The mood was tense in the Celadon City Gym as the two combatants were ready. Ash knew he'd planned and trained for this, but like all his other Gym matches, he knew better than to expect this to be easy. Currently they were standing in an arena inside one of the greenhouses, the various large plants encroaching over the arena, making it feel like they were about to have a match inside of a small jungle.
"Are you ready, Ash?" Erika asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be," Ash nodded.
"Very well then, let's begin. As agreed, both of us will use 3 Pokemon each, though only you may substitute," Erika said, laying out the terms.
"Let's get started then," Ash said as he went for his first Pokeball.
(Play 'Gym Leader Battle')
"I shall begin with Tangela!" Erika declared as she threw her first Pokeball, releasing said Pokemon.
"Pidgeotto, I choose you!" Ash countered, sending out Pidgeotto who took to the air, knowing what she was likely going to be up against.
Of course just to be safe, Ash opted to check Tangela's data. "Tangela, the Vine Pokemon. Tangela is a Grass-type Pokemon native to the Kanto Region. Tangela's entire body is covered in vines, obscuring its true form. These vines act as both defense and offense."
"Tangela, Vine Whip!" Erika ordered, Tangela immediately extending their vines intending to snare Pidgeotto out of the air, but the bird was quick to dodge the initial attack.
"Pidgeotto, Gust!" Ash barked, to which Pidgeotto quickly obeyed, flapping her wings rapidly, generating powerful winds at Tangela, the wind hitting Tangela and threatened to blow them off their feet.
"Ingrain, now!" Erika said quickly, Tangela immediately digging their feet into the ground, anchoring them down against the winds. "Bullet Seed!" she followed up.
Tangela glared at Pidgeotto and opened fire with a barrage of seeds.
Pidgeotto was too busy focusing on creating the wind that she wasn't able to evade in time, taking the attack head on. The force knocked her out of the sky for a bit, but she was able to regain her bearings and remain in the air.
"Hang in there Pidgeotto! Go for a Quick Attack!" Ash shouted.
Pidgeotto quickly steadied herself before surging straight for Tangela, evading several of Tangela's reflexive attempts to strike at her with its Vine Whip and scoring a direct hit thanks to Tangela STILL using Ingrain to maintain their footing.
"Tangela!" Erika gasped as her Pokemon was literally uprooted thanks to the direct hit. However, she focused on the fight and saw that Pidgeotto was coming in for another strike. "Reflect!" she ordered quickly.
Tangela's eyes narrowed before a sheen of energy manifested around Tangela, allowing the small Pokemon to tank the follow up attack from Pidgeotto, forcing her to break off her attack.
"We're not done yet! Wing Attack!" Ash ordered, Pidgeotto obeying as she began wailing on the Grass-type with her wings, and though Reflect helped Tangela resist, it wasn't going to last forever.
Erika frowned and quickly made her choice. "Tangela, Vine Whip, Variant 7!" she ordered.
"Huh?" Ash blinked, a sentiment Pidgeotto shared as she also stopped in surprise for a moment.
In that single moment Tangela's vines tensed before they extended them…in EVERY direction, as for a moment Tangela almost resembled a spiked ball. Thankfully Pidgeotto's eyes caught the movement, allowing her to get some range, but even then she couldn't fully evade the counter attack, cawing in pain as she took several hits in her attempt to get back into the air.
"Are you okay, Pidgeotto?!" Ash gasped, but soon sighed in relief when Pidgeotto let out a reassuring sound. "Okay, that Tangela is tougher than we thought. Let's end this quick! Pidgeotto, Twister!"
"Ingrain!" Erika gasped, Tangela quickly rooting itself into the ground right as Pidgeotto began spinning and creating the twister. Tangela grunted, trying to keep themselves rooted as other small bits of plants were being sucked into the twister that was formed. However, the force was too much, and despite their best efforts, Tangela was uprooted and found themselves caught in the twister. "No, Tangela!" Erika gasped in alarm.
"Aerial Ace!" Ash grinned, knowing Pidgeotto was in a perfect spot to win. Pidgeotto moved fast, darting through the air and into the twister as she struck at Tangela several times, the Grass-type unable to defend and thus took a beating.
