The Lighthouse and Vermilion City

After walking so many paths and traveling through forests, Ash, Misty and Brock arrived at a beach. Misty was lying on the sand, complaining about being exhausted and Brock was looking at the map. Ash was standing by the ocean thinking about what he had gone through so far on his journey. He closed his eyes and remembered when he and Pikachu first met, set off on the journey together, met a lot of new pokemon and people, challenged the Pewter Gym and Cerulean Gym, met Misty and Brock and captured new pokemon.
Misty saw Ash daydreaming and walked over to him. 
"What are you daydreaming about?" She asked. 
"Oh I'm just thinking about what has happened so far on my journey." Ash said. "The truth is since my journey started I've felt a little bit grown up, even though I'm ten years old." 
"That is what being on a pokemon journey is also about." Brock said. "You see not only is it about getting stronger and working together with pokemon or giving you the chance to meet new pokemon and places. It also helps a kid like you Ash grow up in the real world, without a parent to hold your hand." 
"How do you feel Misty?" Ash asked. 
"Well I have to admit to you." Misty said. "I feel good to be out on a journey too. And I'm finally out of my sister's shadows." 
"Hey Misty I've been meaning to ask this," Ash said. "do you plan to become the Cerulean Gym leader in the future." 
"Actually I do." Misty said. "Seriously since my sisters prefer performing water ballets than taking responsibility as gym leaders, I feel like I should do it. But right now I'm happy with traveling." 
"I understand." Ash said. "What about you Brock." 
"I feel the same as the both of you." Brock answered. "Since I come from a big family I couldn't really go anywhere. Since my mom always felt tired and weak after giving birth to me and my little siblings, I always stayed home to help her. But since both my parents are better and all my siblings are more grown up, it feels good to be out and about. To tell you the truth I wish to become a great pokemon doctor, so this journey is really helping me out to learn more about pokemon." 
"So we all agreed that we are happy being on this journey." Ash said. Misty and Brock smiled with agreement. 
"One thing I want now is a place to sleep." Misty said. "And I want to sleep in a building, not the ground."
Just then Ash saw something in the distance. It was a lighthouse. 
"We can rest there." He said. They were about to run to the lighthouse when Ash felt something against his leg. It was a small red crab. 
"Hey a Krabby." Misty said. Ash took a look: Krabby, the River Crab Pokemon. It lives in burrows dug on sandy beaches. Its pincers fully grow back if they are broken in battle. 
"I'm so catching this Pokemon." Ash said. He took out a Poke Ball and tapped Krabby with it. It caught Krabby then disappeared to Prof Oak's lab.
Ash, Misty and Brock ran as fast as they could to the lighthouse, before they ran into anymore disturbances. Ash pressed the doorbell. 
"Who is it?" A male voice asked from inside the lighthouse. 
"Please excuse us." Ash said. "We are travelers and we are lost. So is it all right to rest here for the night?" 
"And can I use your kitchen to make us something to eat?" Brock asked. 
"Certainly." The man's voice said. "But I would appreciate it if you made me something to eat too. My cook is on vacation and I'm not exactly a good cook." 
"I'll gladly do so." Brock said.
They entered the lighthouse. It looked like a research lab inside; there were three computer desks, shelved of Pokemon research books and other things that scientists used. 
"May I use your phone please?" Ash asked. 
"Go ahead." The male voice said. Ash phoned Prof Oak. Prof Oak was cooking when Ash phoned him. 
"Ah hello Ash." Prof Oak said. "what can I do for you?" 
"I'm just calling to see how my pokemon are doing?" Ash said. 
"Your Pokemon are doing great." Prof Oak said. "Your Clefable, Butterfree, Beedrill, Nidoran couple, Sandshrew, Gyarados, Raichu, Vulpix, Gengar and Rapidash are doing swell." (The six Pokemon Ash had on him now were Pikachu, Pidgeotto, Fearow, Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle.) 
"Oh did you get Krabby?" Ash asked. 
"Yes I did." Prof Oak said. "it's smaller than Gary's Krabby though." He showed Ash his Krabby and Gary's Krabby. "Anyway Gary has caught 45 Pokemon." 
"Oh I see." Ash said calmly. Ash wasn't really interested in catching Pokemon like crazy. He just wanted to catch any pokemon that he wanted. 
"Anyway I need to go Ash." Prof Oak said. "Otherwise my dinner will get cold." Then he hung up.
Suddenly Ash heard some yipping from a cardboard box, on a table. He walked over to the box, and to his great surprise he found five Eevees. 
