My apologies for the delay, but here is the next instalment and I hope you enjoy it as much as the other chapters. Again please review, I want to improve my writing you know.

I do not own Pokémon... damn, what a pity.

Chapter 4: New friends, training, and a rocky challenge.

"What a beautiful day!" said Ash, stretching his arms as far as he could and Pikachu and Rose nodded in happy agreement; it was definitely a lovely morning! The sky was a clear baby blue, stretching as far as the eye can see. White puffy clouds floated overhead, dotting the entire horizon and a cool breeze was steadily blowing in, bringing with it the scent of spring. The forest itself was lightly sprinkled with dew, the trees and bushes were sparkling like diamonds and flowers and bushes of all kinds were happily bathing in the life giving sunlight. Pokémon could be heard all around them, hidden from sight. Rattata were chattering together as they gnawed on whatever they could find, Pidgey were flying around in large flocks, competing to see who could fly the highest and some Spearow could be spotted sitting around looking grumpy. Yes it was a lovely morning and nothing could go wrong... Except for one thing...

"Aaaaarrrgghhhhh! EW EWW EWWW EWWWW! GO AWAY!" screamed a certain orange haired banshee for what seemed the hundredth time, as she kicked away what looked like a brown segmented caterpillar with pink feet, pink nose, black beady eyes and stingers on its head and tail. Ash had long used his Pokédex to identify this Pokémon as a Weedle.

Ash, Pikachu and Rose looked back at a cringing and trembling Misty with a sigh and Ash called out in exasperation "Come on Misty, I understand that you don't like bugs but you've been screaming ever since we entered Viridian forest! Give it a rest already!"

"No I will not give it a rest! Bugs are the most disgusting things in whole wide world and I wish they would all just go away!" Misty screamed as loud she could, as if she was hoping that if she screamed loud enough the bugs would listen to her. Pikachu and Rose looked at her in confusion; they couldn't understand what was so wrong with bugs at all.

"Not very likely, if anything all this racket you're making is attracting them" Ash said in a deadpan voice causing Misty to glower at him unhappily. Ash crossed his arms behind his head grumpily "I mean, why you even following us in the first place? You had to have known that Viridian forest is full of bug types, didn't you?"

Misty scowled grumpily "When you said we were going through Viridian forest to Pewter city, I thought we were going to take a bus or something, not go tramping through it on foot!"

Ash raised an eyebrow in question "Where's the fun in that? You can't catch Pokémon if you're in a bus and don't even mention training! No I think I'll walk, it's only a couple days walking, no biggie" and with that Ash motioned to Pikachu and Rose and one again started walking, completely ignoring Misty's threats of painful dismemberment.

Ash's thoughts wondered back to earlier in the morning when he had said goodbye to Cynthia. He wished that she could have come along but she was currently in the middle of training for the Sinnoh Elite Four Challenge, and that would be difficult while travelling around. So Ash and Cynthia had said they're goodbyes and promised to keep in contact before going their separate ways, but both knew that this was not the last time they would meet.

A couple hours and a few thousand threats and dirty words later (Ash couldn't believe the potty mouth she had) Misty had finally lost her steam and was silently trudging alongside them not even flinching when bugs came close anymore, though Ash could see her eyes were still darting about in paranoia. Ash looked up at the sky and seeing the sun hanging up high above them decided that it was time for lunch and after telling the others walked over to sit under the shade of a large leafy tree. Ash amusedly watched as Misty stomped over and threw down her bag sulkily, she was going to be of no help. After everyone was settled Ash sent Pikachu and Rose to get some firewood while Ash dug a fire pit. When the two eventually came back each laden with dead branches, Ash quickly and efficiently arranged the wood in the fire pit along with starter fuel, then Ash got Pikachu to use his Thundershock in a short burst to set the starter fuel alight. There was soon a warm fire burning away quite merrily in front of them and Ash then went ahead and setup a basic metal tripod with a metal pot over the fire. Ash then grabbed a plastic container from his backpack full of soup which he poured into the pot. Misty looked at the soup curiously and Ash seeing her question grinned "Nurse Joy gave this to me this morning before we left the Centre, along with a lot of potions and heals, she said it was a little thanks for protecting the Pokémon Centre"

Misty nodded in appreciation, the soup looked very nice! Ash once again dug into his pack and opening a couple packets of Pokémon food set them in front of Pikachu and Rose before releasing Eevee from her Pokéball. Pikachu and Rose along with Eevee dug into the Pokémon food with squeals of delight and soon afterwards, Ash and Misty were also slurping at the lovely soup that Nurse Joy had so graciously made for them.

As Ash finished his plateful of soup he looked contemplatively at his three Pokémon. Pikachu was easily his strongest, followed by Eevee and then his Mew Rose. While it was true that Rose had defeated the Eevee it had been very close thing, and Ash knew that had Eevee been guided by a trainer, she would have defeated Rose quite easily. But Ash had some plans to change all that. Rose was still only an infant with barely a day of formal training, so it was really no surprise that Rose was less powerful than the others. But if she got some real training, then that could quite easily change. But of course it wasn't just Rose that needed to train. All three of his Pokémon were barely even touching their potential and it was high time to start bringing it out. A task made difficult by lack of training partners, and there was only one way to fix that.

"Guys" Ash began, drawing the attention of his Pokémon "After lunch, we're going hunting" he finished with a predatory grin and his Pokémon, quickly understanding returned his grin with anticipatory grins and Ash grinned wider "and after that we start training, we have a gym match to prepare for" and his Pokémon cheered, this was going to be fun!

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The hardest part of when you were looking for Pokémon to catch, is deciding what to catch. Ash had already decided that he had to catch at least three more Pokémon, probably bug and flying types although he might see if he could get a water type as well, there were sure to be a couple ponds around somewhere.

Right at the moment however Ash was guiding Eevee in a battle against a persistent Weedle, he had already caught a Caterpie a green caterpillar with red antennae and yellow ring-shaped markings down the sides of its body with Pikachu's help and now with the help of Rose he had found a Weedle that had wondered away from its hive. Misty had decided to stay at the camp keeping the fire going, good thing in Ash's opinion, he would have complaints without end if she saw him capturing bug types, this way even if he did catch them it was too late for her to do anything about it.

