ritchie as the other trainer spoke, "but would you be interested in a battle later? Your Pokémon look strong and we've been wanting a good challenge. It's okay if you don't want to, though," Ritchie said quickly, holding up his hands to placate Ash just in case. Ash, for his part, just smiled excitedly. Finally, he would have a decent battle for once! Or at least he hoped so, based on his judgment of Ritchie's two partners.
"Are you kidding me? All we've been fighting are Pokémon way below our level. Heck yeah, I accept your challenge!"
"Okay, let's flip a coin to see who chooses first," Ash suggested. It was fair, and it was basically how they decided who would send out first in the major leagues.
"Sounds good to me," Ritchie responded, pulling out a coin. "Heads or tails?"
"Heads," Ash said. Ritchie flicked the coin high into the air, both watching intently as it spun around. The other trainer caught it on the way down and flipped it over to reveal...
"Ha! Heads!" Ritchie groaned in jest but accepted that he would choose first. Not that there would be much of a choice with both trainers only having two Pokémon.
Ash and Ritchie spread apart to form a makeshift battlefield, and the brown-haired trainer enlarged a Pokéball before chucking it out in front of him.
"Let's go, Sparky!" The Pikachu, of whom had a little tuft of fur sticking up off his head that Ash just now noticed, emerged with a cry and immediately got into a battle stance on all fours. Electricity crackled from his red cheek pouches as the little mouse awaited his opponent.
Ash weighed his options on which of his two partners he would choose for this first battle. He knew if he chose Ferroseed this battle would go a lot easier and it would push Ritchie's Pikachu to his limit, but he was not here for an easy battle. He had not yet come across another Electric-type (or Grass-type for that matter) and the young trainer did not want to waste this opportunity. Grabbing his chosen Pokémon, he tossed the ball out in front of him.
"Time to shine, Joltik." Ash was not really big on fancy entrances with his Pokémon, but just this once he would do it. Joltik appeared with a flash and she immediately took on her signature battle stance as she eyed the sparking Pikachu across the field with determination.
The raven-haired trainer knew this would not be a one-shot hit as all of the other battles in Viridian Forest have been so far, and he was looking forward to it. Ash did know Joltik had a slight advantage over the Pikachu, though. It was small, but she had a more varied movepool than Pikachu typically did in the beginning, and he would use that to his advantage.
"Thunder Shock!" Ritchie called out.
The battle had begun.
"Shock Wave," Ash countered quickly. Both attacks met in the middle with Shock Wave slowly gaining an advantage as it began to push back the Thunder Shock, showing its superior strength over the weaker electric move.
"Cancel it, and go in for a Quick Attack," Ritchie told Pikachu, and the yellow mouse did so, swiftly dodging to the right as Shock Wave struck the spot he was just in milliseconds before, and rammed into Joltik at lightning speeds. It sent her careening into a nearby tree with a surprised chirp.
'Whoa, that's fast!' Ash thought. 'We need to curb that speed immediately.'
"Spider Web, and don't stop until you hit it," Ash commanded. "Once you hit it, grab it with String Shot and slam it around!" Joltik jumped back onto the field and began firing sticky webs from her mouth at the Pikachu, who was now dodging at Ritchie's command.
"Sparky, try to get in close and hit Joltik with a Slam!" Ash knew that would hurt Joltik a lot if it hit, so he waited until the Pikachu got close to give his order.
"Jump!" Joltik did as ordered, but both she and Ash were wholly surprised as Sparky changed his path trajectory and slammed into her from underneath. She fell back down to the ground in obvious pain, causing Ash to grit his teeth in frustration. 'This kid is good if he managed to train a Pokémon he only caught two days ago that well. We're going to have to change tactics.' Looking around the field, he noticed that Ritchie's side was almost completely covered in the webs that Joltik had spit out trying to hit the mouse. 'Perfect. Joltik can run across her own webs with ease. Sparky will just get stuck. This will have to do until I can think of a better plan.'
