The Sobbing Sobble

Ash's eyes widened as he looked around in amazement as he took in the sight of the Wild Area for the first time, it was nothing like he'd ever seen! Miles upon miles of grassland untouched by man with all sorts of various Pokemon either walking, flying, floating or even swimming about as there was also quite the large river system flowing through the area!

Ash got out his Rotom Phone and began randomly scanning Pokemon that he hadn't seen before as he was eager to learn more about them, starting things off with a gray squirrel Pokemon that was currently munching away on a Oran berry nearby.

"Skwovet, the Cheeky Pokemon. Found throughout the Galar region, this Pokemon becomes uneasy if its cheeks are ever completely empty of berries!"

Ash reached for an empty Pokeball for a brief moment before letting go, deciding that he'll pass on this one as neither it or the evolution looked like a Pokemon that suited his battling style. His eyes soon landed upon a small green reptile-like Pokemon that was levitating above the ground nearby, sensing it was being watched it turned its large yellow eyes towards him and stared right back, creeping Ash out as he felt a shiver going down his spin. He activated the Pokedex app on his Rotom Phone in order to scan this mysterious Pokemon.

"Dreepy, the lingering Pokemon. If this weak Pokemon is by itself, a mere child could defeat it. But if Dreepy has friends to help it train, it can evolve and become much stronger!"

The Dreepy kept staring at Ash with a blank expression while Ash took a quick look around. "You appear to be alone, where are your friends?"

Dreepy didn't respond, it just kept on staring blankly at Ash who sweat dropped from response before glancing at Pikachu who looked as spooked as he was, the mouse merely shrugging in response before tilting his head. "Pikapi?"

"That is true, we don't actually have a Ghost type partner." Ash reached for an empty Pokeball, activating it before throwing it at Dreepy as he had a feeling that Dreepy was looking for a friend. "Let's grow stronger together, Dreepy!" The ball tapped Dreepy's forehead before the Dragon/Ghost type disappeared in a beam of red light as the Pokeball hit the ground and began shaking rapidly, eventually chiming to announce the capture!

"Alright, we caught... a Dreepy!" Ash posed, Pikachu posing alongside him as he cried out.

"Pi Pikachu!"

"...do you always do that when you catch a Pokemon?" Marnie asked, narrowing her eyes at him as he chuckled lightly.

"Force of habit, sorry!"

"Dreepy's a good catch actually, Dragapult can be quite powerful under the right trainer!" Zach stated while letting out Metapod so he could help the cocoon Pokemon make some progress on evolving into a Butterfree, sending out Zigzagoon as well to allow them to train together and get a sense of Zigzagoon's battle style.

Ash looked down at the Pokeball while a smile crossed his face. "Hopefully we'll become great friends too!" He was also looking forward to using a Ghost type as he didn't have much experience with the type at all, since Haunter had decided to ditch him for Sabrina and he really hadn't had any opportunities to capture a different Ghost until now.

"Metapod!" Zach looked terrified as a Corvisquire had flown down and started furiously pecking at Metapod's cocoon! "Scorbunny, stop it from eating Metapod! Flame Charge!"

"Scorbunny!" Scorbunny's body became surrounded with flames as she charged across the field before leaping up and tackling Corvisquire away from her teammate!

Corvisquire didn't look happy about having his meal taken away from him, turning to Scorbunny before soaring across the air and proceeding to furiously peck her head!

"Scor!" Scorbunny cried out, batting away at Corvisquire in an attempt to knock him away!

"Scorbunny, stay calm and use Ember!" Scorbunny's mouth began glowing bright orange-red as she opened it up and blasted Corvisquire with multiple bolts of fire! The raven Pokemon cried out in pain before collapsing in defeat, followed quickly by a Pokeball being flung at him! Corvisquire disappeared in a beam of red light as the ball started shaking with Zach looking on nervously before the ball burst open as the raven Pokemon swooped back at Scorbunny, the rabbit Pokemon didn't seem like her usual self today though almost as if something was on her mind, resulting in her quickly getting pecked in the skull once more by the angry raven Pokemon!

"Zigzagoon!" Zigzagoon rushed forward without waiting for a command, a battle hardened look in his eye as he tackled Corvisquire and threw him away from his teammate. "Zagoon, Zigzag!"

"Corvi!" Corvisquire and Zigzagoon locked eyes as they began sizing each other up.