"That's it Eevee, now dodge and use quick attack!" Ash watched as Eevee jumped aside dodging a flying Weedle that flew past like a missile. Eevee then spun around and smashed into the Weedle, which had somehow gotten its stinger stuck in a tree. Seeing that the Weedle was just about ready to faint Ash expanded a Pokéball and threw it at the weakened Pokémon. Ash watched as the Weedle vanished into the Pokéball in the typical flash of red light. The Pokéball only twitched for a couple seconds before it pinged loudly signifying that the Pokémon was caught.

Ash grinned and Eevee let out a cheer before running over to Ash who kneeled down and gave a congratulatory pat and a happy "That was great Eevee!" and Eevee exuberantly nuzzled against her trainer. While Ash was tending to Eevee he watched as Rose flew over and picked up the Pokéball before flying back to Ash who gave Rose a smile as she dropped the Pokéball into his hand "Thanks Rose" he said appreciatively making Rose smile and spin and flip around playfully.

Ash finished congratulating Eevee before standing up and clipped Weedle's Pokéball to his belt before running his fingers gently over the others. Ash grinned a little smugly, He now had five Pokémon, just one short of a full team. He glanced at Rose, Pikachu and Eevee who were patiently waiting for him while talking with each other. Ash briefly wondered what they were talking about before focusing on his next objective; finding a flying type.

Ash clapped his hands attracting his Pokémon's attention "Alright we have one more Pokémon to find today, a flying type, and after that we start training"

The Pokémon all nodded happily and Ash smirked "Let's go!" and took a step when Rose cried out excitedly. Ash turned around to see that Rose was pointing up into the sky animatedly causing Ash and the others to look up too. Ash squinted against the sun not seeing anything and shaded his eyes from the sun. Ash suddenly saw a shadow framed against the sun, but was unable to see much else. Ash pulled out his Pokédex hoping that it could identify the flying Pokémon and the Pokédex quickly beeped in acknowledgment and blared out "Pidgeotto, an evolved form of Pidgey. It is armed with sharp claws and dives from the sky to capture its prey. Unlike the more gentle Pidgey, Pidgeotto can be more dangerous. Approach with extreme caution"

Along with the explanation the Pokédex also gave a picture. It showed a large raptor-like bird. Its primary colour was brown but its plumage was much more elaborate than its pre-evolved form. Its head-crest was much longer and a reddish colour. The plumage of its tail was also quite colourful, alternating between red and yellow, it had pinkish-gray feet and black markings around its eyes, it also had powerful talons to grasp prey.

Ash lowered his arm to look at Rose with a grin "Nice spotting Rose, you have some good eyes there" and Rose rubbed her head bashfully looking rather pleased with herself. Ash looked back up at the vague speck high in air rubbing his chin thoughtfully "The problem is how to get it down"

Ash looked at Pikachu "Do you think you can hit Pidgeotto from here Pikachu?" Pikachu looked up at the small spec and shook his head no. Ash frowned and briefly looked at Eevee before dismissing the thought, and looked instead at Rose. Rose could fly with unmatched agility and movement, and she had ranged attacks, all she had to do was weaken it, then draw it down to where Pikachu could finish it.

"Rose you're up" Ash called out drawing Rose's attention and Ash caught her eye and she drifted closer "We can't capture Pidgeotto from down here, so it's up to you to bring it down" Rose looked shocked at first, looking up at the circling bird of prey then looking down, feeling a little unsure. She had heard the Pokédex very clearly about Pidgeotto and she wasn't sure she could defeat such a Pokémon yet. Ash noticed her uncertainty and he placed his hand under her chin lifting her up to look in his confident eyes "All you have to do is bring it down here, fly as fast as you can to surprise it, use Thundershock first to stun it from underneath then fly above it and knock it down with Mega Punch" he told her assuredly with a smile and seeing her starting to perk up said "You can do it"

His little encouragement must have worked because Rose's eyes firmed up with resolve and she nodded with determination. Ash beamed with pride and he rubbed Rose's head saying "Do as I said and you'll be fine" before stepping away and yelling "GO!"

Rose nodded and braced herself as if to jump, and with a flare of power and a battle cry she exploded up into the air as if shot out of a cannon towards Pidgeotto. Ash, Pikachu and Eevee watched in stunned amazement as Rose rocketed towards Pidgeotto and Ash mumbled to himself "Mew... the legendary Pokémon".

As Rose approached the Pidgeotto she braced herself for the upcoming engagement and when she was close enough she focused her power and with a cry let loose a Thundershock.

Poor Pidgeotto didn't even know what hit her, one moment she was enjoying the warm thermal air currents that carried her far above the ground, then the next moment she was yelling in pain and shock when she felt the unmistakable waves of electricity zap through her body and setting every nerve on fire. Fighting through the pain Pidgeotto hurriedly looked around searching for her attacker and spotted a pink blur streaking at her from below. Pidgeotto screeched angrily, and even though there were still aftershocks traversing her body she forced her body to turn towards the unknown pink Pokémon.

Rose continued charging at the Pidgeotto even though the Thundershock didn't look to have done much. Rose was nearly taken by surprise then when Pidgeotto suddenly flapped her wings in one strong sweep and burst towards her at great speed, clearly using Quick Attack. Rose quickly flipped to one side barely missing the white and brown streak that was Pidgeotto although she was still buffeted by the wake of displaced air. Rose was now above Pidgeotto and narrowing her eyes at the still mobile Pidgeotto Rose launched another Thundershock and quickly followed after it intending on following up on her attack. This time Pidgeotto saw the Thundershock and quickly back swept her wings causing her to move backward slightly and the Thundershock overshot in front of her. Pidgeotto sighed relief when she successfully evaded the Thundershock, but her relief didn't last long when Rose abruptly reminded Pidgeotto that her opponent wasn't finished, by suddenly appearing in a pink blur and striking out with a Mega Punch.

Mega Punch, a fighting type move that was normally ineffective against flying types, main reason being that most fighting type Pokémon can't fly, so one can understand when Pidgeotto didn't know what to do but feel shock when Rose's Mega Punch landed square in her chest, the directed force of the punch blowing her at great speed towards the ground and more importantly to Rose, towards Ash.

