Now, with that out of the way, the normal disclaimer: I own only the OC. I don't own the series that started this project, nor do I own the characters of said series. Nevertheless, let's begin.
"Here you go. All fixed up," Nurse Joy said as she passed a tray that held Phillip's Pokéballs back to him. Phillip gave his thanks to the nurse before sitting himself down at a table and placed his team back in the order he wanted.
It hadn't been long after his fight with Sabrina that he got to Celadon City. He had battled some trainers along the way, collecting the data of a few new Pokémon that he fought along the way. These included a bird Pokemon that wields a leek called Farfetch'd, a pink rabbit named Wigglytuff, a three-headed mole, Dugtrio, and a white seal called... Seel.
With these battles, his Pokémon has established their strength, and are expecting the battle that comes with this new city. Celadon is one of the cities that owns a gym, and from what Phillip has heard, it's the Grass Gym. This is what's causing Phillip to assess the position he's in. "Charmeleon should be first, then Pidgeotto," Phillip thought as he shifted through his team.
"I was led to believe that this world didn't follow the rules of the games," Gabriel replied.
"No, it just isn't as determinate here in comparison. It's still an advantage when needed," Phillip said.
With his concentration lost from the conversation, Phillip scanned the room around him to find familiarity in the environment, just to fail. He groaned before running his hands through his hair in aggravation. He then piled up his Pokéballs, placed them into the slots along his new black belt, before he left the Pokémon Center.
The city that surrounded him looked like every other city that he had seen, with tall skyscrapers and a massive market populace that crowded buildings to discover the next item displayed. Nonetheless, the aura that permeated from it felt more attuned to nature. Whether this was caused by the Pokémon that reside in or near the city, or if the aura attracted said creatures were beyond his comprehension. Something that sold the aura more was the scents, ranging from a variety of different natural aromas. Each fragrance seemed to attract the locals to various locations, locking them into their trances. The same, however, could not be said for Phillip, as he began sneezing as soon as the city air crept into his nose.
"Damn it!" Phillip cried through a barrage of "achoos". "I already hate this place."
Phillip began his walk through the city to locate the gym. However, it didn't take him long to find something else that came to his attention.
Brock, the Pewter City gym leader, was clued to the window of one of the multiple fragrance shops that litter the city. He was staring at something through the glass, though his expression declared it to be perverse. Phillip sighed before stalking over to the man, "What the hell are you doing?"
Brock didn't even break trance to reply, "Have you seen the girls here?"
At this point, Ash had joined the group. He grew a goofy grin and addressed Brock, "Who are you making faces at, Brock?"
Brock peeled his face off the window to look at Ash, "My nose tells me this is my kind of town."
"Huh?" was Phillip's and Ash's reply before following Brock's line of sight.
Inside the store were three girls, leaning against a countertop as they gossiped. All three girls were wearing the same pink dress and yellow short jack. The dress was extremely short, just barely covering each girls' modesty. Phillip moved his eyes back over to Brock, clearly unimpressed. "Of course that's the reason."
Brock kept his face glued to the glass as he muttered, "Maybe we should stay here awhile."
"Well, if you want to waste your time," Ash replied, before looking over his shoulder. "Misty, Pikachu, let's get moving." When he heard no answer, Ash spun around completely. He quickly noted that the two were not there. Brock, still adamant on looking into the store, poked Ash in the shoulder. This grabbed the young trainer's attention, with Brock gesturing into the shop.
Now inside, Misty was seated on a low seat as the three girls sprayed perfume onto her wrist. Misty sniffed it with a content expression on her face.
With a goal in mind, Ash rushed the entrance himself and entered the shop.
Phillip, sensing coming conflict, planted his palm firmly onto his forehead.
"God damn it."
Pulling Brock from the window, Phillip walked the both of them into the store to find that a new girl joined the mix. This girl was covered in a blue Japanese jacket with a floral design. Inside the jack was an orange kimono dress with pink inside which was wrapped at the mid-section by a green obi. Her footwear was the signature tabi and geta, and her black hair was adorned with two golden, floral ornaments. This woman, the manager Phillip believed, towered over as she accused Ash of accusing her of over-charging for faulty merchandise. Ash stated he despised all perfume for turning guys into zombies, thrusting Brock to be in front of the woman to prove his point.