"No way." Ash gasped and opened his Pokedex: Eevee, the evolution pokemon. Eevee is a unique Pokémon that can adapt to its environment by changing its form and abilities when evolving. "It's nice to meet you Eevee." He tickled them under their chins. The Eevees cooed at that, meaning they liked it. 
"That's amazing." The male voice said. "These Eevees are normally shy." Brock saw that the voice was coming from the stairs and he couldn't believe his eyes. 
"It's a Kabuto." He gasped. "An extinct pokemon." The Kabuto was waving its tentacles around. 
"I'm not a real Kabuto." It said. "I'm really a human, but I can't take this costume off. Could one of you press the button on the chest please?" Ash bravely walked over to the Kabuto and pressed the button. The Kabuto's body fell of a brown-green haired man. 
"Oh thank goodness." The man said. "Thank you for that. I've been stuck in that costume for hours. I'm Bill by the way." 
"What was the costume for?" Ash asked. 
"I'm a pokemon researcher." Bill explained. "And I like to dress up as Pokemon to look at Pokemon in their natural habitat, without scaring them away." 
"That's a good idea." Brock said. 
"So I take the five Eevees are yours?" Ash asked. 
"No, not really." Bill said. "The truth is I found these Eevees in a box one stormy night. So I'm really looking for someone who would care for both those Eevees." Ash felt sorry for the Eevees.
After Brock made a meal of bacon-double cheeseburgers for everyone, Bill showed them to a room, which had pictures of lots of Pokemon. 
"I have seen every pokemon in the Kanto region." Bill said. "And there are 150 different species." 
"Wow, that many?" Ash gasped. "That's amazing. I've got seventeen." 
"That's a good haul." Bill said. "I have also discovered that these Pokemon are not the only pokemon in this world." 
"Are you talking about the Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh and Unova regions?" Ash asked. 
"You've heard about these regions Ash?" Bill asked. 
"In the past trainers from those regions would visit Pallet Town to see Prof Oak." Ash said. "I actually plan to visit one of them, when I finish the Indigo League." 
"Yeah me too." Misty said. "I'd like to catch some water Pokemon from those regions." 
"Traveling around different regions might help me become a Pokemon doctor." Brock said.
Bill could see that Ash, Brock and Misty had a real passion for adventure and had dreams of their own. He took a deep breath. "I have a secret to tell you three". "What is it?" asked Misty. 
"Come with me." Bill said. He led them to the top of the lighthouse. "The thing is there is one Pokemon I'm anxious to meet. I don't know what it is, but it's alone." 
"Doesn't it have any friends or family?" Ash asked. 
"No it has been alone at sea for a long time." Bill said. "It's a one of a kind Pokemon." 
"I don't think it is." Ash said. "I think that it's just an undiscovered Pokemon or it just looks different from other species; like in color and size." Bill and Brock looked at Ash in surprise. 
'Ash seems to be learning more and more about the world of Pokemon.' They thought together.
Bill took out a device from the lighthouse. 
"This is why I know that this pokemon is alone." he said. He pressed a button and the device played a roaring melody. "I heard this from the Pokemon nine nights ago. It says 'I want to be your friend and I want to meet you'. I played a roaring melody back to it saying; 'I want to meet you too and I also want to be your friend'. And last night it replied saying; 'Let's be friends." 
"Do you think it will come tonight?" Brock asked. 
"I don't know." Bill said. "But I will be happy if it does." 
"What are you going to do when it does come here?" Ash asked. "Are you going to catch it." 
"No, I have no intention of catching it." Bill said. "Just meeting and studying it is enough for me. I also want to be friends with it forever after."
Just then a roar was heard in the distance. 
"It's the Pokemon." Bill said. "It's here." The mysterious Pokemon was walking towards the lighthouse, roaring softly. Bill, Ash, Misty and Brock looked straight ahead at the ocean. The Pokemon was covered by the fog, so they couldn't see it yet, and it's form was enormous. Bill was playing the roaring melody from his device again to communicate with the pokemon. And the Pokemon roared too in response. 
"It's like it's singing." Misty said. 
"Care to dance?" Brock asked. Misty accepted. The Pokemon walked and walked until it finally reached the lighthouse. The Pokemon was so big and tall it reached from both the sea floor to the top of the lighthouse. Ash took out the Pokedex to see what it really was: Dragonite, the Dragon Pokemon. This extremely rare and highly intelligent type is able to fly faster than any known Pokémon. The Dragonite showed its self to the group and lowered its head to Bill. 
"I see so you are a Dragonite." Bill said to Dragonite, rubbing its head, "Let's be friends forever." Dragonite roared in happiness. Ash, Misty and Brock were happy for Bill to finally meet the giant Pokemon. 