Ash who had been watching anxiously from the ground hissed a quiet "Yes!" triumphantly but could see that Pidgeotto wasn't going to land exactly as planned and called out to Pikachu and Eevee "Come on!" before beginning to sprint in the direction that Pidgeotto was falling.

Pidgeotto continued to fall and Rose kept pace with her to make sure that she not only came down but that she didn't crash into the unforgiving ground, neither she nor Ash wanted Pidgeotto to die. Ash continued to run after Rose and Pidgeotto with Pikachu and Eevee running alongside him. As they ran Ash made an idle comment to Pikachu "Looks like you won't be needed after all Pikachu, looks to me like Rose has things under control" and Pikachu let out a peeved "Pika!" causing both Ash and Eevee to laugh making Pikachu blush.

However it seemed that Ash spoke too soon. As Rose drew closer to Pidgeotto to check on her, Pidgeotto's eyes snapped open and her clawed feet lanced out to grab Rose by her arms, completely immobilising Rose and just like that the tables were turned. Rose cried out in shock and fear and started struggling against Pidgeotto's tight grip, even tried to fly away but that only slowed the fall and Pidgeotto's only response was to tighten her grip, digging her sharp claws into Rose's arms making her wince from the pain, tears emerging from her eyes. Rose looked up into Pidgeotto's eyes and could easily see that Pidgeotto was quite angry.

Back on the ground Ash stopped in shock seeing Rose's plight and shouted out "Rose!" he desperately looked at Pikachu "Can you shoot that far?" Pikachu looked up an anxiously and seeing them only a hundred metres in the air shouted an affirmative "Pika!"

"Then shoot a Thunderbolt around them, see if we can't distract Pidgeotto enough so that Rose can break free!" Ash ordered calmly, if a little tightly and both Pikachu and Eevee could see that he was trying to control his worry. Pikachu nodded and looked back at Pidgeotto and Rose hovering above them. Pikachu effortlessly focused his power and with a bellow hurled a Thunderbolt just beside the two Pokémon.

Pidgeotto visibly flinched and Ash instantly shouted as loud he could "Rose! Use Thundershock again and then kick yourself away!"

Rose heard Ash's shout and she suddenly remembered that she was not alone. Her heart swelled once again with courage as she heard Ash's voice again in her mind "Do as I said and you'll be fine... You can do it!"

Rose blinked away her tears and instantly let loose a defiant cry as she blasted Pidgeotto with Thundershock, Pidgeotto screeched with pain as she felt that cursed lightning a second time. The lightning caused her body to convulse and Pidgeotto's claws involuntarily snapped open releasing Rose who instantly kicked Pidgeotto in the gut with both feet, the double blow forced her away from Pidgeotto and also caused Pidgeotto start falling uncontrollably towards the ground.

Ash, Pikachu and Eevee cheered when they saw Rose break free, but when Ash saw that Pidgeotto was nearly unconscious and unable to control its fall he started running after it. As he ran he pulled out an empty Pokéball from his jacket and expanded it. Seeing Pidgeotto was falling faster as it succumbed to gravity, Ash started running faster as well. Ash swerved around trees, batted branches out of the way, jumped off a small ledge disturbing a nest of Weedle in his desperate rush to save Pidgeotto. He could hear Pikachu and Eevee following along behind him and he could see Rose above them flying towards Pidgeotto as well. All a sudden Ash and the other burst into a large clearing and as he ran he saw that Pidgeotto was about to hit the ground! Ash threw his arm back, twisted his leg and then heaved his arm forward while shouting "GO POKÉBALL!"

The Pokéball shot towards Pidgeotto like it had been thrown by a professional baseball pitcher, and less than two meters off the ground the Pokéball hit an unconscious Pidgeotto who vanished in that familiar wave of red light into the Pokéball which then fell safely to the ground. Ash, Pikachu, Eevee and Rose who had arrived just seconds before, watched with bated breath as the Pokéball wiggled for at least thirty seconds, it seemed that although Pidgeotto had taken two Thundershocks, a Mega Punch and a kick in the gut, it still had a lot of strength. Finally the wiggling stopped and the Pokéball pinged its happy tone, indicating that Pidgeotto was finally captured.

Ash and all the Pokémon slumped to the ground in relief. After about a minute of lying together on the ground Ash finally sat up and dragged Rose into his lap where he gently turned her to sit facing him. Ash patted Rose on head and gently said "That was fantastic Rose, such a brave girl"

Rose blushed a bright red, which considering her pink fur was quite a feat and after Pikachu and Eevee also gave their own complements her blush got even deeper. Rose eventually resorted to hiding her blush in Ash's chest and he just chuckled instead holding her closer in a hug, and Rose nuzzled him back enjoying his warmth. Ash didn't bother to put Rose down when he finally stood up, instead hoisting her up into his arms as he walked over to Pidgeotto's Pokéball. After he had picked up and shrunken the Pokéball he also returned Eevee, before turning to Pikachu and Rose.

"Time to head back to camp guys, that's all for today, after that near accident just now I don't think any of us really want to train, and I also have to treat Pidgeotto, Weedle and Caterpie for any injuries" Ash said with a tired voice, and Pikachu and Rose nodded in agreement. It was for the best.

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It was at least an hour later before Ash and Co returned to the camp. They returned to find that Misty had not been idle while he was out searching for Pokémon. She had not only made sure that the fire did not go out, but she had also much to Ash's gratitude made dinner. It wasn't much, just some packet noodles and dried meat cooked together in the pot with a bit of seasoning. She had also apparently been training the Pokémon she had on her, a Staryu and a Starmie. She also had a Goldeen but she couldn't really train that Pokémon without a large source of water.

Before Ash ate however, he released all his Pokémon so that they could eat as well. There was a little bit of displeasure expressed from Misty when the two bug types were first revealed and she started shouting at them frightening them quite a bit. But Ash quickly put a clamp on that, stating that whatever feelings and opinions she had about bug types, they were her opinions and feelings and that he did not share them at all and that she had no right to demand Ash send them away, they were his Pokémon not hers! He then suggested that she should just ignore them if they were really that bad instead of shouting at them and making them feel bad.

