Hello everybody, I'm back with a brand new chapter.
First off, I'd like to announce that in case some of you didn't know, on Saturday, August 10..Rachael Lillis, the original VA of Misty, Jessie, and Jigglypuff passed away due to breast cancer. I first learned of her condition back in May and hoped her condition would lessen thanks to the donations she received, but it seems cancer managed to win this time. My heart goes out to all of Rachael's friends, family, and all of the other people she's associated with.
For anyone asking, yes. I will be planning on doing a tribute chapter to her, but it'll come once I make it to Cerulean City.
RIP Rachael. Your voice was one of a kind and you will forever be missed.
Chapter 7: Showdown in Peter City!
Beta and Proofread by: PokemonAnd PJOFanboy
"Battle Begin!"
"Like last time, I'm starting with Geodude!" Brock said, releasing his solid rock Pokémon out on his side.
"Alright, Butterfree! Let's do this!" Ash said, calling his Bug Pokemon from the first battle.
"Free! Free!" Butterfree said.
"Really? Still using the same Pokemon as last time?" Brock asks amused.
"This won't be like last time Brock. We have some surprises just for you." Ash grins.
Brock shrugged and said, "Alright. Have it your way. Geodude, Mega Punch!" Brock said as Geodude's fist glowed and he attacked.
"Butterfree, dodge it!" Butterfree avoided the coming rock fist by flying under Geodude, appearing right behind it. "Now use Confusion!" Ash said, not giving Geodude the chance to react.
"Free!" Butterfree's eyes and antennae glowed blue, lifting Geodude upwards, and throwing it towards the opposite boulder, destroying it in the process.
"Geo." Emerging from the dust, Geodude shook his head still standing strong.
"Now Stun Spore!" Ash said as Buttefree flapped his wings raining orange powder down on them.
"That move didn't work last time and it won't work this time. Use Rock Throw!" Grabbing several rocks Geodude hurls them at Butterfree.
"Cancel it and dodge!" Stopping Stun Spore in midair, Butterfree dodges just in the nick of time.
"Keep throwing, Geodude!" Brock said, telling Geodude to keep using Rock Throw non-stop, knowing Butterfree would eventually get tuckered out from all of the dodging and that's when they'll attack. The walking rock type complied and continued to throw rocks.
"String Shot on the rocks!" Ash said as Butterfree fired a silky string which wrapped around a large rock.
"Free!" Spinning around, Butterfree lets go, sending the rock smashing into Geodude.
Geodude bounced backwards, landing into a heap near Brock, who looked surprised and impressed by Ash's new creative move.
"I've never seen a String Shot used like that before." One of Brock's sisters said surprised.
"He actually stopped Geodude with that." A boy said equally shocked.
Misty smiled down at the field, seeing Ash's training at the Battle Club proved to be a success. 'He's doing better than before.'
-Flashback-
At the Battle Club we see Ash and Butterfree with Don George.
"Brock and his Rock types are strong, and so are their attacks. So you either need to be able to dodge or deflect these attacks." Don George explains.
The trainer and Pokémon nodded, ready to get their training underway. "So what do we do?"
"You need to be able to throw them off their game. If you can counter their attacks, you'll have the perfect opportunity to nail them with a powerful attack." Don George said.
What he meant is that Ash would have to come up with a strategy to outsmart any kind of rock based attack and turn it against them.
"Okay, if Brock has ways to close the distance and throw me off, I need a way to use his moves against him." Ash said aloud.
"And when you do that, you're going to want to use a move like this…" Don George starts as we zoom out.
-Flashback End-
"Butterfree, use Energy Ball!" Ash said as Butterfree creates a glowing green ball.
Eyes widening, Brock knew that move hurt so he quickly acted fast, "Geodude, Defense Curl!" Rolling into a ball, Geodude's body shines, increasing his defense just as Butterfree released Energy Ball colliding with Geodude and dealing super effective damage.
When the smoke cleared up, Geodude was still standing, but was covered with a few bruises.
"That was way too close." Brock said, collecting himself. If he hadn't done that Geodude might have lost.
"Thank you, Don George," Ash said, thanking the battle master for giving him the idea to have Butterfree learn that move.
"Now that's using your head." Misty smiled while Brock's siblings were starting to get nervous.
"You almost got me there Ash," Brock said, praising him. "I wasn't expecting Energy Ball to come that quick."
"We had to go through quite a bit of training to pull that off. Now I have some moves that can really deal some damage." Ash smirks.
"Yeah, well, so do we!" Brock said with a grin of his own, amused to see Ash had improved since their first fight. "Now let's go Geodude, Rollout!" Geodude quickly spun into a ball, while moving towards Butterfree like a steamroller.
