A Boy’s First Love

Gary asked Ash the next day if he had thought about what he had said the other day. Ash nodded and responded, “I did and I think I might like you as more than a friend too.”

Gary grinned, “Really?”

Ash laughed, “Yes.”

“That’s great!” Gary said smiling.

What Gary said next shocked Ash, “You know I only picked on you because I liked you. I know that’s a lame excuse, what kind of person picks on the one they like?”

“That is kind of weird. But I get it, you were nervous around me, weren’t you Gary?” Ash questioned.

Gary laughed, “Yeah you could say that.”

“I knew it,” Ash remarked light heartedly.

“Are you ready for your battle with Lt. Surge Ash?” Gary inquired.

Ash nodded enthusiastically, “Definitely.”

This caused Gary to chuckle. “You sure are eager about it,” he replied with a smile.

Ash shrugged, “What can I say? I have a feeling this is going to go well.”

“Alright, Ashy boy. Let’s go then,” he said already walking in the direction of the gym.

Ash followed Gary, his excitement bubbling out of him with each step that brought him closer to his battle with Lt. Surge.

“Oh so you want to battle me now?” Lt. Surge said as soon as Ash had declared he wanted to battle him.

Ash nodded and Lt. Surge chuckled, “Okay but your friend didn’t do so well against me if you remember.”

Ash scowled, “That doesn’t mean I won’t win. Don’t make rash assumptions about me without even having seen my strength!”

This made the gym leader snicker, “Well okay then if you say so.”

“I’m ready when you are,” he added.

Ash nodded, “I’m ready now.”

Lt. Surge threw out a pokeball and Pikachu appeared. So he was using his Pikachu from the start? Interesting, but Ash had some good Pokemon at his disposal as well.

“Pikachu! Get on out there!” He said.

Ash’s Pikachu ran out into the fighting field, its tail swishing back and forth in excitement. It was ready for battle.

The gym leader laughed, “Your Pikachu looks puny.”

Ash’s left eye twitched. “You won’t be talking trash when you see my Pikachu in action,” Ash retorted.

Lt. Surge shrugged and told his Pikachu to use quick attack.

“Pikachu use double team,” Ash called out.

Ash’s Pikachu split into several Pikachu’s and Lt. Surge’s Pokemon looked at them in confusion. It didn’t know which Pikachu was the real one. Ash told Pikachu to use quick attack then, while it was confused. All five Pikachu’s raced forward and hit Lt. Surge’s Pokemon at once. Only one hurt his Pikachu though, the rest had disappeared as soon as they attacked. Lt. Surge growled. His Pikachu looked like it had taken a lot of damage.

“Pikachu use thunder shock!” Lt. Surge commanded.

His Pikachu raced forward, its ears pointed in the air and let its attack loose. The electric attack hit Ash’s Pikachu. While its attack was strong, it did barely anything to Ash’s Pikachu. His Pikachu was an electric type after all, so the same types of moves on it did little to no damage. Ash merely smirked when he saw his Pikachu had taken barely any damage.

“You’ll have to do better than that to defeat me,” Ash said snickering.

Lt. Surge scowled and ordered his Pikachu to use growl. His Pikachu let out a shrill cry and Ash’s Pikachu’s attack went down a little.

“Use swift Pikachu!” Ash cried out.

Gary’s eyes widened. “When did Pikachu learn that move Ash?” He asked.

Ash smirked, “Not too long ago. I was training Pikachu on my own when it learned that attack.”

Gary nodded, in awe and Pikachu threw stars that hit Lt. Surge’s Pikachu right on contact. Lt. Surge’s Pokemon fell to the ground and when it tried to rise back up it fell down. It had been defeated. Ash grinned and Lt. Surge called his Pokemon back. He threw out another pokeball. This time it was Voltorb. This would be an easy battle Ash thought. Ash knew for a fact that Lt. Surge’s Voltorb knew less moves than his Pikachu and that it was slightly weaker.

“Pikachu use swift!” Ash called out.

Pikachu used swift and it hit the Voltorb accurately.

“Voltorb use sonic boom!” Lt. Surge cried.

“Pikachu double team!” Ash countered.

As soon as Voltorb’s attack had swept across the field, Ash’s Pikachu had multiplied itself and the attack ended up hitting a fake Pikachu.

