Chapter 6 – Hearts of Stone
"Hey," said Ash, shaking Growlithe a little with one hand. "Hey," He repeated a louder when there was no response. "Wake up!" He grew worried. Growlithe was completely unresponsive. The Pokémon was breathing steadily, but otherwise unmoving, apparently comatose.
Holding Ash's unconscious Pikachu in her arms, Misty stepped up beside him. She grinned a little and then began gently rocking the sleeping Pikachu. "That little guy saved our lives," she said. "Don't worry," she went on when Ash didn't answer. "He's going to be better than fine in a few days.
Ash looked up at her, calmer now. "Sorry," he said after a brief pause, "just a little shaken up." He turned back and sat in the grass beside Growlithe as Misty sat down beside him, feeling that it was safe to at least take a short break. "He's evolving," said Ash, looking down at Growlithe, "isn't he." He already knew the answer.
Misty nodded. "He must've been older than we thought," she said. "Using attacks as advanced as he did," she went on, "he must've been on the verge of evolving anyway and that fight was just the boost he needed to kick start the process. Now in a week or so you'll have an Arcanine at your command." She grinned again.
Ash nodded and smiled, then returned Growlithe to his pokeball and attached it to his belt. "It's too bad he's going to be out for a week or more," said Ash, relaxing just a little and taking a very deep breath. "I'm going to miss the company."
"At least we'll be out of this damned forest by tomorrow," said Misty as Pikachu woke up and instantly leapt to full alert.
Both trainers laughed for a second as the suddenly battle-ready Pokémon looked around, confused by the lack of enemies. Ash reached out and took Pikachu, scratching him behind the ears which almost immediately calmed the little rodent. Everyone sat in silence for a moment as Fearow strutted about the clearing, bobbing her head as she walked and searched the bushes ringing the clearing for any remaining insects. Finding none she returned to the group and stood, beginning to preen her feathers as Ash and Misty just sat together in silence.
"We're alive," Ash laughed. He leaned back on the grass and stared up at the invisible canopy above, ignoring the cocoons and string. He grinned and sighed in relief. "I thought we were going to die here."
Misty's lips tugged up in a little smile as she faced him. "We should get out of here or we still might," she said.
"You can be such a buzz kill," said Ash, rolling his eyes and looking up at her in mock frustration. Even in the low light he could tell she took the joke lightheartedly. "But I can see your point," he said after a brief pause of just staring at each other, he blushed a little. "We should probably get moving."
Misty got up and gave Ash a hand to his feet. Ash returned Fearow to her pokeball, deciding that Pikachu, sitting atop his head, would be security enough for the trek ahead. Both trainers set off, continuing due north to avoid as much of the forest as possible, and walked in silence as several hours slipped by unnoticed. Shock, fatigue, and the suddenness of the calm in the forest all combined to nearly hypnotize Ash as he walked. He felt only a fraction of the weariness that should have made it impossible to go on and when Misty's fingers brushed the back of his hand, startling him, it was like he'd suddenly awoken from a dream.
He found that he was very tired, but not so fatigued as to miss that Misty was walking side by side with him. She was close enough that it was a wonder they hadn't bumped into each other, and from the almost dreamy look on her face, Ash guessed that his companion was as exhausted as he was.
"Hey," he said quietly, stealing a glance at his watch and gawking at the time, nearly two in the morning. "We should probably get some sleep tonight if we want to have any energy at all tomorrow."
Misty raised her eyebrows as her head cleared a little and she processed what he said. "Yeah," she answered, stopping and looking about for a good place to set up some kind of camp. Quite some time ago the trainers had left the beaten path behind and while they were vaguely aware of it then, it was only now that they realized they had been forging their own way north. "I think right here will do," Misty said, at a loss. They were surrounded by tall grass now that, to them it seemed, had come from nowhere.
Ash nodded and that was the end of the discussion. Both trainers stepped about in the grass a little to beat it down into some semblance of a level surface, then unpacked their bedrolls and climbed inside their respective sleeping bags. Neither one commented on their proximity, less than a foot separated them, and the tall grass ringing them in made the company feel even closer, but neither did it seem to affect a thing. No sooner had they lain down than had Misty scooted back against Ash who, in turn, curled around her some as though it was the most natural thing to do.
It might have been the fatigue, Ash thought as his mind became even hazier with sleep, and it might have been the utter lack of real human contact, but he couldn't recall a time when he was more comfortable than he was now. Even here, in the middle of the Viridian Forest, undoubtedly surrounded by dangers and unable to perceive a clear path, Ash went almost immediately to sleep, but not before reaching out of his sleeping bag and putting one arm around Misty without a second thought.
SC
The next morning came and went. Ash and Misty both slept through it while Pikachu, needing little sleep by comparison, woke before the outer world witnessed sunrise and kept watch. It wasn't until after one in the afternoon that Misty began to wake up, and even then she was barely lucid enough to tell by his steady breathing that Ash was still asleep. A few moments after opening her eyes she noticed that a heavy arm lay across her waist and effectively tethered her to the ground.
