A new Pokémon and one step closer.
After our victory in Celadon, we ended up in a city called Hophophop. This is the village that's been, with child disappearances due to a Hypno. By the end Misty also ends up with a new Pokémon, the amazing Psyduck. I had really thought about getting it for myself since it's Psychic powers were so strong, but I decided against it. I already have Caeruleum and Colubrosus, so I don't really need another water type.
We breezed through this city, but Brock made sure we went through Scissor Street where all the latest breeders things you can find. The place he was really looking for was a massage parlor for Pokémon. I made sure to let all of my Pokémon get massage from her, I thought Colubrosus wouldn't be able to since he's a Gyrados, but she had a special room that could fit him in the back. They were truly shining and looked extremely relaxed, maybe I should start doing this more often for my Pokémon. They already get the best PokéFood because of Brock, but maybe going this extra mile will pay off in the long run. With Brock agreeing to raise Vulpix, we left Scissor Street.
While walking down the road we come across a Hitmonchan, with Ash trying to get Pikachu to box with it. Pretty comical if I say myself, though I have to say he should really use that Rocket Punch that Ash had Pikachu use. It left a full on afterimage before it punched Hitmonchan in the cheek, it didn't have much power behind it though. After losing to the Hitmomchan a girl asks us to defeat her father in the P1 Grand Prix. I'm honestly considering entering Ignea in the tournament so she can get some punching practice against actual fighting types. I'm hoping this will add power to her elemental punches I plan on teaching her later.
I was worried since Ignea isn't actually a fighting type she wouldn't be able to enter, but they said as long as she only uses her hands and feet with no claws it's fine. With Ash entering Primeape, and Brock entering Geodude we get ready for our matches.
"Ignea, I want you to only use your punches and kicks in this tournament, you can't use any fang, claw, or fire type moves. I want you to give this your all, and learn from these fighting types to power up your punches." Alan
"Chaaaar!" Ignea responded while punching one hand into the other, blowing steam out of her nostrils.
Ash won his first battle against a machop, but Brock lost to the Hitmonlee that Team Rocket hijacked. Ignea was facing off against a Machoke in her first match, and this would be a great test of strength. The match started with the Machoke going for a standard punch, that Ignea was able to bend her neck in a way to dodge it while countering with her own left, catching the Machoke off guard. She immediately followed up with a quick jab from her right before resetting and preparing for Machokes attack.
She didn't have to wait long as the Machoke came with a right karate chop that Ignea blocked by crossing her arms together, when Machoke tried to punch with its free hand. Ignea quickly grabbed the hand that tried to karate chop her, and spun, pulling the Machoke off balance as she wound up before eventually lifting the Machoke and then slamming it back on the mat. She delivered a vicious right to the downed Machoke that finally knocked it out, claiming her first victory.
"Good job Ignea, you handled yourself great in there. Take a quick rest and get ready for your next match." Alan praised her.
"Charizard!" Ignea puffed out steam triumphantly and stood beside Alan as they watched the next match. We easily won our next match against a Poliwrath which put us in a match against team Rocket and the Hitmonlee, while Ash actually had to take on the Hitmonchan.
"Alright Ignea, one more match and we're in the finals. However you need to pay attention and be quick because Hitmonlee is known for its lightning fast kicks, while you've only fought punchers so far. I think you should go for deflects and grazes instead of trying to completely block them, and if you can grab a leg don't let go until you've won." Alan
"Char, char." Ignea nods to her trainer before hopping into the ring.
"Umbra, come out." Calling out Umbra I give her a task.
"Gaaast." Umbra
"Umbra, I have a feeling Team Rocket is going to try to mess with our match, and the experience Ignea is gaining from this is too valuable. Make sure they don't sabotage the match in anyway." Alan
"Gas gastly." Umbra bobs before disappearing from sight.
Now that I don't have to worry about that, Ignea can have a fair fight. Now the fight begins with Hitmonlee going for a quick flurry of kicks that Ignea starts off deflecting but starts to take some hits. Realizing this isn't working she tries to punch out at Hitmonlee's incoming leg and meets it mid air, stopping both their attacks. Hitmonlee swiftly pulls back and does a spinning kick which Ignea dodges just barely.
With a quick reset Hitmonlee starts another barrage of kicks with Ignea barely hanging on, she's just not quick enough and her own legs are too short to counter with. She starts getting into a rhythm just for Hitmonlee to slow down and catch her off guard with a kick straight to her about. This causes Ignea to roar in pain before focusing back on the kicking Pokémon with disdain that it caused her pain.
She stomps back up to the center and this time she initiated the exchange with a powerful punch causing Hitmonlee to sidestep before delivering a side kick. Now off balance and Hitmonlee on the side of her body that just threw the punch, Ignea follows through the force of her punch and quickly drops to the mat causing Hitmonlee's kick to sail over her. It comes back with a heel drop trying to catch Ignea while she's on the ground, but she rolls on her back deliberately taking the heel drop so she could grab its foot.
