The Galarian Stowaways

"Sobb!"

"Groo!"

"Scor!"

The Three Galar starters excitedly raced around a laboratory as they played with one another. The three having an immense amount of fun with one another before the Professor's granddaughter called out for them. Despite only being sixteen and only an assistant to her grandmother, the starters still showed her a great deal of respect as they looked up at her with stars in their eyes. Sobble even blushing lightly as she was fairly attractive after all!

Her long orange hair was tied up in a ponytail and she had various heart shaped accessories within her hair. She had a light skin tone and 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.

"Alright you three, two trainers will be coming for you soon so I want you all on your best behavior okay?!" She spoke with an excitable tone. Sobble and Scorbunny let out a happy cry as they couldn't wait to be chosen while Grookey gave the other two sour looks as he was sure that he'd get left behind again. She walked back out to help her grandmother with some more research papers as they patiently awaited the soon arriving trainers while Scorbunny's stomach began to rumble loudly, her metabolism was quite fast due to how energetic she was! The rabbit Pokemon glanced off in the direction that Sonia had disappeared to before quickly looking towards the kitchen area of the lab as she licked her lips. She began climbing up onto the counter and reached up for the pantry and began shuffling around with her paws in an attempt at finding room. Grookey watched on before noticing an open window not far off from where Scorbunny was as a light smirk crossed his face.

"Scor!" Scorbunny happily exclaimed as she managed to reach a cookie, stuffing it into her mouth and closing her eyes as she savored the taste. Unfortunately that prevented her from seeing Grookey as he approached her, the grass monkey whipped out his stick and gave Scorbunny a hard whack that sent her flying right out of the window and into the bushes below as Sobble let out a gasp at the sight before quickly turning invisible as he feared he'd be next. Grookey looked out the window with a smirk before pulling the window shut as he ensured that he'd have a trainer this time!

Scorbunny was entangled in the bush and wildly flailed her arms and legs about in an attempt to escape, eventually managing to do so and she'd have attempted to get back into the laboratory had she not gotten a good whiff of a supply truck as it left town after providing the local market and residents with farm fresh berries! Scorbunny licked her lips and was quick to follow, hopping on into the bed of the truck and diving headfirst into a crate of berries unaware that another Pokemon was inside as it had a similar idea.

"Morpek!" The rodent's fur turned a dark shade of purple as it's eyes shot a demonic shade of red, Scorbunny began sweating nervously before the rodent tackled her and the two Pokemon rustled and rolled about, sinking down beneath the berries and muffling their noises as they continued to fight one another. The truck soon came to a stop and a worker examined the crates, thanks to the Pokemon not being visible and buried beneath a mountain of berries along with the worker wearing headphones, he began placing lids onto the crates and nailing them shut! A label that read 'Jubilife City' got slapped onto the crate with Scorbunny and Morpeko inside and not long after the crate was loaded onto a plane as the Galarian berries were to be shipped to a chef within Jubilife!

Back at the lab Sonia looked around and was rather quick to notice that Scorbunny was missing. "Where'd Scorbunny go?" She questioned with a puzzled expression.

Dawn let out a sigh as dusk began approaching, she and Zach had been searching for a Buneary the past few days and with no luck whatsoever! Zach hadn't even attempted to catch a Pokemon for himself as he seemed determined to help her find the Pokemon she desired, it wasn't for a lack of opportunities either as Shinx and Starly were right in front of him on several different occasions yet he seemed to only have eyes for Buneary. Dawn let out another sigh this time with a warm smile as she gave her friend an affectionate look, he'd definitely be good boyfriend material regardless if she was lucky enough to nab him or not by the end of all this, she hoped whoever got him would know how lucky they were.

"Riolu and I haven't had any luck, I think we should try again tomorrow morning. Maybe our luck will be different then!"

"Rio!" Riolu pumped his fists as he was determined to find a Buneary for his master's best friend!

Dawn flashed Zach a brief smile before lightly shaking her head. "I think... we should move on. We've wasted enough time around here looking, maybe we'll have better luck on the next route." She turned away but Zach could tell that she was feeling down, they were best friends after all he knew when she felt that way. He reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder to provide her with some support before turning around to head for his tent. Piplup continued patting his trainer's arms with a look of concern.

"I'm gonna go to bed early tonight, Riolu and I wanna start get some training in before we go."

"Rio?" Riolu gave him a questioning look, knowing that they hadn't agree to that.

