Well, this took a while. I wrote this once, hated how it turned out, and rewrote it again. School had also been hitting me hard so I've had no downtime to write lately. Now that I'm past this roadblock of a chapter, I can get working on future ones. Happy New Year by the way!

Once again, Ash awoke to the colorful sight of drawings on the plain white walls that brightened the room in the early hours that Ash woke up at.

Unlike the morning prior, his thoughts went straight to the activities that he would be performing that day. He was going to train a bit before he challenged Roxie due to the rumors of her inexperienced team still overpowering experienced opponents. He had only been on his journey for around a week.

In fact, he had only been on his for six days if he counted correctly. Before his journey, every passing day felt longer and longer. At this point, everything was flying by according to Ash.

Eyes half-lidded, he rummaged through his backpack in an attempt to find a light snack that could last him through the day. He saw his TM case and was reminded of the TM he had acquired from Cheren, Work Up. He also still had Return, but it only was capable of being used once at this point and he wanted to make sure the Pokemon he used it on was worth it.

He pulled out his Pokedex that held all of the information he needed. He used the newly implemented feature of seeing what Pokemon could learn a certain TM and input "Work Up" into the search bar at the top.

It came up with many results, showing him many Pokemon he had never even heard of before, along with some that were extremely rare. He scrolled down to the Unova section of it and saw that Oshawott could learn it. He pondered on what region his Mareep hailed from. After a few more minutes of seeking out Mareep, he came up with nothing.

Since there wasn't a reason not to, he searched up Return to see if his Pokemon came up. Since it was in his recent searches, Mareep and Oshawott came right up, a small but helpful detail put in by the great developers of the Pokedex. Along with them, there was a long page of the Pokemon that could, along with many that hadn't been tested yet due to Return being a band new TM on the market that had a one time use. To get every Pokemon down, they would need hundreds of TMs, something most researchers couldn't afford in their wildest dreams.

He still had no plans to use Return, but Work Up gave him some ideas. Maybe the extra boost in power was all that Jolt needed to evolve, and Oshawott could power up his already strong Water Pulse.

The options left his head as he realized the true weight of the day he had. In his first week, he would be having his second gym battle, something most trainers didn't have at least until their second or even third week. He was going fast, faster than he had wanted too.

Ash wanted to give his Pokemon time to train, and the fast pace he was going at left little to no time for that. Granted, Jolt was near evolving and he guessed Oshawott was getting close as well, but only time would tell if his quick methods paid off in the end.

Ash got up to get his long day started. He took a soothing shower that made his tense muscles melt at the touch of the steaming water. Seeing no need to rush, he stayed in there and daydreamed for a while.

Steam filling up the bathroom, Ash brushed his teeth in the mirror already too foggy to look at his reflection in. Teeth clean and breath nice, Ash left his room with his minimal things left in there. He didn't need to carry everything with him during his gym battle after all.

He looked at the clock and saw the hands locked in the position of noon, and Ash knew it wasn't that late. The damned thing had to be broken. Though not as reliable, he could still pull out his Pokedex and see the time that way. It was 10:34 in the morning, meaning that Ash's internal clock he had been training for a year was working. He mentally cheered and opened the double doors that led to the lobby.

Nothing had changed about the place, just the people in it. Specifically, how sparse they were. There were only five trainers visible in there, their eyes drooping exhaustedly and yawning uncontrollably. The concert last night must have been crazy.

Taking another look, he saw a familiar face that he hadn't seen in days, which felt like months.

Hugh was playing with the three Pokemon he had seen at their last point of contact, their battle. He saw Sewaddle in Hugh's lap, being pet while Poliwag and Tepig lightly wrestled in good nature. They looked like a happy family in the state they were.

Ash called his name, and Hugh perked up at the sound of it. It was like he hadn't heard his name in days, a feeling Ash could relate to from being on that dreaded part of the route for a few days. At least he experienced something magnificent while he was there, he could hardly imagine the boredom of having nearly nothing to do on that route.

"Ash!" Hugh stood up unexpectedly, sending his Sewaddle scrambling to land on her feet on the floor. The grass-bug type sent a vicious glare Hugh's way, a glare that wasn't missed by him.

Hugh offered a sheepish smile and a shrug of his shoulders to Sewaddle, who huffed and crawled over to Tepig and Poliwag, who was staring at Ash like they were expecting a battle to sprout out any second.

Ash smiled at the sight of Hugh's usual excited tone of voice. "What's up, Hugh!" They ran up to each other and high-fived, their normal way of greeting each other. Ash turned his head away to see the other trainers in the Pokemon Center staring at the two, laughs flooding out of their mouths.

"Let's keep it down a bit." Hugh nodded at Ash's request, but Ash knew deep down that nothing could stop his true personality from coming out. It was what Ash admired Hugh for.

Ash walked with Hugh over to the desk at the front of the lobby. Like she knew Ash was coming, Nurse Joy got out Ash's beloved Pokeballs and gave them to him. "Have a nice day!" Ash nodded back at her, signifying he wished her the best as well. After an expecting look from Hugh, he released his two Pokemon. "Osha!" "Mareep!" They both let out their name upon being released, Hugh's eyes nearly shining at the sight of seeing them again.

"They look strong!" Hugh exclaimed, Poliwag and Tepig walking over to inspect the known Pokemon. Jolt and Oshawott stared right back at them accepting their inaudible challenge issued.

"They are. Jolt's really close to evolving, too!" Ash replied, staring at Jolt fondly, ready for the next stage in her life to take place.

"How do you know?" Hugh questioned him with a surprised look adorning his face. Ash was bout to answer truthfully, but he remembered the other people around him that might have killed to be in the position he was almost unwillingly put into yesterday. Getting on everyone's bad side was not a venture Ash wanted to take. "You can kind of tell with electric types. The Pokedex has information on it."

Ash was hoping that Hugh wouldn't take the information he gave him to heart and find little to nothing on how close Pokemon were to evolving. Ash suspected it was a trade secret only the most experienced had, and wouldn't be available to just anyone. Thankfully, Hugh nodded and left the subject alone.

