The Sobbing Sobble
Zach and the Hoenn gang were currently in the Galar region, it was mostly to show off how different the Pokemon League was compared to the ones in the other regions. For starters instead of simple small structures that often held a battlefield along with living quarters for the gym leader and their families and Pokemon, the gyms were massive stadiums that were almost the size of a Pokemon League stadium and they were quite packed as well despite battles happening all the time. They also learned that gym matches were broadcasted so that fans could keep up to date on what their favorite gym challenger was doing and their current standing. Most of the gym challengers weren't the same age as them, and only two in particular stood out. One was the Pokemon League Chairman's adopted son, Bede who had a decent sized fanbase and the other was a goth chick named Marnie from some place called Spikemuth who had quite the large and impressive sized fanbase despite only starting a few months back.
The gyms also each came with their own 'gym mission' that the challenger must complete before facing off against the local gym leader and for Hammerlocke, the city they were currently in, it consisted of a series of various double battles against the gym leader's gym trainers before facing off against the leader himself! The current gym leader was an elder man, most likely on his way to pass the gym on to his apprentice as a boy Zach's age stood next to the man and watched with a proud smirk as his master's Salamence engaged in a heated battle against a Rillaboom before finally taking it down with a Flamethrower!
"Rillaboom the Drummer Pokemon, by drumming it taps into the power of its special tree stump. The roots of the stump follow its direction in battle!"
Dawn's Pokedex read out as she scanned the creature. Dawn and May sat on both sides of him while Lucario sat a seat over, his face looking rather green and he swayed back and forth before sneezing. Lucario wasn't feeling that well but he remained determined to stick by his trainer's side no matter what!
Zach noticed a Pokemon standing next to the leader's apprentice that honestly resembled a skyscraper despite the massive difference in scale. He pulled out his own Rotom Phone to give it a quick scan.
"Duraludon the Alloy Pokemon, its body resembles polished metal and it's both lightweight and strong. The only drawback is that it rusts easily!"
"Steel/Dragon, that's a pretty cool and unique typing!" Zach couldn't help but form an excited look as he looked the Dragon over. He always thought that his love for Dragons was due to his hero worshiping of Lance and Cynthia but now that May helped him move on from that and be his own person he still couldn't help but have a fondness for Dragons and what was most odd? Goomy and Noibat grew instantly attached to him as soon as he had caught them and even a Swablu he'd helped May capture had grown quite close to him despite being his girlfriend's Pokemon. There had to be something to that.
"Carrr..."
"Something wrong buddy?" Zach turned to look at his faithful partner only to see that Lucario had fallen face first out of his chair and was laying with his face against the ground as he let out a sickly groan.
"Raa..." Raboot softly spoke for the first time in weeks.
"Yeah, you need rest. I know you hate being in here but it's for your own good!" Zach reached for Lucario's ball before returning in a beam of red light, the jackal was too tired to protest and Zach just hoped that he wouldn't wind up needing him until he got over his sickness. His team was pretty fairly balanced but Lucario was still a few levels higher than the rest of them while his aura connection also made him stronger too, Raboot was holding an experience share just so she wouldn't fall behind the rest whenever she decided to battle again though Zach and the girls often found it in the trash forcing them to clean it off before giving it back to the rabbit. She seemed quite stubborn about not wanting to battle but no matter what they all tried she just refused to listen and always turned her back to them, even refusing sweets when she used to gorge herself on them back when she was a Scorbunny! The only time she'd actually battled was when they had another run in with Blaze and Amber, the two Flare agents were trying to rob a Pokeball factory for Arceus knows what reason and Raboot stepped in when they beat Lucario with their newly obtained Darmanitan, the rabbit successfully scaring them off before resorting to her normal self once the danger had passed.
"I hope he'll be okay..." May spoke up with concern.
"He just needs rest," Dawn reassured her. "Everything will be fine."
"Yeah he's been sick before this is just the first time we've been out on the road when it happened." Zach explained.
After the gym match wrapped up the crowd began to disperse and Roxanne stood up to give her class a wave, signaling them all to head back to the lobby now that it had cleared up. When they reached the lobby Zach noticed somebody dressed up in some weird Pokeball mascot outfit, he thought it was an odd choice to pick as a mascot as it just looked silly. Little did he know that was Zinnia's current disguise, having paid the actual mascot person to disappear for the day but she'd given him so much money that he likely wasn't coming back at all as the costume was so hot and sweaty!