"Scorbunny, you okay?" The rabbit shook her head before nodding. "Good cause much as I like our new teammate he isn't going to hold his own against an evolved Pokemon, he needs your help!"

"Goon?!" Zigzagoon's gaze flickered towards his trainer as a growl rumbled from his throat. "Zigzagoon!" Zigzagoon took right off as he began charging across the field, headbutting Corvisquire with a surprising amount of strength as the raven Pokemon was knocked right off his feet and pushed aside as his body slid across the dirt!

"Scor...?" Scorbunny turned to Zigzagoon with a raised brow before crossing her arms in a huff. The fire starter still thinking about possibly getting stuffed in a lab and that fear was only growing as her trainer was about to get a fifth Pokemon!

"Whoa, that... that was unexpected! Well done Zigzagoon!" Zach praised his newest Pokemon, Zigzagoon nodded lightly before plopping down and closing his eyes. Zach reached for another Pokeball and threw it at the defeated bird Pokemon, Corvisquire once again disappeared in a beam of red light as the ball made contact with him, the ball shook twice before chiming to announce the capture!

"Alright, we caught a Corvisquire!" Zach didn't celebrate for long though as he quickly ran over to Metapod, who Riolu was standing guard over in case Corvisquire decided to ignore Scorbunny. He soon let out a sigh of relief as he noticed Metapod didn't have any serious damages, nothing a spray of a potion wouldn't fix. He began spraying Metapod with a potion while leaving his Rotom Phone on the ground next to his bag as it registered the data of his newest catch, informing Ash about the Pokemon's species.

"Corvisquire the raven Pokemon. The lessons of many harsh battles have taught it how to accurately judge an opponent's strength!"

"Well that explains why it picked on poor Metapod, probably thought he'd be easy prey on account of his lack of movement." Marnie commented.

"Just means we've gotta train even harder, come on Metapod and Zigzagoon let's get things properly underway!"

"Pod!" Metapod cried out, determination shined in his eyes while Zigzagoon slowly began standing back up to face his teammate.

"Goon, Zigzagoon!"

"I think Kubfu and the others are due for some training of their own as well, care to join us Marnie?"

"Sure, Nickit could use the experience. I just caught her recently," Marnie said as her hand gripped a Pokeball on her belt.

The two walked a bit of distance away from Zach to allow him and his Pokemon plenty of room to train while also allowing the same for them.

"Alright Kubfu, let's get some training underway!" Ash enlarged the ball belonging to the cub Pokemon before tossing it forward as Kubfu began phasing onto the battlefield, immediately taking a battling stance as he stood awaiting Marnie's choice of Pokemon.

"Nickit, let's go!" A small red fox Pokemon phased onto the field before Kubfu, Ash had recalled seeing some while at Mustard's dojo but he never really had the chance to catch one or learn about it though he assumed that it was a Dark type seeing how Marnie had it in her possession.

"Nickit the Fox Pokemon, cunning and cautious, this Pokemon survives by stealing food from others. It erases its tracks with swipes of its tail as it makes off with its plunder!"

"Brick Break!"

Kubfu's paw began to glow as he karate chopped his opponent!

"Huh so that's a Fighting type, eh?" Marnie observed. "No matter, let's keep our distance with Dig!"

Nickit began furiously digging at the ground with her paws, soon disappearing into a hole as she went underground. There were counters to this but unfortunately Kubfu lacked said counters so Ash would have to handle this the old fashioned way.

"Kubfu, I want you to concentrate on locating Nickit. Listen carefully for movement beneath the ground and when you sense it get ready to strike with Brick Break!"

Kubfu closed his eyes as he began concentrating, listening for movement beneath him as he tried to identify Nickit's location, a rumbling sound came from beneath causing him to leap back and strike at Nickit with a karate chop as the fox Pokemon leaped out from the ground!

"Nick!" The fox Pokemon was knocked across the field and ended up striking something invisible as she came to a sudden halt. Sobbing soon began audible resulting in Ash starting to sweat.

"Marnie I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt her!"

Marnie narrowed her eyes lightly as she eyed the area before shaking her head. "Relax it isn't Nickit," She returned Nickit to her Pokeball and sure enough the sobbing was still very much present!

Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder and went to investigate, tilting his head before reaching out and starting to poke randomly in an attempt to identify the culprit. A light screech could be heard as a familiar blue lizard came into view, holding it's eye as Pikachu had evidently poked it by accident.

"It's a Sobble!" Ash recognized the species, it was going to be his pick from Mustard's reward until Kubfu chose for him! "But what's it doing out here?" Ash quickly looked from left to right as if he expected to see a trainer nearby but Sobble apparently was all out on it's own!

"Pika..." Pikachu began petting Sobble's back as the Water type continued letting out streams of tears from his eyes.

"Sobb!"

Marnie knelt down and gently touched Sobble with a Pokeball, the blue lizard disappearing for a brief moment before bursting back out as more tears started pouring from his eyes.

"Well he doesn't have a trainer, that's for sure." She commented.

Ash frowned before getting onto his knees. "Sobble what's wrong? We'd like to help you."

"Pika pi!" Pikachu patted Sobble's back as the lizard continued shedding tears and not responding.

"Goon!" Zigzagoon suddenly rushed by and tackled Sobble, the lizard slipping right out of Pikachu's grasp as the raccoon Pokemon pinned Sobble down and growled at it. "Zigzagoon, goon!"

"Zigzagoon!" Riolu rushed over and began pulling Zigzagoon off of Sobble as their trainer caught up with a disappointed look. "We don't attack other Pokemon like that, Sobble had no intention of fighting you!"

"Goon!" Zigzagoon growled out while giving Riolu a furious look, the jackal kept a straight face as he calmly stared back into Zigzagoon's eyes.

Zach let out a sigh before returning Zigzagoon to his ball, now wasn't really the time to deal with him as Sobble was their primary concern right now.

"That Sobble does seem familiar..." He commented as his eyes took in the Pokemon's appearance, it looked like any other Sobble but something was familiar about it.

"Rio!"

"No, it couldn't be. Any Sobble we know wouldn't be this close to home... would it?" Riolu nodded his head as he pointed at his heart before pointing at Sobble, indicating to his trainer that he read Sobble's aura.

"It is?"

"So some jerk abandoned Sobble?!" Ash growled out as he looked around once more.

"Not just that," Zach stated as Riolu showed him a number with his fingers. "He's been abandoned by several of them, he must have been taken back to the lab too many times and eventually saw itself as weak and unwanted."

"I-Is that true, Sobble?" Ash asked, Sobble didn't answer but it's cries became louder indicating that there had to be some truth to those words.

Ash frowned before reaching for an empty ball as he enlarged it and offered it to Sobble. "Sobble, I've had experience dealing with Pokemon in similar positions such as yours. Charizard, Infernape, Emboar... they've all grown into powerful Pokemon and are some of the ones I've got a close bond with!" Ash loved all of his Pokemon equally of course but the bond between him and those three along was incredible! "I'd very much like for the chance for us to get to know one another better and become close friends, what do you say?"

"Fu?" Kubfu tilted his head, watching Ash trying to befriend a wild Pokemon.

Sobble sniffed, his cries going quiet for a moment as he appeared to consider the offer only for him to turn invisible as he began running off if the cries were any indication

"Sobbb!" Sobble had been abandoned too much and didn't have room in his heart to go through it again.

"Sobble wait!" Ash quickly gave chase as Pikachu and Kubfu followed their trainer, heading off after Sobble's cries as they went towards a forest that was thick with fog and had an ominous vibe coming off it.

"Ash don't that's the-" Zach let out a sigh as he clenched his fists. That area was known as sacred ground and considered taboo for humans as they hadn't stepped foot in there for centuries, who knew what awaited inside!

Zach and Marnie looked at each other with reluctant expressions, neither wanted to be disrespectful but at the same time who knew what dangers Ash could be in as some very powerful Pokemon were said to live deep within!

"Maybe if we hurry we'll get lucky and he's not too far in," Zach was the first to speak as he returned Metapod and picked up Scorbunny so she wouldn't run off and get lost in the fog. Riolu nodded as he stood close to his trainer's side.

"Right, stick close to me. Grimmsnarl can hopefully handle anything we come across." The two walked into the forest after Ash. Zach stayed relatively close to Marnie as the fog began coming in but within a short bit the fog began a bit clear, allowing him to see properly and realize that Marnie and him had gotten split up.