"Butterfree, String Shot!" Firing multiple strings, Butterfree tried to slow Geodude down but he made several tight turns almost like a racecar driver as it continued its charge refusing to back down.
"Geodude got faster," Ash clicked his tongue. "Butterfree, try to slow it down!"
"Free!" Firing a String Shot between two boulders Geodude ran right into it and tried to break through but the rocks held the string tight together slowing him down.
The force of how much speed he was going, caused the string to pull back, sending Geodude flying like a slingshot.
"Geo!" Geodude screams flying back and crashing into a giant boulder shattering it. When the smoke clears Geodude cringed, feeling that injury.
"He's still standing?" Ash said.
"Geodude's Defense Curl hasn't worn off yet. Meaning he still can stand up to your attacks." Brock explains.
"That's one tough rock.." Ash mutters, shaking his head. "But we're tough in our own right! Energy Ball!"
"Free!" Butterfree fired another green energy sphere from his mouth.
"Geodude, Rock Throw and Mega Punch!" Brock said as Geodude made multiple rocks rain down but as one drops in front of him, Geodude punches it with a glowing fist sending it flying towards Butterfree colliding with the green sphere making it explode right in front of Butterfree.
The impact from the blast caused the poor butterfly Pokemon to be knocked down, out from the air.
"He went for the attack before Butterfree could launch it?" Misty said not expecting that.
"Butterfree, are you okay?" Ash asks as Butterfree slowly picks himself up.
"FreeFree," Butterfree turns, reassuring him that he's fine and can still fight.
"That's what I want to hear." Ash grins, turning to Brock. "Your Geodude isn't the only tough Pokemon."
"I'm starting to see myself." Brock acknowledges. "Use Tackle!"
"Butterfree, stand your ground!" Ash said as Butterfree took a stance, not yet returning to the air. "Wait for it." Ash said as Geodude got closer. "Stun Spore!" Flapping his wings back, Butterfree jumps backwards into the air to rain orange powder down towards Geodude.
Geodude gasped in stupor as it fell for the plot, and dust poured down on him, causing him to shudder and collapse, paralyzed. "Yes!" Ash grins while Brock gasps surprised.
'He waited until the last minute for them to get close so Butterfree could use Stun Spore on us so we couldn't get away.' He thought.
"And now that you're paralyzed you're wide open! Butterfree Energy Ball!" Ash said as Butterfree created another glowing green sphere.
"Geodude, try using Defense Curl!" Brock shouted.
As Geodude tried increasing his defense he cringed in pain as the paralysis made it difficult to move.
"Fire!" Ash shouted as Butterfree fired the glowing sphere at Geodude, at point blank range...
BOOM!
As dust kicked up into the air everyone shielded their faces waiting for it to clear. When it did we saw a small crater in the field with Geodude in the middle with swirly eyes.
"G-Geodude is unable to battle! Butterfree wins!" Forrest declares.
"Yes!" Ash grins pumping his fist. "First round goes to us, Butterfree!"
"Free!" Butterfree joyously cried out in victory, managing to get his first win.
"Pi Pikachu." Pikachu grins.
"He...He just got lucky." One of Brock's sisters stutters.
"Yeah, that's it. Besides, he still has to get through Onix!" One of his brothers agreed.
"No way he can beat Onix." The others agreed.
Hearing this Misty had to admit, she did not know how Ash would handle this. Especially considering the first time Brock used Onix. Brock recalls Geodude back into its Poké Ball. "Very impressive, Ash. But now it's for me to get a little bit more serious," he said, enlarging his second ball.
"Here it comes." Ash said, bracing himself.
"Go Onix!" Throwing it up in the air the same Rock Snake Pokemon that beat him last time roared through the gym.
"I knew this was coming." Ash cringed.
"Pika." Pikachu gulps.
"You good to keep going Butterfree?" Ash asks.
"Free." Butterfree nods
"Begin!" Flint declares.
"Onix, use Rock Throw!" Brock said as Onix hurls giant boulders much bigger than the ones Geodude made.
"Avoid them and then use Energy Ball!" Butterfree narrowly manages to spin out of harms way of the boulder, and fired another green ball of energy at Onix.
"Deflect it with Rock Tomb!" As a few boulders dropped down, they blocked Energy Ball's path causing Onix to only be hit by the shockwave from it.
"You'll have to do better than that," Brock advised with a grin.
Growling, Ash took that challenge to heart. "Butterfree, Stun Spore!"
Flapping his wings, Butterfree released the orange powder.
