Hard Enough

“Alright Ash. Let’s hear your plan,” said Misty as she stared at her travelling companion. They hadn’t been able to find any available accommodation and so instead they had set up their tent in an open field which saw them camping out close to the old derelict gym.

“Right! All we have to do is find Brock and challenge him to earn the badge!” Ash waved the stick he’d been poking the fire with around. The glowing tip swung about and Misty tracked it carefully. She wasn’t going to repeat their fourth day’s problem of a small fire turning into a tree near the road only being useful for charcoal now. They’d decided to get off the main roads after that little screw-up. Misty doubted Officer Jenny would have let them off with a warning.

Misty let her hand track to her pokeball belt. She hadn’t been close enough to see what had caused the issue. She still didn’t believe Ash that Team Rocket had caused the entire affair.

Ash noticed what her eyes were tracking. “Sorry!”

Misty put her hand to her face. “Be more careful, and also… Ash… that’s not going to work.”

Ash stared at her in shock. “Sure it will! You just need to beat a gym leader to earn a badge, duh! Everyone knows that!”

“What she means, young Ash, is that Brock already has a lot of demands on his time,” said another voice.

Misty shot into a standing position and a pokeball was halfway out of her grasp before she recognised the voice. “Oh, Mr Flint! Sorry I didn’t see you there!”

Flint gave a small laugh, his head turning towards the derelict gym. Misty remembered the footprints she’d seen walking in and out of the building. “Are you… staying in the old gym sir? That can’t be safe! It’s been abandoned!”

“Don’t worry, I’m something of a Rock-type specialist myself. I’ve shored up the walls with my pokemon.” He looked up at the old gym building. “This old girl isn’t about to collapse anytime soon…”

Misty opened her mouth only to shut it. Somehow she didn’t think he was talking about just the gym. She settled for sitting back down and coughing. “Well, it’s still not the safest option.” She peered up at him. “What did you mean about Brock having lots of demands on his time?”

Flint went still only to then relax. Misty frowned. What had that been about?

Flint took a seat near their fire. “Well, Brock… obviously he wasn’t always the Gym Leader. The Gym Leader before Brock was Brock’s father. He… used to be strong but he kept feeling like he was lacking in a lot of ways. Brock at the time had been on his own journey much like you young trainers.” Flint smiled at the two. Misty and Ash both returned their own.

“Sadly… the previous Gym Leader abandoned his gym as he felt like he was no longer the right person to handle the duty so he called back Brock and had him take over the gym.”

“Urgh, having it dumped on you like that would be the worst! My…” Misty croaked as she suddenly felt her words drying up in throat. Ash stared at her but Flint gave her a commiserating look. “Ahem never mind!”

Ash turned to Flint. “So Brock had to take over for his dad? That doesn’t sound so bad!”

Flint snorted. “The previous Gym Leader didn’t just leave Brock with his gym but also the rest of his family. All nine little siblings.”

“Nine!” Misty said in shock. “Urgh! What a schmuck! I bet he ditched his wife as well!”

“No… she’d departed a few months after their youngest twins were born, but she promised to come back! Eventually, that is.”

“Urgh they both sound horrible,” Misty said, pushing her own stick into the fire. She didn’t see Flint shift uncomfortably. She sniffed. “If they were this bad what did the previous Gym Leader do to deserve the gym?”

Flint stared into the fire and ran his hand over a set of scars on his hand. His eyes stared deep into the fire, his mind lost in a time far away from the current moment.

Eventually, he answered with a shrug, “Who can say? The League usually keeps such details to themselves. The Gym is much better off now with Brock at the helm.” He waved a hand at the old gym. “As you’ve seen.” A grin reappeared on the dour man’s face. “He even beat the Champion!” a note of pride entered his voice.

Ash hummed. “Wow, you sure know a lot about Brock and the Pewter gym!” He put a finger to his chin. “You’re also a rock specialist and you’ve been camping out in the old gym…”

“Urgh! That is! I have been—”

“You must be part of his fan club!” Ash said as he smacked a fist into his other hand. Pikachu who’d been sitting next to him fell over backwards.

“Pika!'' The small electric mouse approached Flint and turned to Ash before pinching the other parts of his eyes and making them squint like Flint.

“Knock it off Pikachu! We get it, he’s a fan of Brock!” Ash said, waving his hand. Pikachu let out a sigh and a shake of his head as he trudged over to Misty.

Misty tilted her head. She felt like something had just been missed. But she couldn’t fault Ash’s logic. She did feel guilty when Pikachu looked at her with expectant eyes. She hugged him up to her chest. Poor little guy must be looking for some warmth.

