Copy of Perfect Fitness
"Hello." Humans
"Pika-chu." Pokémon addressing Human
"Hello." Pokémon addressing Pokémon
Ash, Gary, Lillie, and Isaac walked in with the rest of their class into a massive exercise gym. Around the edges of the room were various pieces of exercise equipment of equally varying sizes. Further towards the center was a lined off portion for running. And at the center of the gym was a large battle space for sparring, lined off just like what they saw at the Pewter Gym.
"Wow. This place is something!" Ash yelled as his eyes gazed around the room excitedly.
Lillie's eyes, unlike Ash's, remained rigidly fixed on the central battle space. "Why does a Gym Class have a battle arena?" She asked skeptically.
"What other kind of Gym Class would you have in a school for Pokémon trainers?" Gary asked with a grin.
"We have battle arenas scattered throughout the school! How many more places do people need to fight each other over the slightest thing!?" Lillie yelled in horror.
"I don't understand the question," Ash, Gary, and Isaac replied in unison.
"Pika/Squirt/Char," Pikachu, Squirtle and Blaze said in unison, mirroring their trainers.
Lillie simply sighed and face palmed. "Boys…" She groaned in exasperation.
The group soon was broken from their conversation by the echoing sound of heavy footfalls. Soon they saw a tall, broad, and muscular man with a strong-jawed bald head walking in front of the class. Wearing a simple grey tank top, sunglasses, red shorts, and dark colored books, he grabbed a whistle hanging from his neck and blew it loudly. Soon, the class groaned from the sudden, sharp noise. Some were even forced to cover their ears.
"Good morning class! I am Coach Tugg, and I will be working you all into the ground during each class session! All in the name of building you kids up into fit, active, and determined trainers!!" The man boomed, his deep voice echoing through the room.
"Sir! I have a question!?" Gary asked, raising his hand.
"Yes, Oak?" Tugg replied, his head snapping over to look at him.
"One, how do you know my name? Two, why are you yelling?" Gary asked, putting a finger in his right ear, while counting with his left hand.
"I remember every student I will have in each period before the school year even starts! And for the second question, it's so everyone, even in the back, can hear me!" The man replied firmly.
"Noted…" Gary replied, wincing from the pain of how loud he was.
"Now then. The structure of this class is freeform. You and your Pokémon want to work out the proper way? Equipment's on the outer edge. Want to get the cardio in for the day? We got a running track here. Want to do some sparring or testing out some fancy maneuver?! We got the battle arena in the middle. Need to blow off steam or settle a score? Also, the battle arena! Any questions!?" Coach Tugg finished his explanation with a question, as the room fell silent afterwards.
"Um… yes. Coach Tugg…?" Isaac began tentatively.
"Yes, Isaac!?" He barked, turning sharply to look at the boy.
"Why are you wearing sunglasses indoors…?" He asked, genuinely confused.
To the class's surprise, Coach Tugg stood there silent for a moment before finally speaking up. "I am training my eyes to better fight in caves! Those Zubat will not catch me off guard ever again!!" He exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air vigorously as his eyebrows furrowed fiercely.
"... Do we even want to know…?" Isaac asked, raising an eyebrow.
"We are getting off the subject. Now, class has started! Have fun and don't drop a barbell on anyone!!" Coach Tugg yelled, before turning and walking away.
Ash and his friends watched as the rest of the class began to disperse to various parts of the Gym. They then all grabbed their Pokéballs and let out their Pokémon. Each of which began to stretch and get ready for the class. All except Caesar, who immediately rushed over to Isaac's leg nervously.
Isaac gently petted the abnormally large Male Nidoran on the head. "It's okay, Caesar. Everyone is a friend here…" He reassured the newest member of his team.
Lillie's face lit up as she got an idea. "Why don't we have Caesar and Snowy buddy up, Isaac?" She asked excitedly.
Isaac smiled. "Good thinking, Lillie. That was, Caesar can get used to how we do things." He replied before looking down at the Poison Pin Pokémon. "Does that sound good to you, Caesar?"
"Nido…" Caesar replied nervously, as Snowy happily rushed over to him.
