Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, though I'm sure something like this bound to happen soon.

Wow, you lot really love this and so, after much demand, here is the third chapter. I know some of you have been guessing who this stranger is and I can now tell you... to read this chapter and you'll find out. As always, keep reviewing and following and... enjoy.


"Wow, who's that Pokémon!?" Bonnie called out, seeing a silhouetted Pokémon, standing in the sunlight.

"It… It's a Gabite, I'm sure of it" announced Ash to the rest of the group.

"What's a Gabite?" asked Bonnie. While they were talking, Ash was getting closer to the Gabite. As he continued and had reached the foot of the hill, he went to step forward but stopped when he heard someone's voice call out.

"Where is it!?" Ash looked around but couldn't see anyone else but he heard footsteps. Ash lay down until he was sure it was safe. "Where is it? Gabite, did you see it?" the person asked the Gabite, who responded with a low growl.

"Yo mister, what you up to!" yelled Bonnie to the stranger before Serena and Clemont ran over and covered her mouth in panic. The stranger turned around and took a few steps forward.

"Who you calling 'mister', kid?" the person called out.

"Wait… I know that voice" thought Ash before getting up and running up the hill.


As Ash reached the top of the hill, the stranger jumped back in shock, losing their footing and falling down the hill. Ash in slight panic, reached for one of his Pokéballs.

"Froakie, u…" before he could release Froakie, the Gabite moved its arm in front of him to stop him. The Gabite had a look of confidence on its face before it leaped into the air and punched its way into the ground.

"Wow, it used Dig" exclaimed Clemont in amazement.

"Super cool!" exclaimed Bonnie

As Ash walked over to look in the hole Gabite had left, it soon shot up out of the ground, further down the hill, holding it's trainer in its arms. The gang looked on in awe as the Pokémon shot up in front of the sun and landed effortlessly back on the ground. As the trainer was set down on the ground by Gabite, Ash couldn't do anything but smile. The trainer stood up and brushed themselves off before approaching Ash. From Serena, Bonnie and Clemont's position, it looked as though they were talking, though they couldn't be sure. Before they could react, however, the trainer seemed to push Ash over, sending him down the other side of the hill.

"Ash!" cried the group as they saw him fall.

"Pikachu!" called Pikachu as it sprinted towards Ash. Without any direction, it decided to use quick attack on the Gabite. As soon as Pikachu passed Ash, it leaped into the air, directly at Gabite. However, as Pikachu flew closer, he was able to make out its trainer, the confusion upon doing so messed up its attack, allowing Gabite to grab it out of mid-air.

"Nice to see you again" the trainer said as Pikachu hung from Gabite's claw. Serena, Bonnie and Clemont ran over to Ash, who was writhing around on the ground.

"Ash, Ash are you okay!? Ash!" yelled Serena trying to help him off the floor.

"Bunnelby, take out that Gabite!" yelled Clemont as he threw his Pokéball, releasing Bunnelby who got it's ears ready to fight. The trainer, stepped forward again.

"Oh, there's no need for that" she said in a pleasantly calm tone. As Serena managed to roll Ash on his side, she suddenly became confused. He wasn't writhing in pain, he was holding in his laughter. As the gang looked between Ash and the trainer, burning with questions, the trainer stood out of the light with her Gabite.

"I was just returning the favour" stated Iris with a cheeky smile on her face.


"Guys, let me introduce Iris. We used to travel together" he announced to the group, dusting himself off. Iris walked up to the gang while her Gabite looked on.

"Nice to meet you. Sorry about the scare back there" Iris said to Clemont, extending her hand to shake.

"Oh, it's no problem really, Clemont" he replied, shaking her hand. Iris then moved over to Bonnie who was staring at her with a smile on her face.

"Hi there, what's your name?" Iris said to Bonnie, kneeling down to her level and extending her hand to shake.

"Iris is a keeper..." Bonnie mumbled before dropping on her knee and extending her hand. "Would you please take care of my brother?" she asked with passion.

"Um… I…" stuttered Iris, unsure on how to respond to that

"Bonnie!?" yelled Clemont in shock before he deployed his Aipom arm and picked her up with it.

