Chapter 17: A Whole Lotta Quakin' Going On
"Well, here we are again." After a bit of training, strategizing and a good rest at the Pokémon Center Ash, Nikki and their Pokémon were once again standing outside of the Lunick City Gym.
"Time to see if all our hard work pays off," Ash stated.
"You sure you've gone through everything?" Nikki questioned.
"We've gone through our game plan as many times as necessary. Now it's all up to how well we can execute it," Ash replied.
"(We'll be cheering you on from the sidelines,)" Pikachu said.
"I know you will, buddy," Ash responded. After taking a deep breath to calm his nerves Ash looked at the Gym, his eyes filled with determination.
"Alright… let's do this!" he shouted. The doors opened and the group entered the Gym, becoming reacquainted with the building's interior.
"I was hoping you'd show up soon, Ash." Standing on the other side of the large battlefield was Clayton with his referee by his side.
"I hope you're ready, Ash. I plan to give you everything I've got," Clayton stated.
"That's fine with me. I planned on doing the same," Ash replied with a smirk. He and Clayton took their places in their respective trainers' boxes while Nikki, Pikachu and Buneary made their way to the stands. Moments later the referee went over the rules.
"This is a Gym battle rematch between the challenger, Ash of Pallet Town, and the Gym Leader Clayton! The battle will be four-on-four! As before only Ground types are permitted and only the challenger will be allowed to make substitutions!" he explained. "Are both sides ready?"
"I'm ready if you are!" Clayton announced.
"I've never been more ready!" Ash replied. With both sides ready to get underway the referee had only one more thing to say…
"Battle… BEGIN!" Clayton wasted no time making the first move, grabbing a Poké Ball and tossing it out.
"Gliscor, to the field!" Both Ash and Nikki were surprised to see Clayton leading off with is Gliscor as they assumed he would start with Quagsire. Still, this didn't change Ash's strategy any.
"Okay Onix, let's start off on the right foot!" Ash shouted as he called on his Rock Snake Pokémon. Onix let out a loud bellow as he stared at his opponent.
"Remember the strategy we went over, Onix!" Ash instructed. "Just follow that and we'll win for sure!"
"(Got it!)" Onix roared. On the sidelines Nikki, Pikachu and Buneary watched and hoped that all the planning Ash put in would be enough.
"Good luck out there," Nikki whispered.
"Okay, let's start off with Dragonbreath!" Ash shouted. Onix wasted no time spewing the white flame at Gliscor.
"Take to the air and dodge!" Clayton instructed. Gliscor sprang up on his tail and soared over the Dragonbreath.
"Now come at Onix with X-Scissor!" Clayton shouted. As soon as Onix's attack was through Gliscor dove down, his claws crossed.
"Stop him with Iron Tail!" Ash shouted. Onix swung his Steel-powered tail at the incoming Gliscor, but the Fang Scorp Pokémon was too nimble as he easily dodged the Iron Tail and landed a solid hit with X-Scissor.
"Now ascend!" Clayton instructed. Gliscor climbed back up high into the air just as Onix was recovering from the X-Scissor.
"Are you okay, Onix?" Ash asked.
"(Yeah! I can still battle!)" Onix replied. Ash was glad to hear this.
"Okay then. Use Dragonbreath again!" he shouted.
"Dodge and use Steel Wing!" Clayton countered. Onix once again spewed the white flame, but Gliscor nimbly dodged and struck the Rock Snake Pokémon with a Steel Wing as he flew by.
"Man, his Gliscor is just too fast for us to hit," Ash grumbled under his breath. "If only there was a way to slow him down… hold on… that just might work." He glanced up and saw that Gliscor was charging again with what looked like another Steel Wing.
"Use Screech!" Ash instructed. Right before the attack made contact Onix let out an ear-splitting Screech. Gliscor was stopped in his tracks as he clamped his claws around his ears.
"(Gah! Make it stop!)" he screamed.
"Now, knock him down with Iron Tail!" Ash shouted. Onix quickly charged up his tail and swung at Gliscor, making solid contact and slamming the Fang Scorp Pokémon to the ground.
