Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to Journey Of An Autistic Trainer! I said that I'd upload this chapter and the previous one together in one day. But things happen like my sister getting sick and my dog dying, and I had to change plans...but that's okay.

Anyway, we finally got our book sent to Harper Collins. After a long time of proofreading and procrastination, we finally did it. But it's not guaranteed that they'll accept it. We gotta wait around three months until we hear if they're gonna accept it.

Warning: there will be a swear in this chapter, since Lt. Surge had actually cursed in the original Japanese dub.

Uploading Date: January 30, 2017

Enjoy!

...

Electric Showdown (part 1)

The past few hours after the battle felt like a very long time to Ash. He had carried Pikachu straight to the Pokémon center, where Nidoran and Charmander got their regular checkups and treatments. As for Pikachu, he joined the fifteen Pokémon to be hospitalized, separated from his teammates for recovery.

Ash sat beside Pikachu's hospital bed nearly throughout all day. He kept waiting for signs for his starter Pokémon to immediately get up like he had always done, but he did not. Perhaps the beating it had taken from Raichu had drained a lot of his energy. Seeing Pikachu look so vulnerable and weakened made Ash feel angry with himself for what happened.

Well, I hope you're happy, Ash scolded himself as he watched Nurse Joy tending to Pikachu again. If you hadn't been raring to go right away and be reckless, you wouldn't have gotten Pikachu hurt.

But he knew that blaming himself would be worse. Pikachu would not want him to feel like this. His partner had helped him through physical and emotional battles, and he wanted to help him in return.

"Ash?"

He looked around as Daisy, Misty, and Brock came in, three of their Pokémon by their side. Eevee was holding a bag of berries, Goldeen had a balloon that read "Get Well Soon" tied to her horn, and Geodude had even made a rather crude-looking Pikachu made of rock. All of Ash's Pokémon were already out of their PokéBalls, each looking concerned for their partner.

"Ash...it's not your fault," Daisy said. "You didn't know it would-"

"Yes I did," Ash answered, turning away from her. "I saw the Pokémon in the center injured, and I just made some kind of promise to help them. And now look! Pikachu's hurt like them!"

Daisy sighed and wrapped her arm around his shoulder. "I have to admit that it was kind of rash to keep a promise that quick, but you and Pikachu tried your best," she assured him. "Maybe in the next battle, you can try your hardest."

"Pikachu already did try his hardest," Misty pointed out.

Daisy gave her an annoyed look only to meet Brock's gaze. The Pewter City gym leader was giving her a look that meant, Don't start this again. So she turned her attention back to Ash, who was sitting beside Pikachu's gurney.

"If I may," Nurse Joy said, carrying a little box over to Pikachu's bedside, "I might have something that can help you."

The travelers crowded around to see the bright yellow stone with the orange lightning bolt at its core. Nurse Joy explained, "It's a Thunder Stone, a little something I stumbled across in the past. It can be used to evolve Pikachu into Raichu."

Giselle from Poké Tech said the same thing, Ash realized. He recalled her saying that to evolve, a Pikachu had to use a Thunder Stone.

"That's like with Starmie and a Water Stone. If you use it on a Staryu, it'll evolve into a Starmie," Misty spoke up, being the current trainer of a Staryu and a Starmie.

"If I do it...then Pikachu can get stronger," Ash told himself, realizing that the others were listening. "But...should I?"

"It's your choice, young man," Nurse Joy replied. "But remember that there's no going back. Once you evolve a Pokémon, whether through stones or by leveling up, they can never go back to their original form."

So Ash took the stone and walked over to Pikachu's beside. To his relief, Pikachu was waking up, opening his eyes and looking around. He did not speak when Ash approached his bedside, and Ash noticed this, worried. Was Pikachu mad at him?

"Hey, Pikachu," Ash said, kneeling beside his partner. He held up the Thunder Stone and went on, "Nurse Joy gave us this Thunder Stone; it can help you evolve. If you can use it, we can finally beat Lt. Surge."

At first, Pikachu remained silent. Ash felt himself wishing that he could talk to his partner and understand what he was thinking.

