Shocking Vermillion Gym Battle

**"Shocking Vermillion Gym Battle"** is the twelfth chapter of *Pokémon Reset Bloodlines.* Ash and Misty arrive to the Vermilion City Gym, where another challenge is undergoing and the challenger is none other than Paul. After Paul wins his match, Ash steps up to battle as well, earning his third Gym Badge. Afterwards, they board the S.S. Anne cruiser for a short trip.

## Plot

Ash is quite surprised to see Paul in Kanto, recalling how he used to act back in the old timeline and that he doesn't seem that different now. Paul uses a female Pikachu to battle Lt. Surge's Voltorb, while Ash's Pokédex detects Paul's in the vicinity and decides to hack its personality matrix while also downloading its DexNav program. Paul's Pikachu wins, but not before getting hit by an Electro Ball launched by Surge's Voltorb before going down. Paul complains about the use of a "pathetic and unreliable attack" such as Electro Ball, as well as Surge's habit of yelling things like "Aerial Bombardment" and "Sniper Strike". Surge replies that he earned his position as Gym Leader through experience and Paul has no right to question the methods of a war veteran. Surge then calls for a Magnemite to continue the match.

Misty comments how the two don't seem to get along, and compares how when Ash fought Brock they at least seemed to respect one another. Ash comments that it must be because the challenger seems to be a jerk. The bout continues and Paul's Pikachu manages to defeat Magnemite by the hair, but is left heavily damaged afterwards, right when Surge calls a Raichu nicknamed Sergeant for the final assault. Ash's Pokédex makes a snarky comment about how evolving a Raichu too early is usually the sign of a foolish or desperate trainer, getting Surge's attention. The gym leader counters that Pikachu doesn't learn too many crucial attacks after a few levels, and experience is what determines the outcome. The battle continues and Sergeant Raichu defeats Paul's Pikachu by grabbing her by the tail before she escapes underground with Dig, then slamming her around and crushing her with his body, making Ash's Pikachu wince as he recalls his own encounter with Surge's Raichu back in the old timeline.

Paul recalls his Pikachu and calls his third Pokémon, which both Ash and Surge recognize as a Sinnoh Grass-type starter, Grotle, and Surge comments that Rowan's standards for giving a Pokédex and starter Pokémon must be lower than Oak's. Grotle opens up with Razor Leaf, which Sergeant Raichu counters with Power-Up Punch to deflect the sharp leaves Surge then commands a Mega Punch, to what Paul replies ordering Grotle to use Curse. Grotle tanks the hit and it triggers his Overgrow ability, leaving Sergeant Raichu vulnerable to a point-blank Razor Leaf attack. Before the attack is delivered, Surge forfeits and recalls Raichu to avoid unnecessary injury, which Paul dismisses as pathetic. Surge agrees that he won, but he'll give Paul the badge after he's done with Ash, much to the former's annoyance.

The battle is set up to be a three-on-three. Surge begins with a female Pikachu wearing a headband nicknamed Private Volty. After considering his own Pikachu, and the latter's unspoken negative, Ash decides to send Bulbasaur instead. After using Vine Whip to jump and dodge Volty's attacks, Bulbasaur lands a Razor Leaf attack that gives him the first round. Misty and Pikachu celebrate, while Paul calls it pathetic, to the redhead's chagrin. Surge commends Ash's skills, and before some consideration he chooses a Joltik, making Misty scream at the Bug-type and surprising Ash. Surge explains that his first Pokémon was a Joltik and many of those were very useful to him during the Trainer-Ranger Wars. Ash thinks about switching out Bulbasaur, but Surge quickly anticipates and has Joltik use Spider Web to stop it, forcing Bulbasaur to continue on the field. Joltik then grabs ahold of Bulbasaur's face and uses Bug Buzz to weaken him, before finishing with a Shock Wave, leaving both trainers with two Pokémon.

Ash decides to call for Charmander, who isn't happy to be pitted against a small bug. The bout begins, and when Joltik attempts to use Shock Wave while clinging to the ceiling, Ash orders Charmander to strike the ground with Metal Claw. To everyone's surprise, the move redirects the electricity to the ground and leaves Charmander undamaged. Misty considers looking into that trick herself while Surge once more commends Ash for his thinking before ordering a Hidden Power, which Charmander deflects with Metal Claw, knocking Joltik off the ceiling. Surge orders to use Spider Web for a parachute, but Ash decides to finish the bout and orders Charmander to use Flame Charge. After the flames peter out, though, Charmander is no more, having evolved to Charmeleon, although after a moment of silence, Ash hears he's not happy to have evolved against a small bug, and makes up a story about fighting a thousand of them with laser cannons and dripping poison.