As expected, Hugh asked his usual question, "Wanna battle?" For the first time Ash could remember, he shook his head, not letting his rivalry come before his journey. "Sorry, I have a gym battle today."

Ash's Pokemon knew that this was the case, and were smirking at the other two. Tepig nearly had smoke pouring from his nostrils in frustration and Poliwag's tail smacked the floor violently. He needed to finally defeat this pesky Oshawott that got him caught in the first place.

Hugh gaped, not truly believing Ash at first. He searched for any signs that Ash was joking but found none. Ash was already days ahead of him, he needed to catch up. "Dude! Calm down! It's only been a week!"

Though Ash knew he was joking, his comment still got Ash thinking. Was he moving too fast? He was having fun and his Pokemon were as strong or maybe even stronger than most that had been traveling for a week. He shook the doubts off, not wanting to worry himself too much.

"So, what are you gonna do today?" Hugh gave a large grin at the topic that he had been prepared to answer for a while. "I'm catching a new Pokemon in the complex!" Ash sighed, knowing the challenges the Pokemon there held. They were stubborn and sometimes even hard to find. If he had assistance, though, he would persevere.

"Any clue what Pokemon you want?" Ash asked, half-joking and half hoping he held the answers to the question.

"Nope!"

A baffled look filled Ash's face. How could one be that unprepared? If he wanted to really catch a Pokemon there, he at least had to know what Pokemon patrolled the parts. Ash assumed the best and hoped he at least knew the Pokemon there. "You know what the Pokemon there are, though. Right?" Ash asked with desperation in his voice.

"Nah, not really." Ash nearly fell to the floor. He figured he could at least look in his Pokedex to check. "Are you gonna check?" Without missing a beat, a confused smile filled Hugh's facial features. "How?"

At that point, Ash was sure that Hugh was joking. In the past, Alder had constantly lectured them on the features of the Pokedex, including the habitat list that was one of the main features other than getting information on Pokemon and its uses as a mobile device that was, in Ash's opinion, better than a phone.

Ash went on to reteach what he had learned from Alder long ago, Hugh slowly regaining his lost memories in the process. "Thanks, Ash!" Ash nodded his head, showing that there was no problem. He would do nearly anything for his friend, even if he was a bit forgetful at times.

Hugh opened his Pokedex to see what he had been missing and gaped at all of the untapped potential he had been hiding during his whole journey. Ash sweat-dropped at the sight of it, knowing he still wouldn't use it to its full potential. A list of Pokemon showed up on the holographic device, supplying all of the Pokemon Ash knew were there.

"There are so many!" Hugh spoke in an amazed tone, "Who should I pick?" If it were up to the old Ash, it would be a Growlithe or either Elekid or Magby, but he knew better than that now.

"Just pick whoever you feel like you would like the most."

Hugh took the answer he had been seeking for gratefully and ran out of the Pokemon Center in blind hope, his Pokemon frantically following him. Poliwag and Oshawott shared one last glance that promised a battle whenever they next got the chance. Just like that, Ash was alone again.

It didn't feel that way though. He looked to his feet to see Oshawott and Jolt jollily speaking to each other as if they were old friends, and it hit Ash. They weren't weapons like some thought, they were living beings that he would consider his friends.

Ash smiled and returned the two, thinking about where he would be going next. Obviously, he had the gym battle with Roxie today, but he wanted to get a bit more training in beforehand. The river that ran by the mountain seemed like it would be a perfect place to do the job.

Air ran through Ash's nose as he took in a deep breath of fresh air. It wasn't exactly fresh with the countless factories that surrounded the city and controlled the environment, but it was still a good feeling after spending the last of his night inside filming the movie.

Ash was thinking about how his performance in that movie. Sure he ended up beating the bad guy, but was there more he could have done, like talking more or battling better?

He assumed he did just fine based off of the reception he got from both Brycen on his battling and from Stu Deeoh on his acting, but you can never be sure with big businessmen like he was. He hoped for the best and that he could make a lot of money to fuel his journey through the film he was in.

Ash exited the tunnel-like building that separated Virbank from Route 20. He never realized how high up he was compared to everything that was in the route below him. He could even faintly see the edges of the higher Route 20. It had taken him so long to make it across the route due to the windy path he took, the training he did and the simple fact that he didn't want to risk him and his Pokemon being mauled by an overly aggressive Scolipede that was hungry and would eat him as their daily meal. He made a good time still and was the first trainer with only one badge to make it across in years. It was a big accomplishment for him.

The light breeze that generated on top of the mountain breezed the skin on his face, sending goosebumps down his arms. It was a cold morning, and Ash would be sure to use it.

Instead of going all of the way down the mountain to the bottom and having to take a painstakingly steep climb back up the mountain, Ash found a spot a small way down and off the beaten path. He was sure to be alone there, the people who would be camping here for the sights or the adventure would be out on the road by now.

Ash released his Pokemon who let out their name upon being released. They looked to Ash expectantly, certain that they were supposed to be on a battlefield right now preparing to attack a poison type Pokemon, not on the edge of a river with only Ash in sight.

"We're getting a bit of last-minute training in." The two Pokemon let out a loud groan, making Ash wince as he continued, "But we need this to deal with those poison types."

Oshawott, while annoyed, understood that they needed to train for that as a wild Koffing could give him a run for his money in the state he was in right now. Jolt was the same way, just with a bit more protection with her thick wool that covered her at all times unless burned off, which a Koffing usually couldn't do.

They couldn't do much about those weaknesses, but what they could do was work on their offense. A good offense is a great defense if you asked Ash.

There were only a few things that Ash wanted to touch up on before challenging the gym. One of these things was Oshawott's accuracy with his Water Pulses. He knew Oshawott's accuracy was as good as it would likely get for his state but, after seeing what was possible with Focus Energy, Ash was determined to perfect Oshawott's accuracy. If he could nearly confirm a confusion upon landing a Water Pulse, possibilities would open like never before.

To work on that, Ash had Oshawott swim down the river until he reached a field of rocks that was barely visible to Ash. There, he would work on his accuracy in peace without influence from Ash and Jolt.