All of a sudden, Pikachu let out a loud "PIKA!" and sat up in his bed. He was giving the Thunder Stone a disdainful look, as if it had formed a mouth and sneezed at him. The fire in his eyes were like that of a volcano, exploding with the ferocity of a typhoon. That was when Ash recalled what Lt. Surge had told him before their battle: "A Pokémon's only useful once it knows all the moves it can possibly know. You should've evolved that rat as soon as you got him."

But here was Pikachu now, ready to fight for his species' reputation. It was like with Ash and his autism; Pikachu wanted to be an example of how unevolved Pokémon could be strong, not the exception.

"If you're sure," Ash told Pikachu, bending down and hugging Pikachu lightly. "If you don't want it, I'll respect it. Will he be okay tomorrow?" he asked the nearby nurse as he released Pikachu.

Nurse Joy nodded. "I think he will be. One more rough battle, though, and he might not battle again for a while."

The four thanked Nurse Joy for all her help, and Ash patted Pikachu's head gently before recalling his Pokémon to their PokéBalls. When the others did the same, they went off to get dinner.

In the cafeteria, Daisy had let her Eevee out, and Brock got Zubat out as well. Ash did not get send any of his out this time. He stared down at his turkey slices in gravy and garlic buttered potatoes; it felt strange and pretty sad to eat dinner without Pikachu.

"Hey, are you feeling okay?" Misty asked Ash while he kept fiddling with his dinner; she had gotten Goldeen out again and was sprinkling rice out for her to eat. "You haven't touched your food yet."

Ash nodded, taking a fork and stabbing a potato with it. He picked it up and looked down at it, but he didn't eat it yet. "I've just been thinking...maybe I've been trying to approach this the wrong way," he admitted.

"You might wanna be careful, though," Daisy spoke up. "We all saw how powerful that Raichu can be. It's got some pretty powerful moves."

"Three of those were TMs, one that it could learn naturally as a Pikachu," Brock spoke up. "And one was a TM but is now a Battle-Point move."

Misty nodded. "That's true," she said. "I hadn't been thinking when I evolved one of my Staryu, so I had to teach Starmie some TMs as well."

"And that means...Raichu couldn't learn any useful moves while leveling up!" Ash exclaimed as he revealed what he had been thinking.

Brock nodded. "That's right, Ash. Lt. Surge must've had to teach Raichu those moves to make up for it."

Misty gave him an approving smile. "Looks like you're learning a lot of new things today," she remarked.

"Thanks, Misty," Ash told her. "I think I know what to do now."

"And so do I," Brock said, getting up and pushing his chair back. "Excuse me, I gotta make a phone call."

While he was walking off, Misty had gotten up too and followed him. Ash gave Daisy a confused look, wondering without asking what they were going to do. Daisy looked just as confused as he did, but both ultimately decided that it wasn't any of their business on who Misty and Brock called.

...

The next morning, Pikachu was ready to start walking again. Nurse Joy released him from her custody, warning Ash to not push Pikachu too hard in his next battle. Ash had trained with the other Pokémon in his party some more, so he was prepared to head back to the Vermilion gym. But first there was something...or rather someone...missing.

"Where's Brock at?" Ash wondered, looking around. "And Misty too?"

"I asked them that, but Misty said that they had to make another phone call. She said they hope you win this time," Daisy explained. "And I know you're nervous, but you've got me, Misty, and Brock rooting for you."

Ash smiled, reassured by this. "I'll thank them when we get back," he said.

Surprisingly, the path to the gym was blocked once again by a tree. And once more, Daisy had sent her Beedrill out to cut it down, Ash letting Charmander help by burning it down with Ember. Ash guessed that Lt. Surge would have a sturdy log be planted in front of the path to challenge trainers coming to his gym. The tree was out of the way again, and Ash and Daisy made it to the other side.

At the entrance of the gym were the two trainers that greeted them the day before. They did not leer at Ash and Daisy this time, merely staring at them stoically before stepping to the side. Lt. Surge was stalking over, his face with its usual jeering expression, and Ash felt his hands tremble. He would have to be the bravest he could be so far to face down this gym leader.