"Marnie?! Oh rats, if it wasn't awkward I'd have asked to hold her hand so this wouldn't happen!" Zach muttered as he shifted his head to look in every direction before looking upwards to see if he could identify the way back as he didn't see Marnie anywhere. "Good thing I captured Corvisquire earlier, he can hel-"

A deep growl sounded from the woods causing Zach and Riolu to tense up, Scorbunny began shivering within her trainer's grasp as a pair of eyes appeared in the darkness ahead. Paw steps could be heard before a large dark blue and red wolf Pokemon came into view with a mane of fur resembling a shield! The Pokemon was quite big and looked to be extremely powerful, far too powerful for him to handle on his own but they didn't have a choice here if they ran... where would they go? Perhaps if he could weaken it just enough a Pokeball would be able to work it's magic, good thing he'd bought several of each Pokeball variant during his stay in Lumiose City an Ultra ball or Dusk ball would come in useful here!

"Riolu use Force Palm on it's leg!" Riolu charged forward without hesitation, his paw glowing brightly as he aimed to strike the wolf's paws only to go right through it, his eyes widened from surprise before he tripped and landed on his stomach.

"Rio..."

"I-Is that a Ghost type then?" Zach questioned. If that was the case Riolu literally couldn't touch the strange Pokemon. "Scorbunny use Flame Charge!"

"Scor?!" Scorbunny gasped as she looked up at her trainer with a fearful expression before taking a deep breath as she knew this was her chance to show him she didn't deserve to get stuffed away at some lab! The rabbit rushed forward as her body became covered in flames, she leaped out at the wolf Pokemon but much like Riolu she kept going and winded up crashing into bushes behind the wolf, accidentally lighting them ablaze!

"Ahhhh!" Zach panicked as he saw the fire, quickly releasing Corvisquire to go blow it out with his wings as the wolf Pokemon watched on while the raven began flapping his wings and sending dirt flying onto the bush, killing the flames. "D-Dusk ball...?" Zach grabbed one of his Dusk balls and threw it at the wolf Pokemon but much like the attacks it went right through him!

The wolf turned his gaze towards Zach once more and began looking into his eyes as Zach couldn't help but stare back. Scorbunny and Riolu raced back towards their trainer and helped up their hands in a protective stance, wanting to protect him while Corvisquire flew around the wolf's head and tried pecking at him in a fruitless attempt.

"Corvisquire, it's okay."

"Cor?" Corvisquire paused mid-peck as he turned to face his trainer.

"I think.. he wants to help. If he wanted us dead then he'd have done so, right?"

Riolu paused before nodding in agreement with his trainer while Scorbunny didn't look so sure but went along with it anyways.

"Is that right? Can you help us find the exit or our friends?" The wolf nodded before turning and walking, flicking his tail as an indication for them to follow.


"Sobble?" Ash called out as he walked through the forest. He hardly noticed the fog at first but as he got deeper in the fog began intensifying and making it hard to see, he could still hear Sobble crying though and eventually stumbled across a clearing in which Sobble had settled down on and continued letting out loud cries as the ground began covered in tears.

"Sobble," Ash knelt down and offered the Water type his hand again only for Sobble to look away while continuing to cry loudly as he hoped to drown out Ash, not wanting to give in and having his hopes crushed once again when he discovered that he was weak. "Sobble I know there's a strong Pokemon inside of you that's just itching to burst out and prove to the world your strength, if you join us we'll help you work through whatever troubles you and become best buddies, right Pikachu?"

"Pikapi!" Pikachu cried out, petting Sobble's head as he agreed with his trainer. Sobble went quiet for a moment, sniffling lightly as he looked up at Pikachu and found that the electric rodent's words proved sincere. The two seemed to share an incredible bond, one deeper than anything that Sobble had ever seen before! Sobble gazed back towards the ground in silence as he began thinking it over before suddenly leaping up as a wolf stepped out into the clearing behind Ash and Pikachu, Ash noticed Sobble's frightened gaze and quickly shot around to discover a large cyan and blue wolf Pokemon!

Ash held up his arms in a defensive manner as he stood in front of Sobble. "Sobble stay back, Pikachu and I will handle this! Thunderbolt, go!"

"Pika...chuuuu!" Pikachu's cheeks sparked brightly as the electric rodent fired off a blast of electricity, striking the ground where the wolf stood and leaving a massive scorch mark around it... but the wolf didn't get affected in the slightest!