Blushing at first she thought about moving to wake Ash up, but quickly decided that she saw no benefit in the idea. They were likely as safe here as anywhere in the forest, she told herself, and the ordeal they'd been through yesterday had taken more energy than either one had to spare. No, she decided, it would be best to just let him sleep while she recovered as much of her strength as possible… and it wasn't as though she minded the current situation.
Taking the next half an hour to plan out what should be done once they reached Pewter, Misty carefully rolled in place and put her face against Ash's chest. He didn't mind, she told herself. We're going to have to face Brock at some point, she thought. That won't be fun at all and we shouldn't even think about it until we've taken a day at the Pokémon Center to get some real rest.
A loud growl made her start as Ash stirred and opened one eye. "What was that?" Misty asked quietly, reaching instinctively for her pokeballs.
Ash shook some of the sleep from his eyes and blinked several times before he took his arm off her waist and sat up a little. The sound came again, this time a little louder and Ash grinned as he pointed to his stomach. "How about we have some breakfast," he said with what cheer he could.
The party renewed its trek after a brief breakfast, the spoils of which they buried. The terrain was sloping more and more downhill and ran so steep at points that both trainers nearly jogged with as little energy as it took to walk. Their spirits began to brighten with the canopy overhead as light began to break through the dark growth overhead. By five o'clock it was bright enough that Ash could easily make out the forest's features for as far as the clusters of trees would let him see. By six the canopy was growing thin enough that both trainers caught glimpses of the sky.
At ten minutes till seven, Ash and Misty both stopped in their tracks and stared for a minute at the sight before them. They could see breaks in the wall of trees ahead, beyond which there were no more trees, only golden grass and a blue sky. Glancing at each other once, they both broke into wide grins and jogged for the exit. A few seconds later they passed underneath the arches of foliage and into daylight, open daylight and warm sunshine. The warm afternoon was a welcome change from the darkness of Viridian and both trainers, and Pikachu of course, took a minute to just stand at the top of the small rise at the exit of the forest.
Ash turned around and looked back at the dense trees, then turned north again and looked out over the fairly flat terrain. From where they stood, Ash and Misty both saw the outskirts of Pewter City easily enough. The tall stone wall surrounding the locale made the city almost impossible to miss, but beyond the barrier, neither trainer could see any buildings except for a small section of the red roof of the Pokémon Center.
As they began to cross the kilometer or so of grassland laying between the city and themselves, Ash and Misty both found themselves walking steadily faster and faster for the gate set in the southern side of the wall. They slowed however when they saw that the heavy wooden doors were closed and no soul was visible on their side of the gate. It is getting towards night, thought Ash, and Viridian is just over there. Stopping in front of the gate, Ash quickly found the smaller steel door set in the side of the main structure. He knocked loudly on it and, when no answer came, slammed the butt of his fist against it twice.
A small slide in the door clicked open and two eyes stared out at Ash and Misty through the tightly barred slit. "Who are you?" asked the gruff voice on the other side. "What do you want in Pewter City?"
"We're heading for the Pokémon Center," said Ash, as politely as he could. "I'm Professor Oak's grandson," said Ash when the guard's hesitation to open the door became obvious, "and I need to see the gym leader."
"Lies," said the man quickly. "We just got word from the Viridian Police Department that Pallet Town was destroyed the other day. There weren't any survivors."
"Not true," said Misty, shaking her head. "The Professor is alive and the two of us survived," she gestured to Ash and herself. "We've just gotten out of the Viridian Forest and we're tired and we need supplies. Please, let us in."
The guard looked them over for a second longer then, grumbling, unlatched the door and pulled it open. The heavy portal swung on creaking hinges and Ash and Misty quickly stepped through. "I'm not supposed to let anyone in if they're not an emissary from the Elite Four," said the guard, a tall man, maybe twenty years old with brown hair and a gnarled and badly scarred face. "That's what Brock said, but you look more trustable than most of the other folks wanting in."
"Thanks very much," said Ash, glancing around and quickly noting that he, Misty, and the guard were not the only ones around. Five other men, dressed in grey uniforms just like the first guard, watched as Ash and Misty entered from their posts along the top of the wall. Each man had two pokeballs on his belt and wore a steel cap as a helmet. "What's going on here?" asked Ash, looking behind him into the city proper and seeing only a few people moving between the squat buildings. "Why the tight security?"
"Hmph," snorted the man with the scars winding from one cheek to the other. "Things' been bad in the area lately," he said. "Been lots of disappearances and been several trainers turn up dead 'long route 3 to the east. People are saying bandits are prowling the wilds more now than ever. So far Pewter's been safe but Brock wants to keep it that way: ordered us to lock things down here and keep 'em that way so you two better'ed move on the Center or the Gym or wherever you've got your business without causing trouble. Hear?"
Ash and Misty both nodded and thanked the man again for letting them in before quickly heading in the direction of the Pokémon Center. "Bandits?" asked Ash once they were out of earshot of the guard. "I didn't know there were still people like that in this area." They passed by several blue uniformed police officers who paused to briefly inspect them, but left the trainers alone.
"This isn't Saffron or Celadon," said Misty as the party rounded a corner and arrived at the Center which was, by far, the most conspicuous structure in the town of short, grey, buildings. "This is the frontier after all and there isn't much in the way of law here. The Gym and the police can keep the city safe, but there's not much they can do beyond the city limits."