"I hate lying to her but I can't stand seeing her like that, we're gonna wake up early to try and find her a Buneary! Maybe we haven't found one because we haven't gotten up early enough, or at least that's what I think. I'm no expert." He nervously chuckled as he flashed Dawn one last glance before closing up his tent for the night. Dawn stared at the tent and was disappointed that he decided to go to bed early, tilting her head lightly for a moment as she couldn't help but wonder if he was trying to avoid her or not.

Zach and Riolu were up and about before the Hoothoot even went to sleep, the two began quietly attempting to walk away from the campsite without disturbing Dawn while casting brief glances at her tent whenever one of them stepped on a twig. Once they were far enough away the two let out a sigh of relief as they glanced back at the tent, thankful that she hadn't been disturbed and were about to continue progressing before coming to a halt as Piplup stood in front of them. The penguin Pokemon tilted his head with a questioning look as Zach and Riolu began sweating nervously before giving a shared nod as they knew they'd have to fill Piplup in or else risk him waking Dawn and she'd try putting a stop to this.

"Piplup, we're trying to find a Buneary to catch for Dawn. You can help if you want but if you're going back please don't wake her!"

"Pip Piplup!" Piplup stepped forward and tapped his chest, stating that he'd be happy to help where he can! Much like Zach he couldn't stand seeing his trainer upset and wished to help her however he could!

"Alright, let's go then!" Zach pulled out a flashlight as now they didn't need to worry about waking Dawn as the tent was a safe distance behind them. "I say we check along the road first, see if any Pokemon are roaming across it." It'd also provided a good vantage point and allow him to get a better view of the surrounding area, he honestly wished that he'd stopped to catch a Starly as one would be a great help right now but for some reason he was so focused on Dawn that it slipped his mind!

As they neared the road they'd notice a crate that appeared to have fallen off of a truck, it was crashed open and remained on the side of the road with berries spilling out of it.

"Piplup!" Piplup was quick to rush for the berries without even questioning what they were or where they came from, it'd been hours since they last ate and he was starving!

"Piplup wait! Something could be inside!" Zach shouted out and his words proved to be corrected as a pair of red demonic eyes flashed within the crate as Piplup raced towards it, causing Zach and Riolu to lightly shiver at the sight before a small rodent Pokemon came blasting out within a light blue wheel of energy, crashing directly into Piplup and sending the penguin Pokemon flying upwards as he cried out.

"Piiiipluuup!"

"Piplup!" Zach dove forward and caught Piplup before he could hit the ground. Riolu quickly landed in front of the two and stretched out his arms to defend them as the hamster Pokemon began giving Riolu a light growl.

"W-What on earth is that?!" Zach asked, pulling his Rotom Phone from his pocket before scanning the rodent Pokemon.

"Morpeko, Hangry mode. Intense hunger drives it to extremes of violence and the electricity in its cheek sacs has converted into a Dark type energy!"

"Morpek!" Morpeko growled out as he leered at the group while Zach and Piplup began to get back onto their feet.

"I-It honestly feels a bit too powerful for just the two of us," Zach spoke up before looking towards Piplup. "Good thing you came, it doesn't seem like it can be reasoned with in this state so we need to fend this thing off!"

"Piplup!" Piplup tapped his chest as if to say 'leave it up to me'! He approached his opponent while a bright glow surrounded his flipper before striking Morpeko and giving it a good pounding with Pound!

"Force Palm!" Riolu thrusted his paw at Morpeko with great force, sending the rodent flying backwards however the attack only seemed to enrage the rodent further as his eyes turned an even darker shade of red while the blue energy wheel began forming across his body once more! Morpeko began charging at the group only for a white blur to come racing out of the crate as Morpeko was tackled away!

"Huh?!" Zach blinked from confusion before looking towards the blur as it revealed itself to be a white rabbit Pokemon with orange markings on the ends of his ears and feet. The rabbit looked at him and gave a friendly wave along with a sheepish smile as Morpeko was sent charging off in a different direction, the rodent tearing through bushes and shrubs while quickly approaching an Buneary whom just exited their den. The Buneary looked up and let out a cry before quickly covering her face and shielding her eyes as she prepared for the attack to meet only for Riolu to tackle her at the last second. Buneary looked up at the jackal as her cheeks turned a shade of pink, the jackal didn't notice though while Morpeko kept rolling off into the distance before disappearing as he didn't seem to be able to stop his attack in his current state. Riolu tilted his head before letting out an excited cry.

