And we're back with another chapter. Ash begins his next Gym Match, this time not against the actual Gym Leader because rules. Lol.

Will he be able to win this in one shot? Well, let's find out.

Also after some consideration, I've decided to update the name of the story a little. Nothing too major, but just a little something to make it stand out. I felt 'The Prepared Journey' would sound better, since well…that's really the MAIN reason this Ash is performing better. Lol

XXXX

The atmosphere was tense in the Vermillion City Gym, unsurprising as a Gym Battle was about to begin. "This Gym Battle will be divided into two parts!" Lt. Surge declared. "A 3 on 3 Pokemon Battle and a Fighter Battle, and only the challenger is allowed to switch Pokemon! In order to earn the Thunder Badge, the challenger must win at least one of the two battles AND perform well in the battle that was lost in order to win. Any questions?"

Ash frowned at that and raised his arm, to which Surge nodded, letting him ask his question. "What exactly does 'perform well' mean?"

"Good question. Admittedly 'well' kind of varies from challenger to challenger, but for a safe bet, if you go down, then make sure you go down with one hell of a fight," Surge grinned a bit, earning a nod of understanding from Ash.

"Alright, no more questions," Ash said.

"In that case let the Gym Battle begin! Select your first Pokemon!" Surge declared.

Visquez didn't hesitate and grabbed her first Pokeball. "Pachirisu, front and center!" she called out, releasing her first Pokemon, who was bouncing on its heels giddily.

"There's something you don't see every day," Ash mused as he took out his Pokedex and scanned the new Pokemon. "Pachirisu, the EleSquirrel Pokemon. Pachirisu is an Electric-type Pokemon native to the Sinnoh Region. Pachirisu are known to store up electricity in their fur before gathering them into furballs and storing them with berries. It is believed this is intended to be a means to deter any thieves from stealing their stash.

"Pachirisu may seem a bit hyper, but don't underestimate her," Visquez smirked a bit.

"Wasn't planning to," Ash grinned back, before picking his Pokemon. "Better start safe," he mused. "Wooper, I choose you!" he said, calling out Wooper who seemed happy to be on the field.

"Heh, not bad, you've done your homework, kid," Visquez smirked. "But don't think it'll be THAT easy!" she added as the signal for the start of the match was given. "Show them what you're made of! Double Team!"

Pachirisu ran forward, their body glowing as they seemed to split into multiple copies before they soon started circling Wooper who looked understandably a bit confused.

"Only one of them's the real one! Water Gun in a circle!" Ash ordered, Wooper obeying and firing in a circle, which washed away all the Pachirisu...and yet the real one wasn't revealed much to both her and her Trainer's surprise. "What?!" he gasped, before thinking quickly and looking up. True enough, the real one was above Wooper.

"Quick Attack with gravity as your ally!" Visquez ordered, Pachirisu coming down and hitting Wooper hard, sending her tumbling back, though as a side effect Pachirisu was looking a little dizzy from when they'd basically impacted each other's skulls.

"Wasn't expecting that, but now Pachirisu is open!" Ash said. "Mud Shot!"

Wooper quickly regained balance, shaking off the slight dizziness and counter attacked with said attack, and Pachirisu who'd just landed on the ground couldn't evade in time and took a direct hit, the Ground type move doing a lot of damage causing it to cry out in pain as it was knocked back.

"We're not going down THAT quickly! Hidden Power!" Visquez ordered, to which Pachirisu did just that, firing a blast of energy which pushed Wooper back considerably, but from the looks of it it hadn't caused too much damage, as Wooper quickly recovered.

"You okay, Wooper?" Ash gasped, earning a determined nod from Wooper. "Alright, one more time, Mud Shot! Rapid fire!"

Wooper fired the Move again, and this time in quick succession. Pachirisu moved to evade, but Wooper increased the pace and eventually one attack hit its mark, causing Pachirisu to stop moving momentarily from the damage...and thus the rest soon hit, dealing a massive damage to Pachirisu, leaving the Electric-type to fall to the ground, unconscious.