He sighed again.

Misty smiled at her good instincts. Flint laughed and rubbed the back of his head. “Ha! Yes! I suppose you could say I am Brock’s biggest fan! I certainly try and make it to all his matches!”

“Yeah! I never knew he was so good until I saw him fighting Lance! His Tyranitar is so cool!” Ash clenched his fist and grinned as he got a gleam in his eyes. “But we can take him!” He looked over to Pikachu. “Isn’t that right buddy?”

Pikachu raised a hesitant thumbs up that did nothing to dim Ash’s enthusiasm. “We just need to find him!”

Misty was about to berate him for forgetting everything they’d just spoken about only for a boom to fill the air. Misty shot to her feet and whipped around. Ash was a few seconds behind her in standing and surveying their surroundings.

“Is it Team Rocket again?” Ash said, his hand going to his belt.

A laugh had them looking to find Flint chuckling to himself. “I’m sorry, but no, it’s just the festival's fireworks!”

“Fireworks?” Ash said.

They turned and looked up to see a streak of red shooting up into the air where it boomed into a large display of light.

“Ohhhhh!” Misty said in realisation before giggling. “That was silly of me. Of course, it’s just fireworks.”

“There’s a festival going on?” Ash said, staring up at the fireworks. Pikachu leapt from Misty’s arms to Ash’s shoulder.

“Pika-Pi!” said the pokemon gesturing towards the fireworks, his tail wagging excitedly.

“Looks like Pikachu wants to go to the festival!” Ash pointed his hand towards the distant festival before he began to march off.

“Ash! Wait up! I’m coming too!” Misty said as she moved to follow.

Flint stayed by the fire. “Have fun kids!”

Ash waved, happy to continue on. Misty gave the man a final look as they left. Didn’t he seem… really sad? Misty turned away. She might get him a dessert from the festival to show her thanks for his commentary for the day. He’d been very helpful, especially in helping them find the real Pewter Gym.

But that was for later, now was the time to see if there was anything great at the local festival! She hurried to match Ash’s annoyingly faster pace. She might be taller than him but he had a lot of energy that made up for it in the speed department whenever they ran anywhere.

As they got closer to the festival proper, more and more people filled the streets. Ash kept up his headlong sprint.

Just as Ash was starting to get lost in the crowd, Misty called out to him, “Ash! Slow down! You’re going to run into someon—” Misty tripped and staggered to the side only to run into a boy that had been walking with some of his friends.

“Urgh!” grunted the boy.

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry about that!” Misty said, mortified as she straightened up to find herself being held up by the surprisingly strong hands of a boy that looked no older than herself. The boy… looked familiar for some reason?

He was olive-skinned. His dark brown hair rested on his head with small spikes that were messily spread out. His rather cute blush let Misty know he wasn’t used to handling a lady.

She smiled widely. “Thanks for catching me!”

“Misty we don’t have time to hang about, come on!” said Ash just as her saviour opened his mouth. Misty felt a hand clamp on her arm and drag her away before she could learn the name of the other boy.

“Ash!” she hissed at the rude boy. He continued to drag her through the crowd only to stop at a stand that surprisingly had a rather large gathering of people. She ignored that for now and rounded on Ash. “Ash! That was rude!”

He gave her a confused look. “What do you mean? I came back for you? Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“But I was… Urgh! Never mind!” she said, stomping her foot. She looked around hoping that the other boy might have followed after him but Ash apparently was too quick. She sighed and turned to the stall that Ash had led them to. “What’s this?”

Ash grinned and swept his hands about like he was revealing some great secret. “It’s something that will guarantee my victory over the Pewter City gym!”

Misty stared at the stall. It was, well, like any other stall that she’s seen before at a market. More specifically, a farmers market. It had stacks of berries and melons piled up around with signs sprouting out of each pile of produce. Ash was gesturing to one set of signs.

“Charti Berry juice? Guaranteed to help against Rock types?” she said aloud. She gave Ash a pitying look. “Ash? You know this doesn’t work right?”

“Au contraire my dear customer!” said one of the stall’s workers as they sidled up to Ash and Misty. “We have proven testimonials of this juice helping young up-and-comer trainers defeat Brock and earn their first badge!” The man nodded his head back and forth as Misty stared at him dubiously.

“Do I know you?” she said as she stared into his eyes.

