Chapter eight- Water Divas and shopping

It was the next morning that Mason was up bright and early. He knew he was seriously being pressed for time. With everything that had happened the day before, he had only enough time after leaving the bridge to get to a nearby shop to sell the nuggets that he had won.

Thankfully enough the nuggets had sold for the price that he had been hoping for, and the box had went for another five hundred. So in all he had a solid fifty eight thousand he would have more than enough to get the bag and pods.

After returning from the shop to the centre Mason had turned his Pokémon over to Nurse Joy giving her a warning about his newest Pokémon about how it might be hostile. But the gentle nurse had told him not to worry about it.

He had left all his Pokémon in the overnight care of the centre and he was planning to get them back that morning before going for breakfast.

As he went to shower, he couldn't help but think about the newest addition to his team. He didn't really know what had possessed him to do it. At the time it felt like a great idea, Team Rocket were crooks and thieves, it's not like they could go to the police and report their Pokémon stolen. Hell they more than likely never even registered their Pokémon or themselves as trainers.

That had been something Mason had learned yesterday, it was how the League kept track of Pokémon and trainers, every time a trainer bought a Pokéball it was assigned to that trainers ID number, so when a trainer caught a Pokémon with it, the information of that Pokémon was then sent to a registry. It was just another thing that the inter-regional program had brought about with Silph co and Devons corporation leading the way. The registry prevented Pokémon thieves from using stolen Pokémon in official league sanctioned events. Of course there was also a simple way around it like he had done the day before.

Smashing the Pokéball releases the Pokémon and all the Rockets would have to do would be to use another empty Pokéball to recatch the Pokémon and register it to them. It was why he had done just that. So it meant that even if the Rockets could try to take legal action against him, there would be no proof of the Pokémon ever belonging to them, if by some miracle they were registered, which he highly doubted.

But Mason knew that this would likely cause him a headache. As much as Golbat wasn't a Rocket Pokémon any more, they hadn't exactly crossed paths on the best terms, and he knew the relationship was likely going to get off to a rocky start.

He knew that he already Spearow as a flying type Pokémon, and that he didn't necessarily need Golbat on his team in that regard, it was the poison nature and Golbats second evolution form that had Mason wanting it. Crobat's stats were all higher than a Fearows and it had a wider spread of moves for him to utilize in battle. Along with the fact that Golbat already knew Hyper Beam, and he was hoping that he would be able to use Golbat to teach that move to a few of his other Pokémon later on, to save him the cash he'd have to fork out for the Technical machine, which was sure to be pricey,

He sighed as he turned the water off and got out of the shower wrapping a towel around his waist, it was going to be a long morning.

Time skip

After getting dried and changed Mason had retrieved his Pokéballs from the front desk and went out to the training area at the back of the Pokémon centre after grabbing some sandwiches from the cafeteria to eat for breakfast.

His plan was a simple one, have his Pokémon out when he released Golbat and confront the Pokémon and explain things. If it accepted him as its trainer everything would run smoothly, if not then he'd have to battle it again to prove himself worthy of being its new trainer, he was hoping not to have to resort to such things but if it was the only way he would.

One by one Mason released his Pokémon from their balls until is first four Pokémon stood in front of him awaiting his orders.

"Alright everyone, as of yesterday we got ourselves a new team member," Mason told them holding up Golbats Pokéball, "Scyther and Dratini both already know this, but it wasn't exactly a regular catch. It was owned by a rather shady individual before hand and I decided to liberate it for our team. I'm not sure how it will react once I release it or if it will accept me as its trainer, so I am going to need the four of you to help me out here" he told them, "if it attacks I'll need you to defend me, but if you have to do so, try not to hurt it to badly, we want to try to convince it to join us, okay"

Receiving nods and small sounds of agreement from his team, mason took a breath as he turned to the side and pushed the button on the Pokéball to open it.

The very next second Golbat appeared in the air several feet in front of them flapping its wings as it began looking around in apparent confusion before doing a full turn in mid air and coming face to face with Mason blinking its small eyes as it let out a confused sound.

Mason held up his hands to show that he wasn't being hostile, 'so far so good, it hasn't attacked me… yet' he thought to himself, "easy there golbat, no one is going to hurt you" Mason began speaking to the large bat gently, "you're safe here. You're no longer captured by Team Rocket. I took you from them yesterday after I beat your last trainer, do you remember" he spoke.

Golbat seemed to look surprised for a moment before its eyes narrowed on Mason making the Pokémon behind the trainer bristle ready to move to their trainers aid.

Mason kept his hands in front of him, "I'm nothing like them Golbat, I may have taken you from them but I don't plan on abusing your strength for my own gain like they did. I just didn't think it right that such a powerful Pokémon like you were should be used by a bunch of criminals"

Golbats eyes were still narrowed but it seemed to get a smug air to it at the complement to its strength that mason paid to it. It seemed to be watching mason more closely now.

