Pokemon: Rise of Heroes Chapter 7 part 1

Disclaimer: I still do not own Pokémon and how Black and White redeems the previous seasons by far though it sucks N, Hilbert and Hilda aren't in it.

Pokémon: Rise of Heroes

Showdown in Cerulean City

By EmperoDraco7 (dA artist UGSF) and co-written by Lily Nadesico and NEBSparky86 (Extended scenes by FF.net writer NEBSparky86)

"Okay, here we are…" Ash Ketchum murmured to himself as he began waiting for his sister and Brock just outside of Cerulean City's Pokémon Center. Both he and Pikachu were still glancing at the building in which Cerulean City's Gym was supposedly located, and they were still rather incredulous at what they had seen there. "This is where we should meet back with Anna and Brock… hopefully, they've discovered something as well."

‘Yeah… by the way Ash, do you think they'll take long?  It's been quite a long time ever since they went away…’ Pikachu noted, looking around himself to see whether their friends were nearby. He finally caught a glimpse of Anna's familiar white hat as the Ketchum girl came out of a side way, almost dragging a red-haired and tomboyish-looking girl along with her, with Brock keeping up behind them. ‘Oh, there they are Ash! Look, that's Anna!’

"Huh? Where…" Ash inquired as he looked in the direction Pikachu was pointing to, and he was glad to see that his sister and their mutual friend were coming back, even though he didn't recognize the redhead with them. "Oh, here they are! Hey, Anna! Brock! We're here, everyone!"

"Why, Ashy, you're bang on time!" Anna giggled in amusement as she, Misty and Brock reached him and Pikachu. "Since when have you stated being so diligent? I remember I always had to wake you up, back in Pallet!"

"Haha, very funny, Annie!" the boy answered. "Anyway, glad to see you… and who's the girl you're pretty much dragging along?"

"The name's Misty, for your information…" the redhead answered in an annoyed tone, before giving a good look at the trainer in front of her.  "Say, you don't happen to be Ash Ketchum, do you? Anna's brother?"

Ash looked at her curiously for a few seconds. "Er, yes, that's me!" he finally answered. "And this is my first Pokémon, Pikachu! Pleased to meet you… er… by the way, who are you?"

Misty smiled slightly as she introduced herself. "My name's Misty, and I'm the current Gym Leader of Cerulean City! Pleased to meet you as well." She answered. "You and your sister must be here to challenge me for a Cascade Badge, right?"

"Well… yes, that was the intention, before Pikachu and I went to the Gym to check it out, and we discovered it's being used for a synchronized swimming exhibition…" Ash answered. He saw that Misty had begun frowning at that.

"It seems things aren't going all that well with the Cerulean Gym, as of late." Brock stated. "Misty told us quite a lot of things… it seems she took the position of Gym Leader because her sisters were not interested in it. Not only that, it seems that whenever Misty is absent, her sisters simply give out Cascade Badges to challengers who come to the Gym."

"They're just not interested in running the Gym…" Misty muttered darkly. "It just makes me mad… not only are they skirting their duties, but they're also dumping it all on me…"

Ash didn't like what he was hearing, as he knew damn well that Gym Leaders are only to give out Gym Badges whenever they are defeated by the challenging trainer and that wasn't all as Anna soon spoke. "Oh yeah, I just remembered... Gary wasn't the only one who beat us to Cerulean City..." she told him with a frown. "Paul got here too and he got his badge before we showed up!"

"The hell did you just say?" exclaimed Ash, he definitely was angry with having found out that Paul had already been to Cerulean City and started clenching his fists at the thought of having previously encountered the purple-haired creep back at the Viridian Forest as well as the Pewter City Gym. "I don't believe this... That lousy..."

"Ash..." began Brock, worried that he might do something that he'll end up regretting. "Just try to relax for a moment, besides he's already long gone by now so there's no since in searching for him right now. Our main objective is for the two of you to earn your second Gym Badges."

Ash sighed at this, knowing that Brock was right and he needed to focus on the task at hand as well as straighten something out with Misty's sisters while they're at it. "Alright, I think it's time we get our Cascade badges and the right way." With that in mind, the younger male headed for the Cerulean Gym with the others following close behind.

