The next few days went by. The team continued honing their moves at the training grounds, the day of their upcoming Gym battle drawing closer and closer.

Nebula had experienced miniscule improvements with her Reckless ability. She was now able to, occasionally, call on the ability at will. However, it was still far from perfect, as most of her attempts had ended in failure. Ash had tried searching up ways for her to more easily activate the ability, but based on what he had read, they already had the method itself down: it was simply pulling it off that Nebula was having so much trouble with.

Ash wasn't so sure if they would be able to get the hang of it before the week was over, but thankfully, everything else was going smoothly for Nebula.

She had pretty much mastered the limited version of Double Team that they had been working on. She was able to create a single copy of herself, while also having it move along with her, giving the illusion that there were two Starly flying through the sky together when there was really only one. She could have the copy fly off in a different direction from her, perfect to keep an opponent guessing on which way to attack in order to hit the real one.

Ash was hesitant to try and work on mastering Double Team as a whole, because he doubted that they had enough time for that. But for now, the move would hopefully be useful. In beginner level battles, even a limited version of Double Team would be quite the boon, and although Ash was certain that this Gym battle would go far beyond that of any beginner level battle, he was still confident that the move would benefit Nebula greatly. Any new additions to versatility was always a good thing.

The young bird had essentially mastered Steel Wing. Her wings were almost pure metallic as she sliced open the rocks that she tested the move out on. It would easily be her best offensive move against the rock type Pokemon, and Ash had been sure to prioritize it during practice.

Nebula's mobility in the air was on a whole different level now than before. She was able to fly freely, smoothly, changing directions without difficulty, and was able to maintain Quick Attack for long periods of time. She was even able to keep her speed up when using Double Team, while also ensuring that the clone moved just as fast as she did.

One strategy that Ash had thought of would be to have the clone move even faster. If the real Nebula slowed down a little bit, the clone could act as bait to hopefully leave the wide open for a Steel Wing if they fell for it. It might be an obvious plan that the Gym Leader would easily spot, but Ash assumed that it was worth thinking about, especially if they could somehow find a way to hide Nebula or Pikachu so that they wouldn't be noticed using the move, therefore leaving the gym Leader completely unaware that the clone was actually a clone.

Nebula had completed most of her training already, so Ash was having her invest most of her time into mastering the modified Whirlwind. Although she was getting better at condensing the wind, it still wasn't the concentrated blast of wind that that Dustox's Gust attack had been like. Although Ash had chosen to take advantage of the young bird's fast progress by having her get a head start on Aerial Ace, he was definitely prioritizing the modified Whirlwind for now.

The Aerial Ace move in particular was coming along pretty difficult. The first time Nebula had attempted it, she had crashed and was immediately rushed straight to the Pokemon Center. Pikachu and Valiant had dropped everything to race up and check on her after her attempt on the move, and had gone with Ash to the Pokemon Center to check her in. The second and third times weren't as bad, as Nebula's injuries were minor, and she had maintained the move for a lot longer than the first attempt, where she could only maintain it for a short amount of time, but she still very clearly needed to work on it. Even with the perfected maneuverability in flight, using the move was still proving to be quite difficult for her, and although she was already making progress, Ash assumed that the move wouldn't be mastered until, at some point after the Gym Battle.

Valiant's training was progressing nicely too. At this point, it was just a matter of maintaining his moves for a longer period of time, or using them consecutively. That could be solved pretty easily with repeated usage and training. Magical Leaf was all but mastered, meaning the young Ralts's offensive game was pretty much ready.

Pikachu had essentially mastered everything, to the point where all that there was left to do was for him to continue improving on what he had already perfectly got down. The young mouse was essentially just going through the motions at this point.

Rocks shattered from his Brick Break, with the young mouse's fists remaining almost perfectly intact, only really experiencing pain from consecutive use.

His Iron Tail was completely mastered, and was entirely metallic at this point. Pikachu could use the move consecutively for what felt like forever, without too much fatigue getting in the way.

His speed had practically doubled, and his dexterity was through the roof. The mouse would spend what felt like hours dashing laps around the rocky terrain, carefully skipping from rock to rock, never slowing down as he maintained Quick Attack throughout the entire time. Keeping the move going didn;t even tire him out all that much unless he used it for an extraordinary long time in a row.

His progress with Double Team was essentially the same as Nebula's as the two of them had been training with the move together, helping each other out and supporting each other throughout every step of the way, just as Ash had hoped. And to pay Nebula back for helping him learn the Move, Pikachu had helped her learn how to get the clone she produced to move around along with her.

Currently, Ash was sitting on a nearby rock with Nebula and Valiant on either side of him. The two teammates were currently snacking on some Pokemon food whale Ash ate a sandwich. As they munched on their food, they were watching Pikachu sprinting across the rocks, climbing boulders and rock piles with ease, and doing so with near perfection.

Ash was quite proud of his starter. Just over half a week ago, traversing this rocky terrain had practically been hell for the young mouse, and Pikachu had received plenty of cuts and bruises to show for it, although they were all immediately healed. Now, however, it was almost as if the young mouse falling over was a thing of the past.

In fact, all three members of his team had made absurd amounts of progress in just a few days alone. As scared as he was about the upcoming Gym Battle, he couldn't have picked a better team of Pokemon to tackle the upcoming trials ahead with.