Ash nodded as they entered the Center through the big glass doors. The layout of the foyer here was identical to the Pokémon Center in Viridian, with halls leading off to different places within the complex. Between each hall there was a desk with two clerks busily sorting through paperwork. Misty started forward, pulling her wallet from the side pocket of her pack.
"I'll get the room," said Misty, patting Ash on the shoulder as she moved by him. "You should probably take your Pokémon to the hospital wing and at least have them looked over."
"Sounds good," Ash said. "Meet me in the waiting room?"
"Yeah," said Misty. "How big a room do we want?"
Ash shrugged. "Keep it economical. We are on a budget."
Misty acknowledged with a nod and they parted company. She stood at the desk and began speak with one of the clerks while Ash set off with Pikachu for the other wing. Noting how eerily similar this Pokémon Center was to the one in Viridian, Ash took his Pokémon the Center's equivalent of a clinic, having decided that the emergency room was likely unnecessary. After filling out the necessary paperwork he paid for the service with some of the remaining money he'd received from Team Rocket, and left for the waiting room with Pikachu. The rodent had refused to be left at the clinic and instead sat stubbornly on top of Ash's head.
Misty arrived less than half an hour later with the news that she'd gotten a room for the night and already scoped it out. Ash stopped back at the clinic to give the clerk his room number in case news needed to be relayed, then left with Misty and went upstairs. Misty had rented a corner room on the fifth floor of the center that was quite nearly three times the size of the room they'd shared in Viridian. In one of the corners windows stretched floor to ceiling and provided them with a bird's eye view of the majority of the city. Despite the grandiose size of the room, the furnishings were fairly Spartan; there were two twin beds, a small refrigerator and a kitchen area, a pair of chairs on opposite sides of a small table, and nothing else.
"Didn't we agree we were on a budget?" Ash asked, setting his pack on one of the beds and looking around. "How much did this cost?"
"I managed to get us a free upgrade," said Misty. "There haven't been many people, not even many trainers, coming through Pewter recently and the Center has a lot of empty rooms. The man at the desk said that if I rented a room for more than a night he'd give us an upgrade to a corner room."
"So how long do we have this?" asked Ash, walking to the window and looking out. He could plainly make out the Gym, a building no taller than any of the other homes or businesses in Pewter, but which took up nearly a whole city block.
"Four days," said Misty, nonchalantly. "I thought that since today is almost over we'd just rest up. Tomorrow we can try to recover as much as we can while getting a feel for the town. The day after tomorrow I thought we'd go to the Gym and see about getting Brock to recommend to the Elite Four that we be allowed to go through."
"Speaking of," said Ash, walking across the room and sitting on the edge of the bed. "I was thinking about that on our way through the forest… How are we going to convince a Gym Leader that he should tell the Elite Four, the best trainers in the world, that they should let us passed them?"
"Simple," said Misty. "We go to the Gym, tell Brock exactly what we're planning to do, and then prove we're capable of following though. Generally Gym Leaders respect power and intelligence so one of us might have to challenge him directly… and win… to prove that we're at least of his caliber. If we're stronger than him, what choice will he have but to do what we want?"
"So we bully him?" asked Ash.
Misty shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not," she said. "He might want to fight us if he feels his authority has been challenged. He might have us perform some service to the City or something. I'm pretty sure he won't just give us a recommendation though and if he doesn't even want to talk then, well…"
"We'll 'attack' the gym," said Ash calmly. "But only as a show of force."
"Right," Misty nodded. "We show him we mean business and aren't going away until we get what we're after."
Ash smiled a little. "We could be thrown out of the city for this," he said. "If it does come down to a fight and if we lose the there's nothing to stop them from throwing us in prison or worse."
"I know. But it's our best shot at Team Rocket."
Ash agreed and pointed out that he had no intention of backing down. He was just trying to come up with the best plan possible. Misty rummaged through her pack and pulled out a few power bars, saying that they should eat and then discuss it.
Understanding the hint, Ash simply nodded and added that they should restock tomorrow.
After dinner and a quick rummage through the refrigerator, in which someone had randomly left a half empty bottle of low-grade whiskey, Ash decided that he was going to take a shower and turn in for the night. Much to his chagrin however, their rented room lacked a bathroom and Misty had to inform him that the each floor of the Center had its own communal bathroom which serviced each room.
That night both Ash and Misty went to bed relatively early after mapping out their plans for the next day. The next morning both got up shortly after sunrise and the rest of the day passed without incident. Ash went to the clinic and retrieved both Fearow and Growlithe, the latter of whom the trainer was informed, was definitely in the early stages of evolving into a healthy, if unusually robust Arcanine. Ash relayed the news to Misty and both trainers set out into Pewter to get a feel for the town.
Perhaps the most important thing they uncovered that day, Ash noted an utter lack of anything even remotely related to Team Rocket. The organization had no office in the city, no members in the streets, and ostensibly no presence whatsoever. Also, Misty pointed out while at the super-market, the food shortage seemed to have eluded Pewter thus far. The store's shelves were stocked with rice, wheat, and many other staple crops, all of which, even those which were out of season, were fairly inexpensive.