"So you couldn't be bothered to evolve your rat, huh?" Lt. Surge growled with a sneer, not bothering with a proper greeting. "But hey, I've thought of our battle yesterday. How about we make this a one-on-one match, just between Pikachu and Raichu? It'll be easier on you."

Ash shook his head. "No, we can make it a three-on-three battle, like yesterday. And I got a good way to defeat you now."

Lt. Surge's sneer did not change. "Good," he replied. "I've wanted that same challenge. And to me, that's just a new way for you to lose."

Suddenly, a beam of light came out from the belt Ash used to carry his PokéBalls. Butterfree had emerged, looking both supportive and fretful.

"What's wrong?" Ash asked. "You look like you haven't stretched your wings much."

Butterfree buzzed and fluttered around his trainer, looking hopeful. Ash could see the desperation in the butterfly Pokémon's big red eyes as he longed to be useful again. He admitted that it was kind of his fault, for he had not thought of Butterfree for recent challenges.

"I guess I haven't let you out much lately," Ash said apologetically. "You can cheer for me if you'd like."

Butterfree gave a squeal of delight and fluttered around Ash.

"Are you done yet, weakling?" Lt. Surge called from the hallway.

Ash looked up and noticed that Lt Surge, Daisy, and the gym trainers were already walking ahead of him. So he, Pikachu, and Butterfree hurried off after them.

They came to the middle of the gym once again, where Lt. Surge was standing at one side of the arena, looking impatient. Ash took his spot on the other side, with Pikachu and Butterfree at his side. He looked around and saw Daisy give him a wink and a reassuring smile before she went over to sit on the bleachers. Eevee had come out of her ball to watch the match as well.

"This will be a three-on-three gym battle!" the referee called, raising a flag. "Only the challenger is allowed to substitute Pokémon. The battle is over once all Pokémon from one team goes down." Then he waved the flag, calling, "Begin!"

Lt. Surge was already making his move, calling out Magnemite this time with a loud "Atten HUT!" So Ash tossed out a PokéBall as well and called, "Charmander, I choose you!"

Out came the shiny Charmander with a battle cry, swishing his flame-tipped tail as sparkles flashed around him. Lt. Surge merely chortled and sarcastically clapped three times.

"Second time's the charm, huh?" he remarked once he was done with clapping. "Magnemite's going to make your lizard pay this time. Now Magnemite, Shock Wave!"

Magnemite buzzed and unleashed its power, a wave of electricity heading for Charmander.

"Charmander, Flame Burst!" Ash called.

Charmander spewed out flames, the same move he had used to defeat Magnemite. Both attacks hit each other, and Charmander reeled back from the Shock Wave while Magnemite shuddered as it floated. Ash was just about to feel at ease when Lt. Surge sneered.

"Double Team," he growled.

A dozen Magnemite copies suddenly shot away from Magnemite, surrounding Charmander. The lizard Pokémon looked around in shock as it tried to see how to tell one Magnemite from each other. Ash himself wasn't sure what to do at this point.

All of a sudden, his Pokédex was beeping from in his pocket. Ash took it out just in time for it to say, "Double Team: The user makes copies of itself, boosting its evasiveness (chances of dodging moves)."

I never knew it can describe moves, Ash thought with surprise. He would have to keep that in mind the next time he saw a move that would baffle him.

"Hey baby! Quit playing with your toy, and let me roast you!" Lt. Surge barked. His scowl turned into a sneer as he called, "Magnemite, Sonicboom!"

All the Magnemite copies fired up their magnets and let loose blasts of sound at Charmander. Charmander tried to deflect each one with blasts of embers, but he got hit a few times with half of what was sent his way. He was hopelessly outnumbered and apparently outmatched.

"Try to dodge and Flame Burst!" Ash called, blocking one ear to avoid too much sound.

Charmander spewed out some flames, hitting one of the copies and making it vanish. He got hit twice by two Sonicbooms, and this made his tail flame glow even brighter. Suddenly, the flames started spreading out toward the copies, erasing one after the other. This kept going on until the true Magnemite was the only one that remained, this Magnemite looking nervous at being found out.