Speaking of the electric sheep, Ash had big plans for her as well. With his newfound knowledge that Jolt was nearing evolution, Ash knew that only one more push was needed for it to take place. He knew he couldn't manage that during training, so he would prepare her for the upcoming gym battle.

Jolt would mainly be working on mobility and endurance, such as using moves in stressful situations. He had her run sprints for at least ten minutes before letting out her most powerful electric attacks into the dense forest, hoping the native Pokemon wouldn't be too angry with the disturbance.

Ash didn't have a clue what Pokemon Roxie used for beginning trainers such as himself, but he guessed that she would be using the poison types found around the area. Grimer, Koffing, and Venipede came to mind, but even he knew that this gym battle wasn't going to be expected.

He was confident that he could easily beat Cheren's team that was unleashed against him now that he had more experience, but Roxie was a different case altogether.

She had been a gym leader for nearly two years now and didn't seem to be slowing down. Studies show that she was on track to surpass the strength of some of the Elite Four, and could swiftly replace one in the coming years.

Ash opened his Pokedex and searched for information on the three Pokemon previously listed. Koffing was a simple being to deal with but had the annoying ability to levitate. He could quite easily deal with that problem due to Jolt's electricity that could reach places Oshawott's water couldn't.

Grimer was a much more simple problem. The only thing that plagued him with facing a Grimer was the fear of it landing a Body Slam which, from a Grimer or Muk, was notorious for instantly knocking almost any Pokemon out.

Venipede was a lot easier to deal with but had a strong attack that would plague Ash during the battle. Venipede was also known to have intense endurance when it came to Pokemon battles, battling until they had absolutely nothing left in their systems. If she wanted, she could just out endure him, and Ash would be working to combat that solution.

After the accuracy training with Oshawott, Ash had him swim against the brutal current in an attempt to strengthen his endurance.

It went poorly at first, the current sweeping Oshawott away into a sleeping pack of Basculin that very nearly ate him alive for interrupting their precious sleep. After a while, though, things started to look up for Oshawott. He pushed against the vicious current and was beating it out, dodging objects like rocks and branches as he went.

Jolt's training went differently. She had to practice using her little stubs of legs to the best of her ability. Jumping, running, you name it, Jolt had to try and do it to the best of her ability. It helped a bit, but not a lot like Ash had hoped. He assumed that it might just be something that comes with evolution.

This whole training routine took at least a few hours for Ash to complete. It was a grueling process, but he now knew that his team was ready for the gym.

Oshawott and Jolt were panting in front of him, greatly exhausted from the activities they had participated in. Ash held out their Pokeballs and returned them mercifully, his Pokemon voicing their thanks from the realm that existed inside of Pokeballs.

Ash trekked out of the mountainous region that he was training in, looking at the abundant wildlife that surrounded him as he went. The cute Sewaddle were playing together with an unexpected Dunsparce joining in on the fun. The carnivorous Basculin swam around vigorously, awaiting one of the Pokemon to slip and fall in the river so they could have their awaited meal.

It was an amazing sight that Ash didn't get to see in either of his hometowns. The closest he got was with the Pokemon that were stored in Oak's ranch for their trainers to eventually come and train. Even those Pokemon were not wild and usually posed no danger.

Being in the wilderness had a completely different feeling than being around trained Pokemon. If he accidentally tripped and fell into the river next to him or went too far off into the woods and intruded on other Pokemon's territory as he had on his first day of adventuring, he could be wounded or worse.

That wasn't to say that it made Ash scared of the wilderness. Ash had grown up in Pallet Town, a small town that took pride in the variety of Pokemon and the grand environment surrounding it. It gave him at least a tolerance to the wildlife that he would be around.

Ash dramatically sighed upon seeing the large staircase that he had to climb to get back to Virbank, a venture he was not looking forward to in the least.

The sun beading down on the back of his neck, Ash reached the top of the staircase after a grueling minute of climbing. After walking for a few days straight, he needed downtime to relax.

For now, though, Ash had a gym battle to win.

He was confident in his strategy. Send out Jolt for Koffing, send out Oshawott for either a Grimer or Venipede, assuming those were the Pokemon she had on her less skilled team. He was somewhat confident in his chances to put his training to use finally and beat this pesky little gym.

The gate brought luxury back to Ash that he always forgot about, air conditioning. It was a blessing in his state of panting and he relished in it before exiting the gate for what he hoped would be the last time in a while.

Ash walked over to the Pokemon Center to give his tired Pokemon some rest before the big battle. He hoped he hadn't worked them too hard and he wasn't too tough on them. Those regrets were thrown out of the window when he remembered how Alder trained his Pokemon back in the days that he was champion. Alder showed him video footage that a news crew got of his most vigorous training routines, which consisted of more than he had done to his Pokemon his journey so far in a little over an hour. His Pokemon were well-conditioned, though, and were barely breaking a sweat after the grueling training routine.

Alder was of the most extreme cases, though, so Ash didn't worry about his Pokemon's training. He was barely six days into his journey after all.

His name being yelled by Nurse Joy at the counter saved him from being trapped in his thoughts for what felt like an eternity, and he stepped up to get his Pokemon. As he walked up, he noticed the emptiness that now sat in the seat Hugh had been earlier that day. A hurtful reminder of what was to come.

He grabbed the red and white-colored balls and stepped out of the Pokemon Center. It was his time to shine yet again, a feeling he hadn't felt in days. It felt like weeks or maybe even months by the things he had been doing.

Virbank had livened up a bit, as it was midday at this point. Few could be seen walking about and socializing with one another, and the same man he saw in the days prior was seen again near the bottom of the pier holding out a Great Ball, a coveted item by trainers, and giving it to what Ash guessed was a trainer in return for a normal Pokeball you could find in nearly any store across the region.

It was an odd choice, but everyone could have their own decisions to make, and Ash's was to be the greatest trainer. At least, for now, he thought it was.

The clubhouse that was the Virbank Gym seemed lively from first glance. Ash could hear music coming from the bottom of the establishment and wondered if they were holding concerts earlier than usual.