"Onix, Dig to avoid it!" Brock yells, not wanting to fall for this trap again. Onix obeyed and quickly dug underground to avoid getting caught in the spore.
"Where did he go?" Ash asks as Butterfree looks around the field.
Suddenly, Onix burst out of the ground in front of Butterfree, knocking him back. "Now one more time!" Brock said as Onix was about to dig.
"String Shot quick!" Firing the attack it wrapped around Onix stopping it from escaping.
"Now, Energy Ball!" Butterfree cried out, once again, firing another Energy Ball.
"Onix, Bide!" Brock yells. A mysterious glowing energy surrounded Onix as he took the attack head on, dealing super effective damage.
But beyond that, nothing happened.
"What was that?" Ash asks in confusion.
"You'll have to wait and see," Brock said, mysteriously.
"Oh no he's in trouble." One of Brock's brother's grins.
"This match is theirs." A sister grins.
"I feel like I know this move, but I can't remember what it Does." Misty pauses as Onix stands his ground bracing himself for Butterfree's next attack.
Down on the field with Ash, he had no idea what Brock meant by his remarks, but he had a peculiar and terrible sensation in his gut that if he and Butterfree didn't put Onix down immediately, something bad would happen.
"Butterfree, Energy Ball again!" Ash said as Butterfree created another Energy Ball and blasted Onix making him scream in pain but Onix was still standing strong.
Brock stood in place, not saying a word.
"If you won't move we will!" Ash said as Butterfree flew up and began charging up for another attack.
Eyes sharpening, Onix suddenly launched its tail at Butterfree with lightning speed.
"What the?!" Ash gasps.
"Bide!" Brock said as Onix slams his tail down on Butterfree, sending him crashing down onto the field before they even knew what hit them…
WHAM!
The hit caused a massive wind gust and dirt from the field to rise above the entire building.
"What kind of move has this much power?!" Ash asks, covering his face with his arms.
Once it all died out, Onix lifts his tail to show a clearly knocked out Butterfree, flattened into the ground. "Free..."
"Butterfree is unable to battle! Onix is the winner!" Forrest declares.
"Oh poor Butterfree," Misty frowned.
"I told you!" Brock's brother grins.
"One more to go." A sister cheers.
"What kind of move was that?" Ash asks.
"It's a special move that Onix and I trained hard to master. It takes all the damage from the attacks you bombarded us with and sends it all right back at you." Brock explains.
"No kidding.." Ash brought out Butterfree's Poké Ball and returned it. "Thanks Butterfree, you gave it your all." He said before a look of concern appeared on his face. 'How the heck is Pikachu going to survive an attack like that?'
"Pikapi." Pikachu calls out getting his attention. "Chu Pika." Pikachu told Ash to believe in him.
"You still wanna go out there?" Ash asks his starter, who gave him a nod. Pikachu pumps his fists and sparkles his cheeks with a roar, signaling he wants to get even with Onix, just like Butterfree with Geodude.
Inspired by his partner's drive to win, a confident smile forms on Ash's face.
"Let's go, Pikachu!" Ash said as Pikachu ran out onto the field to face Onix.
"So using both of the same Pokémon you used in our first battle I see," Brock comments.
"Well, you would be surprised how much can change in a few days." Ash said, confidently. "This time.." He reached for the brim of his hat and turned it around, indicating he was serious. "We're gonna win!"
"Let's see! Onix, use Rock Tomb!" Brock said as Onix had multiple rocks rain down on them.
"Quick Attack!" Ash said as Pikachu dashed forward avoiding the rocks as he closed in on Onix.
As more boulders came down to cut Pikachu off the little mouse jumped over them.
"Stop it with Screech!" Brock pointed his arm forward as Onix roared, sending soundwaves all throughout the building, making everybody cover their ears to shield themselves from the pain. Pikachu, who was in mid-air, was no exception.
"Pika!" Coming to a stop, Pikachu covered his ears trying to lessen the damage.
Seeing an opening, Onix swats Pikachu away with his serpent tail. Tumbling across the field, Pikachu regained his footing just before hitting a large rock.
"Now, Rock Tomb!" Brock said, making boulders rain down on them.
"Double Kick!" Leaping up, Pikachu kicks the boulders away, sending them towards Onix.
"Block it, quick!" Onix raises his tail, as the boulders crack once making contact with his body.
Grinning, Ash watched as Pikachu used another boulder as a spring so he could leap up and kick Onix in one of his middle chest rocks.
Onix groaned as he was knocked back, despite being obviously the largest Pokémon in the building, even he could tremble at the power of a Fighting-Type move.