Mason swallowed slightly things were going better than he had hoped, "I'd like to offer you a deal Golbat, a place on my team, I may have caught you but I know that it wasn't exactly the normal way that is why I am making you this offer like this. If you'd prefer to be free I can take you to the nearest cave when I can and release you there. But if you want to become a member of my team" he said as he gestured to the Pokémon behind him, "that can be arranged, but know that the training is tough, none of my Pokémon are weak, as you saw yesterday in your battle with Dratini and Scyther. We train at every available opportunity to grow stronger and prove we are the best. You are already strong but I promise you if you become my Pokémon you can become even stronger, and your strength won't be abused like it was with your last trainer."

Golbat kept flying in place as it listened to Mason's offer. The large bat was actually shocked at Mason's offer to release it if it didn't want to become a member of his team. That alone had caused the Pokémon to stop glaring at the trainer and actually listen to his offer. It was clear to Golbat that this trainer was nothing like its last, perhaps it would give him a chance, if it meant that through his training that it would get stronger it seemed like a win win situation.

With a beat of its wings Golbat moved closer to Mason and landed on his shoulder and gave a nodding gesture with a sound of agreement.

Mason blinked as he looked at the Pokémon not purchased on his shoulder, he hadn't expected that it would be that easy, but then he guessed that the choice between himself and being released with the chance of being recaptured by Team rocket was a generally easy one.

"Alright then, welcome to the team" Mason said with a smirk.

Time skip

After the little confrontation with his new Pokémon resulting in such a rapid conclusion Mason had dished out his teams breakfast out in the fresh morning air, it was still early so he knew he would have some time to spare. If Ash was sticking to the canon then chances were he'd be here around noon. That would give him some time to get the supplies that he needed and see what state the Cerulean gym was in. Worst come to worst he would have to wait for Misty so that he could actually battle for his badge.

As he had finished his food ahead of his Pokémon Mason had taken to looking over his Pokédex, something that he had found out about the day before hand that wasn't actually as rare as the games made it out to be. It had been the invention that had put Professor Oak on the map as one of the first to invent such a device, and the league had taken great interest in it. It was actually common place for most new trainers to receive one at the start of their journeys. Most trainers when they reached of age would have been given one along with their starter Pokémon by a league official in the town they grew up in, usually by the gym leader or the local nurse joy who would register them as a trainer.

It had been over the past couple of days that Mason had been looking it over more closely he had noticed some features that he was sure wasn't in the anime version and he suspected that they were upgrades that had come along because of the inter-regional co-operation scheme.

The upgrades allowed him to check not only his Pokémons known moves but also tell their genders and abilities, something that he was irritated that he hadn't noticed before now.

So while his Pokémon were still eating Mason began to point his Pokédex towards them to scan them one by one to see the extent of what he was working with, and the results didn't disappoint.

Species: Dratini

Gender: Male

Ability: Shed skin

Moves:

Wrap

Thunderwave

Twister

Dragon Rage

Leer

Agility

-.-.-.-.-

Species: Poliwhirl

Gender: Male

Ability: Swift Swim

Moves:

Water Gun

Hydro pump

Hypnosis

Bubble

Bubble beam

Double slap

-.-.-.-.-

Species: Spearow

Gender: Female

Ability: Sniper

Moves:

Peck

Fury attack

(new move) Aerial Ace- registered by Professor S Oak

Agility

Double team

-.-.-.-.-

Species: Scyther

Gender: Male

Ability: Swarm

Moves:

Vacuum Wave

Quick attack

Agility

Swords dance

False swipe

Wing attack

Slash

Razor wind

Double team

(new move) X-scissor- registered by Professor S Oak

-.-.-.-.-

Species: Golbat

Gender: Female

Ability: Infiltrator

Moves:

Bite

Supersonic

Wing attack

Toxic

Hyper Beam

Mason had to smirk, it seemed that the Professor had already added both Aerial Ace and X-scissor to the attack move database. He was feeling rather pleased with himself as he looked down the list of moves for each of his Pokémon, he could see that all the training had been paying off, especially for Scyther but then again the mantis Pokémon was completely obsessed when it came to training always putting in much more effort and pushing himself harder every session to become stronger, it was no surprise that with his training and knowledge of moves Scyther's move pool was as large as it was.

Mason couldn't help but snort when he saw Spearows gender, he wasn't really surprised, only a woman could hold a grudge as long as it did in the anime waiting all that time and still being angry wish Ash when he came back to pallet down after so long.

Looking over each of his teams abilities he nodded to himself, he could work with those, he knew what each of them did having begun memorizing the ability list the night before. He was not going to be caught out again like what had happened in his battle with Gary.