"Pachirisu is unable to battle, the winner is Wooper!" Surge declared as Visquez recalled her first Pokemon.

"You're pretty good," Visquez smirked a bit, rather impressed. "Smart move there, picking a Ground-type as your first Pokemon."

"Well, I got a bit lucky when I found Wooper," Ash said a bit bashfully. "But I imagine just having a Ground-type isn't gonna be enough to win me this Gym," he added with a small smirk, remembering his battle in the Cerulean Gym.

"You'd be right there! Emolga, front and center!" Visquez called out, selecting her next Pokemon which soon appeared on the field.

"Never seen that Pokemon before," Ash blinked in surprise and took out his Pokedex, scanning Emolga. "Emolga, the Sky Squirrel Pokemon. Emolga is an Electric/Flying-type Pokemon native to the Unova Region. Emolga live in trees and use their wing-like membranes to glide through the air or ride the wind to create an illusion of flight."

"Gotta hand it to you Gym Leaders, you've got some exotic Pokemon," Ash frowned a bit, before quickly recalling Wooper. This one could be an issue, since he didn't actually have a Pokemon that could specifically counter this mix. Even so, he'd go for the next best thing he had. "You're up, buddy!"

Pikachu gave a determined nod and 'Pika!' as he entered the arena, Emolga already in the air and raring to go as well.

"Let's start strong! Iron Tail!" Ash ordered.

"Acrobatics!" Visquez countered.

The two Pokemon initiated their Moves, with Emolga taking to the air before dive bombing towards Pikachu who met the attack head on with his Iron Tail, the two Pokemon struggling for dominance before the stalemate was broken by a draw as both were pushed back, taking a bit of damage but more than able to continue.

"Thundershock!" Ash ordered, which Pikachu obeyed, hitting Emolga head on, pushing his opponent back. However, Emolga more or less tanked the attack, and quickly regained balance.

"Quick Attack!" Visquez barked, Emolga obeying and darting around quickly, looking for an opening to attack Pikachu

"Show it your own Quick Attack!" Ash ordered, Pikachu soon using the same attack, the two small Pokemon dashing around the field and clashing at high speeds all over the arena.

The fight was so fast-paced, the trainers were barely able to keep up with them. However, of the two Pikachu was the quicker to improvise, and managed to time switching his Move to Iron Tail at JUST the right time after several clashes, swinging it right as Emolga was coming at him, slamming it into his opponent's face.

THAT caused the round to go to an abrupt halt, as Emolga felt the impact go through it...and promptly fell out of the air, a goose egg on their head and swirly eyed as they were completely knocked out.

"Emolga is unable to battle! The winner is Pikachu!"

"Great job, buddy!" Ash grinned as Pikachu came back to him and let out a happy 'Pi!'. At that though they looked over to Emolga who was still out cold, Visquez coming over to check on her Pokemon. "Uh...is Emolga okay?"

"Emolga is fine. Nice move there using his own speed against him," Visquez chuckled lightly once she was sure her Pokemon was fine and quickly recalled Emolga. "Gotta say, you've done better than a LOT of other Trainers who came to try their chances here," she smirked a bit.

"And I aim to give it my all till the very end," Ash said with determination.

"Good words, but hope you're ready for my best teammate," Visquez said, retaking her spot at the edge of the arena and selecting her last Pokemon. "Raichu, front and center!"

"Well, you picked a strong one," Ash blinked at the last Pokemon Visquez picked, taking out his Pokedex to scan it even if he already knew about this one. "Raichu, the mouse Pokemon. Raichu is an Electric-type Pokemon native to the Kanto Region and is the evolved form of Pikachu. Raichu are able to generate electricity of over 100,000 volts, enough to render a Dragonite unconscious. In order to avoid self harm, Raichu use their tails as a ground to release excess energy."