"Rio!" He quickly grabbed her paw and began dragging her back to his trainer, Buneary putting up little fuss as her cheeks burned brightly while gazing fondly towards the face of her savior.

Scorbunny placed her paws on her hips and gave Zach a cocky smirk as he looked her over, Piplup leaped up and down behind him while flailing his arms about as he didn't appreciate Scorbunny upstaging him and sending Morpeko off!

"What Pokemon are you? A regional variant of Buneary?" Zach questioned as much like Morpeko he'd never seen her before. He pulled out his Rotom Phone in order to scan the rabbit Pokemon.

"Scorbunny the Rabbit Pokemon, a warm up of running around gets fire energy coursing through this Pokemon's body. Once that happens it's ready to fight at full power!"

"Oh man you sound so cool!" Zach breathed out upon hearing that. Scorbunny blushed and rubbed the back of her neck upon receiving the compliment. "You're no Buneary but maybe Dawn will like you just as much! Scorbunny would you like to come with me and-"

"Riooo!" Riolu cried out as he raced over with Buneary, pointing frantically at her with his free paw as Zach's eyes lit up while a smile quickly formed across his face.

"You found a Buneary?! This is perfect, Dawn's going to be so pleased to hear about this!"

"Piplup!" Piplup cheered along with him, it may not have been him who found her but he was still happy as Dawn was sure to feel better once she caught Buneary!

The sun began rising as Zach looked back towards camp before turning back to Riolu, Buneary and Piplup and momentarily forgetting all about Scorbunny as Dawn was at the forefront of his mind. "Let's get back, she'll have quite the surprise waiting for her when she wakes up!"

Dawn let out a yawn as she woke up, her arm reached out to hug Piplup only to realize that he wasn't there. She sat up and looked around the tent before noticing the tent flap slightly open as Piplup had apparently let himself out at some point. She quickly threw on her clothes as worry briefly crossed her mind, wondering if something might have happened to Piplup only to take a hard pause upon exiting as Zach and Piplup stood waiting right outside with a Buneary within the arms of her best friend. Dawn's eyes shot wide open as an excited expression crossed her face as she let out a squeal.

"You didn't-!"

"We did!" A smirk crossed his face upon seeing how happy she looked, his heartrate began rapidly increasing as well. "It was my idea actually but Piplup helped, I-we couldn't stand you being upset so we went out early and-"

Zach went quiet as Dawn threw her arms around him and held him close for a brief moment of time, a light blush formed across his cheek while he made no effort to pull away.

"You're the best!" Dawn squealed out before pulling away as she realized they were crushing Buneary, Buneary didn't seem to mind too much however as her gaze was focused upon Riolu. Dawn was rather observant of that and looked in the direction of Riolu before smirking lightly, finding it rather cute how one of her Pokemon would be crushing on his. She took Buneary from his grasp and set her upon the ground while Zach turned to get some food prepared for the two of them and their Pokemon before he noticed Scorbunny staring right up at him, he may have forgotten all about her but she hadn't forgotten about him and his compliment towards her!

Dawn noticed that Zach was distracted and smirked lightly before speaking to Buneary in a hushed tone. "You know if you join me, you'll be able to see Riolu a lot! I'm best friends with his trainer and I... I like him the way you like Riolu. I'm sure you'll like that, right?"

Buneary looked towards Riolu who was focused upon the conversation that Scorbunny was having with Zach. The rabbit formed a smile before looking up at Dawn with a light nod as the bluenette smiled back before gently tapping Buneary with a spare pokeball, the ball began shaking within her hand before chiming out to announce the capture complete!

"Alright, I just caught a Buneary!"

"Pip, Piplup!" Dawn and Piplup both cried out in celebration as the bluenette held the ball high.

"Scor..." Scorbunny spoke up, gazing up at Zach with a warm look before pointing at his belt. Riolu tilted his head before looking up at Zach as he wondered if they were about to receive the first addition to their team?

"Y-You want to come with me?" Zach questioned, looking a bit shocked before pointing at himself while giving Scorbunny a questioning look as he wondered if he'd heard the rabbit correctly.

"Scor!" Scorbunny pumped her fists with a cocky expression while Riolu punched the air excitedly as they'd found a new teammate!

