Author's Note: This will be the first part of the Pewter Gym battle. I was going to upload it all as a single big chapter, but it sort of got away from me. The second part will be posted in a few days once I've finished editing.

Disclaimer still applies from last chapter.

Chapter 3: I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night

Ash had been many places and seen many things throughout his travels, but he never ceased to be amazed at the steady march of progress. His first visit to Pewter City had been so long ago, yet he distinctly remembered the settlement as being much smaller than this teeming metropolis.

It was to be expected, he supposed, with the city being so close to three major landmarks in Kanto. The Viridian Forest was one of the premier hotspots for Bug-type enthusiasts to hunt for their favorite Pokemon, especially since the population boom in Pokemon previously unknown to the region like Ledyba and Combee. The Diglett Cave wasn't too far off either, and spelunkers from around the world came to explore the massive warrens that lay within. The Kanto Museum of Natural History, which had been built only a decade ago, was also a great tourist attraction, and many of the exhibits prompted the visitors to gain an interest in Mount Moon and the dark splendor that lay in its shadowy caverns. The conspiracy theorists who were dead set on figuring out whether or not Clefairy and Clefable were really from the moon were just icing on the cake.

Ash tried to figure his way through the city based on his limited knowledge of the place gained through Brock and memories of the last time he'd been here for Brock's birthday a few years back, then eventually just gave up and hopped on Pidgeot to find the Pokemon Center from the sky. Once Pidgeot and Ivysaur had been checked up and given a clean bill of health, they'd made their way to the Pewter Gym to check up on his oldest traveling companion's family.

Again, Ash was struck by how much things could change. The very first time he'd set his sights on the Pewter Gym, it had been a blocky building with a facade made up of a jumble of rocks and an off-center sign chiseled into the biggest slab of stone (almost as if the person designing it had posessed poor or obstructed vision). Now, most likely thanks to the influence of Brock's mom, the pile of boulders had become an artful stack of stones with bits of quartz that shone in the sunlight while rivulets of water trickled out through tiny gaps in the rocks that collected into two quaint ponds that flanked the entrance. The sign proclaiming it to be the Pewter City Pokemon Gym was centered perfectly and done in a rough, jagged script that denoted its rugged nature.

Ash ignored the gym's heavy stone doors in favor of heading to the large house situated behind the building, grinning as he saw the twins playing a game of volleyball with a pair of Geodude.

When they spotted him, the pair of siblings raced over to him happily, and Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder to meet them.

"Ash! How are you?" the older twin asked, giggling as Pikachu leapt up to (lower-case) nuzzle him in greeting.

"I'm great, Billy," Ash answered, ruffling the boy's coarse hair before turning to his sister. "And how are you, Tilly?"

"Great!" the little brunette said, giving Pikachu a rub between the ears. "Guess what? Me and Billy are gonna get our Trainer's licenses next month!"

Ash shook his head, thoroughly amazed at how time flew. It seemed only yesterday that these two were just leaving that awkward toddler stage, and now they were almost old enough to go traveling on their own.

"That's awesome, you two," he congratulated. "How's everyone else doing?"

"Sal and Mom and Dad are in the house," Billy said, gesturing for Ash to follow them inside. "Timmy and Tom are traveling in Hoenn right now, Cindy's doing her shift at the museum, Suzie's with her boyfriend," here he made a disgusted face (which Ash found positively hilarious, given his siblings'...appreciation of the opposite gender), "and Yolanda's doing her fashion model thing in Unova."

"Is Forrest home as well?" Ash wondered. "I feel like I haven't seen you lot in ages."

Tilly shot him an adorably reproachful look. "It has been ages," she complained. "You haven't been around here in years!"

Ash chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry about that," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "The ranch has kept me so busy I've been losing track of time lately."

"Work shouldn't stop you from keeping in touch with your friends," Tilly replied sagely, and her brother nodded in agreement. Ash smiled, not for the first time wondering how Brock and his siblings had gained their monk-like wisdom. It surely hadn't been from Lola or Flint (though he would hardly say that aloud).

"Yeah, Pikachu's gotten me off my lazy butt so I could visit everyone again," Ash said as they entered the kitchen where Salvador was whipping up some lunch. "He seems to think I don't get out much anymore."

"That's an understatement," Sal said jovially, waving a welcoming whisk his way. "Where've you been? I know Cindy'll be happy to see you." Here, the three siblings shared a downright evil smirk that gave Ash a deep sense of foreboding, but he quickly brushed it to the back of his mind.

