Another chapter ready, this time concluding the Cerulean City events. Hope the battle is to the liking of readers and the end result satisfying.
XXXX
Ash sighed as he was seated inside the healing pod, Pikachu waiting patiently outside of it. After he'd caught his breath, he'd moved to the waiting room, and after quickly drying off his fur and getting the bathrobe again, he'd entered the pod to regain his energy, knowing full well he'd need it. Brock was a hard enough opponent, and while he doubted Misty would hit as hard as he did, the fact remained he was likely going to fight her in her element, something no amount of training could fully make up for.
Either way, he soon got out of the pod, Pikachu quickly climbing on to his shoulder, before the two of them shared a determined nod. Win or lose, they'd do their best. And with that, he gathered his Pokeballs and Pokedex, and soon stepped through the doors to the Gym Leader's Room. The room in question unsurprisingly featured a large pool in the center, but unlike the last one, it seemed to be inside the ground, with a shape that was a mix of rectangular and oval. Inside the pool was what appeared to be a rock formation that had four pillars holding up an oval shaped ring, and inside the water was a few smaller rocks, probably to be used as a terrain underwater.
"I've been waiting," Misty said, as he saw she was standing on the other end of the arena. Instead of her usual outfit, she'd removed her tanktop and shorts revealing that the suit underneath was her Battle Outfit, a dark blue surfer suit which covered mainly her torso, as well as a bit of her shoulders and her thighs, making for something that was aimed to be usable during high speed movement underwater, while still allowing for maximum flexibility in a fight. "I knew you'd clear that Challenge, but you're going to have to get through me to win the Cascade Badge!"
"Wouldn't have it any other way!" Ash said with a slightly excited grin. "What are the terms?"
"We'll start with a Pokemon Battle, with three Pokemon to both of us. Also, we're not allowed to substitute Pokemon mid-match," Misty said with a confident expression. "Then, we'll move on to a Fighter Match. Any objections?"
"None whatsoever," Ash nodded.
"Perfect. Let's get started then," Misty smirked as the referee called the match to begin. "I'll start first! Misty calls...Starmie!" she said, throwing her Pokeball to reveal Starmie who landed on one side of the stone formation.
"A Starmie, huh?" Ash mused, pulling out his Pokedex and scanning.
"Starmie, the Mysterious Pokemon. Starmie is a Water/Psychic-type Pokemon native to the Kanto Region and is the evolved form of Staryu. Starmie while primarily water Pokemon are able to move about on land using their psychic abilities. Their most notable trait is their core that glows with 7 colors, making it prized by some as a type of jewel."
"I see you're not pulling any punches," Ash smirked. "Alright then, neither will we! Go, Pikachu!"
"Pika!" Pikachu said determinedly as he jumped forward, landing on their side of the rock formation.
"Let's not give it a chance to attack! Thundershock!" Ash ordered, Pikachu obeying and firing his attack, aiming to make quick work of the Water-type.
"Starmie, defend with Light Screen!" Misty ordered, Starmie letting out a quick sound as its gem glowed and the defensive move came up in front of it, protecting it from the electric attack. "Now counter with Swift!" small glowing stars were fired from Starmie's core the moment Light Screen faded.
"Quick Attack!" Ash ordered, Pikachu doing just that, and used the speed to evade the Swift, bouncing off of the sections of the stone formation to throw off Starmie's aim before he got close, ramming into it, throwing Starmie back, only for the Pokemon to land in the water.
"Psychic from the water!" Misty ordered, Starmie's core glowing while it was underwater, and Pikachu was covered in a blue glow, before he was lifted into the air and slammed into the rock repeatedly.
"Uh oh!" Ash gasped. "Pikachu quick! Thundershock into the pool!"
At that, Misty's eyes widened. "Starmie, Gyro Ball and Rapid Spin, maximum speed!" she shouted, right as Pikachu's counterattack hit the water, lighting up the pool with electricity. The field was slightly blinding for a moment, before Pikachu stopped, still standing ready on the rock section he was on, before a form leaped out of the water and landed on the rocks too, revealing to be Starmie, looking a bit damaged, but still okay.