He smirked to himself seeing sniper and Infiltrator as two of the abilities, his mind was already swimming with how he would be able to customise both Spearows and Golbats future training to make the most out of those two gems as well as making plans to teach Poliwhirl the move Rain dance to make the most out of his swift swim ability.

Time skip

It was half an hour later that Mason found himself standing outside the Cerulean city gym, having decided to put off his shopping until later he wanted to see first hand if the gym and Misty's sisters were anything like the anime portrayed them to be.

Walking through the doors as they opened for him Mason walked into the reception area of the gym, he was in luck that the apparent show that the sisters were going to be putting on wasn't for a couple hours and the crowds had yet to start forming.

Walking through another set of doors Mason found himself in the main pool area with the pool raised above the ground in a glass box that allowed Mason to see inside. He could see that two of the sisters were inside the pool, he recognised them as Lily and Violet, with their blue and pink hair as they perform underwater acrobatics dressed in skimpy swimsuits that left nothing to the imagination. He could tell that they were a fair bit older than he was, maybe in their early twenties.

Mason could see why they were called the Sensational sisters, no doubt many came to their shows just to admire their beauty alone.

"Hey you!" a voice called to Mason making him look over to see the third sister, Daisy, with blond hair and wearing a red swimsuit walking over to him, "the show doesn't start for another two hours, no sneak peaks" she said sternly.

Mason frowned, "I'm not here for the show," he replied as he moved his coat back to reveal the Pokéballs on his belt, "I'm a trainer, I came here to challenge the gym" he said as he took out and flashed his badge case showing the single badge inside.

Daisy seemed to blink, "Oh I see, well that's easily sorted then" she said before whistling towards the pool getting both her sisters attention as they swam up to the top to breach before looking down at them.

"What's up Daisy?" Lily asked

"Yeah we're still trying to get this routine down" Violet added.

"We have a trainer here looking for a battle" Daisy responded gesturing to Mason.

For a brief moment Mason thought perhaps this was something different than in the anime and he was actually going to get his battle. But that hope was dashed as he saw Daisy pluck something from a small pouch on her ankle and toss it down to Daisy.

Daisy caught what was clearly the cascade badge in her hand before turning to Mason and holding her hand out, "here ya go" she said holding the tear drop shape badge out towards him.

Mason instantly scowled, "what the hell is this" he said his tone sharp as he looked at the older girl.

Daisy frowned, "the badge you came for, of course, do you want it or not" she said back her tone getting sharp as well.

Mason's scowl deepened it was just like the anime, "I came here to earn a badge, not to be given one"

Daisy seemed to sigh, "look kid, we're busy right now preparing for our show and we don't have time to battle you"

"Besides," Lily sPoké from up above, "even if we wanted to we couldn't, you're not the only one to come and challenge this gym"

"Yeah," Violet sPoké up from beside her sister, "we've had like ten challanges in the past two days our Pokémon are still recovering"

Mason frowned, "not all of them surely, you're gym leaders, you're meant to be the major power in this city, surely you have more than just a couple of Pokémon" he had did some reading the night before and come to the realisation that Gym leaders never really used all of their Pokémon against challengers, and depending on how many badges the challenger had the leader would use different combinations and strengths of Pokémon to test them. Mason pointed to the pool where inside there were a number of other water Pokémon swimming around, "what about them!"

"We do, but they are resting as well" Daisy said, "it's not just new trainers like you, with only one badge, that come through to challenge us you know, and those Pokémon aren't for gym battles they are for our shows, now do you want the badge or not"

"Not like this,�� Mason replied, "besides isn't it against the league regulations to just give a trainer a badge without battling" he stated not entirely sure on the matter.

"It is, but we won't tell if you don't" Lily said from above with a smile.

"Look kid. Gym leaders can choose to give their badges to trainers if they want, we just don't have time to battle you and all of our Pokémon are too weak right now to battle you," Daisy sPoké to him as she tossed the badge to him, "so just take the badge already, it's what you came for."

Mason caught the badge and his scowl deepened, he did not want it like this, he was going to earn each and every one of his badges the right way, he wasn't going to take the easy route like Ash did in the anime, getting half his badges through luck. He tossed the badge back at her, "Keep it, I came here to battle a gym leader, to earn my badge the right way. But clearly you three are more focused on your show than actually being gym leaders" he snapped.

Daisy scowled right back, "We are not," she argued, "The show is important, it's what brings in most of the money to keep this gym running half the time, so of course we are going to focus on it when we need to"

"Don't bullshit me," Mason snapped back, "the league puts out grants to gyms on a monthly basis to help leaders keep their doors open and pay the bills," he countered, he had read about those grants the day before in the library when he was getting caught up on things.

"Well yeah," Daisy replied, "but you have no idea how much paperwork is required to sign up for those grants, besides we enjoy doing out shows and it brings in way more money than those grants," she said as she brushed her hair back.