"Your Pikachu packs quite a punch for a little guy." Brock said, impressed.
"Oh don't worry, Onix will get another up close look. Foot to face." Ash assures.
"We'll see about that! Onix, use Slam on the ground!" Brock said. Onix shook off the pain, raised its tail, and brought it down onto the field, causing everything to fly up, including Pikachu.
"Pika!" Pikachu screams trying to keep his balance while Ash is trying not to fall over.
"I-It's like an earthquake!" He exclaimed.
Cringing in fear, Misty clung to the bars in the viewing area but none of Brock's siblings seemed to mind.
"We told you Brock and Onix are an awesome team." A girl said as Pikachu crashed to the ground.
"Now, Tackle Pikachu while it's dazed!" As Pikachu was shaking off the attack, he opened his eyes to see Onix ram into him, sending Pikachu flying back and landing right in front of Ash.
"Hang in there, Pikachu! Use Agility!" Ash pointed. Shaking off the attack Pikachu increases his speed and sprints towards Onix.
"Onix, Bind!" Brock said as Onix shot his tail out attempting to trap Pikachu.
"Not this time, Brock! Switch to Quick Attack, Pikachu!" Ash stated. Just as Onix was ready to snare Pikachu in his tail, the electric rodents' speed kicked in and they sped out right before the big squeeze.
Roaring in frustration, Onix turns to see Pikachu leap up and run up his long body.
Glaring at it, Onix twists its head and body around. It opened its mouth to go in and bite the mouse, but Pikachu quickly avoided the bite by jumping up onto its head.
"Double Kick, now!" Jumping up, Pikachu slams both feet down on Onix's head, making the giant Pokemon roar in pain as it flung its body around trying to make Pikachu let go.
"Onix, shake that Pikachu off of you!" Brock yells. Flailing his body around and around Onix tried to throw Pikachu off him but the little mouse was holding on tight.
"Hang tight, Pikachu!" Ash yelled.
Diving face first towards the field, Onix smashes against the rocks with Pikachu feeling the sting of the impact as well.
"Pi..." He winced.
"Pikachu, can you get up?" Ash asks concerned.
Groaning, Pikachu got on all fours revealing he still had some fight in him.
Ash sighed with relief, 'I know it was risky doing that, but I knew Pikachu could handle getting up on that Onix.' He thought, thinking about his plan.
Zooming out, we peek towards the door to see Flint watching the match through a small opening in the door.
Diving face first towards the field, Onix smashes against the rocks with Pikachu feeling the sting of the impact as well.
"Pikachu!" Ash gasps as Pikachu flies off and crashes in front of him.
Bending down to check up on his partner, Ash sees that Pikachu was obviously covered with bruises and dirt stains.
Growling, Pikachu struggled to get back up on his feet. "Pika..." Growling, Onix was beginning to feel worn out from using Bide and taking on both Butterfree and Pikachu's fierce attacks.
This battle was still far from over.
'Thunderbolt won't work on Onix so I gotta get in close,' Ash thought, trying to figure out a plan.
'I need to stop them before they can get any more combos in,' Brock thought, figuring out his own plan.
"Pikachu, Quick Attack!" Ash said as Pikachu charged in at full speed.
"Onix, Slam!" Brock said, going for their stun technique again.
"Jump quick!" Ash said as Pikachu leaped into the air dodging the tail.
"Bind, now!" Swinging his tail upwards, Onix traps Pikachu just like last time.
"Oh no!" Misty gasped in horror.
"Oh yes!" Brock's siblings all grinned.
"Pika." Pikachu chokes trying to break free.
"You put up a good fight, Ash, but your luck has run out." Brock said.
Ash grits his teeth, frustrated he fell for that obvious trap. Brock used Slam as a way to get Pikachu to avoid getting stunned like before, and once vulnerable in the air, he'd snag him with Onix's Bind attack.
'You have to understand. Having power is good, but you always need a way to get out of a jam.'
Don George's words echoed in Ash's mind, making him gasp in realization.
"Pikachu, listen! Double Team!" Ash calls out.
"Pi…Ka." Growling Pikachu's body began to flicker before a copy appeared in his place allowing him to escape Onix's Bind surprising everyone.
"?!" With a surprised grunt, Onix looks all over the field, confused at what happened and wondering just which one was the real Pikachu?
"What? You really thought I just learned attacks for this battle?" Ash smirks.
Appearing all around Onix we see multiple copies of Pikachu glare the giant rock down.
"It's perfect. Now Onix has no idea which one is the real one." Misty grins.
