Ash and Alice finally arrive at Gringey City, as they are going to have their Gym Battle. Ash says, "The Gym leader is said to use Steel Type. But I am not sure what to expect since there are some problems with this type."

"Why do you say so?" Alice asks in confusion.

Ash is surprised that Alice doesn't know the obvious answer, but he is patient as he answers, "If you don't know, the first 151 Pokemon in the Pokedex are found in Kanto, and the only Steel Type Pokemon in the range are Magnemite and Magneton. Unless you count in the Alolan and Galarian forms, which are Sandshrew, Sandslash, Diglett, Dugtrio, and Meowth."

"I see. That sure is thinkable." Alice says. "Well, I guess we should find out the gym as soon as possible."

When they arrive at the Gym, they notice that it looks like a factory. "This sure looks like a factory, as expected from the Steel Type Gym." Ash mutters as he looks around.

"Why thank you." As they turn around, they see a person walking towards them. The boy has glasses that have swirls on it. Alice asks, "Who are you? Are you the Gym Leader?"

You are correct. My name is Akira, and I am the Gym Leader of this city." The boy says. Ash notices his looks and asks, "Are you perhaps related to Dr. Akihabara? Judging by the glasses you wear."

"The one you mentioned is my father, I assume you have met him?" Akira asks, now with curiosity.

"Well, yeah...he showed me about Porygon in the past, and he once brought me to the Cyber world." Ash says, not liking what happened back then.

"The Cyber World? You could actually go there?" Alice asks in shock, as she doesn't think that it would be possible. Akira just laughs and says, "That sure sounds like my dad will do."

"So how is he?" Ash asks. "It sure has been a while since I last saw him."

Akira frowns and says, "He was gone because an accident happened. It was two years ago."

Ash and Alice gasp as they didn't know it was such a touchy topic. "I am sorry to hear that." Alice says.

"Don't worry. Since you are here, I guess you are going to challenge my gym? How many badges do you have?"

"I have 8." Ash says. "I am aiming for the 16 badges."

"I see. A Master League trainer..." Akira says, "So you want to skip the league Conference to challenge the Elite 4 immediately."

"Wait, what? You mean getting 16 badges can give you permission to challenge the Elite 4 immediately?" Ash asks in shock.

"Why of course, or else why are you going to earn 16 since you could just participate in the league already?" Akira adjusts his glasses and says.

"I guess that's fair enough." Ash says. "My name is Ash, and this is my buddy Pikachu." "And I am Alice, and Eevee is my partner."

"Ash Ketchum...I have heard of you, as you are one of the people that found a rare Steel Type Pokemon." Akira says. "It will be an honor to face such a challenger."

"You found a rare Steel Type? What does he mean by that?" Alice asks, and Ash says, "Well, short story, I found the first Meltan and Melmetal and I was the one that asked Professor Oak to put them in the Pokedex."

"Okay." Alice says, wanting to wait until Ash finishes the Gym Battle so that she can ask more questions.

"So how is the rules?" Ash asks.

"Simple, four on four. With one loses all Pokemon the other one wins." Akira says as he takes out the Pokeball. "My first Pokemon is going to be this one. Bronzong."

As the first Pokemon appears, Ash says, "A Bronzong, it is a Sinnoh Pokemon. Since it is a Psychic Type, it will be better if I use this Pokemon." Ash takes out a Pokeball and sends out Persian.

"A Persian I see..." Akira says as he starts with Block, and Persian has a glowing mark that shapes like a red X. "What is that move do?" Ash asks.

"Simple, your Persian can't be switched out until Bronzong is down. Now use Gyro Ball." Akira says as the Pokemon starts to spin around and attack him. Ash yells, "Dodge and use Power Gem."

The attack doesn't hurt much on Bronzong, but it manages to make it stop. Then Ash commands Persian to use Thunderbolt, trying to get it paralyzed. Bronzong uses Iron Defense to take the hit, and much to Ash's surprise, Persian is being damaged by something that shocks them the most.

"Wait, did it just use Future Sight?" Ash asks, and Akira says, "Looks like you already find out about it, use Future Sight again."

As Bronzong quietly fires the attack, Ash says, "You are not going to make the attack, use Assurance."

The move hits the Pokemon super effectively since it is damaged, and then Persian also uses Play Rough on it. But just as the Future Sight is about to hit, it dodges underneath Bronzong and it causes the Pokemon to faint by its own attack.

"Well done, Ash. You really are something even though you have a disadvantage." Akira says. "But my next Pokemon is going to get tough. Let's go! Steelix."

As the Pokemon appears, it doesn't give Persian much choice to escape as it defeats it with Fissure.

"Man...that Fissure sure is something else." Alice mutters as the other Pokemon are cheering loudly.

Ash sends out Slowbro next. Slowbro uses the move Water Gun, and it blasts the Steelix into the wall. Steelix doesn't give up as it starts to wrap around the Pokemon, but id doesn't feel it as the name implies.