Those thoughts were put to rest by the sight of nobody in the halls. You could still hear music coming from the gym, so Ash was left wondering why they were making it. Maybe it was some private event, but Roxie didn't seem like she would be the type of girl to host those types of things, especially in Virbank.

He assumed that since he was a challenger he was granted access to the room that the gym would be in, so he entered.

The first thing he noticed was the overwhelmingly loud music. The music was so loud that you would think they had their own helipad underground where they played their music. Ash's hands shot to his ears, cupping his hands around them like his life depended on it.

The second thing that piqued his attention was the interior design of the place, and how it fully embodied Virbank City. The graffiti on the walls, the punk look, all of it screamed Virbank City.

Finally, he saw what was making that music and most likely designed the entire gym, Roxie. She and her two bandmates were at the front playing their music as well as they possibly could, but there was nobody to watch. And by nobody, Ash meant nobody but him and those three were in the room.

He expected a few people to be in there, but he could have been mislead by the music. It made him think they were performing for an audience, but they were only practicing it seemed.

The three musicians were completely and utterly focused on their music and nothing could take their mind off of it easily, so Ash decided that the best idea in this situation would be to wait for the song to finish.

It was clear in those short moments of waiting that Roxie was extremely musically talented and had a lot of inspiration for her songs. Right now, he was hearing a song about Pokeballs and what it might be like to be encapsulated in one, something Ash had always found fascinating.

The song came to a close with a high note from Roxie, and she finally opened her eyes and lay them upon the ten-year-old boy in front of the stage. Ash looked right back at her with a challenging gaze, which she gleefully returned.

"Ash! What's up?" Roxie asked as she stepped off of the stage carelessly, not minding the cans and other trash laid across the floor. "Not much!" Ash responded with a large smile on his face that reflected his excitement to finally begin this battle he had been preparing for days at this point.

"I'm guessing you're here for a gym battle," Roxie said with a serious expression slowly conquering her features. Ash nodded, mentally preparing himself for this monumental battle. "Good."

A strange sight took place in front of Ash's field of view. With the press of a button from Roxie herself, the stage began to unfold and the instruments automatically were transported to the side of the stage with what Ash had to believe was some future technology he had never heard of. Ash started to see the familiar sight of a light brown battlefield used across the region for indoor or sometimes outdoor battles.

Someone dressed in a shirt that had black and white striped covering it, and by the placing of them in the middle of the field on a higher point than the stands were Ash knew they would be this battle's referee. He also had two flags on either side of him, each used for different purposes.

"Like what you see?" Ash got brought out of his observations by Roxie's usual hyper voice that showed her love for the gym.

Ash could see why now.

At first, he thought it was just a dirty underground bunker that nobody would want to go to but he now saw the beauty of it. Also, anyone could tell by a look that the gym would have poison types inside of it, so it was very appropriate for the occasion.

"Woah," Ash said to Roxie, who snickered at his awe and sprinted up to her place in the gym vigorously. She looked like she was a kid again when she did that, but she had to remind herself of her position.

Ash started his walk to the stand where he would be battling and went over his battle plans again in his head. 'Jolt for Koffing, Oshawott for Venipede and Grimer' He thought to himself, confident that it would work.

There were few Pokemon she would have other than those three, so he hoped he was in the clear.

His heart began racing as it had before that fateful fight with Cheren. Ash was confident in his Pokemon's skills, but not his. He had only been a trainer for a few weeks and had not officially lost a battle thus far. He had to lose at some point, but he wasn't sure when that would be.

The referee stood up and began his speech, "This will be a two on two battle. Only the challenger will be allowed substitutions. Are these terms acceptable." Two sets of eyes were turned to Ash, who was nodding in acceptance to the rules presented. "The gym leader will release their Pokemon first."

Roxie grinned like a maniac and released her Pokemon. "Go, Koffing!" Ash saw the purple ball that was undoubtedly filled with noxious fumes that could kill on contact and knew his plan of action. Ash knew of Roxie's love for the Venipede line from her being at the ceremony he snuck into, so he was pretty sure she would have a Venipede as well.

"Let's battle, Jolt!" Ash released his beloved Mareep, who radiated electricity upon being released.

The Koffing across from her narrowed his eyes in challenge, and Jolt was more than willing to take that challenge head-on. Roxie smirked at Ash like a predator would with their prey, but Ash could tell she was somewhat impressed with his choice.

Koffing had the ability Levitate, a common ability among psychic and even some ghost types, but not much among poison types. Oshawott would have a tough time even landing a solid hit on a Koffing, so he sent in Jolt and her long-ranged superiority.

"Let the battle begin!" The referee shouted from his position on the side of the midpoint of the battlefield. Ash readied himself for a good battle that he wouldn't ever forget.

After waiting for a second and not hearing a command from Roxie, Ash decided that he would need to take initiative. "Thunder Shock!" A yellow beam of electricity shot out of Jolt at an unprecedented pace.

Ash looked to Koffing and saw that he hadn't moved an inch since he was released. 'Well, this is gonna be easy.' Ash thought to himself, still looking at the Koffing. He looked to Roxie in the split second before the Thunder Shock hit, expecting to see some sort of shock, but only saw confidence.

It was then Ash knew that this would be nowhere near as easy as any battle he had ever taken place in.

Koffing moved at a blinding speed, completely nullifying the Thunder Shock that sailed by him into the wall, where it fizzled out like it had never existed in the first place. "Anti-electricity walls," Ash looked up at the smirking Roxie with an understanding look on his face, "They're helpful."

Ash turned his attention back to the battle that he had to win. If catching her off guard with electric attacks doesn't work, he can at least try to paralyze Koffing and leave him open for more attacks.

"Thunder Wave!" Jolt's ears perked up at the sound of the familiar move and she prepared to use it. Roxie's eyes bugged out for a second before going back to their normal determined state. "Poison Gas!"

Ash knew exactly what that move could do to him, and he also knew that there was no other way that he could win this battle unless he slowed that speedy Koffing down. "Take it, Jolt!" Jolt nodded and braced herself for the incoming Poison Gas while still maneuvering her Thunder Wave so it would strike Koffing.

