"Is anyone here?"
Pushing open the door of the Pewter Gym, Ash asked the question toward the pitch-black room.
"Who are you?"
Accompanied by a counter-question, the interior of the Gym instantly lit up, and a battleground purely constructed of stacked rocks came into Ash's view.
The person who asked the question was sitting on the high platform opposite Ash. With that spiky hair and squinting eye appearance, it was undoubtedly Uncle Gang.
"I am Ash from Pallet Town, and I'm here for a Gym battle." Ash immediately stood in the Challenger's position by the field.
However, Takeshi did not act immediately. Instead, he sized up Ash slightly: "Is this your first Gym battle? You look like you just started your Journeys. You should know beforehand that Gym battles are different from small roadside fights..."
"But you always have to take the first step, don't you?" Ash didn't mind this slight contempt and directly pulled out his Poké Ball.
"A very confident young man... Alright, as the Gym Leader, I cannot refuse a challenge." Seeing this, Takeshi finally stood up and walked to his battle position.
"The rules of the Pewter Gym are a battle using two Pokémon. The Challenger attacks first after the Leader sends out their Pokémon, and the Challenger has the right to switch at any time. Do you understand?"
"Understood. Please begin." Ash made a gesture to start.
In a Gym battle, the Leader must send out their Pokémon first and yield the right to the first move, which is actually a rule favorable to the Challenger.
"My first one is this, Geodude!"
"Geodude?" Ash was slightly surprised, but still threw his Precious Ball. "Kangaskhan, I'm counting on you for this first Gym battle. Make it look good~"
"Karu!" After landing, Kangaskhan energetically clenched its fist, clearly full of fighting spirit.
Ash had told it before that Gym battles would be a good test, and it could even go all out!
"Is that Kangaskhan still a minor?" Takeshi saw the clue immediately. Kangaskhan was not only small in size, but it hadn't even grown a pouch, clearly having only recently left its mother.
"Please don't underestimate it." Ash smiled confidently. "Go, Kangaskhan, Fake Out!"
The official clash began. With Ash's command, Kangaskhan immediately burst forward with full power toward its opponent!
"Geodude, use Defense Curl!"
Takeshi had Geodude curl up, taking a less effective attack, but because of this, it entered a flinching state and couldn't counterattack.
"A chance! Kangaskhan, Power-Up Punch!" Ash seized the opportunity and immediately had Kangaskhan use its Killing Move!
Bang!
The powerful Fighting-type technique struck Geodude, sending it tumbling, while Kangaskhan's attack power suddenly increased!
In the games, Power-Up Punch was undoubtedly the strongest boosting move for Mega Kangaskhan in Generation VI, but precisely because its effect was too overpowered, it was removed in the next generation.
But in this real world, theoretically, any move a Pokémon could learn in any generation can be mastered through training!
However, after one exchange, Ash's brow furrowed deeper as he looked at Geodude's grimacing state after being hit.
Takeshi's Geodude behaved basically the same as in the original story... but logically, it shouldn't be like this!
Its strength was a bit low, but considering this was a courtesy for newcomers, it was still reasonable... Thinking this, Ash decided to continue observing.
"Your Kangaskhan has mastered a very powerful move... Geodude, use Rock Throw, then Rollout and charge!"
The battle resumed. Takeshi immediately had Geodude summon a barrage of stones for cover while activating Rollout and rushing forward quickly.
"Use Power-Up Punch continuously!"
"What?!" Takeshi was greatly astonished. Kangaskhan actually smashed all the stones with its fists, using his covering move as a stepping stone for its own boost!
"Final strike!"
"Karu!"
Facing the Geodude charging with Rollout, Kangaskhan delivered a direct Uppercut at close range, sending Geodude flying into the air!
By the time Geodude crashed heavily to the ground, it had already lost the ability to battle.
"Geodude, return..." Takeshi recalled his partner with a serious expression. "Your Kangaskhan is powerful, but you won't be able to shake this one... Go, Onix!"
"Wooo!" Accompanied by a flash of white light, the enormous Rock Snake coiled itself onto the field!
"Karu?" Kangaskhan looked at Onix, then looked back at Ash, feeling like it had been cheated... Pikachu got to fight such a huge one before, but I only get to fight this ordinary one... What, are you looking down on me?
Little did it know, Ash was equally confused.
Why was Takeshi's Onix also similar to the original story?
Logically, after witnessing Kangaskhan's strength, Takeshi should have brought out a Pokémon of a similar level to battle.
Could it be that he was Giving Up and didn't want to fight properly?
"Go, Onix, use Dig!" Just when Ash was completely baffled, Takeshi had already commanded Onix to dive underground, intending to launch a sneak attack on Kangaskhan.
"Wait for it to come out, then use Power-Up Punch!" Ash commanded casually.
"I was waiting for this! Onix, come out and use Bind!"
Boom!
The ground trembled, and Onix suddenly burst out from underground, tightly coiling around Kangaskhan just as it was about to throw a punch!
"Now you can't move freely!"
"Kangaskhan, Rest." Ash was completely unhurried, and Kangaskhan immediately fell asleep while tightly bound.
"Use Slam to throw it down! Then use a full-power Take Down to finish the battle!!"
Seeing his opponent openly use Rest to recover, Takeshi immediately instructed Onix to use its full strength, intending to seal the victory before Kangaskhan woke up!
Onix forcefully smashed Kangaskhan onto the ground, then charged with full force, ramming its head toward Kangaskhan!
"Dodge, then Power-Up Punch!"
"What? Onix, Dig, quickly!!"
Just when he thought victory was secured, Kangaskhan suddenly opened its eyes, dodged the attack, and immediately threw a counter punch!
Takeshi was shocked and could only make Onix dive underground again, narrowly dodging the punch that carried a strong gust of wind.
With continuous Power-Up Punches, Kangaskhan's current attack power was terrifying; even a graze would cause severe injury!
"Your Kangaskhan, could it be..." Only then did Takeshi realize his mistake.
"It has the Early Bird Ability," Ash said, nodding as if it were obvious.
Pokémon with the Early Bird Ability have their sleep time halved, but the full recovery effect of Rest is not diminished.
And the sleep caused by using the Rest move is a fixed two turns, which means... Onix would only have time to make one move before Kangaskhan woke up!
At this moment, facing Kangaskhan with explosive attack power and full stamina, Onix had no chance of winning!
"The outcome is decided... Kangaskhan, use Earthquake!"
"Oh no... this is bad!"
Boom!
A terrifying shockwave instantly swept across the entire field, and the violent tremors even shattered the rock pillars at the edge of the field!
With full attack power, a super-effective hit, plus doubled damage from Dig, Onix, no matter how strong its defense, was instantly knocked out without suspense!
In the Pewter Gym battle, Ash was victorious!
However, his questions lingered... Why was Takeshi so weak?