The three of them were joined in short order by Flint, Lola, and Forrest, who spent the time catching Ash up on the Harrison family's latest exploits, like how Timmy was quickly becoming a rising star in the Hoenn region's Contest circuit, while Yolanda was currently doing a shoot with the one and only Elesa next week.

Eventually, Suzie also made an appearance with the aforementioned boyfriend-a beshorted young fellow who hailed from Cherrygrove City named Joey, whose Ratata was (in his humble opinion) definitely in the top percent of Ratata, and didn't seem to mind going on at length about dear old Rata-tat-tat.

Lunch was set before them (thankfully Sal was around, since he and Brock had most emphatically not inherited their culinary skills from either parent), and they were about to dig in when Cindy, the second oldest of Brock's sisters, finally showed up.

"Ugh, sorry I'm late," she said, hardly glancing at the dinner table as she pulled off her uniform jacket and hung it up on the rack near the door. "That idiot with the Mega Pinser's in town again challenging everyone to battles in front of the museum."

Ash winced, wondering just how often Samurai did that and if he'd been a catalyst for this particular incident.

"Excellent, he's always good for an interesting battle!" Forrest chuckled, slapping his hand on the table. Considering just how much the kid had grown (he was a foot and a half taller than Ash), it made quite the cacophony, drawing Cindy's attention to him. Then her eyes moved to Ash, who was sitting on Forrest's left side and Ash suddenly understood Sal's sly little comment earlier.

For quite a while now, Brock had been warning Ash of Cindy's infatuation for him, but Ash had simply written it off as a little girl's crush on her brother's friend. He hardly visited anymore, so he figured it had blown over.

He had been wrong before, of course.

Cindy could no longer be called little in any sense of the word. Her auburn hair was pulled into braided pigtails that trailed down her back, and...well, the sixteen-year-old certainly took after her mother in a couple of very pleasant ways.

Ash instantly berated himself for such sinful thoughts and waved cheerfully. "Hey, Cindy. I might be responsible for Samurai coming here today. He led me outta Viridian Forest about an hour ago."

"Yeah, 'cause we all know your tendency to get lost," Billy chortled mischievously. Ash groaned; Brock had been telling them stories again, and that never boded well.

"I woulda made it through easily enough on my own," the black-haired Trainer insisted defensively.

Pikachu snorted disbelievingly. "Whatever you say, Ash," he muttered patronizingly.

"Don't you start, too," Ash grumbled good-naturedly.

"Ash, it's so wonderful to see you!" Cindy chirped, quickly settling herself into the seat next to him, which had been curiously left unused by her siblings. "I-er, that is, we've missed you!"

" 'We,' she says," Suzie whispered to Joey, who politely kept his mouth shut, instead muttering about how boss Rata-tat-tat's IVs were.

"Er, yeah, it's really great to see everyone again," Ash agreed, clearing his throat awkwardly. Ash had no clue how she did it, but Cindy's eyes sparkled through her eyelids.

"You're in for it now," Pikachu giggled gleefully, nudging his head with an elbow.

Thankfully, Forrest seemed to have derived enough amusement from Ash's predicament. "So, Ash, have you heard about my recent promotion to full Gym Leader?"

Ash grasped onto the obvious life-line. "Brock mentioned it. I'm seriously impressed, man. Congratulations."

Forrest took the praise with a humble smile and a word of thanks. "I was wondering, though, if you'd be willing to battle me. It doesn't have to be for a badge or anything like that," he added hastily. "I know you're retired. It's just that I remember how incredible a Trainer you were, and me and the team would like to measure ourselves against you."

Pikachu dropped to the table, pointing toward Forrest. "See? You were meant to come back when you did. It's destiny and stuff."

Ash rolled his eyes, but he couldn't really find fault with Pikachu's assessment. Well, he thought, in for a penny...

"Forrest, my Pokemon recently got me thinking about having another go at the Indigo League, and your challenge just made me decide to listen to them." He stood up, and Pikachu fist-pumped in his peripheral vision. "Gym Leader Forrest, I'd like to pick a fight with you for a shiny piece of metal."

The second son smirked, rising to his feet as well. "You've got yourself a battle, Pallet."

The inside of the Pewter Gym had, like its exterior, undergone a serious transformation. The rock garden theme was still mostly intact, though the heavy gray boulders and soft sand were more artfully placed to achieve maximum zen. The most bizzare change, however, had to be the large moat of water ringing the craggy battlefield, especially when he recalled Brock's complaints about the last time a water hazard had been introduced to the place. There was quite a lot of it, actually, considering the gym hadn't made any changes to their official type from Rock to Water.

