We have finally reached Jubilifie City!

We had parted ways with Nando after a night at the Pokemon Center and continued our journey. We spent the mornings on foot, the afternoons training, and the nights camping. While I did not catch any new pokemon, three had joined Ash's team. He had caught a Turtwig, a Croagunk, and an Onix. How an Onix had managed to make all the way from the mountains to the forest I do not know. But from what Ash had told me, it seems that the Onix was obsessed with fighting and had made his journey to find new opponents.

Ash being the Ace Ranger he is, had decided that it would be safer for him to catch him and find him a trainer, rather than leave him there. He would only affect the environment and might even hurt innocent bystanders or other pokemon, searching for a good fight.

It seems that the only pokemon he was keeping from those he caught was Turtwig, Croagunk was a gift for a friend of his- a previous gym leader, I believe.

The first thing we did as soon as we got to Jubilifie City was to book a room in the Pokemon Center. It was contest season and they always fill rapidly. Then Ash helped me out with my shopping spree, contest products, seals, Pokétch. We then returned to the Pokemon Center to leave the bags and take a shower. I had gone first and decided to go inscribe into the contest circuit while Ash took his time to make some calls.

"Hello, how may I help you?" Nurse Joy asked as I approached the counter.

"Hi! I would like to inscribe as a coordinator and also enter the Jubilifie City Contest." I answered, excitedly.

"Of course," Nurse Joy smiled back. "May I have a form of identification please?"

"Here," I handed her my Pokedex.

"These are your Ribbon Case and your Poke Ball Capsule, with a few seals," she said, placing the tray with the objects in front of me. "Here's your Pokedex and Coordinator ID," she passed them to me. "You are also already inscribed for this city's next contest."

"Thank you!" I thanked her, beaming with happiness as I accepted the objects. I was especially happy about the Pink Ribbon Case.

"You seem quite happy." Ash's voice commented, amusedly, from behind me.

I rapidly turned around to share my happiness with him but ended up frozen in shock. There he was, Ace Ranger Ash Ketchum, standing in the middle of the Pokemon Center's Lobby, wearing a black suit, red shirt, and black tie with a Pikachu pin on it. Not to mention the leather belt with his Poke Balls. He looked smooth! The suit hugged his body perfectly and the red shirt brought out his eyes and made them a shade redder. Honestly, he had girls and boys equally just staring at him like idiots.

"W-what-what's going on with the image change?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"I have a meeting with Jubilife City's Ranger Station," he answered. "I have to look the part," he shrugged.

I could tell he felt uncomfortable in that suit, so I decided to change the topic: "Did you finish your call back home?"

"Yes, I called mom, Professor Oak, and my friends Misty and Brock." He replied, his smile becoming less tense and more familiar. "I also asked for a couple of old friends and sent Croagunk to Brock. He was quite happy."

"I would only imagine," I replied, while Croagunk would never be my first pokemon of choice the simple idea of getting a new pokemon should bring a smile to anyone's face. I was also quite curious about the new pokemon Ash brought to the journey, who could they be?

"You would never guess who called me?" He continued, with a twinkle in his eyes. I simply shook my head, no idea who could have been. "Reggie, Paul's brother," my eyes widened at that. "It seems that Paul has decided to trade his Chimchar, but Reggie hasn't been so lucky finding a good trainer to take him. Or at least one that was willing to trade a pokemon acceptable by Paul's standers. So, he decided to see if I was up to trade one of my pokemon or if I knew of someone to trade with. We were both in luck," he laughed.

"You are trading Onix with Paul?!" I exclaimed, not believing my ears.

"Look, Onix's attitude is already an issue, plus the fact that he is powerful and could evolve at any minute, only needing a Metal Coat… I can't give him to any trainer, especially not a newbie," he began explaining. "Paul has powerful pokemon keep him in check and their mentalities are compatible. Onix wants to fight and get stronger more than anything, through any means necessary. He will be a good fit in Paul's team… I also don't want to send Onix to rehab simply because I could not find him a good trainer."

"Rehab?" I asked him, confused.

"Pokemon Rehabilitation," he answered with a grim look, nuzzling Pikachu who had jumped on his shoulder. "It is when pokemon who had suffered at the hands of humans for various reasons like poaching, abuse, or abandonment, are treated so they can start trusting humans again. Otherwise, they'll remain untrusting and sometimes even react violently to the presence of humans. There are cases that pokemon did not suffer from humans and are simply too violent to be left in the wild, attacking humans for no reason. In those cases, these pokemon are also sent to rehabilitation centers. But this is not the case for Onix, he simply needs someone to keep an eye on him. Going to one of them will be like tearing a part of who he is away."

"That's awful" I gasped, horrified.

"Yeah, which is why I am so happy that I could reach a deal with Reggie," he continued. "Not to mention, I got a Chimchar out of it."

"You only just started your journey in Sinnoh, and you already have two out of the three Regional Starters," I commented, surprised by the fact. After all, Regional Starters are one of the most difficult Pokemon to catch in the wild.

