Beep—beep— "Ash, is that you? What Pokémon do you want to swap out? I'm going to need a few more days to study Cascoon." Professor Oak knew that Ash was going to challenge the Gym tomorrow.
"Professor, please send over Primeape, Pidgeot, and Bayleef! I'll be sending over Tyranitar, Taillow, and Phanpy in exchange," Ash said. The Hoenn Pokémon were on the right track now, so Ash decided to shake things up a bit, with the exceptions of the ever-present Pikachu, the about-to-evolve Eevee, and Treecko, who would be participating in the Gym battle.
That's right, the favor Ash asked of Professor Oak was to get Primeape back from Anthony. After all, Primeape was originally Ash's Pokémon, and he had only lent it to Anthony.
"Oh?! Tyranitar! No problem!" Professor Oak's eyes lit up. "Oh, by the way, the Pokémon in your backyard have made great progress! Totodile has evolved into Croconaw! And with Pidgeot's help, Noctowl has broken through to the Gym-Level!"
"Really?! That's great!"
This time, Ash didn't plan to use Primeape in the Gym battle; he wanted to spend some time getting reacquainted with it, since he had lent it to Anthony so soon after catching it.
Ash found an open space. "Come on out, Primeape! Pidgeot! Bayleef!"
"Har-cha" "Pi" "Bayleef~"
Bayleef immediately pounced on Ash.
"Haha, long time no see, Bayleef!" Ash greeted it, then turned to Primeape. "Long time no see, Primeape! Welcome back!"
"Har-cha~" Primeape nodded happily.
[Primeape]
[Type: Fighting]
[Ability: Defiant (Its Attack sharply rises when its stats are lowered by an opponent.)]
[Strength: Mid Gym-Level]
[Moves: Bulk Up, Close Combat, Taunt, Counter, Seismic Toss, Mega Kick, Mega Punch]
[Tera Type: Ghost]
[Bayleef]
[Strength: Elite-Level Peak]
The next day
Ash's group arrived at the Rustboro Gym! The Rustboro Gym looked as if it were carved out of stone.
As expected of a Rock-Type Gym, it's not much different from the Pewter Gym; they're both carved out of stone, Ash thought to himself. At the same time, he was very excited. This was his very first Gym battle since arriving in this world!
Ash and the others walked into the Gym and came to the battlefield, where several staff members were cleaning up the area.
"This is amazing," o(≧▽≦)o May said, looking at the field.
"Is this where the battles are held?" Max asked excitedly.
"It really feels like a battlefield made just for Rock-Type Pokémon!" Brock, who was also a Rock-Type Gym Leader, commented.
"Good morning, you must be Ash from Pallet Town! Gym Leader Roxanne has already told me you'd be coming. Please follow me," a staff member said, walking up to them.
"Okay!"
"Teacher! The Gym challenger has arrived!" The staff member shouted.
"Ash, the Rustboro Gym is honored to be the starting point for your journey in the Hoenn League," Roxanne said with a smile, walking out.
"The honor is mine, Ms. Roxanne!"
"Alright, Ash, shall we begin?" Roxanne asked.
"No problem! I'm ready to go!"
"Teacher, everything is ready," the staff member said.
"Are you a teacher at the Gym, too?" Brock asked curiously.
"They're all students from the Pokémon Trainer's School. They're here to be my assistants and gain some real-world battle experience as Pokémon Trainers," Roxanne explained to Brock, then turned to Ash. "Ash, do you mind if we film the battle? I want to use it for teaching, because an actual Gym battle is the best teaching material for Trainers."
"I don't mind at all."
Then, Ash and Roxanne stood at their respective positions, and Brock and the others went to the spectator stands to watch.
"I wonder how Ash will battle. This is my first time actually seeing a Gym battle!" (?) Max said excitedly.
"Max, didn't you ever watch your dad's battles at the Petalburg Gym?" Brock asked, confused.
"Dad said it would distract the challengers, so he never let us watch," Max explained helplessly.