"Vulpix, Vul Vul!" Snowie said chipperly before running off to the running track.
Caesar nervously began to follow as Ash turned to look at Pikachu. "Alright, buddy. Time to get you on the treadmill…" He began to say, before seeing Pikachu looking at him with an offended expression and then running off. "Hey! Get back here!!"
"Well, Squirtle. Let's get you started on some push-ups," Gary told his Tiny Turtle partner.
"Everyone else, follow me! We can all try out the equipment together!" Lillie said to the rest of Ash's, Isaac's, and Gary's Pokémon.
Just as all the Pokémon began to follow behind Lillie, they all heard a commotion from across the room. Rushing over, to their surprise, they saw a Beedrill trying to run down and grab hold of Caesar and Snowy. Before they could get involved, the familiar sight of Dusk rushed over, putting himself between the Beedrill and the panicking Pokémon.
"Don't worry, guys. Beedrill has Swarm, not Poison Point. It's fine," Dusk said causally, trying his best to wave off the concern.
"That wouldn't work on Caesar anyway! He's not upset because of that! He's upset because he used to be in a fight club!" Isaac snapped out.
"Oh. I thought I recognized that Nidoran," Dusk nonchalantly blurted out.
Gary sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Nice to see you too, Dusk. Can you have your hug-happy stinger bug over there stop trying to hug those two? Please?" He asked, giving the boy an annoyed glare.
"Honey, halt the hugs," Dusk said, waving his hand.
Honey simply deflated in visible sadness before flying back over to Dusk's side.
"Don't worry, girl. You'll get those hugs one day," Dusk said, patting Honey's head.
Before any of them could say anything to that, Pikachu rushed past Gary's legs. Soon after, Ash barreled into Gary, knocking them both on the floor.
"Pikachu!! This isn't funny!!" Ash yelled angrily, shaking his fist at the fleeing rodent.
"Ashy-Boy… please get the heck off me…" Gary groaned in pain.
Ash looked down at Gary angrily. "Well, you were in my way." He huffed before getting back on his feet and running after Pikachu. "Pikachu, I'm gonna take away your ketchup rations if you keep this up!!"
Pikachu looked at Ash as if he were the devil himself before glaring at his trainer in hatred. As trainer and Pokémon glared at each other, Isaac spoke up. "You'd best listen, Pikachu. He'll do it. Besides, you could stand to lose a little weight…" He began to say only for electric sparks to come off Pikachu's cheeks.
"Isaac. Ix-neigh on the at-feigh." Gary harshly whispered, cutting his hand across his neck as he spoke.
"What? The butterball would be able to battle better if he got more in shape." Isaac insisted, not seeing the danger.
Upon hearing that, the sparks on Pikachu's red cheeks began to intensify. "Piiiiii-ka CHUUUUU!!!" he cried, sending a bolt of electricity straight at Isaac.
"GAAAAAGH!" Isaac cried out in pain as he was electrocuted by the Thunderbolts of Zapdos fired off by Ash's Pikachu.
Ash looked at his friend, who was now on the ground twitching and spasming from the shock, before looking back at Pikachu. "Half ketchup rations. That's as high as I can go after that. Unless you want mom to get involved…" He offered, his voice trailing off ominously as the end as a smile formed on his lips.
Pikachu paled at that and nodded his head up and down frantically. "Pika-piii…"
Before Ash could speak, he was cut off by Dusk beginning to laugh hysterically. He laughed so hard that he had to hold his sides and bend down. However, this spurred Isaac off the floor, as he quickly got up and gave Dusk a stern glare.
"What's so Arceus-dang funny!?" Isaac demanded, clearly angered by this.
"A thing that is humorous," Dusk replied as though it was common sense.
"You mean Arcoos?" Ash asked curiously, cocking his head to the side.
"No! That's not how it's pronounced, Ash!" Isaac insisted furiously.
"You know you're both wrong. Its Ar-ke-oos," Dusk interjected.
"Wrong! It's pronounced 'Ar-key-us,' you twits! Get it right!" Isaac insisted in fury.
Gary groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose, before looking at Lillie. "Be a doll and go get Coach Tugg?" He asked politely.