"Rrr...not bad, kid," Lt. Surge growled. "Never knew you knew that can hit targets next to the attacker, Double Team or not. Magnemite, Shock Wave!"

"Charmander, Flame Burst!" Ash called.

Both fired their attacks at each other, landing on their targets. Charmander was hit square in the chest with Shock Wave, and Magnemite was blown backward with the powerful blasts of ember. It was so much that Magnemite eventually collapsed, knocked out.

"Magnemite is unable to battle! Charmander wins!" the referee called.

Lt. Surge scoffed and recalled Magnemite into its ball. In the meantime, Ash called to Charmander, "You did really great out there, Charmander! Great job!"

Charmander let out a happy cry and swished his tail around.

"Let's see how lucky you can get with this one," Lt. Surge growled, tossing out another PokéBall. As his Voltorb came out, he called, "Voltorb, Charge!"

Voltorb did not move, but it seemed to vibrate while it stored electricity. It even buzzed, sounding like the alarm clock Ash had in his room back at Pallet Town.

"Charmander, Smokescreen!" Ash instructed.

Instead of fire, Charmander spewed out black smoke, hiding itself from view. Ash figured that if he used this move, that could make it difficult for Voltorb to find and land an easy hit on Charmander. So far, so good, he thought.

"Voltorb, Tackle that Charmander and use Self-Destruct!"

Now Ash's confidence turned to alarm. He could recall the devastating power this move had when it knocked out Nidoran. "Charmander, get outta the way!" Ash yelled.

But it was too late. Before Charmander could move, Voltorb started glowing and charged at Charmander through the smoke. Just like in yesterday's match, a huge explosion blasted all around the arena, sending up clouds of dust that mixed with the smoke. When the dust and the smoke cleared, both Charmander and Voltorb were knocked out.

"Voltorb and Charmander are unable to battle!" the referee called. "Trainers, send out your next Pokémon!"

Ash was shocked. This round had ended as soon as it had begun. Why had Lt. Surge decided to let his Pokémon use Self-Destruct this early? But he said nothing as he recalled Chamander, saying, "You did great, Charmander. Take a good rest."

He looked up across the arena at Lt. Surge, who was now sending out his Raichu. This left Ash confused. How could Lt. Surge look easy with having one Pokémon left while Ash had two still?

"Bulbasaur, I choose you!" he said as he tossed out Bulbasaur's ball.

Out came Bulbasaur, landing before Raichu and pawing the ground. He looked calmer than Charmander due to being the peacekeeper among Ash's team.

"Great move, Ash!" Daisy called encouragingly from the stands. "Electric types aren't that effective on Grass types!"

"Bulbasaur, huh?" growled Lt. Surge, ignoring Daisy. "Looks like you finally did something smart for once, baby. Raichu!" he barked as he ignored Ash's indignant look as well. "Use Iron Tail!"

Raichu's tail glowed silver before charging at Bulbasaur on all fours.

"Bulbasaur, dodge and use Leech Seed!" Ash called.

With a shake of his bulb, Bulbasaur gave a loud "Bulba!" as he shot a seed from said bulb and made sure it landed on Raichu. The seed latched itself onto the lightning bolt on Raichu's tail, making the mouse Pokémon squeal with irritation as a bit of its health was sapped.

"Nice hit...for a baby," Lt. Surge sneered. "Raichu, blast it with Thunderbolt!"

It's like what Daisy said: Electric moves don't work against Grass types too good...right? Ash thought with worry. But when Raichu charged up and unleashed a powerful Thunderbolt onto Bulbasaur, the Seed Pokémon cried out in pain as he was electrified.

In spite of being shocked, though, Bulbasaur was still standing, growling in defiance as he tried to stand up against his larger opponent. Raichu sneered back, its face briefly turned into a scowl as the implanted seed on its tail sapped some of its energy. Ash hoped that sooner or later, the Leech Seed would take effect and do Raichu in.