Unfortunately, they were being watched by two familiar people from Mt. Moon and they were glaring darkly at the three trainers they had crossed paths with before while noticing that they have a new companion with them. "Well Jessie, look what we have here?" began James, mentally cursing at the site of the ones who got in their way before.

"It seems to me that those twerps have themselves a new member of their group, no matter we will have the advantage once we steal the Pokémon from the Cerulean Gym and while we're at it we are going to get that Pikachu as well."

Soon Meowth's voice was head behind them. "Well let's not just stand there, we need to be prepared and this would make up to the boss that we failed at Mt. Moon so he wouldn't have to send one of the more dangerous members at us."

"Don't remind us..." muttered both Jessie and James with a small shudder at the thought of having to work with one of the worse members of Team Rocket should it get back to their leader so they better make this plan work as Jessie said. "Let's go before we get spotted."

"Good idea Jess..." With that, the trio went back into hiding as they needed to be prepared for their upcoming plan to get their targeted Pokémon while thinking that nothing could go wrong with this one.

It didn't take long for Ash and the others to arrive at the Cerulean City Gym and unlike Ash's first time there, they saw that there was nobody present at all, which was a sign that the performance of the Sensational Sisters had recently ended.  The group were wondering if the sisters themselves were still around despite this. Misty was furious that her sisters would turn the gym into a stadium. The thought of having to run the gym while her sisters did shows made her skin crawl. She had a dream to be the best Water Pokémon trainer and her sisters neglecting the gym prevented her from achieving her dream. Ash, Anna and Brock followed Misty as she stormed through the halls to her sisters' dressing room and kicked the door open which caused her sisters, Daisy, Lily and Violet to jump and turn to see Misty angry. They went back to tending to their makeup and ignored Misty as if she wasn't there.

"HEY I WANNA TO TALK TO YOU THREE!" Misty snarled at the top of her lungs.

"Like, did you hear anything?" Lily asked her two other sisters as they tended to their makeup and their hair.

"Nope," answered Violet. "All I heard was a little runt with a temper tantrum."

"Ouch," Ash winced under his breath as he and Anna watched what was about to happen now.

Misty then approached her sisters, grabbed their makeup and threw it all on the ground to get their attention. The sisters sighed and finally gave her their attention. "I wanna know why you three are just giving out badges instead of making the trainers battle you for them," she told her sisters.

"Because battling is like not our thing," explained Lily.

"Yeah, all the trainers, with three of them being from a place called Pallet Town, come into gym and beat our Pokémon especially that one jerk," added Daisy, closing her eyes as she remembered who had battled them earlier. "He looked so cruel and cold we didn't want to face. So we just gave him a badge and told him not step one foot in the gym."

"This guy, what did he look like?" Ash asked as he was now interested in Misty's sisters had to say as he had suspected that it was someone who he thought it was but needed to be certain.

"Uh, about four inches taller than you carried a travel bag," began Violet.

"He had purple hair," chimed in Daisy, "not to mention he was a real douche bag."

"Purple hair and a real douche bag," repeated Anna. "Sounds like that bastard Paul really was here… Like Misty said he was."

"Oh you know him?" asked Lily, raising an eyebrow with curiosity was getting the better of her. "I thought he was complete and total ass just from his attitude and the way he treated his Pokémon."

"Yup, that's definitely Paul alright," said Ash as he gave his older sister a slight nod.

"Well it doesn't excuse the fact that you're just giving badges away instead of battling trainers," Misty said to her sisters as she calmed down. "I'll demonstrate to you that battling trainers establishes a reputation for our gym." She then looked at Ash and Anna then asked them while wondering who will be her first opponent in the battle as she was quite curious about how strong they were. "Which of you two want to face me for the Cascade Badge?"

"Okay, Anna you go first this time," Ash said as he looked to his sister.

"Nah, you've got more enthusiasm," Anna said to Ash. "So you go first little brother."

"I was hoping that we would switch who would go first at every gym," moaned Ash, though he didn't have much of a choice but at least he did train for this match "but if you want me to go first, then I'll go first."

"Alright then, I'll face you first," Misty said to Ash before giving a grin and a wink, "little brother."

"Dude, Ash, I think she likes you," Brock said to Ash as he nudged him.

"What, n-no way," said Ash as he looked flustered.