"Finish up with Rock Throw!" Ash instructed. A large rock formed in the air next to the Rock Snake Pokémon. With a smirk he slapped the rock with his tail and sent it crashing down on Gliscor. The rock shattered on impact with the ground, revealing a defeated Gliscor.
"Gliscor is unable to battle! Onix wins!" the referee announced.
"Alright, we did it!" Ash cheered. Overjoyed Onix picked Ash up with his tail and hugged him, making sure not to squeeze too tightly.
"(I won! I really won!)" Onix roared.
"I knew you could do it, Onix!" Ash praised. On the sidelines Nikki, Pikachu and Buneary were just as excited.
"Alright! He's off to a great start!" Nikki cheered.
"(All their planning is paying off!)" Buneary shouted.
"(Keep it up, you guys!)" Pikachu cheered. Clayton was a bit shocked, but he quickly overcame that as he recalled his defeated Gliscor.
"You did well, my friend. Now rest," he said. "I must admit I had no idea you could have this big of a turnaround in such a short amount of time, Ash."
"Trust me, we're just getting started," Ash boasted.
"Is that so? Well let's see if you can keep this momentum up," Clayton challenged. "Quagsire, to the field!" His dual Water and Ground type appeared on the field. With Onix having taken out Gliscor Ash recalled him.
"I may need to use you later," he explained before grabbing a second Poké Ball. "Now, it's your turn, Torterra!" The Continent Pokémon appeared and roared a challenge to Clayton's Quagsire.
"Okay, time to get Quagsire out of the way," Nikki stated. Since Ash had scored the knockout Clayton made the first move this time.
"Use Ice Beam!" the Gym Leader shouted. Quagsire formed a concentrated ball of Ice energy in his mouth and prepared to fire.
"Throw him off balance with Rock Climb!" Ash instructed. Before Quagsire could fire Torterra slammed his forelegs onto the ground, creating a steep slope in front of him with Quagsire standing at the top. Then, his claws became elongated as he charged up the slope.
"Yeah, that's the way!" Nikki cheered.
"Nice try, but not good enough! Use Ice Beam on the slope!" Clayton instructed. Aiming down the slope Quagsire fired his Ice Beam. The attack froze the ground, and as soon as Torterra stepped on it he lost his footing and slid back down to the bottom.
"Aw man! I didn't see that coming!" Ash groaned.
"Now use Rock Slide!" Clayton shouted. Quagsire slammed his tail onto the top of the slope, sending an avalanche of rocks tumbling down towards Torterra.
"Quick, use Leaf Storm!" Ash ordered. As quickly as he could Torterra launched his Leaf Storm, blasting the incoming Rock Slide to pieces and threatening to do the same to Quagsire.
"Dodge using Dig!" Clayton shouted. At the last moment Quagsire dug underground and avoided the attack.
"Now we've got him!" Ash said. "Earthquake!"
"What?" Clayton shouted. All too late he realized that he played right into Ash's hands. He could do nothing but watch as Torterra slammed his forelegs onto the ground once again, this time sending out massive shockwaves throughout the arena.
"M-Man! T-Torterra's E-Earthquake is s-stronger t-than b-before!" Nikki stuttered.
"(N-No k-kidding!)" Pikachu agreed.
"(I c-can b-barely k-keep s-standing!)" Buneary stuttered. Quagsire, however, got the worst of the attack. Within seconds he was shaken up to the surface, barely able to remain on his feet.
"Now, finish him with Energy Ball!" Ash shouted. While Quagsire was still struggling with remaining standing Torterra gathered energy for his next attack. By the time either Quagsire or Clayton realized this it was too late. The Continent Pokémon fired his attack, making solid contact which knocked out the Water Fish Pokémon.
"Quagsire is unable to battle! Torterra wins!" the referee announced.
"Alright! That's two in a row!" Ash shouted. Torterra roared in victory.
"Ash is up two-to-four now!" Nikki cheered.
"(He's on a roll now!)" Pikachu shouted as he and Buneary danced together happily. The three of them continued to celebrate Ash's early success when Nikki suddenly realized something.
"These next two Pokémon… Ash doesn't know what they are," she stated. Pikachu and Buneary stopped dancing and looked towards Ash with a bit of concern.
