Chapter 13 Dojo

"Hey, Ash?"

"What is it?"

"What did you do to Primeape?"

Ash smiled. "Oh, I sent him to go get practice at the Dojo back in Saffron. He said he was getting close to perfecting an entire new martial art before the world ended."

"Sounds interesting. Any details?"

Ash pondered. "The main point was that it's a style with absolutely no focus on defence at all, not even much on using your opponent's strength. Its' only provision for beating someone is to literally beat them into submission."

"Neat." Riolu commented, already thinking about how he could handle such a combat philosophy. Just using Counter wouldn't help, as it was likely the style's inventor had seen round that problem.

"Where next?"

Celadon City Gym. Leader: Erica.

"Oh, yeah, her. The rabid feminist." Ash rubbed his chin. "Now, how to handle her…"

Misty grinned cheekily. "Your first step, Ashley-"

"NO!" Ash shouted, cheeks flaming. "It was bad enough the first time, worse the second, and not quite as bad as the third, which is what really worries me!"

Kricketune chirped in the grass, somewhat unusually as they weren't native to the region.

Misty coughed. "Something you want to talk about, Ash?"

"NO!"

"Riiiiight…" Misty shook her head. "Not going to go there… anyway, remember the rules, Ash?"

"They don't let boys or men into the gym for some reason?"

Brock shook his head. "No, it's just rude ones. Though since Misty got in there just fine, apparently they only…" The words 'ban rude boys' died on his lips at Misty's sudden glare. "Aaaand I'm stopping right there."

"Good choice…" Misty grumbled.

Ash raised his hand. "You mentioned rules?"

"Yeah," Brock began as the more technically knowledgeable of the two Gym Leaders. "Erika in particular tends to ask that people demonstrate the ability to nurture Pokémon at all stages of their evolution. To that end, if you have a first stage Pokémon you have to use one, same for the second and third. I think that last time Pikachu fulfilled your second stage requirement and you didn't have a third at the time. But now, since you have Pidgeot and Charizard, you have to use one of them."

Ash laughed. "Not that that's a hardship!"

Misty continued on from there. "And since you've only got two each of first and second stages, you need to pick one of each of them."

Ash considered for a few seconds. "I don't know why, but with what you said about her liking the whole nurturing thing… I think I should use Squirtle, Ivysaur and Charizard."

Pikachu nodded. "It has a certain ring to it… and there's no way I'm going out there, too many well grounded Pokémon."

Riolu said something to himself about energy element attacks, and nodded his assent for the plan.

Misty turned on Ash. "Just don't start going on about perfume again!"

Ash cringed away from her. "Right, turn off nose, got it."

"Ash, trying to give you a sense of culture is like teaching a rock to swim."

Brock coughed. "Point of order. Corsola."

Misty flushed. "You know what I mean!"

"So, you are the day's second challenger."

Ash blinked. "Well, I don't know about second, but I'm certainly a challenger. Who was the other one?"

Erica made a dismissive gesture. "Some fool boy who didn't read the rules, thought to beat us all with a Fearow and got annoyed when he had to use his Squirtle and Golem too. Close match – good match – but he's got problems controlling that bird of his. Her eyes narrowed. "I take it you have read the rules?"

"Of course!" Ash called, conveniently forgetting to mention that it had taken him four-odd years to get around to it.

"Right. Now, as a Grass type trainer, I emphasize control of the terrain of battle. You will need to counter this by denying me opportunities to set up a blow. Now, show me you can react fast enough when the entire forest itself is after you! Tangela!"

Ash brought up his own Poké Ball. "Squirtle!"

Erica delicately stepped back onto a small dais, and raised an eyebrow. "Starting with a water type? Daring."

Squirtle eyed his opponent contemplatively. "So, you're my opponent."

Tangela replied by shuffling off to the side of the arena, and wrapping a tree in his slim, sturdy vines. Squirtle, meanwhile, was soaking the floor of the arena in as much water as he could manage, neither wanting to commit to an actual attack as yet.

Erika's voice snapped out, totally different to her normal polite tones. "Now!"

Tangela began pulling… and the entire tree erupted out of the ground, the twenty foot young willow seeming to come to life and walk.

Ash gaped in shock, before calling to his Pokémon. "Squirtle, watch out! That thing probably weighs a good few tonnes!"

"Working on it!" Squirtle replied, then took a good look at the faux-Ent. "Wow, that is pretty big, yeah. Good thing I have a plan."

The Tangela strode forward, beginning to send out Stun Spores. Squirtle dove into the muddy water that he'd already created, then popped back up to stick out his tongue. "There's not a chance such a roundabout way of fighting will work on me! I'm the badass-eep!" He dove back under the water to avoid a shower of leaves, and a branch coming down in a massive Wood Hammer.