After their first full day in Pewter, Ash and Misty returned to the Pokémon Center with a haul of nuts, dried berries, hardtack, and other trail-friendly foods, and sat in the Center's lounge-like cafeteria, having decided to have dinner where there was a TV, as Misty wanted to see what would be on the local news.
"… and in what can only be described as a travesty," the attractive female anchor reported from the studio, as pictures of destruction and blown out buildings cycled through a news box in the upper corner of the screen, "Pallet Town has been completely wiped out."
Ash finished a mouthful of noodles and turned to Misty. "You think they're going to mention us?" he asked.
Misty shook her head. "I hope not," she muttered. "That'd make keeping a low profile difficult, and it's already hard enough."
"Now for more details," continued the anchor as the screen switched over to a reporter who both trainers noticed was among the ruins of the city, "we turn to field reporter Mason Charleston, on scene in Pallet Town."
"Thanks Anna," said the reporter as Ash and Misty watched. "Now it's been several days since a Red Gyarados, that's right, a Red Gyarados, rampaged through the town leaving no building untouched, but already you can see that nature is starting to take back this peaceful little hamlet." The camera, positioned atop the hill on which Ash's house had stood only days ago, began panning across the scene and zooming in on various parts of the town as the reporter's monologue went on. "Now early reports had suggested that there were survivors," said the reporter as the camera refocused on him, "but those accounts are proving difficult to confirm. Reports yesterday suggested that perhaps Professor Oak had survived the attack, but if that's true then no one knows where the legendary scientist is now, since he has not, to the best of this reporter's knowledge contacted anyone. Back to you Anna."
"Thanks Mason," said the anchor, "we'll keep following this story, but now let's turn to-"
Ash glanced over at Misty, who looked back at him. Curiosity was plain on both faces and Ash's face hardened. "Grandpa's gone missing?" he asked, not sure what to make of the news. "Where's he gone I wonder."
Shrugging, Misty finished her supper before answering. "He probably salvaged whatever he could from his lab, destroyed the rest, and went somewhere safer and quiet to work," she said. "With the lab in shambles and the town destroyed, there was no real reason for him to stay in Pallet any longer than he had to."
"Makes sense," Ash nodded. "I just wish I had some way to get into contact with him."
Misty smiled and put one hand on Ash's shoulder. "He'll be fine," she said. "He's a legend for a reason after all. Now c'mon," she stood up. "We should get as much rest as we can. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day."
"Right," said Ash. He stood up and took Misty's tray, setting it on top of his as they walked for the cafeteria's exit. "Brock's waiting."
SC
The frigid air hit Ash and Misty like a slap to the face as the door to Pewter City's Gym slid open. Standing in the warm sunlight and looking into the dark gym strained Ash's eyes and he took a moment to let his vision sharpen before stepping forward, followed immediately by the redheaded trainer. As the door slid shut behind them the trainers again had to wait for their eyes to further adjust as the world seemed to temporarily go dark.
Inside it was dry and cool, with light coming only from thin vents in the ceiling that allowed in, and thoroughly scattered, very little sunlight. The level landing at Ash's feet sloped suddenly and steeply downwards, narrow stairs leading down to a sandy pit dotted with rocks and boulders that stretched on at the bottom. To the new arrivals it seemed that the vast majority of the building, or possibly all of it, was this single, huge pit of a room. Along the far wall, Ash could see, there were bunks and chairs laid out in perfect symmetry, but the Spartan furniture was hardly what drew Ash's attention.
Around the edges of the sandy pit sat maybe half a dozen people, watching the action playing out in the center of the ring where a large humanoid Pokémon, a Machoke, grappled with an equally large Pokémon that Ash did not recognize. The second Pokémon, an odd thing not unlike a man-sized boulder with four strong arms, fought with the Machoke, wrestling for a good hold and looking for a moment as though it might subdue the fighter. The Machoke however roared and strained, muscles like living stone bulging in its arms and back, lifting the other Pokémon over his head and completely off the ground.
"Enough!" shouted one of the two trainers standing around the perimeter of the fight. "Graveler's done. You win!" The trainer, a boy younger than Ash, with silvery hair and a ruddy complexion, threw a pokeball as the Machoke set the Graveler down, and the stony Pokémon disappeared in the ensuing flash of white light.
"The challenge is complete," said another man, standing up from the center of the group of spectators seated on the floor. He immediately struck Ash as the most likely candidate for the Gym Leader, given his obviously being older than those around him, and his weathered appearance. "You've lost," he said, bass voice echoing in the room, addressing the defeated trainer, "but you performed well enough to merit another challenge in the future, should you desire it. Leave now but return when you judge you've risen to a level worth of joining the Pewter City Gym." The address sounded all very formal, and Ash guessed that Brock, if that was really Brock, had delivered it several times before.
The Machoke's trainer, a girl who looked to be about Misty's age, returned her Pokémon to its pokeball and turned to rejoin the other gym members as the defeated trainer quickly walked for the door. The exiting boy stopped for a moment to examine Ash and Misty, before passing by them muttering "good luck, you'll need it" and leaving the gym.
Ash and Misty both began descending the stairs, being careful not to slip, as Brock's narrow eyes focused on them and all of the gym members focused on the new arrivals. "Welcome," said Brock, his tone cool but not unfriendly. "It's going to be a busy day it seems," he continued as Ash and Misty crossed to the center of the sandy pit. "What can we do for you?"
