And we're back with another chapter. This time it's a cool down chapter after the seriousness of the previous arc. A necessary break before the party can continue on their way.
XXXX
The night was calm as the city rested easily after the aftermath of the recent crisis. However, not everyone was able to enjoy the peace.
Ash let out a loud gasp as he shot out of bed. His eyes darted around the room quickly before he started to calm down as he remembered where he was: inside of his room in the Pokemon Center. "Pikapi…" came Pikachu's voice as he turned to see his partner looking at him worriedly. Despite what just happened he smiled a bit and patted him.
"I'm okay, Pikachu. Just…another bad dream," he sighed at the end. After they managed to resolve the situation, and more importantly, after the adrenaline finally wore off…everyone had hit the ground like a sack of bricks. Fortunately with the Tower restored to normal it wasn't hard for the rescue teams to find them and get them back into town. They'd been quickly rushed to the Pokemon Center (again), though when they'd woken up again thankfully the Doctors gave them good news as their injuries were mostly superficial in nature. It seemed their luck had really held out, especially considering they were only out for a few hours to almost a day. Needless to say, physically they would be just fine.
That was yesterday.
By now it was clear that while they would be okay physically…mentally was another issue. Now that all the adrenaline had worn off…despite their success, the horrors they saw didn't just go away. All four of them had been waking up with awful night terrors for the last day or so. And from the looks of it, it wasn't likely to stop anytime soon.
Ash sighed as he lay down again to try and get some sleep, Pikachu moving over to curl up next to him. He smiled a little at his partner as he tried to sleep. Hopefully this time he'd get some sleep before morning.
XXXX
The next morning rolled by, and it saw the group gathered at the dining hall, with Ash being the last to come. "Morning, how was last night?" he asked, yawning a bit. He was dressed in his jeans and black shirt, his hat and jacket left in his room as was his backpack, not that he was in the mood to really look his best on account of the bags under his eyes from the lack of good sleep.
The response he got was three deadpan looks, as all three of his friends had clear bags under their eyes, all of them dressed a bit more casually than normal, though Misty and Gary more or less were dressed like normal save their bags.
"...fair point," Ash said as he and Pikachu had sweat drops before he took a seat on the table. "Think they can help us with the problems?" he asked.
"Well, I managed to chat with the doctors yesterday. They're planning to recommend some psychiatrists to hopefully help us with the issue…" Gary sighed. "
"Hopefully they can help," Misty agreed. "Though…are there any of those around here? I know Lavender Town is a notable place in Kanto, but it's still called a 'Town' for a reason," she frowned. It was a common understanding that generally speaking when a settlement was called a 'Town', they would be both smaller and generally less…equipped…than a proper City.
"Well considering everything, I wouldn't be surprised if we're transferred to Saffron sooner than later," Brock mused.
"Speaking of Saffron, how's Sabrina doing?" Ash asked, having not heard from the Gym Leader in the last couple days.
"She's…working through what happened too," Brock sighed, having been able to talk to her for a little bit in the last couple days. "Its been rough for everyone…"
"You're telling us. We didn't spend THAT long in there and we're already feeling like shit," Gary groaned.
"Here's hoping that psychiatrist can actually help then," Ash groaned.
"In the meantime, we should think about what we can do. Not much point in wasting however long it'll take for us to have a clean bill of health," Brock mused.
"I guess we might as well try and practice a bit. Would probably help us get our minds off of things," Misty mused. "The Doctors DID say we were okay physically, right?"
"Yeah, that's what they said about me," Gary nodded.
"Same here," Ash and Brock nodded as well.
"So that's an option then," Misty chuckled. "Though…we should probably make sure its okay first."
XXXX
As it turned out, it was in fact alright, as due to their clean bill of physical health, and manageable mental health, there was no actual reason to keep them inside the Pokemon Center. The only request she had was that they'd be back by a certain time, and that they not do anything reckless or stupid while they were out. Even if they were healed, it was possible for some injuries to open up again if pushed too far.