"It isn't really that much of a surprise for us," Ash chuckled, while Pikachu was snickering. "I have now ten Regional Starters."

"Shut up!" I gasped. "I do not believe you."

"Nurse Joy, can you check out my Trainer's Page and tell her if I am lying or not?" He requested, giving his Pokedex to the nurse who blushed and stuttered a yes.

"Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town, has a Bulbasaur, a Charizard, a Squirtle, a Meganium, a Quilava, a Croconaw, a Sceptile, a Froakie, a Turtwig, and a Chimchar. A total of nine Regional Starters," Nurse Joy read out slowly as if she could not believe what she was reading.

"I cannot believe you sometimes," I sighed ."What else?" I asked, jokingly. I was chuckling but stopped once he smiled apologetically. "Really? Come on!" He can't be real.

"More than me, it's Aipom." He replied. "She has decided to become a full-time contest pokemon. You know that's not something I do… and I was hoping you could take good care of her for me."

I looked at him stunned. I could not believe what he was asking me to do. From the small time I have known Ash, I realized how important is his pokemon to him. The trust he was putting in me was… humbling to say the least.

"I can't take her, just like that." I finally answered. "She is part of your family."

"She is also an unhappy pokemon," he replied with a sad smile. "I love her, and she will always be part of my family… but sometimes trainers need to be strong and do right for their pokemon. Mine does not want to fight; she wants to perform. I want her to fulfill her dream. Can you help me?" He asked once more, my heart was beating like crazy. "If anything you can see this as a delayed trade. You can repay me whenever you catch a pokemon that prefers fighting over contests. What do you say?"

"Then I would be honored" I sighed, smiling at him.

I then gave Nurse Joy my Pokedex again while Ash gave her Aipom's Poke Ball. The whole process took less than ten minutes and I was the proud trainer of a fourth pokemon. Who could have believed that I started my journey less than a week ago?

After we got our belongings back from Nurse Joy, we moved towards the training area of the Pokemon Center.

"Will you be ok on your own?" Ash asked me, concerned.

"Relax, I'll be fine," I assured him. "I am not on my own, by the way. I have four friends with me." I tapped on my Poke Balls, making him smile. "Go! You don't want to be late for your meeting."

He smiled, calling out Jolteon, before jogging away. I smiled at his back and tried to get rid of the feeling that something was about to go totally wrong. I then brought out all of my pokemon.

"Ok guys, first of all, let's welcome Aipom to the team," I said, smiling at how my pokemon celebrated. "Second, we've officially entered the Jubilifie City Contest," more cheering from my pokemon. "So, we'll need to train hard and decide who will be competing this time around", they finally stopped talking and began looking at me seriously. "We'll start with reading your progress," I continued taking out my Pokedex.

Pokemon: Piplup.

Gender: Male.

Ability: Torrent.

Type: Water.

Move set: Bubble Beam, Peck, Headbutt, Bide.

Egg moves: Icy Wind.

NOTE: The egg move has yet to have been unlocked.

Pokemon: Buneary.

Gender: Female.

Ability: Limber.

Type: Normal.

Move set: Bounce, Ice Beam, Dizzy Punch, Tackle.

Egg moves: Sweet Kiss.

NOTE: The egg move has yet to have been unlocked.

Pokemon: Oddish.

Gender: Female.

Ability: Chlorophyll.

Type: Grass/Poison.

Move set: Sweet Scent, Stun Spore, Mega Drain, Sleep Powder, Poison Powder.

Egg moves: Nature Power.

NOTE: The egg move has yet to have been unlocked.

Pokemon: Pachirisu.

Gender: Male.

Ability: Pickup.

Type: Electric.

Move set: Sweet Kiss, Discharge, Super Fang, Spark.

Egg moves: Iron Tail.

NOTE: The egg move has yet to have been unlocked.

Pokemon: Aipom.

Gender: Female.

Ability: Skill Link.

Type: Normal.

Move set: Scratch, Swift, Fury Swipes, Agility, Focus Punch, Double Team, Double Hit.

Egg moves: Bounce.

NOTE: The egg move has yet to have been unlocked.

As expected Aipom is the most advanced. No surprise there, as she was trained by Ash before. Using her for the battle round is very tempting… but as Ash taught me, I need to think of various variables before making a decision. Aipom has not been my pokemon for an hour yet and both of us getting gin syntony will be hard. Not to mention she has been trained to gym battles until now, she will need to get used to contests first. Oddish has a varied move pool but all effect moves. That leaves Piplup and Buneary. Buneary has been in the wild for a while before catching her and must have had her fair share of battles. Not to mention Normal types as Ash has told me are the most flexible types out there…

"Ok!" I clapped my hands together. "Piplup, you'll be in charge of the appeal round and Buneary you will be on the fighting round. Got it?" They replied with exuberance. "Then, let's train!"