They were behind thick glasses. He must have a crazy strong prescription. She glanced down at his name badge that said ‘be nice! It’s my first week!’ and pronounced that his name was Julian. Another name had been written above it but it was scratched out and Misty couldn’t make out what it said.

“Indeed!” said the female attendant as she hustled over with a berry in each hand. “The Gym Leader has been having to print out more badges than normal thanks to these magical berries don’t you know!”

This woman had flowers through her hair to such a degree that Misty could only just pick out that her hair was a deep red. She also had a gardener’s pesticide mask on. She also had the same ‘it’s my first week’ badge that announced her as Jannette.

“What’s the mask for?”

“I have to keep pests off the stock,” replied the woman without missing a beat while brandishing the broom she had in one hand.

Misty glanced around carefully checking her surroundings for any bug pokemon. She relaxed when she saw she was fine.

Ash bounced on the spot. “This! This will be exactly what I need to help me beat Brock!”

Both attendants nodded their heads. ““Indeed! Indeed!”” they said together.

They then pointed at the signs. “What fruits will you be looking to purchase? The Charti berry is best for Brock’s pokemon!”

“Soften up those hard-hitting rock types that’s for sure!” chimed a third voice. Misty and Ash looked around but couldn’t find who had spoken.

“But he does also have some ground types!” continued the male fruit seller.

“Need to watch out for shakey ground there!” chimed the voice once more.

“He also has some fighting-style moves!” the female seller indicated another tray of fruit declaring their effectiveness against fighting-type moves.

“Dodge, Duck, Dive, Dip and Divert! Certainly don’t look to drag out the drama!” called out the third voice.

Misty tilted her head. Where had she heard that nasal tone before?

The man and the woman rubbed their hands together. “So what berry would you like to purchase?”

“All of them! I want them blended up!” shouted Ash as he pointed to another sign that informed customers they could blend the fruit in the shop for a small additional fee that resulted in ‘greater potential being unleashed’. Misty gave a sheepish laugh at Ash’s enthusiasm while the seller's eyes glinted.

“Very good sir! Would you like the double pack for the buy two, pay two special?” the man said. Misty frowned. Something about that deal didn’t seem right…

“No! I want the six-pack!” Ash pointed at the sign.

Misty and the two stall workers stopped together.

“Sir has a full team of pokemon?” asked the red-haired woman.

Misty blinked. Ash hadn’t demonstrated a full team to her! Did he have more than just Butterfree, Pidgeotto and Pikachu?

Ash shook his head before gesturing to Pikachu riding on his shoulder. “No! I’m going to have Pikachu drink all six!”

Misty and the fruit sellers stared at Ash.

Pikachu blinked and then looked at the size of the juice cups. Misty could see he was multiplying the cups and coming up with a drink far too large for the little mouse to drink.

She coughed politely. “I think you meant you were going to share them out for your pokemon and us as well Ash.”

Ash tilted his head. “Wouldn’t it be more effective the more Pikachu drinks?”

“Wow this kid doesn’t get how juice works does he?” said the voice once more only for a small hunched-over form to hop up onto the table. Misty stared at the weirdly fluffed-up pokemon.

“Who’s that pokemon?” Ash said as he shot up his pokedex. Only for Julian to stand in the way.

“Oh, sir! It’s just a… Mankey! That’s it! A Mankey!”

Misty leaned around Julian to stare at the fluffed-up pokemon. It certainly looked scruffy enough and it also had a curly tail… “Looks kinda short for a Mankey?” she said dubiously

The Mankey bared its teeth at her. “And you look kinda flat for a gir—”

The female attendant swatted the ‘Mankey’ with a broom.

“Damn pests!” she said. Misty nodded at the woman in soli— She scowled when she realised the woman was actually a good deal curvier than her. Nevermind. No solidarity with this woman!

Ash scratched his cheek. “We sure do come across a lot of pokemon that know how to talk our language?”

“Pika-pi!” agreed Pikachu.

Ash shrugged and opened his wallet. “Six juices!”

“Right away sir!” chimed Julian the fruit stall worker as he bustled to create the juice while Jannette accepted Ash’s money. They happily handed over the sixpack of juice and Misty was pleased to get one for herself. Deciding it might be nice for Staryu she summoned it out and poured some juice over its gem.

“Uhm, isn't that wasting it?” Ash asked.

“No, this is how pokemon like Staryu and Starmie take in nutrients. They need to absorb them through their jewel. Most of the time they merely absorb sunlight but they like having other things every now and then as well!”

“Huh,” Ash said as he opened his other pokeballs to offer juice to his pokemon.