Misty sulked a little after that, but did as he suggested and ignored the two bug types much their relief, although Caterpie seemed quite upset that Misty didn't like it. Just before dinner was served Ash quickly did a check over of his newest acquisitions, Caterpie and Weedle were just fine and all Ash had to was administer a little potion to a couple bruises. Pidgeotto was a little bit worse though, but not too bad considering it could have been much worse. A little Parlyz Heal and some super potion and Pidgeotto was quickly right as rain.

There was a bit of tense moment when Rose and Pidgeotto were properly introduced, Ash had watched nervously as Pidgeotto looked intensely at an anxious and rather small looking Rose, a tense minute later Pidgeotto cooed softly and rubbed a wing on Rose's check and Rose cooed back happily before jumping up and giving a startled Pidgeotto a swinging hug around the neck. Ash sighed with relief, grateful that Pidgeotto had forgiven Rose before happily distributing Pokémon food to his Pokémon who all dug in enthusiastically all the while idly talking with each other. Ash asked Misty if her Pokémon needed anything she declined politely saying that they had already been taken care of.

Later that evening we see Ash and Pikachu laying next to the fire, staring up at the night sky as they contemplated the upcoming future. Everyone else was asleep, the Pokémon had been returned to their balls for the night, Misty was in her sleeping bag mumbling quietly to herself in her sleep, and Rose had been placed into Ash's sleeping bag. Ash could hear her quiet breathing and absently wondered what sort of young innocent dreams she was dreaming. Ash looked over at the fire and saw that it was nothing but red hot coals and so quietly got up to chuck a piece of wood onto the fire to keep it burning. When he sat back down he looked over at Pikachu reflectively who was also enjoying the peace and quiet of the night.

"Pikachu I've been meaning to talk to you about something" Ash said solemnly attracting Pikachu's attention who then hopped over to sit in front of Ash. Ash looked at Pikachu meditatively "I've been meaning to ask you, how you felt about Rose" he said sombrely and Pikachu just tilted his head in question. Ash understood Pikachu's little question and answered "I mean... you are my starter Pokémon, but ever since Rose came into our lives I haven't been able to pay as much attention to you as I would have done otherwise, Rose is so young, childlike and a very affectionate Pokémon, it would hurt her deeply not to return her affection and so I find myself spending a greater amount of time with her than with you and I was just worried how you were feeling about it"

It seemed that Ash needn't have worried because Pikachu gave a little smile and with a coo jumped up and gave Ash an affectionate hug of his own causing Ash to chuckle and return Pikachu's hug. Ash eventually pulled back to ask "You don't mind then, about Rose?" and Pikachu just shook his head no.

Ash chuckled "I guess you're rather fond of her yourself huh Pikachu?" and Pikachu grinned while nodding yes, he was rather fond of Rose, it was rather hard not to be. Ash and Pikachu spent a few moments in reminiscence before Ash suddenly remembered something.

"Hey Pikachu?" Ash asked making Pikachu look up curiously "You know how Professor Oak expanded my Pokémon limit to twelve Pokémon?" said Ash and Pikachu nodded wondering what Ash was on about now. Ash placed Pikachu back on the ground before continuing "Well twelve Pokémon is a lot of Pokémon to keep track of, especially if things have gone wrong, so I've been thinking that I might actually split them into two teams of six, with a team leader to look after them, answering only to me, their trainer"

Pikachu looked up in disbelief, was Ash saying what Pikachu thought he was. Ash looked at Pikachu seriously "I'm going to make you one of the team leaders Pikachu, during this whole situation with Rose you have shown that you can be mature and very tolerant, and your strength and power is exceptional compared to other Pikachu, you are smart and your will is strong, all of these characteristics are essential for a team leader"

During Ash's explanation of Pikachu's virtues Pikachu continued to gain a bigger blush and started to get more nervous. Ash noticed Pikachu worry and grinned reassuringly "Oh don't worry Pikachu, I'm not going to just throw you off the deep end, as your training progresses and as I capture more Pokémon I'm going to steadily give you more and more responsibility, and if it should all go well, you should be able to make appropriate decisions without me being there, so if something should happen, an accident or something, then you will be able to take command in my stead, so what do you say Pikachu, will you accept my proposal?" Ash finished holding out his hand.

Pikachu was struck speechless with Ash's faith in him; Pikachu finally gathered what was left of his dignity and resolve and taking Ash's hand with both paws, declared his agreement.

After Ash and Pikachu made their plans for tomorrow they finally turned in, they had a lot to do tomorrow.

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Over the next few days, Ash and Co fell into a simple routine as they made their way through the Viridian Forest to Pewter City. Every morning they would get up early and have breakfast, then Ash, Pikachu, Rose and the other Pokémon would do their morning training.

On first day, Ash went over the current strengths and weaknesses of all six of his Pokémon and devised physical routines for them. Pikachu was the easiest seeing as most of his normal routine was already worked out, the one difference was there was more emphasis on Pikachu's tail. During talks with Misty Ash had learned that Brock Stone, the current Gym Leader of Pewter city was a rock specialist. So Ash after some careful consideration with his Pokédex on Pikachu's available moves, chose to teach Pikachu Iron Tail, Brick Break and agility, which he hoped would effective moves, not just in the battle with Brock but also in future battles. So in addition to his normal routine of laps, evasive and agility training and toughness training, attack training and electric training, Pikachu also had to drastically strengthen his tail and arm by doing weights. Ash also decided to start training Pikachu in Mega Punch like Rose had, for those moments where Pikachu is in very close combat. Needless to say, Pikachu was very sore by the time training finished.

Rose got a routine very much like Pikachu's, with a lot of Physical conditioning and skills training. While Ash was designing Rose's routine he wondered how exactly he could get maximum benefit out of her training without straining her overly much. Rose's natural instinct was to float when moving around, but Ash knew that in order to strengthen her body she had to use it and she couldn't do that while floating in mid air. While he was idly watching Pikachu run his laps, Ash was struck by how Pikachu's running utilised every muscle in his body, even his tail muscles kept his tail from dragging on the ground. Ash suddenly got an interesting idea, this idea required the use of a certain ability Rose had been gifted with, but it needed testing first. So Ash got Rose to first transform into Pikachu then he had Rose join Pikachu in his routine. Ash was making sure that any physical exertion that Rose did while transformed, translated over into Rose's normal form. It did! So from then on part of Rose's routine was to transform into other Pokémon, not just Pikachu though, in order to do her physical training. In regards to her skills training, Ash not only had her train in the Iron Tail technique alongside Pikachu, but he had her properly master Mega Punch, then he also taught her Brick Break, a relatively simple move, that can damage a wide variety of opponents while also destroying special defences and with the help of Misty's water expertise he taught her Water Gun and BubbleBeam, Staryu and Starmie got a lot of exercise that week. Ash of course didn't forget to make sure that Rose also practiced her flying, idly floating around was one thing, midair combat maneuvers was something else entirely. Fortunately Rose had a flying partner in the form a Pidgeotto.

