Vs Erika: Grass Weaknesses Sealed?

**"Vs Erika: Grass Weaknesses Sealed"** is the nineteenth chapter of *Pokémon Reset Bloodlines.* The morning after his arrival to Celadon City, Ash gets a message for his scheduled match in the Gym from Erika. At the Celadon Gym, Ash manages to prove his worth to Erika, making her revoke her ban on male trainers altogether. Meanwhile, in Viridian City, Giovanni takes a challenge from another trainer.

## Plot

An Exeggcute appears in front of Ash's group with a letter for him while he and his companions are having breakfast. The letter is from Erika, telling him that the Exeggcute has been ordered to teleport him and his companions to the gym so he won't be late for his match, making some jokes about having to dress him up in women's clothing should he be in the shower when it does. Misty wonders if all Gym Leaders are as bad as this, recalling that, compared to her sisters and Lt. Surge, Brock was the only seemingly normal one, making Ash have imagine spots about other Gym Leaders putting him challenges before battling them.

Meanwhile in Viridian City, Giovanni is having an official match against Solidad, mentally praising her talent while also lamenting that she's wasting it for Contest battling, having seen her battle against Ash in the Battle Dome Tournament. After her Lapras takes out his Golem, Giovanni stands up from his chair as a sign of respect, and brings out his Rhyperior, who quickly takes out Lapras with a single Hammer Arm. Despite thinking she's wasting her potential in something he considers ludicrous, Giovanni considers her too valuable to eliminate, since she serves as a test for Ash's progress, plus it'd bring too much attention even trying to set up something to make it look like an accident.

Back in Celadon City, Ash's group is teleported to the Gym, where Erika is already waiting for him, checking his info on an iPad. The Gym Leader praises him for having an interesting Pokémon collection, while also commenting that knowledge is a valuable asset for winning battles, as many trainers have lost due to not knowing what Pokémon their opponents had. Iris comments that Erika knows what Pokémon Ash has, but he doesn't know hers, to which Erika refutes that he does know she uses Grass-types. Ash replies that a trainer should be able to improvise and adapt to the unexpected, which Erika agrees to. Ash then goes to take his place on the battlefield, while Misty and Iris stay by the sidelines to watch.

The battle is set up to be four on four, no substitutions allowed. Erika opens up with a Leafeon, while Ash brings out Butterfree. Ash has Butterfree open with a Silver Wind, which Leafeon cuts through using a spinning Aerial Ace. Leafeon then presses on with a Hidden Power, to which Butterfree counters with a Psybeam, winning out the power struggle. Before Erika gives out her next command, she suddenly falls asleep standing up, much to Ash and everyone else's shock, but wakes up immediately to order another Aerial Ace. Ash has Butterfree use String Shot, which Erika seems confident her Leafeon can easily cut through, before Ash orders another Silver Wind, covering the threads in the dust particles and hardening them, before slamming into Leafeon. Before Ash has Butterfree deliver the final blow, Erika orders Leafeon to use Rain Dance, which doesn't prevent the incoming Psybeam from hitting him, but then fills the entire field in a heavy moisture. Ash wins the bout, but the rain starts falling on top of Butterfree's wings, making it hard for him to stay in the air.

Misty is surprised to see that Erika used Rain Dance this way, and the Gym Leader explains this is her ultimate protection against Grass-type weaknesses: water puts out fire, dilutes poison, dampens wings to the point of uselessness, and melts or binds ice to the ground. The heavy moisture has just crippled Butterfree and if he brings out Charmeleon or Pidgeotto, they will be hampered by it. Erika then brings out a Tangrowth, and while Butterfree tries to defend himself, he ends up taken out by a Shock Wave attack. Pikachu offers himself to go next, thinking that he can take advantage of the moisture to power up his electric attacks, but Ash reasons that Erika might be expecting him to do that. He thinks about waiting until the moisture goes away, but Erika informs him that it's going to last quite a bit. Forced to choose his second Pokémon, Ash brings out Ambipom. Erika has Tangrowth use a Focus Blast, which Ash and Ambipom block and return with a Counter Shield, surprising Erika, but they manage to block the deflected attack using the vines as an improvised shield. The two get into a Power-Up Punch/Vine Whip duel against each other, which Ash decides to break switching to Double Hit, first hitting the ground to jump before dropping down on top of Tangrowth with the second. Erika then orders a Shock Wave that hits true, giving her an opening to order Tangrowth to grab Ambipom and then unleash another Shock Wave on contact to keep electrocuting her. Ash makes a mental review of Ambipom's moves, realizing that he's used all of them barring one: Astonish. He orders Ambipom to use it and in doing so, breaks Tangrowth's concentration and forcing it to let her go. They both then take the chance and unleash another Double Hit to win the round, getting Ash to take the lead once more.