"Alright everyone, assignment time!" Roxanne clapped her hands together with her usual ecstatic smile. "I want you to group up in groups of two and go find some Pokemon to catch! Only one is necessary but if you come back with the most? Well there might be a surprise waiting for you!"
Zach sweated at the mention of groups of two, there weren't enough students around for that to work perfectly and he was always the odd one out as he refused to let May or Dawn be the lonely way, not wanting the other to feel left out or jealous. They didn't mind and honestly found it cute the way he acted but felt guilty that he was usually on his own, especially today as Lucario was sick and Raboot refused to talk or even acknowledge him most of the time.
"You two go and have fun, I'll be fine on my own!" Zach offered with a smile.
"You sure?" May asked looking concerned for him.
"Yeah, just go! I can manage fine on my own, good luck catching stuff!" May and Dawn looked at each other before leaning in and kissing both his cheeks.
"You as well,"
"Good luck!" The two smiled and waved at him as they left however May turned to Dawn as soon as they were out of earshot.
"Maybe we should have let Flannery and Mallow sleep with him, if there was a third girl then this wouldn't happen to him."
Dawn nodded in agreement. "And we could take turns being partnered with him so nobody would ever feel left out or jealous!" The two looked thoughtful however, their love for Zach was unmeasurable and they wanted to ensure that whoever they picked out for him felt the exact same way they did!
Zach waited for the two to leave before kicking at an empty soda can somebody had left behind, he honestly did feel lonely but he'd never tell them that as he didn't want to make them worry or have one of them go through the emotion he felt. The can went flying into another room before making a loud clang against something, Zach flinched before quickly racing into the room in fear that he broke something. What he saw within the next room however was something that he couldn't help but let out a breath of amazement at upon viewing the room, they were all statues of Galar champions leading from the first recorded Galar champion and all the way to the modern day! The second to last one looked very impressive despite the age of the man he had quite the intimidating stance and looked quite powerful as well! There was a large bear Pokemon standing beside him that appeared to be doing some martial arts stance of some kind. The more recent statue truly shocked him however as it almost felt like he was looking in a mirror, the woman looked just like him! A Dragonite stood by her side with an intimidating look in it's eyes.
"That can't be... can it?" Zach reached out to touch the statue only to feel a Dragon Breath attack go flying by his side.
"Oi you there, don't touch!" Zach was quick to jump and turn around, spotting the gym leader's apprentice standing there with his arms crossed. "What do you think you're doi-" The boy shut up as he eyes flickered from Zach to the statue then back at him before gasping out. "Are you Gloria's son?!"
"I-I have no idea who she is..."
"How do you not?! A Raboot is right there, you should know if you have one!"
Raboot turned her back away from him as he spoke about her.
"Actually I'm not, my first Pokemon was a Riolu. Raboot was abandoned back when she was a Scorbunny." Zach explained as the other boy narrowed his eyes.
"Your accent is a bit Unovan... yeah, I doubt that she's your mom. Besides she died a bit over ten years ago, Mustard took over the champion role again and has been running things since!"
"Wait a sec-" It seemed impossible but what Raihan said made things start to click within Zach's brain as he looked towards the statue. "I was found by my parents-my adopted parents around the same time!"
Raihan's eyes widened before a smirk crossed his face. "Well there's only one way to know if you are Gloria's son, battle me!"
"In here?! No way, I don't want to dishonor these champions by smashing their statues!"
"I mean outside," Raihan motioned towards the door leading out to the stadium as he placed his hands in his pockets.
"I-Is that even allowed? It feels like you're not supposed to go out there."
"Please you're talking to the future gym leader here, consider this a gym battle!" Raihan smirked though his words didn't give Zach much confidence he decided to go ahead and take Raihan for his word, he wasn't obsessed over it but it would be nice to know who his birth mother was. "I'm Raihan by the way."
"Zach," He introduced himself as the two walked out onto the battlefield, Zach couldn't help but narrow his eyes as Raihan began flicking his head back and forth giving the impression that they were not supposed to be there! Raihan then waved his hand before taking a position on one end while Zach took the other. "Raboot, let's-"
"Hold up! I can smell Dragons on you." Raihan spoke up. "You see I wanna be a Dragon type master so I wanna prove that I'm the best by beating every trainer's I encounter Dragon type!"