Pidgeotto's training was a little bit different from Pikachu and Rose's training, but still quite similar. There was of course the normal Physical training, Ash actually made Pidgeotto run on the ground, thinking that the best way to strengthen Pidgeotto's feet and legs would be to run. Ash also scanned Pidgeotto with the Pokédex and found that Pidgeotto currently knew Gust, Quick Attack, Tackle and Sand Attack. A big part of Pidgeotto's training was training to get faster in the air, Ash was hoping to get Pidgeotto fast enough that she could learn Agility, Ash also had her train with some ranged attacks and close range attacks, specifically, Twister, Wing Attack, Aerial Ace and Air Slash, but it was slow going because so far Pidgeotto had only mastered Wing Attack. Pidgeotto's wings were not nearly strong enough yet, but they were a good goal to work for. Maybe later he could train Pidgeotto to use Close Combat!

Eevee was rather simple to set a routine for after Pikachu and Rose. Ash just sent Eevee to train with Pikachu and Rose during their workouts, seeing as Eevee was actually rather similar to Pikachu in body type. Ash again scanned Eevee with his Pokédex and found that she currently had Tackle, Quick Attack and Sand Attack and Bite. Ash decided that Eevee had enough close range attacks for the moment and started training Eevee in Shadow Ball. Unfortunately there wasn't really all that much information on the attack and without an example to see Eevee didn't know what the attack looked or felt like. But like Ash, Eevee was very stubborn, and kept on working on Shadow Ball while keeping up her workouts with Pikachu and Rose, Eevee eventually managed to get a black spark started in her mouth but not much more than that.

The most progress was made with Caterpie and Weedle. Unfortunately Ash couldn't really put them through the same levels of training he could the others, at least before they fully evolved. So he set them to just sparing against each other, and whenever one of the others was free they would spar against them as well.

There is an interesting and important fact about larval bug types, they evolve fast! So on the second day of training, after an intense two on two sparring match against Pikachu and Eevee, both Caterpie and Weedle evolved, Ash Pikachu and Eevee had watched in awe as Caterpie and Weedle both seemingly covered themselves with String Shot, before glowing a bright white much like Rose did while transforming, and when the glowing stopped, Caterpie and Weedle had been replaced by Metapod and Kakuna. Metapod pretty much looked like a long, curved green cocoon with eyes on the side, while Kakuna was also cocoon like, with a domed head, triangular eyes and what looked like scythe arms held close to its body. Ash and Pikachu let out a cheer which attracted the attention of everyone else. Rose was most put out that she missed it. After evolving however, the two Pokémon both became pretty much dormant, though Ash knew that it would have happened.

Ash himself did not just stand around letting his Pokémon do all the work. Ash also came up with a workout routine of his own so that he could train alongside with them. Something that he remembered his father did with his Pokémon, he said that it helped to develop strong bonds with all his Pokémon, if the Pokémon saw that the trainer was willing to train with them, it encourages them to do their very best, and Ash saw no reason to suspend this noble Ketchum tradition.

All in all Ash finally got a lot of quality training done, Pikachu was stronger than ever and Rose finally had confidence in herself as a battler and while she was still not quite as strong as Pikachu, she was rapidly catching up. Pidgeotto finally managed to master Agility, and was well on her way to mastering Twister, Eevee was also becoming quite the fighter, but she still couldn't get that Shadow Ball right. Metapod and Kakuna were still dormant and according to the Pokédex they could be like that for up to two weeks.

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"Are we there yet" came a tired feminine voice, Ash looked behind him to see an exhausted looking Misty, ever since they had entered the Viridian forest she had not had a decent night's sleep, because she kept having nightmares of bug Pokémon.

"Not yet Misty! Just a couple more miles" Ash sighed and looked at Pikachu and Rose who were currently riding on Ash shoulders "Do think we should have left Misty back in Viridian? She's been helpful with training Rose in water attacks but the rest of time she has been nothing but a pain!" Pikachu looked back at Misty before turning back to Ash and gave a resigned shrug. Rose just sighed and Ash nodded in resignation "You're right, even if we had left her there she would have just come to find us, she is determined to made us pay for the bike" Ash was suddenly interrupted by an aggravated cry from Misty and he turned to see her glaring at him "That's what you said an hour ago Ash, and yet here we are!"

Ash was about to shout back when he suddenly found himself coming upon a ridge. Ash walked to edge and looked out at the horizon to see a sight that made him sigh with relief, this would cheer Misty up! They were finally at Pewter City; Ash looked out at the city with interest, it was smaller than Viridian City, it was rather rustic looking and some of the houses looked like they were made of stone, in the distance Ash could see the Pewter City Science Museum along with a large hall like building which Ash knew held Contest battles, but he had no present interest in that.

Ash felt Misty come trudging up beside him and he glanced sideways at her to see her reaction, he also couldn't help but take in her appearance. She looked extremely bedraggled, her posture was limp, she had bags under her eyes, her face and clothes were smudged and her entire presence screamed forlorn. But when Misty looked up and saw Pewter City her persona suddenly did a one eighty from forlorn waif, to an upbeat and perky schoolgirl.

"I shotgun the shower!" Misty shouted enthusiastically and then seemingly vanished!

Ash blinked in surprise at the spot where Misty was before spotting a trail of smoke and dust that vanished into the city. Ash stared after Misty "Where did she suddenly get the energy to do that!" he stuttered dumbfounded and Pikachu and Rose uttered their surprise. Ash rubbed his head "I'll never understand girls, one moment their exhausted, then all of sudden they're running the hundred metre sprint like they're in the Olympics!" and Pikachu and Rose nodded their agreement.