Erica looked mildly disapproving at the mess on her gym floor, as the water gradually deepened, joined occasionally by more leaves, fountains of mud from the steps of the tree or the odd missed Power Whip.

Ash spoke up. "Er… what kind of waterproofing does this gym have?"

Erica frowned properly at that. "Why?"

"I think it's going to be really important soon…"

She rapped out another command. "Giga Drain!"

Squirtle responded by diving into the now foot deep water, and came up on the other side of the tree to his foe. "Eat this, Hydro Cannon fodder!"

Ash released Pidgeot and took to the air.

Squirtle inhaled massively, and then fired a small jet of water… with a tiny blue sphere, striated with white lines around the middle, in the centre of the stream.

Upon impact with the tree, it detonated into about an Olympic swimming pool's full of water.

The "puppet" fell over into the water, and a panting Squirtle finished the job by firing an Ice Beam at the indoor lake – freezing the surface, and also causing the tree major structural damage from frost shatter.

Ash withdrew his tired Water type for a rest, switching in Ivysaur as the dazed Tangela began to recover.

Ivysaur came in hard, firing a cloud of poisonpowder into the air around Tangela, and watching with satisfaction as his opponent turned a distinctly unhealthy shade.

Erica thought hard. The ice stopped her from getting Tangela to Ingrain, and a lot of his attacks had little or no effect against another Grass type.

"Bind him!"

The somewhat groggy Tangela obeyed, vines snaking out for Ash's Pokémon. As they approached him, Ivysaur's face suddenly split in a great grin.

"Venom shock!"

Tangela twitched and fell over, out of the fight.

"Not bad at all, challenger. Now, you face my first-caught Pokémon. Gloom!"

It really is amazing how someone who seems so nice can have such a command snap in her voice…Ash mused to himself. But then, Gym Leaders don't exactly get their positions by lottery.

Ivysaur squared his shoulders and crouched low to the ice upon which he stood.

Gloom set her stance and began emitting her Sweet Scent.

The two stared at one another…

Then Ivysaur spoke. "Can we actually hurt one another?"

Gloom looked puzzled. "I… don't know."

Ivysaur bashed the ground with his foreleg; no luck there, too hard to Dig. "What generally happens in this situation?"

Gloom pondered. "This." She fired a Leech Seed at Ivysaur, who countered with his own. Both sat for a moment in their energy draining nets, then Erica, frustrated beyond endurance, called out to her Pokémon. "Gloom, try Secret Power!"

The ground glowed, and Ivysaur rolled out of the way just in time to evade a chunk of ice slamming out of the floor. It wasn't an actual Ice attack, but it was quite close.

"Nature Power!"

The attack ripped up the floor of the impromptu skating rink and set it to orbit around Ivysaur, who then began diverting it at his foe in a vague blizzard. Though Gloom managed to fire a Sunny Day into the air that basically rendered that moot as well, and both just started launching Solarbeams at one another, doing almost nothing at all.

"This is very good tea, Erica. You grow it yourself?"

The petite woman nodded gravely, passing the refilled cup to Misty. "Yes, I do. It's the Celadon special blend, with a hint of white leaves and just a touch of the fruits of the gym's Tropius."

Behind her Ash was slumped against the wall, reading a file on his Pokedex about the longest Pokémon match in history. He was starting to feel that he was going to be the new example.

Ivysaur and Gloom huddled around a computer screen, going through the complete list of moves they knew, trying to find something to end the damn fight.

"Seed bomb?"

"No."

Ivysaur hit the Page Down button again. "This is taking forever."

"Well, if you'd just stop healing yourself…"

Ivysaur Synthesized again, regenerating the damage done by the Leech Seed in the last few minutes. "You stop first."

Gloom punched up yet another Sunny Day, the evening sun flaring to greater brightness. "No thanks."

"Suit your…self…" Ivysaur looked up with a grin. "I win. Fury Cutter."

Gloom brushed away the cut leaf. "I fail to be impressed."

"Fury Cutter."

She frowned. That actually stung.

"Fury Cutter."

Ash looked around at the hiss of surprise, noticing that something was actually happening.

"Fury Cutter!"

Erica stood up from the table, the tea ceremony forgotten. "What…"

"Fury. Cutter!"

The last blow sent Gloom flying through the humid air, smashing into the wall and sliding limply down, clearly unconscious.

Erica hurried over to Gloom and scooped her Pokémon up. "I am impressed… though the battle could have been shorter, but never mind. I will face you with a Pokémon specifically able to counter anything you have. Victreebel!"