"Oh, so this is where you've all been hiding!"

Ash, Nebula, and Valiant all turned to the sound of the familiar voice to see Elacia approaching them, her hands folded behind her back with a friendly smile.

Ash was surprised to see her, but didn't object to her presence. Apart from Nurse Joy, who he spoke to on occasion, and his mother, who he had been perfectly sure to call every single night while here at Pewter City, he hadn't really interacted with any humans since having dinner with Janine at the end of Opening Day. The Bug Catchers were one thing, but actual, friendly interactions was another.

He raised a hand shyly. "Hi," he squeaked out. What else was he supposed to say? He really wasn't very good at this. He felt so… lame with how feeble his delivery was with his attempt at greeting.

Taking a seat a few feet from him, the red haired woman eyed the electric mouse as Pikachu continued to traverse the rocky terrain of the training grounds. "He's looking pretty good, isn't he?" she turned to Ash. "So, which one is your starter?"

"He is." said Ash, pointing to his mouse companion as Pikachu sliced the top of a boulder clear off with Iron Tail. "Nebula and Valiant joined us while we were in Viridian Forest." he said, gesturing to his other two teammates. Nebula chirped a friendly greeting to the woman, while Valiant merely spared a simple wave before quickly returning his gaze to Pikachu, still in awe at the mouse's movements.

For some reason, a surprised look appeared on the breeder's face at the mention of the forest. But before Ash could question her, it was gone. Maybe he was just imagining things? It didn't seem right to assume that, but whatever shocked expression he initially thought that she had had completely vanished as quickly as it had come into view. No signs of it remained either.

Crossing her arms, Elacia said cooly. "So, I'm assuming you're trying to get him ready for the battlefield, right?"

"Huh?" said Ash, still contemplating her expression that might not have ever been there in the first place. "... OH! Yeah, right!" he turned his attention back to Pikachu as the mouse continued hopping from stone to stone. His jumps, his landings, and his accuracy were all perfect at this point. "I figured that, since the Gym's battlefield is going to be full of rocks, it would be a good idea to get him used to the uneven terrain. He can't fly like Nebula, or Teleport or use Shadow Sneak like Valiant, so I figured that he had to get his mobility down to perfection, since he doesn't have anything to cushion himself with like they do.

Her hand was on her chin as she processed his words.

"I see…" she smiled at him brightly. "I'm impressed Ash, you've really thought this through."

At that he blinked. "Hm? I just thought it was obvious…" he really did think that.

She laughed haughtily at that. "You're either underestimating yourself or overestimating the creativity of most rookie trainers." she said casually. "Most of them wouldn't think of such a simple yet effective strategy, especially this early on. Most are just concerned with how to counter the specific typing of the Pokemon that they will be facing. Even then, a good handful of rookies just assume that type matchups alone will solve all of their problems." she looked over at him. "You seem to be different, though. You're focusing on what the battlefield itself is going to be like for you. Not many rookies are that quick to take something so important into account. Not to mention, you seem to have picked the perfect type of training regimen to do just that. Honestly, I'd say that you have quite a bit of agency compared to most newcomers that I've met before. You seem to be ahead of the pack."

Ash blinked, a surprised look on his face as he took in her words.

Him? AHEAD?!

"You've always been in last place, Ashy boy! It's where you will always belong!" He visibly flinched as yet another memory of Gary clashed with the out of nowhere compliment.

Elacia frowned at him. "Is something wrong?"

Ash blinked, then started as he saw the breeder's eyes staring at him in concern, Nebula and Valiant doing the same.

"I-It's nothing, honestly." he lied while trying to clear his throat.

She was still frowning, but decided to change the subject. Turning back to Pikachu, she spoke. "Although, there is one detail that I think you might be missing."

"Huh? What's that?"

Turning back to him, she said. "Your Pikachu is doing an excellent job at traversing the terrain, but you need to remember that in battle, he is going to be attacked constantly. How do you train him to get used to traveling across the rocks while avoiding enemy attacks all at the same time?"

Ash rubbed his chin. "I… have one of my Pokemon attack him during training."

"Exactly. It's a small oversight, but it can make all the difference in a battle."

Nodding at her in understanding, Ash called out to Pikachu, who had just reached the top of a boulder by jumping along the increasingly tall rocks. "Hey, Pikachu! Come down here for a second!"

Hearing his trainer calling out to him, the young mouse quickly made his way downward, eying Elacia as he approached his trainer. After exchanging quick waves with Nebula, he gave Ash his undivided attention.

"You're doing great so far, but we're going to add in one more element to your training: Traversing the battlefield while simultaneously avoiding attacks."

Pikachu seemed to be surprised by this, but, despite being caught off guard, he nodded at his new trainer as Ash continued.

Turning over to Valiant, Ash spoke to the young Ralts. "Valiant, are you done eating yet?" At Valiant's nod, Ash gave both of them a thumbs up. "Good, then start firing your Magical Leaf at Pikachu while he runs and climbs around. It should be pretty great practice for your aim, too."

As the two Pokemon made their way back to the training grounds, Elacia released a Pokemon.

Ash immediately recognized it as the Pokemon from her business card that she had given him a few days ago at the museum.

A Slurpuff.

Elacia turned to her Pokemon with a smile.

"Alright Slurpuff, are you down to watch the kiddos train?"