Julian and Jannette got a strange glint in their eyes watching the group let their pokemon drink. They were about to speak before another woman approached while carrying a towering stack of trays with fruit on them. “Julian! Jannette! I’m not going to pay you for standing around! If things are finished with those trainers, then go rustle up some more business with your Mankey!” ordered the woman.

Julian and Jannette snapped to attention. “Right away ma’am!” They both bustled off but not before reaching over a tray of berries to grab Mankey. “Come on! Our bonus is on the line!”

“I wasn’t monkeying around I swear!” said the Mankey.

Misty watched them go with a shake of her head. When Staryu was done with his juice she returned it. Ash returned his pokemon.

“Haha! Watch out Brock, my pokemon are all powered up now!”

The owner of the store nodded at them. “Thanks for the business, make sure to come back if you need more berries for your pokemon!”

Misty and Ash waved at her as they walked further into the middle of Pewter. They soon found themselves in a much busier area with personal space being practically nonexistent as people moved about. Various stands proclaimed their wares while in other areas lights flashed as men and women shouted their offers to draw people in.

“Come right up! Come right up! We’ve got a man that can out-wrestle a Machamp! He’s Musclio!” cried one man in front of a tent before gesturing to a huge muscle-bound man that flexed at the passers-by.

“Step into the ring and win and you earn yourself a prize champion belt!” said to once be worn by Lance!”

Ash whipped his head around. “What?! Really! Is that true?” he called out.

“It is said!” said the crier with a nod. Misty rolled her eyes and dragged Ash on, ignoring his protests. As she walked away, a towering amazonian woman emerged from the crowd.

“I’ll take that challenge,” she said with a glint in her eyes before ripping off her tracksuit to showcase a body honed beyond even Musclio. Musclio gulped in fear and Misty giggled only for Ash to drag her away.

“Try your hand at winning the most beautiful pokemon of the seas! A Milotic’s pokeball rests within this lucky dip! Come! Buy your chance at this jewel of the sea!” cried another.

Misty stopped dead in her tracks. Her head swivelled around slowly. “What did he just say?”

“Misty, that's obviously a scam!” Ash said before tilting his head. “What’s a Milotic?”

Misty swept around on him. “What’s a Milotic? Ash! Milotic are known to be the most beautiful water-type pokemon to exist! Now come on! We need to win that pokemon!” Misty dug into her purse and approached the now-grinning man.

“Pewter City Police! This stall has been ripping people off with its false claims!” shouted Officer Jenny as she advanced with a group of men at her back. The man that had been about to take Misty’s money blanched before throwing something.

“You’ll never catch me alive coppers!” A cloud of smoke blossomed out and when it dispersed the man had vanished.

Jenny released her Growlithe to give pursuit, leaving Misty standing in front of the stall despondent.

An officer approached. “Did he con you young miss? Take anything?”

“Only my hopes and dreams,” she said forlornly as she stared at the picture of the pokemon that the man had been ‘offering’ as a prize.

Ash butt in with, “Are those worth much?” Misty growled and swung an elbow into his gut. As they left she reached out and grabbed a photo to store away. One day, one day she’d have a pokemon like this. Sadly her loss of hope had her slumping and not paying attention so when the next shiny object attracted Ash’s attention and he ran off to inspect it she kept moving.

When she looked up he was nowhere in sight. “Urgh! Dang it Ash. I need to put a bell on you.”

She began to move around, taking in the pokemon and people that had been brought together with the Pewter city festival. It was strange. She could swear she would have heard of something this big happening each year in Pewter having grown up in Cerulean.

Still, it was a pleasant surprise. She wandered through some clothing stalls and checked out some water exploration gear that people were offering. There were even chartered trips out to a nearby lake that held her interest. Ash did say they were going to be here for a while with how long it would take to get through to Brock. She made a note to herself for later on.

She turned from a stall that was selling festival bags with candy shaped like pokemon in each bag only to bump into someone. “Sorry!” she said only to blink as she found herself face to face with the boy from earlier. “Oh! It’s you! Thanks for catching me earlier!”

The boy blushed again. “I-it wasn’t a problem!” he said shyly.

“Hey Forrest, who's this?” said a boy next to ‘Forrest’.

“Oh this is a girl that I caught when she tripped earlier,” said Forrest while shifting nervously. Misty smiled at him and he blushed redder. His reaction was kind of cute.

His friend saw the blush and crowed in delight. “Oh! Do you like her Forrest! Oooooh! Forrest likes a girl!” he said in an obnoxious tone.

Forrest whipped around on him, “I do not!”