"Okay. But don't call me 'doll,' Gary." Lillie told him before leaving to get the teacher.
"And be quick! It's evolving into a Category 5 idiot storm!" Gary called out to her.
"You idiots wanna settle this with a battle!?" Isaac called out in anger.
"That depends." Dusk replied calmly, crossing his arms.
"On what?" Ash asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Why is this a big deal?" Dusk asked.
"Isaac's a Grammar Grunt." Ash sighed, putting his face in his hands.
"I am not, Ketchum!" Isaac insisted in fury.
"I just assumed people of different regions had different dialects. I mean, I'm from Sinnoh," Dusk let out his thoughts.
"I'm not even from Kanto! I'm a proud samurai hailing from the Sinnoh region!" Isaac snapped in frustration.
"You too? Being from Sinnoh I mean," Dusk inquired.
Isaac took a deep breath to try to calm himself. "Yes. I am." He gritted out.
"What town are you from? I'm from Solaceon Town. My grandparents run the daycare there." Dusk asked.
Isaac grumbled before sighing. "Veilstone City. My mom's family is originally from Alola while my dad's originally come from Paldea." He explained.
"Honestly, the Daycare has been in the family for generations. We still don't know where eggs come from," Dusk said.
"... HOW…?!" Isaac asked in disbelief.
"Right!? That's what I've been saying! I swear the old man needs better glasses…" Dusk replied, before looking away in confusion.
"... How do you function…?" Isaac asked in sheer disbelief.
"I'm just like any other Trainer. I put my Pokéballs in my pocket one ball at a time," Dusk replied.
Isaac pinched the bridge of his nose at that. "I can already feel myself losing brain cells from this conversation…" He sighed under his breath.
"You think that's something? I still don't know how Skitty makes babies with Wailords," Dusk brought up.
"Okay, that question just makes sense to ask!" Isaac groaned out, hating that he had to agree with this idiot.
"It does?" Gary and Ash asked in unison, looking at the two skeptically.
"Yeah. Somehow, don't ask me how, but a tiny little Skitty can make an egg with a Wailord. That poor, poor Skitty…" Isaac replied, shaking his head.
"... HOW?!?!" Ash and Gary bellowed in disbelief, mentally picturing the size difference between the two.
"What is all the racket over here!?" The booming voice of Coach Tugg asked them, causing the four to look and see the Teacher and Lillie standing before them.
"Oh! Hey, Coach Thugg!" Dusk waves.
"It's Tugg!" Coach Tugg snapped out.
"My bad, Coach. I didn't realize the h was silent," Dusk replied.
A vein quickly popped in Tugg's forehead before he spoke. "There's no h in there, you idiot! Now one of you fools better explain what's going on over here!" He ordered sharply.
"... I'll be honest, Coach… I don't even know anymore…" Isaac sighed.
"Well, since it's clear you two need it, I'm gonna settle it. You two, battle arena, one on one. Now!!" Coach Tugg ordered, pointing at them animatedly and the arena as he talked.
"Alright. I know who I'm using. Isaac, you get to choose first." Dusk said with a smile.
Isaac glared, then took a deep breath and looked at Zaraki. "Zaraki. Are you up for a battle?" He asked the Pig Monkey Pokémon.
"Man-Key!!" Zaraki replied energetically, rushing over to Isaac's side before pounding his chest with his fists.
Dusk smiled as a white furred Eevee hopped onto his shoulders. "Ready to go, Mystery?" He asked it excitedly.
"Vee! Eevee!" Mystery chipperly replied, jumping on Dusk's shoulder.
The two pairs then walked over to the center of the Gym where the battle arena was. Behind them, Coach Tugg followed as he walked to the referee's box. "I'll be the referee! This is a battle between Dusk from Solaceon Town and Isaac from Veilstone City! This will be a one-on-one battle, no time limit, and the winner will be decided when one side can't continue!" He called out.
The announcement attracted most of the class to watch the unfolding battle. As the students began to chat amongst themselves on what was going on, Ash, Lillie, and Gary watched intently.
"Who do you think will win?" Lillie asked Ash and Gary, looking at the two of them curiously.