"Don't get nervous, Onix!" Brock shouted to his Pokémon to calm itself. "We'll just have to make the real Pikachu reveal itself! Use Rock Tomb!" Onix roars, summoning some more large stones as they fall towards the field.
"Dodge them with Agility!" Ash said.
Increasing his speed, all the Pikachus ran around as the boulders came down, crushing many of the copies and creating a large cloud of dust around the field.
"Pika!" The real Pikachu appeared from the dust, jumping in the air and in front of Onix's face, surprising it.
"Slam!" Wrapping his tail around the top part of Onix's head, Pikachu swung his entire body down towards the field, yanking Onix down with him.
"Impossible!" Brock exclaimed in disbelief.
Zooming out, we see Flint watching the battle from the front door.
"Whoa, what a move." Flint whistles softly. 'He used Brock's own strategy against him and delivered a fierce attack when he was vulnerable, but the big question is why Onix reacted so slow to that?'
Looking at Pikachu, Ash saw the little panting heavily. They were dealing heavy hits but Pikachu was getting worn out. They had to end this fast.
Brock took a good look at his Onix as well and saw he too was on its last leg by the number of hits they had taken.
'This last move will finish this.' Both trainers thought.
Whoever could land their attack first would win.
"Pikachu! Double Kick!"
"Onix! Tackle!"
"Pika!" Pikachu roared, charging towards Onix. Roaring, Onix charges in at full speed.
Leaning out of their seats, Misty and all of Brock's siblings held their breath as both Pokemon closed in.
"Their speed is almost identical!" A little brother said.
"Will they tie?!" A sister gasps.
Twisting their bodies around, Pikachu lifted his tail, Onix raised his horn head as the two met in the middle of the field…
POW!
Panting heavily Pikachu fell to the ground with Onix equally tired. As both Pokemon stared each other down for a few seconds Onix flinched and ended up collapsing to the ground with swirly eyes.
"O-Onix is unable to battle! Pikachu wins! As a result of Gym Leader Brock not having any more usable Pokémon, The Winner of the match is Ash Ketchum!" Forrest declared, while shocked by the outcome of the battle.
"He did it! He really did it!" Misty cried out, giving out a massive cheer. But as she was cheering, Brock's supporters weren't on the same boat of the outcome.
"Big bro..lost?" His younger sister said with a disappointed frown along with Brock's other siblings. They had just witnessed their oldest brother, who they believed to be the strongest, defeated.
Ash stood in place, still processing what just had occurred..then he finally spoke. "I..I won?" He muttered to himself before a big grin started to form.
"I won!" He said again, now louder before jumping high in the air in victory, screaming into the heavens.
"I WON!"
An exhausted Pikachu finally came down off of Onix and turned his attention to his trainer, "Pika..Pikachu," he let out a little squeak before finally caving into the fatigue and fell over, but didn't fell to the ground, instead was picked up into the hands of his best friend, who was smiling widely up at him.
"Pikachu, you were great buddy, way to pull through!" Ash exclaimed, giving credit to his partner before embracing him.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu happily smiled, and although tired, still had strength to hug Ash back.
Flint looked over to the enthusiastic boy and chuckled, "Well I'll be, the kid's not bad."
Looking over at Brock, he saw him comforting Onix by giving him an Oran berry. "You did great Onix. You put up an amazing fight." Brock said, petting him, getting a small, but affectionate growl from him as it devoured the berry.
Petting Onix, Brock noticed something floating towards him. Holding out his hand, Brock caught a small strand of String Shot.
"So that's how you won." Brock realized. Making his way up to Ash, he stopped right in front of him. "It seems like a thread of Butterfree's String Shot was still left on Onix," Brock said, showing Ash it. "Thought it was all gone, but I guess one was hidden well in Onix's cracks."
"And because it was still attached to Onix, his speed was lowered which allowed Pikachu to land the final blow and get the jump on him." Ash gasps in realization.
"Seems like it. Even I didn't see that coming," Brock said, with a smile. "Quite the unorthodox strategy."
"Yeah…kinda like the first time." Ash smiles, liking the sound of an unorthodox battle style. Perhaps he should do that more often in the future.
"This was definitely one of my more interesting Gym Battles. You really care about your Pokemon." Brock said before getting an idea. "Listen, Ash, would you be interested in doing something for me?"
"What is it?" Ash asks.
"I love Pokemon and I want to learn everything about them, but I can't go out on my own journey to learn about them." Brock admits.
"Why not?" Ash asks.
"My family has a bit of a delicate situation. Years ago my father left town to become a Pokemon trainer but never came back. And since mom is too busy to really help out I have to stay and take care of everyone." Brock confesses.