Phillip sat back to watch the entire thing unfold, but was approached by one of the girls that surrounded Misty earlier.
She smiled at him and said, "Hello! Sorry for the rowdy crowd. How can I help?"
Phillip smiled slightly before he scrunched up his nose at the smells. "I'm good. I just don't enjoy these smells."
The girl scowled and was about to tell him off when, as if to prove Phillip's point, he started sneezing again. Phillip aimed all three into his sleeve before looking back up at the girl, who was slightly more bashful. By the time Phillip pulled himself to a straight stance, Ash was already kicked to the street.
"Now," the girl in Japanese clothing said, looking at Brock and Misty, "seeing as you two are far more reasonable than that fool, would you like to see where these amazing perfumes were made?" Brock was too enthralled by the girl to do anything but nod. Misty was far more enthusiastic about her reaction as a loud "Of course!" escaped her lips.
Seeing no more reason to stay, Phillip started walking and called, "See you two, later."
"Oh, you were here."
"Up yours, Misty."
"Last I checked," Phillip started as he began approaching the gym's entrance, "riots were cased as illegal in front of gyms."
Ash turned to him. "Phillip, you have to help! They won't let me through!"
In the entrance of the gym - not in front, not behind, literally in - were a bunch of girls wearing tan camper-like clothing. They were barring the way from Ash and, thus, Phillip.
One of them, a bluenette, scoffed, "Like I said, kid, not if you were the last trainer on Earth." She turned to Phillip. "Are you friends with this stinker?"
"Yeah, along with two other people in that gym as of right now," Phillip replied, raising an eye at the outlandish rule placed down by this one gym. "Oh, we know them," the girl said with a smile, "but they're being so much better than this fool." With that, she smashed a large stamp into Ash's face, marking him with a large X, before slamming the door on the two.
"Brilliant," Phillip murmured before pulling Ash to his feet. As soon as Ash was back up, he began banging on the door. His only response was a raspberry from the same girl from before.
Phillip began scanning the building and started to move to the left side, leaving Ash to pound at the door. Noting the ladder that reached to an open window, Phillip moved past it before he found the place he wanted, a brick wall Phillip tapped his knuckle against the wall three times before something slightly more drastic. Connecting his hands, Phillip slammed his right elbow into the wall. The force caused not only a small crater but also shook the entire gym. The screams could be heard but Phillip wasn't done just yet. Rushing to the back of the gym, he spun to hit the gym again with his left elbow. One more shake and Phillip jettisoned to the right of the gym, hitting the gym once more. Once this was finished, Phillip left the scene by jumping into the nearby trees long before anyone dared to come looking for the perpetrator.
"Did you think that was a good idea, Phillip? " Gabriel asked, clearly unhappy about the actions taken.
"They wanted to enforce an extremely dumb rule. They needed some kind of punishment." Phillip retorted.
"Revenge isn't a good path to follow. You know this!"
"Neither is stupidity."
Gabriel never got his response out as Phillip noticed a group of girls carried three beings to a tree nearby. Phillip quickly hid deeply into the leaves of his tree as he watched the group managed to tie the three to one of the branches. They left the three handing from the branch like a cocoon.
Once the coast was clear, Phillip lept from his hiding spot to be in front of the trio, who he identified as Team Rocket.
Phillip smirked up at them. "Normally, I'd try to capture that Meowth," said Meowth flinched at this, "but an easy target in never any fun."
"Just get us down!" Jessie growled, swinging frantically.
"Give me a reason." Jessie grinned smugly, "They didn't let you in, did they?"
Phillip returned the grin. "They didn't, but they're going to change their mind quickly." With that, Phillip moved on from the three, allowing Ash to aid them instead.
Phillip had watched as Team Rocket and the newcomer called "Ashley" had entered the gym. He managed to get a few pictures to blackmail Ash at any point, so it was time for him to play his part.