"How'd it take that?!" Ash gasped in surprise. Shocking a water Pokemon inside the water should have beaten anything that wasn't immune to electricity.
"Can't shock Starmie as much as you'd like if there's no conductor!" Misty smirked. She and Starmie had made that trick specifically for times like this, as mixing Rapid Spin and Gyro Ball would allow Starmie to push the water around it away, enough so there was a small pocket of air around it. Not enough to completely avoid the electricity, but enough to turn what would have been massive damage into manageable damage. "Now quick, use Recover!" Starmie didn't need to be told twice, and quickly healed the damage it had taken.
Ash growled a bit...but soon had an excited grin. "Shouldn't have expected anything less from you," he couldn't help but say, seeing as when the match had started, a part of him expected this round at least to be an easy win. Clearly it wasn't going to be the case.
"Of course, the first step to being a Water Trainer is knowing how to win even against a Type Advantage," Misty winked cheekily. "Now go Starmie! Tackle!" Starmie quickly obeyed, flying towards Pikachu like a buzzsaw.
"Pikachu, dodge!" Ash ordered, Pikachu obeying and narrowly evading Starmie each time it came back for another try. "Now counter with Iron Tail!" Pikachu's tail glowed as he knocked Starmie back, sending it flying into one of the rocks, but once again it fell into the water.
"Bubble Beam!" Misty ordered, a flurry of bubbles coming out of the water, forcing Pikachu to run as he evaded the attack.
"Double Team! Try to confuse it!" Ash ordered, Pikachu soon seemingly splitting into multiples as he ran around the field. As expected, the Bubble Beam became erratic, Starmie trying to find the real one, and in the process, ended up surfacing to try and see better as all the attacks and battle had caused the waters to churn, making seeing through it hard. "Thunderwave now!" Ash ordered, Pikachu launching the attack.
"Gyro Ball quick!" Misty shouted, but too late, as Starmie wasn't able to switch into the new Move fast enough, getting hit with the Thunderwave, and getting the Paralysis Status, causing it to struggle to stay afloat.
"This is bad!" Misty gasped, mind racing to think of how to counter, to which she quickly settled for the first thing she could think of. "Hyper Beam! Take out Pikachu now!" she ordered, Starmie trying to obey...but the Paralysis kicked in, making it unable to move.
"Now's our chance! Pikachu, jump on Starmie and use Thundershock at full power!" Ash ordered.
Pikachu leaped off the rock and landed on Starmie, before executing the move. Thanks to the training he'd gone through in Pewter, what should have been a basic attack now had far more power in it, which hit Starmie at full force, and spread through the pool. Added in with Starmie being nearly unable to move...no defense from that.
Once the pool stopped sparking, Pikachu jumped onto the rocks again, leaving Starmie floating on the water, looking a little charred and its core flashing, clearly unable to fight anymore.
"Starmie is unable to battle, Pikachu wins!" the referee declared, earning a cheer of victory from Ash and Pikachu, while Pikachu did a 'V' sign with his paw.
"Good work Starmie, take a well earned rest," Misty said, calling Starmie back, before she selected another Pokeball. "You know Ash, one thing I like about being back in the Gym is I've got more Pokemon than usual to choose from," she said.
Ash blinked and gulped a little. "Don't tell me, even if you were serious, Starmie was just bait, wasn't it?" Now Pikachu seemed worried too when he heard that.
"Got it in one," Misty smirked. "No hard feelings, but this is just strategy! Go, Barboach!" she said, throwing the next Pokeball, which popped open to reveal a Barboach, which called out its name and fell into the water.
"Barboach?" Ash frowned, not too familiar with this one, to which he quickly scanned the new Pokemon.
"Barboach, the Whiskers Pokemon. Barboach is a Water/Ground-type Pokemon native to the Hoenn Region. Although it is part Ground, Barboach live almost exclusively in the water. The whiskers on this Pokemon serve as a radar system that it uses in ambushes."
"Well this just got a lot harder," Ash frowned. "Pikachu, Agility!" Pikachu nodded, and quickly raised his speed. "Now Quick Attack!"