Taking advantage of the opportunity she jumps up, foot still in hand and pulls Hitmonlee towards her while powering up a mega punch. However Hitmonlee twists on his grappled leg and attempts a kick at Ignea's head, which she ducks under and connects with her full power mega punch. She didn't let go of it though and followed up with 3 rapid punches before one more powerful punch straight in Hitmonlee's gut. She started spinning with the Hitmonlee like she did with the Machoke before she raised it above her head and then slammed it back into the mat, finally KOing the difficult pokemon. She stomped her foot and roared into the air triumphantly before exiting the ring.
I was truly stunned, I told her before the tournament that this would be all her and that I wouldn't be calling moves since I wanted her to build up her instincts in these close combat situations. I knew she was powerful, but this was something else, I can't describe how proud I am to be her trainer.
"Ignea, that was honestly amazing to watch. You changed up your strategy and we're able to defeat a Pokémon in it's specialty. Take a nice long rest until the championship match." Alan
"Chaaar." She tried to keep up the energy but it was obvious she was tired from her match. I healed her with a potion and then let her rest beside me so she could watch the next match in preparation. In the show Ash and Primeape end up winning, but now they have to face Hitmonchan who should be able to give Primeape's speedy punches a run for their money.
(Author's Note: Sorry for not typing out Ash's battle against the Hitmomchan, but I figured people would be tired of reading this kind of battle after that last one, plus I still have to do the championship match. Sorry again, please enjoy)
After a long and drawn out match, Primeape was eventually able to knock out Hitmonchan. At least they'll both be winded, this should be an even match for the most part. Primeape and Ignea both enter the ring, with Primeape trying to taunt Ignea, but she just ignore it. With a ring of the bell the fight begins.
Primeape uses his quicker ground speed to get in close to Ignea and delivers an early jab to her stomach. Ignea goes to punch down that the monkey Pokémon but it quickly sidesteps and hits a couple rapid punches to her side before jumping up for an uppercut. This was a mistake and Ignea capitalized on it. She brought her elbow down on the Primeape's head and then delivered a mega kick sending it flying into the ropes on the side of the ring. This caused it to come flying back where Igne was ready with a powered up mega punch straight to the face of the disoriented Primeape.
Flipping onto the ground primeape quickly shakes its head goes to move before Ignea was able to drop her elbow on the prone Pokémon. Primeape took advantage of this and used his monstrous strength to pick up Ignea for a seismic toss. This proved counter troublesome as Ignea wasn't able to grab on to the monkey before being slammed into the mat roaring in displeasure. Knowing she has to get up quickly, she rolls to the ropes and swiftly gets up.
However she's met with a Primeape, who after using the ropes on the other side was sent flying at her both fists out. She took advantage of this however and dropped back to the mat rolling under the flying Pokémon, sending it sailing out the arena and effectively giving Ignea time to reset and catch her breath.
Jumping back in the ring and seemingly throwing a tantrum, Primeape charges again as fast as it can. It delivers a bunch of punches in quick succession that Ignea deftly blocks or deflects as she sees fit. However Primeape switches it up and hits her with kick to the stomach, surprising her. It continues its onslaught of punches right after, catching her a few times in her and stomach before finally landing that uppercut it tried earlier.
This sent Ignea into the corner post where she slumped to a sitting position, I thought it was over but I was wrong. Primeape got over zealous and tried for a jump kick, but Ignea opened her eyes with a fire blazing in them. She leaned just a little to the side, dodging the kick and letting Primeape smack into the post at full speed. She quickly grappled it and gave it her own brutal seismic toss, and followed it up with a heel drop.
Primeape attempted to roll away after it was hit with the heel drop, but Ignea grabbed it by the leg and dragged it back to her. Where she began slamming it back in forth on the mat until she saw a red flag fly into the ring. The primeape had long been finished, but it continued to try past its breaking point to bring victory to Ash, who it had grown to admire. Especially after Ash had caught it earlier in the tournament when it flew out the ring.
"In a shocking turn of events Charizard, a fire type, has won the Grand Prix and given us tournament to remember for years to come!" The announcer rang out across the stadium. Ash, Misty and Brock approached Primeape while I entered the ring to help support Ignea as she accepts her P1 Grand Prix belt. Me and Ignea celebrating together before Ash and crew finally come over and congratulate us on the hard fought win.
"You were a great opponent Ignea, thank you for giving such a great fight." Ash
"Prime, primeape" It nods its head to what Ash said and sticks its fist out to Ignea, who meets it with her own.
"Chaaaar!" She proudly responds to both of them.
"You were amazing Ignea, I'll make sure to give you that massage I learned back in Scissor Street when we leave." I say while rubbing her snout.
