Lance: Another chapter for ya’ll! And since Phantomness is busy, I’ll be doing the disclaimer. *Ahem*. The Authoress does not own pokemon, or me, thank goodness. Pokemon belongs to Nintendo and Shogakukan Comics and a whole bunch of other people. This fanfiction belongs to her, as much as I dislike some of her writing.
Ash: Phantomness uses <> for telepathy, ** for thoughts, and italics if a pokemon talk!
Chapter 9
Ash followed Janine into the gym, wincing at the various sharp bladed weapons displayed prominently on the walls. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea…
He couldn’t back out now though! He had vowed to become a Pokemon Master and he would not give up! Come what may, he would keep looking forwards and bettering himself!
“Here we are.” Janine said, as she knocked on the door.
“Come in.” A deeper male voice intoned.
Ash and Janine entered, Ash quite cautiously, Janine quite confidently.
“Father, I have brought a challenger.”
Koga took a sip of his green tea. “Very well. He wishes a gym badge. But did you test his abilities?”
“Hai, he defeated two of my pokemon.”
“I suppose that is adequate.” Koga stood. “Well, shall we adjourn to the training room then?” Ash followed dumbly.
Once inside, Koga smiled. “Don’t be afraid, child. I’m not going to force you to pull any crazy stunts. Simply defeat two of my three pokemon and I’ll confer you the Soul badge. Sound fair?”
Ash grinned. “Fair!”
“Then we shall proceed immediately.”
The two trainers walked to opposite ends of the arena and took their places.
“I choose… this one. Golbat!”
Ash frowned. This was harder than Janine’s Zubat. He shouldn’t use Pikachu. Hm… something that could take damage, or…
Got it!
“Mantine! I choose you!” The flying/water manta ray came and took it’s place on stage, grinning. “Use Ice Beam!”
Golbat double teamed, making three copies of itself. Ice beam struck one down, but it proved to be only a copy.
“Pity it was a clone. Golbat, Toxic!”
Sludgy black goo splurted all over Mantine’s body. The pokemon looked disgusted, but shrugged.
Supersonic waves shot out towards both Golbats. If it were the real one, it would get confused. If the Golbat were a copy, it would be destroyed by the sound waves.
One Golbat was left, little birdies ‘round the head.
“Bingo.” Ash said. He sprayed an Antidote on Mantine, curing the poison.
Koga smiled. “Not bad…” He recalled his Golbat.
Ash grinned as Mantine preened.
“Muk, I choose you!”
“Mantine, Rain dance!” he had a plan, and even if Mantine got KO’d, there were still substitutes waiting.
Rain filled the area.
Koga looked confused. “Muk, Sludge Bomb!”
Mantine was poisoned…
“Supersonic again!” And then, muk was confused.
Mantine began taking poison damage as Muk hit it with a Body Slam. Ash smiled. “Now! Surf!”
A highly powered up thanks to rain dance surf attack sent the Muk flying. Ash grinned. “That’s two.”
“Indeed, but can you defeat my last pokemon?”
Ash took a step back as it was released. That gigantic pokemon nearly filled the room! What the-?
Was it just an oversized wheezing?
Ash nearly fainted dead away.
Koga smiled. * That’ll will the cocky smirk off his face… *
Mantine looked scared. Ash recalled her in a flash of red.
“Tentacool, I chose you!”
“You specialize in water types?”
“Kind of.” Ash smirked. * Good, we’re matching type for type, poison to poison now… no need to worry about my Tentacool getting poisoned… *
“Interesting. Very interesting… Wheezing, use Explosion!”
Ash blinked. “Quick, Tentacool! Use that TM move I just taught you! Protect!”
Protect negated the Wheezing’s attack, although Tentacool looked very frightened, despite taking no damage…
Koga laughed. “Well, that was different. You did quite well! In recognition of your abilities, I now confer upon you the Soul Badge.”
“Arigatou!”
Afterwards, Ash found the beach and went there with Catelyn.
“Is this it?”
“No. I wish it were…”
“Where is your home?”
Scant reply, until Catelyn fixed him with those brilliant blue eyes. “I told you already, Ash. I can’t remember.”
“Then how will you know if we get there?”
“I can feel it, for lack of a better word.”
“Huh?”
“You know, how when you’re at home, everything just feels, well, perfect to some extent?” Catelyn inquired. Ash thought.
Yes… home, lying on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate, the smells of mom making dinner wafting in, sunshine…
Definitely!
“Perfect.” Ash whispered dreamily, before coming down to reality with a bump. “I think I see…”
“Why? Does it surprise you?”
“No. it’s just that… Catelyn, how old are you?”
“I don’t know. Does it matter?”
“Um… no!” Ash said quickly.
“Honestly?”
“Yes! Er… I mean, I didn’t mean to pry or nothing!”
Catelyn gave Ash another sideways look, wondering why he was so jumpy.
Ash blushed.
She missed it as she turned around. “Ash, don’t worry. Soon, we’ll find my home and I’ll say goodbye. I can understand if you don’t want me around.”
But that wasn’t what I meant, Ash thought to himself. However, he didn’t want to risk saying something stupid, so he kept silent.
End Chapter
Completed 12/14/04
Lance: I’m a girl again?
Phantomness: Presumably so, yes? Why? I need to write a few more heterosexual fics, after all that shonen-ai.
Ash: ^-^
Kairo: Well, I don’t mind!
Shoyko: That’s because you don’t work, baka! She’s always writing darkfic so
I’m always busy!
Pika-chan: *yawns*