"Joltik, cover the entire field in web and run out onto it and stay there," Ash said and Joltik did it without question. Ritchie was now looking a bit nervous as his Pikachu was stuck on the outside without a way to get to Joltik physically. Ash then noticed a thoughtful look on his opponent's face as he eyed the trees around them.
"I have an idea, Sparky. Get into the trees and dive at Joltik using Quick Attack, you'll avoid the web that way." Ash smirked at Ritchie's fatal mistake. Normally it would be a solid plan and good use of the environment around them, but not in this case. Ash and Joltik watched as Sparky came diving at her at incredible speeds and a white light shining around him.
His little spider simply just scurried out of the way before the Pikachu could hit her. The loud cry of pain as Sparky slammed into the ground made the others wince in sympathy, with Ritchie calling out to his Pokémon in worry. The Pikachu stood up, looking beaten and bruised (not that Joltik was any better), and covered in web. He tried to get out of it to no avail, and Ash decided to take advantage of it.
"Stick to the original plan!" Joltik, remembering what the original plan was from a few minutes ago, shifted around and shot out a String Shot, hooking Sparky to her thread. Ritchie could only look on in horror as his Pikachu was slammed into the ground and trees multiple times. It was brutal but efficient, and that was the way Ash liked it.
"Thunder Shock!" Taken by surprise by the order, Ash was even more surprised that, despite the situation Sparky was in, he managed to unleash a Thunder Shock that traveled down the silky thread and connected to Joltik, causing her to chirp and click in pain, despite the fact that she was resistant to such attacks. She released her thread, and Sparky fell to the ground, managing to stand back up on shaky legs, much to Ash's surprise.
'That is one determined Pikachu,' Ash thought as he eyed the panting mouse. He turned to eye his own Pokémon with concern. She was standing, but barely, her whole body shaking like a leaf. Power-wise, she was better than Sparky, but stamina? Absolutely not. Joltik could probably outlast a Pikachu in a running marathon, but when it came to taking hits... That was something they were going to have to work on, and Ash knew she was not going to enjoy it one bit.
A staring contest ensued between the Electric-types before they both gave in to their exhaustion and passed out. Ash sighed with a smile before returning her to her Pokéball to rest, while Ritchie ran out into the sticky mess of webs and retrieved his Pokémon personally, a worried look on his face.
"Sparky will be fine, Ritchie, I promise. Pokémon are hardy creatures, it would take a lot more than a simple skirmish like that to seriously injure or kill them," Ash reassured. The other trainer did not look too convinced, however.
"Yeah, but still... That looked like it really hurt," Ritchie responded, cradling Sparky closer to him. Ash chose not to say anything to that but instead suggested they move elsewhere for the last battle due to all the webbing on the ground.
A minute later they found a new spot and both trainers had sent out their second Pokémon, who were now staring each other down with vigor. Ash knew this was going to be a tough battle as well since Ferroseed did not really have anything neutral to hit a Bulbasaur with.
Unlike Joltik, though, he knew the spiky seed could take a hit well. That was why he avoided using Joltik's Grass and Bug-type moves in the end, she could not get close to Sparky without taking a serious hit from the physically superior Pokémon. Ferroseed would not have that problem. The only problem was outlasting Sap and taking him down with the ineffective moves he had, and without having Vine Whip at least usable, Ferroseed was going to be a sitting duck. Gyro Ball could only move him to a certain degree.
Without any time to plan ahead of time, he was going to have to wing it. The only solace he had was in knowing that if the Bulbasaur hit Ferroseed physically, it would damage him. Ash could only hope Ritchie would make that mistake.
"Vine Whip!" Well, there went that hope.
"Iron Defense," Ash called out in time, the Vine Whip harmlessly bouncing off of Ferroseed as his body shined metallic. 'Maybe... I wonder if Ritchie would let Sap give pointers to Ferroseed on how to do Vine Whip. The Bulbasaur line are naturals at the move.'
"This isn't going to be easy," Ritchie muttered under his breath, but Ash heard it anyway and smirked. He watched as the Bulbasaur turned to his trainer and growled. "I know, Sap, I'm trying to think of something." Ash was not going to let this opportunity pass.