Zach sweated as this oddly felt familiar. "You sound a lot like this Iris girl I met back in Unova, you should should hook up. She wants to be a Dragon Master too!"
"Really?!" Raihan's eyes lit up. The thought of being with a girl who loved Dragons as much as he did was really appealing, perhaps he ought to try and look up this Iris once he was gone battling this newcomer! "Go Duraludon!" The skyscraper Pokemon burst out as Zach looked between the two Pokeballs containing his Dragon types, wondering which of them would be best to fight against a Steel/Dragon.
"Goomy, let's go!" The ball containing his trusty slime dragon burst open as Goomy revealed itself before letting out a cry of it's name.
"Goooomy!"
"Heh, you own one too? Mine's a Sliggoo." Raihan smirked before stepping back and allowing the newcomer to have the first move.
"Goomy use Dragon Breath!" A bright blue flame burst from the small Dragon's mouth as it flew across the field and struck Duraludon, knocking the skyscraper Pokemon back before it shook itself off.
"Metal Claw!" Duraludon stomped forward, his arms glowing a bright steel grey before taking a swing at Goomy which sent the small slime Pokemon flying!
"Gooomy!" Goomy went flying through the air before landing in the middle of the field, shaking itself off before a dark purple cloud suddenly formed around Goomy catching both Zach and Raboot by surprise as they let out a gasp while Goomy started growing massive in size! Their Dragon type friend soon towering over the stadium like a kaiju and making it quite obvious that the gym was in use!
"...Master is gonna kill me." Raihan lowered his head, revealing the fact that they actually weren't supposed to be there like Zach thought! "Oh well, nothing to lose now!" He flashed a smirk as he activated the white wristband on his wrist, causing a similar cloud to form around Duraludon as the Pokemon began growing in size as well however unlike Goomy he actually started changing form as well!
"This is the Dynamax phenomenon!" Raihan explained. "Here trainers with Dynamax bands like myself can either Dynamax or Gigantamax their Pokemon! Duraludon for example is a Gigantamax form as he changed form while Goomy simply grew making it a Dynamax!"
"We can also use special moves while in these form-Oh! Max Wyrmwind is what you'll wanna use! Max Wyrmwind!" Raihan shouted out as Duraludon began glowing a bright purple color.
"Goomy use Max Wee-Max Wam... Max War-what he said!" Zach shouted as he couldn't properly pronounce the word. The bright purple glow surrounded Goomy as they fired off powerful waves of dragon energy against one another, the attacks met and appeared even at first before Duraludon's eventually overtook Goomy's causing the Max Move to go flying towards Goomy before exploding against him and reverting him back to his normal form as Goomy laid in defeat in the center of the battlefield.
"Gooomy..."
Raihan smirked as the two returned their Pokemon.
"Not bad-"
"Raihan!" A woman's voice could be heard in a scolding tone, Zach perked up and his heart started beating excitedly while hearts were briefly visible in his eyes as he checked out the new arrival. It was a rather attractive looking girl the same age as him and Raihan. Her long orange hair was tied up in a ponytail and she had various heart shaped accessories within her hair. Her skin tone was the same tone as Zach's and she had aqua colored eyes that helped excel her beauty. A teal green top covered the upper half of her body while a pair of light blue jeans that honestly looked a bit tight covered her lower half, she also wore teal green boots that matched with her top. A bit of drool poured out of Zach's mouth at the sight of the lovely woman before he eventually snapped out of it with a shake of his head, telling himself that he couldn't think about girls that way. Unfortunately Raihan had noticed the way he was eyeing Sonia and hadn't heard a thing Sonia had said as he toned her out.
"Yeah yeah, it won't happen again." He rolled his eyes at his friend before motioning towards his newest friend. "You met Zach though, Sonia? I can tell he thinks you're something else!"
"What?!" Sonia's face shot red before turning even redder as she turned around to see who he was referring to. Her eyes looked him up and down before a blush quickly crossed her face and she shifted her eyes away from him. "Hello there... I'm not sure if you heard but Raihan's not supposed to bring challengers out here."
"O-Oh I had a feeling, sorry about that! I'm not in trouble am I?" Zach asked with a nervous expression as Sonia shook her head.
"Don't you worry, Raihan's just going to get yelled at by the gym leader again if he keeps it up. What were you thinking though, you don't exactly look like somebody who normally breaks the rules to me?"