"You must be Brock," said Ash when Misty's little nod gave him the cue to do the talking for now. "My name is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town," said the young trainer when Brock nodded the affirmative, "and I've made the trip here hoping that you and I could talk."
Brock took a few steps forward, as the other gym members watched, and advanced a quarter of the way across the pit to stand within comfortable speaking distance of Ash. "Professor Oak's prodigy," said Brock, a smile creasing his lips. "I've heard of you. You and your grandfather were the ones who sealed the rabid Nidoking and Nidoqueen in the lowest pit of Diglett's Cave. Pallet's destruction has been all over the news for the last two days. I wasn't aware that anyone survived but it's nice to know that someone got out. What are you doing here though?"
"Well," Ash sighed, deciding to be frank. "I want you to write a letter of recommendation to the Elite Four, stating that you think I should be allowed into that caves beyond Indigo Plateau."
The statement lingered in the air for a long moment as Brock scrutinized Ash's face. "Oh," said the Gym leader a minute later, laughing once as he spoke when he realized the demand was serious. "Is that all you'd like me to do? " Brock chuckled as the other gym members snickered and chattered quietly amongst themselves.
"I don't see what makes it amusing," said Ash, his face completely grave. "Will you or won't you?"
Brock stood still and took a breath, studying Ash a moment longer before continuing. "Fine, I'll humor you," said the leader. "Why do you want me to recommend to the Elite Four that you be allowed to commit suicide on their front door?"
"Simple," said Ash. "Team Rocket is trying to circumvent the Elite Four and get to the bottom of Cerulean Cave. I want to get there first but the only way I can do that is to go through the caves behind Indigo Plateau. Now, are you going to help me or not?"
"Uh," Brock stammered, looking across the sand at his guest. "Well… Um. You're being totally serious aren't you?"
Ash nodded. "I'm travelling to all of the Gyms for recommendations to the Elite Four and I'm prepared to use any means necessary to get your recommendation."
Glancing between Ash and Misty, Brock held up one hand and made a quick motion. One of the gym members leapt to his feet and bounded down the edges of the pit into the arena. "You've got more balls than brains, I think," said the Gym Leader, turning around and walking for the edges of the pit. "Walking in here and so rudely and demanding that I make myself look foolish in front of the Elite Four… that's audacity, but I'm not about to simply brush off Professor Oak's grandson so lightly so I'll give you a legitimate chance." He motioned to the young trainer who had taken his place in the pit. "My youngest brother here is quite a talented trainer. Already he's caught and raised several notable Pokémon. If you can defeat him in a one on one match, no holds barred, I'll give you a chance to convince me of your strength. If you fail, then you leave. Deal?"
Ash glanced at Misty and she nodded only enough that Ash could pick up on the motion. "Deal," said Ash, looking up at Pikachu who sat atop his head as Misty quickly removed herself from the pit and found herself a spot on the edge well away from the other members. "I'll even send mine out first. Pikachu, you're up."
As the little yellow Pokémon jumped eagerly to the ground, Ash noticed Misty shaking her head once. Don't worry, thought Ash. If I'm remembering right, it's only Brock who uses Pokémon Pikachu is weak against. He reached down and patted the fourth pokeball on his belt. And when I get to Brock then our trump card will come into play.
"I'll take care of him quick big brother!" shouted the young trainer opposite Ash, a boy who couldn't have been more obviously Brock's sibling. "Nidorino, get out there," he said, tossing out a pokeball that burst open and released a flash of light.
Ash waited until the glow congealed into the purple Pokémon he recognized from his journeys with his grandfather. No sweat, he thought. "Pikachu, just like we planned."
Brock held up one hand after he took a seat in the center of the line of gym members. "Alright, best of luck to you both," he said. "The match will end once one trainer surrenders or upon the incapacitation or death of all his Pokémon. Begin." He dropped his hand.
"Poison sting!" barked the younger trainer. Immediately the purple Nidorino bolted forward and lowered its head, charging straight at Pikachu. The little Pokémon, without even a spoken command from his trainer, leapt into the air, easily clearing Nidorino's horn with several inches to spare, and discharged a spiraling yellow bolt from his cheeks. The attack snapped into the back of Nidorino's skull and popped like a firecracker, splitting into dozens of little fingers of electricity that skittered across the Pokémon's frame.
Instantly the Nidorino collapsed as though dead, and Pikachu landed nimbly opposite the fallen Pokémon. Ash grinned and gave Pikachu a thumbs up before turning to the stunned young trainer opposite him. "Don't get all worked up," said Ash, seeing the dismay breaking across the boy's features. "It was just a paralyzing attack. Your Pokémon will be fine in a few hours," Ash grinned widely now. "But he won't be moving a muscle until then."
Brock cleared his throat. "Careful Alex," said the leader. "You underestimated his Pokémon's alacrity. Don't make the same mistake again."
The younger trainer's face reddened with embarrassment as he recalled Nidorino to his pokeball and threw out another of the orbs. "Mankey," he said, without acknowledging Brock. "Bring the noise." The pokeball snapped open and the flash of white light quickly warped into the shape of a little primate with wicked red eyes. "Fury Swipes!"