"(Do you think he'll be able to win?)" Buneary wondered.
"We'll have to wait and see," Nikki replied. Clayton recalled his defeated Quagsire and thanked him for his hard work while Ash elected to leave Torterra out.
"Well, it seems as though you've found out how to defeat those two," Clayton commented. "But let's see how you do against two Pokémon you haven't seen me use yet!" He threw out a third Poké Ball, this time calling out a four-armed rock shaped Pokémon.
"(That's a Graveler!)" Pikachu exclaimed. Nikki took out her Pokédex and scanned Clayton's Pokémon.
Graveler, the Rock Pokémon and the evolved form of Geodude. A slow walker, it rolls to move. It pays no attention to any object that happens to be in its path.
"(Sounds tough,)" Buneary commented.
"(You have no idea,)" Pikachu stated. "(Graveler are known for having incredibly high defense. Ash in in for a real tough battle if he can't find a way around that.)"
"Let's take him out quick, Torterra! Leaf Storm!" Ash instructed. With a loud bellow Torterra launched his powerful attack, but something seemed off.
"Counter with Stone Edge!" Clayton shouted. Dozens of sharp rocks materialized around Graveler. Seconds later he sent them forward to counter the Leaf Storm. When the two attacks collided the Leaf Storm was slowly but surely overpowered by the Rock attack. As the Continent Pokémon was pelted by the rocks Ash was left wondering what happened.
"Leaf Storm should have blown Stone Edge away," he said.
"Ash! Leaf Storm loses power the more times it's used in battle!" Nikki shouted.
"Are you serious?" Ash gasped, clearly unaware of Leaf Storm's side effect.
"It seems that a lapse in judgment has given me an opening!" Clayton commented. "Use Rock Tomb!" Before Ash could call out his next command Graveler stomped his foot on the ground, causing large stones to shoot out of the ground around Torterra. Within seconds the Continent Pokémon was encased in a stone prison, unable to move.
"Quick! Use Leaf Storm to break free!" Ash shouted. Mustering up all he could Torterra unleashed his powerful Grass type attack, summoning a cyclone of leaves to shatter the Rock Tomb. However, due to his own exhaustion and the fact that this was the third time he had used Leaf Storm this battle the attack was greatly weakened. Once the Rock Tomb was broken Torterra was able to move, but he was clearly running out of strength. His breathing was very heavy.
"Torterra won't be able to go much longer. I have to wrap this up now," Ash mused. "Use Earthquake!" Torterra reared up and slammed his forelegs on the ground, once again sending out shockwaves through the ground.
"Show them what a real Earthquake is, Graveler!" Clayton instructed. Despite his short legs Graveler managed to jump relatively high, sending out his own Earthquake upon landing. The two tremors met in the middle, kicking up large chunks of earth as they collided.
"W-Whoa! W-What p-power!" Nikki stuttered. She and the Pokémon were stumbling all over the place. At one point Buneary came close to falling off the railing and onto the battlefield, but at the last moment Pikachu grabbed her paw and pulled her to safety.
"(T-Thanks, Pikachu,)" she said once the tremors subsided.
"(Anytime,)" Pikachu replied. Back on the field Ash was ready to deliver what he hoped would be the finishing blow.
"Rock Climb!" he shouted. Once again Torterra caused the ground to shift upwards in a slope with Graveler standing at the top, and once again he charged headlong for his opponent.
"Now I've got you!" Clayton declared. Before Ash could figure out what he meant Clayton called for his next attack.
"Rollout!" With a smirk Graveler rolled into a ball and let gravity do the rest.
"Oh no! Torterra, stop your attack!" Ash panicked. By then, though, it was too late. As Torterra continued his charge Graveler was barreling down the slope. The two Pokémon hit head-on, each one vying for superiority.
"Come on, Torterra! Stay strong!" Nikki cheered. But her cheers could only do so much. Due to his weakened state Torterra couldn't hold his ground for long and was eventually overpowered. He was thrown from the slope, landing on his back at the bottom. One look was all anyone needed to see that he was out of the battle.
"Torterra is unable to battle! Graveler wins!" the referee announced.