"Well, while you're trying to think of something, Ritchie, I think it's my turn. Ferroseed, rapid-fire Mirror Shot," Ash said, pointing at Sap for dramatic effect. Both Ritchie's and his Bulbasaur's eyes went wide.
"Dodge them, Sap!" The Bulbasaur was nimble, Ash would give him that much, as he dodged left, right, and center. Sadly for him, Ferroseed always hit his mark at some point, and it did not take long before one shiny disc managed to side-swipe Sap, knocking him off balance. They had him right where they wanted him.
"Bullet Seed, max power!" Ash called out.
"Knock them away with Vine Whip and get in close," Ritchie countered.
'What is he up to,' Ash thought to himself as he watched Sap get pelted with seeds that he could not knock away. "Be on your guard, Ferroseed." He could not fathom what a young Bulbasaur had that could attack a spiky opponent up close.
"Now, wrap it up in your vines and slam it around!" Ash's eyes bugged out at his own strategy being used against him. Well, the young trainer had a counter plan for that.
"Ferroseed, wrap your roots around his vines with an Ingrain," Ash commanded, and he watched as his Pokémon did as told, despite clearly being disoriented from being slammed into the ground repeatedly.
"Wait, what?" Ritchie remarked, confused, but that confusion turned to shock as he watched his Bulbasaur's energy being drained away, if the sluggish pace he was now at was any indication. The worst part for the Bulbasaur was he could not release his vines like a lot of other Pokémon could as they were a part of his body. He could cut them or bite them off and they would regrow, but it would take a couple of weeks to do so. Ash could tell Ritchie was thinking of this option, but would he do it was the question.
"Bring it in and slam into Ferroseed with a Tackle." Apparently not. Sap looked back at his trainer as if he was stark raving mad, and Ash had to agree with that sentiment. "Just trust me, Sap." Grunting, the Bulbasaur acquiesced and reeled his opponent in like a Magikarp and slammed into his opponent, growling out in pain as the spikes dug into his skin.
What none of them expected, however, was for Ferroseed to go boom with Self-Destruct from the harsh impact, instantly knocking both Pokémon out and leaving their trainers absolutely flabbergasted.
"Well... that happened," Ash stated as he returned Ferroseed, Ritchie doing the same to Sap. "Sorry about that, he's never done that before without me telling him to."
"Don't worry about it, I've heard it can happen sometimes," Ritchie said. "I guess this means it's a tie, huh?"
"Yeah, guess so. Thanks for the battle, it's what my Pokémon needed," Ash stated with a smile as he shook Ritchie's hand.
"Same here." Ritchie returned the smile.
"By the way, Ritchie, can I ask you a favor?" Ash started, hoping the other young trainer would agree to his request.
"Sure, what is it?" He asked, tilting his head a bit to the side in curiosity.
"Do you think Sap would mind teaching Ferroseed how to use Vine Whip?"
END
A/N: Phew, that went on a lot longer than I anticipated. But hey, after two years, it's done! My writing has changed a little bit since I first started this story, so hopefully, it wasn't too jarring for any of you, if you happened to notice the writing style change.
I actually started writing this 2 years ago and stopped after Gary and Ash's battle. And as you can see, while I initially was going the OP Ash route, I decided to scale it back a bit to a more realistic OP. For the time being, anyway.
I also brought Ritchie in a lot earlier to give him some friendly competition. Someone who is on the same level as him at the beginning, but Ash will slowly outpace Ritchie as time goes on and he becomes more obsessed with making his Pokémon as powerful as possible. Sap the Bulbasaur replaces Zippo the Charmander as his starter. Hopefully, the name "Sap" fits in with Ritchie's nicknaming style.
Anyway, if you have any suggestions for anything plot-related later on, feel free to tell me. If I like them, I might consider them. I also need a good Ghost-type for Ash, which he won't get until much, much later. The other types I have covered except that one. I would prefer a dual-type, but I will consider a monotype as well.
Anyway, next time we start in Pewter City, take on the gym, and head on to Mt. Moon.