Pikachu charged forward, aiming straight for Barboach who took the hit, going flying a bit and landing on the rocks, before quickly flopping back into the water. Pikachu however had rebounded off of Barboach when the attack hit, allowing him to land on the rocks again.
"Muddy Water!" Misty ordered, Barboach quickly coming out of the water and launching the attack, a small torrent of brown water hitting Pikachu, who managed to stand his ground, though some of it got on his eyes, messing up his vision.
"Pikachu, wash it off, quick!" Ash ordered, knowing they'd need Pikachu to be able to see if he wanted to stand a chance. Pikachu jumped in the water and quickly trying to clean off the mud that got in his face. However while that cleared his sight, it also left him open to Barboach who was barreling towards him.
"Water Pulse!" Misty ordered, to which Barboach sent the attack, and with Pikachu in the water, he couldn't evade fast enough, getting launched out of the water, and back onto the rock, getting up shakily and with a dazed expression as he was wondering why there were chirping Pidgeys flying around him. "Now, Aqua Tail!"
"Counter with Iron Tail!" Ash ordered. Pikachu tried to use Iron Tail, but in his confusion...mistimed the swing and completely missed his mark...followed by said Aqua Tail hitting, sending Pikachu flying into the water.
"Now let's finish it! Mud Shot!" Misty ordered, Barboach jumping out of the water again, firing the shots, and hitting the still confused Pikachu, sending him flying out of the arena, to which Ash caught him.
"Are you okay, Pikachu?!" Ash gasped, Pikachu letting out a dazed sounding 'Chu…', confirming he was mostly okay. "Take a break buddy," he said with a relieved sigh.
"Pikachu is unable to battle, Barboach wins!" the referee declared.
"Okay, I have to admit that was a pretty good move," Ash said, Pikachu soon sitting by his side again, taking a well earned rest. "But I'm not about to lose just cause you beat Pikachu!" he said, throwing his next Pokeball, which popped open to reveal Pidgeotto. "Let's start strong! Pidgeotto, Gust!" Pidgeotto obeyed, and flapped her wings hard, sending a strong wind towards the water, and catching Barboach in the hit as it had been close to the surface when she launched the attack. "Now Quick Attack!"
Pidgeotto launched herself forward, scoring several hits on Barboach while it was in the air.
"Barboach, counter with Icy Wind!" Misty shouted. Barboach shot the blast of cold wind at Pidgeotto, but…
"I don't think so! Whirlwind!" Ash commanded, Pidgeotto obeying and flapping her wings at full power, the winds clashing, even if some got through, causing some damage...before eventually Pidgeotto's winds overpowered the Icy Wind, sending it back to Barboach, who was blown back, but managed to land into the pool again.
"Barboach, use Hail!" Misty ordered, to which a hailstorm suddenly started...indoors somehow.
"Well that's an annoying tactic," Ash frowned.
"Gotta pick your battles," Misty said cheekily. "Barboach, use Rest!"
"Oh no you don't! Pidgeotto, use Twister! Suck it out of the pool!" Ash shouted. This move wasn't QUITE ready yet...but he had good hopes that Pidgeotto would pull it off well enough.
Misty's eyes widened when she heard that, as Pidgeotto started flying in a circle, and soon kicked up said twister, sucking up water like a funnel, and soon pulled Barboach out of it, the fish having not been able to use Rest in time, before it was launched out of the water. "Now, Wing Attack, send it out of the pool!" Pidgeotto did just that, and ignoring the Hail raining on her, slammed her wing into Barboach, sending it flying till it hit the door on the other side of the room, and slid to the ground, eyes swirly from the spin, flight, and smash, making it clear it was out of the fight.
"Barboach is unable to battle, Pidgeotto wins!" the referee declared.
"Great job Barboach, return," Misty said, recalling Barboach. "Didn't expect Pidgeotto to know Twister like that. You really got me by surprise," she said.
"Well, if we're fighting in the water, then the best way is to pull them OUT of the water, right?" Ash chuckled slightly. "Of course, I doubt you didn't think of that possibility."
"You'd be right," Misty smirked, preparing another Pokeball. "Let's see you beat this one!" she called out, throwing the ball, which popped open to reveal a Tirtouga.