The white, red and pink Pokemon smiled and nodded, waving happily at Nebula, who awkwardly waved back, not sure what to make of it.

The new Pokemon sat beside the Breeder, in quite a chipper mood, even more so than the Breeder herself was.

As Valiant began firing the glowing leaves at the fleeing mouse, as Pikachu began frantically scrambling across to the rocks to avoid them, Ash suddenly turned to Elacia as a realization struck him.

"Wait, how did you know that my Pikachu was male?"

She grinned. "The tail gave it away. Females have heart shaped tails."

Ash blinked. "Huh. I didn't know about that honestly."

You learn something new every day.

/

Training for that day resumed for a few more hours after. Elacia's idea had certainly been beneficial to them. Pikachu had some difficulty at first, but by the end of it, he was dodging most of the leaves that Valiant hurled at him while the group happily cheered both Pokemon on.

The day of the Gym Battle was fast approaching. The nerves in Ash were starting to go crazy.

Elacia had asked if she and Slurpuff could watch them train again tomorrow, and Ash was more than happy to say yes. She would only be available in the afternoon, however, as she had business in the morning.

Once again, Ash had taken note that somebody had come to him for social interaction rather than the other way around. Just like with Janine back at Viridian City.

"Alright, Valiant, use Hypnosis."

Valiant and Pikachu stood face to face in one of the few areas of the training grounds with smooth, even ground. Spectating from a few feet away were Ash, Nebula, Elacia, and Slurpuff.

It had been a little while since the last time Ash had Valiant test Hypnosis out on Pikachu, so he wanted to give it another go.

With only two days left of training before the Gym Battle, Ash had shifted gears by having his Pokemon only work on what they haven't mastered yet. For Nebula, that meant the modified Whirlwind, with the occasional practice with Reckless (which still wasn't coming along all that fast). Pikachu, having gotten a handle on everything that Ash wanted too, had more time to be a sparring partner for Valiant to test out his moves. He still got additional mobility training, since Ash had mixed in practicing Valiant's attacks with Elacia's suggestion of having Pikachu learn how to dodge attacks while simultaneously traversing the terrain. Tomorrow, Ash was planning on hosting a mock battle between the two teammates to see where they stood. It would probably be a quick one, though. He didn't want to risk a full fledged battle the day before the Gym Battle, in the unlikely event that one of them suffers a serious injury that would render them out of commision and unable to recover in time. Its main purpose would be purely to see what they have learned.

Valiant's eyes glowed bright pink as he stared into Pikachu's. The young mouse stood tall in an attempt to fight off the effects of the Move.

Pikachu's eyes grew vacant, but began shaking slightly as the mouse tried to fight off the effects. Valiant put more effort into the attack, while Pikachu put more effort into resisting.

After what felt like forever, pikachu was hunched over, slumbering as nebula caught him in her wings, saving him from falling flat on his face into the rocks. Valiant was out of breath.

Ash frowned. It was an improvement for sure. He actually managed to put Pikachu to sleep this time. But he still tired himself out using the technique.

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Ash looked up to see Elacia standing behind him.

"I don't think that move's going to be ready in time." she said honestly. She wasn't wrong, Ash knew. "Maybe try focusing on the stuff that they have a grasp on. You only have one more day."

Ash nodded in understanding. It made sense for sure. It was… frustrating, that they couldn't get everything done in time, but it could not be helped.

Still though… would Janine have found a way to make it work?

Would Gary have found a way to make it work?

/

It was now the last day of training.

Pikachu and Valiant were both off doing their own thing, and Ash had announced to the team in the morning that he was going to have the mouse and Ralts battle at the end of the day. Both Pokemon seemed pretty excited about that, but also equally determined. That was a good sign. Friendly competition was almost always cited as one of the most important dynamics for a team of Pokemon to have.

While Pikachu and Valiant got in some last minute practice before their battle at the end of the day, Ash had fully committed himself to training Nebula. She was so close to mastering the modified Whirlwind. Just a little bit more…

Nebula was working tirelessly. Just as determined as Ash was, as she had spent the best part of the week trying to get the technique down. Clearly, she wanted to see things through, and see the fruits of her labor. Thankfully, the occasional practice that she had received from carrying Pikachu around on her back had done wonders for her endurance.

Right now, the blast of wind was mostly condensed, but not entirely. It wasn't as focused as it could be.

There was certainly force behind it, though. Each blast of wind that the young Starly fired would kick up a great deal of dust and pebbles. A few particularly powerful ones had even cracked a few boulders.

Even if she ended up not mastering it today, Ash was still quite confident that it was ready for use in battle. Nevertheless, he wanted the technique to be as strong as it could possibly be for tomorrow.

When fighting a Gym Leader, no gambles could be taken. They took their battles seriously. Challengers who wanted the badge would have to do the same.

Although Ash would occasionally go over to check on Pikachu and Valiant, he spent most of the day with Nebula. Sadly, he found himself frustrated that he could offer the young bird little more than mere words of encouragement.

However, over the course of the day, the final improvements needed progressively began to come to fruition.

With just a few hours of daylight left, Ash watched in awe as a fully compressed, concentrated blast of wind completely shattered the rock that Nebula had chosen as her latest target.

"Whoa!" his gasp was one of excitement, more than shock. "Nebula, I think you've got it!"

