Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

Sorry to those of you who waited. I was busy with exams. But now that my final exams are over, I'm free for the rest of the year, so you can expect faster updates for this story, and others.

Chapter 2: Enter Iris and Axew!

NARRATOR: We join Ash and Pikachu, who are on their way to Accumula Town while they are accompanied by their longtime friend Brock, and their newest friend and inspiringly new Pokémon trainer Hilda. Suddenly…

"Pika?" Pikachu said as his ears twitched.

"Something wrong, Pikachu?" Ash asked his partner and best friend.

"PiPikachu." (Something's coming.) Pikachu replied.

Soon enough, Ash, Hilda and Brock also felt some slight vibrations under their feet. Suddenly, a spinning, brown blur emerged from the ground, surprising the teens. Once the blur ceased the spinning and landed in front of the group, they immediately recognized it as a Pokémon.

The Pokémon had a short, wide body with two small, ovoid feet with three toes each. Its body is mostly black, but has a jagged, navy blue stripe that runs diagonally around its torso from its left shoulder. It is connected at the bottom to another stripe, which extends around the base of its torso. It has a white face with a long snout, tipped by its pink nose. Its eyes are at the base of its nose on either side. Its arms are wide and thin with a blue spot on its palms. It lacks normal hands, as its arms form directly into its three, extremely large claws. It has a very small, stubby tail.

"Dril." The brown Pokémon said.

"What Pokémon is that?" Hilda asked to no one in particular.

"That's a Drilbur." Brock answered, remembering some of the Unova native Pokémon Professor Juniper told him about. "And it's a Ground-type Pokémon."

Ash took out his Pokédex and scanned the mole-like Pokémon; it's image appearing on the screen.

"Drilbur, the Mole Pokémon. By putting both of its claws together and rotating at high speed, Drilbur is able to move through soil as easily as moving through air."

Ash thought about catching it, but thought better of it.

"Hilda, I think you should catch it." Ash said. "I've had my share of Pokémon catches in the past, but since you're a first time trainer, it's only fair you go first."

Hilda was surprised, and then she smiled. "Thank you, Ash!" Hilda said as she excitedly hugged Ash causing him to blush. Ash thought about releasing Hilda, but thought better of it and hugged Hilda back. This caused Hilda to blush. Noticing their close proximity, they quickly broke apart. "S-sorry Ash." Hilda said sheepishly with a hand behind her back in an Ash-like manner.

"I-I'm the one that should be sorry." Ash said with the same pose as Hilda. "I was completely out of line."

"Why don't we just agree to disagree?" Hilda asked.

"That sounds good to me." Ash said.

The two didn't notice, but Brock smirked at them. He could easily tell that there was more to why Hilda hugged Ash like that.

"You better catch that Pokémon before it gets away." Ash added.

"Right." Hilda nodded, pulling out a Pokéball "Okay Tepig, Battle Time!" Hilda said as she threw the Pokéball and in a bright flash of blue-and-white light, the Fire-type starter of Unova materialized.

"*snort* Tepig!" the Fire Pig Pokémon grunted, releasing some embers from his snout. His eyes landed on Drilbur and he positioned himself in a ready-for-battle stance.

"Drilbur!" the Mole Pokémon glared at his opponent.

"Tepig, give Drilbur a taste of your Ember!" Hilda commanded.

The orb at the end of Tepig's tail glows orange. "Teeeee-PIIIIIIG!" He releases a large, spiraling stream of red-orange embers from his nose and it hits Drilbur in the face, making the Mole Pokémon cringed as some of it got in its eyes.

"Great, no follow up with a Tackle attack!" Hilda continued.

"Tepig-Tepig-Tepig-Tepig-Tepig," the Fire Pig Pokémon charged forward, ready to slam his body into Drilbur. However, the Mole Pokémon was prepared this time. It puts its arms up to its head and forms its body into a drill. It then rotates its body quickly and charges forward while floating through the air, stabbing Tepig with its drill-like body.

"TEEEEEE!" Tepig cried in pain as Hilda, Ash, Pikachu and Brock stare in shock.

"Tepig, no!" Hilda said with worry as she picked up her now unconscious Tepig, while Drilbur dug a hole and disappeared into it.

"Tepig, are you okay?" she asked her Pokémon.

"Pig…" the semi-conscious Fire-type managed to groan.

"Tepig being a Fire-type and battling a Ground-type like Drilbur, it's just not a good match-up." Brock pointed out.

"That's okay, Hilda." Ash assured "I didn't succeed with my first capture attempt either. There's always next time."

Hilda sighed. "I guess, Tepig, return." She held Tepig's Pokéball, and it was retracted in a beam of red light.

They group were about to continue their walk, when…

"Pika!" Pikachu points to a bush moving nearby. They also see a large dark purple shape constantly moves.

Ash raises an eyebrow and pulls out his Pokédex again, holding it up to the shape. "A Pokémon?"

The Pokédex screen showed a bipedal, grayish-green Pokémon with pale, straight tusks protruding from the sides of its mouth. The back of its head is dark grayish-green with a tall, slightly curved horn. Large, dark grayish-green ovals surround its red eyes, and it has a short, rounded snout with large nostrils. A forest green collar marking encircles its neck. Its limbs and tail are short, with its forelimbs having three digits and its feet having two digits.

