Ash's journey to become a Pokémon master continues as along with Pikachu and his friends Iris, Cilan, Dawn and Cynthia, he is happily riding along in Cynthia's jeep. Well, almost happily.
"Oh, man. I am STARVED!" Ash exclaimed. He couldn't hide how hungry he was from his voice. The howling of his stomach was almost as loud as the jeep.
"Gee, Ash. You're such a little kid!" Iris said mockingly, "Can't you think of anything besides your stomach?". Dawn and Cynthia chuckled heartily at Iris's comment.
"Pip, Piplup!" Dawn's Piplup began imitating Ash by clutching at its stomach with its wings.
Ash started laughing and pointing at Piplup, "I guess I'm not the only one who's hungry too."
Cynthia noticed a small clearing along the road and turned in. "You know, now that Ash has said it I am feeling a little peckish myself. Cilan, would you do us the honor?"
Cilan started smiling. He loved cooking and he took it as the greatest compliment whenever he was asked to prepare a meal. "It would be my pleasure, Cynthia. Anything for a Champion."

Cynthia parked her jeep in the clearing and the gang got out of the vehicle. They unloaded all of Cilan's cooking equipment from the trunk and Cilan began prepping the food. "This is going to take a while to prep and cook, guys. I know. Iris, why don't you have a training session with your Dragonite against Cynthia and her Garchomp?" Cilan snapped his fingers and gave a little smile.
"That sounds like a great idea, Cilan." Cynthia smiled and turned to Iris "What do you say, Iris? What better way to train a Dragon type than against another Dragon type." She reached for her Pokéballs, chose one and threw it. Garchomp, the Mach Pokémon, was released.
"Yeah!" Iris followed through with the same motion and she released her Dragonite. Dragonite looked at Garchomp with contempt. Ever since its encounter with the Hydreigon, Dragonite was not overly fond of other Dragon types.
"Garchomp, use Dragon Rush." Cynthia commanded. Garchomp drew back slightly and charged at Dragonite at mach speed.
"Dragonite, quick! Dodge and use Flamethower." Dragonite did not listen to Iris's command. Instead it flew into the air and fired an Ice Beam at Garchomp.
"Garchomp, evade its Ice Beam by using Dig." Cynthia admired Dragonite's strong will but she knew that it would be a problem if it did not start listening to Iris. "Iris, your Dragonite is definitely very powerful but it doesn't trust you as a trainer yet. And this is why you'll lose. Garchomp, jump out and use Draco Meteor." Cynthia's Garchomp sprung up right underneath Dragonite and began charging the devestating Dragon type attack.

Just as Garchomp was about to unleash its Draco Meteor it was interrupted by a voice coming from the trees behind Cynthia. "Hey, lady! Wait! Wait a minute!"
"Garchomp, stop!" the Sinnoh Champion commanded her partner.
A young girl in short shorts, a vest and with a ponytail that rocked violently with movement came running up to Cynthia. "Hey... aren't you... Cynthia? Champion of the Sinnoh region?" the girl was out of breath from running.
Cynthia smiled and laughed "Why yes I am. Just who might you be?"
"You hear that? I told you it was her!" the girl shouted behind her to a boy with a cap like Ash's and wearing a blue jacket and jeans who had just emerged from the trees. "I'm Hilda and this is my friend Hilbert" pointing to the boy who had just caught up to Hilda, "We're on a journey to become Pokémon Champions."
"That is a wonderful dream to have. You must be strong willed trainers to want to take on a Champion like Alder."
Iris, Axew, Dawn, Piplup, Ash and Pikachu all walked over to Cynthia, Hilda and Hilbert. The boy got really excited when he saw Ash.
"Hey, you're Ash from Pallet Town, right? Professor Juniper told the two of us to challenge you if we ever saw you. She said you are one of the best trainers she's ever seen." Hilbert's friendly smile switched to a solid resolve. He was going to challenge Ash and win.
"Uh... yeah! Sure, I'd love to. Cynthia, would you be the referee?" Ash asked Cynthia.
"Of course, Ash. But only if it's OK with Iris. We were in the middle of her training session after all. Iris, would it be alright?"
"Maybe it would be better if Dragonite saw you guys battling." Iris turned to Dragonite and saw that it was scowling still at Garchomp.
"No fair! I want to battle Ash." Hilda put her hands on her hips and stared at Hilbert. She was distracted from acting serious when Pikachu and Piplup started running around their feet. They were playing tag. "Oooooh! What an adorable Pokémon!" Hilda took out her Pokédex and scanned Piplup but her Pokédex told her that there was no available data for it. "What kind of Pokémon is that?"
Dawn picked up Piplup proudly, "This is my best buddy Piplup and I'm Dawn from Twinleaf Town in Sinnoh."
"I know! Let's have a double battle." Ash was quite happy to have thought of this "Hilda and Hilbert versus me and Dawn." he turned to Dawn smiling. "How about it Dawn? Just like the old days."