Pikachu saw the Raichu that was their next opponent and his cheeks sparked in excitement. After his latest win, he wanted to test his might against his species' Evolved Form. Ash noticed however, and while he was all for letting his partner test himself...this WAS still a Gym Match. "Easy there Buddy, I can understand wanting to see how strong you are, but remember, we're still in a Gym Match," he reminded. Pikachu's ears drooped a bit at that, but after a moment he slowly nodded, Ash petting him a bit, both as an apology and thanks for understanding.

With that said, Ash picked his next Pokemon. "Bulbasaur, I choose you!" he called out, Bulbasaur soon in the arena with a determined 'Saur!'

"Heh, its nice to see a Trainer who actually thought through a plan," Visquez smirked a bit. "Don't think it'll be enough to beat Raichu though."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Ash smirked in return. "Bulbasaur, use Razor Leaf!"

"Raichu, wide area Thunder!" Visquez said without hesitation, Raichu's cheeks sparking before calling down a blast of electricity which hit not just it but a wide area around it, burning up the Razor Leaf before it made contact.

"That's one way to block an attack," Ash blinked with a huge sweat drop, Bulbasaur sharing the sentiment, even stepping back a little.

"And there's way more where that came from," Visquez smirked. "Raichu, use Electro Ball!"

Raichu obeyed and fired the attack, Bulbasaur trying to evade, but the attack curved slightly and hit him, pushing him back. "You okay, Bulbasaur?!"

Bulbasaur shook his head to get the effects of the impact out, and quickly nodded with a determined 'Saur!'

"Alright then, let's try a Vine Whip!" Ash ordered, Bulbasaur nodded and lashed out at Raichu with the attack.

"Evade it!" Visquez ordered and Raichu moved to dodge, but while it evaded the first strike, the follow up struck it dead on, the Pokemon seemingly too slow to dodge. Even so, Raichu withstood the attack, even as Bulbasaur pressed his advantage, aiming to deal as much damage as possible. However after a few hits, when Bulbasaur went for another shot, Raichu's eyes narrowed and taking another hit, grabbed the Vine Whip, much to Bulbasaur's surprise. "Great thinking, Raichu!" Visquez smirked, realizing what her Pokemon was going for. "Brutal Swing!"

Ash's eyes widened in horror at that one. "Bulbasaur, Sleep Powder now!" he shouted, knowing what would happen but...too late. Bulbasaur was soon learning how a helicopter's blades felt as he was being swung around and around by Raichu who held his Vines firmly, while Bulbasaur looked like he was going to hurl, before thankfully Raichu let go. Ash gasped at seeing Bulbasaur sent flying and moved quickly, managing to catch him before he landed on the ground. "Are you okay, Bulbasaur?!" he gasped.

"S-Saur…" Bulbasaur said, more or less confirming he was okay...but just looking at him made it clear he was in no condition to fight anymore.

"I'd say that was a little overboard, but it definitely worked," Ash said to Visquez as he returned Bulbasaur to his Pokeball.

"That's how life is many times. You gotta grab an opportunity when you see one," Visquez shrugged. "When you're in a pitched fight, you gotta take advantage of just about anything to win...within reason of course in official matches like this."

"Fair enough," Ash chuckled lightly. "So I'm sure you won't mind this then," he said, before sending out Wooper again, who seemed raring to go still.

"Knew we'd see that one again. Don't think it's gonna be so easy just because Raichu can't use his Electric moves," Visquez smirked a bit.

"I've learned by now that you don't walk into a Gym expecting to win on just Type Advantage," Ash chuckled lightly. "Doesn't mean it's not still viable! Mud Shot!"

"Defend with Tail Whip!" Visquez ordered, Raichu quickly lashing out with his tail, managing to smack the projectiles aside, even if he winced whenever he did so, the Type Disadvantage still an issue.

