It was odd to find such clean-cut giant stones on the outskirts of Pewter City. They didn't look natural in any way, cut sharp and clean, and smooth surfaces, they looked like they were cut for construction.
Which they were.
Ash was about to rest on one of them when a man snapped at him to get away from his merchandise.
"Sorry! I didn't know this was yours" Ash apologized quickly.
The man looked at Ash from top to bottom before giving a short nod.
"You're a Pokemon trainer I'm guessing?" the man asked.
"I am" Ash nodded. "I am on my way to challenge the Pewter City Gym."
Something flashed in the man's eyes, though Ash could not see it because his bangs covered his eyes. "Show me your Pokemon."
A little confused, Ash did as asked, calling out his Charmander, Pidgeotto, and Kakuna.
The man did not look impressed by what he saw.
"You know that the Pewter City Gym is a Rock Type Gym, right?" the man asked.
Ash did not know, and his owlish blinking gave that away.
The man snorted.
"This is the problem with all you beginner trainers. None of you do your research right and rush in blindly and end up hurting your Pokemon in the process!" the man snapped. "With the Pokemon you have, you stand no chance against Brock and his Rock Types. He is a strong and capable young man and will wipe the floor with you."
"Maybe" Ash muttered under his breath, "but I can't just give up because of it! If I step back from this challenge then how can I ever be a Pokemon Master?"
The man scoffed. He stepped aside and motioned for Ash to get away from him.
Ash called his Pokemon back and walked away without another word, but was thrown into deep thought.
Ash ran into a trainer as he was about to step out of the Pokemon Center. The Pallet Trainer stepped to the side to let the boy in and watched him rush to the counter. He could hear the trainer babble about his defeat at the Pewter City Gym, about how ruthless the gym leader was.
Ash was once more thrown into deep thought. The Gym Leader was ruthless and injured the trainer's Pokemon badly enough that he had to rush back to the Pokemon Center.
Ash could see himself in the trainer's shoes and he did not like it. There had to be some other way to beat the Gym Leader and make sure his Pokemon were not badly injured in the process.
He stepped out and bumped into someone again.
"Oh? Beaten already?"
Ash looked up at the familiar voice and saw the man from before.
"I haven't challenged the Gym yet" Ash clarified, before throwing looks behind him.
The man followed his gaze and snorted.
"So you've seen with your own eyes what blindly challenging Brock would mean for your Pokemon and now you're ready to give up."
"I never said I was giving up!" Ash snapped, angrily glaring up at the man. "I just need to think of a way to win and not get my Pokemon injured in the process. If I give up right here then I can't ever be a Pokemon Master."
The man stared at Ash in silence for a moment, his bangs once more hiding the emotions in his eyes.
"Follow me."
The man began walking and Ash stumbled after him. He was still a stranger yet Ash felt like following him was the right thing to do. Not something that is advisable unless you have Pokemon with you, which Ash did.
"Tell me, boy, do you know what Rock types are weak against and what they are strong against?" the man asked.
"Grass, Water, Fighting, Ground, and Ice are good against Rock types" Ash answered, "And Rock types are good against Fire, Flying, Ice, and Bug."
"And what Pokemon do you have?" the man asked.
"Fire Flying and Bug…"
"So you see where I'm going with this" the man stated.
"Are you taking me to catch a weakness for rock types?" Ash asked, suddenly a little excited.
"No, but I can help you with beating Brock" the man answered. "And, you're wrong by the way. There's one more type that rock types are weak against, a type not commonly seen in the Kanto region."
Ash frowned. If it was not seen commonly in the Kanto region then what was the point of telling him now?
The man took Ash to a shack by a river and stopped at the door.
"You have courage kid, but you're grossly under-prepared. That is where I come in. I will train you and prepare you for Brock's Gym."
"Why?" Ash asked, "I mean, I am grateful, but why? You don't know me nor do I know you."
"You're right, we are strangers to each other" the man agreed but he was smiling. "But I respect your resolve and your attitude. I want to help you because of those two things."
The man took out a Pokeball and summoned a…
"Onix, the Rock Snake Pokemon. Onix has a magnet in its brain. It acts as a compass so that this Pokémon does not lose direction while it is tunneling. As it grows older, its body becomes increasingly rounder and smoother."
The Onix's tail glowed bright like metal before the Pokemon slashed it against a giant boulder nearby. The boulder was neatly cut in half.
"Steel types are also strong against rock types" the man declared with a smirk.
"Is Brock a ruthless and mean Gym Leader?"
The man looked away from Onix and Charmander training to Ash, a frown on his face.
"There was this trainer at the Pokemon Center who said that Brock was ruthless and hurt his Pokemon badly" the Pallet Trainer added in a hurry.