"Oh, I-I saw the statue of Gloria and she-I had a feeling that she might be my birth mother. I-I'm not obsessed with finding out, I'm sure they'll likely goners if they didn't find me but it'd still be nice to know where I came from if the option arisen. And Raihan seemed to believe that I am!"
Sonia looked at Raihan before looking back at Zach. "Let me guess, he asked if you'd battle him to see if you were related?" Sonia let out a tsk before glaring at Raihan. "You can just get a DNA test done, my grandma's the professor so she can get it done in no time! She knew Gloria and likely already has samples on hand."
"Really? Y-You think we can go?" Zach asked, rubbing his arm as he glanced at his Rotom Phone.
"Well a train ride would take a few hours but yeah, I'm sure we can get it done before the day is done!" Sonia gave him a friendly smile before taking him by the hand, Zach's face shot red for a moment before pulling away from her and simply following her as Sonia led him to the train station.
"Good luck! I'm looking forward to our next battle, rival!" Raihan called out as he waved after them with a smirk. Hoping that Sonia would find happiness, she deserved it but she was way too girly for Raihan to ever even consider. He wanted a tomboy and that Iris chick sounded like the perfect girl for him!
"Beautifly use String Shot!" Beautifly burst from her ball and fired off a series of string from her mouth, trapping an Indeedee in it's tracks as May grabbed hold of a Pokeball before throwing it at the Pokemon!
Dawn similarly was in the process of capturing a Pokemon a few feet away as a Snom crawled across the ground before suddenly getting pecked by Piplup as the penguin furiously pecked at the Ice/Bug type! Dawn grabbed a Pokeball before throwing it at the Galar Pokemon as it soon disappeared in a beam of red light, both Pokeballs chimed out at the same time causing the girls to simultaneously let out a shout!
"We did it!"
"Pip!"
"Beau!" The two looked quiet eager to show off their new captures to their boyfriend, knowing that he was sure to enjoy meeting the new Pokemon as much as they did. However they decided to look around a bit first as to give him plenty of time to make a capture rather than distract him with the attention they loved giving him when nobody else was around. The two closed their eyes and followed his example on how to locate a wild Pokemon easily, a shift in the bushes nearby caused both to quickly throw a ball before two hard smacks could be heard followed by two individuals falling to the ground.
"Ow!" Korrina and her Lucario had fallen to their rears and rubbed their heads to show where May and Dawn had struck them! Korrina had lost her childhood friend's trail upon him leaving Kanto but she learned all about his journey to the Pokeball factory in Kalos and how he beat those two Flare grunts again, giving her a new trail to follow that eventually led her here as she was quick to stowaway on the plane taking them there!
"Oh my gosh!" Dawn gasped.
"We're so sorry!" May squealed out before the two quickly bowed. "Please forgive us, we thought you were a wild Pokemon!"
Lucario gave the two a look before growling.
"Yeah they reek of his aura, no doubt they're his mates." Korrina smirked though a jealous look was in her eye. "You are Zach's mates, right?" Hearing the strange blonde calling their boyfriend out by his name shocked them, especially since she seemed to know that they...
"Yes..?" Dawn raised her eyebrow questionably, wondering what she wanted.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Korrina, Zach's childhood friend. I've come to train alongside him, if that's alright with the two of you?" Korrina asked with a cautious look. She could already sense that they were jealous of her due to the connection to him.
"Give us a second," Dawn grabbed May's hand before leading her away. "So what do you think?"
"I think she'd be a perfect third, she obviously knows him and if she's traveled across the world just to train with him then it's obvious that she isn't just here for fun times." May spoke while glancing back at Korrina. "Besides they both have Lucario, feels like they'd make a cute couple simply on account of that."
"Her personality also feels like it'd be a great match, at least from what I've seen." Dawn added. "It'd be good if he has a girlfriend that he can practice against, much as I enjoy practicing with him we honestly don't provide much of a challenge compared to the kind she'd provide."
Korrina watched them and tilted her head as they continued talking back and forth to one another before eventually nodding in agreement.
"Sure,"
"But fair warning, give him a bit of time before you reveal you like him. Don't jump straight to the reveal!" Dawn warned as Korrina's face shot bright red.
"W-Who said anything a-about liking h-him?!" Her blush and nervous tone made it rather obvious as the two girls laughed, knowing that she'd be the perfect fit for him!