"Who's that Pokemon?" Ash frowned, not familiar with this one, so he quickly took out his Pokedex again.
"Tirtouga, the Prototurtle Pokemon. Tirtouga is a Water/Rock-type Pokemon native to the Unova Region. Believed by many to be the ancestor of most if not all turtle Pokemon, Tirtouga once lived in the oceans and could dive to as deep as 1000 meters. As of currently, populations are slowly being restored from fossils found in the oceans and rivers."
"A Fossil Pokemon, huh?" Ash mused with a frown, realizing what Misty had been aiming for. Most of his team were flying Pokemon, meaning they'd be weak to a Rock-type, and Pikachu was already out, while Nidoran was a poor swimmer. Tirtouga had a strong advantage now. "Careful Pidgeotto, this one's gonna be a tough one! Start off with Feather Dance!" Pidgeotto spread her wings which glowed before she sent a flurry of glowing feathers towards Tirtouga, who winced as the feathers hit, the Feather Dance lowering his attack. "Follow up with Agility!" Ash added, to which Pidgeotto soon boosted her speed.
"Tirtouga, Ancient Power!" Misty ordered, Tirtouga glowing as a see through afterimage of itself appeared, which spun and created a green ball of energy that Tirtouga launched, Pidgeotto narrowly evading the attack, and soon had to evade more as Tirtouga shot several more.
"Counter with Mirror Move!" Ash ordered, Pidgeotto soon creating an afterimage of herself which soon created a familiar green ball of energy, shooting back at Tirtouga, the attacks hit, but Tirtouga tanked the hits without issue.
"Don't let her keep the advantage! Aqua Jet!" Misty ordered, Tirtouga glowing and shooting forward into the air propelled by water.
"Knock it away! Wing Attack!" Ash ordered, the two Pokemon soon clashing in mid-air as their attacks clashed several times, until…
"Rollout now!" Misty ordered as they were about to clash again, Tirtouga pulling into a rough ball as energy surrounded it, and hit Pidgeotto head on, knocking her off balance. "Finish it with Smack Down!" Tirtouga charged up a ball of energy and shot it at the still dazed Pidgeotto, causing her to fall straight down and right into the pool, the bird struggling to get out, but it was no dice.
"Uh oh! Pidgeotto return!" Ash gasped, quickly recalling Pidgeotto, and due to the rules, that was as good as her losing this round.
"Last chance Ash, hope you pick well," Misty said with a confident expression, Ash not responding as he went for his next Pokeball, but paused before he grabbed one, mentally going through who he had and taking into consideration Tirtouga. A Water/Rock-type would be best fought with a Grass-type, but he didn't have one of those. Thinking it carefully, he thought of the weaknesses this combination had...until he realized something. Water and Rock...would be weak to Fighting and Ground. With that in mind… "I know you're new, but I choose you!" he called out, throwing his third Pokeball, which popped open to reveal Wooper.
"Isn't that the Pokemon you JUST caught recently? Are you sure about this?" Misty blinked, surprised to see this Pokemon out.
"I'll admit, I'm not a big fan of sending out new Pokemon for a Gym Battle, but Wooper has what I need to win this! Go, Mud Shot!"
Wooper jumped out of the water, and fired the balls of mud which hit Tirtouga, causing the turtle to recoil as the attack hit hard.
Misty's eyes widened. She'd been so focused on countering Ash's fliers, she'd forgotten that Tirtouga's typing would be weak to Wooper's Ground-type attacks. "Well don't count us out yet! Tirtouga, use Hydro Pump!"
"Wooper, Mist!" Ash ordered, Wooper soon covering the area in mist, forcing Tirtouga to shoot blindly, and thus Wooper evaded the attack by diving underwater. "Let's give her a surprise! Double Kick!"
"Wait, what?!" Misty gasped.
The next thing Tirtouga knew, it was kicked in the gut from below as Wooper had gotten underneath and landed a strong kick right under on its underbelly, throwing it into the air, before Wooper landed another hit, throwing it into the air again.
"Water Jet! Get yourself stable again!"