"(Oh man… Torterra lost,)" Buneary groaned.
"But remember, Ash still has three Pokémon while Clayton is down to two. Ash still has the advantage," Nikki reminded Buneary. Ash recalled his defeated Torterra.
"Thank you. Now you take a rest," he said. He grabbed another Poké Ball and threw it out.
"Okay, Donphan! You're up!" he shouted. The Armor Pokémon appeared and stared down his opponent.
"Use Rollout!" Ash shouted.
"Counter with your Rollout, Graveler!" Clayton instructed. The two Pokémon curled up and rolled towards each other, meeting in a violent collision that resulted in a stalemate.
"Again!" the two trainers shouted. The Pokémon clashed a second time, getting the same results. The two trainers continued to call out repeated Rollout attacks with each collision resulting in a stalemate.
"I'm getting a headache just watching them," Nikki commented as she, Pikachu and Buneary witnessed another violent head-on collision.
"This is getting us nowhere. I have to change tactics," Ash thought. "Donphan, use Hyper Beam!" Donphan uncurled and began gathering energy for a Hyper Beam. Seconds later a sphere of orange energy began to form in his mouth.
"Get ready, Graveler!" Clayton called.
"Careful, Ash! He's up to something!" Nikki warned. She didn't know if Ash heard her or not, but in the end it didn't matter. Seconds after shouting her warning Donphan fired his attack.
"Now, into the air!" Clayton shouted. Still in Rollout Graveler managed to jump into the air. As the Hyper Beam hit the ground Graveler used the force from the explosion to launch himself higher.
"Now use Earthquake!" Clayton ordered. With gravity on his side Graveler plummeted towards the ground, slamming himself right on top of Donphan and putting the Armor Pokémon right at the epicenter of the Earthquake.
"No, Donphan!" Ash cried. When Graveler stepped back it was clear that Donphan was unable to continue.
"Donphan is unable to battle! Graveler wins!" the referee announced.
"Now they're tied at two each," Nikki said.
"(Ash can still win this,)" Pikachu stated.
"(You think so?)" Buneary questioned.
"(I have complete confidence in him. I know Ash can pull a win out of this,)" Pikachu declared.
"I hope you're right," Nikki said. The three of them waited as Ash recalled Donphan and deliberated his next move.
"I could send in Gabite to finish him off, but seeing as how he's already battled against Torterra and Donphan he has to be running out of strength," Ash thought. With that in mind Ash made his next selection.
"Onix, I need you again!" he shouted, tossing Onix's Poké Ball out. The Rock Snake Pokémon appeared with a loud roar.
"Graveler has to be feeling weak after battling Torterra and Donphan, so let's take him out fast!" Ash said. "Use Dragonbreath!" Onix spewed the familiar white flames at Graveler.
"Defend yourself with Rollout!" Clayton instructed. Graveler rolled into a ball and started spinning, dispersing the Dragonbreath as soon as it made contact.
"Now charge him!" Clayton shouted. Still in Rollout Graveler charged for Onix.
"Stop him with Iron Tail!" Ash yelled. Before Graveler could strike Onix used Iron Tail and swung with all his might, striking the incoming Graveler. Even though he stopped the attack Graveler continued to push forward in an attempt to break through Onix's defense.
"Onix can't keep this up for much longer," Ash said. Right then he got an idea he thought just might work.
"Angle your tail so that Graveler flies into the air!" Ash shouted. Onix did as he was instructed, angling his tail and body at a 45 degree angle. Just as Ash had planned Graveler rolled right up and was launched into the air.
"Alright, it worked!" he cheered.
"It'll take more than that to get the better of us!" Clayton declared. "Now, dive down and use Earthquake! Head straight for Onix!" From his position in the air Graveler uncurled and plummeted right towards Onix, preparing to deliver a bone-jarring Earthquake.
"Quick, hit him with your Dragonbreath!" Ash shouted. Sensing his trainer's urgency Onix fired a desperation Dragonbreath.
"Don't stop! Push through!" Clayton shouted. Graveler crossed his four arms in front of him to shield himself from the Dragonbreath as he continued to push forward.