Landing beside her new Trainer, the young Starly let out a proud chirp.

Grinning ear to ear, Ash knelt down and faced the young bird. "A technique like that's gotta pack a punch, don't you think?" at her nod, he made a suggestion to her. "You know, we really should think of a name for this new move." when she tilted her head in confusion, he elaborated. "A lot of trainers come up with their own names for modified moves such as this. Since it's so common for many Trainers to create advanced techniques through the modifications and combinations of their Pokemon's moves, a lot of professionals come up with their own names to keep track of them. Now that we've got one of our own, maybe we should name it?"

In understanding, the Starly happily nodded.

In hindsight, Ash was grateful for the battle with the Bug Catcher Leader. Not only had it resulted in him and the team earning much needed money, but now they had a new powerful technique that they had gotten out of it. Ash had to admit that the Bug Catcher Leader was quite creative to have come up with her own version of Gust. But she had never called it by a specific name when Dustox had used it. Now that he had mimicked the technique, Ash felt that it deserved a proper name. Something simple enough to remember but still described the new technique perfectly nonetheless.

"How does Wind Blast sound?" it wasn't too complicated, but Ash didn't think that it needed to be. It was a blast of wind. Straight and to the point.

After a few seconds of consideration, Nebula nodded in approval, and Ash responded to her with a smile.

"Alright." said Ash. "We should practice it for a little bit longer just to be sure. And then you'll be done for today. Pretty soon Pikachu and Valiant will be having a battle, I know you don't want to miss that, right?" He gave her a smile.

Nebula smiled back and chirped out the affirmative.

/

The sun was starting to set. Ash and Elacia could see the orange filling the sky, giving a distinct glow over the training grounds.

The final day of training was over, and they were capping it off with a quick battle between Pikachu and Valiant.

Ash had considered including Nebula, too, but she was more tuckered out than her two teammates, having spent nearly half a day flapping her wings non stop as she mastered her new technique. It had taken most of the day to master it and make it official, and she had spent about another hour or so using it consecutively just to make sure of it. Despite the healing items, Ash figured she was more mentally exhausted than physically exhausted. She sat down on a large rock beside Ash, smiling with a satisfied look in her eyes as her two teammates faced off from opposite ends of the makeshift battlefield. Ash was very proud of her. She had earned that satisfaction.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Pikachu and Valiant were both raring to go. It had occurred to Ash that none of his teammates had ever battled each other before. Mock battles were a common practice of training among most professional trainers in both Indigo and elsewhere, and were excellent for both building relationships between teammates and just for training in general. Battle, after all, was the best way to see a Pokemon's improvement. It would put everything that they learned into practice, like a test at school.

But apart from the battle to capture Nebula, Ash had never done this with his team before. The closest being when Valiant had tried to test his Moves out on Pikachu.

This would be the first mock battle of the team. And it wouldn't even be close to being the last.

Sitting on a separate rock, Elacia cupped her hands and called out. "Both of you do your best!" Sitting beside her, Slurpuff let out a cry of agreement.

Getting up from his seat, Ash slowly approached the battlefield, eying the two teammates carefully.

"Alright, this is going to be a very quick fight. Just to see what you've learned. Give it your all, but don't worry about fighting to win. Finding out who is better than who isn't the point of this exercise."

He looked between the two combatants to see their reaction to that. Both of them seemed to understand, but were still clearly determined.

Ash didn't blame them, of course. After all of the training that they did, this was their chance to really show off their newfound skills. Skills that would officially be put to the test tomorrow morning in their first ever Gym battle, and, hopefully, win them their first ever Gym badge.

Ash had chosen to have the mock battle on the training grounds rather than the traditional battlefield of the Pokemon Center. This way, they could test themselves out on a battlefield that was conceptually similar to that of the Gym that they were about to be fighting in. Elacia had expressed agreement in this strategy.

Although Ash found it undeniably convenient that every Pokemon Center offered a convenient battlefield, he felt that this was the best way to go about it for this particular circumstance.

Backing away slightly, but remaining standing, Ash raised a hand at the two combatants. "Alright, then, begin!"

Pikachu wasted no time. The moment that Ash had said the word, his cheeks were already sparking, the electric mouse getting to work as he fired a powerful Thunder Shock at Valiant.

Valiant's eyes glowed a bright gold as a golden cube materialized around him. Boxed in, the young Ralts felt his hair raise up slightly from the impact as the lightning bolt smashed into the golden cube. The shimmering of the Light Screen intensified due to the pressure, but Valiant remained unharmed.

But Pikachu was already acting again. Faster than Ash could keep track of, the young mouse was already closing in with Quick Attack. Much faster than he had ever been against the Bug Catcher Leader's Dustox, Pikachu was upon Valiant in instants, his raised fist already glowing as it channeled the energy of Brick Break.

The Light Screen was shattered in an instant, Valiant gripped his head as the wind pressure pushed against him from the sheer intensity of the blow, but he remained firmly standing in place.

But now Pikachu's tail was raised, in all its metallic glory, as Pikachu thrust downward with a fully powered Iron Tail, ready to hit his mark on the now wide open Ralts.

Ash winced at that. Due to a combination of the young Ralts's natural vulnerability to steel type moves, along with his newest companion currently having very low defensive capabilities without the help from his barriers, Ash was certain that a fully powered Iron Tail from Pikachu would greatly hurt Valiant, maybe even knock him out in a single hit if Pikachu struck him hard enough on the head.