"Please! He's really sweet!" yelled Bonnie as Clemont dragged her away. Iris laughed, slightly embarrassed, before turning to Ash

"Don't ask" he said, slightly embarrassed himself.

"Hi, I'm Serena, As…" she started before Iris cut her off.

"Oh, I see it didn't take you long to replace me" she said sarcastically to Ash, before turning back to Serena. "I'm just messing. Any friend of Ash is a friend of mine" she said smiling and extending her hand to shake.

"Yeah…" said an unsure Serena as she lightly shook her hand. Did she just insult her? No… it was just a joke. Just a joke…

"Nice to meet you all" Iris said as Clemont came back, still holding Bonnie with his Aipom arm.

"Iris, you never said what you were doing here" stated Ash.

"Huh? Oh right, sorry. I'm tracking Rayquaza" she said, as if it was common knowledge.

"Rayquaza?" asked the group in shock.

"I've heard of Rayquaza, it's a legendary Pokémon that lives in the atmosphere. Rumour has it that it can stop fights between two more legendary Pokémon, Groudon; the Continent Pokémon and Kyogre; the Sea Basin Pokémon" remarked Clemont.

"That's right" Iris said, impressed with Clemont's knowledge.

"Weren't you were going to train with Clair in Blackthorn City?" Ash asked her.

"I did but… I lost a battle with her" she said, tilting her head down slightly, breaking eye contact with him.

"You didn't give up though, right?" asked a concerned Ash.

"Of course I didn't, I made some serious steps to becoming a Dragon Master, as you can see from Gabite. I'm following Rayquaza and training along the way. When I catch up to it, I'll finally know if I'm strong enough." Iris said with absolute confidence.

"Strong enough for what?" asked Serena, feeling she needed to speak as she realised she was coming off as shy.

"To run my own Gym. It's kind of a big deal" Iris scoffed.

"Clemont runs a gym too; you're made for each other!" Bonnie blurted out loudly causing Clemont to panic once more.

"You… run a gym?" Iris asked, startled that Clemont actually ran a gym. He didn't look… the part.

"Well, I don't want to brag…" Clemont stuttered embarrassed from both his sister and Iris' new found knowledge of his 'responsibility'. Iris soon shook off her shock and addressed him, once again confident.

"You'll have to remind me to battle you one day. Any chance to test our skills, right? And… speaking of battle…" she then turned to Ash, with a determined look on her face. "… You ready Ash?" Iris asked him, causing him genuine surprise.

"Ready? For what?" he asked, his surprise evident to everyone.

"Our Battle?" Iris sounded unsure of herself. She thought the first thing Ash would want to do is battle.

"Battle?" Somehow, it just didn't register for Ash. Maybe he wasn't thinking strait, maybe he was thinking too much. There certainly was just cause for him to be thinking too much.

"Are you okay? Cause the first thing I thought you'd want is a battle."

"Yeah…" Ash's gaze soon drifted over to Serena, who was smiled as she saw him look at her. "… I mean yeah, of course I do. I want to see how much stronger you've gotten!" Ash now sounded like his usual self; headstrong and full of confidence.

"Now that's more like it!" responded Iris in kind. At the back of the group was Serena, deep in thought.

"What was that look? He looked like he was somewhere else and then… he just looked at me and he was fine. What was that? Was… was he… seeking approval? No I…" Serena was soon dragged from her thoughts.

"Serena!" Iris called out. "Do you want to judge our battle for us?"

"I… I mean me… Yo… I don't know, I'd…" she stuttered

"Come on Serena. It'll be fun" Ash said in excitement before he and Pikachu ran to the other end of the field.

"Oh… I… Okay I suppose" she said, unsure on how to handle the situation. One minute, Ash is concerned for her and their relationship, next minute, a girl shows up out of now where and it was if he was completely ignoring her, or, at least, their relationship. Iris and Ash were deep in conversation as Serena slowly made her way between the two.

"So, three Pokémon each?" asked Iris, readying her Pokéballs.

"Sounds good to me!" Ash said, still full of confidence. As Iris seemed to settle on one of her Pokéballs, she looked up to Ash.