"Axew, the Tusk Pokémon. Axew marks its territory by making scratch marks on trees with its tusks, which regrow if they fall out."

Ash and Brock make confused looks while Hilda frowns. The Pokémon on the Pokédex screen is a green Dragon-like Pokémon, not a spot of purple on it.

"It doesn't look anything like in the Pokédex." Hilda stated.

"Wonder why that is?" Brock asked.

"Who cares?" Ash shrugged, taking out a Pokéball. "I'll catch it anyway! Now, go, Pokéball!"Ash throws the red-and-white sphere, and it touches the purple shape.

Suddenly, it shrieks. "Ouch!"

"Ouch?!" the surprised Ash, Hilda and Brock say in unison.

The purple shape moves, and a dark-skinnedgirl (holding a berry) is revealed. The purple seems to be her hair, tied back with yellow bangles in thick ponytails that resemble petals of an iris blossom. "Okay, what was that for?!" She glares at Ash and stomps towards him. She was a long-sleeved yellow shirt with a small pink skirt and a bow around her waist. She wore white pants and pink and white shoes.

Swallowing, Ash held up his hands in defense. "See, I was only trying to catch a Pokémon."

The girl raises her eyebrow. "Oh, so what you're really telling me is that I look like a Pokémon. Your Pokédex—"She smiles."—is this cute face in there?—"Angry face."— Tell me: is it?!" she demanded

Ash flinched. "No! Uh..."

Hilda narrowed her eyes, she didn't like the way this girl was acting towards Ash over an honest mistake.

"Hey, cut him some slack!" Hilda warned the girl. "You're acting like he did it on purpose!"

The girl looked like she was about to retort when Brock decided to intervene. "Now, now, let's all just calm down." His signature voice of reason catching their attention. "There's no need to take things personally over an honest mistake."

"Yeah, sorry, okay?" Ash said.

The girl's glare softens. "Fine. I accept your apology. But you've got a long way to go as a Trainer if you think I look like a Pokémon. Right, Axew?"

Creepily, the small Dragon-type Pokémon pops out of her hair and smiles. "Axew! Axew!" it said in a high-pitched voice as it took the berry the girl was holding.

The three gasped; one because they've found the Pokémon in the Pokédex, and two because it came out of her hair.

"So that's where it was." Brock stated.

Hilda made a face. "What kind of weirdo carries their Pokémon in their hair?"she asked.

The girl would've retorted to that smart-aleck remark from Hilda had her eyes notland on Pikachu. She gasps awe. "Whoa! No way! A Pikachu?!" Out of nowhere, she grabs him and squeezes him in a rather tight hug. "You've got to be the sweetest thing ever! And these jiggly cheeks... You can't find anything this jiggly in Unova!" she said, playing with his cheeks.

"Pikapika!" Pikachu growls, struggling to break free from the girl's grip. One would think that Pikachu would be used to being over-affectionately cuddled by girls by now.

"First time seeing a Pikachu in person?" Brock asked, somewhat amused.

"Uh-huh." The girl nodded as she continued to squeeze the life out of Pikachu. "Well, I for one, am dying to know what a Pikachu is doing here! Oh come on! Tell me, tell me, tell me!" she pleaded.

"We're from Pallet Town in the Kanto region." Ash answered.

"Pallet Town?" Iris repeated.

Ash nods. "Yeah! I'm Ash, and I wanna enter the Unova League!"

"I'm Hilda, and I just became a trainer." Hilda said next.

"And my name's Brock; Pokémon Doctor in training." Brock finished the introduction.

"Isn't that nice?" The girl smiles. "It's nice to meet you three. I'm Iris." Suddenly, Pikachu releases his electricity, shocking her with a powerful bolt. She shrieks and falls to the ground, muttering something.

Sweatdrops appear on the three's temples as they awkwardly chuckle.


After a moment, Iris soon recovered from. "Sorry 'bout that," Iris apologizes. The Mouse Pokémon just twitches his ear in annoyance. Iris turns to me. "I get a little carried away when I'm around new cute Pokémon"

Ash chuckles, "Believe me, you're not the first."

Then, Hilda caught something in the corner of her eye. She looks up to and sees a small, gray chinchilla-like creature running into the meadow. She stood up, smiling. "The Pokémon from Professor Juniper's lab!" She ran off after the Pokémon.

"Hey, Hilda, what are you doing?" Ash called.

"Where're you going?" Brock also as he and Ash; Pikachu on his shoulder, chase after her.

"Hey!" Iris calls after them. "Wait up, guys! Hold on!" she said before running after them.

They finally catch up to Hilda, who is hiding behind a bush, noticing that sees watching something up ahead.

They look just above the bush they're hiding behind and Hilda gasps. "Wow..." she got a better look of the furry, gray Chinchilla-like Pokémon and saw that it had scruffs of fur on its head and neck. It has large ears on the sides of its head with red insides partly covered by tufts of fur. It has large, brown eyes and a small, dot-like nose. Its limbs are somewhat rounded and small, and its ears and tail have white tips. The tail is also long and particularly furry.