"Then the trainer was a fool" the man spat. "Brock is a kind young man, treat Pokemon with all the care in the world. But he is also merciless on trainers who act foolish and push their Pokemon unfairly. That trainer must have done that, and he was probably exaggerating the injuries as well. When you take part in Pokemon Battles, you do so knowing your Pokemon will get hurt, regardless if they win or not. As a trainer, it is your responsibility to make sure your Pokemon do not get hurt too bad."
Ash was silent for a moment as he took in the words and processed what the man said.
"You know a lot about Brock" Ash eventually said.
The man said nothing.
Pidgeotto suddenly flew from the branch he was resting on and blasted the nearby bushes with Whirlwind. Ash watched the leaves rustle violently and something shoot out from them.
"Pikachu, the Mouse Pokemon. This Pokémon has electricity-storing pouches on its cheeks. These appear to become electrically charged during the night while Pikachu sleeps. It occasionally discharges electricity when it is dozy after waking up."
Pidgeotto landed in front of the Pokemon and from how the two interacted, Ash could tell that the Pokemon knew each other well. Pikachu then turned to Ash and blasted the ground in front of him with an electric type attack.
"I believe that is a challenge," the man said with an amused quirk on his lips.
"Okay, I accept" Ash grinned and called Charmander over. But Pidgeotto stepped in, he wanted to be the one to battle. But Ash was unsure of that. For one, Pidgeotto was weak against Pikachu, there could be no way Pidgeotto came out victorious in this.
"Another word of advice, when your Pokemon want to battle, you trust them and let them battle," the man said.
"Yeah… yeah you're right" Ash exhaled slowly and nodded. He let Weedle battle Metapod, so why not Pidgeotto as well?
Pidgeotto took to the skies and Pikachu attacked by sending out blasts of electricity. Pidgeotto dodged them with ease, and Ash noticed that the Pokemon was using Quick Attack to move faster and dodge better. Pidgeotto used Whirlwind to put Pikachu off balance and used Quick Attack to follow up with a quick strike before flying out of reach before Pikachu could hit back. Pikachu used Thunder Shock again and Pidgeotto dodged before using Whirlwind again. A Quick Attack followed, but right before he could hit, Pikachu's tail glowed and it slammed the tail into Pidgeotto and sent him flying back.
"Oh, he's mastered it already," the man said, clearly impressed.
"What?" Ash looked at him dumbly.
"That Pikachu has been watching us training for a while now. I am a little surprised you didn't notice."
Ash had not, too caught up in Charmander to pay attention to his surroundings. Charmander was close to learning the move but not there yet while this Pikachu had learned it from just watching…
Pikachu fired a Thunder Shock before Pidgeotto could recover, landing a critical hit. Pidgeotto struggled a bit before breaking out of the attack and taking to the skies. His wings glowed brightly before he unleashed blades of wind down on Pikachu. Pikachu was able to dodge a few of the blades before the rest overwhelmed it and it was sent flying into the trees.
"You trained your Pidgeotto well" the man complimented.
"Honestly, I haven't done much with Pidgeotto yet" Ash rubbed the back of his head. "I just caught him in the Viridian Forest."
"Viridian Forest? There's only one Pidgeotto there. Are you saying you caught the King of the Forest?" the man asked, a little shocked.
Ash shrugged.
"It would explain the strength… Many have tried to catch it and failed. And seeing how that Pikachu is keeping up with him, I'm going to guess that one is the rival and the second strongest Pokemon in the forest."
"I heard of that one," Ash said. The samurai had told him about it.
Pidgeotto dived down but was sent back in the air when Pikachu hit him with an Iron Tail.
Ash frowned, before an idea formed in his head.
"Pidgeotto! Use that wind blae move again!"
"Razor Wind," the man said.
"Right. Use Razor Wind and use it as cover!"
Pidgeotto spared Ash a look, before doing as his trainer asked of him. he used Razor Wind again and dove in between the blades of wind using QuickAttack. Pikachu used Thundershock to deal with some of the blades before being hit by the others. When Pidgeotto got close, Pikachu readied itself to use Iron Tail, but right before it hit, the glow of the tail vanished and Pikachu was sent flying back by Quick Attack.
"Guess he's not fully ready to use it yet" the man mused.
Ash on the other hand threw a Pokeball. Pikachu was drawn into the device and caught after three shakes.
"I caught Pikachu!" Ash cheered after picking up the Pokeball. Pidgeotto sat back down on the tree he was on before the battle and preened himself. He looked satisfied.
Ash took a deep breath before pushing open the doors to the Pewter City gym. He'd trained hard for this and prepared his Pokemon to be able to come out on top. He was not scared anymore, he knew his Pokemon would pull through.
"So, you're here."
Ash almost jumped at the voice. The floodlights burst on and illuminated the entire battlefield. It was filled with stone spikes and the ground looked made of hardened mud.
"I'm Brock. I'm Pewter's Gym Leader" the young man on the opposite end introduced himself. "My rock-hard willpower is evident even in my Pokémon. My Pokémon are all rock hard, and have true-grit determination" the male smiled, "My rock-hard willpower is evident even in my Pokémon. My Pokémon are all rock hard, and have true-grit determination."