Forrest stood confidently on a pedestal of stone, his family watching from above on the catwalk (one of the few things that hadn't been altered). Ash hesitated a moment before stepping into the challenger's box. His stomach seemed to have somehow learned Splash without his notice and was currently flip-flopping all over the place.

Pikachu's paw on his temple caught his attention, and he glanced at his dearest friend. "Relax, man. It's just a good, old-fashioned gym fight. We've done this a million times. Nothing new."

Ash let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding in. "You're right." A slow, lazy grin stretched his lips. He was in his element here; what was there to be nervous or afraid of? He was Ash-freakin'-Ketchum, and this was where he shined.

Flint moved to center-field, holding a pair of flags (gray for the Leader and blue for him). "This'll be six one-on-one battles for the official Boulder Badge of the Indigo Pokemon League. Most wins takes it, and in the event of a draw, the challenger gets the badge. Once a Pokemon's fought, they are ineligible for any of the other matches. Do you both understand?" At both the battlers' nods, Flint raised the flags. "Then send out your first Pokemon!"

Ash palmed a ball and tossed it onto the sandy ground in an area devoid of rocky outcrops, and Pidgeot appeared at the same time a strangely familiar-looking Golem materialized across the field. He peered intently at the reptilian head for a moment before snapping his fingers in astonished recognition. "Is that you, Geodude!?"

"That's Golem to you, Ketchum," Golem rumbled with a chuckle like an earthquake. "And look who we have here." He gave Pidgeot a haughty look. "Back for another beating?"

Pidgeot scoffed. "I'll let your imminent unconsciousness speak for itself," she shot back pridefully.

The Megaton Pokemon settled into a defensive stance and started beating the part of its shell which could be called a chest on another creature causing a deep, rhythmic pounding sound to echo through the gym. The noise was accompanied by a tremendous shift in Golem's power, and Ash blinked in confusion.

"I didn't know Golem could learn Belly Drum," he wondered aloud.

"Just because you stay out of touch doesn't mean we all do," Golem explained. "Politoad and I came to an arrangement. Belly Drum for Mud Sport."

Forrest grinned. "It's come in handy a lot more than you'd think. Now, use Iron Polish."

No sooner had the gong-like sound faded than Golem withdrew his head and limbs into his shell, which gained a silvery sheen. Then, he began to rotate in place, the fine sand buffing the metallic stone until it gleamed brilliantly.

Again, Ash felt completely in the dark. "Are you really gonna make me ask?"

Tilly took pity on him and called down. "Forrest and Brock figured out how to combine Iron Defense with Rock Polish!" she shouted. "It makes Golem tougher and faster at the same time. Isn't it pretty?"

"Dazzling," Ash deadpanned. Forrest and Golem had not only gotten a huge power boost from the percussive buff, but now Pidgeot had to deal with a speedy, nearly invulnerable boulder, all in the first minute of the fight. Great.

"Now, let's rock and roll!" Forrest commanded, and the still spinning Golem was off like a shot. Pidgeot gained altitude to avoid the Boulder of Doom, but Golem surprised her and Ash by using the various stones jutting out of the sand as ramps, and it took some fancy flight-work to dodge the suddenly acrobatic rock. Apparently, the placement of the rocks wasn't just for the feng-shui.

"I appreciate the opportunity for a rematch, Ash, I really do," Pidgeot snarked as she swooped low into a quick aerial screw to evade Golem, "but did I have to make my big comeback at the only Gym in Kanto I've got a distinct disadvantage in?"

"Aw, c'mon," Ash cajoled. "Like you can't handle Golem. Modesty's great and everything, but you're a Pidgeot. You can fly circles around him and still be fresh as a daisy. Didn't you take out a Rhydon with a Double-Edge the last time we were at the Viridian Gym?"

"Well, I am pretty amazing," she allowed, flipping so her back was to the ground just in the nick of time. She gave the rolling ball of tonnage an upside down smirk and batted him up with a Steel Wing before spiraling into a Hurricane that effectively juggled Golem for a good few seconds, allowing her time to pull up a Tailwind to aid in outmaneuvering her opponent.

