The gang was heading over to their next destination, when they saw a structure they have never heard of before. It was popular around the Unova region. It was known as the Battle Club. In the Battle Club, trainers can look up other trainers and see how far they have progressed throughout their journeys. Trainers could also challenge nearby trainers to a match at will. Ash was excited about this and wanted to sign up as soon as he could.

A man who goes by the name Don Gorge appeared and was astounded by seeing a Pikachu in the region. Ash explained that he is coming from Pallet Town from the Kanto region. Don Gorge was amazed that such a young traveler would go across various regions to train and was more than happy to assist the trainer. Shortly after getting signed up, an alarm was blaring. Several staff members could be seen rushing out and told Don Gorge it was the same thing as before.

Everyone rushed outside to see what was going on. Before anyone could even blink, a silhouette was seen and then disappeared. Tracey asked what was going on and a staff member informed them that an unknown Pokémon was stealing their food supply. Ash pondered as to why a Pokémon would do such a thing. Iris on the other hand could not tolerate such a thief. The gang promised to help find the culprit of the stolen food.

The team headed over to the food storage area to look around. Tracey noticed that the security footage was pointing right at them. He thought that maybe they could bait out the Pokémon and have Smeargle be on standby to draw the Pokémon in the act. They brought out some food for the Pokémon to at least try to lure it out of hiding. Smeargle stayed behind and hid by the entrance, which was also the only exit too.

A shadow figure could be seen. It had appeared to be skinny and was moving awfully slow. It entered the storage unit and saw the food and ran over there gleefully. Smeargle tried its best to draw the Pokémon. However it was easily spotted and was shot with a fire attack. The Pokémon ran away in fear and could not be caught. It was then chased by Don Gorge and his crew.

The gang went over to check on Smeargle. It only had a burnt looked expression, but no serious damage. Iris was having an outburst on how the Pokémon was trying to hurt anything in its way to get what it wants. She did not taking stealing very well it seems like. Ash only suggested that it could have only been startled and that is why it fled. The two of them could not see eye to eye on the situation. Tracey was more interested on how Smeargle was.

Tracey asked Smeargle if he could draw what he saw. Smeargle tried its best to illustrate what had happened. The picture that was shown to the group looked like it could have been an Umbreon. They knew that could not be the case because Umbreon could not use any fire type attacks. As well as it is not known in this region. Iris headed off somewhere else to capture the Pokémon, because she thought that she could teach it some manners. Ash on the other hand wanted to see why the Pokémon was acting the way it was.

After Tracey headed back to the Battle Club to heal up Smeargle, Ash was just walking around the vicinity. A noise could be heard from the shrubs and Pikachu stared at the moving bush. Ash looked over as well to see what was going on. A Pokémon could be seen that Ash seen before back at the professor's lab. This one looked different than that one and Ash realized what was happening after taking a closer look at the Pokémon.

The Pokémon ran away again and Ash followed it. The Pokémon ran into Iris who only slowed it down slightly. Ash still gave pursuit to the Pokémon. It had trapped itself into a corner and could not escape this time. Tracey and Iris caught up to Ash by this point. Along with Don Gorge, who then remembered who the Pokémon was that was stealing the food. Ash now had the Pokémon in his lap, while Iris was asking what was going on.

"This Pokémon is a Tepig, and it had a rope around its nose." Ash started. "Poor little guy probably couldn't eat anything. That is why it was stealing food."

"I remember this Tepig. It belonged to a trainer that said it didn't want a weak Pokémon. So he left it here. I tried to get it off its leash but it ran after his trainer and I haven't seen it since." Don Gorge said.

"How could someone leave a Pokémon like that?" Tracey furiously asked.

"So it was trying to eat because it was starving? That doesn't make any sense." Iris stated, causing Ash to pull up his pokedex.

"Tepig, the fire pig Pokémon. The snout on this Pokémon determines how fast it can eat. If the snout is blocked, it will have a hard time digesting food." The pokedex stated.

After everyone realized what had happened, Don Gorge was going to let the Pokémon stay at the facility as long as it wanted. In addition to as much food as it could eat as well. The gang was about to head out, leaving Tepig to feel down about them leaving. Don Gorge looked at Tepig and told it that if it wants to go with them, then it should go. Tepig dashed over to the group and ran across Ash's leg.

"Do you want to come with us Tepig?" Ash asked, to which Tepig nodded.

"Great, I'm going to catch it and train it myself." Iris declared. Tepig responded with an Ember attack and walked over to Ash.

"I think Tepig chose his own trainer Iris, sorry." Tracey stated. "Besides, ash was proving Tepig's innocence all along. I think those two were meant for each other."

"It's just not fair he is catching all the Pokémon." Iris whined.

"Your time will come Iris, I'm sure of it." Ash added.