That decision put the first of many dents in Roxie's plan to beat Ash. She assumed he would act like most challengers would and abandon the Thunder Wave in an attempt to dodge only to find that they couldn't.

"This is gonna be good!" Roxie muttered under her breath as she watched her Koffing get struck by the paralyzing electric attack.

Unfortunately for Jolt, the Poison Gas attack hit its mark and Jolt inhaled the poisonous fumes that would slowly hurt her until she was treated for it. There was no permanent damage, though, and Ash wasn't worried about her safety inside of the battle.

Jolt yet out a yelp from being hit with the poisonous attack. She could already feel it starting to set in, so she would have to finish this faster than she had wanted to.

"Thunder Shock!" Roxie visibly flinched at the sound of that command. She knew that there was little to no chance of Koffing getting out of the way, si she would have to play by her own rules.

"Koffing, Smog!" A purple gas exited the pores on Koffing's body, slowly emanating towards the Thunder Shock that was still on its way to him. The Thunder Shock slowly died upon entering the cloud that was Koffing's Smog, making Ash's eyes widen.

Ash had expected the Thunder Shock to be able to penetrate a gas, but maybe not. "Koffing has been around electricity for nearly all of his life," Ash looked to the snickering Koffing who was still feeling the effects of the paralysis inflicted earlier, "Don't think you have the upper hand because you have an electric type." Ash nodded in acceptance to her train of thought. For the rest of the battle, he would be wary of Koffing's possible attributes.

"Smokescreen!" That move posed a major problem for Ash that he hadn't encountered thus far on his journey. There was no real way of consistently hitting targets without being able to see them unless your other senses were heightened.

So Ash decided to fight fire with fire, "Jolt! Double Team!"

Six more Mareep shot out of Jolt in a pattern that there was little to no chance Koffing or Roxie could know which was the real one. Roxie grinned, putting Ash on edge and ready for what was to come.

"Koffing, Clear Smog!" For a second, Koffing was immobilized by the effects of Thunder Wave and it didn't look like he would be able to perform the attack, but he pulled through and released a wave of mud that seemed to be glistening with some power.

Every single one of the copies was hit.

Ash had no clue how it was possible with Jolt's many copies, but every single one faded out upon being hit and Jolt stumbled over after being struck with the less powerful but still effective strike.

He hadn't even landed a hit on Koffing. Well, Jolt did land a Thunder Wave, but other than that nothing was happening to Koffing. He was starting to see Roxie's strategy of timing Ash out with the poison that was still taking a heavy toll on Jolt.

The smoke cleared and Ash saw Koffing temporarily immobilized by the paralysis and saw what might be his only chance to land an attack. Jolt also saw that Koffing's eyes were closed in pain so she obediently awaited Ash's command to attack.

"Thunder Shock!" Ash shouted to Jolt.

Roxie's eyes bugged out and she said, "Koffing, try and dodge!" Koffing did attempt to dodge, but it was in vain as his speed was gone because of the paralysis that left him open to attacks. The purple ball of fumes let out a pained groan upon being hit, showing Ash that his defenses were not as high as they could be.

It didn't matter, because Jolt was still slowly being taken down by the poison from earlier. Ash saw her seat herself on the ground, panting from exhaustion. "Thunder Shock, again!"

Jolt perked up and nodded, letting out another Thunder Shock towards Koffing. The bright yellow shock barreled towards Koffing, who was seemingly unable to move.

"Take it." Ash looked to Roxie in shock and was unnerved by the smirk on her face. Koffing wobbled a bit to show that he received her words and allowed himself to be hit by the powerful electric attack, wincing in pain during the process.

Ash could see a glint shine in Roxie's eyes, and he knew he was in for a horrible treat as soon as it happened. "Assurance."

In hindsight, Ash should have seen a play like that coming from a professional like Roxie. To be fair, though, he had never heard the move used before in his time at Oak's research lab in Kanto or while learning from Alder.

A black energy built inside of the Koffing as he took the pain that he got from the attack and brought it out again. He wanted to give that pain to someone else instead. He needed to get rid of it. Koffing looked down at poor Jolt who was exhausted and had little to no way of avoiding his blow.

'Perfect' Koffing thought to himself, eyes gleaming with horrible intentions. He rushed forward at breakneck pace and, while Jolt was sitting on the ground trying to get more energy, nailed her in the side and sent her flying into the wall connected to the stage.

"Jolt!" Ash screamed frantically.

Jolt herself was faring badly with the pain she felt. It was like all of the pain she had to deal with was just given back to her and she did not like it at all. She hadn't felt pain like this before, so she had no way to cope with it.

She looked to Ash in desperation and saw him looking back with the same expression. All she needed to do was power through this and land one more hit on Koffing to end the battle, but she couldn't seem to find the strength to get to her feet.

Her last thought before a white light like she had never seen before engulfed her was how she needed to win this battle for Ash.

Both trainers participating in the battle's eyes widened and jaws practically hit the floor in shock at what they were seeing. It was common to see this phenomenon outside of battles, but in a battle this important and at such a crucial moment was uncommon, to say the least.

Jolt felt her body change like never before. Sure she had grown, but nothing like this. She had heard of things like this happening to the Ampharos that roamed the outskirts of her old home, which she never believed until this very moment.

She felt a sharp pain throughout her body. After that, she felt the most calm she had ever felt before. The feeling of peace that washed over her body in a split second was incomparable to anything she had felt previously.

Then she felt the alien feeling of her new body.

She was a lot bigger and she felt stronger already. The fight still had taken its toll on her, but she had the strength to fight now. And she would fight this absolute demon of a Koffing.

Roxie was looking down in astonishment at the slowly rising pink sheep. It wasn't like this was the first time she had seen a Pokemon evolve like Ash, not even close, but it was at the worst possible time for the battle with Koffing's defenses already lowered. She had used Koffings Assurance as a finishing blow, not one to force Jolt's evolution.

Either way, she would now have to deal with the consequences.

"I know Brycen said that Jolt was close to evolving, but that was unexpected."

Roxie looked across her pedestal to the grinning Ash. "When'd you meet Brycen?"