Hilda took out her Pokédex and scanned it.

"Minccino, the Chinchilla Pokémon. Minccino loves shiny things and will use its tail as a brush to clean any objects that are dirty."

As if to prove the device's point, the Minccino was cleaning an apple with its tail, making it nice and shiny before eating it.

"Minccino likes things that are clean and tidy, and its tail makes a pretty convenient brush." Brock explained.

"I always did wanna Minccino." Hilda said with a smile. She then became serious, "Alright, I'm going in." and stood forward. "Okay, Tepig, Battle time!" throwing the Pokéball, the Fire Pig Pokémon materialized a few feet away from Minccino.

"Tepig!" Tepig let out a strong snort, releasing some embers, signifying it recovered from its battle with the wild Drilbur and was ready to make up for it.

"Min?" Minccino noticed Tepig. It then made an annoyed face, indicating it was angry for having its lunch interrupted, before it too got into a battle stance.

"Use Tackle!" Hilda ordered.

Tepig charges at Minccino with full speed, but the furry Pokémon dodges.

"That Minccino sure is fast." Brock says.

"Pika..." Pikachu says.

"Try an Ember attack!" Hilda suggested.

The orb at the end of Tepig's tail glows orange. "Teeeee-PIIIIIIG!" He releases a large, spiraling stream of red-orange embers from his nose at the Chinchilla Pokémon, but like before, it dodges.

Hilda grits her teeth in frustration.

As Tepig prepares to charge, Minccino closes its ears and opens its mouth letting out a loud it shouts, the inside of its mouth glows white and a beam of wind with turquoise rings inside them come out from Minccino's mouth. It shoots straight at Tepig.

"That's Hyper Voice!" Brock says.

"Looks like Tepig can't move!" Ash added.

Ash was right. Tepig seems frozen in shock of the noise. Minccino jumps forward and lands on top of Tepig. It brushes its tail onto Tepig, making him burst into giggles.

"Tepig! No!" Hilda cries.

Iris blinks. "There goes Tickle."

Minccino continues to use Tickle on Teping, giggling along with him. Then the Chinchilla Pokémon's tail glows with a white light, and slaps Tepig's twice in the face.

"Tepig!" Hilda cries.

"It used Tickle and followed it with Double Slap." Iris says.

"That's some battling style," an equally impressed Brock said. "As cute as Minccino is, it's obviously not to be reckoned with."

Tepig is now struggling to stay on his feet, sweat dripping down its head.

'Tepig's getting worn out. We've gotta end this.' Hilda said in her thoughts.

"Min-min-chi." The Minccino chuckles smugly, knowing it had the upper hand. It once again lets loose an earsplitting Hyper Voice at Tepig, causing the Fire-Type to once again struggle.

"I know you can do it, Tepig!" Hilda encouraged her Pokémon. "So that Minccino just how tough you are."

Tepig gritted his teeth as he began struggling to get through the soundwaves and towards Minccino. Sending more soundwaves at Tepig, but the Fire Pig Pokémon refused to give in, its determination giving it the strength to reach Minccino step by step.

"NOW!" Hilda practically bellowed.

A glint appeared in Tepig's eyes and his body becomes engulfed in a burst of red-and-orange flames. The Unova Fire Starter charged towards Minccino, slamming into the Normal-type

"Whoa," Hilda breathed at the move her partner Pokémon just performed.

"What kind of move was that?" asked an equally stunned Ash.

"That was Flame Charge." Brock answered. "Tepig must've been inspired by Hilda's encouraging words and learned a move. And judging by Minccino's condition, it must've been really effective." He added, noticing Minccino wincing in pain as it slowly recovered from the attack Tepig dealt on it.

Hilda smiled, "Wow, Tepig! That's so cool you learned a new move!" she said.

"Tepig!" the Fire Pig Pokémon blushed at his trainer's praise.

"Min-min…" Minccino cringed, still trying to recover.

"Alright, time to catch Minccino." Hilda said, pulling out a vacant Pokéball. "Pokéball, let's go!" she shouted, throwing the Pokéball.

The Pokéball bounces off the Chinchilla Pokémon's head, it opens, and its body becomes converted into red energy. The red energy gets sucked into the Pokéball before it closes. The Pokéball falls to the ground and rocks back and forth, struggling to contain Minccino. Suddenly, the ball opened up again releasing a bright flash of light, and an angry looking Minccino emerges.

Hilda grits her teeth in frustration, 'Damn it! It wasn't enough!' she said in her thoughts.

"Min-Cinno!" with a vengeful look, Minccino entire tail glows gold and it waves it, firing multiple gold-colored stars from its tail at Tepig.

"Heads up, Minccino's using Swift!" Ash warned Hilda.

"Dodge it, Tepig!" Hilda instructed the Fire Pig Pokémon.

"Pig!" Tepig narrowly avoided the golden-stars.

Refusing to give in, Minccino lunged at Tepig with a glowing white tail.

"Dodge it Tepig!" Hilda ordered. "Then use Tackle!"