The pitcher plant formed and spun, facing it's mouth towards Ivysaur and launching a minature sun at the other Grass type.

"What's that?" Ash asked, pointing his Pokedex.

Weather Ball, a high versatility attack that differs depending on the ambient conditions.

"Victreebel, Hail and then Weather Ball again! He can't send out his Pidgeot in this, the conditions are too harsh for her."

Ash let a smile spread across his face as Ivysaur ducked underground. "So, you chose this Pokémon to be able to counter anything I have?"

"Yes. Your Riolu, Pidgeot, Squirtle, Ivysaur and Pikachu."

Ash nodded in understanding, and threw two Pokeballs. One emitted a red beam, the other white. "Charizard, Flamethrower!"

"You forgot. About Charizard. In a Grass Gym. When you had planned to use him from the start."

Ash tried to look put-upon, which is hard to do while being half-throttled ten feet in the air. "I said I was sorry, Ivysaur!"

Erica looked at the scene. "Well, while I wasn't exactly amazed by that part of it…" She let the words hang in the air for a moment. "Your actual switches were pulled off with speed and, in the first case, on no real notice. As I'm sure you noticed," here a faint smile, "That led to your Ivysaur getting enough set up time on my Tangela to finish him off. In addition, it's clear you've built up your Pokémon regardless of their actual evolutionary level, which is exactly what I want to see." She flipped him a Rainbowbadge. "You've earned it."

As Ash reached to catch the spinning Celadon Badge, Ivysaur unceremoniously dropped him and grabbed it himself, then passed it over. "I now consider us even."

"Welcome to Cinnabar Island, challengers. This is the Gym set into the heart of an active volcano, and like my element and this very mountain, my focus is on powerful attacks delivered without concern for defence." Blaine paused, the shifting magma below causing patterns of light to play across his face. "So. You will face me in a conventional battle, but first one of your Pokémon must take on one of mine in a contest of raw power. No evasion, no defending, just pure raw power."

Team Rocket were only paying cursory attention, too focused on trying not to bake in the intense heat of the magma chamber.

"Why can't we just get Gyarados ta give da place a hose down?" Meowth asked, panting frantically.

Blaine heard him. "Don't… do that." He calmed down slightly. "For battles where water types or attacks may be present, we use the secondary battlefield further up and away from the chamber. Follow me there."

The team trooped after him, Jessie fanning herself extravagantly. "Phew… why not the main chamber, anyway?"

Blaine suddenly stopped, and spun on his heel to face the Rockets. "Have you ever heard of Thera?"

James and Jessie looked at one another, and shrugged.

"Nope."

The elderly Cinnabar leader looked a little disappointed, then started walking again, forging ahead at speeds that required the challengers to trot to keep up. "It was a volcanic island that was the base of power for Groudon in the Mediterranean for a good few hundred years. Then he fought Kyogre, and she summoned a great tidal wave to sweep him away." Blaine then made an explosive gesture. "Sixty million tonnes of water. Rocks at eight hundred degrees C. Steam is twelve hundred times the size of water. Thera is now a crater about eight miles across. The explosion sent Kyogre flying about one hundred miles south, and her landing destroyed much of the Minoan civilization that survived the tsunami from the explosion itself. Groudon went north, and opened the Bosphorus on his landing. Do not drop water on an active volcano."

"Er, wow. I guess you know about that sorta thing then?"

Blaine snorted. "I have to. Bad enough when some Totodile or Wooper is used, but anything larger and there's the risk of flash-frying the entire battle in seconds." He paused. "Come to think of it, as I recall the same thing happened not too far from here if the shape of Sootopolis is anything to go by."

Jessie pondered for a second, then took one of James' Pokeballs. "Right, I think we're ready for the power contest now."

The labcoated Gym Leader took one of his own. "Let us begin then. Rapidash!"

Jessie threw her own ball. "Growlie!"

Blaine stared. "You sent out an Arcanine?"

James nodded, smiling affectionately at his Pokémon. "Yep, that's Growlie alright!"

"And I suppose he has Flash Fire as well. Brilliant. Well, this is going to be a long, long fight." Blaine took the stairs into a little booth with what looked like glass windows (but probably weren't) set into the side. "I recommend you get into your observation booth as well. This place is going to get hot."

The rest of Team Rocket made their way into their own booth, Meowth stopping to loop a small jar filled with an unidentifiable substance around Growlie's neck. After a few whispered instructions, he faded out with Faint Attack and materialized inside the armoured control room.

Blaine took a microphone. "Well, this is a total farce, but whatever. Match one: pure power. Begin!"