"I suggest you get your team ready, because I'm not gonna go easy on you… little brother!" Misty said. Ash was already beginning to get rather uncomfortable with Misty calling him that. "And you, girls… keep your eyes peeled, because I'm going to show you how it's really done!"

"Fine…" Lily answered with a sigh while crossing her arms. "At least we'll hopefully be seeing something different for a change."

Misty smiled cunningly to herself. This time, she would make sure that her sisters get off their high horses…

A few hours later, as the sun was beginning to set behind Mt. Moon, the pool room in the Cerulean City Gym had been cleared of all decorations… and Ash and Misty stood at opposite sides of it, each on a floating platform that allowed them to have a good footing as they battled. The red-haired trainer, her Pokéball ready in her hand, looked at the audience, which was entirely made up of her sisters, Anna and Brock, and mentally prepared herself for the battle.

"Okay, then… this will be a two-on-two battle!" she exclaimed, looking straight at Ash and Pikachu. "No substitutions allowed, we will battle until one trainer's Pokémon are both knocked out. Of course, if you win, you get a Cascade Badge. Do your best, my Pokémon aren't exactly known for going soft!"

"Don't worry, I plan on it!" Ash answered. Pikachu stepped forward, his cheeks cracking with electricity as he was eager to start the battle, but this time, Ash decided to keep him in reserve for the moment. "Er… Pikachu, actually, I was thinking to leave you on the sidelines for now… I know your Electric-type attacks are very useful against Water-types, but I'd like to keep you rested for later, okay?"

Pikachu was a little disappointed, but he didn't dwell on that. 'Alright, Ash…' he answered with a small sigh, placing himself right behind his trainer as he called his first Pokémon.

"And… I will choose my first Pokémon, if you'll allow me!" Ash declared. "Butterfree, I choose you!"

The Pokéball opened, and the beautiful Bug / Flying type fluttered in the air, spreading his wings and moving his antennae. ‘Here I come!  Thank you for choosing me Ash, I won't disappoint you!’

Ash smiled kindly at his Butterfree. "I'm sure you won't, pal!"

A few squeals of delight were heard from the audience as Misty's sisters found Ash's Butterfree to be cute, but the redhead didn't seem to be fazed and smirked to herself. "A Butterfree, huh? You don't see many of those, lately… but it doesn't matter! Now, let me show you my mastery of Water-type Pokémon! Staryu, come out!"

Misty threw her Pokéball, and out of it came a strange Pokémon which looked like some kind of starfish: it was dull brown all over, except for a spherical red gem encased in gold in the center of its body, and it had five pointy limbs protruding from its core. It let out a short war cry, and stood tall on the water, issuing a challenge to Butterfree!

"What kind of Pokémon is that?" Ash asked himself, having never seen a Staryu before. He quickly consulted his Pokédex, pointing it at the strange creature…

"Staryu, the Star Shaped Pokémon." It said. "As long as it score section is unharmed, it can regenerate any damage. Its top point can shoot water and bubbles to attack enemies."

"Wow, looks like I better be careful then…" frowned Ash before turning his attention towards his Butterfree and nodded.  "Alright, let's start things out with a Gust attack!" Butterfree flapped his wings fast, forming a Gust at the Water-Type Pokémon.

"Staryu, dodge and use Water Gun!" ordered Misty, having her Pokémon dodge the attack before retaliating with a jet of water from the top, which managed to force the Bug/Flying-Type backwards a bit. "Now use Bubblebeam!"

"Quick Butterfree, counter with your Whirlwind!" yelled Ash as Staryu spun around to perform a familiar attack that Gary's Squirtle had previously used against him before but Butterfree managed to use his Whirlwind to blow the attack right back at his opponent. "Let's try a Stun Spore!"

The Bug/Flying-Type flapped his wings and yellow dust was created, which began to surround Staryu but Misty would have none of that. "Hurry Staryu, in the water!" she quickly ordered her Pokémon as it jumped into the water to avoid being paralyzed. "Sorry to disappoint you Ash but my Pokémon won't be affected by your Butterfree's Stun Spore if it's in water."

"Wow, she's good…" noted Anna, surprised by how well Misty is holding her own in the battle against her brother of course she was hoping that he can pull through and win.