As soon as she said that, Tepig became an orange-and-brown blur and avoided Minccino's attack with ease. Minccino only had time to blink before Tepig reappeared behind it suddenly and rammed his body into the Normal-type, sending it skidding forward. Minccino turned around and launched another Hyper Voice at the Fire-type.

"Dodge it!" Hilda ordered again.

Tepig becomes a blur again, easily moving out of the Hyper Voice attack's path.

"How is Tepig moving so fast all of a sudden?" Iris asked.

"That's the additional effect of Flame Charge," Brock explained. "It increases the user's speed with each execution."

Ash smiled, "Awesome, now Tepig will be able to keep up with Minccino!"

"Pikachu!"

"Use Ember again, Tepig!" Hilda ordered eagerly.

The orb at the end of Tepig's tail glows orange. "Teeeee-PIIIIIIG!" He releases a large, spiraling stream of red-orange embers from his nose. Minccino was forced to cover its face to prevent any of the sparks from getting in its eyes, but it still stung from burning some of its fur.

"Now finish it with Flame Charge!" Hilda declared with full confidence.

"Te-Te-Te-Te," Tepig grunts as he repeatedly stomps on the ground until a cloud of dust covers its body. "Te-PIIIIIIIIIG!" Then, Tepig emerges from the cloud, covered in raging flames, and crashes into the Minccino.

"CINOOOOOOOOO!" the Normal-type cried as it was sent hurtling through the air before crashing into a nearby tree. Slumping to the ground, Minccino laid there motionless.

"Okay, this time for sure. Pokéball, let's go!" Hilda shouted, throwing another red-and-white sphere.

Once again, the Pokéball bounces off Minccino, it opens, and Minccino's body becomes converted into red energy. The red energy gets sucked into the Pokéball before it closes. The Pokéball fell to the ground and began rocking back and forth, the button blinking red light as it did so. Everyone else watched in anticipation, awaiting the results. After a few more rocks, the Pokéball stopped wiggling; a 'ding!' was heard and sparks flew from the button.

A now smiling Hilda walked over to the Pokéball and picked it up. "Alright! I caught, a Minccino!" she declared, holding the Pokéball which contained the Chinchilla Pokémon inside.

"Te-Tepig!" Tepig cheered, popping up next to Hilda, sharing her joy.

Ash, Brock and Iris approached the two.

"Way to go, Hilda!" Ash praised his friend.

"PikaPika!"

"Yeah, not bad for your first Pokémon catch." Iris added.

"I know for certain you and Minccino will get along greatly." Brock puts in his two cents.

"Thanks guys." Hilda replied. "My first captured Pokémon, and it felt awesome!"


Later that night, the group decided to camp out. Brock even invited Iris to join them, which she happily accepted. It was dinner time; so after setting up chairs and a table, Brock prepared a meal.

"Kay gang, dinner is served!" Brock announced like a butler. He even had a white towel over his right arm, while holding a tray of beverages in his other arm.

"Wow Brock, everything looks delicious!" Hilda said, her mouth practically watering at what Brock prepared: A vegetable and meat stew (At least I think they eat meat in the Pokémon world.) as well as salad and garlic bread on the side.

"I don't think I've ever seen food this fancy." Iris added.

"And the taste is even better than the smell." Ash said with a knowing smile.

Pikachu, Axew and Tepig whined to Brock hungrily. "Looks like we've got some hungry customers here." The doctor chuckled. "Not to worry, I made more than enough for everyone." he said before walking iver jogged over to a white tarp and uncovered what was beneath it: Bluish-green bowls of brown kibble like food. "Ta da! My extra special Pokémon food!" Brock exclaimed proudly.

"Pika!/ Tepig!/ Ax-ewew!" the three Pokémon cheered happily.

"Hey Hilda, aren't you gonna let your new Minccino eat too?" Ash asked.

"Right, I almost forgot." Hilda said sheepishly before pulling out the Pokéball containing the Chinchilla Pokémon. "Minccino, come on out!" she tossed the Pokéball into the air and Minccino materialized and a bright flash of blusih-white light.

"Min-ccino!" the Normal-type said.

Hilda knelt down next to Minccino, giving it a friendly smile. "Good to see you again, Minccino." She said him. "My name's Hilda. You and I are gonna be good friends." She then gestures towards Tepig. "And this is Tepig. He's also one of your new friends."

"Te-pig-Tepig!" (Hi, Minccino!) the Fire-type said happily.

Minccino frowned before folding his arms and looking away. "Mincci." (Whatever.) he said bitterly.

"Minccino seems kinda distant, doesn't he?" Iris remarked.

"Guess he's a little sour from being beaten by Tepig earlier today." Iris guessed.

Brock chuckled. "Well nothing fixes a Pokémon's grumpy mood better than food." He said holding a bowl of Pokémon kibble. He places it in front of Minccino. "Here you go, Minccino. I made this one special for Normal-types like you."

Minccino looks at the food, sniffs it before taking some in one paw and tastes it. His eyes sparkle and a faint blush forms on his cheeks, before he eagerly starts eating the food as if his life depended on it.

"See, what'd I tell you guys?"