"From this moment, the Gym battle between Gym Leader Roxanne and challenger Ash from Pallet Town will begin! The rules are a two-on-two knockout battle, and only the challenger can switch their Pokémon," the referee announced the Gym rules.
"Alright, I'll start! Come on out, Geodude!"
[Geodude]
[Ability: Sturdy (It survives a one-hit knockout move with at least 1 HP.)]
[Strength: Late Elite-Level]
"You're up, Treecko!" "Chama!"
"Battle begins!" The referee's order officially started the battle.
"Geodude, Mega Punch!"
Geodude rushed at Treecko and threw a punch!
"Treecko, dodge it with Quick Attack, then use Bullet Seed!"
Treecko easily dodged Geodude, gathered some leaves, and fired them at Geodude.
"Geodude, use Harden and then Rock Throw!" Roxanne clearly wanted to take the hit and counterattack!
"Chama!" Treecko cried out as it was hit by Rock Throw.
"Good, Geodude! Now use Rollout!"
Geodude rolled toward Treecko.
"Treecko, jump up and use Absorb!"
Treecko jumped up and absorbed some of Geodude's energy!
"Final blow! Quick Attack and Pound!" "Chama!" Geodude immediately fainted!
"Geodude is unable to battle! Treecko wins!"
"Return, Geodude, you did great! You worked hard." Roxanne recalled Geodude!
"Nice job, Treecko!" "Chama!" Treecko smiled and nodded.
"Alright, let's keep going, Treecko!" "Chama!"
"Come on out, Nosepass!" Roxanne sent out Nosepass!
[Nosepass]
[Ability: Sturdy (It survives a one-hit knockout move with at least 1 HP.)]
[Strength: Mid Gym-Level]
"Battle begins!"
"Nosepass, use Rock Tomb!"
"Dodge it with Quick Attack!"
Nosepass hit the ground hard, and many rocks started to appear around Treecko, trapping it. Treecko dodged the attacks with Quick Attack.
"Excellent! Treecko, counterattack with Bullet Seed!"
Treecko gathered some leaves and fired them at Nosepass.
"Nosepass, take it and use Stone Edge!"
"Chama!" Treecko cried out in pain.
Nosepass endured the attack, gathered some rocks, and launched them at Treecko. The level gap was too big, and Treecko was unable to battle.
"Treecko is unable to battle! Nosepass wins!"
"Return, Treecko, you did amazing! Now, I'm counting on you, Pidgeot!" Ash recalled Treecko and sent out Pidgeot!
"Nosepass, use Zap Cannon!"
Nosepass's body emitted an electrical current that gathered at its red nose, firing a pale yellow beam of energy.
"Pidgeot, Double Team! Quick Attack and Steel Wing!"
"Pi~"
Pidgeot created countless clones and rushed toward Nosepass at top speed, immediately activating its Sturdy ability!
"Nosepass, quick, use Rest!" Roxanne shouted!
Nosepass fell asleep.
"Do you think I'll give you a chance to recover? Pidgeot, use your full power Hyper Beam!"
Pidgeot gathered a white beam of energy and successfully hit the sleeping Nosepass.
Boom!!
"Nosepass!" Roxanne looked at her fainted Pokémon.
"Nosepass is unable to battle! Pidgeot wins! The winner is Ash from Pallet Town!"
"That's awesome! We won, Pidgeot! You worked hard!" ?(′?`)? "Pi~"
"Yay! Ash won!" Max shouted, jumping up and down.
"Return, Nosepass. You worked hard! Get some good rest!" Roxanne recalled Nosepass.
The group went outside the Gym.
"Ash, you are truly amazing! Here is the Stone Badge. Congratulations! I'm sure you'll do very well in the Hoenn League," Roxanne said, handing the Badge to Ash.
"Thank you," Ash said, taking the Badge and holding it up high. "Alright! I got the Stone Badge!"
"Pi" "Pika"
[Ding~ You have completed the achievement of obtaining the Stone Badge. Reward: 1000 points.]
Afterward, Max, just like May with the Ribbon, asked to see the Stone Badge! The group laughed and joked as they went to the Pokémon Center to discuss their next destination.
To be continued...