Battle

Blackthorn city

He was ready to face the gym leader of Blackthorn. Clair, the gym leader was a dragon type, Pokemon user. Vidal let out Dragonite to handle both Kingdra and Gyarados.

There were only two badges left for Vidal to win now. But Vidal decided to work on the plan of his sanctuary for a few days.

To get Misdreavus, Vidal traveled to Mount Silver to meet with Sam again. After some discussion with Sam and a request from Professor Oak and Elm, he got a few Pokemon.

A newly hatched Larvitar for his own party and Misdreavus for Elm and Vidal each were received from Sam.

…

Vidal first headed home to see his mother. Over a table full of food, he reported his own and Ash's encounters.

During dusk, Vidal headed towards Professor Oak's lab.

"Professor, did you separate the Pokemon on the list that I sent?"

"Yes, they are in that bag. And what are you planning to do with so many of them?" Professor Oak was curious.

Vidal didn't stay long to talk. "I'm just taking them for a quick training setup." He said.

After reaching the canyon, Vidal let all his Pokemon out.

"I am planning to turn this place into a sanctuary. Here Pokemon can train with each other and get stronger." Vidal said and let out the new badges of Pokemons one by one.

Chikorita, Cyndquil, Totodile, Elekid, Sudowoodo, Wobbuffet, Heracross, Maril, Miltank, Misdreavus became the first batch from Johto.

Bulbasaur, Charmandar, Squirtle, Vulpix, Machoke, Ponyta, Onix, Horsea, Scyther, Lapras, became the first batch from Kanto.

"From now on, you can roam around the canyon, but don't go too far yet." Vidal announced.

The Pokemon started looking around and exploring the area.

Vidal asked help from Ho-oh and Celebi to terraform the area around the canyon. The canyon became even more challenging to find and reach.

Vidal decided to let the legendary and mythical look after the newly-arrived Pokemons for a few days. He instructed them to train the brand-new Pokemons according to the schedule used by him.

Zapdos, Articuno and Moltres were experienced with the training regimen used by Vidal. So began the beginner instructor.

Celebi and Ho-oh were responsible for looking after the newly planted berries plants and fruit trees around the canyon.

Vidal promoted Horsea and Elekid as the first two commanders of the Sanctuary.

Over the few days, Vidal spent as much time as possible in the Sanctuary with the Pokemons. There were no complaints from the Pokemons about their living environment.

Vidal didn't push the newly released Pokemons too much. He basically used a toned down version of the regimen he used on his own party members.

Vidal decided to let the legendary Pokemons and Celebi stay behind for the time being. It would take him at least a few weeks to come back again, so for safety he left them behind.

…

Before continuing his journey, Vidal stopped to talk with Professor Oak about the island.

"That Island… It isn't considered an island but a part of Pallet Town as that place is not too far from the outer region of Pallet Town. That is just an area for wild Pokemons to develop. Why are you asking?" Professor Oak said.

"It's nothing. I was just interested in the Pokemons from that area. So, Professor, do you have any updated information on Team Shadow?" Vidal didn't dwell on the same topic.

"At the moment, there is silence. I hope they aren't plotting anything malicious in the dark." Professor Oak said.

"Alright then, I will take my leave."

…

Vidal kept vigil during the entire journey to Olivine city; he didn't spot any new Pokemon. Pokemon variants in Johto were much fewer than in Kanto.

Vidal faced up against Steelix and Magnamite of leader Jasmine at the gym in Olivine city. Mateep made his gym debut and didn't disappoint Vidal in his first bout.

Against Magnamite, Mareep was able to show his power of electroball and got a victory. As for Steelix Arcanine was the most effective opponent.

After sweeping the Olivine city gym, Vidal charged towards Cianwood city.

The gym leader Chuck was a pretty great guy. Even after beating him, Vidal got to eat delicious food and rest in the gym.

…

Vidal finished collecting the eight badges for the league competition. But he hadn't finished catching all the Pokemons.

Dragon's den, Ice cave, Cliff cave, etc. These were the few areas he needed to grind before entering the Safari zone.

As for Safari zone, it gave him a headache worse than Kanto Safari zone. The Pokemon were spread all over different land zones. The area was so big that searching for Pokemon took longer than catching them.

However, both Mareep and Larvitar evolved into Flaffy and Pupitar. Within the Safari zone, Vidal used them most of the time for battle. The safari zone didn't allow Pokemon to be used, but there was no one to watch him.

…

New bark town

Vidal found Professor Oak and his mother in the laboratory of Professor Elm.

Ash has returned with a Larvitar as well. After having some talk, both Ash and Vidal registered for the Silver Conference.

At the end of the day, Ash challenged Vidal to a match.

Vidal accepted the challenge without hesitation. The battle ground set was located behind Professor Elm. Brock was the judge for the match.

Vidal allowed Ash to choose his preferred Pokemon and the match finally started.

"I will use my first Pokemon. So, be careful," Vidal said.

Ash's first choice was Tauros. It didn't show any interest in continuing the battle when it saw its opponent.

"Perhaps you are unaware of the fact that I trained Tauros, Kingler, and Muk. So, you should start with something else."

The revelation shocked the trio. For a moment, they couldn't even utter a single word.

"Ash, you don't need to dwell on the past. I know what you are thinking about. Now, you only need to care about fighting my Starmie." Vidal could guess Ash must be thinking about his win in the Kanto league.

Ash took a moment to collect his thoughts and called his trusty Charizard for the battle.

"Ash, if your Charizard could land a single hit on my Starmie, I will admit defeat." Vidal announced. So that Ash might take it seriously to train his Pokemons, he had to show the distance between them.

"Charizard, flame throwers… tackle… Dragon's tail… Dragon's rage… Overheat…" Ash used everything. Starmie didn't use a single move, but just dodged everything. Charizard lost to exhaustion.

"That is admirable strength and power. But without stamina and speed, it is not strong enough to hit anything. Next Pokemon."

Ash's next choice was obvious Pikachu. But the situation was the same.

"Pretty good speed and stamina, and the power is OK as well. Being your first Pokemon, it has developed well. But one Pokemon won't help you win an entire competition. Next Pokemon." Vidal didn't show any mercy.

Then came Bayleef and Noctowl. Both lost in no time.

Ash was ready to burst into tears. Misty and Brock were trying to comfort Ash.

"Ash, are you giving up after one loss?" Vidal looked straight at Ash.

Ash shook his head with determination.

Vidal smiled, "Good. All you need to do is train from time to time. Don't forget to have fun as well." Vidal just gave Ash some suggestions and let him decide how he wanted to handle things.