The Rapidash began by, well, rapidly dashing forward, cloaked in a Flame Charge. Growlie met it head on with one of his beloved Flare Blitzes, the two fire attacks detonating with not much force but a great deal of raw heat. As the shimmer punched outwards, both Pokémon drank in the heat, their respective Flash Fire abilities causing their internal flames to burn hotter in imitation of the fire without.

Meowth looked out of the strangely iridescent "glass" at the explosion, snapping his claws. "One…"

Growlie recovered first from the stunning force of the impact, shaking out his fur and exhaling a Heat wave, having absolutely no effect on Rapidash but driving Blaine to glance at a nearby thermometer. "This could get nasty…"

Rapidash shook Embers at Growlie. Growlie spun around to attack in a Flame Wheel. Both punched out an Inferno at once. The temperature in the room continued to rise, the walls developing a faint, ruddy glow.

Meowth continued to count under his breath. "Four, five…"

James turned curiously. "What are you counting for?"

"Six!" Meowth focused for a moment, and a Double Team illusion appeared in the firestorm outside for a brief instant, before dispersing in the heat. "Just keepin' track for the big guy, dat's all."

"Keeping track of what?" James asked, still watching his Pokémon. Growlie had got the message and was disengaging, the floor moving slightly under his paws and his foe's hooves from the sheer heat.

"Well, the jar I gave him has a meltin' point, and ya need ta use it at the right time. When it's just about to go soft. I put a load'a beads on the wire cord with different meltin' points, ta keep track."

Growlie bit on the wire to either side of the jar, his powerful teeth shredding the tungsten cord, and spat it at the space above Rapidash.

Tracking the object as it flew, Meowth relaxed. "Got it dead on."

Growlie spat flame, and the jar, finally softening in the furnace heat, exploded about five feet short of Rapidash and two feet above his head.

The purplish substance within evaporated near instantly, clouding its' target for a few seconds before dispersing.

Blaine's eyes narrowed. "What was that?"

Rapidash staggered slightly, but shook his head and came erect again.

Growlie snarled a challenge, and his foe accepted, both scorching forward in Flare Blitzes.

But on the two attacks hitting, Rapidash abruptly collapsed to the floor in apparent exhaustion. Growlie, having expected this, halted his own Blitz and threw his head back in a victory roar.

"What was that?" Jessie asked curiously, as James threw up his arms in congratulation and the floor began to set once more into a glassy black material.

"Some of Arbok's Gastro Acid, it's interestin' stuff. I'm impressed with how well dat worked, might be a good idea to do it more."

The intercom in their booth buzzed to life. "Please leave by the back door, there's not much oxygen left in this arena. We'll need to use ancillary arena 2, and this one will take days to properly become safe again."

Red beams of light returned both Pokémon from the arena to their respective 'balls, and Team Rocket followed the illuminated signs to their remaining matches in the volcano Gym.

"Very well. Begin!" Blaine called, tossing a Poké ball onto the cool floor of the arena they had moved into.

James replied by sending out his own Pokémon, and the two beams of white light coalesced into…

"James…" Jessie asked, staring at the enormous Rhydon that dwarfed its' opponent, "Why have you sent out Weezing?"

James looked embarrassed. "Well, I thought it would be good for him to have a bit of fun now and then…"

Blaine stared. He couldn't tell if this was part of some incredibly elaborate stratagem or just complete idiocy. Who in their right mind sent out a Weezing in a Fire gym?

That said, this team were clearly more intelligent than they appeared – one only had to look at the way they had defeated Rapidash for that.

"Weezing! Use smog!"

Okay, they were lucky idiots.

Rhydon stood there as the smog invaded his airspace, not flinching at the foul stuff, then smashed a foot down on the floor to use Bulldoze.

Fortunately for Weezing, he was still levitating and hence unaffected.

Blaine sighed, then called out, "Smack Down, Rhydon!"

The drill Pokémon obediently snapped off a piece of the arena floor and hurled it at Weezing… and it went wide. It seemed to take a twisted path in the air, curving crazily away from it's target.

"What? How did that- oh, that's clever."

James smiled deviously. "Isn't it? It's simple refraction. All the ice in the air from a Haze that Weezing used with the Smog acts like a Smokescreen, but it's less detectable."

Blaine got a sour look on his face. "Right then. So, it's a refractive effect, which means it's most effective at longer range, where there's greater depth for the light to bend, which also means that… Rhydon! Giga Impact!"

Rhydon snarled, took a low angled stance and rushed at his foe like a charging bull.

Weezing looked slightly vacant as the charge swept down on him, not moving out of the way as Rhydon angled in towards him.

James snapped his fingers. "Now!"