The Hurricane abated, and Golem hit the ground before uncurling, looking mostly unscathed. "I hope you like sand," Golem said, driving his five-clawed foot down. Slowly, the miniscule particles of earth began flying hither and thither until what seemed like the half the battlefield was up in the air. Ash noted with a grimace that the Harrisons had all pulled out a pair of Go-Goggles and cursed himself for not having the foresight to do the same.

"Now, Rock Blast!" Golem smashed his fist into one of the stone pillars and when he pulled it out, it was encased in a giant boulder. Bracing the heavy weight with his other arm, Golem leveled it at Pidgeot.

"Hey, check it out, I'm Rockman!" Golem joked, and Ash had to stifle a groan.

"Agility!"

Pidgeot vanished just as Golem began shooting small bits of his impromptu arm cannon toward her position at high velocity, peppering the ceiling with small, yet sharp pebbles.

The chase continued much the same, with Pidgeot occasionally being struck by some of the quicker projectiles whenever the sandstorm impeded her nimble acrobatics, until the boulder was little more than a bit of rock Golem held in his three-fingered hand. With a grunt, he hurled it at Pidgeot, who easily dodged and swooped around.

"Let's see," Ash hummed, mentally cycling through what Pidgeot had told him of her new moves. "Try Whirlwind to nullify that speed boost, then hit him with Twister."

Pidgeot's wings battered the sandy air as she swirled up her sole Dragon-type move. Normally, Twister as an attack was somewhat lacking, but Pidgeot had not been the guardian of an entire flock of Pidgey with nothing to show for it. Rock-types had a certain fondness for Flying-type cuisine, and many of the attacks Pidgey and its evolutions learned did absolutely jack to a solid mineral Pokemon, so when the going got tough, Pidgeot got creative.

Within seconds, a trio of whirlwinds were spinning rapidly along the tips of Pidgeot's wings and beak, and with a slight twitch one of them was sent spiraling toward Golem. The Rock/Ground-type braced himself, trusting his weight and the Iron Polish's buff to see him through.

The Harrisons let out a collective gasp when the Megaton Pokemon was literally sent flying from the super-powered wind as he rose on a looping cushion of air that set him up perfectly in Pidgeot's sights. The bird surged forward, coated in a swirling pocket of wind that began to glow with a slightly greenish tinge. Just before she would have struck, Pidgeot dove slightly, cutting through the dervish that held Golem aloft. The driving vortex continued along her previous vector, however, and smashed into her opponent with all the force of a runaway freight train.

Golem was hurled past the moat and into the thick wall behind Forrest, where he remained embedded halfway up off the ground, loopy-eyed. "Did someone get the license plate number on that jet?" he whimpered.

Flint raised the blue flag, calling out, "Golem's unable to continue. Pidgeot and Ash win the first match."

Forrest, shaking his head in amazement, recalled his big bro's Pokemon then turned to Ash and Pidgeot, who had alighted on one of the stones and begun preening her (only slightly) ruffled feathers.

"I didn't know Twister could become so strong," the new Gym Leader admitted. "I'd thought for sure that we had that one."

"Type advantage means nothing when you're battling Ash Ketchum!" Cindy called down, matter-of-fact, and her older brother smiled deprecatingly.

"I suppose I shoulda known that, all the stories Brock's told us," he conceded. "Is it true you actually knocked out a Cubone with a Thunderbolt?"

Ash smirked at Pikachu, who rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "I'm pretty sure that wasn't the only time we've done that, either," Ash answered. "Pi here might actually have a Hidden Ability no one's heard about yet. Gary's been bugging us about doing some more in-depth research, but we're having none of that."

"I don't like that gleam he gets in his eye when he asks about it," Pikachu grumbled defensively.

"Okay, Pidge, you're done for now," Ash said, chuckling at his partner. "Great showing."

"Obviously," the big bird sniffed. She stretched her wings and rose up to land next to Billy and Tilly in the rafters. "If it's all the same, I'd rather watch the rest from up here."

Nodding, Ash selected one of the two Pokeballs he'd had sent to him from the ranch while Forrest did the same on the other side of the battlefield.

Flint, seeing that they were ready, raised his flags again. "Second match, begin!"

"You're up, Frogadier!" Ash called, watching as his amphibious friend appeared. When Forrest's next Pokemon solidified, Ash finally understood the addition of water to the battlefield.

Ash briefly recalled his limited experiences with Kabutops, and he couldn't really say in all honesty that he was overly fond of the prehistoric Pokemon species. Ash wondered if any of Forrest's other Pokemon had the dual-type that could fully utilize Pewter Gym's new battlefield, and rationalized that it was highly likely. They wouldn't add a huge moat just for the one Pokemon, after all.