"Come on guys, we are trying to reach the next city and I am hungry." Tracey said

"Alright, we're coming." Both Ash and Iris said.

When they got to Striaton City, Ash had received a message from Professor Oak back at home. Ash was wondering what the professor had to say. Tracey and Iris were over at a table to take a rest for a little while. Iris asked Tracey who Professor Oak was. That question shocked Tracey, not to mention hurt his pride about his idle. They were going to be there for a long time.

Ash had received word from Professor Oak about a situation back at the lab. His Gible had been trying to look for his trainer since the professor had returned. The other Pokémon had tried to calm it down, however it only went on rampages when they did so. The professor thought it would be a good idea for Ash to bring Gible along too.

Ash agreed and transferred an empty pokéball for a full one. Ash then walked over back to Tracey and Iris, which Iris was looking like she wanted to run away from what she was listening to. Tracey asked what was wrong and so forth. Ash told Tracey that it was Gible and how it wanted to come along for the journey. Iris was astounded that Ash had a dragon type of his own. She even tried to ask him if she could train it for him.

Ash refused the thought. He told Iris that Gible is a member of the family and he would never just hand it away. Iris had never seen this side of the trainer. He really loved all of his Pokémon and would never give such a thought the opportunity. Iris apologized and everyone seemed to be fine after that. Ash introduced Gible to the rest of the team.

Tepig seemed happy to meet another Pokémon and greeted the land shark himself. Pidove raised a wing as if to wave a hello gesture or a solute. Oshawott on the other hand tried to be polite as best as he could. He did not like the idea of someone else taking the spotlight away from him. The other Pokémon were paying more attention to Gible than Oshawott, which did not please the sea otter one bit.

Oshawott sprayed a Water Gun attack towards Gible. The dragon dodged the attack; however the move landed on Ash head on, literally. Ash raised his voice at the Pokémon as to why it would attack all of a sudden. Tracey suggested that maybe Oshawott was jealous of the attention Gible was getting. When Ash asked the Pokémon the same question, the otter nodded his head in agreement. Ash then promised Oshawott so special training.

Everyone was now standing outside to watch the training unfold. Ash thought that since Oshawott was having problems with Gible around, Gible would be the perfect motivation for training. Oshawott seemed more pumped than it did before. Now it was determined to defeat the favorite amongst the others. That way, he would be the new favorite around the group.

The battle started as any other, Water Gun against Rock Smash. Oshawott was more ecstatic to beat his opponent more and more. Other moves had the same effect, tiring the other one out. Gible then went for his signature move, Draco Meteor. The move landed on the Pokémon and almost knocked him out too. Ash thought the training was done, however Oshawott slowly got up and was not ready to surrender. The sea otter's eyes started to glow blue.

Tracey and Iris took this as Torrent, the ability to raise water type attack when the Pokémon is about to lose. Ash stated that this did not look like and Torrent he has ever seen before. Oshawott started to move at a faster pace, while raising his scalchop in the air. Razor Shell was the move selected at the moment. The move did make its target, but Gible did not go down. The land shark went for Dig and dug his way underground. Oshawott followed, but fell for the trap. Gible used Dragon Pulse and made sure the opposing Pokémon could not avoid the attack. Oshawott was no longer able to continue the fight.

All the others started to run over to the Pokémon. Gible was waiting for his appraisal and Oshawott was dreading to hear how much better Gible was. It was on the contrary however. The other Pokémon were excited to see that Oshawott did not give up and found a new form of strength. Oshawott was getting teary eyed and looked over to Gible. Gible was happy to see his opponent get recognition for his strength. The two of them now had a respected rivalry between the two.

"Hey Ash, how about we eat something real quick?" Tracey asked.

"Sounds good Trace. I'll set up the table." Ash responded.

"Well I'm going to get us some fruit then." Iris mentioned.

"Ok, see you when you get back." Ash said.

"Hey Ash. How come you don't get annoyed by Iris? Don't you find her just a little bit bothersome?" Tracey asked while Iris was away. "I mean she is always trying to put us down with everything we know, especially you. And then with trying to have Gible."

"Listen Tracey, I know what you are getting at, but Iris can't be that bad. She is just trying to accomplish her dreams like us. Besides, she knows this region more than we do, so let her tag along. If she decides to leave then there is no hard feelings." Ash commented.

Iris came back with some fruit and the gang was enjoying a lunch full of sandwiches and apples. While the gang was enjoying their lunch, a sudden storm had approached. It was down pouring hard and fast. There was no report of such weather to happen. They hurried up and packed all of their belongings to try and run away. When they were about to leave the park, a purple flash had appeared. The entire gang had then passed out.