His worrying was all for naught, though, as Valiant suddenly flashed white and disappeared an instant after the flash had started.

The Iron Tail struck the ground where Valiant had just been standing a single instant earlier, causing rocks to fly. Teleport had done its work.

At the same time, Valiant reappeared on a different side of the battlefield, eyes flashing a rainbow color as Psybeam was let loose. The narrow, rainbow colored beam was easily avoided by Pikachu, who broke into a run with Quick Attack and began circling around Valiant at high speeds.

The Ralts responded by firing off Magical Leaf at the speedy mouse a few times, but none of them connected. Despite Valiant's competent aim, Pikachu was more than used to dodging his attacks now, and was moving faster than ever before.

Continuing to run in a circle, the mouse began varying his movements, trying to confuse Valiant to create an opening. Every now and then he would suddenly bolt off in a new direction before springing right back, trying to get Valiant to lower his guard in bewilderment.

This went on for about a couple more minutes or so, with Valiant doing his absolute best to follow the speedy mouse as Pikachu led him astray.

Looking behind him, Ash could see Nebula entranced by the action, doing her best to keep track of Pikachu as well.

As the mouse's movements became more and more sporadic, Valiant closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting out a big, satisfying exhale as he opened his eyes to reevaluate Pikachu, the mouse still running, but now very clearly preparing to strike.

And then, suddenly, a Psybeam hit Pikachu in the side of his ribs.

Ash was stunned.

That wasn't like the Magical Leaf attempts. Valiant had aimed at that very specific spot and fired… before Pikachu had even been there. Although it was nearly impossible to keep track of Pikachu for Ash, due to how fast that the mouse was moving, Ash knew for a fact that he had not spotted the yellow blur at that one, particular spot, until after Valiant had fired.

Had Valiant… actually predicted where Pikachu would be? This seemed less like Telepathy, and more like Valiant had... actually detected a pattern.

Letting out a pained cry, the mouse went flying a few feet away, his body almost landed on a rock, which would have left his body bouncing painfully across the rocky terrain, but to Ash's delight, the young mouse regained his composure just in the nick of time; using a well placed Iron Tail to steady himself and break his landing, just as he had always done whenever he tripped and fell while running on the rocks.

Immediately flipping himself back onto all fours, Pikachu bolted forward with Quick Attack, preparing himself to ram head first into Valiant.

But the young Ralts was already shimmering in bright white light, teleporting himself to the other side of the battlefield. Pikachu skidded to a stop, turning around as he did so, his back lightly tapping against a large rock as he came to a halt.

As he did so, he saw Valiant sinking into the ground. A dark blackish purple substance had appeared underneath Valiant, as the young Ralts sank into it, his body going directly downwards.

This was Shadow Sneak.

Ash noticed that Valiant hadn't used Shadow Sneak until after he was really far away. Likely because he hadn't fully gotten the hang of it yet. He could use Teleport faster.

As Valiant's shadow moved around Pikachu in circles, the young mouse's eyes darting around in a panic as he tried to figure out where his opponent would go, it occurred to Ash that Shadow Sneak and Teleport both had very clear advantages of one another.

Shadow Sneak wasn't instantaneous. Valiant could choose whenever he would pop back up again, theoretically, as long as he could still maintain the Move. Meanwhile, Teleport actually was instantaneous, and could get the user to wherever they wanted to go right away, rather than having to move there in a shadow, as long as they were skilled enough with the technique to teleport themselves as far away as they wanted to be. Both Moves could be used in very similar ways, but still both of them had very different strengths to play off of.

Unlike Valiant, Pikachu was unable to predict his opponent's movements, and was abruptly pelted in the back by a Magical Leaf that he was not ready for immediately after Valiant rose up a few feet behind him in a sudden ambush.

Crying out while rolling across the terrain, the young mouse righted himself again, slamming an Iron Tail onto the ground in order to catch himself before turning back towards Valiant and propping himself back up on all fours. The young mouse was still absolutely raring to go, but Ash took notes of the bruises and cuts on his Starter as Pikachu prepared for his next attack.

Rushing forward with the blazing speed of Quick Attack, Pikachu's fully powered Iron Tail was met with a glowing, shimmering, silver cube that surrounded Valiant and protectively boxed him in. The Reflect was instantaneously shattered on impact, however, the full force of the mighty blow far too much for it. Although Valiant had gotten very good at using both Light Screen and Reflect, he still had yet to completely master either one of them in their full capacity, and, in comparison, Pikachu's already incredibly powered Iron Tail was provided with further force by the full scale momentum provided to the young mouse by Quick Attack,

Valiant was not hit by the Iron Tail, but his protective Move could not shield him from the impact; the shockwaves of the immense wind pressure from the mouse's blow pushing him backwards and causing him to let out a loud wince of pain. Teetering backwards, he almost fell right flat on his back before finally managing to regain his composure at the last second.

No doubt, if that attack had actually landed and scored a direct hit on Valiant, Pikachu would have ended the fight right there.

Nevertheless, Ash had seen enough.