"Statistically speaking, Isaac has the best chance due to type advantage. In practice, on the other hand…" Gary began to say as Ash continued where he left off.
"It could go to either of them. Type advantage helps but doesn't win you battles. Really, it comes down to how well Isaac's learned that." Ash explained, crossing his arms as he looked at the two combatants intently.
Hopping into the battlefield, Zaraki howled out as he pounded his chest. "Man-man-man-man-MANKEY!" He hollered excitedly.
"Go ahead and have fun, Mystery," Dusk says sending out his white floofball.
With that, Mystery hopped excitedly off his shoulder and onto the battlefield. "Eevee!" It cried out in joy.
Coach Tugg looked at Dusk, then at Isaac, before raising his right hand up over his head. "Begin!" He yelled, waving his hand down like a flag.
"Let's start things off with a warning shot! Zaraki, use Rock Throw!" Isaac called out, throwing his hand forward.
Hollering, Zaraki dug his hands into the ground and lifted with all his might. Pulling two large rocks out of the ground, he leaped up high and threw them down at Mystery one after the other.
"Mystery, Double Kick the rocks back!" Dusk ordered Mystery.
Leaping up, Mystery kicked the rocks. First the lead one, then the one behind it. The force of the kicks launched the rocks right back at Zaraki. Seeing this, Isaac reacted quickly.
"Shatter the rocks with Low Kick!" Isaac called out, making a fist before doing a midsection sweeping kick.
Howling, Zaraki did a midair sweeping kick that shattered the first rock. Spinning back to face the second one, he brought his leg up into an upward vertical kick that shattered the second. Landing on the ground, Zaraki hollered as he pounded his chest as the rock fragments smashed into the ground, kicking up a dust cloud.
"Mystery! Rush in with a Quick Attack, then switch attacks to hit Zaraki with a Disarming Voice!" Dusk called out.
Mystery rushed in at high speed with a streak of light behind it, getting up in Zaraki's face. Taking a deep breath, he let out a melodious yell that hit Zaraki hard, making him cry out in pain. But Zaraki stood there and took the hit, refusing to back down.
"Hang tough, Zaraki! Counter with Low Kick!" Isaac called out.
Zaraki, covering his ears, fought through the pain and hit Mystery with a hard sweeping kick that slammed into its side. The blow sent the little fox Pokémon tumbling back, doing super effective damage even if it did not do a lot of damage. The two Pokémon panted lightly, smiles on their faces. The two trainers looked on, grins of their own on their faces.
"Not bad. That Quick Attack into Disarming Voice was a good maneuver." Isaac said, praising Dusk and Mystery for their synchronization.
"Zaraki's tough. Let's see if he's tough enough to take this. Use Quick attack run around in circles to pick up dust," Dusk said, calling out to Mystery.
"Eeeee… VEEEE!!" Mystery called out before running around Zaraki at high speed, a streak of light behind him.
Soon, a cloud of dust appeared around Zaraki from the speed Mystery was moving at. This obscured the little fox Pokémon from being seen, much to Zaraki's frustration. However, before he could begin to rage out furiously, Isaac calling out to him brought him to his senses.
"Don't let them get in your head, Zaraki! If we can't see them, we'll pick them out with sound! Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and listen!" Isaac called out to his brawling Pig Monkey.
Nodding, Zaraki took a deep breath and shut his eyes. Focusing on his hearing, he listened carefully for the sound of Mystery's movements. Soon, he finally got a bead on Mystery's location as Isaac called out.
"Now use Low Kick to knock Mystery into the air!" Isaac called out.
Turning to where Mystery was going to be, Zaraki slid along the ground and did an upwards vertical kick from below. The kick connected, knocking Mystery up into the air as it cried out in pain.
"Now use Copycat and aim down Mystery," Dusk called out.
Twisting in midair, Mystery lashed out with a midair sweeping kick that hit Zaraki hard. The blow nearly knocked the simian Fighting Type off balance, making him stumble back and shake his head. Seeing this, Isaac gritted his teeth.
"Copycat, huh? Dealing with that move won't be easy. Zaraki, use Rock Throw!" Isaac muttered in frustration before clenching his fists and throwing a punch.