Another boy about their age joined the group only for another two to join right after him. “Forrest has a girlfriend!?” they jeered.

“Shut up guys!” Forrest said heatedly.

Misty sniffed at their childishness. “I’m not his girlfriend. And frankly, I’m amazed he’s your friend!”

They boo’d at her and Forrest turned to them. “Hey, that’s not cool.” He then turned to her. “No need to say things like that either Miss.”

Deciding to not stick around with this group of mankeys she walked around to get away from their teasing. “Neither’s how they’re acting. Nice to get your name Forrest, I’m Misty I might see you around.” She looked back to find Forrest watching her.

She offered him a half smile, and he brightened only to have one of his friends put an arm over his shoulder, and say something in his ear.

With that done for now, she decided she’d seen enough of the Festival and instead left for her tent. When she arrived, she found Ash sitting in front of a fire regaling Mr Flint about everything that he’d seen at the Festival. “And this super fat guy challenged Musclio! And instead of fighting him he jumped on him and sat on him like a snorlax! Musclio hadn’t won a single match after that big woman got through with him!”

Misty giggled at what sounded like a good story, settling in for the evening. At one point Flint headed into the old gym to use the still-working toilet. Ash had been content to sit and wait for him, his eyes turning towards the sky that was showing a few stars.

“Is it weird that I regret being in the city right now?” Ash said.

“No, sometimes that's the best part of exploring the wilderness. Being able to simply look up and enjoy the stars.” Misty put a hand under her chin and joined Ash in watching the stars. Both of them were comfortable enough to simply sit quietly. In a bit they'd each crawl into their own tents and—

“What are you doing?!” called out a voice.

Misty and Ash sat up only to find Forrest and his group of friends stalking up to them from outside their campsite. Forrest, rather than looking contrite like Misty had last seen him, looked furious. “What do you think you’re doing, camping out here!?”

Misty stood up. “We’re just camping out cause there’s no free rooms anywhere!”

Ash followed her. “Yeah! And what’s it to you!?” he said with a defiant tone.

Forrest inhaled like a Tauros that had just been challenged. “This land is still in my family’s name! Did you get permission from us to camp here?”

Misty reeled back. “Your family’s?”

Ash frowned. An answer came quickly enough that he stepped forward. “You’re… Brock? You look different than you do on Tv?” Misty stared at Ash. How could he think this was Brock? Brock was taller and … well… a few other things.

One of Forrest’s friends laughed like some Mightyena goon. “Hahaha! This kid’s an idiot!”

“I’m not stupid!” Ash said with a growl. He pointed at Forrest. “Who’re you then?”

The boy that had laughed stepped forward and gestured to Forrest. “This is Forrest, the right-hand man and second in charge of the Pewter Gym! If he doesn’t want to let you face Brock, you don’t!”

Forrest jutted his chin in a way that Misty found made him look kind of stupid, but this whole situation was getting into stupid boy territory… Which now that she looked around made so much sense with only her to cool tempers.

The boy that had introduced Forrest sniffed. “You and your girlfriend aren’t welcome here!”

Misty bristled. “I AM NOT HIS GIRLFRIEND!” she shouted, raising her fists.

All the boys unconsciously took a step back.

Forrest coughed. “Oh, uhhh that’s good?” he said with a small squeak. He coughed again and nodded firmly before crossing his arms. “That doesn’t change that you need to leave though. This is my family’s land until the city lease we paid runs out.”

Ash narrowed his eyes. “I need to fight you to see Brock right?”

“Yeah?” Forrest said his own eyes locking with Ash’s.

“Let’s fight for it! You beat me and we’ll leave! I win and you talk to Brock to face me… tomorrow!”

“Ha! You’ve got no chance!” crowed one of the boys in Forrest’s gang.

Forrest sniffed. “Or I could just kick…” he paused as Flint emerged from the old gym doors.

“Is everything alright out here I heard… Oh… hello Forrest, you’ve grown.”

Misty instantly understood. Seeing Flint and Forrest together. It was obvious who Flint actually was.

Forrest worked his jaw, and for a moment Misty thought she saw something glimmer in his eyes before he blinked a few times quickly. Ash glanced between them as the silence stretched.

Forrest squared his jaw. “We’re fighting…” He pointed straight at Flint, “And you’re coming with us… we’ll talk after I deal with… this.” Forrest waved his hand around the campsite. Then he jerked his head towards where the Pewter city gym was located.

“Come on,” he said, his voice turning a little raspy.

The group of boys fell in with him. Ash hung back for Misty and Flint to join him.