However, Tangela wasn't done yet. They refused to lose this round without at least doing more. That was why even without Erika's prompting, they lashed out with Vine Whip after taking another hit, causing Pidgeotto to squawk in surprise as Tangela pulled themselves close…and released Stun Spore.
The effect was instant as Pidgeotto was paralyzed. The problem was…they were both in mid-air, sending both Pokemon crashing to the ground much to the alarm of both trainers. The dust soon cleared…revealing both Pokemon had been knocked out.
"Pidgeotto, return!" Ash gasped, quickly recalling Pidgeotto, making a mental note to get to the Pokemon Center as soon as he could after this. "That was a surprising move."
"It was for me as well," Erika said, recalling Tangela, before she gave her Pokeball a sad smile. "You wanted to help me as much as you could, didn't you? Thank you, Tangela," she said.
Ash smiled a little at that. He wasn't pleased with what happened to Pidgeotto, but he could respect a Pokemon wanting to take one for their team. "Your Pokemon must really care for you to be willing to do something like that," he said.
"They do…but its also why I worry for them sometimes," Erika sighed, putting away Tangela's ball. "At any rate, let's continue. I think we'll both want to give them a checkup after this," she said.
"Right," Ash nodded as they went for their second Pokemon. Remembering the effects of Reflect were probably still on, he made his choice. "Charmander, I choose you!" he said as he called out Charmander who stood at the ready.
"I figured you'd send out a Fire-type sooner or later. Well then, do your best Weepinbell!" she said as she called out her second Pokemon.
"A Weepinbell, huh?" Ash frowned, checking his Pokedex. "Weepinbell, the Flycatcher Pokemon. Weepinbell is a Grass/Poison-type Pokemon native to the Kanto Region. When in the wild, Weepinbell prefer to lie in wait, before ambushing their prey with poisonous Moves."
With that Ash frowned a little. Normally he and Charmander would have the obvious advantage, but considering Erika purposely sent out Weepinbell, she HAD to have a plan. All he could do for now was either end this quickly or feel out her strategy. Narrowing his eyes he made the first move. "Charmander, Flamethrower!"
Charmander immediately opened his mouth and fired a powerful blast of fire at Weepinbell.
"Weepinbell, Vine Whip! Spinarak-Man!" Erika ordered, and immediately extended said Move, snaring one of the branches hanging overhead and quickly pulled themselves up and out of the way of the flames causing Charmander to stop his attack in surprise, quickly trying to locate his opponent again, but by the time he did…
"Acid!" Erika ordered, as Weepinbell got on the branch and quickly aiming, fired the glob of poisonous liquid, hitting him and causing him to shout in pain from the burning feeling.
"Hang in there, Charmander!" Ash gasped in alarm, to which Charmander tried his best to shake off the damage. Good thing too, as he quickly had to evade several Razor Leaves that Weepinbell just shot his way.
Ash growled a bit at the sight. His immediate instinct was to have Charmander use Flamethrower again, but between Weepinbell moving from plant to plant with Vine Whip and the fact they were in a Greenhouse…sure there were probably precautions in place, but he REALLY didn't want to add 'accidental arsonist' on his record…that and he was pretty sure whatever precautions Erika had in place wouldn't agree with Charmander. "Charmander, use Ember. Try and get Weepinbell back on ground level!"
Charmander nodded and fired controlled shots of Ember, trying to hit Weepinbell who was…honestly moving way faster than one of their kind had any right to be able to. Worse, Weepinbell soon peppered him with a variety of moves, namely more Acid and a few Sludge Bombs.
Thankfully the training he'd been going through allowed him to dodge most of it, but the problem was the ones that DID hit. Weepinbell was whittling him down.
Likewise, Ash was thinking furiously as to how best to fight back. With all these attacks one option was for Charmander's Blaze to activate. If that happened maybe they could…
However, before he could finish that thought, he noticed a small smirk on Erika's face and… "Weepinbell, Gastro Acid!" she ordered, Weepinbell firing off the move, which hit Charmander after he'd just finished dodging.