"Keep firing!" Ash ordered, Wooper doing her best to follow the order...which was getting harder to do the longer she was firing. Eventually she couldn't keep it up and had to stop for a moment...a moment that Visquez took full advantage of.

"Mega Punch, now!" Visquez ordered, Raichu charging forward, taking advantage of the opening and landing the blow on Wooper, who was sent tumbling back, but she quickly got back on her feet, even if she clearly took some decent damage from the attack, evident by her panting a bit.

"You okay, Wooper? Can you still fight?" Ash asked with a frown, but Wooper quickly gave him a reassuring nod. "Alright, show them your Double Kick!" he ordered, Wooper nodding and running forward.

"If its a kick fight they want, then show them your Mega Kick!" Visquez countered, the two Pokemon soon clashing with their Kick moves, both trying to strike the other, only to be blocked by the opposing moves, though after a few clashes, they were pushed back, panting a little from the damage they were still taking from the clashes.

"Mud Shot again!" Ash ordered, Wooper firing the shots hoping to take down this strong opponent.

"Give it all you got! Focus Blast!" Visquez ordered, Raichu avoiding the first shot and quickly gathered power, before hurling the attack towards Wooper.

Wooper continued firing, hoping to stop the incoming attack, but it broke right through, before hitting her dead on, sending her skidding back. She tried to maintain balance, but after a moment, she fell to the ground, eyes swirling.

"You did great out there, take a well earned break," Ash smiled a bit, as he recalled Wooper, before his expression turned serious. "I can see why you saved Raichu for last," he said.

"What can I say? Raichu's always been eager to get strong. He basically went straight for a Thunderstone the moment I got him," Visquez chuckled as Raichu gave a determined and challenging 'Rai!'.

"It's definitely strong, but me and Pikachu aren't gonna back down," Ash said, to which Pikachu didn't hesitate and entered the arena, sparks flying from his cheeks as he'd been wanting to see how strong he was.

"Let's start with some of our basics! Thundershock!" Ash ordered, even as he inwardly frowned remembering their opponent. He just hoped that everyone had tired Raichu out enough for Pikachu to be able to win. Either way he had full faith in his partner no matter what.

Pikachu eagerly obeyed, sending a powerful shock of electricity which hit Raichu head on, and even managed to push him back a little, but Raichu more or less tanked the blow, and kept his confident expression the whole way, even if he did wince a little at the damage.

"Not bad, your Pikachu's pretty strong. Too bad Raichu's stronger! Show it your own Thundershock!" Visquez said, and Raichu was happy to oblige, sending out his own Thundershock that had Pikachu flying back from the sheer force, but he managed to right himself in mid-air and soon landed on the ground.

"If electricity won't work then...use Quick Attack and Iron Tail!" Ash ordered, Pikachu charging forward, his tail glowing and hardening. Raichu narrowed his eyes as he watched his fast moving opponent, and once Pikachu found a good angle, he charged forward, lashing out with his Iron Tail, smacking Raichu around a few times, the evolved Pokemon's position shifting, yet he continued to hold his ground more or less. Eventually he saw a flash that had become a tell-tale sign that his opponent was coming, and using a Mega Punch, he caught Pikachu mid-strike, sending him flying back.

Pikachu got back to his feet, but stumbled, the impact from the attack which had been enhanced by his own speed had dealt a lot more damage than he'd have liked. "You okay, Pikachu?!" Ash gasped in alarm, but Pikachu reassured him that he could still fight. "Alright, if you're sure! Use Double Team!"

Pikachu moved again, seemingly creating copies of himself, which circled around Raichu, looking for an opening to strike, but unfortunately he positioned himself too close.

"Raichu, Thunder!" Visquez ordered, Raichu nodding and calling down a wide area Thunder attack again, which hit all the copies, including the original, sending Pikachu flying back, body twitching a bit, but he was still trying to fight. Unfortunately Visquez and Raichu weren't going to give him the chance to recover. "Finish it now! Body Slam!"