Soon enough, Pikachu, Tepig and Axew also started eating, and so did the trainers. The rest of the night was uneventful as the group chatted to get to know each other a bit. Other than that, nothing. When bed time came, Ash and Brock decided to share a tent. Hilda offered Iris to share with her, but the latter politely declined, saying she prefers to sleep outside. However, when morning came and everyone woke up, they found that Iris and Axew were gone. Brock figured that she probably left already. Shrugging it off, the group packed up camp and were on the move once again.

"Iris left early, you know?" Ash said. "I wonder where she could've gone."

"Pikapika," Pikachu agrees.

"I'm sure she has her own plans as a trainer and wanted to get back on the road early." Brock suggested.

"Well, no big deal." Hilda shrugged "It's a brand new day!"

The group then hear a cooing noise and they look up. A small gray bird is flying in the sky. It has golden, oval eyes and a tuft of feathers atop its rounded head. It has a short, black beak with a bulbous pink cere, and a black patch on the nape of its neck. There is a wide, heart-shaped area of lighter coloration on its chest. Its black wings have a thick gray stripe down the side. It has pink feet with black talons.

"Check it out, you two." Brock said. "It's a Pidove."

Ash recognized it as one of the few Pokémon he saw when he arrived to Unova. He took out his black Pokédex to find out more about Pidove.

"Pidove, the Tiny Pidgeon Pokémon. A Pidove flock's cooing can get extremely noisy. Pidove is attracted to shiny objects."

"Pidove's are Flying-types." Brock told Ash. "An Electric-type like Pikachu will have a definite advantage."

Ash smiles at Brock's words."You read my mind, Brock." He said before looking at the Mouse Pokémon. "Pikachu, Let's go!"

"Pika!" (Right!) he nodded before he and Ash follow the Pidove; Brock and Hilda right behind them. Soon, the group find a whole flock of the Normal/Flying-type.

"Kay. Let's battle that one!" Ash said, pointing at a nearby Pidove. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt, now!"

"Pikaaaa," Pikachu gathers electricity in his cheek pouches "CHUUUUUUU!" he fires a bolt of electricity in the form of a narrow beam and shocks the Pidgeon Pokémon, resulting in it cooing and fainting. I take out a Poké Ball. "Alright! Now, go Poké Ball—ah!"

The whole flock of Pidove turns on us and attacks the group, sending waves air at them. They try to score a hit on them, but they barely and frantically dodge them. Soon enough, they fly away, leaving our heroes alone, panting.

"Pikachu, you okay?" Ash asks his partner.

"Pikachu." he answers.

"Geez, are all cute Pokémon so hostile?" Hilda asked rhetorically.

Ash shrugs and looks at the Pokéball in his hand. "Guess it's never easy, is it? But no way am I giving up!"

"Look Ash, another Pidove." Brock said. Ash looks up to see a single Pidove, who doesn't seem to notice them.

"One more! Let's get it this time! Pikachu, use Quick Attack!"

"Pika-chuuuuuu-PIPIPI!," Pikachu's body is outlined in white and he runs at high speed towards the Pidove, a silver-and-white trail following behind him. His body slams into the Tiny Pidgeon Pokémon.

"Alright!" Ash yells confidently. "Now, Iron Tail!" he continued.

"Pika-chuuuuu," Pikachu gathers energy into his tail, turning it into iron, "Pika!" he slams his steel-coated tail into the Pidove, making it cry out in pain.

"Okay! Nows the time!" Taking his Pokéball, Ash throws it at Pidove. The Pidove's body is turned into red energy and is sucked into the ball, and it shuts. It shakes once, twice, three times and bursts open, the now angry Pidove rematerialized into the air. "Oh, man! And I almost had it, too!"

Suddenly, the Pidove wings glow light blue and it flaps them repeatedly, sending waves of air towards Pikachu.

"Pidove's retaliating with Gust!" Brock noted.

"Come on Ash, you and Pikachu can do it!" Hilda encouraged.

Suddenly, the Pidove flies straight at Pikachu, a white-and-silver trail following behind it, before smashing into the Electric-type.

"It attacks with Gust and follows up with Quick Attack," Brock noted, impressed with the Pidove's battle style. "I'd say Pidove has had its fair share of battles."

Pidove crosses its wings in front of its body and opens them up quickly, releasing multiple light blue 'X' shaped energy blades from its wings at Pikachu.

"That was Air Cutter!" Ash realized before yelling. "Dodge, Pikachu!"

Pikachu swiftly evades the air blades.

"Alright! Thunderbolt, now!"

"Pika-CHUUUUUUUU!" Pikachu once again unleashed a strong bolt of yellow lightning at Pidove, causing critical damage this time.

"This is it! Let's go, Pokéball!" Ash yelled throwing another vacant Pokéball. It bounces off the Tiny Pidgeon Pokémon and it disappears into it in a red flash of light. It falls to the ground, shaking numerous times with the button blinking. Everyone, especially Ash, keeps their eyes on it; Ash didn't want to lose sight of it if it escapes. Suddenly, the ball clicks shut and sparks fly from the button, indicating Pidove was caught.

Everyone gasps, realizing what just happened. Trying to contain his excitement, Ash smiles and walks over to the Pokéball. "Yes!" he picks it up and does a pose. "My first Unova region Pokémon! I caught a Pidove!"