Frogadier settled into his low, slippery stance as he sized up his opponent. "So, we meet at last, my destined enemy."

Kabutops glanced around awkwardly, then pointed at herself with one of her bony scythes. "Er...are you talking to me?"

"Indeed," Frogadier proclaimed as he began hopping from boulder to boulder to gain an appreciation of the battlefield's dimensions. "The prophets have foretold our clash, and this battle's outcome shall be sung by the bards for ages beyond."

The poor eurypterid was so confused by this point that she completely missed the brace of Water Shuriken that zipped toward her until they were already inside her guard and slashing into the weak points in her rocky armor.

"What the...!?" Kabutops snarled, pinning Frogadier with a glare. "You tricked me!"

"Deceit and obfuscation are the way of the ninja," Frogadier replied shortly, Taunting her with a slight smirk.

"Kabutops, don't fall for it," Forrest warned, but his plea fell on deaf ear pits as Kabutops let out a strangled roar, lashing out with a barrage of Slash attacks.

Frogadier wove through three anger-driven strikes, Mat Blocked a fourth, and then dropped a Smokescreen. When the fifth and sixth Slashes cut through the smoke, he was nowhere to be found.

Kabutops' eyes darted around, searching for the sneaky shinobi, but found nothing. At a shouted warning from her Trainer, she dodged out of the way of a Water Pulse, and smirked when she tracked it back to the pool.

"You're mine now!" she yelled triumphantly as she dove into the water, neon green energy flowing from her scythe's points. "Giga Drain!"

Frogadier popped out of the water quickly, but not quite quickly enough to completely escape the draining technique unscathed. He landed atop one of the stones, breathing heavily, but as soon as Kabutops followed him back to land he unleashed another half-dozen Water Shuriken that glanced off her head, causing her to recoil slightly back into water.

"Okay, I think that's good enough," Forrest said with a decisive nod. "Mud Shot!"

Kabutops sank back into the pool, disappearing from sight as her passing raised up the silt on the moat's bottom and causing the water to cloud up and become murky. Not three seconds later, a glob of mud fired out of the water and struck Frogadier with a wet slap on his back from behind.

Several more shots were fired in quick succession, each from a different location, until Frogadier looked more Ground-type than Water. The mud caked his streamlined form, making it more difficult to move, and each shot slowed him down even more.

"Now, Wring Out!" A blur of brown and gray slid out of the water and slammed into the boulder Frogadier had paused on, breaking up his footing and sending him flying. The Kabutops leapt up, sickles crossed, and squeezed Frogadier between the backs of her forearms before tossing him into another stone outcrop, where he lay dazed for a moment.

"How the hell is that Kabutops so quick?" Ash wondered aloud as his Pokemon regained his feet. He pondered for a moment more before remembering that Kabutops sometimes had the Weak Armor ability and cursed. Everytime Frogadier hit Kabutops with a Water Shuriken, Kabutops got a little bit quicker thanks to bits of its shell falling off.

Then he grinned. That meant that it's armor wasn't as tough as it could have been. "Frog, drop some Smokescreens and then set some traps!"

Frogadier shook off some of the mud and exhaled a thick cloud of black smoke that once again limited vision. Unable to target properly, Kabutops returned to dry land and began slowly stalking through the obscuring vapor, eyes peeled.

The sound of shifting sand drew Kabutops' attention to her left, and she dashed forward with her enhanced speed, scythes at the ready...and tripped over something wet, smacking her face into the ground. It smarted more than she'd care to admit.

Looking down, she found that a thick clump of the lake weeds that were grown in the pool had wound its way around her ankles. "Grass Knot," she growled in irritation.

"You're knot wrong," Frogadier's voice floated through the smoke. Kabutops held back, not wanting to trigger anymore traps that were more than likely hiding in the sand. "Now, I was thinking we might even the odds just a bit."

As the dark smoke dissipated, it was quickly replaced by an icy fog that rolled in low to the ground, and she felt her speed drain away.

"Call me Hazy, but I don't fancy fighting you when you're faster than a Speed-Boosting Sharpedo," Frogadier stated calmly. Faster than she could react, Kabutops felt a trio of progressively stronger punches slam into her carapace, and she pulled several large chunks of stone into a Rock Tomb around herself before Digging down into the sand to escape.