"Mud Shot! Send it right out of the pool!"
Tirtouga coated itself with water and tried to surge towards Wooper, who countered with blasts of mud, causing an explosion to happen in mid-air, knocking Tirtouga out of the coating of water, but still aiming to land in the pool. However… "Finish it off! Double Kick!" Ash commanded, Wooper leaping out of the water, and landing the attack square on Tirtouga, sending it flying out away from the pool and soon smashing into one of the walls nearby, leaving it to slide to the ground with swirly eyes.
"Tirtouga is unable to battle! Wooper wins!" the referee declared, and with that Ash had secured the win in the Pokemon Battle.
"Alright! Good job Wooper!" Ash cheered as Pikachu and Wooper cheered along with him.
Misty sighed, but had a small smile before recalling Tirtouga. "You did great Tirtouga, now leave the rest to me." She let Ash's side celebrate a little, before they stopped and Ash turned to look at her. Once he did that, she spoke up. "Ready for the next round?"
"Was ready from the start," Ash grinned, before returning Wooper to her Pokeball and tossing aside the bathrobe, to which he jumped into the arena, landing on his side of the rock circle.
"Let's get started then," Misty nodded, before she dove into the pool and the referee began the match. The moment it began, Misty shot out of the water, propelled by a blast of water, before pulling into an Aqua Tail, aiming straight for Ash, who countered with a Power-Up Punch, the two attacks clashing for a moment, before Ash shifted to the side, allowing Misty's momentum to carry forward, and with his free hand, grabbing her by the tail. Misty let out a surprised squawk when she was suddenly pulled out of the air and slammed into the rock.
Groaning, she got up, and was immediately put on the defensive as Ash pressed the advantage, no doubt aiming to keep her from returning to the water. Misty wasn't planning on letting him have the advantage for long, and shot a Water Gun to push him back a bit, but he quickly countered with a Force Palm, though fighting against the blast of water made the impact much weaker, allowing her to counter with a swift kick to the gut. Seeing an opening, she dove into the water.
Ash frowned, but stood his ground. He may have trained to fight in the water, but he knew that no matter what she'd have the advantage, so his best bet was to try and get her out of there again. However...the issue was soon taken out of his hands, when Misty soon rose out of the water...riding on a large wave. Turns out she knows Surf. "Awww crap…" Ash groaned and took a deep breath, right as the wave hit, pushing him off the rocks and pulling him into the water.
Ash struggled to right himself after tumbling into the water, covering his nose to make sure no water went in, and once the area stopped spinning, he let out a small breath to relieve his lungs a little. His eyes immediately focused on Misty who was barreling towards him, forcing him to evade, but she soon came back, moving at high speed inside the water. At a few passes, she twisted and smacked him with her tail, followed by several punches and kicks he did his best to block, but was pushed back greatly without any footing. Twisting his body, he saw he was approaching one of the rock pillars and spun in a way that his legs were soon bracing against the pillars and with a mighty push, he launched himself towards her, using the momentum to land a Power-Up Punch on her, pushing her back, but before she did, he grabbed on and kicked her in the side a few times, ending with a knee to the gut that knocked the wind out of her as it pushed her back, but she quickly righted herself, her species typing making the bit of wind knocked out of her not an issue at all.
Misty groaned slightly, holding her gut, but quickly surged forward through the water again, delivering a combo of Aqua Tails, knocking Ash around even as he tried to defend himself, even managing to swing a kick to stop the last one, but Misty quickly broke off the attack and soon swam around him, generating a Whirlpool, trapping him in the vortex. Ash tried to escape, but as it was he was being pulled to and fro inside the whirlpool and barely able to swim in any direction. Misty quickly capitalized on the advantage and used Swift to launch the small star shaped projectiles into the Whirlpool which pelted him from every direction as a result.