With that warning, they were soon out in town, the general feeling of Lavender Town much more…relaxed compared to how it had been since they'd arrived. It was a nice feeling seeing the town returning to normal. Even so, they went about looking for a place they could spend some time, get their minds off of what had been weighing them down recently, and as Trainer-Fighters…one of the best was naturally a local gym.
While it wasn't quite as big as the gyms in the cities, it had everything they needed, from the usual gym equipment, to even an area specifically for sparring. Needless to say, it definitely pleased them, Misty in particular wasting no time in making use of the pool. She wasn't the only Water-type using said pool either.
"Well, she's gonna be preoccupied for a while," Brock chuckled. "I think I'll hit the weights for a while. What are you two planning on doing?"
"Didn't really think about it until now, but since we're here…" Gary smirked a bit as he looked at Ash. "How about we have a match? It'll be our tie breaker," he said.
Ash grinned "You're on, and of course, I'm gonna win!"
"We'll see about that Ashy-boy." Gary shot back with a smirk.
With that agreed, the two of them were soon in the sparring area, with them being allowed to use the ring which resembled a boxing ring. With a bit of explanation from the staff they stepped into their respective sides of the ring, both of them dressed in boxer shorts with some bandages wrapped around their hands and feet for a bit of protection.
"So let's get the rules straight. We'll be doing a three one on one Pokemon Battle before we go for the Fighter round. Any objections?" Gary asked.
"Fine by me," Ash nodded, right as Gary picked his first Pokemon.
"I'll start with this guy!" Gary said as he threw his Pokeball which popped open to reveal a Pidgeotto, but unlike the normal Pidgeotto this one had feathers with a more greenish tint to them as well as a head plumage that was colored yellow. It also sparkled when it emerged from its Pokeball making it clear it was a Shiny Pokemon.
"Wow, you got a Shiny," Ash whistled.
"Yeah, I got pretty lucky when I found this guy. Of course I'm not just raising him for his good looks either," Gary smirked.
"If you were, I'd ask who are you and what did you do to Gary Oak," Ash snorted before picking his own Pokemon. "Let's get some training, Charmander!" he said as Charmander emerged from his Pokeball.
"Heh, I know I saw that one before, but I'm still impressed you managed to get a Charmander," Gary said.
"Not that I'm complaining, but I kind of wish I got Charmander on…better terms, and let's leave it at that," Ash frowned a bit, which caused Gary to frown as well but nod all the same. Not every Pokemon found a good Trainer from the get go after all, that or they weren't doing well in the wild. Whichever it was, he wasn't going to pry.
"Well then, let's get this started!" Gary said with an eager smirk.
"Let's," Ash said, matching the smirk.
(Play 'Kanto Trainer Battle' theme)
"Let's start with this! Charmander, Ember!" Ash ordered.
Charmander opened his mouth and fired off the attack, but Pidgeotto didn't stand idly by and immediately moved to evade the attack.
"Pidgeotto, blow those flames right back with Gust!" Gary barked.
Pidgeotto didn't need to be told twice as it flapped its wings rapidly and created the strong blast of wind that quickly overpowered Charmander's Ember, and soon hit the lizard, pushing him back.
"Hang in there Charmander! Dig yourself in with your claws!" Ash shouted as he too braced against the wind.
Charmander did just that, quickly using his claws to hold his ground against the winds, allowing him to focus on Pidgeotto who kept up the Gust, but eventually his wings were unable to sustain the attack for too long. The moment the Gust started to die down…
"Now, use Flamethrower!" Ash ordered.
Charmander waited for the winds to die down before opening his mouth and fired the powerful blast of flames. Pidgeotto tried to evade, but it was unable to fully avoid the attack, resulting in a small shout of pain as the flames caught it in its right wing.
"Keep it up! Scratch!" Ash shouted, keeping up the pace. Charmander didn't argue as he charged forward and struck Pidgeotto who was still trying to regain their balance with his claws, dealing further damage.