"I knew it," Mason scowled, "you three are nothing more than just Ditzy airheads, who care more about putting on makeup and doing your hair than actually running this gym" he spat in disgust, "you're a disgrace, and the three of you have no place running a Pokémon gym" he said turning on his heels and walking back the way he came.

"Hey wait just a second," Daisy called after him, but Mason didn't stop as he continued his path out of the gym and continued on with a scowl on his face.

'Bloody airheads, I'm surprised they don't float away with how much hot air is in their heads in comparison to how small their brains are' Mason internally raged. Now he was going to have no choice whatsoever but to wait for Misty to get here so that he could have a proper battle.

As he walked in the direction of the shops he'd seen the day before he tried to calm himself down it would do him no good to continue being angry.

Time skip

It was half an hour later that Mason found himself walking out of one of the shops on the Main Street with a new navy blue backpack slung over his shoulder, his other gear stored inside one of the three pods that were inside it. He was more than pleased with his new purchase, the weight off his back was rather appealing.

It may have eaten up forty thousand of his fifty eight, but he knew that it would be worth the investment.

Looking up and down the high street Mason pondered on just what he was where he should go next, he had plans to buy TMs for his team but he wasn't sure totally on what to get just yet, he had plans but he wanted to refine them some more before he was absolutely certain, from what he'd seen before TMs were pricey just like in the video games and he didn't have all that much money left to spend.

As he pondered his next destination a certain familiar figure caught his eye and he smirked, 'well guess destiny really was at work' he thought to himself before he started to jog over, "hey Brock" he called.

The Pewter city gym leader turned when he heard his name called and smiled when he was who it was, "Mason, hey, Ash and Misty said you had gone on ahead,"

Mason smirked, "yeah, I take it that means there here as well and you're travelling with them?"

Brock nodded, "yeah, Ash challenged me a day or so after you, I take it he's the friend you mentioned after our battle"

Mason sighed and nodded, "yeah, I told him he needed to train more before he challenged you, I take it you mopped the gym floor with him"

Brock smirked, "well I wouldn't put it that harshly but yeah our first battle was pretty one sided, the second time he came back the next morning it was a bit of a different story when his Pikachu's electricity set off the water sprinklers mid battle"

Mason sighed, "I take it that won him the match then?" Guessing that things had played out the same way as they did in the anime.

Brock shook his head, "it would have except Ash didn't attack after that and forfeit the match, said that he didn't want to win on a fluke like that"

Mason sighed again, "and I bet you gave him the badge anyway, right?"

Brock looked surprised, "how did you know?"

Mason shook his head. "Just a guess, as much as I like Ash giving him that badge might have been a bad move, I was trying to get him to train his Pokémon properly and take being a trainer more seriously, had he lost again I'm sure that he would have just challenged your gym again on the way back to Viridian for the tournament, at least then he would have won it from you properly"

Brock frowned a little and nodded, "Misty said you were trying to do something like that before you left, but I'm sure it won't make much of a difference in the long run, gym leaders are allowed to choose who's worthy of receiving their badges and Ash showed me he had good character when he ended the match like he did"

"Character has nothing to do about being a good trainer, but I hope you're right Brock" Mason said shaking his head, so Ash was off to the same start as in the anime… he didn't really know how he felt about that but there wasn't much he could do about it now, "so, what made you decide to travel with them, don't you need someone to run your gym?"

Brock nodded, "well yeah, but it turned out my dad had been back in town for a couple of weeks, long story, but he was able to take over running the gym so that I could go travelling, you see I want to travel to learn more about Pokémon so that I can become a professional Pokémon breeder, it's always been my dream, but with my responsibility to my siblings and my families gym I just never got a chance to pursue it"

Mason smiled, "well I'm glad you're getting the chance to now" he told him honestly, "hey if you're a breeder mind if I ask you for some tips on preparing my Pokémon's food for the best nutritional value, I've only just been learning about it for about a month and I want to make sure that I'm feeding my team right so that they get the most out of it, I'm pretty sure I'm doing okay, Professor Oak gave me the recipe for Dratini but I'm not sure that it's right for my other Pokémon"

Brock nodded, "sure thing, I was actually looking for a store in particular that sells the best ingredients for making Pokémon food to fill up while Ash went to challenge the gym, you can tag along and I can walk you through things, I take it you've already gotten your badge here?" He asked

Mason smirked, "thanks that would really help me out" he said before frowning, "no, and Ash will be in for a rough time of it at that gym. Those leaders are a disgrace, they practically were offering me their gyms badge just to get me to go away"

"What!" Brock said in shock, "that's against league regulations. Did they even give a reason?"

Mason nodded, "yeah some rubbish about all of their Pokémon being too tired to battle, but I could tell they could care less about battling, all they are concerned about it their shows and their looks, they are completely shallow and couldn't care less about their gym"

"That is disgraceful, after we're done getting the supplies do you mind if we go by there? I want to see this for myself, if they are as bad as you say I'll report them to the league and have them replaced. I can't condone such trainer running a gym" Brock stated

Mason nodded, "sure thing, come on you can show me this shop you were talking about," he said as the two of them started down the street.

