Out Of The Ashes (A Pokémon Fanfiction) ~on Hold

chapter 17: practice time

Chapter 17:
Practice time

"Geodude, if you would please?" Brock gestured to the field. His Pokemon drifted forward, pounding its knuckles together once. Brock motioned for Ash to take his place at the far end of the field and walked across to his own marked-off box. "Let's have your Pokemon demonstrate the moves it knows to see how far along it is. My Geodude may be the most inexperienced member of my team, but he can certainly handle whatever you throw at him."

"Okay," Ash answered. He waited until both Pokemon had gotten into position before ordering, "All right, Tank, let's start with Harden!"

Tank's body rippled with energy as he tightened every muscle in his body as if anticipating an impact.

Brock nodded in approval. "That's good form. Harden is useful when there's an incoming attack and you have no chance of dodging. It sort of makes up for Aron's mediocre speed. You might also want to use it at the start of a battle, before either side can start firing off attacks—you'll find that Aron can weather an enormous amount of damage, but it never hurts to have some padded insurance. Next move?"

"Mud-slap on the Geodude!" Ash ordered. Tank obeyed, forming the sphere of earth energy in his mouth before hurling it downwards. It collided with the terrain hard and sent up a spray of mud. The Geodude couldn't dodge the fan in time and was coated in the heavy mixture. It grunted and began wiping the mud from its body before it could interfere with its vulnerable joints.

"Mud-slap doesn't do a lot of damage, but it serves as a nice distraction and gets in between the armor of many rock-types, which is why they hate it. And anything that impairs your opponent's vision is always nice," Brock coached. "I wouldn't rely on it too much to carry you through battles, though. In the long run it's an ineffective attack. What else?"

"Tank knows Tackle and Headbutt, but they're sort of similar. Headbutt's more powerful, though," Ash explained, giving the go-ahead to his Pokemon. Tank rushed the Geodude, who raised a craggy brow. It was clear that the Pokemon could have dodged the attack but instead chose to remain still. When they collided, a thunderous clap of sound rang through the gym and both were pushed apart forcefully.

"Your Pokemon needs better speed if he wants that attack to access all the power it's capable of," Brock chided. Ash winced but knew it was true. He had become accustomed to Tank's natural advantage against most of the trainers they had gone up against. But against a foe like Brock, who utilized the defensive rock types, such a carefree approach wouldn't cut it.

"Okay, that's enough," Brock said, and stepped out of his marked area. Ash relaxed, assuming that the demonstration was over. "Like I said, your Aron has good form in his moves and seems pretty tough even for his age, but you'll need a better movepool and something to counter his low speed. Metal claw gives you more versatility and another close combat move other than headbutt."

He clapped a hand on Ash's shoulder and steered him to an exit in the back corner of the gym. "Why don't we take this next part outside?"

Wary but still eager for the older trainer's guidance, Ash followed his direction. Tank trotted at his heels.

The exit opened up to a sort of backyard for the gym, comprised of many little terraced ledges. Since the gym had been built in the side of the mountain, the yard was sloped dramatically upwards.

"We've tested your Pokemon," Brock said, beginning to hike a little ways up the steep incline. "But we haven't tested you as a trainer yet. Go stand over there." He gestured to the left side of the yard. Even though he was confused, Ash obeyed. To his surprise, the terrain was more difficult to traverse than he had anticipated. The earth was extremely loose and crumbly here; every step sank in the aerated soil a good inch and slid due to the angle. He slipped several times and was only saved from embarrassing himself by Tank's steady press against his legs.