Author's Note: Poll's up for the pokemon-types I am having a tough time making choices over. Note that Ash won't only have one of every type for some types, but some of the rarer types he has never had pokemon of like these it is more likely for.

Short chapter, just the fight.

Chapter 4: Rival Rodeo

Ash sat on a stump a few hours west of Viridian as he headed back into the city. He had been training Sillus and Tantor on aggressive wild pokemon as they traveled, and while there'd been no major progress he had gotten to know both the mankey and the phanphy better.

The mankey was a territorial trickster, he liked to play pranks, often violent ones, on anything that invaded what he considered his space. Which now that he was part of a team included a roaming twenty or thirty yard radius around them as they traveled. He particularly enjoyed grabbing Ash's hat or mocking him behind his back while he talked. But Sillus listened to instructions both in and out of battle fairly well, though it took Diode mildly shocking him a few times for the out of battle part to really take hold.

Tantor on the other hand was certainly a young phanphy, he only had one move that he wouldn't have known right out of the egg, Flail, and was generally a playful and curious pokemon.

So as the scrub of the middle of Route 22 turned slowly back into the green and growing trees near Viridian City Ash contemplated what he was going to do with his team moving forward.

He had gotten very lucky in that both new captures were going to be good fighters against Brock. Diode wouldn't be able to do anything against the rock pokemon Brock used until he both evolved and mastered Iron Tail.

That said, Tantor didn't know any ground type moves to really allow him to pack a punch against rock types yet. His mankey would quickly learn Karate Chop which would allow him to crack open the defenses of Brock's pokemon. But the phanphy on the other hand didn't normally get any ground moves until much later, usually after evolution, unless specifically taught.

And it was as Ash flicked through his pokedex searching up methods and techniques for teaching phanphy moves like Mud Slap or Bulldoze that he ran in to his first trainer out on the route.

Ash's luck holding, they knew each other.

"Well hey, if it isn't my good friend Ashy-boy!" The cocky voice of Gary Oak called out, "I see someone else decided to branch out a little before crossing through the forest, good choice! Caught anything good yet? I sure have."

Ash grinned and turned to look at his oldest, and most antagonistic (even if it was in a friendly way) companion.

"Well I've caught enough that I wouldn't mind wagering a little three on three if you have, Gary?"

The other teenager puffed his chest out and took a pokeball off of his belt, "But of course! I'm just surprised that YOU had caught two extra pokemon. You're so picky about your lovey-dovey bonds and stuff that I thought you might raise your entire party from eggs instead of just your starter!"

Ash rolled his eyes at the taunting and pulled out his mankey's pokeball, may as well start mid-tier and flex from there.

"Let's just get this going, on three?"

Gary nodded and on three they both released their pokemon.

Ash having sent out his mankey, Sillus, and Gary having sent out a male nidoran.

"Focus Energy!" "Leer!" The trainers immediately called out their opening moves.

And as the mankey took its powerful stance and the nidoran's eyes glowed, Ash's smile grew very wide.

If one was looking very closely they could see that even as the Leer took effect, Sillus's eyes squinted in anger and he channeled his rage into his body.

The first strike was going to also be the last one with his boost from Defiant.

"Scratch! Show him who is boss!"

Gary also called out his Peck attack for Nidoran, but the pig monkey rushed in faster and stronger than expected, and the slash of his paw sent the poison point pokemon flying, almost ending the fight in one critical hit.

"What?" Gary yelled in confusion, "Try to poison it with Poison Sting!"

Sillus, arrogant with his Defiant boost and Focus Energy, had started prematurely celebrating victory and took the poisoned spray of needles straight into his back.

"You can't lose focus! Finish it Sillus!"

With even more anger the mankey turned around and let loose a barrage of Scratch attacks, almost a Fury Swipes, at the nidoran, sending it unconscious.

But the damage had also been done to him, those needles had surely poisoned him, as Ash could see the strength sapping out of his pokemon's muscles.

So both trainers returned their pokemon.

"Defiant, huh?" Gary questioned, "That's a rare ability for a mankey, I wasn't expecting it. Won't make that mistake in the future."

Once more the fledgeling trainers sent out their pokemon, this time a phanphy and a pidgey made their appearance.

Well, Ash thought, at least I know what a pidgey can do.

"Defense Curl!" Ash called out as his opponent commanded a Sand Attack.

Luckily by curling up Tantor avoided getting a face full of his opponents attack.

Gary seemed to favor stat decreasing attacks as openers to create openings, Ash decided.

Two could play that game.

"Growl, then use Oder Sleuth to guide your Tackle attacks through the sand!"

Throughout the morning and early afternoon of battles Ash had learned that Tantor didn't have the greatest instincts for battle, but that he could seemingly remember and execute more complex instructions than any of his other pokemon, with the unflinching determination of a child or younger sibling looking to make someone they looked up to proud.

Memory as long as a donphan's, rang true he guessed.

And the plan was working, the phanphy was pushing through blasts of sand and tanking small gusts of wind as the pidgey frantically tried to dodge the little elephant. First one, then two attacks got through, sending the little bird reeling.

"Grr..." Gary growled, "I know we haven't practiced it too much, but we have to use it! Uproar!"

An egg move? Ash thought in shock, not many wild pokemon are cross-breeds with true egg moves the way Diode or apparently this pidgey had. At best they had inherited some minor affinity for more quickly learning moves they normally could access like his mankey.

But the proof was there as a raucous cry echoed out from the pidgey's small yet apparently powerful lungs.

It sent little Tantor spiraling backwards and into a nearby tree, forcing Ash to recall him.

"Well it's all tied up, Gary," He started to motion Diode forward but Gary held up his hand.

"Nah, I've got to concede, I've seen what Diode can do with Thundershock already and both my pokemon left are not cut out for tanking electricity. I grabbed a squirtle remember?"

Ash nodded, seeing the wisdom there, "Well I'm guessing before too long you'll have a nidoking to take care of that weakness, huh?"

Gary nodded, "I specifically caught him with that in mind. It might take a while to find or buy a moon stone, but I plan to no longer have to worry about your little second generation monster by the time the Indigo Conference rolls around!"

Their conversation continued on that vein as the two friendly rivals walked back to Viridian City, both planning to heal up and then take on Viridian Forest the next day.