"W-what..?" Ash gasped in shock, not expecting to hear that.
"If it wasn't for the donations from the Museum we'd be in a lot more trouble." Brock adds.
"I'm sorry." Ash said.
"Don't be. The truth is I don't like the idea of battling with Pokemon so much as helping them grow, and take care of them. You want to be a Pokemon Trainer, but I want to be the World's Greatest Pokemon Breeder." Brock declares.
"A Breeder?" Ash asks, as Brock nods.
"Please, Ash." reaching into his pocket, Brock took out a gray octagon-shaped badge. "Take this badge and fulfill my dream for the both of us."
Blown away, Ash had no idea how to respond to this.
"Don't be so quick to give your dreams away Brock." A familiar voice calls out. Turning their heads towards the Gym's doors, everyone noticed Flint in front of the entrance.
"Flint?" Ash spoke as Flint removed his helmet and beard, showing a face similar to Brock's, but older.
"Dad." Brock glares, surprising Ash as he almost dropped Pikachu.
"W-what?! He's your dad?!" Ash exclaimed in surprise.
"Forrest...you and Misty take the others outside." Brock orders, not wanting them to be around for this.
"G-got it," Forrest shakily nods, noticing the tone in his brother's voice. The two led all of Brock's younger siblings out the door, leaving only Ash, Brock, and Flint in the building.
An awkward silence filled the whole room as no one said anything, just the older son stared at the now revealed father. Deciding to break the silence, Ash spoke up. "So...Flint..you're really Brock's father?"
"Yep. I tried to but I couldn't cut it as a trainer and for a while I was too ashamed to come back and face my family." Flint admits.
"So wait, you've just been sitting around on the outskirts of the city this whole time? I don't believe this. How could you just sit by as your family struggled?" Ash asks.
"Why didn't you just come home? We would've accepted you in with open arms." Brock questioned, equally frustrated. "You know mom is really working the late nights because of you?"
"I know, and that doesn't mean I didn't try to help. You ever wonder why the museum suddenly started giving you checks?" Flint hints.
Brock raised an eyebrow at the question. How could he know that? "Wasn't it because of Mom's working overtime?"
"Not a bad theory but no. I've been running trips to Mt. Moon gathering stones and samples for the museum. And almost all the money I make goes to you guys. I just told them to come up with an excuse when they gave you the money." Flint explains.
Ash, Brock, and Pikachu all stood there stunned at the man's confession, with Brock being the most surprised.
"Wait...that was just you?" Brock asked, surprised that it was only a few years ago that he had first started to run the gym and had become overwhelmed by the responsibilities while also managing the road and assisting his mother in caring for his family.
All this time, Brock had truly believed Flint had walked out and not given any of them a second thought. When he returned, Brock thought he would prove his point but even though Flint was embarrassed and ashamed he still found a way to help them even if they didn't know it at the time.
"Son...," Flint said, getting his attention. "No amount of words can express how truly sorry I am for putting you, your mother, and the kids all through that much pain. I don't expect you to forgive me and I wouldn't blame you if you didn't. I can only say that I'm sorry for leaving the way I did, and only hope that the family is going to forgive my indiscretions and accept me back, especially your mother.."
Pausing, Ash glanced between father and son unsure what was about to happen.
"Why now? What made you want to come back?" Brock asks.
"It was yesterday at the museum when I saw you running headfirst into the smoke. It was terrifying. If there had been an actual fire, you could have gotten hurt or worse. And then what would happen to everyone else? I realized if you could step up like that, so could I." Flint explains.
He turns to Ash, "And I have you to thank." Flint said, surprising him.
"M-me?" Ash asks, pointing to himself in confusion.
"I believed that there was no way you could beat Brock at first but you proved me wrong. You proved a person can change for the better if they apply themselves. I want to do better as well. For my family." Flint declares.
Ash was astonished by his words, and every last word spoke the truth. "Well..I guess I'm glad I managed to prove you wrong." He admitted, smiling softly.
"Yeah you did. Brock, you've done more than enough for this family. It's time for you to go make your own dreams come true." Flint said.
Hearing this, Brock couldn't help but ponder. A chance to finally become a Pokémon Breeder was all he ever wanted. But before he could do anything…
"Before I agree to anything there's something I need to get off my chest." Brock said.
Flint nodded as Brock went into his vest, "After all these years, I understand how you must feel about me. So I want you to let everything out. I'm ready for it." He said, bracing himself for whatever Brock was about to say or do to him.
Taking a deep breath Brock approached his father and pulls back his arm.
Cringing, Ash thought he was about to punch his dad, but instead, he placed a needle and thread in Flint's hands, confusing them both.