Weezing glowed red.

Blaine's jaw dropped. "What."

Rhydon hit Weezing with the force of a runaway train… and was blown backwards into the wall with the force of two runaway trains.

Blaine walked past his collapsed Rock type, tossing the Poké ball to return Rhydon over his shoulder without breaking stride. "You."

James blinked, Jessie in the background scooping up the concussed Weezing. "Me?"

"Yes. You." Blaine was actually quivering with rage. "How is it that you keep doing things like that? Weezing can't learn counter."

Meowth shrugged. "Pokémon learn a lotta things they ain't supposed to."

The Gym Leader stared for a moment at the talking Meowth, then rubbed his temples with his forefinger and thumb. "Whatever. Next Pokémon."

Cubone stared down her opponent across the Gym floor.

Her opponent, Ninetales, did the same and flared his eyes into the red of Foresight.

Cubone considered. Let's see… if I first go left, then I can pull in a ribcage between my destination and him, then a pair of Bonemerangs on the top and below to prevent vertical escape, that allows me to box him in with a Bone Rush staff angled to land behind him. That and a quick move forward ensures his only ways out are forward, back or towards me. Forward or back I can deal with via a pair of Earth Powers as soon as I land, and then he's going to end up in range of my Bone Club and in the air from jumping the ribcage, unable to dodge…

Ninetales gave a high, barking laugh, then returned to his Poké ball.

Cubone blinked. "What just happened?"

Blaine shook his head. "He does this sometimes… if his Foresight shows that an opponent is definitely going to get a hit in, the lazy guy just doesn't bother fighting."

"Um… okay."

I think it makes total sense. In fact, why didn't I think of that idea first?

"Nevertheless, my final Pokémon will make things harder for you. Magmar!"

Blaine's Magmar appeared in a burst of red light, swinging a Mach Punch straight out of the Poké ball. Cubone blocked it with a quickly formed thigh bone, but was caught off guard by Magmar simply Rock Smashing it out of his way and volleying in a Dynamicpunch.

Cubone picked herself up from the small crater near the wall, and looked around woozily. She couldn't see anything…

Okay. First principles. I'm in a fight. I'm just a little concussed. Wow. Concussion. Con-cus-sion.

Focus.

Right, I'm not well at all. I need to fight. I can't be sure where my opponent even is. I don't know where I am. I must be concussed.

Can't defeat anyone like this. Can help set it up.

As Magmar charged down on her, Cubone's eyes flared a ruddy yellow-orange. She drove her club into the wall hard enough to shake the chamber slightly, causing the fire damage on the walls from previous battles to violently shake loose.

The effort was too much for her, and she passed out – but the blow itself seemed to cause the air to vibrate and swirl, the room ringing like a bell.

Jessie recalled Cubone from their side of the arena, and James sent in their last Pokémon allowed for the fight.

James didn't waste any time. "Gyarados, Twister!"

The swirling tornado that formed in the room gathered up all the tiny rock particles drifting in the air and began sandblasting everyone in the room.

Blaine wrapped a scarf round his face. "Sandstorm? Is this what that Cubone was doing?"

Jessie nodded. "I'm pretty sure, yes."

"But why? Why set it up like this if it was only for a Pokémon as vulnerable as a Gyarados?"

James winked. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Fine." Blaine shook his head. "Magmar, Thunderpunch!"

The Spitfire Pokémon charged forward, lightning gathered in his fist… and promptly dissipated.

"Dat's why!" Meowth called from the Rocket side of the arena. "All tha metal an' quartz in the rock sucks away electricity!"

Gyarados roared, then unleashed a huge wall of water from thin air and rode it towards Blaine's Pokémon.

Blaine sighed. "It's that thing with the blue Sandslash all over again…"

With a great hiss of steam, Magmar was hammered under by the wave, Blaine returning him after it was clear he'd lost.

The Gym Leader sloshed over to the Rockets through the new, three foot swimming pool, muttering darkly to himself about people too clever for their own good.

"You fought well. Here is the Volcanobadge. Now, get out of here before I have to get you involved in the repair work, it's going to be a nightmare getting rid of all this water."

AU: Well, that was action packed.

Gym Battle (with what looks suspiciously like the team from Pokemon Trainer in Brawl) and a Rocket Gym Battle focused much more on SCIENCE!

Ahem.

The explosion that Blaine refers to really did take place, though not due to Pokemon gods fighting, and the tidal wave did take out the Minoan civilization. The island that remains, Santorini, was the basis for the design of Sootopolis.

Finally, the martial art Primeape has developed is essentially Coup de vitesse from the Honorverse books. Think Close Combat, but as an entire martial ar