"Slowbro, Amnesia." Slowbro then glows blue as its Defense raises. Then it fires the move Psychic to make itself unbound by the Pokemon.

"That sure is a way to dodge the attack, but let's see if it can dodge the Fissure again." This causes them to get worried, but luckily, Slowbro manages to miss the attack.

"Good, now use Slack Off." Ash says as the Slowbro is healing from the damage taken by wrap. After that, it gets hit by Steelix's Iron Tail, but it doesn't do enough damage.

"How about I use Zen Headbutt?" Ash says as the Pokemon slams at the Iron Snake, causing it to get flinched, then he tells Slowbro to finish it off with the Water Pulse.

"So that is two losses for the Gym leader...there are two more." Alice mutters.

Akira's third Pokemon is a Scizor, and Ash decides to send out Rapidash to battle. Akira knows that Scizor is in a terrible situation as it is four times weak to fire, but he still has something to do with the Pokemon's attack.

"Use Double Team." Akira says as Scizor tries to create a lot of copies. Ash says, "I see what you are doing, you are trying to raise your evasiveness. But Rapidash, give them the Fire Blast."

The giant fire breaks out a lot of copies from the Scizor, but much to Ash's surprise is that the real one manages to land a Wing Attack on Rapidash, causing it to be sent backward.

"Your Rapidash might be shiny, but its moves won't be as shiny as my Scizor. Use Sand Tomb." Ash widens his eyes as he doesn't know that Scizor can use Ground Type attacks, and Rapidash is trapped inside the sand.

"Hang in there and use Fire Spin." Rapidash neighs and it also creates the move to cover the Scizor, both Pokemon start to lose their health because of the trap moves, but Rapidash is the first one to get out of the trap.

"I know you can do it, Rapidash." Ash smiles and he tells Rapidash to use Smart Strike, which finishes the last health form Scizor after the Fire Spin.

Akira says, "You sure are strong. I give you that, but I am not going to lose, and I'll show you why. My final Pokemon is going to be Magneton."

As the three Magnemite Pokemon appear on the field, Ash recalls the Rapidash and sends out Golem. Golem starts with Rollout, as it starts to spin around the whole battlefield while Magneton misses the Flash Cannon. Then it uses Tri Attack, causing Golem to get frozen.

"Oh no. Golem, use Stone Edge to break the ice." Ash says as the Pokemon roars, breaking free from the frozen status and then it also hits the Magneton.

"Not bad, but not good enough." It then uses Lock-On, then the Flash Cannon manages to deal much damage to the Golem. But with the help of the Pokemon's ability, Sturdy, Golem manages to survive the attack and it uses Earthquake, finally able to knock out the Magneton.

Akira stares at the defeat for a while, and then he smiles, "Well, you are able to defeat my Magneton. I am sure you can win all the gyms without any problem." He takes out a badge and says, "This is yours, the Iron Badge."

Ash takes the badge and thanks him, and then Alice gives Ash a hug and says, "Congratulations, Ash. That sure is a great battle."

"I know." Ash says with a smile. "Steel Type Pokemon sure is hard to beat after all."

Then Akira decides to offer them a tour of the factory, and as they are walking around, he says, "Gringey City wasn't looked like this before, as you can see, a few years ago, this place is abandoned, with a lot of broken factories and also polluted water around this place. It doesn't seem like a place for people to live."

Alice says, "But now I see that this place is beautiful, and the factory is clean as well. How did it happen?"

"Because this place was invaded by Pokemon known as Grimer and Muk, I am pretty sure you know who they are, right?" Akira says as the two nods. Ash says, "I caught a Muk, so I know what it is."

"But thankfully, a trainer comes and he manages to send those Grimer and Muk away, people have forgotten the hero's name, but they know that the hero is the one that captures the Muk and it causes the other Grimer to retreat because of no leader." Akira says.

"That sounds like something you would do, right? Ash?" Alice asks, and Ash says, "Well, to be honest, I was actually the one that captured the Muk and force the other Grimer to retreat."

This causes both of them to get surprised. "That was you?" Akira asks.

"Well, it sure has been years since it happened. I did that because at that time Pikachu was sick and the Pokemon Centers aren't working. The faster the problem gets solved, the better that Pikachu can get healed."

"I see. I am glad to know the name of the hero that changed the city." Akira says. "Not to mention, you have 9 badges and there are 7 more for your completion of the Master League Challenge."

"I know." Ash says as they bid farewell to Akira as they go to the Pokemon Center to heal up and rest.

Here is a new chapter, and this time Ash manages to defeat the Steel Type Gym Leader in the Kanto Region and gets his ninth Badge. If you don't remember what is Gringey City, remember to watch the anime where Ash captures a Muk and you'll know. In the next chapter, Ash and Alice are going to have a reunion with one of the travel companions. I hope you like this chapter.