"Not letting it end THAT easily! Wing Attack!" Gary shouted, triggering Pidgeotto to focus on Charmander, and right as there was an opening, lash out with a wing, striking Charmander and forcing him back. Even so, the slight flinch that Pidgeotto had after that told Gary that his Pokemon wasn't in good shape. The Flamethrower had done more damage than he'd thought. He'd have to be careful about having Pidgeotto use its wings more than it needed to.
"Quick Attack! Don't give it room to breathe!" Gary ordered, to which Pidgeotto darted forward, striking Charmander who was still reeling from the Wing Attack, before it took to the air and turned around, going for another Quick Attack, leaving Charmander to get knocked about as the motion was repeated more than a few times.
Ash grit his teeth as he thought quickly how to fight back. Charmander's fire would definitely help, but as it was it wouldn't do much good if Pidgeotto was moving too fast for him to hit it. Still, there had to be a way to stop Pidgeotto. As he thought about it, he noticed some embers from Charmander's tail…and an idea hit him. "Charmander, use Ember and do it while spinning!"
Charmander…had no idea what Ash was going for, but in this current situation, he was willing to try anything really. Opening his mouth he fired the Ember before pulling into a spin, spreading the attack all over as the Ember attack was sent spreading through the air, even the two Trainers having to be careful not to get hit by the attack as well.
Needless to say, Pidgeotto was forced to break off its attack, frantically trying to evade the flames spreading around the ring. However, that was exactly what Ash was hoping for.
"Now! Flamethrower!" Ash shouted.
Charmander didn't need much more prompting, and immediately aimed right at Pidgeotto and opened fire. This time the bird couldn't get out of the way in time, and was hit full on. The flames continued for a moment before Charmander cut them off…leaving a rather singed Pidgeotto who fell to the ground, eyes swirly.
"Alright! You did it Charmander!" Ash grinned as he congratulated his Pokemon. Charmander also looked very pleased with himself, having beaten an opponent that was at a higher evolution level than he was.
Gary frowned at the sight, but sighed. "Great work Pidgeotto, take a break!" he said as he called his Pokemon back. "Not bad, you've definitely been getting stronger," he smirked.
"That was just round 1. I imagine you'd be the same," Ash said as he returned Charmander since Charmander's turn was over, before he picked his next Pokemon. "Now then, let's keep going! Your turn, Nidorino!"
Nidorino soon appeared, eager for a battle.
"A Nidorino, huh?" Gary mused, before smirking a bit. "Hoping to follow in your Dad's footsteps?" he jokingly asked.
"Well I DID consider that, but no, that's not the only reason I got Nidorino," Ash snorted. "So what are you gonna bring to the table?"
"Oh just this guy," Gary chuckled before throwing his next Pokeball, revealing a Growlithe. "Let's see how Nidorino handles him."
"Looks like we'll find out! Let's do this!" Ash grinned as the two Pokemon charged forward.
The opener of this round had the two Pokemon acting on their own initiative, biting and striking at each other, but ultimately ending in a bit of a deadlock between the two. "You're eager today!" Gary smirked at the sight. "Well let's give them a taste of their own medicine! Ember!"
At the range they were at, Growlithe didn't even have to aim, firing Ember at near point blank, which caused Nidorino to shout in pain as he was forced back from the sudden flames.
"Nidorino!" Ash gasped in alarm, but Nidorino quickly shook off the flames a bit, giving Ash a quick confirmation he was okay despite the slight singes. "Alright then, hit him with your Poison Sting!"
Nidorino's horn glowed as he charged forward. Growlithe saw the attack coming and tried to evade, but Nidorino was a little faster, and managed to nail him in the leg. Growlithe growled in pain as he jumped back, but when he landed, he was a bit shaky due to the poison he'd just been injected with.
"Hang in there Growlithe! You're stronger than a little poison!" Gary encouraged his Pokemon, and judging by how Growlithe quickly shook his head and barked and affirmative, he was in full agreement too. Even so Gary knew he couldn't let the fight go on for too long. "Use Fire Fang!"