"You see." Ash whispered to Brock and Misty. "I told you that it was just different from its own species." Brock and Misty nodded in agreement.
The next day came and Bill and Dragonite were saying their goodbyes to Ash, Misty and Brock. 
"I cannot thank you three enough for being here with me last night, when I finally met Dragonite." Bill said. 
"I just hope your friendship with Dragonite will last forever." Ash said. 
"If you're looking for Vermilion City, it's not far from here." Bill said. "Oh and Ash I have something to ask you." He handed Ash five Poke Balls. "These Poke Balls contain the five Eevees, I've decided to give them to you." 
"Me?" Ash said in surprise. 
"Yes." Bill said. "After seeing the Eevees bond with you very quickly and for seeing your passion about Pokemon last night, I decided you're perfect for them." 
"Wow thank you." Ash said. "I promise you to take good care of them."
After obtaining five Eevees, Ash Misty and Brock bid farewell to Bill and Dragonite and set off for Vermilion City once more.
----Ash and crew were staring at a sign, beaming with happiness. It said; Vermilion City. 
"Finally after two whole weeks of traveling, we have finally made it." Misty said. 
"Still at least we caught some great new pokemon." Ash said. 
"I'm going to have a nice bubbly bath." Misty said. 
"I'm going to hit the laundromat." Brock said. "We haven't washed our clothes for a while." 
"Yeah and I would like a nap and some food inside me." Ash said. 
"Don't forget our Pokemon need healing at the Pokemon center." Misty reminded them. They all agreed to head straight to the Pokemon Center.
While their Pokemon were being looked after by Nurse Joy, Ash and crew had nice long bubbly baths and their clothes were being washed in the laundry room. Ash and Brock went to their room first, after their bath and they got their clothes back. 
"I needed that." Ash said, as he lay down on the bed. "I felt all grubby and dirty." 
"Yeah me too." Brock said. "Not to mention our clothes started to smell a bit." 
"I'm going to have a nice nap." Ash said, resting his head on the pillow. 
"You do that." Brock said. "I'm going to stack up on some more supplies. We're nearly out of medicine." So Brock went out shopping.
After refreshing themselves and their Pokemon, Ash, Brock and Misty were still in the Pokemon center discussing Ash's third gym battle. 
"So have you decided yet?" Misty asked. 
"Yep." Ash said. "I'm going with Sandshrew." 
"Good idea." Brock said. Just then they saw a trainer rushing into the Pokemon center, carrying a very injured Rattata. 
"Help please!" The trainer shouted. "My Rattata needs help." Nurse Joy rushed over. 
"Oh no not another one." She said. "Chansey bring a stretcher immediately." A Chansey brought out a stretcher at once and had the Rattata placed on it, then rushed it to the operating room at once. 
"This is the fifteenth pokemon this month." Nurse Joy sighed. "And they are all from the Vermilion Gym." When Ash heard that, he figured that this would be a tough battle. The gang took a look at the other victims. There was an Oddish, Sandshrew, Caterpie and a Pidgey, apart from Rattata. 
"I do beg your pardon." Ash whispered to Brock and Misty. "But why use a flying type against an electric gym?" Misty and Brock had to admit that wasn't a good idea.
To find out more about the Vermilion Gym, Ash asked the trainers all about their battles. 
"Well Lt. Surge the gym leader is very strong," Rattata's trainer said. 
"Yeah and his Raichu is no joke." Pidgey's trainer said. 
'So I'll be battling a Raichu.' Ash thought, thinking about his own Raichu. 
"What attacks did Raichu use?" He asked. "It used Thunderbolt, Body Slam, Mega Kick and Mega Punch." Sandshrew's trainer answered.
"Didn't it use speeding attacks like Quick Attack and Agility?" Ash asked. 
"No not once." Oddish's trainer answered. Ash thanked the trainers for the info and picked up his Pokemon.
"Are you going to be okay with this gym battle Ash?" Misty asked, while they were walking to the Gym. 
"It will be okay." Ash said. "after all the info those trainers gave me, It will be okay." They soon reached Vermilion Gym; it looked like a warehouse, with yellow lightning bolts all over it. 
"Here goes nothing." Ash said, and opened the gym doors. "I'm here for a gym battle." 
"Ah more victims for the Pokemon Center." A female voice said. Two figures revealed themselves; it was a man and woman, looking like army soldiers, with street punk make up on. 
"Follow us." The man and woman said together.
The man and woman led the group to what looked like a boxing ring. 
"This is where you will battle our gym leader." The woman said. 
"Lt. Surge sir." The man shouted. "A trainer wishes to battle you sir." 
"Another one huh?" A male voice asked. It was a big muscular man, with spiky hair and looked like a real army soldier. He had a Raichu beside him.