Phillip walked up to the entrance and immediately walked through, catching the attention of the women. Especially the bluenette from before. "Oh no, " the girl said, pulling out her stamp. "I told you before: no perfume-haters!" She thrust her stamp forward, only for it to disappear for it got close to his head.
Phillip was now holding the stamp. "Were you going to use this on me?" He said innocently.
The girl back-stepped slightly before regaining some courage. "Just what do you want?"
Phillip dropped the stamp, glare at people. "I want a battle the gym leader, and if anyone wants to get in my way, they can try to stop me."
The girls grew cocky as all three of them pulled one of the Pokéballs. Phillip did the same with closed eyes and a light smile.
"-so I wore this stupid disguise," Ash said, pointing towards a young woman. This was the part of the conversation that Phillip walked in. "I had to sneak in here so I could battle you for a badge. " Ash pulled his hand back into a fist. "And now, I want to challenge you."
Phillip casually walked into the room, which was filled with a variety of different plants and herbs, before speaking up. "My goals are the same."
The group turned their attention to him with Misty responding with, "Oh, you're here too."
Phillip sighed, "Nice to see you too, Misty."
The girl that Ash was talking to, a bluenette with a green short with an off-white design and red flats, looked at Phillip, none too happy. "I will battle this one, " she pointed towards Ash, "to teach him the power of perfume. For what good reason should I battle you."
Phillip's answer was to pull out a small handbook and tossed it at the girl. She followed the instructions he gave and read the page out loud.
"' Barring a trainer from obtaining a badge from any gym, regardless of whether the gym is listed as private property or not, is ill- '" the girl stopped, now sweating profusely.
Phillip smirked, "Yeah, that seems like you weren't thinking when you banned Ash and I, were you?" The girl searched the book, before stopping at another page, "Wait! There are some restrictions on that!" She cleared her throat to continue, but Phillip cut her off, "' Should the Trainer-to-Pokémon relationship be considered abusive, a trainer that is a well-known criminal, or should the trainer cause damage to any property belonging to the gym or the trainers inside the gym.'" He then stepped in front of the girl to flip to the next page, "' However, should any damage or defamation be done in response to the barring, any lawsuit against such damage is null and void.'"
The girl closed the book and sighed heavily, "Fine, I'll battle you."
The gym was ordinary. Just a simple dirt floor with the arena marked down, stands for the watchers, and wide enough space for the trainers to move. The only thing that could make the gym unique was the bushes and trees at either end.
"I'll go first, " Phillip said, causing Ash to pout and murmur to himself about his desire to be first. Phillip grabbed the first ball and tossed it into the air with a, "Go, Charmeleon!" Charmeleon popped into existence with a battle cry and stretching its arms out to act slightly more intimidating. "This will be easy" the girl, now known as Erika, said before sending out her Pokémon.
The Pokémon was an odd one. Its body was a conglomeration of blue vines, with white eyes being seen within a small space where the vines parted, however, only darkness was around it. The only truly visible part of the creature was its pink feet that looked more like shoes. It was a Tangela.
Phillip scanned it with the Pokédex quickly before getting back into the fight, " Charmeleon, set-up. You know what to do."
Charmeleon nodded before opening his mouth to release a Smokescreen into the arena, covering it. With both trainers unable to see what was happening, they waited for something to happen for just a second. Suddenly, Charmeleon leaped out of the smoke and, using his claws, stuck itself to the ceiling.
Erika, getting an idea to form, called, "Tangela, use your Vine Whip to reach for the ceiling."
After a moment, two vines reached out of the smoke. Phillip saw his moment about to pass him by and called for Charmeleon to attack with an Ember into the smoke. The vines managed to latch onto something just before the smoke combusted into a large explosion, shaking the gym and forcing everyone to cover their face from the winds.
Charmeleon jumped down to the ground and admired his handiwork. As the dust began to clear, Phillip could see the silhouette of a figure in the smoke. Once the dust had cleared, it was proven to be Tangela which was still holding up despite being on its last leg.
Phillip smiled, "Seems you have some capable Pokémon."