Growlithe's mouth ignited as the flames took on the form of fangs, the canine charging forward at Nidorino with fangs quite literally bared.
"If that's how he's gonna fight, then we'll meet him head on! Double Kick!" Ash ordered.
Nidorino didn't hesitate to charge forward, his hind legs glowing as he leaped forward, fully intending to meet Growlithe head on. And meet him head on he did. Growlithe sunk his Fire Fang into Nidorino's side, right as the Double Kick made contact with Growlithe's gut. The two Pokemon shouted in pain as they were forcefully sent flying away from each other, painfully skidding to a halt near their trainers.
"Are you alright Nidorino/Growlithe?!" was the general shout from both Trainers, with the two Pokemon stubbornly staggering to their feet. It was clear they weren't content to just let it end like that. However, at the same time it seemed they'd taken quite a bit of damage from that last bout, and were on their last legs…especially Growlithe with the fact he was swaying as the poison was still messing with him.
"Looks like this is the last attack," Ash frowned before smiling a bit. Despite it all, he was having fun in this battle, and he could tell Nidorino was too. "Finish this! Horn Attack!" he ordered.
Nidorino charged forward, intending to end this round…but Gary and Growlithe weren't out of tricks.
"Time for an all or nothing! Growlithe, use Flare Blitz!" Gary shouted.
"Wait, what?!" Ash gasped. Flare Blitz was an advanced Fire-type move. Did Gary actually manage to teach his Growlithe that move already?
As it turned out…he had, seeing as Growlithe's body immediately ignited, before he charged forward, the two Pokemon meeting head on as they clashed. A clash Nidorino ultimately lost as he was overwhelmed, Growlithe hitting him dead on with the attack and sending Nidoran crashing back as he skidded to a halt, eyes swirly.
"Ah! Are you alright, Nidorino?" Ash gasped, but soon sighed in relief when he got a weak sound of confirmation. "You were great out there. We'll get you to the Pokemon Center after this," he smiled as he returned his Pokemon, looking up just in time to see Gary doing the same seeing as Growlithe was swaying more than before. "Didn't expect the Flare Blitz. Glad to see you weren't taking it easy either."
"Heh, we've fought enough times for me to know if I did anything less, you'd overtake me. Not happening," Gary smirked a bit at the end.
"We'll about that," Ash chuckled as they selected the last Pokemon they'd use for this match, and Ash already knew who he'd put his hopes on. "Ready buddy?" he asked.
Pikachu's ears perked up as he eagerly jumped into the ring. He'd been waiting to hear those words.
"Guess we both had the same idea," Gary said, as he looked at the Pokeball he'd grabbed…and threw it anyway, as a Wartortle emerged from it.
"Wartortle?" Ash blinked before he nodded. "I get it. So you picked Squirtle that day."
"And you ended up with a Pikachu. Don't think the type advantage is gonna help you here," Gary smirked a little.
"Wouldn't plan on relying on that! Let's do this!" Ash said and the battle was on.
"Don't give Pikachu any room to breathe! Water Gun!" Gary ordered.
Wartortle's cheeks immediately puffed up before he fired a blast of water at Pikachu who was hit dead on, the water pushing him back considerably.
"That's not gonna stop Pikachu! Thunderbolt now!" Ash countered.
Pikachu's cheeks sparked before the electric mouse let loose the powerful attack. However, Wartortle wasn't sitting idly either as the Water-type was quick to evade the attack. Even so Pikachu wasn't just firing wildly as he focused his attack, aiming better and on the third shot, Wartortle couldn't completely dodge it. Wartortle winced as he hit the ground, having taking some electrical damage. Even so he quickly got back to his feet, not intending to show weakness.
Gary saw that and frowned a little, but he didn't pick Wartortle without a plan. "We won't let them get any more hits! Water Pulse!" he quickly ordered.
Wartortle's cheeks puffed up again before he released another blast of water, but unlike before this one took on the form of a disk of water. At first it was small, but it rapidly grew as it flew through the air, and with the relatively small area they were in, Pikachu didn't have enough room to evade it. As such the disk of water caught him mid-dodge, knocking him back.