Ash sighed in resignation "Well whatever, no need for me to worry if she can move like that" Ash then looked at Rose "Better transform into Eevee while we're here Rose, no need to attract too much attention" Rose nodded cheerfully and was overtaken by that familiar glow as she shape shifted into Eevee.

Ash nodded in satisfaction before starting to make his way into Pewter City and to the Pokémon Centre. As he made his way into town Ash took a good look around, it was certainly busier than Pallet town, but unlike Viridian City there was a laidback feel to the town, all the residents strolled along in a relaxed fashion, and they all greeted each other with a smile. Ash found himself rather liking this town, with its friendly laidback people, and houses made of various coloured stones.

Ash soon found the Pokémon centre, a pyramid like structure with a lot of windows and an aerial on top. When Ash went inside he looked around before walking to the front desk where he saw Nurse Joy. Ash was a little confused seeing Nurse Joy before he remembered hearing from Professor Oak that the Nurse's at the Pokémon centres all related to each other and nearly all looked the same. Shrugging off this surprise he rang the bell to get the Nurse's attention.

"Oh hello how may I help you today" said Nurse Joy with a friendly smile and Ash smiled back. He looked down at Rose "You can turn back now Rose" and Rose squealed happily before shifting back into her normal form, Nurse stared in surprise but quickly regained control.

"Yeah could you take care of my Pokémon for me please" said Ash with a grin putting Pikachu, Rose and his Pokéballs onto a tray. Nurse Joy smiled and said "Of course I can Ash, it will be a pleasure"

Ash started in confusion "I don't remember telling you my name" said Ash in bewilderment and Nurse Joy giggled "No you didn't but my younger sister, the Nurse Joy of Viridian City did, she said to give you our best care" then she looked at Rose "She also happened to mention Rose's dislike of needles" she said with a giggle. Rose looked up at Nurse Joy in slight panic which Nurse Joy noticed and she was quick to say "But of course, we won't be needing needles today so don't worry"

Ash chuckled seeing Rose's evident relief before looking up at Nurse Joy and asking "By the way, did an orange haired girl about my age come here just now?"

Nurse Joy blinked and replied "Yes just ten minutes ago, she came in looking most desperate and demanded a room with a shower, not that I blame the poor dear, she looked absolutely awful" Ash just chuckled and said "She's with me, we just came out of the Viridian Forest and it seems she has a chronic fear of bug types which kept her up at night"

"Oh Dear" Uttered Nurse Joy in concern "Well I hope she'll be ok"

Ash grinned "She should be, she's tough if she can go nearly five nights without sleep and then run the rest of the way here when she first saw the city, so how long will my Pokémon be" he asked and Nurse Joy blinked from the abrupt topic change but quickly recovered "They should just be a few hours and they will be as good as new" she replied. Ash looked at the clock and seeing that the time was 5:00pm decided that it was too late to think about going to the gym.

"Alright then, thanks Nurse Joy, please look after them" said Ash before looking down at Rose and Pikachu and saying "Same as before guys, please behave for Nurse Joy and Pikachu you know what to do" Pikachu and Rose nodded before being taken away to the examination room.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Nothing much happened that night, except for Misty dragging out Ash, Pikachu and a disguised Rose out to a restaurant for dinner and of course making Ash pay. After the camp fare they had been enjoying in Viridian forest, the restaurant was a blessed treat where they got to eat properly prepared meals, and even Pikachu and Rose much to their delight found bottles of Ketchup and Mayonnaise. Though when Ash saw them sucking on the bottles he made sure not to let them have too much, reminding them of the match tomorrow and he didn't want them to get sick. Then after dinner they returned to the Pokémon where they turned in. Misty finally got a full night's sleep, and when they got up the next morning she was in a really good mood.

They now stood in front of the Pewter City Gym. It was a rather imposing sort of place, made up of huge boulders stacked to top of each other, then held together in a frame of gigantic steel girders shaped like a house. Up in the top left corner of the biggest boulder the words PEWTER GYM was carved into the boulder in big bold letters. Ash held back a shiver and thought to himself that the Gym was really good at advertising that it was a Gym for Rock types. Ash looked at Pikachu and Rose who both nodded confidently and he smiled gratefully before straightening his back and going inside, Misty following him in without saying a word

The inside of the Gym was a dark, and very wide open space, Ash suppressed another round of shivers and reached up a hand to stroke Rose beside him, it was his first gym match after all and he couldn't help but feel nervous. Rose had shifted into normal form when they got inside and when Ash stroked her she nuzzled his check reassuringly feeling her father's nervousness, Ash felt Rose's nuzzle, her short but soft fur rubbing against his cheek felt rather comforting and he smiled gratefully at her.

"Who goes there!" a voice suddenly boomed out. Ash jumped at the sudden shout and Misty let out a little yelp.

Ash was blinded when a spot light suddenly shone out onto a platform. When his eyes cleared he beheld an older teenager, of about fifteen years of age, with brown skin and chocolate brown hair. He was wearing brown trousers, a burnt orange short sleeved shirt with a green vest which had four large pockets. His most noticeable feature however was that his eyes looked like they were closed, showing just a thin line where his eyes would be.

Ash gritted his teeth and shouted out confidently "My name is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, I am here to challenge the Pewter City Gym for a League Badge!"

The teenager nodded and stood up from the platform he was sitting on "I accept your challenge, allow me to introduce myself, I am Brock the Pewter City Gym leader, the rules of the match are as follows, it is a two on two Pokémon battle, only the trainer may substitute, understood?" Brock than looked at Misty "If you're just here to watch you can go up to the viewing platform which is up those stairs to the right" jerking his head to the wall where Misty saw a set of steps leading to a suspended platform above the battle. She looked at Ash and said "Good luck Ash" before walking over the platform.

Ash nodded in acknowledgement and watched as Brock jumped down into the trainer's box on floor which Ash recognised as where the trainer stands on a battle field. Ash looked around and saw another box just near him and he went to stand in his spot. Ash watched as the stadium lights came on and he suddenly heard the sound of machinery and looked to see a battle field sliding out of the wall. Ash was suddenly grateful that he hadn't been standing in the middle. He looked at the battle field and saw that it was a rock themed battle ground, the entire platform was covered in large slabs of stone and there was a series of rocks and boulders spread out around, which could potentially provide cover.