"I always did want a Fire type, Sinnoh sure is short on those..." Zach muttered the last part before forming a smile as he reached for a ball before throwing it at Scorbunny. "Alright Scorbunny, let's g-" He and Riolu immediately paused as the Pokeball landed on Scorbunny's head before rolling right off!

"Please don't try and capture owned Pokemon!" Zach's Rotom Phone chimed causing him and Riolu to look at each other in confusion as they wondered exactly who Scorbunny belonged to.

"I'm so glad to hear that Scorbunny is okay!" An older woman that was around Rowan's age if not older could be seen on the other end of the video phone call as Zach held up Scorbunny for her to see. Scorbunny giving the woman a friendly wave before crying out.

Zach and Dawn weren't that far from Sandgem Town so they decided to backtrack and upon questioning Rowan on the identity of the Galar region Professor he was happy to oblige with the contact information, following a quick trip to the Pokemon Center they got the video phone there set up and placed in a call to the Professor to see if Scorbunny was theirs or if she could identify the trainer of said Scorbunny.

"We were so worried, she just disappeared one day and a few days later she shows up all the way in Sinnoh!" Magnolia still couldn't believe it while Zach and Scorbunny gave one another saddened looks.

"So I guess it's time for you to go back, huh?" Zach asked as Scorbunny's ball dropped into the transport machine, Scorbunny looked up at him with a watery look. She didn't want to go back, she felt like he was the right partner for her! The two of them had been looking forward to becoming partners before the reveal of her ownership came up.

"Scor..." Scorbunny lowered her head while Zach lightly stroked her behind the ears.

"Don't be sad Scorbunny, you're such an amazing Pokemon! I'm sure another trainer will snatch you up as soon as you get there!"

"Scor!" Scorbunny shook her head as if to say she didn't want a different trainer, reaching out to place her paws around him as Magnolia formed a light smile.

"Why don't you let him keep it, grandma?" Sonia asked as she appeared onscreen. "Scorbunny already seems to have imprinted on him and that makes it difficult to transition to a different trainer, besides it's obvious he cares about her and that Riolu certainly looks healthy. He'll be a perfect trainer to raise her!"

"Spoken like a true professor," Magnolia smiled at her granddaughter before bowing her head. "Very well, Zach I trust that you'll care for Scorbunny and treat her right?"

"O-Of course!" Zach was quick to exclaim as a smile crossed his face.

"Rio!" Riolu nodded in agreement with his trainer as he pumped his fists excitedly.

"Then I entrust Scorbunny in your care, take good care of her." Magnolia bowed her head and prepared to hang up.

"Wait-There was a Morpeko with her, was that yours too?" Zach had only just remembered that and thought it was best to ask in case they were looking for it.

"Morpeko?" Sonia tilted her head in a cute manner before shaking her head. "Sorry but we don't own any Morpeko, good luck with gathering your badges!" She waved before the screen went dark.

Zach looked down at Scorbunny while holding her pokeball in one hand as an excited expression crossed his face.

"What do you say Scorbunny? You wanna make your debut to my team by helping me catch Morpeko?!"

"Scor!" Scorbunny raised her paw as a cocky grin crossed her face. Riolu leaped up and punched the air, hoping that they'd be able to succeed in finding and capturing that powerful rodent!

Dawn let off a smile as she was rather pleased that the two of them both got remarkable Pokemon for their first captures on their journey. She then stared out the window towards the direction of Jubilife City. She couldn't wait to arrive there and compete in her first Pokemon Contest, especially now that she had two Pokemon on her team to help out!

So yeah like Zach said, not many Fire types in Sinnoh. I didn't really want to step on Barry's toes by giving him a Chimchar and I've always viewed Magmortar as an antagonist/rival Pokemon despite my love for the species. The first catch is also very special for trainers so I wanted to make sure both Zach and Dawn's were Pokemon I wouldn't accidentally push to the side. Dawn's team won't be an exact copy of her main counterpart's but Buneary is something I feel had to stay although that doesn't necessarily mean she won't evolve.

But yeah, you're free to suggest captures and other stuff that you'd like to see.

Next time is Dawn's first contest and Morpeko returns!

'I kinda hope we can see just a slight bit more down the line with his rematch with Ho-oh and his battle with Lugia' This really isn't too much of a spoiler but yeah, my intention is to write Ash vs Ho-oh at the same point in time that Zach and Dawn meet Lyra. Keep the Johto synergy going, I'm still in the process of deciding what his team would be like in this universe apart from Zard X and Pikachu but I should have it settled by then.