“Don’t give up Voltorb! Use screech, let’s try to make the real Pikachu show itself!”

“Pikachu, quick attack!” Ash interjected.

Before Lt. Surge’s Pokemon could even use its attack, five Pikachu’s raced forward quickly. They hit Voltorb as one, but like before, they all disappeared as soon as they had attacked. Voltorb flew back, dazed.

“Voltorb use tackle!” Lt. Surge commanded.

Voltorb ran forward and was about to hit Ash’s Pikachu when he commanded it to dodge and use slam. Lt. Surge’s eyes widened as another one of his Pokemon was defeated.

Lt. Surge made his Voltorb return and he tossed out his last Pokemon. “We’ll see just how strong you really are,” Lt. Surge said angrily.

Lt. Surge’s Raichu appeared and Ash’s heart began to hammer. This was the Pokemon that Gary had lost to. This was the same Gary that never lost to anyone. He would have to watch out for this one.

“Raichu use mega punch!” Lt. Surge demanded.

“What?” Ash cried out. He hadn’t used that move in his battle with Gary.

Lt. Surge’s Raichu raced forward quickly and before Ash could react hit Pikachu with all of its might. Pikachu went flying backwards, letting out a shrill cry.

“Pikachu!” Ash screamed, frightened for his Pokemon.

Pikachu got back on its feet though, but not without some struggling. “Pikachu use swift!” Ash commanded.

Pikachu’s attack hit Raichu square on and it flinched. It was barely harmed Ash thought with fear. “Pikachu use slam on Raichu!” Ash directed.

Pikachu got close to Raichu and tried to hit it with slam but ended up hitting only the ground, because Lt. Surge had ordered his Pokemon to use quick attack and get out of there. Ash frowned, he might lose. No, he couldn’t think like that! He had to win, for his sake and for Gary’s pride. He had to get back his friend’s pride and the only way to do that would be to win. He couldn’t afford to lose!

“Use double team Pikachu!” Ash said.

Pikachu was about to use double team when Lt. Surge commanded Raichu to use thunder. In two seconds thunder struck and Ash’s Pikachu fell to the ground head first.

“Pikachu, are you okay?” Ash asked his Pokemon, concerned.

Pikachu tried to get back up but it fell back down, defeated. Ash let out a low groan and picked up Pikachu, giving it to Gary. “Look after Pikachu, will you?” He asked.

Gary nodded, “You can do this Ash.”

Ash smiled, “Thanks.”

He returned to the battle at hand and threw out his ace in the hole. He had to win, he just had to. Diglett popped out and Lt. Surge looked at it in amusement.

“Raichu mega punch!” Lt. Surge called out.

“Dig now!” Ash said, cutting in.

Diglett dug underground, leaving Raichu confused and looking around. Diglett hit Raichu from below a moment later, sending it soaring into the air. When it fell back down, it got back up, but not without some hesitation.

“Diglett use sand-attack!”

Ash’s Pokemon threw a bunch of sand in Raichu’s direction, momentarily blinding it.

“Now use scratch!” He cried.

While Raichu was distracted Diglett used its attack. It got Raichu twice before finally backing up. Lt. Surge gasped when he saw his Raichu swaying on its feet.

“Dig once more Diglett!” Ash cried out.

“Raichu dodge it!”

Raichu was too dizzy to move though. It stayed where it was and dig ended up knocking Raichu out.

Lt. Surge looked at Ash in awe. “You defeated me,” he said.

Ash nodded and Lt. Surge made his Raichu return. He dug into one of his pockets and handed Ash his badge. It looked like a miniature sun. “You earned the Thunder badge fair and square,” he said smiling.

Ash grinned, put the badge in his badge case and made his way to Gary.

“You did great Ash!” He exclaimed.

Ash laughed, “Thanks, it wasn’t easy!”

“It sure didn’t look easy!”

“When did you get that Diglett?” He added.

“Last night. I knew I couldn’t win with only Pikachu and Beedrill so I went to the cave on the outskirts of the city and caught one,” Ash admitted.

Gary smiled wide, “Well that was smart.”

“Let’s get your Pokemon healed up,” he said, looking down at Ash’s Pikachu that was still in his arms.
“That’s a good idea,” Ash replied.

The two of them left and headed for the poke center.