The Mankey sprang at Pikachu, hands thrust forward, claws extended to rend and tear, but Pikachu rolled easily out of the way and, again without any prodding from Ash, attacked. Another bolt of paralyzing energy snapped across the gap between Pikachu and Mankey, making the primate's form go suddenly rigid, but this time Pikachu followed through and sank his teeth into Mankey's shoulder and kicked at the Pokémon's vulnerable belly with his back feet and his sharp nails.
Ash grinned again. Pikachu was playing his role brilliantly. That's right, thought Ash, seeing Alex's features fall again. Keep it up with the superficial damage and save your energy… "Had enough?" he asked loudly, quickly grabbing Alex's attention and exploiting the growing doubt in the boy's bright green eyes. "My Pikachu's just playing around. I could tell him to get serious if you don't give up."
"Eh?" the younger trainer gasped, looking between the now incapacitated Mankey and Ash. He glanced over his shoulder at Brock who sat stone-faced and simply observed. "I give I give," he blurted, reaching out one hand and throwing the pokeball at Mankey. Pikachu retreated from his prey in time to avoid the pokeball and scurried back to Ash. "You win."
Ash straightened up as Alex, biting his lip and shaking uncomfortably turned around to face Brock. He didn't say anything and stood immobile, waiting for his older brother to speak. The other gym members were all quietly speaking amongst themselves and glancing between Ash and Brock, who sat silently and watched Ash.
"Alex," said the Gym Leader after a moment. "That was a good call on your part. You were outclassed and couldn't have won. You made the right choice. Now, go to the center and get your Pokémon patched up."
Alex nodded and turned away as quickly as possible, looking down to hide his face.
"Poor guy," Ash muttered under his breath, watching as the trainer ran from the pit and made for the door as quickly as he could. "I hope he takes something away from this."
"Alright," said Brock, standing back up and opening his arms up a little. "You've got some skill. I suppose I could have you face the rest of my brothers and sisters here," he motioned to the six other gym members, "but you're probably out of their leagues so how about we skip to what you're really here for then. Brock walked down into the pit and took a pokeball from his belt. "I'm warning you now that I'm not going to tolerate your challenging my authority like this. If you leave now then that will be the end of it, but if you stay then we settle this."
Ash nodded to one side and Pikachu fell back behind him. "I'm not going anywhere," said Ash, moving one hand down to the pokeballs on his belt.
"Your call," said Brock, throwing out one pokeball and taking a deep breath. "Golem, it's your turn." The trainers lining the pit all watched with rapt attention as a Pokémon only a little shorter than Brock leapt to life from the Pokeball and took form. Its body was a nearly perfectly spherical boulder with two legs, two arms, and a simple, jutting head with a mouth lined with sharp teeth that caught the diffuse light in the room and glimmered. Claws on the ends of each limb twinkled just like the teeth as the Golem locked its white, iris-less, eyes on Ash.
Tossing out the new Pokeball, Ash smirked when it snapped open and the hulking form of Misty's Blastoise dropped onto all fours on the front line. Her breath catching, Misty put both hands up in front of her mouth. She knew Blastoise respected Ash, and she knew that it had understood her order to obey Ash, but she could only pray that it would follow through on that order now. It'll take a miracle for Blastoise to obey his commands,Misty fretted, knowing that, of all her Pokémon, Blastoise was the most willful. Then again, something told her, the unfeasible had a funny way of happening around Ash.
Blastoise and Golem immediately glared at each other, a heated rivalry springing from nothing between them. Blastoise is a stubborn Pokémon, thought Ash, comfortable now that he could control the battle, but he's powerful… and if there's anything a powerful Pokémon likes, it's a challenge.
"Rollout," Brock said, calm but loud.
Golem dropped to the ground on command, and heaved with its powerful hind legs, tucking its arms and head and hurling itself at Blastoise like a freight train. As Ash commanded it to 'roll with the blow,' Blastoise dropped one shoulder and took the attack, letting Golem's momentum pivot Blastoise around on one leg as the Golem rolled passed, doing minimal damage. "Yes," Ash hissed, pumping one arm when the move worked. "Keep it up until it runs out of stamina," Ash shouted to Blastoise.
The huge turtle of a Pokémon turned to face the oncoming Golem as the boulder of a Pokémon came rolling back around again, spraying up dust and dirt behind him. Again Blastoise dropped one shoulder and pivoted, allowing Golem to simply push passed him. Two more times, then three, then four, Blastoise caught just the edges of Golem's massive attacks and absorbed minimal energy. Under normal circumstances Misty's Pokémon would have been reduced to pulp by the crushing force of the rollout, but as Blastoise followed Ash's directions each time, the attacks did next to nothing.
Misty watched, less amazed than she expected herself to be. It didn't surprise her that Blastoise was obedient; secretly she'd almost been expecting that, but the extent to which it not only obeyed, but understood, was baffling. Ash didn't even have to explain what he wanted, Misty reflected. Blastoise just understood. She knew from experience that her Pokémon was not that quick on the uptake. And what does that say about Ash? she wondered, watching the grinning trainer battle the Gym Leader.
That's it, thought Ash, run him out of energy.