"Dodge it!" Ash gasped, but Pikachu couldn't evade in time...and found himself caught under Raichu as all his weight landed on Pikachu who cried out in pain, before falling back, his eyes swirly from the damage, to which Raichu soon got off of him.

"Pikachu!" Ash gasped as he quickly moved to check on his partner, before sighing in relief seeing that Pikachu wasn't in too bad a condition.

"Your Pokemon put up a good fight kid, but sad to say it wasn't enough," Visquez said. "But don't worry, you still got a chance to win the Badge."

"If I beat you," Ash frowned, before getting up and after a quick request, Pikachu was resting on a bench set up by the arena.

"Ready?" Visquez asked, an excited smirk on her face, tossing aside her jacket as she entered her side of the arena.

"Anytime," Ash frowned, entering the arena as well.

"Then let the second round begin!" Surge declared, right before the two of them charged forward.

Ash immediately pressed the offensive, starting with a straight Power-Up Punch, before following up with a few more. Visquez saw the attack coming and quickly blocked the attack, the force managing to push her back a bit, the Raichu noting the force behind the blows. This kid had potential. Give him a few years and he might just be something. Well, not that she was going to make that easy for him.

Seeing another blow coming, she quickly shifted her position and grabbed hold of his arm and twisted it, causing Ash to lose momentum, and stumble to regain balance. Visquez moved to twist his arm behind his back, but he managed to think quickly and lash out with a kick to her leg, forcing her to let go and allowing him to fall to the ground and quickly roll back onto his feet.

Visquez also quickly regained her balance, before electricity sparked around her, and gathered to her tail, which coalesced into a ball, which she jumped and spun in the air, flinging the Electro Ball at Ash, who moved quickly and used a Shadow Claw to coat his arm in the energy and deflect the attack, sending it flying into a nearby wall, though he winced when he felt the tingly feeling on his arm. "Okay...this is definitely gonna be a problem," he muttered with a wince.

"A bit late to realize that now," Visquez smirked, before going into a boxer stance, electricity sparking along her arms before she surged forward and started her own attack with a series of Thunder Punches.

Ash grit his teeth and quickly moved back and shifted his position, wanting to avoid getting hit as much as he could. "What's the matter? Didn't you say you were ready earlier?" Visquez taunted, hoping to provoke him.

"Yeah well ready doesn't mean I like getting electrocuted," Ash growled, narrowly avoiding another strike...before he noticed an opening and lashed out with a Low Kick, knocking Visquez's leg out from under her, and while she was in mid-fall, he slammed his palm into her, sending her tumbling back with a Force Palm.

Visquez rolled on the ground, but quickly got to her feet, wincing a bit as she fingered where he'd landed the hit, but quickly regained her smirk. "Not bad. Guess I've gotta get serious with you," she said, charging up electricity and punching forward, releasing a Thundershock right at him.

Ash's eyes widened, to which he quickly rolled out of the way, narrowly evading the attack...before Visquez followed up with a second one, this time one he couldn't dodge. Ash shouted in pain when the attack hit, pushing him back, and leaving him panting a bit. "Okay...that one hurt…" he groaned a bit.

"I'd say you could quit now, but I think I know what you'd say to that," Visquez said.

"You got that right. I'm not going down THAT easily," Ash said, but even as he said that he was thinking how best to counter attack. It seemed his expectations were coming true. Fighting head on wasn't going to work too well. He needed to make an opening, so pushing his legs to move, he triggered a Double Team, making after images of himself, but Visquez just smirked and triggered Electro Ball again, launching several of them into the air, before they started to fall. As they did, she jumped into the air, and actually kicked each of them, sending them into different directions, taking out his copies one by one, but he managed to break the movement midway and get close to her, aiming another Power-Up Punch at her, forcing her to block as she was pushed away.