"Raichu, finish it off with Iron Tail!" Lt. Surge barked.

"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip!" Ash commanded.

Bulbasaur whipped out his vines and lashed them at Raichu, striking one of its yellow cheeks. But Raichu had also spun around and slammed its tail against Bulbasaur's jaw, and the Seed Pokémon reeled back in pain. Thanks to the combination of the Iron Tail attack and the Thunderbolt he had suffered earlier, he fell onto one of his sides, knocked out.

"Bulbasaur is unable to battle! Raichu wins!" the referee called.

Lt. Surge and Raichu boasted and laughed while Ash recalled Bulbasaur. "You did the best you could," he told Bulbasaur's PokéBall. "Take a long rest."

Ash looked up at his opponent, who was watching him like a Spearow eager to nab some territory. He guessed that Daisy was watching him back at the bleachers, so he stole a glance over at her. The teen had a concerned look on her face, but she gave him a nod as if to say, "You can do it". He wanted to believe that, he really did, but how could he actually defeat a very powerful Raichu?

"Pika!"

Ash looked around at Pikachu resting on his shoulder. He had forgotten that his partner had been right beside him the whole time. Pikachu was glaring over at Raichu with a kind of vengeful determination, electricity sparkling from his cheeks. Does Pikachu want payback from yesterday? Ash wondered. Nurse Joy said for him to take it easy...but does he really want to fight this badly?

"Okay then," Ash said uncertainly. As Pikachu jumped off of his shoulder and onto the battlefield, he commanded, "Then Pikachu, I choose you!"

From the bleachers, Daisy called "Kick his tail, Pikachu!" only to be interrupted by Lt. Surge's scornful chuckle.

"You never learn your lessons, do you, baby?" the Vermilion gym leader sneered, shaking his head in mock disappointment. "I told you that a Pokémon is only useful when it evolves. Don't say I didn't warn you if that rat goes down again."

We'll see about that, Ash thought. He commanded, "Pikachu, Iron Tail!"

Lt. Surge laughed. "It's gonna go down again thanks to you not evolving it," he jeered. "Raichu, show 'em what a TRUE Iron Tail is!"

Pikachu rushed over at Raichu, his tail glowing silver, and he spun around as he prepared to land the blow. Raichu's tail also glowed silver as it simply whisked it around like a whip, and when Pikachu was close enough, both Iron Tails collided. Suddenly, Raichu kicked dirt out at Pikachu, momentarily blinding him, before spinning around and slamming Pikachu down with Iron Tail.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried out in pain as he slid over to the near border of the arena.

"Pikachu! Are you okay?!" Ash called out, getting very worried. He knew Pikachu had wanted to fight again...but did he make a mistake in letting him fight again too soon?

"That rat won't be okay when we're done with it!" Lt. Surge roared. "Raichu, roast it with Thunderbolt!"

With a loud cry, Raichu fired up his cheeks, and electricity shot out and blasted Pikachu with the force of an Onix's tail slam. Pikachu yelped and tumbled around on the battlefield, trying desperately to get back on his paws, but Raichu was ready. It chortled as it fired another Thunderbolt at Pikachu, keeping him down and unable to defend himself. Ash felt his heart ache from worry and heartbreak. It was like a deadly game of cat and mouse, the larger mouse Poké keeping his small opponent grounded.

"We got that rat where we want him. Finish it with Focus Punch!" Lt. Surge roared.

Raichu jumped up again and let its fist glow with energy, preparing to deal the finishing blow. Ash wasn't sure what he could do right now. Lt. Surge had his Raichu get Pikachu pinned and down for the count. It was bigger, stronger, faster...

Faster? Ash's brain clicked as if a light bulb had been lit up. That's it!

"Pikachu, Agility!"

Pikachu was able to get back up on his paws this time and darted out of the way. Now unlike what happened the day before, Raichu's fist had missed its target as it slammed into the ground. Raichu looked around in surprise at its younger cousin, who merely gave it a confident grin.