"Ash, I'll let you go first"

"Cool… So, how about it, buddy?" asked Ash to Pikachu, who was perched on his shoulder.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed in approval before jumping down in front of Ash.

"Yeah, Pikachu and I want to see how strong you've gotten"

"Hmph, Pikachu… Still such a kid…" Iris muttered under her breath. "Gabite, you're in." Gabite gave a low growl before slowly approaching Pikachu to begin the battle.

"This could be a tough fight" stated Clemont.

"Huh, what'da mean? Pikachu is the strongest Pokémon ever!" yelled Bonnie in excitement.

"What I mean Bonnie is that Gabite is part Ground type meaning Pikachu's electric attacks will do nothing against it."

"What!?" yelled Bonnie, now suddenly concerned for Pikachu and Ash.

"But if I know Ash, he won't let a type advantage get the best of him" thought Clemont. As the two opponents stared each other down, Iris and Ash looked over to Serena, as confused as she was distracted. She was too busy thinking about Ash.

"Serena? Serena!?" called out Iris, which snapped Serena back into reality.

"You okay?" asked Ash, slightly worried. Not as worried as she would have liked.

"Y… Yeah, sure… I'm fine" she stuttered, slightly embarrassed.

"So… you gonna start us off?" asked Iris.

"St… Oh, sorry… I'm just out of it today" she said, trying to recover and giving a faux smile. "Battle begin!" she exclaimed throwing her hand in the air, signalling for the battle to begin. As the two trainers stared each other down, Ash was the first to react.

"Pikachu, start off with Quick attack!" commanded Ash and Pikachu instantly rushed towards Gabite. Iris simply gave a sly smile in response to Ash's choice of move.

"Gabite, you know what to do." Without needing a command, Gabite suddenly leaped into the air. As the gang looked on astounded at the height Gabite could reach, Ash told Pikachu to continue its attack, which he did by leaping after the Gabite. When Gabite saw Pikachu closing in, it glanced at Iris, who gave it a subtle nod. Gabite nodded back and began to fall towards Pikachu. As it did, it extended its claws as if to attack. As Pikachu was about to collide with Gabite, Gabite suddenly flew past it.

"Wow, it missed!" yelled an astounded Bonnie.

"Yes… but I think that was on purpose…" commented Clemont. He didn't need long to be proved right as Gabite punched its way into the ground and soon, disappeared from sight. " I was right. It distracted Pikachu so it could use dig. Clever…" said Clemont, adjusting his glasses.

"Don't worry Pikachu!" called out Ash as Pikachu landed back on the ground.

"Pika… " mumbled Pikachu as he started to scan the ground to find some sign of Gabite.

"Nice tactic, but Pikachu and I will find a way to beat it. Your Gabite has to come up some time and we'll be ready!" yelled Ash with confidence while Pikachu gave a small nod of his head in agreement.

"Ash, still a kid as ever… My Gabite's natural instinct is to dig. If you're waiting for it to reveal itself, you can wait all you want" Iris scoffed, trying to act calm and collected but she knew Ash, and she knew she could lose this battle. Soon Gabite's fin appeared from the ground for a few seconds before it sank back down. Pikachu only managed a glimpse of it before it had disappeared.

As Bonnie and Clemont looked on intrigued on how Ash was going to handle this, and while Ash was preparing a strategy on the fly for dealing with Iris Gabite, Serena didn't seem interested in the slightest. She knew Ash was battling but somehow it didn't register. She was too concerned with her and Ash to worry about the outcome of this friendly Pokémon battle. She was worried about many things but the one thing she focused on was Ash's relationship with Iris. Where they just friends? If they did have a relationship at some point, Iris would defiantly be the one in charge. Could that be Ash was nervous about her and if she was serious or not? She knew these questions she was asking herself were stupid. But what if Ash wanted to think about their relationship because he saw what looked like Iris' Gabite and thought he would meet her again?


As Serena 'watched' the battle with a blank face, none of them were aware of another group of people passing through the forest beside them. It wasn't long before one of them spotted the group and the battle.

"Hey, what the…" asked a startled Meowth as he heard loud talking in the distance. He grabbed the attention of Jessie and James and all three poked their heads out from a small bush on the edge of the forest.