Time skip

It didn't take the pair long to locate the store. It was a small quante little shop, with not much to it. On the outside Mason thought that it looked like an old herbal remedy shop. The front store windows were lined with jars of various herbal items and different types of berries.

Walking in through the front doors with Brock the bell chimed and announced their entrance and Mason's nose was assaulted by the various smells that he had no idea what to make of, it was rather overwhelming at first but after a moment he seemed to adjust.

"Rather potent isn't it" he muttered to Brock getting a smirk from the older teen.

"Indeed it is young man" came an old voice from the back of the store as an old woman with white hair a hunched back walked out through a fabric curtain that covered over the door into the back of the store.

She raised her walking cane and gestured to the various jars that lined the shelves that lined every wall in the square room, "the ingredients and herbs all need to be able to breath or they would start to liquidate and rot in the heat of their containers" she said before leaning on her cane once more, "now what can I do for you two today?" she asked as she began to walk over to behind a counter.

"Good afternoon ma'am, my name is Brock and this is my friend Mason, we're both Pokémon trainers and I'm an aspiring Pokémon breeder, and we were hoping to gather up some supplies to make food for our Pokémon while on the road, I'm sure you'll agree that a nutritional diet is key for a Pokémon's well being as well as it's development" Brock states politely as Mason nodded behind him.

"A pleasure to meet you both, and I couldn't agree more, that's why I opened this store in the first place so that trainers could learn how to feet and care for their Pokémon's dietary needs themselves, sadly most just prefer to buy the premade Pokémon food from the stores, so few want to take the time to make their Pokémon's food by hand anymore" she sighed wistfully.

"If you don't mind, Brock has already agreed to help me learn how to come up with better recipes for my Pokémon's food, but I could always use an experts second opinion, do you mind taking a look at my Pokémon and telling me what you think would be best?" Mason asked.

"I would be delighted, young man" the old woman smiled warmly at Masons' request.

Mason nodded as he took the Pokéballs off his belt, "come on out you guys" he said as he tossed the Pokéballs out to the open floor and they opened up and Masons five Pokémon appeared in the small shop.

"Wow" Brock said as he looked over the five, "Misty told me on the road you had a Poliwag, I guess it must have evolved hm"

Mason nodded, "just the other morning actually," he confirmed.

Brock nodded, "though neither Ash nor Misty said anything about you having a Golbat on your team, a recent catch?" He asked as the old lady made her way over to examine the Pokémon.

Mason nodded, "you could say that, I ran into a little trouble the other day, some Team Rocket goons at the nugget bridge just north of the city, one of them had Golbat as their Pokémon, after I beat them I may have liberated her from their possession, it just didn't sit right with me leaving Pokémon to be used as tools for criminals" he explained as Golbat flew up to him and landed on his shoulder taking the opportunity to muzzle against the side of his head affectionately much to Spearows annoyance as she took perch on his other shoulder and did the same to his other side of his head as Mason struggled to keep standing being the perch for both Pokémon.

Brock and the old lady chuckled at his expense, "well Golbat certainly seems happy to have you as her trainer, and as much as I dislike stealing Pokémon I can't help but agree with your sentiment about Pokémon being used as tools"

"Indeed," the old woman vouched as she smiled, "these Pokémon are in the peak of health and are obviously very well trained and looked after, their trainer obviously cares for them, and with the proper diet they will only flourish, I'd be more than happy to help you with that" she said with a smile, while the five Pokémon preened under her praise.

Making her way back to the counter she took out a pad and pen as she began to write down some things, "alright now come over here and I'll start running you both through the steps on these recipes, I know the perfect ones for your Pokémon to really bring out their potentials"

Brock and Mason came over and eagerly began to listen as the old woman began to run them through the various recipes and their steps, as well as the theory behind each of them and their nutritional values.

Timeskip

It was half an hour later that Mason and Brock we're leaving the store with their purchases stowed away in their bags along with the copied notes of everything that the old lady had told them.

Mason had also made an additional purchase of a Pokéblock case and a portable Pokéblock mixer which the old lady had recommended he use as well for during their training sessions in order to give his Pokémon extra nutrients and keep their energies up. He had also bought a large stock of berries to go along with it to heed her advice and knew he'd be working it into the routine to help with his Pokémon's training, in all it had only cost him a four thousand so he knew he'd still have plenty left to see about getting a Technical machine or two before he left to start the next leg of his journey.

"I hope you were paying attention back there, that old lady really knew her stuff, even I leaned a couple of new things from her" Brock said as the pair of them began to head to the gym as planned.