So Raichu prepared to chop Pikachu again, only to meet air as the smaller rodent zipped past it. It was a game of cat-and-mouse now as Pikachu kept speeding past his larger opponent, who tried punching out at him but failing. It was even starting to get dizzy and tired, panting as it lashed its tail fuiously and slapped the lightning end on the ground.

"No!" Lt. Surge growled, keeping his voice aggressive. "I couldn't waste time making Raichu fast. It had to be strong! Raichu, blast 'em with the biggest Thunderbolt you've got!"

"Pikachu, out of the way!" Ash called quickly just in time for Raichu to yell, "Raiii...CHUUUUUU!"

With a loud cry, Raichu fired up its yellow cheeks and fired an ear-splitting burst of electricity up to the air. Ash had to cover his face to avoid the huge blasts of lightning coming from Raichu. The electricity even hit the glass on the roof of the building, shattering the glass into a million pieces, and Ash and the girls had to get out of the way. Only Lt. Surge did not move as he smirked and stood his ground, barely flinching as several glass shards cut his muscular arms.

But when the smoke cleared away, everyone was shocked at what they saw. The ground had been ripped through the middle by Raichu's electric blast, but that was not what shocked them; Pikachu was completely unharmed this time. In fact, he was standing straight up on his tail, balancing himself well with a determined look and a defiant "Pika!". Ash was uncovering his face now, a big smile on his face as he saw that his command had worked.

"So that's what happened!" Daisy exclaimed. "Pikachu must've used his tail to ride out the Thunderbolt!"

Lt. Surge stared at a smiling Ash with shock before turning into rage. "Rrr...I think you got way too lucky, you little brat! Raichu!" he barked. "Roast that Pikachu and his trainer with Thunderbolt!"

Everyone gasped when they heard this, even the gruff trainers from the gym entrance. Gym leaders usually never used their Pokémon to attack another Pokémon's trainer. Ash felt the smile slide off of his face and backed away, not wanting to be zapped by the power he had seen from under his arms.

But as soon as Raichu's electricity sparkled up...it suddenly fizzled out.

"What?!" Lt. Surge roared as everyone, even Raichu, looked amazed. "Come on, Raichu, do it again!"

So Raichu tried again, only to get the same result. It even looked frustrated the more it tried to attack, letting out a "Rai!" as each electric attack failed. Ash couldn't stop smiling now; his plan to get Raichu off its guard had worked!

"Raichu must be out of electricity!" Daisy exclaimed with a fire in her eyes. "It's going down now!"

Lt. Surge was no longer smiling, a furious snarl taking over his face. "Raichu! We don't need Thunderbolt anyway!" he barked. "Focus Punch that damn rat!"

Raichu raised a paw, curling it into a fist and preparing to strike.

"Pikachu, Quick Attack before it strikes!" Ash commanded.

Pikachu got down on all fours, darting over and hitting Raichu in the belly. Raichu stumbled away from the attack and growled in frustration. Then, without even a command, Pikachu jumped up in the air and let his tail glow silver before spinning in circles down at Raichu, slamming his tail down on the larger mouse Pokémon's head.

At last, Raichu could not take it anymore and fell to the ground with a mighty thud. Pikachu braced himself for an upcoming attack, a sneak attack even, but there was no need. Raichu did not get up again; it had been defeated.

"Raichu is unable to battle! Pikachu wins!" the referee called. "That means that the winner is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!"

Ash heard the words echo in his ears as clear as a shout in a cave. He had finally won against Lt. Surge. It was a harsh and brutal battle, but he and Pikachu had finally done it.

"We did it!" Ash exclaimed, running over to Pikachu and scooping him up. He gave him a big hug and said, "You were great out there, Pikachu. I'm glad you're okay."

"Pika..." Pikachu muttered with a dazed smile before falling unconscious.

"N-No way..." Lt. Surge rasped. His eyes were nearly bugging out of their sockets as he looked to Pikachu with shock and disgust. "That little rat actually beat my Raichu? Rrr..."

He recalled Raichu back into its ball, and Ash was half-expecting the gym leader to come and offer his congrats. Instead, Lt. Surge gave Ash a scornful snort and spun away in a sharp about-face. Daisy looked indignant and was opening her mouth to retort, but Ash beat her to it.