"I met him after filming my movie with him. Also, your father told me to say that he says hello." Ash grinned at Roxie's face, which had emotions mixing like a witch's magical spells in a cauldron.

Roxie didn't have the greatest relationship with her father. She never did, he was a rule-following sailor that wanted Roxie to grow up and be like him while Roxie was a born rebel that fit right in with the feel of her home town, Virbank.

He was disappointed in her choice to be a trainer who also was in a rock band. What Roxie didn't know was that the disappointment he felt back then started to fade once he saw her having fun and doing well. After all, he was a father and fathers should support their children no matter what.

Ash shook his head at that last thought. He knew that was far from the truth in his case.

He didn't dwell on that thought for long. He had the battle to win, and he wasn't going to let Jolt down right after she evolved just so Ash could win the battle. He was proud of how far she had come, from being captured by Team Plasma to evolving in the middle of a gym battle one town over from where she grew up.

Koffing looked exhausted from Ash's point of view, so he knew he had a slight opening to cause a catastrophe for Roxie's battle.

Without a command from Ash, Jolt seemed to be performing a move on her own. Ash didn't know what it was, but it sent electricity crackling through her fur and making a protective layer around her.

Ash took out his Pokedex and let the neon blue light shine on Jolt's body. Ash scrolled down past the newfound information on Flaaffy and went right to the section dedicated to the specific Pokemon's moves. Instead of the moves capping of at Cotton Spore, it showed a new move Ash didn't know of.

Charge, a move that powers up electricity that releases upon the next electric attack and, while charged, creates a layer of electricity that protects the user from special attacks.

A multi-use move, and one that Ash found to be extremely useful. He would be using this move a lot more in the coming battles Jolt partakes in.

"Smog!" Roxie called out to Koffing. A purple gas shot out of his mouth and looked like it would be making contact with Jolt and possibly taking her out of the battle.

"Dodge!" Jolt's ears perked up and, without thinking, leaped to the side, negating the attack and leaving a major opening for a powerful attack.

"Thunder Shock! Full power!" Ash yelled to Jolt.

A grin grew on Jolt's face as she felt her new power start to rise. Her eyes widened at the feeling of the power that she had never felt. She felt untouchable in her new form.

The protective coat of electricity leaving, she released all of the electricity she had been building up with more from the base power of her Thunder Shock. It barreled towards Koffing, who was too tired to even try and dodge. He let it hit him right in the center of the two bones on his chest.

He never stood a chance.

In less than three seconds, he stopped trying to keep himself in the air and plummeted to the hard stage.

"Koffing!" Roxie screamed in desperation. It was of no use, Koffing was out of the battle and would need a good visit to the Pokemon Center before even thinking of battling again.

"Koffing had fainted. Gym Leader, return your Pokemon and release your next." The referee announced, looking at the field in shock. Ash guessed a challenger like him that beat Roxie's first Pokemon and had a pokemon evolve in the same battle didn't come often.

Roxie nodded her head and brought out Koffing's Pokeball once again, a groan coming out of the fried Koffing's mouth as he was surrounded by the bright red light and absorbed into the ball.

"I'm gonna be honest Ash, I really underestimated you," Roxie spoke while fidgeting with her belt to reattach Koffing's Pokeball and bring out the next, "I'm not gonna be doing that anymore." Ash was a bit intimidated by her dangerous tone of voice but reassured himself that he had two Pokemon, one that had just evolved and could take out her next Pokemon much more easily.

"Come on out Whirlipede!" Just like that, Ash's confidence drained out of his body just as fast as it had entered. He had to battle a Whirlipede.

Whirlipede had a fearsome reputation around the area Ash lived in. Venipede were just children and usually weren't violent unless provoked. Scolipede were like the adult form of their species, but, unless under strange conditions, harmless unless provoked by something, such as entering their territory. Whirlipede were in the stage where they needed to learn to defend themselves while also growing stronger and gaining respect for themselves.

One of their main ways to get that respect and power was through horrible violence.

Most of the Pokemon and Trainers who entered their territory unannounced left with various injuries and, in extreme cases, never left and decomposed on the very soil they fatally encountered a territorial Whirlipede. When children were told to not go out at night, Whirlipede were usually used as a primary example as to what some Pokemon were capable of.

Ash knew this Whirlipede wouldn't be a problem like some could be, but Ash still knew of their strength. He would have to rely on Jolt and Oshawott to pull through for him.

"Let the battle begin!" Jolt stared into the eyes of the horned bug in front of her. Her new evolution gave her confidence, but it also gave her more knowledge and awareness. Those new attributes were sure to let her know that this Pokemon was trouble.

"Jolt, use Thunder Shock!" Ash yelled out to his Flaafy. Jolt charged up her electric energy and let out a shock of electricity.

"Dodge." With confidence in her voice and posture, Roxie let out a simple, one-word command. Whirlipede obeyed instantly, speedily dodging the shock to the left.

Ash thought the attack would not affect, but he was proven wrong by the cry that came from Whirlipede. It seemed that the attack had just barely hit Whirlipede on the side, and that would be enough to do a good deal of damage.

Roxie whistled, "Wow. Whirlipede is usually able to dodge any attack that comes his way unless he's tired. That Flaafy of yours has a lot of skill to land a hit." Ash grinned in appreciation until he saw Whirlipede getting himself ready yet again, unfazed by the attack. He then turned his attention to Jolt, who was panting in exhaustion from the tolling battle she had with Koffing.

The plan he made was to return Jolt, a privilege most gym leaders granted their challengers, and bring out Oshawott to either defeat Whirlipede or at least damage him enough so that Jolt could take him out. It was foolproof and he was certain that he would win using it.

"Jolt, Return!" That was one mistake he made there. He called out that he was going to return Jolt. The mistake Jolt made was standing still with her guard down, waiting for the beam of light to take her back into the Pokeball.

Whirlipede turned one of the eyes in the middle of his body to Roxie, who nodded to Whirlipede. He already knew the plan and sped up as fast as he could to use Pursuit, a move that can hit Pokemon returning to their Pokeballs for double the usual damage it does.