"Crap!" Ash gasped at seeing that.
"You were probably thinking you could rely on Blaze," Erika chuckled a bit. "Unfortunately for you, you're far from the first person to bring a Charmander in," she said.
Ash glared at that, thinking furiously how to work from there. If only there was a way to stop Weepinbell from moving around so much. Or at least get Charmander closer. However, as he thought of that, an idea popped into his head. It wasn't the best idea around, nor would it be what he'd normally call smart…but he was getting desperate, and really…they didn't have much to lose at this point. He was just glad the inspiration for this move happened to be playing while they were on the S. S. Anne, and his Pokemon had gotten to watch it. "Charmander, Flamethrower on the ground, do a Godzilla!"
Charmander looked at his Trainer for a moment, as if asking if he was joking. But when the look on Ash's face told him he was NOT joking, Charmander blinked…and decided what the heck. Quickly evading another series of attacks, Charmander did an about face…before firing a Flamethrower as powerful as he could at the ground in mid-leap. For a moment it did nothing…but the force was able to soon propel him, faster than he normally would be able to by himself, which caught Erika and Weepinbell completely off guard.
"What in the world?!" Erika gasped in surprise, not expecting THIS trick of all things. That moment of surprise was all Charmander needed to get much closer to Weepinbell and then…
"Fire Fang!" Ash ordered. Charmander didn't hesitate and turned around, fires gathering at his mouth, forming burning fangs that he immediately sank into Weepinbell, causing the Pokemon to shout in pain. However, Ash wasn't done. "Point Blank Flamethrower!" Ash shouted. A bit overkill? Maybe it was, but at this point it was their only chance to win this round.
Charmander clearly thought the same as fire built up in his mouth, before he let go of Weepinbell right as he fired the flames. Weepinbell was quickly engulfed by the flames and when it was all over, both Pokemon landed on the ground, Charmander just barely on his feet, while Weepinbell hit the ground with a slight 'thud', eyes swirly as they were clearly out.
"Oh my! Return, Weepinbell!" Erika said quickly, calling back her Pokemon. "That was certainly unexpected," she said, impressed.
"Well you got us first with the Spinarak-Man copy," Ash snorted a bit.
"True, but I could tell you thought of that move on the fly. An adaptive style will serve you well in the League," Erika praised. "Still, let's see if you can think of a way to counter my favorite Pokemon," she smirked. "I'm counting on you Gloom!" she said as she threw her final Pokeball, as Gloom emerged from it.
"Had a feeling you'd use this one," Ash frowned, checking his Pokedex once again. "Gloom, the Weed Pokemon. Gloom is a Grass/Poison dual type Pokemon native to the Kanto Region, and is the evolved form of Oddish. Generally docile Pokemon, Gloom are known to release a foul odor when threatened. Inhalation of this odor may cause fainting for some."
"Uh…" Ash winced at the Pokedex entry, especially as Pikachu read as well…and the mouse immediately ran to a safer distance. Ash gave his partner a dry look even if he didn't blame him.
Erika blinked…before she realized why he was worried. "Oh dear, that WOULD be a problem," she winced before she quickly called for one of her assistants who came back with a gas mask for canine Pokemorphs. "Not to worry though, we always stock these for any challengers with sensitive noses," she said.
"Thanks, I think I'd be hard pressed to win a Badge if I'm bowled over by Gloom too," Ash sweat dropped as he accepted the gas mask. "Don't suppose my Pokemon can have some too?"
Erika chuckled. "Sorry, we don't have THAT many of them. Besides, that would count as an unfair advantage."
"Eh, worth a shot," Ash shrugged, before looking at Charmander. "Charmander, can you keep going?" he asked, knowing Charmander had taken quite a beating. However, the response he got made it clear Charmander still wanted to keep going. "Alright, let's win this," Ash nodded…before putting on the gas mask. "Hit Gloom with a Flamethrower!"
"Energy Ball!" Erika quickly countered, Gloom creating said ball before throwing it at the incoming Flamethrower, the two moves meeting and the Energy Ball exploding, canceling out the Flamethrower. The ensuing smoke briefly forced Charmander to stop, but in that brief moment…
"Gloom gloom! Glooooom!"