Brock suddenly shouted "I'll start us off, GO GEODUDE!" and threw out a Pokéball which snapped open to reveal what looked like a round boulder with muscular arms and a face, the face had some rather prominent eyebrows. Ash brought out his Pokédex which instantly beeped and said "Geodude, the Rock Pokémon. Geodude has incredibly high defensive power, making it virtually resistant to any physical attacks" Ash took in the information before nodding at Pikachu who instantly jumped in the field and shouted his excitement, this is what he has been training for and he was finally getting a chance to show his strength!

Brock took one look at Pikachu and laughed "You seriously don't expect to win with a Pikachu do you? Such a small electric type couldn't possibly win!" he laughed incredulously and Ash clenched his fist tightly before shouting back "Don't you dare underestimate us! We have been training for this all week and so I'm going to teach you that size and type do not matter!"

Brock scoffed but said "I'll believe it when I see it, alright Geodude lets start off with Tackle!" Geodude shouted out his name like all Pokémon do and charged at Pikachu intending to hit him with his greater weight. Ash grinned "Dodge it and let's test its defences with a Thundershock!" he commanded and Pikachu smirked and dodged the much slower Pokémon, jumping away before spinning around to instantly launch a Thundershock with a cry. The Thundershock arced over to hit Geodude in the back, but it didn't seem to feel the attack at all instead just swivelling around on the spot to face his opponent.

Brock smirked in satisfaction and shouted "Geodude lets retaliate with Rock throw, squash that little mouse!" Geodude instantly began picking up boulders and throwing them at Pikachu. Ash just smirked and yelled "Use Agility to dodge and then use that speed to power up Iron Tail!"

Pikachu began to run extremely fast and to Geodude's eyes began to vanish from one spot to another, as soon as Geodude threw a rock at the yellow streak that was Pikachu the streak would vanish and reappear closer than before! Pikachu made sure to dodge every boulder that Geodude threw, knowing that even one hit could hurt him enough to knock him out of the battle. As soon as Pikachu was close enough Pikachu tail began to glow white, Pikachu began to count down in his mind to time the attack and when he reached one Pikachu jumped up and spun in mid air to bring his now steel like tail crashing down on Geodude's head!

Brock saw what was going to happen and quickly shouted "Counter with Mega Punch!" and Geodude yelled defiantly quickly striking forward with its fist to slam it into Pikachu's powerful Iron Tail. Neither Pokémon was able to break the others attack and it quickly became a contest of power.

Brock grinned and shouted "That's it Geodude! Push it through!" and Ash quickly encouraged Pikachu to do the same.

Pikachu and Geodude continued to push against each other's attack and sparks created by the clash showered the ground, but Ash could see that Pikachu was going to lose out due to Geodude's greater experience and weight. Ash gritted his teeth before an idea came to him and he instantly shouted out "Pikachu! Channel a Thunderbolt through your tail and then hit Geodude with Brick Break!"

Pikachu yelled and channelled an enormous amount of electric power through his tail. Geodude flinched from the far stronger Electric attack and Pikachu took the chance and spun around into Geodude's reach and hit it in the face with a Brick Break. The fighting type attack smashed Geodude into the ground and while the attack was strong it wasn't strong enough to knock it out, but Geodude did become very dizzy. Ash saw his chance and yelled "Finish it up with Iron Tail, let's win this!"

Pikachu instantly charged at a stunned Geodude and once more charged up an Iron Tail attack. This time the hardened tail smashed into Geodude's forehead blowing it backwards where smashed into the wall behind Brock and slumped to the ground unconscious.

Ash cried out "Victory! That was fantastic Pikachu!" and held out his arms to catch a jubilant Pikachu who was flushed from his victory over Geodude. Rose was also bouncing around cheering for Pikachu and generally having a good time. Brock, getting over his surprise ran over to check on his Geodude and quickly found that other than being unconscious; Geodude was just fine and so returned Geodude to his Pokéball.

Misty who had been standing up on the scaffolding suspended high above the battle field muttered "Nice going Pikachu!" when she suddenly heard a cry from beside her and looked to see nine children watching the battle, ranging from nine years old to three years. Misty was startled to see they all looked nearly the same as Brock and surmised they must be his siblings.

Brock watched the celebrating trio for a few seconds before shouting out "That was well fought Ash Ketchum, but this isn't over yet!" interrupting Ash's good mood. Ash took a few breaths to calm down before resuming his place in the trainers box. Ash gazed out at Brock resolutely and shouted "Your right, lets finish this Brock! I will not lose!"

Brock gazed into Ash's eyes and saw nothing but calm resolve. Brock smirked "We'll see about that Ash, because I doubt you have anything that can defeat my ONIX!" and with that he tossed out a Pokéball which opened with an enormous flash to reveal the biggest Pokémon Ash had ever seen. It resembled a great chain of boulders stuck together to make a snake like form. Its head was also boulder shaped with a great rocky spine sticking out the top. When Onix was fully materialised it let out a bellowing roar which echoed all through the gym and Ash winced in pain as the sound caused his ears to start ringing.

Ash looked at Onix in concern before turning to look at Rose who was slated to battle next. Rose noticed Ash's concern and looked into his eyes seeing his worry for her safety. Rose took another look at the gigantic Pokémon before turning back to Ash and nodded bravely. Ash smiled at her brave face and said "Why is it you get all the tough ones, we really have to work on that don't we" he trailed off seeing Rose's determination and sighed "If you're really that sure then let's do it!"

Rose immediately flew into the field without a command and faced off against the large rock type which dominated the scene. Brock frowned seeing the tiny pink Pokémon that Ash had sent out, he would have normally said something but after Ash's Pikachu had effortlessly defeated his Geodude without taking any damage, he was reluctant to immediately judge, he had never seen any Pokémon like it so who knew what capabilities it had. The fact that it was floating at the very least told him that it must be a psychic type.

Ash swivelled his hat around, seemingly to psych himself up and shouted "We'll start off this time, Rose use BubbleBeam!" Rose immediately leaped up high before clasping her paws in front of her, a blue light formed between her paws and with a cry an intense beam of glowing bubbles blew out from her paws flying towards Onix.