"You know the Drill Mystery," Dusk tells the floofball.
Zaraki ripped two rocks out of the ground and threw them as hard as he could. However, as Mystery prepared to Double Kick them back, Zaraki and Isaac made their move.
"Jump in behind the path of the rocks, then smash them with Low Kick and hit him hard!" Isaac called out back.
Leaping up, Zaraki followed the path of the rocks just as Mystery Double Kicked them back. Using a sweeping kick into an upward vertical kick, Zaraki kicked the rocks into pieces before going in for a sweeping kick on Mystery. It was then that Dusk and Mystery made their move.
"Mystery, use Disarming Voice before he can land it!" Dusk exclaimed.
Inhaling, Mystery unleashed a melodious sonic yell that slammed into Zaraki. The force of the attack slammed him back down into the ground, making him cry out in pain. When the dust cleared, Zaraki was knocked out cold, having lost the match. Isaac sighed but smiled as he walked over to wake him up and help him back on his feet.
"And the winner is Dusk and Mystery!" Coach Tugg proclaimed, pointing to the two.
"That was fun. Anyone want lunch?" Damien asked.
"That's not for another 2 hours." Ash groaned.
"You would know that." Gary sighed, before pinching the bridge of his nose.
Isaac chuckled a bit as Zaraki slowly woke up. Upon realizing that they had lost, the Pig Monkey Pokémon leapt to his feet in frustration and stomped his feet in anger. Looking at Mystery and Dusk, Zaraki stomped over to the fox and its trainer.
"Zaraki, calm down!" Isaac called out, rushing over behind him.
When Zaraki got in close, Dusk and Mystery turned to look at the Fighting Type simian. However, to the surprise of everyone present, Zaraki put his fist up. Seeing what Zaraki wanted, Mystery leaped up and smacked his palm against Zaraki's fist as the Mankey gave the closest thing he could to a close-eyed smile.
"Huh. Well trained Mankey. You don't usually see this level of humility until they become a Primeape and even that's rare. Or am I thinking of Aipoms," Dusk commented, bringing a smile to Isaac's face.
"Good job, Zaraki." Isaac replied, patting his Mankey on the head.
Unexpectedly, one of the Pokéballs on Dusk's waist suddenly opened. Revealed from the blinding flash of white light was a very annoyed Ekans. Unlike other Ekans they all had seen, this one had faded lime green scales.
"Ekans! Ekans Ekaans!!" It snarled fiercely, its angry gaze locking onto Dusk.
"Hey! No! Back in the Pokéball! You are not part of Gym Class!" Dusk barked at it, grabbing its ball.
"Why isn't it allowed in Gym Class? Isn't that your Ekans?" Ash asked, confusedly scratching the back of his head.
"Well, yes, but also no," Dusk answered sharply.
"Well, I'm lost," Ash said with a sigh.
"My little cousin's birthday is coming up. She's from twinleaf so I thought I would get her a Pokémon that isn't found in Twinleaf," Dusk explained.
"Oh, that's so cute!" Lillie squealed happily.
"I cannot tell you how long it took me to find a shiny one. I even had to go to some underground place to get any information to find one," Dusk waves off.
Gary smiled and elbowed Isaac playfully. "Gotta respect the grind, eh Isaac?" He playfully asked.
"Don't talk to me right now." Isaac growled.
"Hey, Dusk. Would you like to join us at lunch?" Lillie asked curiously.
"I thought that was a group decision?" Ash asked confusedly, before Lillie elbowed him. "Ow!"
"Eh, sure. I've got nothing better to do. Besides, I spent my allowance on Pokéballs, anyway. I do not envy shiny hunters," Dusk casually accepts the blonde girl's offer.
"I'll buy yah something, Dusky boy." Gary said with a smile before patting Dusk on the shoulders.
They all then heard the class bell ring. Swiftly everyone gathered up their Pokémon and put them back in their Pokéballs. Then, as a group, they all headed off to the locker room. With four now becoming five. And a spark of rivalry beginning to form.
'He did pretty well this time. But next time… it's gonna be a different story.' Isaac thought as he kept a close watch on Dusk out of the corner of his eye…