A noxious smell quickly filled the immediate area, which hit Charmander's nose with what may as well have been the olfaction equivalent of a speeding truck. The end result…was obvious.
"Charmander, return!" Ash gasped as Charmander hit the ground like a sack of bricks from having his sense of smell overloaded.
Pikachu winced in sympathy for his friend, since even from where he was standing…he could still smell it.
"I knew a Gloom's smell was bad, but that's something else," Ash couldn't help but say, while also noticing Erika seemed just fine. "Do I want to know?"
"Well, for one, Gloom's my best friend so it'd take more than a bit of stink to get rid of me," she chuckled. "That and I find his smell rather appealing in its own way," she added.
Ash and Pikachu blinked owlishly…before Ash checked his Pokedex and found that yes…apparently 1 in 1,000 people found the smell of a Gloom appealing. Apparently Erika was one such person.
"Okay…that's interesting to know," Ash sweat dropped before shaking his head. He needed to pick his last Pokemon. The problem was he wasn't sure who could beat Gloom. If it was just a matter of Type, he had more than a few options. The problem was that smell. Most if not all his Pokemon would be knocked out from that. Gritting his teeth he thought furiously on who he could send out that stood a chance. If only there was a way to get close without worrying about the smell.
His eyes darted around the field, thinking of something…till he paused when he looked straight at the ground…before his eyes widened in realization. "I didn't want to have you fight so soon…but you're my best chance," he said as he grabbed his third Pokeball. "Sandshrew, I choose you!" he shouted as he threw the Pokeball, Sandshrew leaping out with an eager battle cry.
"An Alolan Sandshrew? I wasn't expecting that," Erika blinked in surprise.
"I'll admit I didn't want to send out Sandshrew since he was recently hatched," Ash sighed, before chuckling at seeing Sandshrew jump in place, clearly ready for the fight. "But you gotta admit, he's eager."
"That he is. Very well then, let's make his first Battle memorable one way or another! Gloom, Drain Punch!" Erika ordered. Admittedly this was a terrible match up for Gloom, but she wasn't a Gym Leader for nothing. She'd taught Gloom some Moves that could counter some of his weaknesses.
Gloom immediately charged forward at a surprising speed, his right hand glowing with power as he charged at Sandshrew.
"Not happening! Sandshrew, Powder Snow on the ground in front of Gloom!" Ash ordered, Sandshrew eagerly obeying as he fired the move from his mouth, quickly freezing the ground, and causing Gloom to slip and slide when he stepped on the ice.
"An opening! Metal Claw!" Ash quickly followed up, with Sandshrew leaping at Gloom and striking him with said move.
"Gloom!" Erika gasped. "I guess we have no choice! Gloom, go for it!"
Gloom quickly released his noxious odor, but unlike before, Ash had a plan.
"Sandshrew, Dig!" he shouted as Sandshrew jumped back and using his claws, dug into the ground without issue, the smell passing over the hole he'd just made harmlessly.
"Sandshrew, open a hole and use Mist!" Ash ordered, quickly getting the feel of how best to direct Sandshrew for this fight. A hole opened and a Mist came out, quickly obscuring Gloom's view, before Sandshrew ducked back into the ground. "Now, Metal Claw!"
Gloom looked around in confusion, before Sanshrew jumped out of another hole, striking at Gloom with Metal Claw, causing Gloom to shout in pain while becoming even more disoriented.
"Finish it, Powder Snow!" Ash grinned as Sanshrew fired the attack from near point blank, and with that, the end result was obvious.
Erika winced when she saw Gloom encased in ice, but sighed as it was clear she'd lost. "You did well, Gloom. Return," she smiled sadly, recalling her Pokemon, and with that the referee quickly called the match.
"You did it, Sandshrew!" Ash grinned as Pikachu cheered alongside him, Sandshrew running back to his trainer and jumping into a hug. "Great work out there!" Sandshrew smiled happily at that.
"That was very nicely done. I can see why you've gotten this far," Erika said as she walked over to them, before taking out something and holding it out for Ash to take. "In recognition of your victory, I am proud to award you with this Rainbow Badge," she said.