"Pour it on, Onix! Don't let him land that attack!" Ash urged. Onix put more power into his attack, but Graveler continued to descend. After a brief power struggle Graveler slammed into Onix, driving the Rock Snake Pokémon to the ground with a furious Earthquake that shook the entire Gym.
"M-Man! T-That's s-some p-power!" Nikki exclaimed. Pikachu and Buneary were too busy trying to keep their balance to reply. The quake was brief, and when it was over with everyone could see that Onix was down and out, but what really surprised them was that Graveler was as well.
"Both Onix and Graveler are unable to battle!" the referee announced. As both trainers recalled their Pokémon Nikki, Pikachu and Buneary took in the current situation.
"This is it… this will decide the battle," Nikki said.
"(Do you think Gabite can win?)" Buneary asked.
"(We won't know what shot he has until we see what Clayton's last Pokémon is,)" Pikachu answered. "(All we know is that it's a Ground type.)"
"Not a lot to go on, but it's better than nothing," Nikki commented. Down to their last Pokémon Ash and Clayton simultaneously threw out their Poké Balls.
"Gabite, I choose you!"
"Dugtrio, to the field!" Ash's Cave Pokémon was expected, but Clayton's Pokémon wasn't.
"Dugtrio, huh. Let's see what the Pokédex has to say." Nikki took out her Pokédex and scanned the Dugtrio.
Dugtrio, the Mole Pokémon and the evolved form of Diglett. Extremely powerful, they can dig through even the hardest ground to a depth of over 60 miles.
"(I wonder how Ash and Gabite are going to combat that?)" Buneary wondered.
"We'll have to wait and see," Nikki responded.
"Gabite, Dig!" Ash instructed. Gabite quickly dug underground, vanishing from sight.
"Force him to the surface with Earthquake!" Clayton ordered. Dugtrio flexed his muscles and sent out a shockwave through the ground. The force of the quake was strong enough to shake Gabite back to the surface.
"(W-What t-the?)" Gabite gasped.
"Now use Tri Attack!" Clayton instructed. Gabite was shot with three triangles of Fire, Ice and Electric type attributes. Though the attack hurt there were not after effects.
"Whew… that could have been bad," Nikki said with a sigh of relief. "Tri Attack can leave the target either burned, frozen or paralyzed. Ash and Gabite just got lucky."
"(You can say that again,)" Pikachu agreed.
"Okay, Gabite! Use Dragon Pulse!" Ash shouted. Gabite formed a light blue sphere in his mouth and fired.
"Use Dig to dodge!" Clayton instructed.
"Not this again!" Ash groaned as he watched Dugtrio go underground to avoid the Dragon Pulse.
"Great! Just where is he going to pop up next?" Ash shouted as he and Gabite looked for the spot where Dugtrio would surface.
"Mud Bomb!" To their surprise Dugtrio reappeared right in front of them and sent a large ball of mud right at Gabite. The mud ball hit and exploded, covering Gabite in mud and dirt.
"Now back underground!" Clayton ordered. Dugtrio retreated back underground while Gabite was getting his bearings.
"Now where's he going to show up at?" Ash shouted.
"Tri Attack!" Dugtrio surfaced right behind Gabite, preparing to fire the three triangles.
"Turn around and use Dragon Pulse!" Ash shouted. Before the Tri Attack was fired Gabite spun around and fired Dragon Pulse.
"Quick, underground!" Clayton shouted. Dugtrio quickly canceled his Tri Attack and went back underground, narrowly dodging the Dragon Pulse.
"Go after him, Gabite!" Ash instructed.
"Stop him!" Clayton countered. Just as Gabite was preparing to dive into the hole Dugtrio went down in the Mole Pokémon popped out and delivered a head butt to the Cave Pokémon, stopping him in his tracks. With Gabite stopped Dugtrio went back underground.
"Man! There's just no way to get a clean shot off on him! If Gabite knew Earthquake he could use it to hit Dugtrio while he's still underground and force him up, but there's no way I can do that now… or is there?" The gears in his head immediately started spinning.
"Looks like Ash is thinking," Nikki observed. Pikachu smirked.
"(That usually means his opponents are about to go down,)" he commented.