That's it, thought Brock, soften him up.
"Now Golem," shouted Brock as the profoundly heavy Pokémon rolled at Blastoise for another attack. "Body-Slam!" Golem gave another tremendous heave with his back legs and suddenly flew through the air in a shallow arc towards Blastoise, moving far too fast for something so weighty. Blastoise, crouched on all fours in the open however, had plenty of room to maneuver.
"Switch and blast!" ordered Ash.
Blastoise intuitively understood the directions in Ash's order, and took one hulking sidestep and aimed his water-cannon. Just as Golem passed by where Blastoise had been a split second before, a jet of water under otherworldly pressure rocketed from the cannon and slammed into Golem's side with the roar of a thunderclap. Ash's ears rang from the shock and Golem's trajectory shifted acutely. The stony Pokémon continued through the air, just over the ground, and slammed into one of the boulders dotting the pit.
As the Pokémon and the boulder both disappeared in a cloud of rubble and dust, an ear-splitting crash and a shrieking grinding echoed in the cavernous room. Brock raised an eyebrow and the other gym members gaped at the scene while Ash had to reach up to cover his face to block the flying splinters of rock. Pikachu ducked behind his trainer's leg for shelter.
Over the course of the next silent minute, the dust gradually settled and the shape of a very immobile Golem formed in the haze of floating debris where the boulder had been. Blastoise let out a satisfied rumble of a growl as he lumbered to Ash's side. The trainer reached out and patted the Pokémon on the back of its head as Brock took a pokeball and tossed it at the Golem. The Pokémon's shape disappeared into the ball which snapped back into Brock's hand. The leader studied the ball, for a moment, waiting for the light on the lock to diagnose the held Pokémon's status. Slowly the light came on, then went off, and Brock sighed.
"Well I suppose I should thank you for not killing my Pokémon," said the leader. "But you shouldn't think this is over yet." Brock glared at Ash now, reaching for the second of three pokeballs on his belt. "I'm still giving you one last chance to surrender and leave."
Ash grinned, intentionally cocky. "You haven't been able to lay a finger on me," said the trainer. "I'm not the one who should be thinking about surrendering. Why don't you just give in and give m your gym's recommendation?"
"Why?" asked Brock, voice controlled. "You haven't seen my best yet," he said, holding out the pokeball. He flicked his wrist and opened the ball without letting go and a blindingly bright light exploded from the container, pouring out in a stream that seemed to Ash to go on and on. Quickly though, a huge form began to take shape, one of a serpentine monster whose head nearly brushed the ceiling of the gym and whose body descended to the floor and then coiled out and around Brock.
"This is why," said Brock as the light coalesced into the enormous, charcoal grey figure of the snake. "This is Onyx."
Ash raised his eyebrows and stared up at the face of the behemoth Pokémon. Obsidian black eyes with red cat-pupils glared down at him from a story above. The rest of Onyx's body, all sixty feet of it, curved around, forming a crescent behind Brock and ending in a tail that had been honed down into a wickedly sharp sickle of a blade.
Misty's breath caught. From her seat on the side the contrast was even more stark. Looking down on the scene, Blastoise appeared to be miniscule compared to the new Pokémon and Ash looked like an insect.
You've got to be shitting me, Ash thought, looking up at the Onyx. The sheer weight of the Pokémon's swinging tail would level whatever Ash could throw at it, not to mention the deadliness of the bladed tail surpassed anything Ash had ever seen before. He didn't even want to think about the effects of a well timed bite. "Okay," said Ash, recalling Blastoise to his pokeball in a quick motion and a glimmer of light. "Pikachu, we're counting on your speed for this," he said. "You can do it."
Without even looking for encouragement, Pikachu leapt down to the ground and put himself between the huge, segmented snake and Ash. His cheeks crackled with energy, but dimmed when Ash quickly said that this would be a battle of endurance. "Your agility is key here," said Ash, as Brock gave Onyx a quiet, pre-fight talk. "No matter what, you have to avoid the tail and the jaws, do that and the rest is gravy." Pikachu chittered in acknowledgement.
"You can't win," said Brock. "Just give up."
Ash shook his head. "Pikachu, double team!"
Onyx lurched forward as Brock ordered it to use a slam attack. Both trainers took several steps back as Onyx reared around, bringing its massive tail down where Pikachu had been a second before and tearing up the floor of the pit in a mammoth crash. The yellow rodent disappeared in a blur of speed and reappeared far to Onyx's left, ready and waiting. Again the huge snake struck on Brock's order and slammed the ground where Pikachu had just been. Again though, Pikachu nimbly dodged the attack.
Alternating between 'double-team' and 'agility,' Ash continued barking orders for Pikachu to evade Onyx's heavy-hitting attacks. Several more times Brock ordered slams or tackle attacks, but nothing connected with Ash's Pikachu. More than once Pikachu jumped in midair, only to disappear in a blur of impossible speed as Onyx tried to bat him with a stony tail.
If there's anything Pikachu can do all day long, Ash thought to himself, heart pounding and adrenaline beginning to burn in his veins, it's this kind of acrobatic work. The majority of any Pikachu's fame, Ash remembered, was their ability to so accurately manipulate electrical energy for attacks. The Pikachu's greatest strength, though, was that they could use that same electrical precision to super charge their own reflexes, making them nigh untouchable. And Pikachu's only gotten faster since we left Pallet, Ash noted, seeing a marked improvement in his Pokémon over even its performance in Viridian Forest.