Whirlipede used this move to strike Jolt as she was being returned and knock her out of the reach of the Pokeball. All eyes turned to the dust that got knocked up after the powerful move, Ash in shock and Roxie in confidence.

"Pursuit, a move that can cancel a Pokemon's escape and double the damage of the move doing so."

The dust that was kicked up by Whirlipede's speed and the impact of the attack died down. Whirlipede was seen at nearly full strength in front of Roxie while Jolt was leaning against the wall, fainted.

Ash returned her and whispered his thanks to her Pokeball for evolving and coming through when he needed her.

"So I have my ace, what's yours?" Roxie questioned.

Ash gave a smile while grabbing for his second Pokeball, "I don't have an ace. Each of my two Pokemon have their strengths and weaknesses." Roxie smiled at him in respect for his view, but she sure knew that one of her's was stronger than the other.

"Come on out, Oshawott!"

Oshawott's Pokeball opened to the rest of the room, releasing the uncommon sea otter. Oshawott was the normally least picked of the three Unova starters, but Ash knew he had many strengths.

"So an Oshawott it is. You're gonna have to work pretty hard to beat me with that" Now usually, Ash was level-headed in battles and didn't let others get to him, but this comment set him off. How dare she judge his Pokemon? She hadn't seen him battle before, and Ash knew Oshawott could easily beat some Pokemon others considered strong.

Oshawott was offended also, taking a step back and nearly growling in anger.

"Let the battle begin!" The battle referee shouted from a stand on the side of the battlefield. Ash knew it was time to win this battle, no way to rely on spontaneous evolution or a stroke of luck like he had beforehand.

"Defense Curl!" Roxie yelled to Whirlipede, who wasted no time getting right to it and curling the grey outer part of his body, thus raising his defense. Ash knew that this could hurt down the road, but it also gave him the perfect opportunity to make the move he needed to if he wanted even a chance of winning.

"Focus Energy!" Oshawott's eyes were closed right after Ash gave the command and Oshawott remained unmoving for a few seconds. Starting from his feet, yellow energy began to circle him until it finally entered his body. Oshawott's eyes opened and Roxie saw the energy still in his eyes, flowing about like it was natural and had always been there.

Not a word needed to be exchanged between the two trainers, they knew that it would just be to distract them from the battle at hand. Ash was more motivated than ever, as was Oshawott. Roxie was completely focused on the battle and didn't think about her band or her city once, something rare for her with how much she has to keep up with.

"Rollout!" Whirlipede began to roll towards Oshawott. Whirlipede had much less speed than he had when he took Jolt out with Pursuit, catching Ash off guard but showing him an opening he needed to take.

"Water Pulse!" Ash shouted to Oshawott.

Oshawott, in return, began building water between his fins-for-hands. That water grew in size as Whirlipede was making his way over to Oshawott.

"Hold it!" Ash called out to an unexpecting Oshawott. He wanted to let it go and make sure that he would get the damage off and not be hit but trusted Ash enough to assume he was in the right train of thought.

Whirlipede neared Oshawott and Roxie was confused about why Ash wasn't just hitting Whirlipede. Though she didn't expect the attack to land due to the speed Whirlipede possessed, it might be able to halt his attack if Oshawott's aim was good. She wasn't complaining, she would be getting a free blow in on Oshawott and her next Rollout would be more powerful than the last.

Oshawott and Whirlipede were mere feet apart, one about to land an attack and one waiting for his chance. Right when Whirlipede was about to slam into Oshawott, Ash made his move.

"Slam it right into Whirlipede's eye!" Roxie saw what Ash was doing. She would have expected the strategy from an experienced trainer, but not from someone like Ash, who she had seen days before this battle at the mercy of the entire clan of Scolipede and on the brink of death by their poison.

Whirlipede landed the Rollout attack, but just as he did, the powerful ball of water was thrown directly into Whirlipede's eye. The bug was thrown to the side by the sheer force of the attack. Oshawott didn't make it out unharmed though, falling to the ground and skidding a few feet before the struggle for both of the Pokemon to get up began.

'That shouldn't have been that powerful," Roxie thought to herself as Whirlipede slowly rose, staggering about. 'So what was it?' Just then, the memory of Oshawott's eyes came back to her, and she realized the mistake she had made by letting Oshawott use Focus Energy.

Whirlipede and Oshawott finally got back to normal, and Ash was slightly disappointed to see Whirlipede standing still and not wavering. He was hoping to use the confusion that was a side effect of Water Pulse to his advantage like he had against Cheren, but it looked like Ash would have to win fairly this time.

He still had a few things on his side, like how he had a Focus Energy set up for Oshawott and the use of projectile attacks that, to his limited knowledge, Whirlipde didn't have.

Speaking of long-ranged attacks, he needed to get back into the battle.

"Oshawott, use Double Team!" Ash had been saving Double Team during this battle for a while now, and he was glad he did. The look on Roxie's face indicated that she hadn't been expecting the move's use. Ash now had the upper hand.

Whirlipede looked at the copies of the pesky otter spread across the battlefield that he regarded as his home. In other words, Oshawott was in his territory and winning on it.

Whirlipede didn't like that one bit and started another Rollout, but this time, it was faster. Not faster to the point it was noticeable and worrying, faster nonetheless.

Ash and Oshawott didn't pay any mind to it and continued with their rigorous battle. Oshawott's copies were all lined up in a row and used Water Gun on Whirlipede.

One thing about Double Team that made its usefulness lower than it could be was that the attacks that the copies used wouldn't do as much damage. It would add up to the damage Oshawott would do if it was only him attacking.

The attack still landed it's mark and made Whirlipede slow down to a halt. Oshawott returned his copies into the original body and took a second to catch his breath. Double Team was already a hard move to pull off, using other moves during the duration of the move was pushing Oshawott to his limits. The worst part of it was that Whirlipede still looked fine.

Ash looked down at Oshawott, asking if he was okay and ready to continue. Oshawott looked right back at him and gave him a confident nod.

"Rollout, one more time!" Roxie yelled out to Whirlipede.