"Pikachu!" Ash gasped, not just because of seeing him get hit, but also because he knew the potential side effect of Water Pulse. True enough, while Pikachu did get back on his feet, the mouse looked unsteady on his feet. A clear sign of confusion.
"Looks like this match is mine! Wartortle, use Rapid Spin!" Gary grinned as Wartortle immediately pulled into his shell and spun rapidly, intending to finish this match as soon as possible.
"Dodge it, Pikachu!" Ash ordered, even as he knew the odds of Pikachu managing in this state was slim.
Wartortle was flying rapidly, aiming to knock Pikachu clear out of the ring. Pikachu swayed on his feet, Wartortle getting closer…and at the last minute Pikachu shifted…and somehow bent out of the way, Wartortle flying right past him.
"Wait, what?" was the reaction from both Trainers at what just happened.
Wartortle also couldn't believe that just happened, but he quickly adjusted his course and tried again…only to be met with the same result. Then again. And again.
As it turns out, apparently Pikachu was a natural at drunken style. That or his luck was just REALLY good considering how he was swaying and bending out of the way of each attack.
"...hey Ash, did you…?" Gary morbidly started, but stopped when he saw Ash furiously shaking his head.
"No way, I never taught him how to do that, and for the record, how would I possibly even teach him that? I'm only 14!" Ash gasped, seeing as aside from the fact you'd have to be a sicko to purposely get a Pokemon drunk, it was literally illegal for him to own alcohol right now.
"... think Pikachu got into Grandpa's cabinet while he was still at the lab?" Gary wondered as they watched Pikachu STILL managing to dodge Wartortle's attempts at ramming into him.
"...somehow I can imagine that happening…not that I'm ever gonna ask," Ash sweat dropped.
The morbid interest continued for a few moments…before Gary remembered that was his Pokemon who was failing to hit Pikachu. "Wait a minute, this is no time to be impressed! Wartortle, use Water Gun and wake him up!"
Wartortle didn't need to be told twice, being QUITE fed up with dealing with a drunken electric type, before jumping into the air and firing the Water Gun. This time Pikachu couldn't drunkenly dodge, and thus was doused by the water. When the flow stopped, Pikachu was shaking his head to get the water off…and looking like he'd just woken up from a daze. "Pika?" he blinked, wondering what just happened.
"Glad to have you back, buddy," Ash chuckled a bit wryly. Pikachu seemed a bit confused at his choice of wording, but he could tell they were still in the battle, so he opted to focus on Wartortle. "Quick Attack!"
Pikachu immediately darted forward, Wartortle firing Water Gun again, but with the extra speed, Pikachu was evading the shots and soon rammed into Wartortle, sending him skidding back.
"If that's how they want to play, then use Aqua Tail!" Gary ordered.
Wartortle's tail started glowing as water swirled around it, before Wartortle charged forward and struck Pikachu with the tail, knocking him back. Pikachu winced as he skidded to a halt, but quickly got back up again, both Pokemon panting a bit.
"Tail for a tail then! Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" Ash ordered as Pikachu's tail glowed and gained the metallic glint. Both Pokemon charged at each other, their tails clashing several times as they fought to gain an upper hand. However, the final result was decided in one final clash that had both able to get past each other's defense and strike at each other with their respective Moves.
The two Pokemon landed on the ground, nobody moving…before both lost their balance and fell to the ground.
The two trainers blinked in shock "That… huh… well, you've really been training Pikachu well." Gary said after a few moments "I didn't expect them to draw like that." he said, taking out Wartortle's Pokeball and returning him.
"Thanks." Ash said, going over to Pikachu and picking him "You did the same with Wartortle. He's pretty good, and faster than I thought he would have been at first."
"Well he is my Starter. I've had the most time to work with him naturally," Gary chuckled. "But enough about that. Looks like its you and me once again," he smirked a bit.
"And this time I'm gonna win," Ash said, meeting the smirk.