Misty glanced at Flint. “Are… you going to be okay?” she glanced at Forrest, the boy obviously didn’t know what to do with this situation and was relying on fighting Ash to work through whatever this had turned into.

Flint swallowed. “This was going to happen eventually. I’ve just been scared to meet with them… this… this is better than I hoped for.”

“What were you worried about?” Ash asked.

“Him punching me,” Flint said. “I’m still not sure this is better.”

Ash rubbed his chin. “So… you’re his uncle then?”

Misty stumbled in disbelief, she almost screamed at Ash, only for Flint to shake his head.

“No, I’m his father… I’m the man that abandoned them.”

“Oh,” Ash said quietly. He didn’t say anything else and instead adopted a thoughtful silence.

Thankfully, it only took five minutes of walking to reach the new gym from the old gym. You just had to know where to go. When theyarrived,d Forrest had a keycard that he used to open the front doors. He walked in and typed in a code into a separate panel to the side and then put his finger on a square panel.

“Authorised entry,” said a digitised voice. “Welcome, Trainer Forrest,”

“Wooooah that’s cool!” Ash said staring at the panel. He reached out to push a button but Misty swatted his hand.

“Focus on your fight Ash!”

“Right!” Ash said, slapping his cheeks. He glanced at his starter. “Ready for this Pikachu?”

“Pika!” said the electric mouse with a spark forming up on his cheeks.

“Are you coming?” said Forrest, his position standing in front of another set of doors. Misty recalled that they hadn’t actually been through these doors due to the Gravelers barring anyone from just walking through to watch.

Everyone entered a tunnel that had a run of lights along the edges leading upwards to a dark room. When they reached the end of the tunnel Forrest reached to the side and popped another panel where he flicked some switches. With each switch, lights burst into life around the arena with huge ‘thooms’ to announce themselves as they chased away the darkness.

“Woah!” said Ash as the huge space was revealed. His voice echoed through the gym and Misty had to admit that she was impressed as well.

This, this was a state-of-the-art facility. There were crisp lines with a flowing striation of different browns, reds, greys and other earth tones throughout the facility that spoke of what this Gym was representing without a single word ever having to say it.

The arena battlefield itself was strewn with rocks along with having a grill around the edges where water flowed for water types to use. Forrest led them to a keypad. Once more the keycard came out and from the side of the arena a slow inclining ramp popped out of the wall to the arena floor.

“Alright let’s do this!” Ash said as he strode across the arena floor to the podium. Misty laughed at how he was bouncing with each step, his eyes darting around the field.

“Shall I act as—” Flint’s words were cut off when Forrest raised his hand.

“No, not you.” Forrest looked over his friends before looking at Misty. “Can you call it, as ref?”

Misty puffed out her chest at being appointed to such an important position… in a frankly amazing gym. She nodded and moved towards the refs podium that had its own control system which could control the scoreboard! There were a few things such as barriers but they shouldn’t need those. This wasn’t going to be a champion-tier match as much as Ash liked to puff himself up.

She did activate the podiums though.

Misty adopted a serious pose and pulled up the flags. “Trainers! Are you ready?”

Forrest nodded and Ash clenched his fist as he turned his cap around a sign of how serious he was.

“I’m ready!”

“Select your pokemon!”

“Go Butterfree”

“Go Geodude!”

Both pokemon appeared on the field. Misty checked to make sure Pikachu was within the trainer podium before raising the flags into a ready position.

“Begin!” Misty shouted as she swept her flags down.

“Geodude, use Defense Curl!” ordered Forrest.

“Butterfree use Tackle!” The butterfly pokemon raced across the field with furious flaps of its wings to throw itself straight at the Geodude. The Geodude only rocked back a little from the hit. It then grinned smugly at the Butterfree as it flapped away quickly.

“That’s not going to work! Geodude use Roll Out!” The geodude tucked up and threw itself forward. When it came up to Butterfree it bounced upwards and straight into the flying pokemon.

Butterfree shouted in pain before flapping to stay in the air. Geodude hit the ground finished its roll attack and spun about to face the other pokemon

“Nice one, Geodude! Now finish it with another Roll Out!” Forrest said.

“Uh! Butterfree fly up and use Stun Spore!” From his wings glittering golden powder floated down upon Geodude who began to leap only to spasm mid-leap and lose control of his charge. It crashed into the ground forcefully and Misty grimaced at the noise.