This time, Oshawott and Ash noticed how fast Whirlipede was moving. It was at least twice as fast as he had last time, and that was already faster than Oshawott had ever run.

There was little time to make decisions, and Ash had to think fast. "Use Water Gun, and hold it as long as you can!" Ash was certain there was no way out of this tough situation and decided to go with the option that would leave Oshawott with as little damage as possible.

Whirlipede faced the Water Gun head-on, powring through it and sending Oshawott flying into the gym wall. Oshawott closed his eyes in pain and the three people in the room's eyes turned to him.

"C'mon Oshawott, you can do it!" Ash called out. Hearing this, Oshawott started to struggle against the overbearing arms of pain that were latched around him as his head pounded and his body ached, begging him to stay down and lose the battle so he could make a visit to the Pokemon Center and get a good rest.

But he knew that losing wasn't an option for him. He had come too far and tried too hard to give up now. His webbed feet started to push his body up and he felt bits of his strength returning.

"Y'know, not many novice Pokemon can take one of Whirlipede's full power Rollouts." Ash eyes snapped from Oshawott's heavily breathing but standing body to Roxie's grinning face. It was like she was loving the thrill of this fight.

His assumption was true, Roxie was having the time of her life. Ash had been a great surprise for her, first evolving and taking out her prized Koffing and then taking one of Whirlipede's Rollouts to the chest and still wanting to battle.

Still, Roxie thought it was time to finish this battle once and for all. Whirlipede looked more tired than he had been in a while and Oshawott was half-dead, but neither was going to give up.

Oshawott heard Ash announce, "Use Water Pulse!" He built up the ball of water between his fins and let it loose, sending it right to Whirlipede.

"Protect!" A shield was built around Whirlipede in the blink of an eye and the Water Pulse was nullified. The smoke from the attack cleared and it was confirmed to both Ash and Oshawott that Water Pulse had no effect on Protect.

"Oshawott, now use Tackle!" Oshawott started his run towards Whirlipede and built up speed as he went, preparing himself to collide with the poison-bug type Pokemon.

"Take it." Roxie simply said to Whirlipede. Oshawott was confused by the command but wasn't about to let up a chance to get off a free attack on Whirlipede. The Tackle landed, and Whirlipede was sent back quite a bit and looked to have sustained more damage.

Oshawott strutted back to his side of the battlefield in triumph but was knocked down to his knees by an unknown force that struck him out of nowhere.

Ash was gobsmacked and confused by what just happened. "Poison Point, an ability that can poison the target when physically attacked," Roxie explained.

'Ah, so it works like Static.' Ash thought to himself. He had some experience with that ability because of Jolt. This was a lot worse though in his opinion.

He had to finish this battle fast.

"Oshawott, use Water Pulse!" Even in his weak state, Oshawott understood the command and built up the water between his fins for what might be his last time in the battle.

"Venoshock!"

Whirlipede started to vibrate, and Ash was expecting some kind of could to come out, but what came out was a beam of what looked to be acid. Ash wondered what made it different from the other acidic moves.

Oshawott released his Water Pulse just as he was hit by the Venoshock. The blast of purple acid blasted him back and left him on the ground, twitching.

Whirlipede looked at the grounded Oshawott in victory before he was hit in the side by Oshawott's Water Pulse that had avoided the Venoshock somehow. He was thrown against the wall close to him violently and had no time to react before fainting.

All eyes then turned to Oshawott, who was still struggling. His body was telling him to faint, body Oshawott's mindset was already so set on winning that he couldn't let that happen.

After a minute of struggling, he finally gathered the strength to open one of his eyes, confirming to the referee who won the battle.

"Ash, the challenger, wins!" Roxie was baffled at how Oshawott could take even one Venoshock from Whirlipede while poisoned. It didn't make any sense to her!

Ash cheered in celebration, expecting Oshawott to join him, but when he looked down he saw Oshawott sleeping peacefully. He returned Oshawott into his Pokeball and thanked him for the great job he did in the gym battle.

Roxie hopped off of her stand after doing the same thing Ash did and walked over to Ash's stand.

"Well, that was unexpected!" Roxie announced jubilantly. Ash numbly nodded, still barely processing what had happened. "It usually takes challengers a few visits to get my badge, but you got it in one try! Go you!"

A smile grew on Ash's face again as he looked to the wrecked battlefield. Roxie saw where he was looking and reassured him that they could easily cover the expenses.

The referee came by the two and handed Roxie one of the many badges they had. Roxie held it in her hand for a second before holding the same hand out to Ash.

"This here is the Toxic Badge. It's living proof that you beat my ass in a battle and had a little side effect of letting you participate in the Unova League. Take it why don't you?" Roxie laughed. Ash took her advice and grabbed the Toxic Badge from her hand.

It was like it glittered in the light, a purple light reflecting off of it. Ash inserted it into the correct spot in his badge case, looking back up to Roxie and asking if he needed anything else.

"Oh yeah," Roxie said, remembering something. She pulled out a Pokeball from her belt and held it out to Ash. "Remember when I said I'd give you a reward if you beat me?" Ash nodded in remembrance, wondering where this was going, "Well this is it."

Ash gave the ball a blank look, still not understanding what she meant. "A Pokeball?" It wasn't like Ash was going to refuse the gift, it's that Roxie had been hyping it up to the point that Ash thought it could be something big, like a Full Restore or a Great Ball.

"No silly, it's what's inside the ball!" Ash still gave the ball his blank look before a more understanding one graced his face. Then a look of awe took its place. "You got me a Pokemon?" Ash asked in bewilderment.

"Yup," Roxie responded.

Ash looked at the ball in astonishment, not believing he was given a Pokemon from a gym leader so freely.

"You can leave and heal your Pokemon now if you want," Roxie told him, snickering as she did.

Ash nearly bounced up the steps in excitement at his brand new Pokemon for his team. He wondered what it would be, but he knew he had to save that for later.

He entered the Pokemon Center and strolled up to the counter. He gave her his three Pokeballs and the kindhearted Nurse Joy took them back to heal them up.

Ash took a seat at the chairs, ready for the night to be over. Little did he know, this was just the beginning.