"Pi! Pikachu!" Pikachu cheered popping up next to Ash.

Unable to control himself, Ash picks Pikachu up and spins around with him. "We did it! We did it!" he cheer. Pikachu coos as he hug him tightly.

Hilda and Brock couldn't help but smile at Ash's excitement.

"Wow," a voice behind them says.

Everyone turns to see Iris and Axew.

"It's Iris." Brock said.

"Oh joy," Hilda muttered sarcastically.

"Hey Iris, where've you been?" Brock asked.

"Well Axew and I were gathering some breakfast." Iris explained. "Until we heard a commotion going on here." She then turns to Ash. "You're that excited over catching a little Pidove?" Ash hid a glare from her. "What a kid!" she remarked.

Ash puts Pikachu down. "Of course I'm excited! I've got a new friend! It's also my first Unova region Pokémon."

Iris shrugs. "Well, on second thought, you and that Pidove might be the perfect match."

Suddenly, two voices cry out in terror. The four trainers turned to see Pikachu and Axew being held by mechanical claws. They also see three familiar figures.

"Ugh! You guys, again?!" Hilda yelled angrily.

"Again, the question, so twerpish indeed," Jessie says.

"The answer to come as we feel the need," James finishes.

Bringing the blinding white light of evil into the future.

Thrusting the hammer of justice down onto the black darkness of the universe.

And carving our names in the rock of eternity!

The fiery destroyer, Jessie.

And with thunderous emotion, I am James.

Wisest of the wise: Meowth!

Now gather under the name of Team Rocket!

"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet ended with a salute.

"Team Rocket?" Iris asks, obviously clueless. "Who are they?"

"They're a group of criminals who steal people's Pokémon!" Brock answered

Jessie smirks. "Right. Evil deeds like stealing Pokémon are our stock and trade to rule the world! Because that's what we do!"

Iris glares at them. "Axew's not yours, he's mine! Give him back!" she demanded.

"I see," James says, looking at the struggling Axew. "So this is Axew."

"And we claim Axew as part of our takeover of the Unova region!" Meowth adds.

"Wobbu!" the Patient Pokémon added.

"Hold on," Iris says. "You must be a Meowth. What are you doing here? Forget about that! How can you talk?!"

Meowth straightens his whiskers. "Simple. I'm a genius. A Meowth that you only get to hear once in a lifetime."

Pikachu and Axew are dumped into a glass crate made of strong material. They pound on the glass, but it's not breaking. They cry and plead to get out.

"Stop," James says, smirking. "You're wasting energy."

Ash and Hilda step up. "Not if we have anything to say about it!" the latter declared.

"Pidove, I choose you!" Ash yelled.

"Minccino, battle time!" Hilda shouted, also

In a dual flash of light, the Tiny Pidgeon Pokémon and the Chinchilla Pokémon materialized, both ready for battle.

"They're using region Pokémon too!" James realizes.

"You're up, Meowth!" Jessie yells. "Show them not to mess with a Pokémon from Kanto!"

Meowth jumps for Pidove and Minccino, claws glowing white. "Fury Swipes!" he yells.

"Pidove, use Gust!" Ash commanded.

"Pi-dove-dove-dove-dove!" Pidove flaps its glowing blue wings and sends out a gust of strong winds, enough to blow Meowth back.

"Minccino, go in with Double Slap!" Hilda ordered, making a slapping motion with her right hand.

"Min!" Minccino jumps up towards the still airborne Meowth. "Cinno!" he smacks Meowth across the face with his glowing white tail. "Cinno!" he slaps Meowth again, enough to send him hurtling towards Team Rocket and crashing into

"Well, that could've been worse." Jessie mutters. "Try my Pokémon on for size!" the Team Rocket redhead throws a Pokéball and in a burst of light, a blue, spherical Pokémon, resembling a Honduran White Bat appeared in the air. It is covered in shaggy fur and has a large, piggish nose with a heart-shaped nostril. Two tufts of shaggy fur hid its eyes, and its mouth has a single fang in the center of its upper jaw. There are two relatively small, black wings on either side of its body.

"Woo-bat!" the Pokémon cried out.

Ash and Hilda gasp. "What's that?!" they asked simultaneously.

"It's a Woobat!" Iris answered. Neither Ash nor Hilda bothered looking it up in their Pokédexes though. Pikachu and Axew needed their help now!

"A Woobat. That name's got a nice ring to it!" Meowth comments.

Jessie snorts. "Nice ring's a good thing. Woobat, use Air Slash!"

Woobat's wings glow light blue and it crosses them in front of its body. It then opens them up quickly, releasing multiple light blue glowing saw disc-like energy blades from its wings at Pidove and Minccino.

Pidove uses quick aerial maneuvers to avoid the blades of air.

"Pidove, use Quick Attack!" Ash instructed.

With a silver trail behind it, Pidove charged at the Flying/Psychic-type. But Jessie was prepared.

"Dodge and use Gust!" Jessie commands. Woobat avoids Pidove and flaps its wings glowing blue wings, sending the Tiny Pidgeon Pokémon to the ground and knocking it unconscious, and causing Ash to gasp in shock.