"In your dreams," Gary said as once Ash made sure Pikachu was comfortable outside the ring, the two of them were facing off against each other.
At first neither of them made a move, even as they held their stances, both sizing each other up. Both combatants were tense, before seemingly at a silent signal, both surged forward. Ash was the first to make a move, going for Gary's side with a kick, to which Gary quickly reacted and blocked with his arm, quickly forcing Ash to pull back a bit.
However, in the split second Ash needed to regain his footing, Gary surged forward and threw a punch, nailing Ash in the cheek, forcing him to stagger back. Gary didn't lose the momentum however as he followed up with another punch and another, managing to land several hits, before Ash regained his footing and blocked the next strike, and quickly followed up with a knee to Gary's gut.
Gary let out a painful gasp as he was forced back, clutching his gut while Ash quickly regained his balance, rubbing his sore cheek and wherever he'd been hit a few times. "Glad to see you haven't let up either," Ash smirked even if he winced a little.
"I'd say the same for you," Gary winced as well. Both of them however quickly shrugged off the pain and resumed their battle. Ash surged forward, arm glowing as he lashed out with a Force Palm, but Gary wasn't about to be caught off guard, as his right fist ignited and soon countered the Force Palm with a Fire Punch, the two Moves meeting head on as the impact created a small burst of wind, followed by the backlash both felt, forcing them to break the initial clash, both reflexively holding their right arms.
Ash however was first to push through the pain as he aimed for a kick at Gary's right side, intending to take advantage of their recent clash, and nailed him in the side. The Growlithe was thrown off his feet and onto the ground from the kick, Ash quickly moving in for another strike with his left arm, but Gary was faster, rolling out of the way as Ash's strike hit the floor, before Gary quickly shifted his position to get some momentum, and delivered a sweep kick, knocking Ash off his feet.
Ash grunted as he hit the ground, while Gary took the opening to get on his feet, flames escaping from his mouth as he aimed and fired a blast of fire at Ash. Ash saw the attack and quickly rolled out of the way, narrowly avoiding the flames. Thinking fast, he charged up and fired a Dark Pulse at Gary once he had an opening, forcing the Growlithe to roll out of the way and giving himself an opening to get back on his feet.
No words were said as the two soon charged at each other again, trading blows and kicks, peppered in with a few Force Palms or blasts of flame that Ash managed to mostly avoid, evident by the singed fur he was now sporting in places. Even so, both of them were going at it, and as evident by the competitive smiles they had, they were enjoying it, even as both of them were looking pretty battered from all the punishment they'd inflicted on each other with each punch, kick, or Move.
Even so as much as they were enjoying this, all good things had to come to an end, especially as both of them were starting to feel the effects of beating they'd just dealt each other. With that in mind, both went in for a decisive strike. Both combatants surged forward, throwing a few punches to try and fake each other out, with each punch being blocked, before at a single moment, both lashed out with one last punch…which by some odd luck happened at exactly the same time, ending with both of them having just cross countered each other, their fists almost comically planted in each other's cheek.
Neither of them moved…before they slowly lost balance and fell to the ground.
(Battle Theme end)
"Damn…looks like it's another Draw," Gary groaned.
"Yeah…how many draws does that make it now?" Ash groaned as well, intending to be rhetorical.
"301," Gary said…which had Ash turning his head towards Gary almost incredulously.
"You actually kept count?" he asked dryly.
"Eh…" Gary shrugged. "Still, that was a good match," he smirked.
"Definitely," Ash chuckled. "Looks like both of us are gonna have our work cut out for us if we're aiming for the top," he said.
"Heh, don't get ahead of yourself. When we do get that far, I'M gonna be the one who gets ahead," Gary said with a challenging smirk.
"We'll see about that," Ash smirked in return, and he would have liked to get up…but both of them found that they were…way too tired to even try going anywhere right now.
"...okay…now this feels kinda awkward…" Gary sweat dropped.
XXXX
And there we go. A bit of cool down, recovery…and a mandatory Rival Battle. Hope you all enjoy, and look forward to the next one.