Mason nodded, "yeah, I'm looking forward to getting to try out the Pokéblock machine I got, though I might need some help in some of those food recipes she told us about"

Brock waved him off, "don't worry about it, tonight at the centre I'll show you how to set everything up and we can go through each of the recipes, I'm going to have to learn that one for poison and flying types after all, with my new Zubat, I've never had to before"

Mason chuckled, "true, hey Brock I was wondering why did you only bring your Onix and Geodude along with you on this trip, surely you have other Pokémon at the gym"

Brock nodded, "I do Mason, but there are other Pokémon that can fill in for geodude and onix, if I had taken any of the others it would have left my dad in a bit of a pickle if a stronger trainer with more than three gym badges came by to challenge for the badge, I take it you know how the strength rankings work for the gyms?"

Mason nodded, "yeah, trainers with below theee gym badges get handicaps, facing the leaders weaker Pokémon, after three badges the strength goes up, and after five badges the strength goes up again, it's to make it harder on them to prepare them for the league"

Brock nodded, "that's right and in the past couple of years the regulations have changed yet again with trainers coming over from other regions to challenge our gyms, the leagues have been introduced a new ranking system for trainers and depending on what rank you are the gyms will get even tougher," he explained.

Mason arched an eyebrow, "how so?" He asked curious about this as he hadn't read that far into the records.

"Well depending on your ranking the first gym in a region could battle you with the numbers or strength of what trainers would normally face the fifth gym, the more experienced your ranking says you are the less likely the leaders are going to cut you any slack in your battle with them" Brock explained.

Mason whistled, "sounds hard, but I can see why they'd do it like that, no sense in an experienced trainer pulling their first badge in a new region in a two on two battle versus weak Pokémon that a new trainer would struggle to beat,"

Brock nodded, "I suspect that's what the leagues are thinking, and it's why I was confident in giving Ash my badge even without him winning it properly, he'll face tougher challenges before the league he's sure to prove himself worthy of the badge before too long"

Mason nodded while internally wondering if that would prove to be true, if Ash would rise to the challenge, or if he'd crumple and fail when things got too tough for him, this league was certainly sounding far tougher than what he'd seen in the anime. He was certain that before too long even he'd be running into difficulties, but he was confident that he'd be able to push through them his team was coming along well and he was certain that they'd be able to combat any challenge, Ash, he'd have to wait and see.

Soon enough the pair of them found themselves arriving at the cerulean gym just as the crowd was leaving after the show. They waited until the crowd had thinned before they began to make their way inside.

As they made their way onto the main floor where Mason had sPokén to the sisters before they came across a rather heated argument in progress.

"I came here to battle for a badge, not be given one" they heard the voice before they had even entered the area.

Ash was standing pointing at the three sisters clearly upset as Daisy was once again holding out a badge in her hand.

"Oh come on, we've already tried explaining it to you, we can't battle you" Daisy said rolling her eyes, "all our Pokémon are in the Pokémon centre, so just quit being so stubborn and take the badge or get lost already"

Mason had to blink for a second, this was rather different than what had happened in the anime, Ash had actually been ready to take the badge in the anime, but now he was refusing and wanted to earn it. Mason couldn't help but feel a little bit of respect, for Ash because of that. 'Hmm, perhaps there's hope for you yet Ash' he thought to himself.

"So it is true," Brock said from beside him, not looking to pleased as he started over to the scene, Mason keeping pace beside him.

His words catching the eye of the three sisters and Ash.

"And just who are you," Daisy said looking to Brock before recognising Mason, "hey you're that kid from before, what rethink your decision well that's just too…" she began to say before Mason cut her off.

"Not a chance," Mason sneered, "there's no way I would disgrace my Pokémon by just accepting a badge, not when my team has been training hard so that they could prove their strength and earn a badge properly" he stated firmly.

That was when Brock stepped forward, "you three are a disgrace, and you dare call yourselves Gym leaders" he said a hardness in his voice that surprised Mason.

"And just who are you," Daisy sneered back at Brocks hard glare.

"I'm Brock Harrison, the former leader of the Pokémon Gym in Pewter City" Brock said with a glare, "just what the hell are you three thinking, giving out Pokémon badges just because your Pokémon can't battle, you know that is against league policy"

"Whatever, the league's policy states that a gym leader can choose to give their badge to whoever they judge fit, so we're not technically breaking any rules" Daisy said dismissively while both her sisters look a little worried about another gym leader catching them giving badges out.

"That is for when trainers prove themselves, and even then you have to notify the league when you do so" Brock stated his tone unwavering, "just giving badges out throws the whole system off. The former leader of this gym would be disgusted by how you three are disgracing his gym"

Both Lily and Violet looked like someone had just slapped them with that comment as Daisy glared hatefully back, "And just what the hell would you know about it hm, don't you dare speak about our father. You didn't know him."