"Sucy always rips her dress so you better learn to sew, Timmy only eats cold spaghetti for breakfast and Tommy eats cornflakes for dinner." Brock lists unloading all his responsibilities on his dad.
"Slow down! Slow down! I need to write this down!" Flint panics trying to find a pen and paper.
"Cindy sleepwalks so you have to tie a bell on her wrist, the twins never want to take a bath so you have to..." Brock continued to list many tasks for his father to do while he was away as the latter was desperately trying to write everything at a quick pace.
"Pikachu. Pika." Pikachu cringed.
"Yeah in a way, this is definitely Brock's idea of getting back at his dad. I wonder what his mom is gonna do when she finds out?" Ash asks and instantly both trainer and Pokemon shuddered feeling bad for the guy.
Hopefully, they won't have to stick around to see the fallout.
Pokémon Center...
Later on, we see Ash and Brock at the Pokemon Center waiting on their Pokemon.
Sitting at a bench, Ash couldn't help but stare at his first Gym Badge.
"Don't get too cocky with this win Ash. Overconfidence is a trainer's worst enemy." Brock warns.
"You don't have to worry about me, Brock. Just happy that my training really paid off." Ash said, smiling at his accomplishment.
"I guess that's alright." Brock shrugs.
"So how did things go at home?" Ash asks.
"Well Mom, let him have it. She plans to take a nice long vacation from work now that he's back." Brock emphasizes making Ash chuckle. "But she did agree that I should start my own journey. Still it's a little weird going on my own."
"Well...if you want you can travel with me just so you have some company." Ash offers.
"Really? You don't mind?" Brock asks.
"Not at all. The more the merrier. And it'd be great to have another guy in the group." Ash laughed.
"You won't regret it, trust me, I've done camping before so I'll be able to keep up. Not to mention I can help look after your Pokémon." Brock said, trying to make himself useful.
"Well then, welcome aboard, Brock." Ash said, stretching his hand out to him. Smiling, Brock happily shook his hand.
"So where are you thinking of going next?" Brock asks.
"Hmmm I'm not sure." Ash admits trying to figure out his next move.
"Well if you're interested I heard there's a really strong trainer battling near Mt. Moon." Brock points out.
"A strong trainer?" Ash asks, interested.
"They were my last challenger before you got here a couple of days ago. I've seen them making trips back and forth to the Pokémon Center or the Battle Club every now and then, but I didn't see them around this time," Brock explained. "And beyond, there is another gym located in Cerulean City."
'A mysterious challenger and another gym's nearby?' Grinning, Ash made up his mind and decided to head there. Misty walks over.
"Hey, what are you boys talking about?" Misty asks, walking over.
"They were my last challenger before you got here a couple of days ago. I've seen them making trips back and forth to the Pokémon Center or the Battle Club every now and then, but I didn't see them around this time," Brock explained. "And beyond, there is another gym located in Cerulean City."
"C-Cerulean City?" Misty stuttered. "What about it?"
"Ash wants to try his luck against another trainer who beat me." Brock informs when the door opens.
"There you all are." Turning around, they saw the head of the Pewter City Museum rushing over.
"Thank goodness. I was worried you had already left town." He said, relieved he wasn't too late.
"Can we help you with something?" Brock asks unsure what was happening.
"Nothing bad. But I wanted to meet with the three who helped save my museum from those three thieves. On behalf of the Pewter City Museum, we wanted to present the three of you with a little token of appreciation for saving our museum." He said, reaching into his bag and pulling out 3 stones.
One was dark blue with bubbles, one was bright orange with a flame in the center and the last one was green with a lightning bolt on it.
The trio marveled at the sight of the shining stones in front of them, "T-these are Evolution Stones!" Brock gasped.
"Wait what?" Ash gasps.
"Special stones when given to a certain Pokemon allows them to evolve." Misty said, equally shocked.
"That's correct, young lady. We would like each of you to have one of these stones." The curator nodded. He first turns to Ash. "Your Pikachu is very strong. One day it might want to become stronger, and when it does, use this Thunder Stone on it and it will evolve into a Raichu." He hands the stone over to Ash.
"Pikachu? Evolve?" Ash paused, looking at the stone in his hand.
"Yours is a Water Stone. Granted you already have a Starmie so you can't evolve that again, but there are quite a few water types out there that require a water stone. If you're as good as you were back at the museum I'm sure you'll put it to good use." He said turning to Misty next.
Misty thanked him with a huge smile as she accepted the stone. "Thanks. I do have a Staryu too, but I don't plan to evolve it anytime soon. But I'll keep my eyes open. Plus, I've always wanted a Water Stone," she said, holding the jewel close to her.