"Gabite, use Draco Meteor!" Ash shouted. Gabite gathered the energy in his mouth and fired the orb into the air. Once it got high enough it exploded into dozens of smaller orbs and rained down on the battlefield.
"What is he planning?" Clayton wondered.
"With all the Ground type moves that have been used already the ground should be weak enough for Dugtrio to feel the impact," Ash figured. He and everyone else watched as the Draco Meteor impacted on the ground. Wherever the attack hit a small crater was left.
"Alright… where are you?" Ash wondered. As more orbs made impact Ash's plan started to be come clear.
"He's using the Draco Meteor to force Dugtrio above ground!" Clayton gasped. As soon as the words left his mouth the last Draco Meteor orb hit the ground, creating a rather large crater in the middle of the field, and right in the middle of the crater was a very confused and startled Dugtrio.
"There he is, Gabite!" Ash shouted while pointing down into the crater. "Now get in there and use Rock Smash!"
"(Time to bring the pain!)" Gabite roared. He charged towards Dugtrio, his claws drawn back.
"Use Mud Bomb, quick!" Clayton ordered. As fast as he could Dugtrio launched one of his Mud Bomb attacks at Gabite, but the Cave Pokémon simply tore through it. However, there was something different about the method he used. Rather than use Rock Smash he used a different attack. Both of his claws were giving off a faint blue glow as he struck and continued to do so as he charged towards Dugtrio.
"That doesn't look like Rock Smash," Ash commented. In the stands Nikki noticed the same thing.
"That looks like Dragon Claw," she commented. "Ash! I think Gabite just learned Dragon Claw!"
"Really? That's awesome!" Ash cheered. "Okay, bring it home with Dragon Claw!"
"(This battle's over!)" Gabite roared. He closed the distance quickly and slashed with his claws, and even though Dugtrio had taken no damage thus far the amount of power Gabite unleashed in his attack was great enough to knock the Mole Pokémon out.
"Dugtrio is unable to battle! Gabite wins, and the victory goes to Ash of Pallet Town!" the referee announced.
"Alright! We won our first Legenda Gym battle!" Ash cheered, pumping his fist into the air. In the stands Nikki, Pikachu and Buneary were celebrating as well.
"He did it!" Nikki cheered.
"(What did I tell you? Ash wasn't going to lose twice!)" Pikachu exclaimed.
"(That battle was incredible! Gabite really pulled through in the end!)" Buneary said. Meanwhile Clayton was recalling his defeated Dugtrio. Though he lost he still had a smile on his face.
"An excellent job as always, Dugtrio," he praised. His smile grew even bigger when he looked up and saw Ash, surrounded by his friends, praising his Gabite.
"You were awesome out there, Gabite. I couldn't have asked for a better performance," Ash said.
"(I aim to please,)" the Cave Pokémon bragged.
"Well you certainly accomplished that," Clayton said as he walked over. "That was a truly inspired battled you put on. Almost makes me want to go out and find my own Gabite."
"Thank you, Clayton," Ash said. Shortly after that the referee walked over to them and presented Clayton with a small box. Clayton opened it and revealed what was inside.
"As proof of your victory here I proudly present you with the Shifting Earth Badge, the official Lunick Town Gym Badge," he announced. The badge was a small circular one. The face of the badge was tan in color and looked like it was made of sand.
"Thank you so much," Ash said as he accepted the badge.
"Alright! We won the Shifting Earth Badge!" he cheered.
"(Oh yeah!)" Pikachu added.
"That's your first Gym badge," Nikki stated. "All you need is one more to take on your first Area Boss."
"I know, and as soon as I figure out where the next Gym is I can start planning for it, and that second badge will be as good as ours!" Ash declared.
"(You got that right!)" Pikachu bragged.
"(No doubt!)" Gabite added. With their confidence on Cloud 9 Ash and his Pokémon eagerly looked forward to their next Gym battle, wherever it may be.
Ash's rematch ended with success as he claimed his first Legenda League Gym badge. As he looks forward to his second Gym battle one has to wonder what challenges are ahead for him, Nikki and their Pokémon. Find out what they are in the next chapter of Search for Power!
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