Ash kept up the pursuit and followed up with a Shadow Claw, which Visquez quickly charged up her Thunder Punch again and countered, both attacks clashing...before Ash suddenly disappeared into a puff of smoke, revealing a Substitute. "What?!" Visquez gasped in surprise, before her instincts flared up, and she noticed some movement coming around behind her. Acting quickly, she charged up electricity and called down a Thunder move, right as Ash went for a Force Palm. Both attacks hit at the same time, sending both of them flying away from each other in pain.

Visquez groaned as she stumbled to her feet. That caught her by surprise, so she didn't have time to brace for the attack, so she took quite a bit of damage there. Even so she felt she could still keep going.

Ash also groaned as he got up, his entire body tingling from the electricity. He pushed himself onto his feet, but as he did he realized he'd messed up. Rather than the type of Substitute he'd been aiming for, he'd ended up performing a normal one...and with that he'd cut his strength in half. He tried to keep fighting, but as he tried to take a step, a mix of the battle so far, and the after effects of the move kicked in, caused his leg to give out, making him fall to the ground again, and this time he couldn't get back up.

Surge went over to him to see his condition, and quickly realized that the Riolu wasn't getting back up. "The challenger is unable to continue! The match goes to Visquez!" he declared, bringing cheers from the other members of the Gym, while Visquez let out a small sigh of relief, before going over to Ash and offering him a hand up.

"You put up a good fight. I'll be glad to take you on again anytime," she grinned.

"Glad to know I at least did that much," Ash chuckled wryly before accepting the hand and getting pulled up. "I'll win next time though."

"Heh, then I look forward to the game you bring next time," Visquez nodded, fully believing he'd come back stronger than before when he was ready.

XXXX

"Owww…" Ash groaned as the Chansey applied some salve onto the light bruises he had, followed by a few bandages on sections where he'd taken some worse hits. After his loss at the Gym, he and his team had gone to the Pokemon Center for a checkup. Needless to say, they'd need a bit of time to recover.

Wooper, Bulbasaur, and Pikachu were all on nearby smaller beds for Pokemon their size, each of them getting their own treatments.

"I'm guessing the strategy didn't go so well…" Misty sweat dropped as she and Brock were in the room as well, having heard that Ash lost his Gym Match. Nearby Charmander was looking at his friends worriedly, but they all assured him they were okay.

"A mix of Visquez being strong, and me messing up Substitute," Ash admitted, wincing a bit. "Gonna have to rework my strategy….and maybe see if I can find a Pokemon that can learn Rock Moves," he said. "Did NOT expect her to pull out an Emolga."

"Yeah, can't blame you there," Brock sweat dropped. "Electric and Flying is a pretty rare type combination."

"Well, first things first you need to heal up. You're not gonna be beating anyone if you don't let those injuries heal up," Misty said.

"I've only got a few bruises. I didn't exactly break any bones," Ash said a bit dryly. "But thanks for the concern."

"Glad to see you're not taking the loss too hard," Brock chuckled.

"Well, my Parents kinda drilled it into my head that when you're going to face Gym Leaders, give it your all and hope for the best, but be ready for the worst, since they're not part of the selection process for nothing," Ash sighed.

"You'd be surprised how few realize that," Misty sweat dropped.

"Yeah...speaking from experience, I've had a few Trainers and Fighters who came in, and acted like they had no idea what was going on when they lost," Brock sweat dropped as well.

"I see…" Ash sweat dropped at that one. Seriously, the Pokemon League, no matter which Region, was supposed to be for the upper tier Trainers and Fighters. Not just ANYONE could beat all the Gyms and enter. "At any rate, first things first…"

"First things first you and your team need to rest and recover," came Nurse Joy's voice as she looked at him with a frown.

"Of course, we'll make sure he gets all the rest he needs first before he does anything," Brock immediately said, his expression lovestruck as usual.

"Well...that's one way to end a discussion," Misty sweat dropped.

"But she is right I guess," Ash sweat dropped as well, a sentiment shared by his Pokemon...and Charmander.