"Thank you. It was a good Battle," Ash smiled, gratefully accepting the Badge which was made to look like a flower with rainbow colored petals. He looked at it for a moment, before showing it to his Pokemon, both of them grinning happily too.
XXXX
"Congratulations on winning the Rainbow Badge," Cedric grinned as currently Ash was back at the Pokemon Center, his Pokemon going in for a checkup and to recover from the Gym Battle.
"Thanks. I was a little worried when Gloom came into the picture, but I'm glad I chose to carry Sandshrew with me," Ash chuckled.
"It really did turn out to be a good move. Erika might not be as tough as Sabrina can be, but she's still a Gym Leader too," Brock chuckled. "Beating her on the first try, you're definitely getting better."
"Keep up this momentum and you might just get all 8 Badges in short order," Misty said.
"That's what I'm hoping for, yeah," Ash nodded. "Gotta keep up the momentum if I want to make it in time for this year's Indigo League."
"So what's the plan next? Going straight for the next city?" Cedric asked. "If you're going to aim for the main 8 Gyms of Kanto, then the next stop should be Fuschia City," he said.
"Well…I don't mind moving on, but what about you guys? Anything else you want to do while we're here?" Ash asked. "I mean, I want to get the 8 Badges, but nothing wrong with taking a bit of time to enjoy the cities, right?"
"Hm…well if you don't mind taking a bit of time, I heard an interesting rumor while we were here," Brock mused. "Apparently you can get some rare Pokemon in this City."
"Rare Pokemon, huh? You got my attention," Misty chuckled. "So what is it? A place where Trainers come and trade Pokemon, or maybe a place where rare Pokemon Eggs are available?"
Brock shook his head at that. "Seems like you can get the Pokemon as prizes from what I heard," he frowned a bit.
"That's…strange," Cedric frowned. While Pokemon being given out as prizes wasn't unheard of, the practice of having live Pokemon be given out as said prizes was being gradually phased out due to moral reasons, seeing as handing out a live Pokemon as a Prize basically meant the Pokemon had no real say into who became their Trainer.
"It's just a rumor I heard, but if it is, I think we should check it out," Brock said.
"Definitely should. If they ARE doing that then we'd better make sure that its at least doing this within League guidelines," Misty frowned.
"Well then, guess we know what's next on our list while we're here," Ash mused, earning several nods in agreement.
However, before they could start making plans for that…Brock and Misty's bags started shaking. "Huh?"
Quickly checking their bags, they were met with their incubators, the eggs in them starting to shake.
"Or I guess we'll take care of this first." Ash said dryly as the two pulled the eggs out of the incubators.
"Well if you've had these eggs as long as you've had Sandshrew's own, it was about time for them to hatch." Cedric pointed out.
"We were starting to wonder," Misty agreed as she and Brock quickly went to the main desk, and before long they were ushered to an examination room, the Eggs placed on tables to let them have room to hatch while a few Chansey continued to monitor the eggs.
Everyone watched with bated breaths as the eggs slowly shook, the shaking gradually becoming stronger as the eggs started to glow with light, cracks forming on the shells. A bright light occurred as the shells broke, forcing everyone to avert their eyes briefly.
The light soon died down and when everyone looked back they gasped in wonder at the two Pokemon revealed.
One of them was a small blue manta ray, while the other was a baby t-rex. "Oh wow, its a Mantyke and a Tyrunt," Cedric whistled as Misty and Brock went over to their new Pokemon, the two Pokemon seeming a little cautious at first, before they quickly started accepting their new Trainers, Mantyke letting out a happy trill as Misty patted them. As for Tyrunt…
"Yeowch!" Brock yowled as Tyrunt had decided to respond…with an affectionate bite on his hand.
"Looks like they're gonna get along just fine," Ash chuckled…even if he had a slight sweat drop at seeing Brock rubbing his sore hand, even if Tyrunt seemed happy.
XXXX
And done. While Ash has successfully obtained the Rainbow Badge it seems that things aren't over in Celadon. Let's see what happens next.