Hilda glares at the enemies. "You're gonna pay for that. Minccino, use Swift!" she yelled out.

Minccino's entire tail glows gold and it waves it, firing multiple gold-colored stars from its tail at Team Rocket.

But once again, Jessie anticipated an attack, "Wobbuffet, use Mirror Coat," she said to the blue blob beside her.

Wobbuffet's body became surrounded in a white reflective color as Minccino's attack came at it. The attacks were stopped by a strange force field and then fired back at the Chinchilla Pokémon.

The Normal-type only had time to blink in shock before he was pulverized by his own stars, eventually collapsing to the ground next to Pidove.

"How did Wobbuffet do that?" Iris asked in shock.

"Mirror Coat sends the opponent's attack back at them, and with double the damage." Brock explained.

Ash and Hilda run towards Pidove and Minccino. Both held their respective Pokémon in their arms.

"Pidove! Snap out of it!" Ash pleaded.

"Come on, Minccino, wake up!" Hilda begged.

Jessie holds up her Pokéball and a red beam of light retracts Woobat back into it. "This was a worthwhile catch. Of course, I caught it."

"Our premium mission in Unova is complete! Off we go!" James says. Iris and I turn around to see them escaping into the air with their hot air balloon.

"Nice doing business with you twerps," Jessie sneers.

Ash and Iris rush towards them, after the latter returns his tired Pidove. "I'm coming, Axew!" Iris yells. She jumps and climbs the nearest tree.

Following her, Ash yells, "Pikachu! Axew! We'll save you!"

"Be careful you two!" Brock called out to them.

Ash surprises the others by scurrying up the tree faster than Iris, and when he reaches the top, he jumps up and leaps for the cage holding Pikachu and Axew. His fingertips brush the glass, but he falls back down soon. He crashes through the tree and lands on his back on the cold hard ground.

"ASH!" Hilda cried out instantly and was immediately by his side. Helping him sit up, she asks, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Ugh!" he groans in pain as Iris and Brock join them.

Suddenly, a small green snake-like Pokémon with limbs and a leaf on the end of its tail runs past the trainers. "Sni-Vy!"

Brock's eyes widened (or at least became less squinty). "A Snivy?"

The Grass Snake Pokémon jumps up high in the air and towards the Meowth balloon. The leaf at the end of Snivy's tail becomes surrounded by a wavy light green aura. It then somersaults at the balloon and slashes it with its tail leaving behind a light green trail of energy where it slashes. A large whole is ripped into the balloon, air is released from it, and it descends to the ground. The glass cage breaks, and Iris and I run to catch our Pokémon.

"Pikachu!" Ash catches his partner in his arms, relieved he's safe.

"Axew!" Iris's Dragon-type falls into her arms.

They see Jessie, James and Meowth glaring at us. "You don't do that to us!" Jessie shouts at us.

Clenching his hands into fists, Ash glares back. "Pikachu and Axew are our friends! You're not taking them!"

"Yeah!" Hilda agreed. "You don't have the right to take what doesn't belong to you!"

"Right!" Iris chirps in. "Listen to Hilda and Ash, 'cause they're telling the truth!"

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash immediately ordered.

"Pika…" Pikachu prepares to unleash a Thunderbolt.

Jessie quickly throws her Pokéball. "Woobat, go!" the blue Bat Pokémon rematerialized in the air in a burst of light. "Use Air Slash!"

"Wooooo-Bat!" it waves its glowing blue wings, sending out multiple light blue glowing saw disc-like energy blades at Pikachu, making an explosive impact.

"Pikachu, no!" Ash cried out in concern. While Flying-type moves don't usually do much damage to Electric-types like Pikachu, the Air Slash caused critical damage that left Pikachu barely able to stand.

Jessie sneered triumphantly. "Who else wants a piece?" he dared.

"Time to fight bat Pokémon with bat Pokémon!" Brock said, now holding a Pokéball. "Go, Crobat!" he tosses the red-and-white sphere into the air, and in a bursting flash of light, a medium sized, purple, bat-like Pokémon materialized in front of Woobat, who was startled by its sudden appearance. This bigger bat Pokémon has a stubby pair of feet, and has a second pair of wings with greenish-blue undersides and two stubby 'fingers'. Its pointed ears are long, and appear to lack insides. Its mouth is small and appears to have its teeth bared. The eyes are yellow with red pupils.

"Cro!" the Bat Pokémon hissed.

Ash smiled at the familiar Pokémon. "It's Crobat!"

"Crobat?" Hilda repeated, taking out her Pokédex and scans the purple bat Pokémon.

"Crobat, the Bat Pokémon, and the evolved form of Golbat. After evolving, Crobat gains a second set of wings, allowing it to fly more quickly and silently so it can sneak up on prey without its noticing."

"Air Slash, again!" Jessie ordered.

But before Woobat could launch its attack,

"Use Supersonic, Crobat!" Brock ordered quickly.

"Crooooooo!" the larger Bat Pokémon released several soundwaves at the smaller Bat Pokémon, causing it to cringe from the ear-splitting pain it was now experiencing from Supersonic. Next thing we know, two yellow stars appear where Woobat's eyes should be, and smaller stars spin around above it.