Ash rubbed his eyes as he wondered if this was some trick of a Psychic or Ghost type but he had this odd feeling that it wasn't, this Pokemon felt real! The wolf stepped closer and Ash kept his ground, not breaking his defensive stance as Sobble looked up at him with a slight admirative look in his eye as he saw how brave Ash was. The lizard began realizing that maybe Ash's words truly were concrete and that he wouldn't be abandoned again, he had several other Pokemon and had some human friends as well!

The wolf edged closer to Ash before their faces were mere centimeters apart, the wolf gazed directly into Ash's eyes for a brief moment as he began sweating nervously but still refused to break his stance. The wolf eventually stepped away and nodded before pointing with his nose in a random direction and indicating for Ash to follow as he started trotting off. Ash stared after the wolf before looking down at Sobble and Pikachu.

"I think he wants to help us leave," Ash didn't realize it at first but finding their way out would be quite a pain due to all the thick fog along, it was good that the Pokemon came along... whatever it was. Ash, Pikachu, Kubfu and Sobble all followed the wolf Pokemon before coming to the exit where they noticed Zach was waiting along with another wolf Pokemon, the dark blue/red wolf walked towards the other one and nodded his head before the two would turn and run back into the forest, passing by Marnie as she exited the forest, raising her eyebrow as she noticed that Zach and Ash appeared to have been watching something.

"Oi you two, what's up?" Marnie snapped her fingers in front of their faces before looking back towards the forest. "You two look like you've seen a ghost or something."

"There was this giant wolf Pokemon, I tried battling it with Riolu only for it to fail so I tried Scorbunny after assuming that it was a Ghost type, still didn't work so I attempted to capture it-"

"And failed I presume?" Ash asked as he noticed that the wolf had been out on it's own. "Same here only I didn't try and catch it, I was concerned about Sobble."

"Wait a sec, what wolves?!" Marnie turned back to face the direction she came from. "Nothin' was there!"

"They walked right past you!" Zach pointed at where they'd disappeared to.

Marnie crossed her arms before shaking her head. "I think I'd have remembered two giant wolves running past me!"

Zach and Ash looked at one another, they knew they saw each other's wolves as did their Pokemon but Marnie couldn't see them for some reason? Just what was going on?

It appeared that the question would have to wait for another day though as Ash felt something crawling up his shirt before Sobble appeared atop his other shoulder standing opposite Pikachu as he nuzzled against Ash.

"Well something definitely made you two closer that's for sure." Marnie stated, still thinking her two friends had gone slightly crazy due to the fog. "I think Sobble wants to join you."

"Yeah, you two will definitely make a great pair!" Zach added on.

Ash turned his attention to Sobble before asking him the question for a third time. "Sobble, would you like to join my team? Together we'll fight in the World Championship and prove your strength to the world!"

Sobble nodded, the tears completely vanished as a smile had taken their place. Ash reached for an empty Pokeball and gently tapped Sobble on the head, the lizard disappearing in a beam of red light as the ball instantly chimed to announce the capture!

"Alright we just caught... a Sobble!"

"Pi Pikachu!"

"Kubfu!" Marnie sweated at the sight of Ash and his Pokemon celebrating before shaking her head with a light sigh, this would definitely take some getting used to.

And so Sobble has joined Ash's team like he should have in all honesty. While also getting his first Ghost type in Dreepy!

I always pictured either wolf being able to suit Ash's personality, there are good arguments for both so it ended up coming down to which one suited Zach to settle the matter. Zamazenta felt like the right choice due to his admiration for Galar and his dream of being it's protector and champion while Zacian felt like the better fit for Ash due to his admiration for battles and his dream of becoming the World Champion, that and he loves challenging powerful Pokemon and people alike and Zacian feels like she'd share that(She's a female according to the Pokedex so that's the case here too)

Grookey might be awhile but that's honestly cause I'm just not sure who to give it to.

So as it stands Ash has caught Kubfu, Scyther, Dreepy and Sobble so far. Along with Pignite evolving into Emboar

While Zach's team consists of Riolu, Scorbunny, Metapod, Galarian Zigzagoon and Corvisquire.

And Marnie has shown off Grimmsnarl, Morpeko, and Nickit.

While James got Cramorant and Jessie a Drednaw during their time away from Ash

All will get more Pokemon and evolutions as the story continues!