Zinnia watched from the trees, narrowing her eyes at Korrina as she wondered how long it'd take for Korrina to slip up and reveal what she and Zach truly were. The girls wouldn't blab but she wanted Zach to at least have three badges before training with him and if Korrina revealed the truth then she'd have to jump in and explain things as Korrina wasn't properly trained either on account of Gurrkin wanting her to live a normal life though it appeared as if Korrina had plans on starting a new branch with her and him as the leaders!
"Grandma, I'm home!" Sonia cried out as the two stepped foot into a rather large home. It honestly reminded Zach of his Alolan home has the lab was on the bottom floor while there were living quarters on the second floor.
"Sonia? You're earl-Oh, you've brought a boy!" Rather than appear angry her grandmother appeared rather delighted as she clasped her hands together. "Will I actually see great grandkids in my lifetime?!"
Zach and Sonia instantly shot red as they gave each other nervous looks while their cheeks burned heavily to showcase the fact they found the idea appealing but weren't actually going to go through with it.
"N-No! Arceus grandma, he's hot-er I mean I like him-aahhh! We're not here for that, I'm just here cause he wants to get his DNA tested! He thinks he might be Gloria's son and honestly I'm inclined to agree, he does sorta look like her." Sonia spoke with a nervous blush as Zach nervously stared at the ground to hide his own blush upon hearing the words Sonia directed at him.
Sonia's grandma adjusted her glasses before her eyes suddenly grew wide. "My my, I don't think I need a DNA test to show that he is. He looks exactly like his father, that's even his scarf!"
"It is?!" Zach touched his scarf as he looked down at it. He always felt as if it belonged to his birth parents, other than Riolu that was the only thing he had from back then and he treated the scarf with great care though age was still doing a number on it. "Please tell me, who was my father?! Is he...?"
Magnolia lowered her head causing Zach's excitement to quickly die down as he lowered his own head. Sonia placed her hand on his shoulder.
"I'm so sorry..."
"Don't be, I accepted the fact they were dead a long time ago. I just... for a second I had a slimmer of hope that somewhere out there was somebody related to me. I-I shouldn't have wasted your time." Zach sighed out.
Sonia frowned for a moment before tilting her head. "Hey, why don't I take you to get some ice cream? That ought to cheer you up, maybe you could even show off your full team to me and we can call it even?"
"I guess," Zach spoke up before following Sonia out of the lab, not feeling the movement inside his bag as his egg started cracking and bouncing about!
"Oh my gosh, you've got quite the cuties-er Pokemon with you!" Sonia squealed out, her eyes lit up as they ran across Lucario who was feeling much better than he had been earlier, Raboot, Goomy, Noibat, Combusken, and Dusk Lycanroc who got her attention the most. "And what a cute puppy!" She squealed before scratching Lycanroc behind the ear, Lycanroc let out a happy bark before scratching her back foot against the ground as she closed her eyes with content.
"You know I'm a dog lover too!" Sonia reached for a lone Pokeball before tossing it into the air, revealing an adorable corgi Pokemon who Zach upon seeing couldn't help but instantly smile as a happy puppy was almost always a way to cheer somebody feeling down up!
"He's cute, you know a friend of mine owns one too! I think she might have evolved hers though, not sure." He hadn't seen Chloe since he initially left Kanto so he wasn't sure.
"Thanks, he was a family pet but now he's sorta my personal Pokemon." Sonia laughed out.
"Same with Lycanroc!" Zach exclaimed.
"Really? Huh, neat..." Sonia smirked as she eyed the unusually colored Lycanroc. "How did you come across that evolution anyways?"
"She uh... evolved at dusk, not much to it really." Zach sweated before rubbing the back of his neck.
"I see, interesting..." Sonia spoke.
"Carr..." Lucario suddenly pointed at Zach's bag as he picked up another aura.
"What? The egg is hatching?!" Zach quickly removed the bag to reveal it glowing brightly before the glow dispersed and a Sobble appeared within his arms. The water lizard looked up at his trainer before letting out a peaceful cry, nestling into his arms as Sonia let out an aw at the sight.
"A Sobble!" Sonia exclaimed, knowing he wasn't local she decided to fill him on what his new Pokemon was. "Heh, you know being a father suddenly made you a lot more attractive!" Sonia formed a light smirk, placing her hand on his thigh before leaning forward to give him a kiss. Zach's face shot bright red as he leaned back in his chair.