"I didn't, but my father did, and he sPoké highly of the man and his skill in battles, and his belief in the system that the gyms represented, and yet you three disgrace both him and his gym by you just giving away his gyms badges" Brock said passionately.but his tone no less hard.

A look of pain crossed Daisy's face at Brocks statement, and she looked to be ready to retort before another voice interrupted her.

"WHAT!!!!!"

All of them looked up to the sound of the voice to see Misty standing at the top of the seating area with a look of absolute rage on her face, "What do you mean "give away badges"!" she yelled sounding even angrier than the looked.

""Misty"" Both Lily and Violet sPoké in shock seeing her while Daisy just blinked before rolling her eyes, "oh it's just you" she said sounding unimpressed.

Misty glowered at her sisters before she came storming down the steps and jumped the railing at the bottom and landed on the floor, her scowl still on her face, "Answer me Daisy, what is he talking about!"

Daisy rolled her eyes again, "What do you care, last I checked you took off on your own little journey, as far as I'm concerned you gave up any say about what we do here when you left"

"I left to train and become a better water Pokémon trainer you know that" Misty snarled back

Daisy scoffed, "Oh please, you left because you could never step out of the three of our shadows, you were jealous and threw a temper tantrum and left when you couldn't get your way with no daddy to run crying to" she said harshly

Both Lily and Violet gasped, "Daisy!", "That's going to far!"

"Oh don't give me that!" Daisy turned on them, "you know she was always his favorite of the four of us, mom may have doted on us more but she was always daddy's little girl"

"You know that's not true!" Misty snapped her voice starting to shake at the memories of her father, she knew it was, her father always tended to her more when she was younger while her sisters were away with their mom.

"Yes it is," Daisy snapped back, "ever since that incident with Dads Gyarados when you got scared, he always favored you more"

"That's because he blamed himself and was worried about her" Lily argued getting angry herself at how Daisy was speaking about their father.

"He may have tended to her more but he was always there for the rest of us Daisy, you know that" Violet argued right alongside her sister.

"Oh please, if he blamed anyone it was me," Daisy snapped, "because I was the one ment to be watching Misty when it happened, he never treated me the same after that"

"And so this is your way of getting back at him" Mason stated in realisation from the side having listened to everything that had been said and was starting to see that some things were different from the canon, "by ruining his gyms reputation."

"Shut your mouth!" Daisy snapped at Mason angrily, "I would never do that, not on purpose! He may not have treated me the same but he was still my dad. I've already explained why we can't battle, it's going to take at least another two days before our Pokémon are fit for battling again after their last battles"

"Then you should have posted a notice of that instead of just handing out badges," Brock stated firmly.

"And miss out on two days worth of shows, forget it," Daisy said rolling her eyes.

Misty snorted, "you always did care more about shows than you did about the gym itself."

"Well what do you expect!" Daisy snapped, "while dad was always happy for you to join him when he was training his Pokémon for the gym battles, we were with mom practicing with her with both out Pokémon and joining her in her shows. This gym has always done both side by side to show both the beauty and strength of water Pokémon"

Mason frowned he was starting to see now just how this rift between the sisters had came about and rubbed the bridge of his nose as he felt a headache coming on, 'Family drama's can be so troublesome'

"Then if you aren't going to battle I will" Misty snapped, the conversation having continued on while Mason was trying to soothe his headache, "I'm still registered as one of the gym leaders here so if you three aren't going to step up I will"

"Fine then," Daisy snapped, "then you can battle these two, if they are so set on battling for their badges might as well give them an easy win to get them out of our hair" she said dismissively.

Both Violet and Lily exchanged looks and nodded to one another before they both stepped up to Daisy both hooking an arm of hers before they began to drag her away, "we need to talk Daisy" Lily said, "like right now" Violet added.

"Hey what are you both doing!" Daisy yelled as she was pulled away.

Misty sighed at the scene before she turned to both Mason and Ash, "So what will it be, are you two ready to battle or not!"

Mason nodded, "Yeah I am, but since Ash was the one making the challenge he can go against you first, will you have enough Pokémon to battle us both?" he asked

Misty nodded, "Yeah I do don't worry" she said confirming as she began to walk over to the pool.

Mason looked to Ash and gave him a smirk, "good luck Ash, you're going to need it" he smirked before looking to Brock, ��come on we can watch from the stands" he said gesturing to the seats.

Scene break

It took a little while for both Ash and Misty to get into position and to get the floating platforms out onto the water so Mason and Brock had more than enough time to find the way up to the seating area. And just as the battle was about to begin they were joined by Lily, Violet and a rather subdued looking Daisy.

Mason arched an eyebrow, 'hmmm, guess her sisters must have really ripped into her about what she said, hopefully they got through to her' he thought to himself before he focused more on the battle that was just starting.