“Geodude! Damn it! Use Rock Throw!” Misty frowned. That shouldn’t be something a weaker Geodude could perform. Geodude grabbed up some rocks and hurled them straight at Butterfree before the paralysis could stop it. It mostly missed so it must have been still a bit affected.

One of the rocks hit though. Butterfree, however, shook it off quickly.

“What the?” shouted Forrest as his pokemon failed to take out Butterfree with what should have been a type advantage.

“Ha! I knew that juice was worth it!” called out Ash.

Misty kept her mouth shut. As the ref she really shouldn’t react to him or call instructions. Even if he was probably wrong.

“Geodude, use Rock Throw again!” Geodude tried but this time his limbs locked up.

“Butterfree! Now’s your chance, use Tackle!” the butterfree once more charge in. Geodude rocked back from this hit and Ash swept his hand out. “Once more to finish it!”

“Freee!” said Butterfree as it swept in on the helpless Geodude.

Misty checked over Geodude and made the call when his body slumped and his eyes shut. She dropped the flag towards Forrest. “Geodude is unable to battle!”

“Yes! Hahaha! Way to go Butterfree!”

“Come on Forrest!” “Don’t let this punk beat you!” “Pewter Pride yo!” shouted Forrest’s gang of friends.

Misty raised the flag towards Forrest and made the ‘wait’ sign to Ash like she’d been taught in school for times when she would be acting as a Ref for a friend.

“Go Onix!” Forrest said upon selecting his next pokeball. From the pokeball a giant rock snake emerged. It roared upon its entry and when it lowered its head it was staring straight at the fluttering Butterfree that got a lot more nervous than it had been a moment ago.

“Trainers! Are you ready?” Misty said once more to control things and keep it civil. Both trainers nodded once more. “Begin!” she shouted.

“Onix! Use Sandstorm!” The Onix roared and from around it, a sandstorm built up as it sank into the ground.

“Uh! Butterfree, blow it away with Whirlwind!” Butterfree began to work its wings furiously to blow away the storm. Misty blinked in surprise when it took Butterfree a while to do just that. This must be a much stronger Onix to be able to make the bug-flying type pokemon work this hard.

“Rock Throw!” shouted Forrest as Butterfree stayed in one position too long. This time the rocks were much larger, faster and more accurate. They slammed into Butterfree and he crumpled.

“Uh! Butterfree! Are you okay buddy?” Ash cried out.

“Freeeee!” said his pokemon weakly.

Misty dropped Ash’s flag and raised the wait sign to Forrest. “Butterfree is unable to battle!”

Ash looked up at her in shock. For a moment she thought he might contest her call. Instead, he nodded and returned his pokemon. He selected another pokeball and threw it out. “Go Pidgeotto!”

“Trainer’s ready?” Once more she raised and dropped her flag. This time, Onix led off with a Rock Throw.

“Dodge it!”

“Pidg!” shouted the bird pokemon as it ducked side to side.

“Keep up the pressure!” shouted Forrest. More rocks rose up and launched straight at Pidgeotto. Eventually one clipped it and it dropped from the sky with a shriek only for another Rock Throw to nail it on the way down.

“Pidgeotto is unable to battle!” Misty watched Ash stare in shock at his second lost pokemon. He slowly raised his pokeball and returned it.

Misty turned her head to Forrest to see if he was feeling good about crushing Ash like this. Only… he wasn’t even looking at the match; he was looking up into the stands where Flint was watching.

Oh. Misty swallowed. This… was really a lot more complicated than it seemed. Movement from the tunnel that they’d come in from had Misty turning her head further to the side to spot Brock himself watching them all with a frown. Oh dear, he was going to be so mad! This was like the time her parents found her paddling with Gyarados, wasn’t it?

When he noticed that she’d spotted him, he raised a finger to his lips before he stepped back into the shadows.

Huh, alright, so he was going to let this play out? Alright then, this was his gym, so it was his call.

“Go Pikachu!” shouted Ash, drawing Misty back to her job.

“Ready?” she said once more. Both trainers rolled their shoulders and lowered their bodies like they were about to charge each other. “Begin!” she said.

“Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!”

Forrest outright laughed when the electric mouse launched a strong electric attack at the Onix… only for it to do nothing.

The gang of friends sitting in the stands laughed out loud and began to jeer Ash. “What in Pewter are you thinking!” “Not much obviously!” “Rookie!” “ Don’t you know Rock types are immune to lightning!!?” Another of the friends slapped the person that said that over the head as a mutter broke out.

Misty ignored them, telling the boy that it was due to the ground typing, and instead watched as Forrest went on the attack.