Finally, he turns to Brock. "Now Brock, yours is a Fire Stone, I know you don't have any Pokemon that stone works on but you're leaving this town and stepping out of your comfort zone. So you might want to think about catching new Pokemon that you've never thought to have before. Who knows you might even find one to use that stone on."
Brock takes the stone, nods to the man, and smiles, "I will. "Thank you."
"I wish you all the best of luck. And feel free to stop by the museum anytime you're in town." The curator smiles.
They all promised they would do so as the curator gave one final bow and took his leave.
The next morning, we see Ash, Misty, and Pikachu watching as Brock's siblings give him one last hug goodbye.
"Good luck out there, Brock." Forrest smiles.
"We'll miss you." A sister chokes.
"I'll miss you guys too. Be on your best behavior and listen to everything mom and dad say, OK?" Brock said, hugging his siblings.
"We will." They all said.
Letting go Brock turns to his dad.
"Don't worry, the gym and all of them are in good hands," Flint assures.
"I'll be calling every once in a while to check in." Brock smirks.
"Don't be a stranger like I was," Flint said, putting out his hand to Brock, who instead rushes in and embraces Flint, stunning him at first but soon finds himself returning the hug with a smile on his face and almost a tear in his eye.
"It's good to have you back, Dad." Brock smiles.
"Yeah...it's good to be back." Flint smiles.
Ash, Misty, and Pikachu smiled at the touching moment in front of them: father and son, reunited.
After they let go, the three of them walked towards the outskirts of the city with Brock's family waving goodbye.
With Ash's first Kanto Gym Badge and a new friend joining him, they continue onto Mt. Moon unaware of the surprises waiting for them.
Meanwhile..
Somewhere in the world, there was a vast, dark, and menacing office with only a few visible details: the walls were deep brown, the carpet was blood red, and thick red curtains covered every window, barring any light from entering this room of shadows. At the far end of the room was a large desk where a man happened to be sitting down with his chair facing the back of the room, his face shrouded in shadows.
He looked to be deep in thought whilst impatiently waiting for something. His thoughts were then cut off by the ringing of the phone beside him on his desk. The man pressed the speaker button, "Yes?"
"Sir, I have Jessie, James, and Meowth on line two for you." His secretary said on the line, informing him of their grunt's call.
The man gave a sinister, wolfish grin, "Put them on."
Appearing on screen, we see Jessie, James, and Meowth trying to all be seen together.
"Move your elbow, it's in my face." Jessie glares.
"Hey, we didn't fully agree on who made the call!" James argued.
The man gave a sinister, wolfish grin, "Put them on."
Appearing on screen, we see Jessie, James, and Meowth trying to all be seen together.
Clearing his throat, the figure got their attention.
Scrambling around, the TRio fixed themselves up in order to greet their boss in a "professional" manner, "H-hello, sir."
"I hope the three of you better have a good reason to call me at this time of day. The mission at the Pewter Museum, report." He said, wanting to know of their progress of what happened.
"Well boss, it was a tough and difficult mission. And uh..." Pausing Jessie took the plans from Meowth. "We procured these."
The boss remained silent as he zoomed in on his monitor to study the stolen documents. Jessie, James, and Meowth all held their breath as nervousness consumed them. They could feel their hearts hammering and sweat pouring from their brows as they waited for his response.
"You three...got exactly what I needed. Report to Mt. Moon so we can get those documents sent to headquarters immediately." The boss said, giving them a nod.
Relief washed over each of the Rocket's bodies, knowing he was satisfied with their half failure/half successful mission. "Understood sir!" They said.
When the call ended, the three froze in place for a few seconds before bursting into cheers.
"He liked it! We're safe!" James exclaimed, holding Jessie as they spun around.
"We're not on the chopping block!" Jessie said, cheering.
"We need to get to Mt. Moon like yesterday! I want to stay on the boss' good side as long as humanly possible!" Meowth declares.
Jessie and James paused from their brief celebration to glance at each other. "Meowth is right; the Boss sees potential in us. And we cannot waste that chance." Jessie said.
"Agreed. Let's move out!" James said as the three of them packed up their gear and rushed to Mt. Moon.
Finally, on the path to Mt. Moon we see a female silhouette with a Bulbasaur looking at a map.
"What do you think, Bulbasaur? One more match and then we continue on?" She suggests.
"Bulba." Bulbasaur grunted out, saying it didn't have a problem with more fighting.
"I hope our next opponent is a strong one." She smiles unaware that Ash and his group weren't too far away.