The battle played out for the most part just as Mason remembered it from the anime, with Ash's first choice being Pikachu, only for the small yellow Pokémon to refuse to battle a friend. Mason wanted to sigh, as much as he liked Pikachu it was clear that Ash needed to learn to be a bit more firmer on his Pokémon. He knew it sounded harsh but the fact of the matter was Ash let himself get trod on by his Pokémon and that was what lead to trouble down the road.

He watched on as Ash sent out butterfree as his first choice against misty's staryu, and Mason could tell that Misty was a lot more skilled here than she was in the anime, as she instantly ordered Staryu into the water as soon as Ash called for a tackle attack and countered with a rapid water gun.

Mason watched as butterfree dodged and weaved through the water gun attacks, he could see that there had been some results from its training with his poliwag but it was clear that Staryu was much better trained as the attacks got a lot faster quickly and soon Butterfree hit the water and was struggling to stay afloat only to get slammed by a quick rapid spin from Staryu putting it out of commission.

Misty smirked, "you're going to have to do better than that if you want to win Ash, I'm no pushover"

Mason smirked and he could hear Misty's sisters mutter between themselves he could hear that they were impressed with Misty's battling and use of her environment to her advantage.

The battle continued as Ash called out Pidgeotto and Misty swapped out Staryu for Starmie and instantly went for the same strategy again as she ordered Starmie into the water of the pool and then to begin to attack from its cover.

Pidgeotto however was quicker and was able to dodge each attack that came its way from the purple star Pokémon as it spun out of the water to attack over and over. And on the final one Ash ordered a counter with Gust which caught Starmie as it came in for another attack and blew it back and out of the pool to slam against the wall hard.

Misty was about to give another order when things started to shake and with a loud crash, what Mason could only describe as a large tank with a long hose broke through the far side of the gym wall and into the main stadium, he could only just about make it out from where he was seated.

"What's going on!" Daisy yelled as she and her sisters stood up from their seats in shock.

Mason scowled as he stood up his hand already going for his Pokéballs picking out two of them.

"Prepare for trouble," "make it double" the two familiar voices began to sound as two figured began to rise out of the body of the tank on a raised platform.

"Oh will you give it a rest!" Mason yelled as he tossed his Pokéballs out, "Dratini, Dragon Rage, Golbat, Hyper Beam. Blast those idiots away!" he ordered, not in the mood to deal with their antics

"Hey that's rude!" Jessie yelled! "Yeah where are your manners!" James agreed as Mason's Pokémon burst from their balls, Dratini dropping into the water before coming up as it gathered its draconic energy to attack, with Golbat appearing in the air as it instantly gathered energy for its hyper beam.

Team Rocket never stood a chance. The Draconic ball of purple flames smacked into the machine behind them and blew it up launching the trio off their contraption and onto the floor from the shock wave, before Golbat released its Hyper Beam from above hitting the ground and blasting both Team Rocket and their machine launching them out of the gym and sending the trio skyward.

"Wow!" was the general consensus going around in the wake of the double attack as all eyes went to Mason.

"And you said you only had one badge" Daisy said looking at Mason in a new light,"Where did that come from?"

Mason shrugged, "I just have a very low tolerance when it comes to dealing with those idiots" he offered as explanation, 'Plus this way Pikachu has no way to show off its OP electrical attack, and so the sisters have no reason to give Ash his badge anyway, meaning Ash will have to earn it the right way' he internally thought to himself. "Now that those idiots are done with lets get back to the battle," he said as he recalled both Dratini and Golbat to their balls.

"Oh yeah," Misty said realising she was still in a battle, "Starmie, back in the water!" she ordered quickly.

Starmie moved to obey but was weakened greatly by its crash and the gust attack had blown away all the moisture on its body giving it no water to draw energy from.

"Don't let it Pidgeotto, use Wing attack, knock it back!" Ash ordered as Starmie was nearing the edge of the pool ready to jump in only to be met by Pidgeottos wing hard across its gem knocking it way from the pool once more and this time it's light went out.

Misty frowned as she recalled starmie, "alright then it's down to this" she said as she called Staryu out once more, instantly having it jump into the water as the battle began anew.

Mason sat back and sighed, not paying attention to the battle now, he didn't exactly care for the result, because he knew that at least now Ash would earn his victory either way. Misty knew of Pikachu's strength and with Ash defeating at least one of her Pokémon, she would be able to concede he could have won both if Pikachu had battled, it wasn't a total win but it was still a win and at least the battle would actually have a proper victor this time.

And it did. Much like the first battle Misty ordered staryu to attack at range from the water but Pidgeotto was to fast for its ranged moves, and when Misty ordered staryu to get closer to attack physically it ended up the same as Starmie when it was caught in a gust from pidgeotto and launched out of the air and crashing down hard on the water platform only to get slammed with a wing attack when it tried to get back up, ending the second battle.

And like that Ash had actually earned his second badge the right way. Mason smirked, it would be his turn next and he was looking forward to it.