"Sonia wait, I-" He tried to explain that he wasn't available but Sonia already made her move, her lips inches away from his own as Zach sweated unsure of how to get away without hurting her or knocking her over. Thankfully for him a black and white blur shot in between them, pushing Sonia back before a small creature began hungrily gorging itself on their icecream.
"Zigzagoon, goon goon!"
"A Zigzagoon?!" Zach's eyes lit up, proving to Sonia how easily distracted he could be as he appeared to forget she was about to attempt at making out with him. "They're different than the ones back in Hoenn!" He enlarged a Pokeball with plans to capture it only for Zigzagoon to let out a growl before tackling him and knocking him off the seat! Zigzagoon let out a huff as he pinned him against the ground before looking eyes with the newly hatched Sobble who shook at the sight of Zigzagoon before letting out a frightened cry as he went racing off to the nearby forest! Zigzagoon smirked and followed close behind!
"Sobble!" Zach cried out with concern for his newly hatched Pokemon, leaping right up before racing on after him!
"Car!" Lucario raced after his trainer, telling him to wait up!
"Zach wait that's the Slumbering Weald-!" Sonia cried out in concern for her newly found friend and love interest only for him to apparently not hear as he disappeared into the thick fog. Sonia grew a concerned look before pacing back and forth as she waited alongside his other Pokemon.
The forest was covered with a dense and thick fog, making it hard to see where they were headed along with the way back being hard to locate. Zach let out a frustrated sigh, clenching his fists as he cursed his luck that a wild Pokemon would choose to scare off his newborn before he could catch it! He couldn't just leave Sobble, Sobble was just a baby and needed care not to mention the fact that it did like him, Zigzagoon just chased him off!
Zach closed his eyes but wasn't picking up anything. "I'm not getting anything, are you?" Lucario shook his head.
"Roar!" Zach saw a Salamence circling overheard for a moment before flying off in a direction almost as if it were trying to lead him somewhere. They didn't exactly have a lot of options so he decided to simply go with his gut and trust Salamence wasn't leading them into a trap. Eventually him and Lucario came to a large clearing where both Zigzagoon and Sobble could be shaking heavily almost as if somebody or something had put intense fear into them! Zach looked around before looking back at Lucario.
"You sense anything close?" Lucario shook his head causing Zach to quickly race towards the two frightened Pokemon. "Come on you two, let's go-"
"SOB!" Sobble frantically cried out as he pointed behind them.
"Huh? Holy s-!" Zach and Lucario both looked equally alarmed, Lucario looking the large wolf Pokemon over as it didn't appear to have any aura at all! It's shield like mane blew in the wind as the wolf gave the two of them an intense stare. "Aura Sphere!"
"Carrr!" Lucario clamped his paws together and fired off an sphere of aura only for it to fly right through the wolf!
"What's going on down there?!" Zinnia asked as she looked down from Salamence's back, raising her eyebrows as to her the two were just attacking the air!
"I-Is it a Ghost type?" Zach wanted to scan the creature to be sure but he was more interested in protecting Sobble and Zigzagoon from whatever this thing was. "Thunder Punch!" Lucario raced forward with an electrical punch while Raboot tag teamed with an electro ball! Both attacks went right through the wolf causing the three to shoot off alarmed looks! If it wasn't a ghost type then was it...?
"A r-real g-g-ghost?!" Zach looked horrified before holding his arms out defensively to protect Sobble and Zigzagoon. "I'm not going to let you hurt them! Why don't you show yourself and face us like a man-er wolf!" The wolf stepped forward and locked eyes with him causing Zach to begin sweating nervously as he was sure he was seconds away from being mauled or eaten. Lucario and Raboot got into defensive stances but the wolf soon touched noses with Zach, causing the fog to slowly disappear before the five were back outside the forest with the wolf nowhere to be seen!
"Zach!" Sonia raced towards him before quickly pulling into a tight hug. "Oh thank goodness, I heard this loud howl and was worried that something might have happened!"
Zach stared off for a bit as he tried processing what had just happened before a blush formed across his face once more. "I-I'm fine Sonia, there was just this massive wolf Pokemon in the forest! It had this mane that looked like a shield and was large enough for you to ride on like a horse!"
Sonia raised her eyebrow as Zach described the Pokemon to her. It sounded like nothing she'd seen before...