Before Surge calls for his final Pokémon, Staff Sergeant Raichu, Ash asks Charmeleon to step aside and make way for Pikachu, who steps up to the field. Staff Sergeant Raichu appears, and Ash notices he's wearing some sort of vest, which somewhat reduces the damage done by Pikachu's Thunderbolt. Ash's Pokédex identifies it as an Assault Vest, an equipable item that reduces the damage of special attacks at the cost of not being able to use non-damaging moves. The two then engage in a Mega Punch vs Iron Tail melee duel before Pikachu tries to get a better angle to keep attacking. When Surge orders a Focus Blast, Ash and Pikachu know exactly what to do, and Pikachu immediately spins around to use Counter Shield, catching the Focus Blast and redirecting it back to the Raichu. Surge, impressed with the trick, asks Ash if he could draft him should another war start, to what Ash replies he'd have to talk to his mother first. Surge then orders Staff Sergeant Raichu to use Grass Knot to stop Pikachu's spinning, and then charge with a Mega Punch. Ash orders Pikachu to use Zap Cannon to counter it, and then they finish the bout with a Quick Attack, knocking the Raichu out.

Surge congratulates Ash and gives him his Thunder Badge, while also giving Paul his and telling him to leave. After Ash and Misty exit the gym, they're boarded by the Team Rocket trio in disguise, who give them tickets for the S.S. Anne.

Meanwhile at the Viridian City Gym, Giovanni defeats a challenger who uses a Mankey with his Rhyhorn. He hates having to accept challenges from weak trainers, but with a League Inspector in the area he needs to keep up appearances. After the defeated challenger leaves, he gets a call from the trio, who inform him of everything that happened inside the Gym, and also that Ash and Misty boarded the S.S. Anne after they gave them the tickets, recalling that Butch and Cassidy are in charge of an ambush in that ship. Giovanni suddenly tells the trio that the operation is cancelled and to inform Butch and Cassidy to go instead to HopHopHop Town, deciding that the operation is not worth the boy's potential.

Aboard the S.S. Anne, Misty checks everything around, rather excited about the trip. She buys a Magikarp from a salesman and makes a note to report him to Professor Oak and the police later, while coming across a Devon Corporation stand of Battle Poké-bobbing: winning a battle gives them the right to dive into a water tank full of different kinds of Poké Balls, including six hidden Master Balls. Misty decides to give it a shot, much to Psyduck's chagrin.

Meanwhile, Ash goes about the ship a little more cautious, recalling what happened last time. He gets dragged into a nearby stand, by Burgundy of all people, who is now an A-Class Conoisseuse as opposed to a C-Class. Much to his shock, she's also more mature and competent in her evaluation of Ash's Pokémon, despite Pikachu's temptation of shocking her if she screws up too much. After she requests to see Ash's other Pokémon, Ash complies showing her Butterfree, of whom she gives a similar evaluation while also mentioning in passing how lucky Ash is because the Buttefree gathering for the mating season were all apparently stolen by poachers, much to Ash's (and Butterfree's) shock.

East of Cerulean City, Hunter J returns to her ship after her successful capture of many Butterfree, albeit not one she's particularly happy for, since those Pokémon aren't that valuable in money, but she's forced to take jobs to stay afloat. Before she can plot a course to a foreign region (perhaps Hoenn or Sinnoh, where she wouldn't have competition), a hooded figure suddenly appears out of nowhere, shocking her and her crew. The figure gives out a secret offshore bank account of hers, whose discovery could give a harsh blow to her operation, and introduces himself as an Emissary of the Bloodliner King with a job for her. Giving her a photo of Ash, he tells J to test him, whether she captures him and brings him to them, or otherwise he manages to escape from her best efforts, she will be paid a hefty sum. He also tells her to accept it or else, since they know every detail of her operation and can easily tear it a part along with her, before disappearing. With no other choices, J decides to take the job, though before doing so one of her crew members informs her of a nearby formation of Flying-type Pokémon. J immediately orders them to give chase and capture them.

## Continuity

* Ash battles Lt. Surge and wins his third Gym Badge, the Thunder Badge.
* Ash's Charmander evolves to Charmeleon.
* Paul is revealed to be one of the previously mentioned challengers of the Pewter City Gym, and earns his second badge.
* Ash and Misty's trip aboard the S.S. Anne is further detailed in the *S.S. Anne Interlude* side story.
* Butch and Cassidy operation in HopHopHop Town is shown in the *Arnold Interlude* side story.
* First appearances of Burgundy and Hunter J.

## Characters

### Humans

* Ash Ketchum
* Paul
* Lt. Surge
* Misty Waterflower
* Giovanni
* Random Trainer
* Jessie
* James
* Random Carnie
* Random Trainer
* Burgundy
* Hunter J
* Hunter J's Grunt
* Bloodline Emissary

### Pokémon

* Pikachu (Paul's)
* Pikachu (Ash's)
* Voltorb (Lt. Surge's)
* Magnemite (Lt. Surge's)
* Raichu (Lt. Surge's)
* Grotle (Paul's)
* Pikachu (Lt. Surge's)
* Bulbasaur (Ash's)
* Joltik (Lt. Surge's)
* Charmander (Ash's)
* Charmeleon (Ash's)
* Mankey (Random Trainer's)
* Rhyhorn (Giovanni's)
* Meowth (Team Rocket)
* Pysduck (Misty's)
* Machop (Random Trainer's)
* Butterfree (Ash's)

## Trivia

* Vermilion is spelt as Vermillion in the title of the chapter.