"It's not going to be that easy! Tangela, use -", Erika said with a smirk to disguise her relief. However, just as she was about to call a move to use, Tangela took one shaky step forward before fainting.
Phillip shrugged, "Guess that counts as one." Charmeleon let out an indignant cry, wishing to battle something that it didn't beat in one shot.
Erika growled before picking her next Pokémon, "I'm going to teach a lesson in empathy! Go, Gloom!" Gloom was a large, blue Pokémon with thin arms and short legs with feet extending just a few inches in front of it. On top of its head was a large flower with reddish-brown spherical petals that had white dots on them, surrounded by three reddish-brown leaves.
Phillip looked down at his Pokémon, "You got this, Charmeleon?" With a nod and a growl, the battle began anew.
Gloom, without the input of its trainer, began releasing its spore to subdue Charmeleon. It almost would have achieved that had Phillip not called Charmeleon to get closer to him. With Charmeleon close and out of range of the spores, Phillip told it to fire Ember at the spores. They ignited and created a massive flame that surrounded Gloom, which caused it to start running with its flower on fire.
Erika called it over to her to apply a Burn Heal before placing it back into its ball. A toss of another ball and a Weepinbell had entered the stage.
" Weepingbell, use Razor Leaf!"
"Charmeleon, counter with Ember and then close in for Slash!"
It worked like clockwork. The leaves couldn't stand the flames and the one Slash was enough to K.O. Charmeleon was getting fed up with the quick battles and start chanting for his next opponent.
Phillip looked over to Erika, " Let's get this over with."
A different voice, however, rang out instead, " Yes, let's."
Everyone looked up to a hanging light, one large enough to hold people on its edges. Two humans and one Pokémon were on the ledge as of right now.
"It's Team Rocket!" Misty exclaimed.
Jessie jumped from the light star-spread. " To protect the world from devastation!"
James followed shortly after.
" To unite all people within our nation!"
Upon landing, Jessie and James interlocked their left and right arms respectfully " To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
" To extend our reach to the stars above!"
Meowth landed on their arms, saying, "Last but not least, to blast this dump sky-high," as he pressed down onto a detonator lever. This caused a flash of light and an explosion right at the feet of Team Rocket. This sent them flying out of the roof of the building. Jessie mentioned that they obtained the secret formula to the perfume before the team had flown too far out of reach and out of sight.
The explosion, unfortunately, didn't just send Team Rocket packing. The whole gym arena was covered in a blazing inferno and was sure to reach the rest of the place in due time. The gym trainers sprang up immediately and began collecting the Pokémon inside before everyone fled outside. It wasn't long before the fire covered the entire gym. Most of the gym trainers began to collect buckets and hoses to wash out the flames, while one contacted the fire department. Misty, Ash, and Phillip called out their respective Water-types to quell the flame. Brock used Geodude to spread dirt into the flames. Even Ash's Pikachu was helping, using a small watering can against the flames. Erika, however, seemed far pleased as she rushed over to Ash and Misty, stating that she couldn't find her Gloom. She believed it to be still inside the burning building but was stopped by Misty before she could rush in. Instead, Ash rushed in to find the Gloom. It wasn't long before Ash came out Gloom for Erika. Not long after, the fire department arrived and the flames died down to its last embers.
The next day, Phillip and Ash were presented with the Rainbow Badge. Phillip got his badge for his battle prowess, while Ash's was for his courage. Ash wanted to know about Team Rocket, who stated they stole the secret formula before being blasted off. Erika just giggled and said that they only managed to steal a little ingredient known as the Essense of Gloom. If the screams were anything to do by, Phillip swore that Team Rocket just found out the same idea. With that, Ash left with Misty and Brock all the while admiring the new badge. Phillip turned back to Erika, giving the gym leader a generous of Poké-dollars. Afterward, Phillip looked over the other bluenette of the group.
" On your comment about me disliking perfume, you never even asked me if I did."
" Okay then, do you like perfume?" she asked.
" I don't like strong scents and Gloom is a strong scent." With that out of the way, Phillip followed Ash, trailing only slightly behind.