Brock nodded at her comment and said. "She's not Cerulean City's Gym Leader for nothing, I should know as I'm a Gym Leader as well."

"That's just great…." scowled Ash, realizing that he would have to find a way to keep Staryu out of the water in order to defeat the Star Shaped Pokémon just as he saw it coming out and being prepared to attack again. "Okay, let's try this… Butterfree, use Confusion now!"

Butterfree nodded and concentrated as he used his Psychic-Type attack to stop the Water-Type in its track while causing some damage to it. "Staryu, are you okay?" she asked her Pokémon, with a simple grunt being her answer. "Okay, no more messing around now… Staryu use your Water Pulse attack!"

"Dodge it Butterfree and use Silver Wind," countered Ash as Butterfree dodged the pulsating water sent at him.

Butterfree then retaliated by sending gusts of silver wind at Staryu causing it to be lifted off the island it was on and land on the side. Staryu looked as if it was going to faint, but Misty wasn't going to let her Pokémon go down without a fight.

"Staryu, use Recover," ordered Misty.

Staryu then began to glow as he recovered what health was lost from Butterfree's Silver Wind and Confusion.

"Butterfree, quick use Confusion before it can recover," countered Ash. Butterfree was quick to focus psychic energy on the Staryu, but it was too late as Staryu recovered part of its health. Staryu was enveloped with psychic energy and was sent flying into the wall close to Misty.

"Keep it up Butterfree and use Stun Spore then Tackle," ordered Ash.

Butterfree unleashed an orange powder on Staryu. Staryu started to feel numb and lose feeling in his limbs. Butterfree then charged at Staryu knocking it down before it could try to jump in the water and wash off the powder from Butterfree's Stun Spore. The Tackle attack did critical damage Staryu and put it down for the count. A white sea lion Pokémon on the side of the pool apparently looked as it was clapping at Staryu's defeat.

"Like, just whose side are you on Seel?" Daisy asked the sea lion Pokémon.

Misty recalled her fallen Pokémon to its Pokéball and put it away. Misty then grabbed her other Pokéball and threw it towards the pool

"Go Starmie!" exclaimed Misty as a purple star shaped Pokémon was released from its Pokéball.

"What is that Pokémon?" Ash asked his Pokédex, Dexter.

"Starmie, the mysterious Pokémon," answered Dexter. "The evolved form of Staryu. Starmie is said to send mysterious radio signals in the night sky from the red core in the center of its body."

"Starmie use Rapid Spin," ordered Misty.

Starmie complied and rapidly spun towards Butterfree and struck him dead on. Butterfree was briefly thrown back and recovered quickly.

"Can you keep going Butterfree?" Ash asked the butterfly Pokémon.

'Yes, I can keep going,’ answered Butterfree.

"Alright then Butterfree use String Shot," ordered Ash.

Butterfree shot silky string at Starmie to slow it down considerably.

"Starmie, dodge it with Rapid Spin and then use Water Pulse," countered Misty.

Starmie did as it was told by using Rapid Spin to repel Butterfree's String Shot and then sent pulsating water at Butterfree.

"Watch out Butterfree!" warned Ash.

Butterfree sidestepped the Water Pulse attack just in the nick of time. Then, just as Starmie was trying to line up again for another Rapid Spin attack, Ash gave him the next order. "Excellent, Butterfree! And now… use Silver Wind!"

Misty winced as Butterfree began flapping his wings and sending a silverish wind at her Starmie, who reeled from the super-effective hit as Starmie was also part Psychic. However, the star-shaped Pokémon managed to remain upright, the gem in its core glowing as brightly as ever.

"Nice job, Starmie! And now… use Recover!" Misty ordered. Starmie was faster than Staryu and this time, before Butterfree could do anything to stop it, it managed to recover fully, and came back to the battle as well-rested as ever! Ash winced, understanding that he and his Butterfree had just wasted all those attacks, but he was not about to let that discourage him.

"Okay, no problem, Butterfree, we can still win this!" Ash exclaimed. "Use Stun Spore to impede its movements!"

‘Right away!’ the giant butterfly answered in his shrill language, flapping his wings and showering Starmie with paralyzing dust, but Misty knew how to deal with such tactic.