"T-That's incredible!" Sonia gushed. "You must show me!"
"I-I can't, he teleported us out somehow? I'm not sure if we can even find him again." Sonia tilted her head, had anyone else told her that she'd think they were lying but Zach seemed like the type to not lie unless there was a reason to so she decided to trust him.
"Well alright, it would have been cool to see though." She hung her head with disappointment.
"Well if I didn't have to hurry back to meet the others I'd be happy to show you!" Sonia smiled at his offer and nodded her head in response as he began picking up Sobble. "Come on Sobble, let's go." He began to walk towards the train station before noticing Zigzagoon sitting there waiting for him. The Galar form Pokemon stuck out his tongue before looking towards his belt.
"Goon...?"
"Carr!" Lucario translated for him, saying that Zigzagoon was thankful for them saving it and felt bad for scaring Sobble and stealing their food, wanting to make up for it by joining them!
"If you wanna join us then sure!" Zach excitedly accepted Zigzagoon's request as he held out an empty Pokeball for him. "Welcome to the team Zigzagoon!"
"Goon!" Zigzagoon raced forward and tapped the ball before disappearing in a beam of red light, the ball shook within his grasp before chiming to announce the capture!
Sonia watched Zach leave with a look of regret, biting her lip for a moment before turning around to go back to her grandma.
"Zach!" Korrina tackled him as soon as he stepped through the Pokemon Center's door, treating him just like they behaved when they were kids!
"Korrina?!" Zach exclaimed in shock, greatly surprised to see her though while Lucario formed a goofy expression upon seeing Korrina's Lucario once more.
Dawn and May smiled and gave him a wave as they stood over them.
"She sorta found us," Dawn exclaimed with a laugh.
"Yeah, she wants to-help you train to get stronger!" May exclaimed.
"Really?" Zach up at Korrina as she smirked down at him.
"Really, it's nice to see you again bestie!"
"Bestie?" Hearing Korrina say that made more flashbacks of the two playing as kids appear within his mind. He may not have been reunited with his birth mother or father but he did find an old friend! Korrina soon helped him up.
"Come on, we've got some training to do!" Korrina smirked, looking forward to spending time with him again.
"Not so fast, his girlfriends come first!" Dawn spoke up, reminding Korrina of their priority.
"Oh right-Sorry!" Korrina nervously laughed before stepping aside, not minding much as she watched the three excitedly showing each other their new captures. May and Dawn even uttered out a squeal at the sight of him holding Sobble much like Sonia had done.
It had been a week since the two had met and he just couldn't escape her mind as Sonia paced back and forth impatiently within her grandmother's lab.
"I don't get it, why can't I get him out of my head?" She thought at first that it might just be a fling, she never felt that way towards a guy before but here she was a full week later and not once did the boy leave her mind!
"It's love Sonia dear," Magnolia let out a laugh before forming a smile. "You're in love with him!"
"I-I am?! B-But he aims to become a champion, I'm just a professor how could he-"
"Then that sounds like you're the perfect pair, think of all the Pokemon he'll see on his adventure not to mention I'm sure he'll let his girlfriend examine his Pokemon whenever she asks." Magnolia hinted as Sonia continued pacing about before clenching her fists together.
"Gah, alright! I'm going off to Hoenn!" Sonia stared out the window with a determined expression. "I'm coming for you Zach, hope you're ready for me!"
And scene. No Ash this time but I'll go ahead and confirm that Ash is getting Bea and Skyla, that's not it for him obviously. Just dropping a little treat
Zach got a bit more insight into his past and captured two new Pokemon along with the heart of a certain professor in training. Along with obtaining the rivalry and friendship of a Dragon specialist, Iris is going to get with Raihan. I think they'd make a great pair!
'I love your stories and how written your Ash is. I personally would like to see a story where your OC is the main character and his point of view instead with Ash as either his companion or just a side character.' Why thank you, the thought did cross my mind for a sequel to Blizzard but given I want that story to retain a dark theme and not be so lighthearted like my other work, it's hard to work on that when you're dealing with depression. I'll probably make him the main character of a gen 9 story before that point haha. But regardless if you like him, you'll like the Hoenn and Unova arcs as he is essentially the main character for those. Despite Blaze and Amber being reoccurring foes he actually doesn't have much involvement in the Team Flare arc, they just work better than another group of Rocket thugs and could potentially make him an anchor if I choose to redeem those two