"Stand down!" he shouted as he ran through the battlefield, being careful not to trip over the rocks as he waved his arms upward. He stopped about halfway between his two companions as his arms fell down to his sides. "I've seen enough; we should probably call this off before either of you get too hurt."

The two companions seemed mildly dejected by that; clearly, they had both started to get quite into the fight. But nevertheless, they complied and eased themselves up.

Looking over to Valiant, Ash saw that the young Ralts was beginning to breathe heavily. Multiple uses of Teleport, continuously firing off attacks, maintaining Shadow Sneak for a decent amount of time, and usage of Light Screen and Reflect had clearly taken its toll on him. The impact from Pikachu shattering his last defensive attempt most likely did not help matters either. But the young Ralts barely had a scratch on him, just a minor bruise to the head from the impact of Pikachu's final attack breaking through his cube-shaped barrier.

Looking over to Pikachu, Ash's Starter exhibited no signs of fatigue. Although he and Valiant were both used to consecutive uses of their Moves, the young mouse seemed to have better stamina than Valiant overall. The constant running that he had been doing throughout training over the course of this week most likely being to thank for that. However, he was very clearly more bruised up than Valiant.

It had made Ash fairly curious about who would have won if he had allowed the battle to continue to its conclusion, but it was like what he had told them before: This wasn't about winning. This was about two teammates testing each other. And Pikachu and Valiant had both equally succeeded in that regard.

Pikachu's speed and power were the young mouse's greatest asset. His Quick Attack turned him into a yellow blur, near untraceable to Ash's eyes. His now mastered Brick Break and Iron Tail had enough force behind them to leave Valiant with very little choice but to go on the defensive. Brick Break, now mastered, could break through the young Ralts's Light Screen and Reflect with ease, and Iron Tail, purely because of its sheer power alone, could also do the same especially when both Moves were paired with Quick Attack.

Valiant, on the other hand, throughout the battle had managed to keep up with Pikachu by utilizing his versatility, and had even displayed a surprising amount of intelligence, outsmarting Pikachu a couple of times in the short span of the battle. The young Ralts had displayed a great amount of wits against the physically superior mouse.

As Nebula flapped her way over to her friends, perching herself between them as Valiant and Pikachu themselves made their way over to each other, Ash saw Elacia and Slurpuff approaching him from the corner of his eye. Turning away from his team as an excited Nebula chattered happily with her teammates, both of whom had been exhilarated by the short lived but notable adrenaline rush from the battle, Ash was greeted with an impressed smile from the red haired Breeder.

"You've got quite a spirited team," she said simply, gesturing her head over to the trio of Pokemon as they seemingly discussed the previous battle that had just occurred. "I'd say there's a Gym Badge in your not so distant future."

There it was again, with the compliments.

Ash's face reddened at her kind gaze as he suddenly took in how pretty this woman was, and was quick to break eye contact as her eyes lit up in amusement (and was that a flattered expression?) at his blush. Rubbing the back of his neck bashfully, the Trainer responded.

"I… don't want to get too far ahead of myself just yet." he said honestly. "A Gym Leader is a Gym Leader, so…" he trailed off nervously. Although seeing how far his team had come had most certainly quelled his nerves quite a bit, any attempts that he made at thinking forward to the battle ahead had immediately reminded him why he was so nervous in the first place.

The red haired woman frowned, her arms crossed as her neat ponytail lightly flowed in the early evening wind. "You keep doubting yourself, kid. You really don't even realize how far ahead of the game you are, do you?" her lips tugged upwards. "I'll betcha most rookie trainers would kill to be in your position right now. You know the last time I saw a beginner level Pokemon move that fast? And that Ralts of yours is really smart, too. Did you know he could think like that?"

Ash was silent for a moment. "Honestly… no. I just caught him not too long before coming here. I've never even seen him battle until just now."

Her frown was back. "You caught him at Viridian Forest…"

"Well… more like, asked him to join me and he said yes, but… yeah." he looked back up at her. "I know it sounds weird. Ralts are normally found in urban areas. I don't know why this one…"

He stopped as he saw her expression. She seemed to be deep in thought.

Ash was getting nervous now. "Something wrong, Elacia?"

Her eyes widened, as if abruptly realizing that he was still there. "Oh, sorry! Nothing's wrong!" she said reassuringly. If Ash had better social skills, he would have realized that she had said that a tad bit too frantically…

Turning to the trio of Pokemon, happily conversing with one another, she smiled as Ash was greeted with the full view of her ponytail swaying in the breeze. "He really does seem committed to you, though. They all do."

Ash's blush was back. Why did he always have to get so flustered at simple compliments? Was he really that inexperienced with simple praise?

He didn't know why he even bothered asking that to himself. He already knew the answer.

It did raise the question, though. Why exactly was Valiant so dedicated to him all of a sudden? The young Ralts had been a nervous wreck in Viridian Forest, but the moment they had stepped out, it was like he had become a completely different Pokemon. The young Trainer had found it almost impossible to not notice given just how sudden that it had seemingly been. And he had almost immediately been all aboard Ash's plans to challenge the Pewter City Gym, with very little need for convincing.

Something didn't add up. That was what Ash wanted to say. Maybe Valiant just liked him a lot?

Nebula seemed like the main reason why she was so keen to stay on the team was so she could hang out with Pikachu. The bond between the two companions had certainly grown quite strong in such a short amount of time.

So then… What exactly was Valiant's motive?