XXXX

The group took a couple of days to fully recover, and with the help of the facilities in the Pokemon Center, it was a fairly fast process. During the time, they'd gotten a basic plan together, so next was finding a place to implement it. That was why they were talking to Nurse Joy as Ash was checking out. "Nurse Joy, mind if we ask a question?" Ash asked.

"Of course. What can I help you with?" Nurse Joy smiled.

"Do you know anywhere nearby we can find Rock Pokemon?" Ash asked.

"Rock Pokemon?" Nurse Joy mused, thinking about it. "I'm sorry, but I can't think of any places near Vermillion you'd be able to easily find Rock Pokemon," Nurse Joy apologized. "This IS the City of Electric Pokemon after all."

Ash's expression fell a bit at that one. "There goes that plan," he grumbled. "Guess we'll have to think of another way to counter Emolga…" he sighed.

"...but if it's Rock-type Moves you want then I know somewhere you can go," Nurse Joy added, causing them to stop short.

"...kinda wish you'd said that in one shot, but thank you. That'd help just as well yeah," Ash said a bit dryly with a sweat drop.

Nurse Joy just chuckled awkwardly at that one.

XXXX

The group was soon outside Vermillion City, searching for the entrance of the location called Diglett's Cave. As the name suggested, it was a cave that was dug out by some of the many Diglett (and probably a few Dugtrio) that populated Kanto.

"Okay, before we find the Cave and go in, just to make sure, everyone got their equipment?" Brock asked to which Misty pulled out a small list.

"Okay...hardhats?" she asked, to which everyone pulled out hardhats, Ash even pulling out two smaller ones for Pikachu and Charmander. "Check," she nodded. "Flashlights?" Again, everyone pulled out some flashlights...and Charmander breathed a bit of fire. "Check," she nodded again. "Pickaxe and shovel?" Once again, everyone pulled out the stuff...and Pikachu and Charmander even had small sized ones. "Okay, that's everything," Misty nodded, putting away the list.

"Now we just need to find the tunnel, get a Diglett, and we can start training again," Ash nodded, Pikachu looking extra motivated, something that Charmander smiled a bit at.

While they were recovering in the Pokemon Center, Charmander had kept an eye on things...partially because of his own experiences on what happened if anyone lost. However, rather than what happened in his memories, Ash had been nothing but supportive of his Pokemon. Oh sure, he pointed out where they'd made mistakes, but it was in a way that was constructive rather than berating anyone. He even noted where he made mistakes and worked on how to fix them.

This proved effective, as the others just became even more motivated, especially Pikachu who seemed determined to win their eventual rematch. It seemed he'd taken losing to Raichu, even after Raichu had been fighting Bulbasaur and Wooper, quite personally. A determination that was so strong, that when the topic came to suggest they try finding a Thunderstone for Pikachu to use...Pikachu vehemently rejected the idea. Pikachu was going to win, but he was going to win as a Pikachu, and that was final.

Needless to say Ash had been surprised at that, but soon nodded and consented to Pikachu's wish, while the others supported Pikachu's decision...so unlike how things had been with his former Trainer.

Charmander's musings were cut short as Misty noticed the entrance to the cave they were looking for, and with that the group soon made their way to it and entered. The inside was borderline pitch black, the light only able to penetrate certain areas before being swallowed in the darkness of the cave. Honestly, it would have been scarier...if not for the rhythmic sounds of Diglett and Dugtrio that made the Cave their home.

"Diglett dig, diglett dig…"

"Trio, trio trio!"

"Diglett dig, diglett dig…"

"Trio, trio trio!"

"Yep, this is DEFINITELY the right place," Brock chuckled lightly, before he called out Zubat to help them navigate a bit, while they also quickly put on their hardhats and switched on their light sources.