Ash's eyes were soon widening as he felt the air in his lungs start to run out, while the Whirlpool was still going on. Thankfully it seemed Misty noticed, and dismissed the Whirlpool...but not before hitting him with a tackle to the gut, pushing him back, causing him to spin out of control...albeit more upward, to which he soon resurfaced, gasping for air. On a nearby screen, a timer started for 20 seconds, Ash doing his best to catch his breath in the short time given...before the timer ran out and he was soon pulled underwater again, Misty once again circling at high speed around him, peppering him with several strikes, be it punches, kicks, or even slaps from her tail. She was making liberal use of Aqua Tail to keep him off balance too, but he managed to quickly bounce back, once again using the rocks and walls as footing to propel himself forward and counter with a chain of attacks of his own.
The fight was a more or less see-saw battle as both Morphs were fighting to win, Ash doing his best to adapt his style to fighting underwater from his training by continuing to bound off walls and pillars to give him momentum behind his strikes. However, it was clear Misty held the major advantage being in her element. Eventually she avoided one particular kick from Ash, and grabbed hold of him, before propelling herself in the water, and using the momentum to pull him along, slamming him against one of the stone pillars, followed by the ground and then the pool wall, leaving him dazed as she started slapping him silly with Aqua Tail, ending with another Whirlpool, which trapped him and dealt damage gradually. By now Ash was feeling VERY tired, his lungs starting to burn again while his limbs were feeling like lead from the underwater battle and he'd taken more than his fair share of hard hits. However, before a proper result could be reached, there was an odd sound that reached the ears of the people in the Gym...before one of the walls suddenly exploded, causing the room to shake.
"What's going on?!" Misty gasped, quickly undoing the Whirlpool, allowing Ash to resurface as she did the same to see what had happened. When the dust cleared, they saw something coming through the hole, revealing what looked like some kind of tank/boat on wheels, with an odd device on the back that looked like some kind of tube with gauges and dials that they had no idea what it was for. "Hey! Who do you think you are breaking into this Gym?!" Misty said with ire as she propelled herself out of the water and landed on a section of the stone ring, Ash climbing up one of the pillars and sighing when he got to the stone ring as well. He wanted to help, really he did...but he REALLY needed to catch his breath right now…
The answer Misty got for her question was a familiar song playing
(Play 'Team Rocket Theme')
"Sorry to break in on you!" came Jessie's voice as she and James slowly rose up from within the vehicle.
"Allow us to introduce ourselves," James smirked.
"To Protect the world from devastation."
"To Unite all people within our nations."
"To Denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To Extend our reach to the stars above."
At this point three familiar figures could be seen, revealing to be Team Rocket again.
"Jessie."
"James."
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth, that's right!"
(Theme end)
"Who invited the party crashers?" Lily blinked.
"And what's with that hair?" Violet added.
"Well aren't we rude," Jessie said, sounding miffed. "We'll see if you can keep that up after our plan."
"The Water Pokemon may have the advantage in the water, but if we take that away, they'll be ripe for the taking," James added.
"I don't like the sound of that," Ash frowned, getting up on his feet.
"Keep your guard up, Ash. Looks like we're gonna have to fight them again," Misty added, earning a nod from him.
As if in response to that, the top of the machine opened up and what looked like a large hose emerged from it and went into the pool, before the waters churned and were being sucked in.
"Hey, that's our water!" Daisy said in alarm at seeing the pool being drained away.
"You're right, I should give it back," Meowth snickered, putting the machine in reverse, which doused everyone with the stolen water, blowing them all back, even Misty and her sisters as the sudden torrent was too much for them. After a moment, the machine began sucking again, pulling in the water, and along with it, the Seal that had fallen into the pool was being sucked in.
"Oh no, Seal!" Daisy gasped.
"We have to stop them!" Misty frowned, getting back on her feet and was about to jump in, but Ash stopped her.
"I've got a better idea," Ash said. "Pikachu, go get them!"
Pikachu blinked in confusion, before he noticed Ash was looking pointedly at the WATER filling the pool, to which he realized the plan, and with a determined nod, jumped into the water.
"Thanks for the Pikachu, we'll take it too!" Jessie laughed, as Pikachu was sucked towards the machine, but right as he was close…
"Now! Thundershock!"