"Raaaa." She growls out.
Anthony still offers to take in Ash's Primeape just like in the show after I declined his same offer to me and Ignea. I mean how could someone who hasn't even won the Grand Prix be a better trainer for my Pokémon, especially since Ignea doesn't specialize in fighting. It will still be good experience for Primeape however, continuing to hone his fighting skills, while Ash trains up his other Pokémon.
"Hey Ash, do you plan on evolving your other Pokémon? You've had Pidgeotto since before Butterfree was a Caterpie, and Squirtle/Bulbasaur have been on the team almost as long as Charmeleon. You haven't even battled with Krabby, and the other 2 Pokémon you caught already evolved." Alan
"Gaahh. You really don't pull any punches do you, Alan?" Ash nervously chuckles while scratching the back of his head.
"Well, you say you want to become a Pokémon master, but you're going into your 6th gym badge with only one of your Pokémon being fully evolved and you don't even have it anymore. You need to step up your training if you want to win the Pokémon League." I say to him confidently.
"I guess you're right. What do you think I should do Alan?" Ash asks
"For one you need to up their training, and not just mock battles, I mean actually training them in new moves and polishing old ones. Also our next gym match is against Koga the Poison gym leader, so you need to think up ways to counter his poison and go ahead and start deciding who you're going to use."
Ash seems to think on my words before I continued.
"For me, Caeruleum and Umbra are my only unevolved Pokémon so I'm planning on using them in the match and focus on their training leading up to the fight. Since he's known to use bug types as well I would say you should focus on: Squirtle, Haunter, and Pidgeotto." Alan
"What about Bulbasaur?" Ash
"While Bulbasaur does have a poison typing as well, it still has a grass typing so the poison will still hurt it greatly. Honestly you waited too late to train Bulbasaur up, though you can still use it against Giovanni who uses an assortment of ground types. Squirtle will get tons of experience because after Koga is Blaine the Fire gym leader, and he should be a wartortle by then."
"I see, is that why you haven't evolved Cae yet?" Ash
"No, I must say that was my inexperience as a trainer coming through in not training her as much as I should have. Ideally she should have been close to a Blastoise right now, and honestly Mortiflos should have been a Venusaur by now." Alan
"Wow, so even you're not perfect." Ash
"Besides the way it may seem to you Ash, I'm just as new a trainer as yourself and I'm nowhere near perfect. I just hide my failures better than others." I respond before looking forward at the setting sun. "I just don't want to let my friends down after all the hard work they've put in." And with that I speed up my walking, leaving Ash slightly behind and looking strangely at my back. Calling out over my shoulder.
"Besides Ash! I heard from Professor Oak that Gary has already beat Koga and is taking a break for a while, and if we hurry we might meet him in Cinnabar. I heard he already has a Blastoise." I grin to myself as I say that last part.
"Oooohhh Gary, I'll show him I have the better Blastoise! Squirtle come on out! Squirtle listen, Gary already has a Blastoise and we can't let him leave us behind, so I hope your ready for some serious training!" Ash rambles excitedly.
"Squirtle squirt!" His Squirtle seems to agree and pumps himself up for the training to come. Grinning to myself. I may have just kickstarted Ash to becoming a formidable opponent in the Pokémon League. Oh well, there will be time to think about that after we get all the badges and make it there.
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CURRENT TEAM:
Ignea-Charizard F
Mortiflos-Ivysaur M
Caeruleum-Squirtle F
Animo-Kadabra M
Colubrosus-Gyrados M
Umbra-Gastly F
ASH's CURRENT POKÉMON:
Current 6:
Pikachu
Charmeleon
Squirtle
Bulbasaur
Pidgeotto
Haunter
OAKs LAB/OTHER:
Krabby
Butterfree
Primeape
Author's Note: I ended up spending way more time on the Grand Prix than I meant to, I hope you all enjoyed it. I also really really thought about giving Psyduck to Alan since I actually really like Golduck. Plus it would have made a great Pokémon for that water Pokémon tournament that happens in the Orange Islands.
At the end you saw Alan trying to fire up Ash and get him to start training his Pokémon seriously. I did this 1. To be able to put "evolution" in the title more often (lol) but really because surely with a trainer like Alan traveling with him, Ash would have learned from him and in turn caused his Pokémon to evolve. In the show at some point Bulbasaur refuses to evolve, so I'm gonna let him stay a Bulbasaur, but I don't remember anything like that for Squirtle so he's fair game to become a Blastoise.
Pidgeotto definitely should have become a Pidgeot before the Pokémon League, so that's a given. Also who else am I gonna have a cool Gengar battle against if not Ash ( oops was that spoilers? lol) anyways, I have big plans for Ash and Alan's teams, so I hope you'll keep reading!
Thanks for reading
-TaediumVitae