"It's the twerps" stated Jessie in frustration.

"Yes but who's that?" asked James at the fairly recognisable girl at the other end of the field.

"It's the twerpette from the Unova region" said Meowth, identifying her.

"What's she doing here?" rhetorically asked James.

"I don't know but it's probably re-join Team Twerp"

"What's that?" asked Jessie pointing out a fin that appeared to be circling Pikachu, constantly appearing and disappearing under the ground.

"Hmm… let's see" remarked James, pulling out a small device and holding it towards the direction of the fin before popping back to the other side of the bush. Meowth and Jessie soon joined him. He pressed a button on the device and it soon created a virtual screen above it. On the screen was the Pokédex entry and statistics of the Pokémon Gabite.

"A Gabite, huh?" James remarked.

"I give the twerpette this; she knows how to catch strong dragon type Pokémon" said Meowth, slight excited that a chance to steal some strong dragon type Pokémon had arisen.

"Yes and it's exactly those dragon type Pokémon that will finally show the boss that we're worthy of a promotion" said Jessie as she poked her head once again through the small bush. Meowth and James soon followed.

"And don't forget Pikachu" added James.

"Why not all the twerp's Pokémon!?"added Meowth.

"Wobbuffet!" yelled Wobbuffet who appeared behind the group saluting before Team Rocket quickly covered its mouth and tackled it to the floor before Ash or his friends could see them.


Back at the Pokémon battle, Clemont swore he heard a rustling in the bushes not too far away but simply shrugged it off and returned his focus to the battle. Ash and Pikachu had been struggling to even attack Iris' Gabite as it preferred to be hidden underneath the ground. Weird thing was, Iris' Gabite hadn't attacked either. There were a few times when it drew close but then it would retreat back underground. With it underground, there was no way Ash could attack with Pikachu's Electro ball or Thunderbolt, which severely cut his options. Iris wasn't kidding when she said he could wait all he wanted. Gabite drew close to Pikachu another time and retreated yet again before Pikachu could act with Quick attack or Iron tail. As Ash watched Gabite's movements, he came up with a plan.

"Pikachu, use Electro ball!" Ash called out as he saw Gabite's fin approaching closer to Pikachu again.

"Pikachu!" replied Pikachu in agreement.

"Electro Ball!?" exclaimed Bonnie

"But… it's ineffective!" called out Clemont. Pikachu jumped in the air slightly and as Gabite's fin passed underneath him, he spun and launched an Electro ball from his tail which impacted upon Gabite, creating a cloud of dust and propelling Pikachu further in the air. Serena finally snapped out of her trance like state to witness Pikachu flying high into the air.

"Nice try Ash, but Clemont's right. Gabite, now!" called out Iris. Gabite responded instantly and rocketed out of the ground as fast as a jet and hurtled towards Pikachu, it's claw extended, ready to end the battle for Pikachu.

To Be Continued…


Congratulations to reviewers; DisneyAnimefan94, Forg and… Guest for correctly guessing that the mysterious stranger was in fact Iris. And there wasn't even a contest. I suppose I should give you something. I know, a sense of self-satisfaction. There you go. You can find your self-satisfaction in the medicine part of your bag. I'll also throw in my Respect. You can find my Respect in the Key items section of your bag. Thanks for playing...


Sorry… You know I had to end it on a cliff-hanger and before I get any Iris haters let me just explain, not like I need to.

I included Iris because, 1st: it makes sense. You know that in the Anime, Iris is gonna come back. They did it with Misty, May and Dawn and 2nd: Well… I can't actually divulge that yet so… I'll come back to it. Plus, her aim to battle Rayquaza and having a Gabite were from her latest episode "SS 28; Iris vsIbuki! The Road to Become a Dragon Master!" (English Title Pending). She did catch Gible in the episode but I think she'd be training it to have another Pokémon capable of taking on Rayquaza.


There… Done… So… In conclusion, I hope you liked this latest chapter and are still hungry for more. If you feel like there was less focus on Serena and Ash's relationship here it's because I wanted to focus on Ash and Iris's relationship and have Serena pushed out of the way. Not because I hate her! Just part of the plot, sorry Serena…