The plan once Ash reached Celadon City was simple, do not insult the perfumes. The Gym Leader owned the shop and insulting the scent of perfume was a surefire way of getting banned from the gym, and he did not have Team Rocket to cross-dress him for entrance either.
Ash wondered where those three were now. It was odd but Ash had begun to wonder whether he could help those guys too. They were bad people… just misguided.
He also wondered whether it was legal to get banished from a gym for ust insulting perfumes. Ash did not want to deal with that.
So he kept his head down and went to the Pokemon Center to mix his team up. He had an idea of the Pokemon he wanted to use in this Gym. He had promised his Pokemon that he'd call on them when needed, and this was as good a time as any. His Pokemon were training hard at the Lab according to Professor Oak, so he intended to keep his promise to them.
The Celadon City Gym had a built-in nursery where women tended to plants and grass type Pokemon. The Gym Leader Erika on the other hand was holding some kind of storytelling class. Ash didn't remember what the story was from the first time.
Erika looked up when she noticed Ash enter the room. Ash didn't need to tell her why he was there. Men usually showed up here for Gym Challenges apparently.
Erika got up and wordlessly began to walk away. Ash followed her wordlessly, his eyes taking everything around him. Last time he hadn't experienced the place well. His grass Pokemon would love it here.
"It will be a three-on-three battle," Erika said, pulling Ash's attention to her. "The standard rules, no switching unless your Pokemon faints or you're in the middle of rounds."
"I accept," Ash said with a nod.
The battlefield was nothing special, made of earth and set as if in the middle of a forest. Ash and Erika took opposite ends of the battlefield and sent out their first Pokemon.
Erika sent out Tangela.
Ash sent out Charmander.
The battle began with Erika commanding a confident Stun Spore. Tangela shook its body violently, yellow powder coming out of its body in the process. Charmander fired a Flamethrower that burned through the powder and hit Tangela in the face.
The move did not knock Tangela out but left it badly damaged.
Tangela shot vines at Charmander, using Constrict to hold the Pokemon in place. Charmander used Fire Spin on the ground under him. The cortex of flames shot up around him, swirling around him like a protective shield. The flames traveled over the vines and ran straight to the source. Tangela was encased in flames, causing a burn. The vines around Charmander shot away, freeing Charmander from their hold.
Tangela ran around the battlefield while it burned. Charmander finished it off with a Skull Bash.
Erika and Ash called back their Pokemon at the same time.
Erika raised a brow. He had expected Ash to continue with Charmander and try to sweep through. Not that he could. Her next Pokemon was strong. Charmander would stand no chance.
She sent out Weepinbell.
Ash sent out Pidgeotto.
Weepinbell sent leaves of razor sharpness at Pidgeotto at its trainer's command. Pidgeotto countered by flapping its wings furiously. The Whirlwind shot the Razor Leaf out of the air, and Pidgeotto followed up with a Quick Attack to land the first blow. Weepinbell returned fire with Sleep Powder. Pidgeotto used Whirlwind again and sent the powder right back at Weepinbell. Weepinbell slowly drifted off to sleep. Pidgeotto took the opportunity to rain down Wing Attacks over and over again on the sleeping Weepinbell, eventually knocking the Pokemon out.
Pidgeotto perched on the ground after being declared the victor and immediately began to glow. When the glow died away, Pidgeot stood where Pidgeotto was.
Ash grinned from happiness. All those training sessions with Pikachu, Charmander, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Butterfree finally paid off. If only he'd done this the first time he'd journeyed through Kanto, he could have grown even stronger with his Pokemon.
Ash called his Pidgeot back just as Erika called her Weepinbell back. They sent their next Pokemon out at the same time.
Erika sent out Gloom.
Ash sent out Drowzee.
"You got this" Ash said to his Pokemon, who he had not used until now.
Drawzee looked at his trainer, before turning back to his opponent.
Ash smiled at that. Drowzee did not have a proper trainer before now, the same case as his Charmander. But he knew this Pokemon could be something strong too.
The call for battle began and Ash had Drowzee use Disable immediately. Gloom cringed and the smell coming from it stopped. A gamble that paid off… Ash was not going to question it.
Drowzee followed it up with Confusion, shooting and smashing Gloom all over against the ground and the trees before hitting it with a Headbutt. Gloom struggled to its feet, but another Headbutt sent it flying back to Erika.
"Stop, I forfeit this round" Erika sighed, calling back her Gloom.
Ash's lips twitched before he walked over to Drowzee.
"You did well," Ash said kindly, placing a hand on Drowzee's head.
The look of joy and pride in Drowzee's eyes was enough to make Ash grin.
-x-
Ash was in a conundrum for only a moment. There was no Brock nor was there Misty with him. So what would happen to Psyduck? He knew how attached Misty eventually grew to Psyduck, but she was not here and Ash did not want to leave Psyduck. So he decided after he dealt with all the Hypno drama around Celadon. He caught the Pokemon for himself before leaving for his next Gym.
On the path to Fuschia City, Ash came across a Hitmonchan. He already knew this one wasn't a wild Pokemon, so instead of trying to capture it, Ash simply challenged it to a battle with his Pikachu. Hitmonchan's trainer came down from further down the road as the battle began to heat up. It was a close battle, both Pokemon relying on speed to overwhelm the other, but the interruption from a girl ended the battle in a tie. She was Hitmonchan's trainer's daughter.
As Anthony walked away, his daughter Rebecca urged Ash to help her bring her father home. Ash accepted, but not to help Rebecca out. This was the tournament where he and Primeape became a team. Even if he was a Mankey still, Ash intended to win this with him.
Ash went down to the Championship center and signed up with just Mankey in his team, while the rest he sent to Professor Oak's Laboratory.
The first battle was between Ash's Mankey and a fighter's Machop. Mankey made quick work of the Machop with a combination of Mega Kick and Trash, evolving in the process into Primeape when the round ended in Ash's favor.
Ash and Primeape fought together and climbed the ladder to the final, where he was pitted against Anthony's Hitmonchan. Ash knew already how Hitmonchan fought by battling it with Pikachu, so he knew how to counter the Pokemon.
With Agility Hitmonchan got in close and with Comet Punch the Pokemon lashed out at Primeape. Primeape went into a frenzy with Throash, countering and overwhelming Hitmonchan. Hitmonchan could deal with Primeaoe's fists, but not his legs as Primeape took to attacking with all four of his limbs. Primeape continued to wail down on Hitmonchan until the exhaustion caught up from the move and caused Priemape to get confused. Immediately Primeape slammed its head into the ground, pulling back to reveal that it had snapped out of confusion.
A tactic Ash remembered Iris using with her Haxorus in the future.
Hitmonchan got in close with Agility once more, but Priemape caught the incoming fist and used Seismic Toss. Hitmonchan was sent flying out of the ring and crashed into his trainer.
Hitmonchan was declared unable to battle. Primeape had won the Gran Prix once more. Or rather, he won it for the first time once more.
After the tournament, Anthony offered to train Primeape. The man saw something in Primeape and wanted to explore it with the Pokemon. But Ash denied him the chance. This time, Ash wanted to keep his Primeape on call and use him for any Gym Battles and League battles coming up.
Ash called back the Pokemon he had with him before he entered the Grand Prix and headed out for Fuschia City. He passed through Gringey City on the way, reuniting with his Muk. But before he headed out, he decided to swap his Pokemon for the Pokemon he'd be using in the Fuschia City Gym Challenge. It would give him some time to spend with these Pokemon of his and form a strategy for the gym battle.