Ash checked the pokedex: Raichu, the Mouse Pokemon. The evolved form of Pikachu. It can shock its enemies with more than 100,000 volts.
"Who's my opponent?" Lt. Surge asked. 
"I am." Ash said. Lt. Surge took a good look at Ash and Pikachu and smirked. 
"So I'm battling a bunch of babies." He said. 
"Who the heck are you calling babies?" Ash demanded, feeling very cross. 
"Simple you two." Lt. Surge replied, pointing to them, "A little kid and an un-evolved Pikachu. I evolved my Pikachu into Raichu here as soon as I caught it." Ash went wide eyed from hearing that. He knew that evolving Pokemon with stones right away wasn't a sensible thing to do. 
"We'll see who the baby is after this match." Ash said. 
"You're on kid." Lt. Surge said.
Lt. Surge and Ash got ready to fight on the arena. 
"This gym battle is between Lt. Surge the gym leader, and Ash Ketchum the challenger." The man said. "This is a one on one battle and whoever defeats the opponent's Pokemon first wins. Let the match begin." 
"Sandshrew I choose you!" Ash shouted. His Sandshrew was ready for battle. 
"Raichu, front and center." Lt. Surge commanded. Lt. Surge's Raichu sparked its cheeks ready to battle.
"Let's get this battle over with." Lt. Surge said. "Raichu Thunderbolt." Raichu shot a bolt of electricity at Sandshrew. 
"Sandshrew use swift to counter that move." Ash said. The stars from Sanshrew collided with Raichu's thunderbolt and stopped it from reaching him. 
"Use Thunderbolt again." Lt. Surge commanded. 
"Use Dig now." Ash said. Sandshrew dived into the ground before the thunderbolt could hit him. Raichu had no idea where Sandshrew would be so it braced itself. 
"Attack now." Ash said. Sandshrew burst out of the ground and hit Raichu bad. 
"Use Mega Kick." Lt Surge commanded. Sandshrew got hit by that and squeaked in pain. 
'Time for my plan.' Ash thought. "Sandshrew use Rollout and keep on rolling." Sandshrew rolled and rolled. Lt. Surge commanded his Raichu to body slam the Sandshrew, but Raichu kept on missing. 
"How can this be?" Lt. Surge asked.
Ash smiled. 
"I'll tell you why." Ash said. "It's because you evolved your Raichu too fast. Raichu can only learn speeding attacks when it's still a Pikachu. That's why your Raichu is so slow, you evolved it before teaching it Quick Attack and Agility." Misty and Brock were amazed that Ash thought of that. 
"Ash sure is something." Misty said.
"I agree." Brock added. 
"You're quite a trainer." Lt. Surge said. "But it ends now." 
"I don't think so." Ash said. "Ready Sandshrew?" Sandshrew squeaked in response to his trainer. But then Sandshrew started to glow. Everyone all watched in amazement as Sandshrew grew and and morphed its shape. When it died down Sandslash was in Sandshrew's place.
Ash checked it out: Sandslash, the Mouse Pokemon. The evolved form of Sandshrew. It curls up, then rolls into foes with its back. Its sharp spines inflict severe damage.
Lt. Surge was getting impatient. 
"Just because Sandshrew evolved." He said. "Don't think that you will win. Raichu Thunderbolt full power." Raichu sent bolts of thunder all over the arena. 
"Sandslash use earthquake." Ash said. The earthquake broke up the thunderbolt and struck Raichu really hard. Raichu was now panting heavily. 
"Use thunderbolt again." Lt. Surge said. Raichu charged its cheeks but nothing happened. 
"What's wrong?" Lt. Surge asked his Raichu. 
"It's over Lt. Surge." Ash said. "Raichu used up all of its electricity. Now Sandslash use Slash." Sandslash scratched Raichu really hard and then Raichu fainted with swirls in its eyes. Ash had won.
Ash ran over to Sandlash and gave it a hug. 
"Thank you Sandslash." He said. "You were amazing." Sandslash loved the hug his trainer was giving him. Lt. Surge picked up his tired Raichu and walked over to Ash. 
"I congratulate you Ash." He said. "You gave me a wonderful battle." He held out his hand to Ash. 
"I liked this battle too." Ash said, giving his hand to Lt. Surge, "Although this battle was very shocking." Lt. Surge chuckled and handed out a yellow and orange, eight pointed star shape badge. 
"This is the thunder badge." He said giving it to Ash, "You deserve this." Ash accepted it and everyone clapped for Ash.
After receiving the Thunder Badge, Ash and crew decided to sight see Vermilion City before they continued their journey.