Moving faster by the minute as a quarter of an hour rolled by, Pikachu dodged out of the way of every one of Onyx's attacks and showed no signs of slowing. Flying in the face of reason though, and frustrating Ash to no end, Onyx seemed to be speeding up, not slowing down. Each swing of its tail seemed to miss Pikachu by a little less than the last attack. Ash gritted his teeth, wondering how in the world something as heavy as Onyx could keep up that kind of momentum.
Then, without a command from Brock, Onyx lashed out horizontally with its tail, sweeping the sickle along the ground towards Pikachu with unnatural speed. Pikachu jumped straight up to avoid the attack, lacking the time to dodge to one side or the other, and that's when the side of the serpent's stone jaw slammed into Pikachu. Onyx had spun itself in fully around the fulcrum of the central and largest stone of its body, following up one attack immediately with a second.
Pikachu was knocked reeling from the hit and Ash gasped. It's alright, Ash told himself as Pikachu righted himself and landed atop a boulder. The blow was horizontal and didn't crush Pikachu against anything. It still ate at Ash's nerves, especially now that Brock's siblings had begun to cheer. How does it keep up that kind of speed?
Pikachu shook itself out, recovering quickly from the sudden shock, then leapt aside as Onyx's tail crashed into the boulder on which Pikachu had lighted, crushing it to pebbles. Again, Onyx swung its huge head through the air and caught Pikachu with the side of his stony mandible and knocked Pikachu against one of the slopes of the ring. The sand absorbed most of Pikachu's impact, but the little Pokémon still bounced up and squeaked as the hit left it breathless.
"Move in," said Brock, inciting Onyx to slither in, closing the gap between itself and Pikachu. The huge Pokémon at first moved straight for Ash, forcing the trainer to take a wary step back, then turned ninety degrees and b-lined for Pikachu. The yellow rodent was almost too stunned to hear Ash shout for him to look out, but a quick surge of electricity strengthened the Pokémon's limbs and he flung himself away. An instant later, Onyx's head crashed into the ground next to Pikachu and the serpent straightened up with a mouth full of sand.
Brock grinned. "You were no doubt counting on Pikachu to outpace Onyx and run him out of energy," said the Gym Leader calmly as the stalemate between the combatants resumed and Onyx slowed just enough for Pikachu to stay one step ahead. "Normally I'd applaud your strategy as an ordinary Onyx is slow andtires quickly, but this is a gym battle," Brock shrugged. "And what kind of leader would I be if I didn't have some extraordinary Pokémon?"
"So this is the part where the villain starts monologuing, is that it?" asked Ash as Pikachu sustained another horizontal blow that knocked him to the other side of the arena. Damn, I'd counted on all that mass, he glanced at Onyx, being too much to move quickly. He fooled me there.
Brock grinned. "There's no harm in it. I'm still willing to let you go if you surrender now. That's a pretty good offer given your position."
"Write me a recommendation and I'll leave," said Ash, a thought sparking. "Pikachu! Flash!"
As if it read Ash's mind, Pikachu jumped straight into the air, higher than any escape would require, and right into Onyx's face. Ash knew to shield his eyes, but no one else in the room saw it coming. Pikachu exploded like a miniature sun in a blast of light that would have dazzled someone on the moon. Even after putting his arm in front of his closed eyes, Ash still saw red spots hovering in his vision when he again scanned the room. He clearly saw the chaos he'd caused though and it made him smile.
Brock and the rest of the gym members had all dropped to their hands and knees if they weren't already sitting, and rubbed at their eyes. Misty had been on the opposite side of Onyx from Pikachu, but the light had still stunned her and made her turn away. The flash would have blinded someone in the openness of daylight, and the effect was only magnified in the dim interior of the gym.
Pikachu dropped to the ground, faltering as it landed. Ash could only guess that the intensity of the blast had not left Pikachu unharmed. The tips of the Pokémon's needles of fur were tinged black and, taking a second look, Ash immediately now saw that Onyx's face had been darkened just a little by the flash. "Jeez," muttered the trainer from Pallet, "overkill much?"
"Good - gods," Brock stammered, opening and closing his eyes, and then wondering if he'd done so at all. To him it seemed just as dark either way. "What was that?"
"Surrender and I'll tell you," said Ash, loud enough for everyone in the gym to hear.
Brock refused to answer immediately, instead shouting out for Onyx, demanding to know where the Pokémon was positioned. The serpent growled in response, but that told the leader nothing.
"Or can you fight blind, with a blind Pokémon?" asked Ash. "By the time any of you get your sight back I'll have had plenty of time to bring this to an end."
Pausing, Brock cast about, trying in vain to make heads or tails of anything. Nothing, not even shadows danced before his eyes. "Fine," said the Gym Leader. "Fine, you win. I'll write your recommendation to Indigo Plateau if you get out of my gym."
"Phew," Ash sighed under his breath. That was a lucky break. He looked at Pikachu, grimacing when he saw the Pokémon swooning from exertion.