Brock immediately reacted shouting "Quickly Onix use Sandstorm!" and Onix roared loudly as a sandy whirlwind blew into existence around the rock type. Ash watched with a groan as the fast moving sand popped the bubbles and after the BubbleBeam finished Onix was left completely unharmed. Brock crowed triumphantly "We've fought water types before, you didn't think we wouldn't have a defence did you Ash"

Ash managed to keep his calm though it had shocked him when Rose's attack had been so easily thwarted, all it meant was that he had to go about it a different way, and that meant that Rose would have to get in close.

Ash clenched his fist and shouted "Charge in while using Water gun then when close enough use an Iron Tail to the head!"

Rose immediately shot forward with cry, all the while forming a glowing watery orb between her paws, from which a seemingly inexhaustible torrent of water shot forward at Onix like water from a fire hose.

"Evade and use Tackle Onix" Brock commanded and Onix bent sideways to evade the raging torrent before advancing forward to ram his head into Rose. Ash saw the charging Onix swerving around the Water Gun with the intent of hitting Rose and desperately shouted "Counter with Brick Break"

Within seconds Rose cut off the Water Gun and swung a glowing arm at the Onix, just in time to intercept a powerful tackle attack from the much larger Onix. Rose was able to prevent damage, but there was no denying physics and when Onix far greater mass hit Rose's Brick Break the energy release blew Rose backwards and she was barely to prevent herself from hitting the wall.

Ash growled that Onix was quite fast despite its size and so far despite Rose's water type attacks they had been unable to break this stalemate, Brock has trained his Onix well.

Before Ash could think of anything though Brock yelled out "Screech Attack!" and Onix took a deep breath before letting out the most horrible sound that Ash had ever heard, a piercing screech that penetrated his brain. It was even worse for Rose as she clasped her paws over her sore ears and clenched her eyes shut. Then all of a sudden the sound stopped and with a speed that belied its size Onix swept around Rose and captured her within its coils and Ash instantly recognised it as a Bind Attack.

"Rose!" Ash shouted in a panic before looking up at Brock with anger in his eyes but Brock only smirked before saying "Let see you get out of this one Ash, keep it up Onix!"

Onix continued to squeeze Rose painfully and Ash raced to think of plan, mean while Pikachu who was standing beside Ash watched anxiously, sparks of lighting appearing from his cheeks in his anger. Pikachu so wished he could interfere but knew he couldn't or they would be forfeit. Misty who was still up in the stands also watched nervously, she had become rather fond of Rose, such an irrepressible bundle of fun, joy and affection and it was unbearable to see her in pain "Come on Rose you can do it" she whispered.

Ash's eyes looked around wildly, taking in everything that could possibly help, but nothing sprung to mind, the only attack that could be effective now would be a Water Gun, but Rose was in such an awkward position that she couldn't possibly twist around enough to aim at Onix, if only it could be spread across a wider area... Ash suddenly looked up and shouted "That's it!"

Brock looked up in curiosity, wondering Ash could have possibly come up with. Ash grinned and shouted "Rose Water Gun straight up, bounce it off the roof!"

Rose let out a squeal of pain but managed to once more shoot a Water Gun, this time straight up. Everybody watched as the water gun impacted against the roof and shattered into a million droplets which began raining down in a heavy spray of rain completely soaking Onix. The rock type roared in pain and with its concentration broken, Rose felt it coils loosen around her and she finally wiggled free from her rocky prison.

Ash and Pikachu cheered when they saw Rose break free and float high above the battle field but Ash quickly commanded "Rose before it recovers use BubbleBeam and then finish it with Iron Tail!"

Rose heard the command and although she was still smarting from bruises from all over her body she once again charged up another BubbleBeam and shot it at the stunned Onix. This time there was no flying sand to pop the bubbles and the BubbleBeam impacted all over Onix's body causing it to roar out in pain and anger and it tried to move to dodge the next attack. But it was too late, by the time Onix got over the BubbleBeam Rose had already streaked over with a glowing, steel hard tail and smashed it into Onix's head and Onix let out a roar before collapsing to the ground unconscious.

Everybody looked on in shock at the sudden defeat of Onix before moving their attention to Rose. Rose was still hovering just above Onix's head and panting heavily; she hung limply, exhaustion evident in her posture.

"Rose, are you okay?" Ash called out in concern, and he watched as Rose slowly turned around to look at him. When she had fully turned around to face Ash she smiled a happy but exhausted smile and gave him a Victory sign. Seeing her smile Ash finally allowed himself to express his feelings and let out a great big cheer while Pikachu cheered with him. Up on the viewing platform Misty was clapping happily and also feeling relieved that Rose hadn't been hurt too much.

Brock watched with a little smile as Ash congratulated an exhausted Rose who was now happily sitting in Ash's arms as he checked her over for any serious injuries, which other than a couple bruises and exhaustion she was just fine.

"Rose you were fantastic!" Ash continued to lavish praise all the while stroking a limp Rose pleasurably along her back and Ash then turned to Pikachu "You were amazing as well Pikachu, that Geodude didn't stand a chance" Ash applauded Pikachu and Pikachu grinned happily with a victory sign.

Ash was suddenly distracted when Brock returned Onix before walking up to Ash and standing in front of him. Brock looked rather seriously at Ash, Pikachu and the unknown pink Pokémon which Ash had apparently called Rose, rather appropriate actually, considering its colour. These three were going to go far.

Brock suddenly got a big smile on his face, and his demeanour was suddenly a lot different and he laughed out loud "That was the best battle I've had in a long time Ash, it's not very often that we get a double KO without any losses and type disadvantages to boot, especially in a Gym Match and so I am proud to present you with the Boulder Badge, you've earned it".

With that Brock held out a rather simple looking badge which was just a grey octagon shaped badge. Ash took the badge and brought it close to inspect it. Pikachu jumped up on Ash's shoulder to get a closer look and Rose also twisted around in Ash's arm to look curiously.

Ash smiled "My first badge, and it's thanks to you guys" he said looking at Pikachu and Rose who smiled happily. Ash then clenched his fist and smirk "But that is only the beginning, we still have seven more to go, and then the League Championships" Ash declared before looking again at Pikachu and Rose "Are you with me?" he asked and Pikachu and Rose looked at each other before getting matching smirks and nodding yes happily.

Whew finally, that took a lot longer than I thought it would, and the Training montages and time skips were also kind of hard to do, any recommendations to improve that?