"Wait," he finally exclaimed before Lt. Surge could stalk away. "I don't wanna be rude, but I'd like an apology."

"Apology?" Lt. Surge repeated incredulously as he spun around, and the arrogant look on his face had returned. "For what, you little baby?"

Ash stood up, Pikachu still cradled in his arms. "For being this harsh to challengers during a gym battle," he declared. "I've learned that insulting challengers and threatening to hurt them in a gym battle isn't the right thing to do."

Daisy looked surprised. Unknowingly to Ash, she had been scared that he would not be brave enough to stand up against a large man like Lt. Surge. Now she had to admire the way he was able to calm himself and try defending himself this time on his own.

"And why should I apologize?" Lt. Surge growled, leering menacingly at him.

"Because your fellow gym leaders and I saw and heard the whole thing."

Everyone looked around as the doors to the inner gym opened. A man in his thirties stepped in, red hair in the same hue as blood. He wore a dark blue uniform like that of a vampire, his cape flapping out behind him as he strode over to Lt. Surge with an angry look on his face. And beside him were Misty and Brock, who had broken off from this man to rejoin Ash and Daisy.

"Is that...Lance from the Indigo League?" Ash murmured in awe. He had recalled seeing this person on the TV show where he watched the Indigo League. I can't believe he's actually here in person!

Brock walked up beside him, saying, "Yeah. He's a master of Dragon-types, and he's part of their Elite Four." He dropped his voice to a whisper and said, "Remember that phone call I wanted to make earlier? Well, this was the guy Misty and I wanted to call."

"And it looks like you won, from the way Lt. Surge looked," Misty added as she joined them. "Congrats!"

Ash gave her and Brock a grateful look before looking back to Lance. The Dragon-type master was stalking to the middle of the ring and giving Lt. Surge a talking to.

"Lt. Surge, do you have any idea how much trouble you're in?" Lance asked with a hint of a growl in his voice. "Brock of the Pewter City gym and Misty of the Cerulean City gym called me last night, and you know what they told me? They told me on how you had insulted any trainer that lost to you. Gym leaders cannot demoralize any challenging trainers; it's an insult to the trainer and the gym as a whole."

"But he was being a whiny brat!" Lt. Surge growled. "I was just defending my right to run this gym by putting him in his place!"

Lance was not impressed. "Yes, you have a right to defend your right to run this gym, but look at the big picture here," he snapped. "You've broken several league rules throughout your career as a gym leader, refusing a challenger a fair fight, and insulting him at that. And no gym leader would threaten harm to a challenger. I'm calling the police as soon as I leave, and-"

"Wait!"

Lance had stopped yelling and looked around at Ash. Lt. Surge dropped the defiant act and looked around at him too, eyes wide.

"What's wrong, trainer?" Lance asked, his eyes still stern but curious as well.

Ash prepared himself for what he had to say, nervous of actually talking with a member of the Elite Four. Then he found himself saying, "You can't throw Lt. Surge in jail."

Lance looked mildly surprised. "I wasn't going to put him in jail," he said. "I was just going to have him interrogated by the police. From what Misty and Brock told me, he showed no mercy to you or the other challengers."

"I know Lt. Surge had said bad things to me yesterday and today, and he shouldn't hurt challengers the way he did," he said as he tried to keep himself from walking away. "But after that, Pikachu told me that he didn't want to evolve, and we felt...confident. As long as Pikachu's fine the way he is, we can do anything. And I think it's because of Lt. Surge that we're gonna start being more confident."

Behind him, Daisy felt very proud of Ash. She had realized that Brock was right. It was good for her to defend Ash, but she had to let him defend himself more. Even if she wanted to see Lt. Surge pay for what he did, she had a feeling that Ash knew what he was doing.

Lance still had a surprised expression before he gave Ash an approving nod and turned to Lt. Surge. "This was going be the last straw for you," he told the gym leader. "But since this trainer stood up for you, we'll give you one more chance. But for now, you are to be suspended from Pokémon gym activities for one month. Just because you apologized now doesn't mean you're not completely off the hook. We'll have to find a good replacement until you fix your attitude."