Taking no chances, Kabutops tore all the way out through the side of the battleground and into the pool before rubbing the scythes together quickly to Hone her Claws, preparing for the next exchange. That Haze had dropped her speed back to normal, but her defenses were back up again as well.

Just as she began to come up with some new tactics, she felt the water temperature begin to drop alarmingly. Above, Kabutops made out a thin line of pale light and dug back into the ground to avoid being frozen. Using her seismic sense, she quickly pinpointed her opponent and popped up to Pay him Back for that humiliating trip up.

She wasn't expecting to get blasted into a rock by what felt like a Hydro Pump, but she quickly Protected herself. Lucky she had, as a follow-up Ice Beam broke against the shield.

Kabutops frowned; that was much more powerful than it had any right to be from anything other than an Ice-type.

"It's got Protean!" Forrest shouted, having figured it out a few seconds before. "Metal Claw, and don't let up!"

Frogadier paled when he heard that. He really didn't enjoy when his foes used his own fantastic ability against him. He was able to dodge several swipes from the steely sickles, but couldn't quite escape the final swing. The force was enough to send him skipping across the battlefield, stopping only when a particularly jagged outcropping broke his momentum.

"Urgh," he grumbled, staggering to his feet. The Kabutops was charging again, this time with an Iron Head. Frogadier got off a quick Water Gun that dug a pot-hole just where Kabutops was stepping, and the eurypterid swerved to avoid it only to get snagged on one of Frogadier's Grass Knot traps.

"Time to end this one, Frog," Ash called. "Hydro Cannon!"

Nodding, Frogadier hopped away, contorting his webbed hands into complicated seals. It was almost entirely for show, but they did allow him to focuse the water a bit more effectively. A swirling sphere of incandescent water formed between his palms, and he let it fly just as Kabutops was regaining her feet.

The ball hurled forward, and just before it would have struck the Fossil Pokemon, it exploded with more water than should have been contained in the relatively small profile of the attack, drenching the sandy battlefield. Kabutops was blasted backward, rolling to a halt near the edge of the moat.

Forrest recalled his second Pokemon as Flint again rasied the challenger's flag. "Kabutops is unable to battle. Frogadier is the winner."

"And thus, the shinobi melts back into the shadows to await his next victim's appearance," Frogadier murmured softly, using a quick Smokescreen to hide his Double-Team departure back into his Pokeball for a good long rest. That Kabutops was certainly no one to take lightly.

After-Action Report: So there's the first part. For the introduction of Pewter City seven years into the future of the anime world, I tried to envision the kind of things that normally happen to places I've been to in the distant past that I revisited more recently. I always find the progress of humanity to be both humbling and a little terrifying, what with how quickly we've come, and humans aided by the insane power of Pokemon would be marching that much more quickly ahead.

Regarding Cindy's crush on Ash: I figured Brock's prone to intense infatuation with just about every girl he's met along the way, and at least a few of his siblings have picked up that habit. And since Ash is an old family friend, one of his sisters is bound to be crushing on Ash. Cindy just took it into young adulthood. For reference, Suzie is the Brockling with auburn hair and pigtails.

Also, you may or may not have noticed that I don't very much like Brock's parents. As an older sibling who didn't know his dad until age twenty with a mother who was prone to take off at a moment's notice and not return for years at a time, I've got certain OPINIONS on Lola and Flint, but I'll leave those where they belong and not bother you with them.

Yes, I am fully aware that Golem are unable to learn Belly Drum, either through TM, Egg Move, or naturally in-game. However, this is most assuredly not the game. It's just the first instance of a Pokemon utilizing a move that is otherwise unable to perform it, and there will be many more. If it makes sense, it'll be done. I nearly had Kabutops bust out a Leaf Blade on Frogadier, but the fight finished before I could work it in.

Speaking of the Kabutops/Frogadier fight, I envisioned it a little bit like a samurai versus a ninja. The samurai has more power, but the ninja's sneaky and wily and speedy as shit. Also, a big thanks to Saphroneth, who assisted me in figuring out how a Kabutops could safely use Wring Out without cutting their opponent in half (on that note, if you haven't read Saphroneth's excellent Pokemon fic, Ashes of the Past, you should drop what you're doing and go read it. It's over a hundred chapters, well past the hundred thousand word mark, and one of the best Pokefics out there, in my own humble opinion).

Anything I might have missed, questions, comments, or simple hate are all welcome in the reviews or Private Messages. Thanks to all who have favorited and followed, and stay tuned for the exciting conclusion of the Pewter City Gym battle!