"Now Woobat's confused!" James noted.

"Now use Cross Poison!" Brock continued.

Crobat crossed its wings, all four of which began to glow a deadly purple, forming a large purple "X" in front of its body. It then thrust its wings forward and launched the "X" at Woobat.

"Wobbuffet, Mirror Coat!" Jessie said frantically.

"Wobb!" Wobbuffet jumped in front of Woobat, his body coated in a white surface as it awaited the Cross Poison.

"Sni!" Snivy released a green vine from her collar that wraps around Wobbuffet's tail and moves him out of the way, just in time before Cross Poison made an explosive impact with Woobat. From the cloud of purplish-gray smoke, the little Bat Pokémon fell and light *thuds* when it hits the ground, now unconscious.

Ash then yells to his Pikachu. "You can do it, Pikachu! Use Volt Tackle!"

"PikaPikapikapika!" Pikachu runs at Team Rocket. His body then becomes surrounded by golden electricity, giving his body a black and white look. Pikachu tackled into the criminals, creating a powerful explosion and sends them packing.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" the criminals cried out as they disappeared into the sky.

"We did it!" Hilda cheered.

"Well done, Crobat." Brock praised the Bat Pokémon before returning him to his Pokéball.

Suddenly, Pikachu and Axew collapse onto the ground. Ash gasped. "Pikachu!"

"Axew!" Iris takes the Tusk Pokémon into her arms and Ash does the same with Pikachu.

"Pikachu, stay strong!" he pleaded.

"They must be tired from the battle." Hilda figured.

"Let's get them to the Pokémon Center. It's not too far from here" Brock suggests.

"Right." Ash, Hilda and Iris nodded before they all ran off to get their Pokémon medically aided.

"Thanks, Snivy!" Brock called out to the Grass Snake Pokémon.

"Sni?" said Snivy as it watched the trainers depart.


Later as the sun was setting; at the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy smiles at our heroes. "Thank you for waiting. I'm happy to say your Pokémon are feeling just fine."

Pikachu, Pidove, Minccino and Axew happily cheered, now fully healed from their battle injuries.

Axew jumps into Iris's arms, Minccino does the same with Hilda, Pikachu in Ash's and Pidove flies just near his head.

"Oh, I'm so relieved!" Iris says.

"Yeah, we were all pretty worried back there." Hilda added.

"That's great, Nurse Joy," Ash tells her. "Thank you."

Nurse Joy's eyes fall on Pikachu. "Hey! Seeing a Pikachu? That's very unusual."

"Guess so," Ash admitted with a smile. "See, we're from Pallet Town. This is the first Pokémon Center we've seen since coming to the Unova region."

Nurse Joy smiles again. "Then welcome! And just like Kanto, if your Pokémon ever need help, or you need anything at all, feel free to stop by anytime!"

"Thank you." Ash said again. Pidove lands on his hand, puffing out its chest proudly, earning a good laugh from everyone.

Suddenly, Brock popped right in front of the Nurse. He grabbed Joy's hands and held them mid-torso up."Nurse Joy! I am really thankful that you took good care of my friend's Pokémon. And now will you do me the honor of going out on a romantic date near the— ACK!" Before Brock could finish his advancement toward Nurse Joy, Brock's Croagunk, the Toxic Mouth Pokémon that does things in his own pace, had Poison Jabbed his rear-end. The poisonous purple color faded from Croagunk's fingertips.

"HHHooOOWW'sss aABBOOuutT wE JUst BE Pen paLS?!" Brock croaked out before collapsing from the Poison Jab.

"Croaoaoaoaoa…" Croagunk dragged his master away. "Croa… Croa… Croa…"

Everyone else sweatdrops at what just occurred.

"Does that happen a lot?" Hilda asked Ash.

"You have no idea." Ash replied with a chuckle.

Iris then speaks up. "Ash? Hilda? I have to say, you two aren't too bad."

They turn to her. "Huh?"

"You're still kids, but I am impressed." she admits, winking.

Ash and Hilda weren't sure what she's impressed at them for. Saving Axew? Catching a Pokémon? Stopping Team Rocket?

"Thank you. You guys saved Axew."

"Ax! Axew!" the Tusk Pokémon agreed.

"Hm." Ash and Hilda smile. "Well, we should both thank Snivy. Right, buddy?" the latter asked Pikachu.

"Pika!" he chirped.

Hilda stares out the window and into the sunset. "I still can't figure out why Snivy helped us like that..."

End of chapter.

And so Iris is now a part of the group. I know, I know I said that she wasn't gonna be in the first chapter, but then I figured it would be a good idea to have a second girl in the group. As annoying as Iris can occasionally be, she's still a good friend to have around, and she and Hilda can have girl talk when they need to. And I replaced Oshawott with Snivy in this chapter.

SPOILER ALERT: Some of the chapters in this story will be similar to the canon episodes of the Best Wishes series, but with my own twists. But rest assured, there will be some originals as well. After the next chapter, I'll write my first original chapter as a forth, and the Oshawott that'll appear later will be different from the one Ash got from Professor Juniper.

Next Time: "A Sandile Gusher!"

Please review and feel free to leave any suggestions if you have any.