"This will be a three-on-three double battle. Each trainer will use three Pokémon and the team with the most victories is the winner." Cynthia got slightly distracted by the smell of Cilan's cooking.
Ash and Dawn threw their Pokéballs and Oshawott and Buneary were released. Hilda and Hilbert followed and they released a Sigilyph and a Darmanitan. Hilbert commanded his Darmanitan to use Belly Drum and Hilda commanded her Sigilyph to use Psybeam on Buneary. Buneary hopped out of the way and Dawn commanded it to use Bounce on Sigilyph. Ash had Oshawott use Aqua Jet on Darmanitan. The attack was a direct hit and it knocked the Blazing Pokémon back. Hilbert had Darmanitan strike back with Flare Blitz. The power of the attack sent Oshawott a fair bit back. At the same time Hilda commanded her Sigilyph to use Psychic on Buneary to stop its move from making contact. Hilbert then had Darmanitan use Flame Charge on Oshawott to finish it. Ash waited patiently as Oshawott grew visibly nervous. Just as Darmanitan was about to hit Oshawott, Ash ordered it to use Hydro Pump. The force of the Water type attack knocked Darmanitan out.
"Hey, Ash! How about we do the move we used to do with Buizel?" Dawn's determination to win was burning brightly.
"Oshawott, use Aqua Jet on Sigilyph."
"Buneary, use Ice Beam on Oshawott. Just like we used to."
Hilda and Hilbert couldn't hide their confusion. They had no idea why Dawn would command her Pokémon to attack her partner's. Oshawott launched its Aqua Jet and as it jettisoned through the air, it was hit by Buneary's Ice Beam. Incased in ice, Oshawott and Buneary's Ice Aqua Jet knocked out Hilda's Sigilyph in one hit.

All four trainers recalled their Pokémon and sent out their next ones. Ash and Dawn sent out Palpitoad and Pachirisu while Hilda and Hilbert sent out a Liepard and a Herdier. Hilbert had his Herdier use Helping Hand and Hilda had her Liepard use Fake Out on Pachirisu. Pachirisu flinched and was unable to use its Sweet Kiss. Ash's Palpitoad launched a Mud Shot attack and it struck Hilbert's Herdier. Pachirisu quickly unleashed its Discharge attack, striking all three Pokémon on the field but Palpitoad just laughed as if it were being tickled. Just before it had a chance to recover, Herdier charged down the field and hit Pachirisu with its Giga Impact, knocking out the EleSquirrel Pokémon. Ash had his Palpitoad use Hydro Pump but before it did, Hilda's Liepard used Sucker Punch. Ash didn't have the chance to give Palpitoad another command as Liepard used Grass Knot and knocked Palpitoad out.
"Pachirisu and Palpitoad are unable to battle." Cynthia was thoroughly enjoying the match as was Iris. Iris noticed that her Dragonite was sizing up Garchomp and she let out a sigh.

Again the Pokémon were recalled and the final set were sent out. Pikachu and Piplup ran out on the field while Hilda and Hilbert sent out their Samurott and Emboar.
"Dawn, let's finish this in one strike." Ash was really agitated now. Partly from how exciting the battle was and partly because of how hungry he was.
"Piplup, use Whirlpool." Piplup lifted its wings above its head and a giant spout of water began to form. The Water type attack was released and it trapped Samurott and Emboar inside.
"Now Pikachu, hit that Whirlpool with the strongest Thunderbolt you can manage." Pikachu did as Ash asked. The Thunderbolt fused with the Whirlpool giving off a brilliant sight. The Thunderbolt-Whirlpool fusion finally disappated and the two Unova starters fell to the ground unconscious.
"Samurott and Emboar are unable to battle. That means that Ash and Dawn are the winners." Cynthia proclaimed excitedly. She always got such a buzz from watching young trainers battle. They always reminded her of when she first started her own journey many years ago.
"Lunch is ready!" said Cilan after being quiet for so long. He turned to Hilda and Hilbert and introduced himself. "I just happened to make a little too much today. Why don't you guys join us?" Cilan smiled and began serving all the trainers and their Pokémon.