Elacia's voice broke him out of his thoughts. "Anyway, the point is, cheer up. You're a great trainer, Ash. I see a future star in you, but only if you start believing that yourself, too." she leaned forward a bit, causing him to back up as his face slightly reddened. She wasn't too close or anything, but her movements were sudden. Unpredictable. "At the point you're at now, you're definitely going to go far, but that's only possible if you realize how far you've come in just two weeks as a trainer, and capitalize on that momentum. I may not be a trainer myself anymore, but trust me, this pretty thing knows a thing or two."

Ash gulped a bit. Yet another adult who was expecting a lot from him. "Umm… okay. Thanks, miss."

"Hey, what's with the formal attitude all of a sudden?!" she sounded hostile.

Ash waved his hands around defensively. "S-sorry! I mean-"

Laughter filled his ears as she was suddenly behind him, and lightly slapped him on the back. Not expecting the contact, he stumbled forward a bit, before recomposing himself.

"You're too easy to mess with." she grinned cheekily. "I'd work on that if I were you." as she walked away, she turned back to him suddenly, as Slurpuff joined her side. "Make sure you stop by tomorrow to give me the good news after you win. I'll be busy in the morning but I'm always free in the afternoon. My Pewter address is on the card I gave you, along with my Celadon address, since it's my main one." she waved as she and Slurpuff walked off.

Waving back, Ash could feel a great sense of bewilderment overcoming him.

Over the course of just a few days, he had somehow befriended one of Indigo's most famous Breeders. He wasn't even sure how it happened. It just… did.

He was grateful to her for her words of encouragement, though, even if the added pressure of yet another adult expecting success from him just made him feel nervous all over again.

Turning back to his team, Ash's nervous composure was suddenly replaced with a happy, fond smile as the trio approached him.

Their eyes were filled with determination. Reminding him of just how determined that he was. Even if he couldn't shake this feeling of fear, of anxiousness, towards the upcoming trials ahead, he would always be determined.

If he could prove himself, then the pressure would finally go away, right? And he could prove Gary wrong… it felt like a petty motive, but Ash couldn't let the other boy be right. He absolutely was going to become a great Trainer. He couldn't let Gary discourage him. He couldn't let this fear discourage him. He would make it as a Trainer. But most of all, as he gazed at his team, who, for different reasons each, and not just because he had caught them, or acquired them, had all put their trust in him, of all people in the world, as their Trainer, who had all seemingly grown more committed to it as the training progressed, and they immersed themselves into the task at hand, Ash had another motive still. As he looked at the trio that had trained so hard for him, one motive in particular was at the forefront of his mind.

He wouldn't let them down.

/

"It is so good to see you Ash!" Professor Oak beamed at him from the screen, Clefable happily standing alongside him.

A powerful mixture of exhaustion and excitement had overtaken them as they made their way back to the Pokemon Center.

Ash and his team had been ready to get settled in for the night as soon as possible, in deep anticipation for tomorrow morning.

However, the young trainer had been surprised when Nurse Joy, after taking in his team for quick, last minute check ups, had revealed to him that Professor Oak had called earlier that day, asking to talk to him.

He and the Professor hadn't spoken since he had left Pallet Town on Opening Day. Perhaps he had just wanted to check on him.

Of course, Ash was more than happy to speak to the Professor, and had called him back immediately as Nurse Joy looked over his team.

The Professor's grin was contagious as he appeared on the screen and greeted Ash in full spirits with Clefable by his side as usual.

"Same, Professor!" Ash was starting to feel giddy. "There's so much to tell you!"

A chuckle. "Heh, heh, so I've heard. Delia spent the entire day gushing to her classmates about how her precious boy was about to challenge his first Gym."

Ash frowned, his cheeks reddening. Precious boy? "But… not in that wording, right?" he said hopefully, although he had a feeling that he already knew the answer.

"You know how she is." Ignoring Ash's disappointed sigh, the Professor continued. "Anyway, I just had to call you after hearing about all of that. I've been keeping track of your movements whenever I could. Two foreign catches in your first week, huh? That's quite the feat."

Scratching the back of his head, Ash chuckled nervously. "I meant plenty of attempts before that, though. These were jus the first two that… actually ended up working out."

"And in the end, I'm sure they worked out great." The Professor reassured. "I still remember when that Starly of yours was captured. Clefable was in the room at the time. The moment the systems picked up that you had captured a Pokemon, she dragged me right out of my garden to show me!" Clefable's grin widened.

Scratching the back of his neck, Ash asked. "Speaking of which, Professor, can I ask you something?"

"Yes, Ash?"

"How did I find a Ralts… in a forest of all places?"

It had been eating at him for quite a while now. Even Elacia seemed to find it suspicious, and she was a Breeder. Unless there was some other reason she was so shocked by it, but Ash couldn't really think of anything else at the moment.

The Professor frowned. "Hmmm… from the top of my head, the only explanation that I could give you is that another trainer must have released him there. But that probably sounds far too convenient, doesn't it?"

The explanation was probably the most likely one. It certainly would have explained why Valiant knew all of those moves ahead of time. But something still didn't sit right with Ash. Professor Oak was right: It sounded too convenient. Could it really be that simple or was there something else?

"I wouldn't worry about it too much right now. It could just be luck."