"We know how to deal with this, right, Starmie?" she asked her Pokémon. "Use Rapid Spin and dive underwater to shake off the effect!"

Starmie began rapidly spinning on itself, shaking off the Stun Spores before they could do any damage, and dived underwater, as Butterfree began quickly glancing in all direction to try and see where his opponent had gone. Unfortunately, it wasn't easy to follow Starmie as it dashed underwater… and the starfish Pokémon was able to quickly reemerge and strike Butterfree, causing him to lose some altitude!

"Dammit, I didn't see this coming…" Ash exclaimed. "Butterfree, try using Silver Wind again!"

‘I'll give it a shot…’ the butterfly Pokémon exclaimed, trying to aim another of his Silver Wind attacks at Starmie. But once again, Misty and her Pokémon proved to be a lot faster than expected…

"Starmie! Attack with Water Pulse again!" Misty called. The gem on Starmie's core glowed for a split second, and shot a large bullet of water at Butterfree, hitting him right when he was aiming his attack! Butterfree let out a small shriek and tried to regain altitude… but this time, the attack had left him dazed, and he seemed to sway from side to side, as if he was drunk…

‘I… don't feel… so good…’ Butterfree said groggily.

"This is bad for Butterfree…" Brock explained for the audience. "Water Pulse has a chance of confusing the opponent when it hits, and a confused Pokémon runs the risk of hurting himself in a battle. I have to say, I didn't expect Misty to be this good."

"Like, us neither!" Violet answered. "We may have inherited the style and elegance, but heck, guess Misty got the talent for Pokémon battles!"

"Now I see what she meant…" Daisy answered, nodding at her youngest sister's skill.

Ash was not exactly thrilled with how the battle was going. He seemed to be at an advantage, but now Misty had managed to turn the tables with ease. "Darn… this really isn't good at all!" he said, as he tried to think of a way to salvage the match. "Butterfree, try to focus! Use Bug Bite on Starmie!"

Butterfree tried to steady himself and dived down upon Starmie… but the confusion took its toll, and the butterfly Pokémon missed his target entirely and slammed upon the border of the pool, making a small dent upon it as the audience winced in sympathy!

"No, Butterfree!" Ash exclaimed.

"Ouch!" Anna exclaimed. "Poor Butterfree that must have hurt…"

Butterfree managed to pick himself up once again, and tread to steady himself… but Misty was not going to let him do that! "Cool, just like I expected!" she said. "And now, Starmie… let's end this with a Bubblebeam!"

Starmie let out a short cry and shot out another barrage of bubbles at high speed, hitting Butterfree right when he was about to take flight again! This time, Butterfree was thrown on the ground and lay there fainted, causing Misty to win the match as the other three Sensational Sisters clapped loudly.

"Bravo, Misty!" Lily cheered. "That was pretty awesome!"

"Well, she fought well indeed…" Brock commented. "Ash should have recalled Butterfree… the confusion effect wears out if the affected Pokémon is recalled."

"Still, he's got Pikachu now!" Anna stated, convinced that her twin brother would pull though this. "And Electric-type moves have the advantage over Water-types, so… Ash shouldn't have that much trouble with this."

"Maybe so… but remember, it's not the type match up that decides everything." Brock reminded her. Anna nodded in understanding as they turned back to the battle, and Ash called out Pikachu to fight.

"Okay, buddy… I guess it's your turn now!" he stated, winking at the electric mouse. "Get ready, because this Starmie is nothing to sneeze at."

‘I know, I'll do my very best!’ Pikachu stated. ‘You just give me the orders, and I'll take care of the rest!’

"Alright then…." began the raven-haired trainer and turned his attention back towards Misty and her Starmie, knowing that this was now or never as he ordered.  "Okay, let's start things out with Thundershock!"

Pikachu charged up his Electric-Type attack though the red-haired Gym Leader wasn't stupid as he knew that like Silver Wind with Psychic-Types, Pikachu's Thundershock can hurt Water-Types like Starmie. "Oh no you don't!" she said with a light smirk. "Starmie, dodge and use Swift!"

The Water/Psychic-Type quickly managed to dodge the electricity and began spinning around as golden stars formed from its body, managing to hit Pikachu. Brock on the other-hand scowled when that happened. "Ash has to be careful as Swift is an attack that never misses its target no matter where it is."