The cave was actually rather expansive, making it home to a variety of Pokemon, to which they lowered the intensity of the lights they were using so as to avoid disturbing them too much...and keeping an eye on the ground too. Wouldn't want to accidentally step on and no doubt anger any of the diggers.

Even though the cave was apparently a shortcut between two notable Routes, it wasn't exactly a commonly used one, no doubt because of how dark it was. If one wasn't prepared they could easily get lost, or worse. Though as it turned out, lots of careless people DID go by. Why?

"Hey, I found a packet of Ethers," Misty said, before focusing the light on her find. "And they're still good too, not even opened."

"I found a bunch of Pokeballs, there's even a Great Ball in here," Ash said, holding up a hand full of compressed Pokeballs, all empty too.

"Hey, it's a Leaf Stone. What are the odds?" Brock chuckled holding up the Evolution Stone he'd found.

In short, they'd picked up some decent loot leftover by others who'd gone through this way. Once that little detour was done, they set their sights on the real prize.

"Huh...they look so peaceful just digging about…" Misty frowned.

"Yeah...it kinda makes me feel bad to take one of them away…" Ash frowned.

"Well, there's bound to be at least one of them that wants to leave, so I'm sure we can find it if we look hard enough," Brock mused, while Pikachu had gone over to the Diglett and tried to get their attention. While they did acknowledge him, most of them immediately went back to their own business, causing Pikachu's ears to droop a bit. Still, he agreed with the three of them that it wasn't right to take away a Pokemon that was content where they lived and clearly had no interest in battling.

Charmander couldn't help but smile a bit at the consideration they were showing. Any one of the Diglett could have helped Ash, but he was willing to look for one that actually would want to travel with him. The search continued for a while, till finally Pikachu found a Diglett that stopped digging to talk to him, and after a short conversation, Pikachu brightened and pointed at the Diglett.

"You're saying this Diglett wants to come with us?" Ash said, to which Pikachu nodded, and the Diglett trilled happily. "That's great," he smiled as he kneeled down to be a bit closer to the Diglett's level. "So...do you want to come along, or do you want to Battle first?"

The Diglett thought about it, before going up to him and nuzzling against him. Ash chuckled at that. "Okay okay, I get it," he said before taking out an empty Pokeball and holding it out to Diglett. Diglett didn't hesitate to press the button and was soon sucked into the Pokeball, followed by a 'Ding' as it was an instant capture, right before it teleported away as he already had 6 Pokemon.

"Mission accomplished then," Brock chuckled.

"In that case let's get out of here. Starting to miss the sun," Misty chuckled lightly, earning a few nods from everyone.

XXXX

"Diglett, the Mole Pokemon. Diglett is a Ground-Type Pokemon native to the Kanto Region. Diglett are known to gather in large numbers and dig through the earth. Many natural tunnels and caves are thought to be made by these little Ground-type Pokemon. When close to the surface their movements can be seen via the mound trails they leave.

"Yep, sounds about right," Ash chuckled as he let Dexter scan Diglett. It was a few hours later and the sun was already starting to set, the group now in a park inside Vermillion City after a quick trip to the Pokemon Center to pick up Diglett, having sent Pidgeotto to Professor Oak in exchange for the time being.

"Okay, so you're a boy, and...huh...looks like you know some pretty strong Moves too," he noted as he saw the other stats and was quite impressed, to which Diglett made a motion that was roughly his equivalent of puffing out his chest.

"And I've got some TMs Diglett can use to learn Rock Moves," Brock said.

"Yep," Ash nodded. "Hope you're ready Diglett, cause we've got some serious training to do."

Diglett seemed quite pleased at that one, he wanted to see the world and get stronger too.

XXXX

And done. Yep, Ash failed to win the Gym Challenge in one shot, but like with Brock, that didn't stop him from getting back up and trying again. He saw what he did wrong in the first attempt, and went to work on fixing it.

Also while it's a bit late, but Happy Chinese New Year to everyone who celebrates it. Hope this year will be prosperous for all of you.