Erika commends Ash for proving himself a talented trainer, but reminds him he still has to prove himself if he wants to win. She brings out a Parasect, making Misty scream in terror. Ash has Ambipom use Swift, while Erika orders Parasect to use Swords Dance, without moving from its spot. Ash's attack hits true, but leaves Misty confused as to why Erika didn't try to block or dodge. As the smoke dissipates, Ash notices how Parasect quickly regenerates the damage dealt from Ambipom's attack, which Erika explains it's due to its ability Dry Skin, and the still active Rain Dance. Ash and Ambipom decide to just try and hit as hard as possible so Parasect cannot recover fast enough, but the Grass/Bug-type tanks all their efforts without issue while also countering with its own attacks. In the end, Ambipom gets hit by a Spore, and before she gets injured by Parasect's incoming attack, Ash recalls her. Erika compliments him for caring about his Pokémon, and prompts him to call his next one.

With Ambipom out, Ash considers his remaining options: Pidgeotto and Charmeleon will still be hampered by the moisture, leaving him with Pikachu and one more choice. Pikachu is almost ready to go, but Ash calls Sliggoo instead. Erika, Ash's friends and the referee are surprised about his choice, the latter due to not recognizing the Pokémon, which Ash explains it comes from Kalos and evolves from Goomy. Erika mentions that her records of him didn't have this Pokémon nor any mention of any Wonder Trade having been made, to which Ash only replies that he got him from "the sky" before deciding to continue the match.

Erika has Parasect use Spore, but Sliggoo's Hydration quickly washes the effect away, so she goes for the offensive with X-Scissor. Ash orders Sliggoo to use Sludge Wave to defend from the attack, but the moisture quickly clears it away. When Parasect goes for another attack, Sliggoo counters with Dragon Breath, but the damage is quickly undone once more. Erika points out that Ash won't be able to defeat Parasect just by dealing damage, so Ash decides he needs to clear the weather away first. Erika counters that none of Ash's Pokémon know Sunny Day, Sandstorm or Hail, but Ash replies that Sliggoo knows Rain Dance, much to her shock. Surprisingly, Sliggoo's own Rain Dance works by causing a hard but quick downpour all over the field that clears the moisture in the air, erasing her ultimate protection. Ash then has Sliggoo attack with Dragon Breath, and without the moisture Parasect does not recover this time. Erika, impressed at Ash's craftiness, orders Parasect to use X-Scissor, which Ash and Sliggoo counter with Sludge Wave. This time, without the moisture to wash it away, the toxic wall remains solid and Parasect takes damage from it, and leaving it open for a final Dragon Breath to end the round with another victory for Ash.

Erika praises Ash's abilities and admits he has the potential to be quite good. However, she brings out her last Pokémon, a Vileplume that causes Misty to cringe, much to Iris' confusion. Ash orders Sliggoo to attack with Dragon Breath, which Erika counters with Dazzling Gleam. The Fairy-type attack overpowers the Dragon Breath and hits Sliggoo with super effective damage. Vileplume uses it again, and they manage to block it with a Sludge Wave just in time. Ash briefly considers recalling Sliggoo and switch for another Pokémon, but Sliggoo wants to keep going. After they try using another Dragon Breath, Erika orders Vileplume to use Mimic to copy it, launching their attack before they finish charging, taking Sliggoo out of the battle. Erika explains that her current Vileplume is her favorite choice for Pokémon that Grass-types usually struggle against, before prompting Ash to call his final Pokémon. Ash considers his remaining choices: with the moisture gone both Charmeleon and Pidgeotto are good choices, but the former is still limited to the ground and his fire attacks will be hampered by the soggy ground, prompting him to choose the latter.