"Oh man…" Anna bit her lower lip, knowing that her brother will need to find a way to take down that Starmie and fast though she took a glance at the sea lion that was with Misty's sisters. "I wonder what that is…" she wondered with a hint of curiosity, taking out her Pokédex.

Seel, the Sea Lion Pokémon. It loves freezing cold conditions and relishes swimming in a frigid climate of around 14 degrees.

Anna was surprised by this though her attention went back towards her brother's battle against Misty, which the final round was taking place. "Okay, Pikachu strike with Quick Attack!" he ordered as the Electric Mouse charged at top speed, hitting Starmie dead center. "Now try your Thundershock again!"

This time around, the Electric-Type attack hit its target due to being close enough that Starmie wouldn't be able to dodge it on time. "Oh yeah! Starmie, use Recover!"

Crap! Ash mentally kicked himself as he had forgotten Starmie can use Recover even when hit by a Super-Effective attack which means he will need to a way to get around that problem and fast though Misty wasn't done yet.

"Now use Bubblebeam!" The Water/Psychic-Type let out another barrage of bubbles, hitting Pikachu dead center and forcing him back a bit. "Not bad, but then again it won't be enough so let's try a Water Pulse!"

"Pikachu, quick dodge it!" commanded Ash, not wanting to risk Pikachu getting confused if hit by that attack and he was glad that his Pokémon managed to get out of the way on time. "Let's try Iron Tail!"

Pikachu's tail glowed white and he slammed it against Starmie, though it wasn't as effective as his previous attacks. "Use another Thundershock before it can regain its balance!" His cheeks sparked as he let out another jolt of Electricity, once again causing massive damage to Starmie.

"Starmie, Recover!" The red gem in Starmie's center began to glow as it regained its strength once more, which made Ash grit his teeth out of annoyance since it could cause the match to go on forever. "Now time for Water Gun!"

The male Ketchum muttered a curse as Pikachu was hit by the Water-Type attack, he knew that Misty wasn't stupid enough to use Tackle or Rapid Spin against him with the chance of Starmie getting paralyzed by the Static Ability. "Wait a minute…" he soon realized something as it might be crazy enough to work.  "That's it… I know what I can do!"

"It's time we finish this! Starmie, use Water Pulse once more!"

"Pikachu use Mega Kick and charge through that Water Pulse attack," ordered Ash much to Anna and Brock's shocked face.

"Is your brother out of his mind?" Brock asked Anna as they watched Pikachu launch himself at Starmie right into the orb of pulsating water.

"I guess he is," answered Anna as she watched Pikachu plow into the pulsating orb of water and still charge at Starmie.

"This kid has guts; I like that," Misty said to herself as she watched Pikachu connect with his Mega Kick striking Starmie in the center of red gem on its chest. Starmie flew back out of the pool and the wall of the gym. Its red gem in the center flashed and them stopped as it had fainted.

"Alright little brother!" exclaimed Anna as she raised her left fist in a pumping motion.

Misty gave a sigh as she recalled her Starmie and gave a smirk. There was something about Ash that she liked. It certainly wasn't his looks and he wasn't really her type to date. 'Maybe it was his battling style,' Misty thought to herself. Misty walked over to Ash with a badge in the shape of a raindrop and began to hand it to him.

"Here's the Cascade Badge Ash," Misty said to Ash as she opened Ash's hand gave him his second badge. "This badge will allow you train Pokémon up to level 30 and allows you to use Hidden Machine move Cut once you get it."

"Thanks," said Ash as he received the badge from Misty.

Misty then looked to Anna with a small grin on her face. Anna was confused on why Misty had a grin on her face.

"Um, why do you have a grin on your face?" Anna asked Misty nervously as she had a sweat drop on her face.

"Well, I'm hoping you can give me the same kind of battle that your little brother gave," answered Misty. "That was one hectic and crazy battle. I enjoyed every bit of it."

"Sure, I'll try," Anna said nervously.

"Don't worry," Misty said to Anna with a reassuring smile, "just give me your all. That's all I can ask from you."

"No problem," said Anna. "Well I'm sure that you want to heal your Pokémon at the Pokémon Center."

"Yes I do," Misty said to Anna as she gave her a slight nod.