Stunned, Lt. Surge numbly nodded, saying, "Yeah...sure. Okay, Lance."

"Good. See to it that this behavior gets sorted out," Lance replied.

And with a sweep of his cape, the Dragon-type trainer marched out of the gym. When he was gone, Lt. Surge turned back to Ash, his face still looking stunned after what happened.

"Kid...you saved my keister back there," he rasped in awe. "And after all I said to you...you could've just laughed at my misery. Why didn't you?"

"I know...but it wouldn't feel right seeing you being arrested," Ash admitted, and he knew he had chosen the right words. Out of all the times he had wanted to get back at Lt. Surge for humiliating him, seeing him in trouble did not seem right. It would have felt satisfying, but he couldn't find it in himself to let that satisfaction out.

Lt. Surge finally opened his eyes and told Ash with a smile, "Kid, it takes a big man to admit this...I owe you an apology. Lance was right; as gym leader, I should've stuck to the rules and fought against you fairly. And now I know that you've had guts of steel to be facing up against me. Here," he went on, pulling something out of his jacket and tossing it to Ash. "You won it fair and square. And here's my favorite TM: Thunderbolt."

Ash caught the item and looked down at it. It was the Thunder Badge, one of the hardest of the badges so far. Lt. Surge handed him a disc containing the move that Pikachu already learned: Thunderbolt. We did it, Ash thought with pride as he and Pikachu looked down at the Thunder Badge. Three down, and eight more to go!

"Celadon Gym is up," Lt. Surge said. "Some upstart kid from a few days ago went to Saffron before I could tell him to go to Celadon. I bet and hope that Sabrina's gonna whip his butt good." Then he grinned and said, "Now get outta here and kick his butt."

Ash could see a new respect shine in Lt. Surge's eyes, and Raichu had even come out of its ball to congratulate Pikachu. With a small smile, he let Pikachu rest on his shoulder as he and his friends made their way out of the gym.

"You really called Lance about Lt. Surge?" Ash asked once they left the gym. He had felt grateful for what they did, but a part of him also felt a little guilty about nearly letting someone fight his battle for him.

Misty nodded. "We sure did," she said. "Brock and I didn't like the way he treated you and those other trainers at the Center."

"So we gave the Indigo League official a call," Brock continued for Misty. "Lance was the first one available, and he's always valued a fair competition. When we told him what was going on, he had decided to come over and listen and see what went on."

"And that was pretty cool, the way you stood up for yourself," Misty added. "Keep that up, and you'll be winning badges easily in no time."

Ash felt a little smile come over his face. All in all, he was grateful for what they had done for him, and he wanted to pay them back sometime in the future.

"So are you ready to rest up?" Daisy asked as she joined them. "Misty and I talked about wanting to go to the S.S. Anne, the ship in the harbor."

"I almost forgot!" Misty exclaimed. "I've wanted to show you everything on the S.S. Anne!"

That was when Brock stepped in, saying, "We'll go there tomorrow; it's been a long day. Why don't we all go to the center for the night and rest?"

Great idea, Ash thought with a weary smile as he watched his older friends walk ahead of him. He stopped to share a look with Pikachu, who gave him a tired smile, as if sharing a silent yet happy victory. It was as if stars had aligned themselves for this victory, a sign that even if there were tougher battles, they could still do it.

We're gonna see a lot more stars down the road, Ash promised Pikachu. And we'll face them together.

To be continued...

...

There we go, folks, I hope you like this chapter. This is, without a doubt, the longest chapter in this story so far. If there are any mistakes that need fixing, please let me know immediately so I can go fix them. Constructive criticism is always welcome as long as you're polite about it.

There are two reasons why I haven't been uploading recently, and again, stuff happens. The first is that we're still trying to get a job, and the second is that one of my dogs died last month. And a third is that I'm still trying to figure out book ideas. They can be anything as long as I write them in an animal's POV. I'm not too good with a human POV.

See ya next time!