"Pikaaa...CHU!" Pikachu shouted, electrocuting the water, and hitting the machine, causing it to malfunction and shock Team Rocket, causing them to fall into the water, the machine sucking wildly and ended up sucking them before experiencing a catastrophic malfunction, sending them flying out of the other end of the hose (which Seal had somehow taken control of and directed into the sky).
"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" they shouted as they were soon a twinkle in the sky.
Back inside, Ash quickly ran to the machine which was still going even as Team Rocket was gone, and with a strong leap, reached the lever, pulling it down, and reversing the flow, returning the water to where it belonged, while releasing Pikachu who'd been momentarily sucked in, allowing him to land in Daisy's arms with a relieved sigh.
"What are the odds that'll make them stay away this time?" Ash sighed, glad that was over for now.
"...probably none," Misty frowned, looking over the damage Team Rocket had done. Looks like their fight would be ending here for now.
XXXX
"So how's the Gym going to be?" Ash asked, as currently he and Misty were both back in their normal traveling clothes, while the police had arrived on the scene.
"It could have been worse, so at least it was just this," Daisy sighed. "Still, the Gym is going to have to be closed for a while, so I'm afraid that's it for your match."
"Well that's a shame, I was winning too," Misty said with a cheeky smirk.
Ash looked like he wanted to rise up to that jab, but calmed down and sighed. "Well...I'm man enough to admit I was losing back there. Fighting a Water-type in the water is probably the hardest thing I've done so far," he sighed.
"Well not like that really matters, you still won the Badge after all," Violet shrugged.
"And this is why you three just don't get us Fighters…" Misty sighed, before smiling at Ash. "But yeah, since you cleared the Obstacle Challenge AND beat me in a Pokemon Battle, you've done enough to earn the Cascade Badge. Congratulations," she said, as Seal came up to her and revealed the Cascade Badge again which she took and gave to Ash.
"Thanks," Ash nodded with a grin as he took the Badge. "Alright! We got the Cascade Badge!" he grinned as Pikachu joined in.
"Just don't get a swelled head just because you have 2 Badges. You're still only a quarter of the way," Misty said with a slight chuckle.
"You won't have to worry about that, Dad kinda made sure to teach me how to NOT get that," Ash said, a small sweat drop on his head, remembering his father's lessons. The Lucario had been VERY adamant in teaching him to NOT let his ego get the better of him, apparently from personal experience.
"So now that you've gotten the Cascade Badge, I'm guessing it's onto the next town?" Misty asked.
"Once we're all ready to go yeah," Ash nodded. "Though...what about you? What's going to happen to the Gym?"
"Oh don't worry about the Gym. We've promised Misty that we'll keep it going for a few more years until she's ready to take over," Daisy said. "So you'd better use your time well little sister, because the Cerulean Gym's reputation is in your hands in the future," she added with a small wink.
Misty blinked, before she smirked. "You can count on that. When I come back, I'll be stronger than all three of you combined," she said with determination, though in the background Ash went closer to Pikachu.
"That's...not saying much, is it?" Ash couldn't help but whisper, to which Pikachu sweat dropped, unable to actually refute that.
XXXX
"So where to next?" Brock asked as currently the three were on their way out of Cerulean.
"How about Vermillion City? I've always wanted to go there," Misty suggested.
"Well, it's also a city with a Gym, so sure," Ash said with a nod.
"Alright then, so looks like our next destination is Vermillion then," Brock nodded with a smile.
"Then what are we waiting for, let's go!" Misty grinned and soon ran forward.
"Hey, wait for us!" Ash said as he ran after her, Pikachu getting ahead of him and managed to get on Misty's shoulder, while Brock followed close behind, the three sharing a laugh as they continued onward to their next leg of the journey.
XXXX
And that's the end of the chapter. For anyone who thought the battle was going to be a clean sweep, nope. The fun part of the more modern Pokemon is how there's more options to make battles more interesting. Lol
Also I've decided to not post a Retold File this time around because simply put...if I posted one every chapter, I'll be out of Files before Kanto is even finished. However, in light of that, from this chapter onward, I'll be open to suggestions of aspects of the world that you'd like me to explain. Please leave your suggestions in the comments and I'll inform whether or not that is something I can explain now or if its something I'd rather save for later. Thank you