The final round begins, with Pidgeotto using Quick Attack while Vileplume attempts to blind her with Sunny Day, but Pidgeotto's Keen Eye prevents that and hits Vileplume. Ash realizes that by using Sunny Day Vileplume will take advantage of Chlorophyll and possibly Solar Beam. After another Quick Attack, Erika orders Vileplume to use the still Mimic-active Dragon Breath, which Ash and Pidgeotto counter with Aerial Ace, dodging the attack and hitting. Before they go for another, Vileplume uses Façade, and the two engage in a power struggle alternating between physical and special attacks. Seeing an opening, Vileplume tries to get up close to Pidgeotto's face to unleash a point-blank Dazzling Gleam, but after the attack hits, the blue light of evolution engulfs Pidgeotto, making her grow in size and become Pidgeot, much to Ash's delight and Erika's shock and chagrin. After the Pokédex informs Ash that Pidgeot did not gain any new moves upon evolution, Ash orders Pidgeot to use Aerial Ace, while Erika has Vileplume counter with Dragon Breath with all her strength, but Pidgeot pierces through the attack and hits Vileplume, knocking her out and winning the match for Ash.

Ash immediately begins to celebrate with Pidgeot, with Misty quickly joining in. Iris is impressed and comments that Gym battles do make you stronger, and wonders if Ash plans to continue challenging all the remaining gyms in Kanto. Erika explains that every region has roughly one gym per type, though usually only eight gyms stand out in a particular region as the strongest, hers included among the Kanto gyms, while also mentioning in passing some of the strongest gyms in Hoenn and Sinnoh, coinciding with the same ones Ash challenged back in the old timeline. Afterwards, she approaches Ash to give him the Rainbow Badge, congratulating him for his victory and hoping that male challengers can be more like him from now on, as she will lift the ban on them. Before Ash takes the badge, however, Erika falls asleep once more and doesn't let go of it.

A few days later in the Viridian Gym, Giovanni is surprised that Solidad came back so soon for a rematch, and this time better prepared for him. Once more, it comes down to his last Pokémon, his Rhyperior, who quickly takes out her Pidgeot. This time around, however, she's brought out a new secret weapon: a Slowbro wearing a headband that he does not identify at first, until she brings out a pendant with a Key Stone and triggers Mega Evolution. Giovanni, unimpressed, declares that this changes nothing and he's defeated more impressive evolutions, and they both prepare for the final bout.

## Continuity

* Ash challenges and defeats Erika, winning the Rainbow Badge.
* Ash's Pidgeotto evolves to Pidgeot.
* Solidad's battles with Giovanni and the events between them are further explored in the *Solidad Interlude* side story.

## Characters

### Humans

* Ash Ketchum
* Misty Waterflower
* Iris
* Blaine (Mental Image)
* Chuck (Mental Image)
* Roxanne (Mental Image)
* Byron (Mental Image)
* Elesa (Mental Image)
* Giovanni
* Team Rocket Member
* Solidad
* Erika
* Krista

### Pokémon

* Pikachu (Ash's)
* Exeggcute (Erika's)
* Machoke (Chuck's; mental image)
* Golem (Giovanni's)
* Lapras (Solidad's)
* Rhyperior (Giovanni's)
* Leafeon (Erika's)
* Butterfree (Ash's)
* Tangrowth (Erika's)
* Ambipom (Ash's)
* Parasect (Erika's)
* Sliggoo (Ash's)
* Vileplume (Erika's)
* Pidgeotto (Ash's)
* Pidgeot (Ash's)
* Pidgeot (Solidad's)
* Slowbro (Solidad's)
* Mega Slowbro (Solidad's)