"That sounds pretty convenient too." Ash grinned sheepishly.

"Heh. Your right. But on a different note." Professor Oak leaned forward and eyed Ash carefully. The smile did not leave his face, however. "Something seems… different about you. You may not notice it, but you're carrying yourself a lot more confidently than when we last spoke."

Ash blinked. "I am?" hadn't he just been a nervous wreck while talking to Elacia. Well, he supposed just about anything would be a massive step up from the state that he was in after that trainwreck of a humiliating battle with Gary. Ash grimaced at the memory, but quickly pushed it to the back of his mind as Professor Oak responded to him.

"I'll admit I was a bit concerned when you left, but it seems everything turned out fine. I have a feeling that these past two weeks have been very beneficial to you and your psyche, even more than you may realise. Subconsciously, I think you've already changed quite a bit. The fact that you're even attempting your first ever Gym Battle just halfway through the first month of the Season is more than enough to tell me this."

Ash's eyes widened. "Oh no, do you think I'm being arrogant?!" No way he wanted to be like Gary of all people.

Laughter greeted him. Not just from the Professor, but from Clefable as well.

"You misunderstand me. Confidence and arrogance do not always go hand in hand. I'm just saying that you have a lot more… initiative than you used to before. It's nice to see. I'm liking this side of you. The old you would have never taken such risks."

Risks… and here he thought he'd been avoiding those.

Well, taking on a Gym Battle so early certainly was a bold move, but Ash had taken plenty of precautions with their training methods.

Although, in hindsight, he supposed that didn't change the fact that he was making such a bold move in the first place.

"Do you think it's a good idea?" he asked. "Challenging the Gym, I mean?"

The Professor shrugged. "Of course. If you truly think that you and your team are ready, the worst that could happen is that you lose, pick yourselves back up, and just try again. Rookie trainers rarely ever get their first gym badges on their first try, but it's never been impossible. It's like making it to the Conference on your first try: Not many rookie trainers are able to do it, but the fact that it's been done immediately disqualifies it from being an unachievable fantasy."

Ash nodded at that. It made sense. And after seeing his team's resolve, he definitely thought that they were ready. He couldn't stop going back and forth on whether or not he, specifically, was ready for it, but…

He would still do it for them. They had earned this chance with all of the hard work that they had put in.

PIkachu, who previously hadn't even trusted him, had risen to the occasion.

Nebula, who had been captured by him against her will, had risen to the occasion.

Valiant, who he had just met under bizarre, seemingly unexplainable circumstances, had risen to the occasion.

And so would he.

Did he deserve their loyalty? Especially Nebula's? He doubted it, but if possible, he wanted to change that. If he didn't deserve them, then he wanted to become a Trainer who did deserve them. A Trainer that they could be proud of, just as he was proud of them.

He needed to push these feelings of doubt aside. His team didn't deserve to be hampered by them.

After all of the work that they had done, he knew that they were ready.

Any failure would be his fault, not theirs.

Why had his battle with Gary been such a crapshow? Because he had panicked too easily. Had doubted himself too easily. His starter had paid for that. The more Ash panicked and freaked out, the less likely his stater would have been to listen to him.

But he and Pikachu had gotten their second chance that night at the Pokemon Center. And Pikachu had been trusting him ever since. Ash didn't want to betray that trust, by cracking under the pressure once more.

And he wouldn't betray Nebula and Valiant, either.

Forget self-loathing and forget insecurities, it was time to win a Gym badge.

/

Pokemon Gyms were massive buildings that served as monuments for a trainer's ultimate goal: Earn eight badges and reach the Indigo Plateau.

The Pewter City Gym was no exception. The morning sun was high in the sky as Ash and his trio of Pokemon gaped in awe, the Gym towering over them as a few passing citizens spared them curious glances.

Ash could faintly hear a woman calling out "Good luck in there!" but was too preoccupied to notice. To actually see a Gym up close...

This was it. The culmination of his first two weeks as a trainer. The culmination of the training that they had done since coming here.

Looking down at his team, Ash could see them already exchanging encouraging gestures.

Pikachu and Valiant shaking hands (or, in Pikachu's case, paw) with a firm grip, Nebula patting Valiant's back with her wing, the Ralts nodding confidently in response, Pikachu and Nebula locking eyes, no noises, no gestures, just a silent communication between the two friends.

Kneeling down to eye level with his team, Ash looked between the trio. "The next time I send you guys out; it will be in our biggest and most difficult battle yet. Are you ready?"

Their faces gave him a clearer answer than any verbal response ever could have; and that confidence was a blessing, filling him with a new resolve as he returned them. Standing up, he faced the Gym.

The outside of it was mostly rock, and the building was huge. Wide. Almost like a Pokemon Center.

Many Gyms had similar basic structures, but wildly different aesthetics. Some were more similar than others were, however.

But all of them had the Indigo League's symbol near the roof, right in the middle of the building. To let every trainer know exactly what this building was.

His breath caught in his throat, Ash subconsciously adjusted his cap, despite not even needing to, as he began to walk forward.

The Gym was getting closer now. The hammering in his heart couldn't be ignored as he approached.

The automatic doors opened as he approached. As he walked in.

They were the entrance to the Pewter City Gym.

They doubled as the finish line to the prologue of his adventure.

But they tripled as the starting point for everything else on the adventures to come.