“Onix! Use Bind!”

“Pikachu dodge it!” Ash ordered making his pokemon run to the side and avoid the larger pokemon. Its body crashed to the ground and the earth shook at the effect. Ash furiously looked around the field.

“Dodge through the rocks!”

“Onix! Tackle it! Ignore the rocks!” the Onix rose upwards with a mighty roar and charged forward through the rocks.

“Uh! Pikachu get into the corner!”

Misty frowned at this order. That… it sounded like a really bad order, but she could see a glint of something in Ash’s eyes. She searched the field. He had some angle that he’d seen. What was it that made him so confident he could still win this fight?

“Take it out! Onix!” Forrest ordered once Pikachu was in the corner.

“Pikachu! Use your tail to leap to the side… now!” Ash ordered. As the Onix came down upon his pokemon. Pikachu reacted instantly his tail coiling up and letting him leap to the side and out of danger.

Onix on the other hand slammed into the corner and caused the water that edged the gym to surge upwards and splash all over the Onix that roared at the water drenching it.

Ash leaned forward and grinned. “Ha! Take that! Pikachu Tackle now!”

“Onix use Bide!” he shouted. A glow of energy built up around Onix right before Pikachu slammed into it. The tackle pushed it back a little but it obviously wasn’t that strong.

“Again!” ordered Ash not realising he was potentially giving Forrest what he needed. Once more Pikachu slammed into Onix and the energy field built around Onix.

“Get into another corner Pikachu!”

Forrest gritted his teeth. “Onix slam yourself into the field and disperse the build up!”

Misty blinked in surprise, why was he doing that? She heard a murmur from Forrest’s friend about ‘Bide’s effect’ but couldn’t make it out. Did Bide have a weakness that meant he needed to attack? Had Ash known this?

She found herself surprisingly leaning forward in interest as Forrest and Ash reset their pokemon. Onix had a few scuff marks on his body and Pikachu was huffing and puffing in lungfuls of air.

“Onix! Use Dig!” Forrest ordered.

Misty grimaced. This would be tough for Ash to face. Ash grit his teeth. “Pikachu onto your tail again! When it comes up, leap onto its head!”

“Pikachu!” shouted his pokemon as it readied itself. Everyone leaned forward in anticipation, and Misty saw the instant the earth underneath Pikachu’s tail broke open and Onix surged upwards.

“Oooooon!” cried Onix as he surged up to hit Pikachu only for Pikachu to leap upwards and land as Ash had ordered.

“Pikachu! Hang on and keep using Thunderbolt now that it’s wet!”

Forrest reeled back. “No! Onix! Slam it into the boulders to get it off!” Onix threw itself head into a boulder and roared as the boulder broke.

“Hang on Pikachu!” Ash urged.

“Again!” Forrest shouted, making his Onix rise up and slam his pokemon into the ground. A cloud of dust rose up with this impact and took a few tense seconds to disperse. Misty toggled the fans to disperse it quicker, her eyes searching the field only to blink at what she found.

Onix was laid out and straining to rise but couldn’t. Across from it, Pikachu was obviously knocked out. She waited for a moment and Onix slumped down, relaxing when it saw its opponent was down.

“Pikachu!” shouted Ash as he threw himself over the side of his podium. He landed with a stumble only to scramble towards his pokemon and scoop it up in his arms. “Are you okay buddy?!”

“Chuuuu!” said the small electric mouse.

Misty sighed in relief before raising flags in both directions. “Onix and Pikachu are unable to battle!” She paused, unsure if she should announce it as a draw or Forrest’s win. She’d forgotten in the rush to confirm how many pokemon he was going to use. Forrest reached towards his belt with a grin only for another voice to call out.

“Which means this match is a draw… no?”

Misty smiled up as Gym Leader Brock announced himself. He looked from Forrest to Ash and then to her. Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing as they realised he was there.

Misty decided to do as he said. “Both trainers have used their roster of pokemon and this match, therefore, is a draw between Ash and Forrest!”

Brock smiled at this and clapped his hands. “Wonderful! That was a nice match, don’t you think so… Flint?” he said as he turned his head to look directly at his father. Misty swallowed as something seemed to flicker in Brock’s eyes. Flint was locked in his seat but he nodded quickly.

Brock turned to look straight at Forrest's friends before turning his head to Misty and Ash.

“So… who wants to explain to me why you’re all in my gym, late at night having a pokemon fight?”

Misty swallowed and coughed out a ‘Not it’ half hopefully but not expecting anything from it, but it might pay to cover her bases.