Ash took another deep breath and took his place on the challenger's side of the field, which was on the opposite end of the one Brock stood on. A screen on the right came to life.
"The battles will be two on two, no switching or healing allowed. The last Pokemon standing will be declared the winner" a voice echoed.
"I used to have a human referee, but he's on vacation so this handy thing is taking over for now," Brock said with a smile, calling out his first Pokemon.
"Geodude, the Rock Pokemon. The longer a Geodude lives, the more its edges are chipped and worn away, making it more rounded in appearance. However, this Pokémon's heart will remain hard, craggy, and rough always."
Ash sent out his Charmander.
"I see" Brock murmured. He did not look too pleased.
The battle began with Brock commanding a tackle. Charmander dodged the attack and used Ember. Geodude used Defense Curl and took the hit, before launching itself at Charmander. Charmander flew back but landed on his feet, before unleashing another barrage of Ember.
Brock looked unimpressed by the passage of the battle, the disappointment clear on his face. He called for Geodude to end the battle with Mega Punch.
Only for Charmander to counter with Iron Tail.
The moment of surprise that followed was utilized by Ash and Charmander when another iron Tail was used and Geodude was sent crashing into one of the stone spikes.
"I see" Brock smiled to himself.
Geodude shot out of the spike with a glowing fist. Charmander met the Mega Punches with Iron Tail, exchanging blow for blow before using Ember to obscure Geodude's vision momentarily and hitting a clean Iron Tail.
This time Geodude did not shoot out from the ruined stone spike.
Brock called his Geodude back and still smiling sent his next Pokemon out, an Onix.
Wasting no time Ash called for Charmander to use Ember, using it the same way he used to obscure Geodude's vision.
Except Onix batted it away with its tail and at Brock's command trapped Charmander in spikes of stone by using Rock Tomb. A Tackle followed, smashing through the spikes and crashing into Charmander. Charmander flew back and crashed into Ash, knocked out.
"It was a good strategy against Geodude, but Onix won't fall for the same thing" Brock called out.
Ash returned Charmander with a word of compliment before sending out his next Pokemon.
Brock was a little taken aback seeing the yellow mouse.
"What can we do" Ash muttered, fishing out his Pokedex. He took another look over Onix's entry. An idea formed in his head and he asked Pikachu to use Quick Attack to move around the battlefield.
Pikachu's cheek sparked and the yellow mouse moved around the battlefield at random. Onix did not move but kept an eye out for Pikachu. Ash called for Thundershock but commanded Pikachu to only charge himself and not attack. Brock was intrigued by that tactic. So far Pikachu was not attacking, and now with Thundershock all around it, Pikachu's movement path was becoming visible thanks to the trail of electricity it left that did not disappear.
Suddenly Onix began to sway.
Brock frowned but then it clicked what Ash was trying to do.
Quickly the Gym Leader asked for Onix to use Rock Tomb. The Pokemon obliged but missed the attack by a large margin. Pikachu kept moving, drawing in closer and closer until he was moving over Onix's body. The yellow mouse climbed up over Onix's back and slammed an Iron Tail on top of its head. The force of the super-effective move and the effects of whatever Pikachu had done sent Onix tumbling over. Pikachu jumped off and continued to move around, covered in Thundershock electricity.
Onix got up, but his swaying had gotten worse. Randomly it began throwing Rock Tomb out, missing each time. Pikachu managed to land a few more Iron tails, not on the head but on the body this time.
"That is enough" Brock called his Onix back. "That plan with using Pikachu's electricity to mess with Onix's internal magnet and ruin his sense of direction was smart. You deserve the Boulder Badge for your battle prowess and ingenuity."
"But… I did not beat you in battle" Ash frowned over the giant monitor and the voice declaring him the victor.
"But you have" Brock pointed out. "You pushed my Pokemon to a point where his battle capabilities were severely hampered. The Gym battles aren't just about defeating the Gym Leader's Pokemon. It is a test and the Gym Leaders are your testers. As your tester, I deem you have passed and deserve the Boulder Badge for it."
Brock held up the badge and Ash, whose frown had turned into a grin, accepted it happily. He cheered at his accomplishment, only for Pikachu to use Thundershock and electrocute him.
The yellow mouse was smirking of course.
SO I'M GOING TO BE USING THE THIRD GENERATION POKEDEX INSTEAD OF THE FIRST GENERATION BECAUSE THAT SEEMS MORE FUN. For any evolutions of old Pokemon though I'll wait for that region to come knocking before I allow it. It's more fun that way because then Ash can be like, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN THIS POKEMON I CAUGHT IN KANTO CAN IN FACT EVOLVE FURTHER IN THIS REGION?!" Adds a bit of spice and exposes Ash to how the same Pokemon can have different potentials depending on which region they are in. All that jazz about how environment, eating habits, and exposure in certain ways can help a Pokemon evolve.