When Ash awoke, he was facing against an unknown champion who sent out a enormous beast. Ash chose Pikachu and started to have a battle for the title. Pikachu managed to win and cheers could be heard around the stadium. Ahs was not only happy that he won, but that he also had adoring fans to boost.

Iris woke up and found that her Axew was now a Haxorus. The two of them were so happy. A white dragon soared through the air and Iris was now confident in her strength. She managed to beat the dragon and also catch it in a pokéball. Iris was really happy that her hard work and determination were finally paying off.

Once Tracey realized he was imagining that he was a famous painter for his drawings, he snapped out of the confusion. He looked around and saw a blue figure floating in front of him. He ran over to try and wake up the others. The creature tried to stop him by using the same move as before. This time Tracey saw himself as a astounding researcher who has uncovered a new species of Pokémon. Once again he knew that I was not real and snapped out of his confusion.

Tracey sent out Smeargle to Sketch the same move the other was using. Now the mysterious Pokémon was in its own visions. Tracey went over and woke up Ash and Iris. The three of them looked over at the Pokémon. Ash pulled out his pokedex to find out it was a Frillish. Tracey noticed it had must of used Confuse Ray, and even suggested that it went for Rain Dance too. Ash went to battle it, but the jellyfish Pokémon wanted to battle Tracey. Mainly because Tracey proved to more of a challenge to subdue and Tracey regrettably agreed to the battle.

Tracey had already used his move Sketch on Confuse Ray. So Tracey could not come up with a good strategy on the spot. Frillish had gone for Bubble Beam and the move landed. Before Smeargle could get up, Frillish went for another Bubble Beam. This time Tracey blocked the attack and his sketchpad fell out. Frillish went over to check the foreign object and was amazed at the artwork. Frillish had called of the battle and wanted to be drawn upon.

Tracey sketched as best he could and the Pokémon liked his portrait. The Pokémon apologized for the trouble and the gang was on their way back to the Pokémon Center. Tracey looked back at a now sadden Pokémon and went back over to it. He had made an offer for the Pokémon to come along with them. Frillish looked delighted and took the offer of his new friend. Now Tracey has caught a new friend of his own.

Ash was heading towards the Striaton Gym. He was confused because there was no straight directory to follow. The young trainer ran across a man with green hair. Ash asked if he knew where the gym was located. The man politely guided him to the location. No wonder Ash did not recognize the gym, it appeared to be a restaurant and it seemed to be packed.

Tracey and Iris were only minutes behind Ash and they looked at the trainer as if he was looking for food instead of the gym, again. Ash explained to the group that he asked for directions to the gym and the green haired man lead him here instead. The duo did not fully believe Ash, but knew he would not pass up a gym challenge. The man with green hair explained what was going on.

"Greetings everyone. My name is Cilan and I am one of the gym leaders here at the Striaton Gym. Here in the Unova region, gyms also have a secondary purpose to enrich the lives of travelers. Our gym serves as a restaurant being that my brothers and I love to cook." Cilan explained.

"That's different to the gyms I've seen." Tracey remarked.

"Gym battles are normally weird, aren't they?" Iris asked.

"Not at all, I am learning so much just from being here. What are the rules to the gym? My name is Ash and I come from the Kanto region." Ash added.

"Here, you get to choose which gym leader you would like to face. The battle then will be a one on one." Cilan answered.

"Ok then… What if I want to face all three of you?" Ash asked.

Cilan was astounded at the young man's request. No one has ever thought of such a rule. Cilan's brothers, Cress and Chili, were asked to come from the back and enter the room. The three of them had implemented a new rule. A challenger may face all three in a best two out of three match.

Ash has now entered the battle arena. Tracey and Iris were on the balcony with the other customers to watch the battle. Ash first had to battle Chili and his Pansear. Ash sent out his Gible for the first round. This was going to be Gible's first gym battle ever so he wanted to start the battle with his dragon type first. The battle only seemed to last for a minute or two.

Gible used Dig to his advantage. Not only did he use to dodge the incoming Flamethrowers, they were also used for launching other attacks towards the opponent. Pansear did not have a chance to beat the land shark, thus earning Ash one victory towards getting the gym badge. His next opponent was Cress and his Panpour.

Ash decided to go with Pikachu for the type advantage. Panpour was able to hold his own against the electric type. The water monkey even knew the move Dig as well. Pikachu was unable to keep up with the Pokémon's acrobatic ability and dodged every attack. Panpour was able to land a powerful Scald and even burned the opponent in the process. Pikachu was to weak to try and attack, so Panpour went in for the final strike and won the battle. Ash needed to win this battle in order to claim his first gym badge of the Unova league.

Cilan sent out his partner, Pansage. Ash had to take some time to think about who he was going to send out. Oshawott then released himself from his pokéball. Ash saw the determination in his eyes and went with his instincts. Iris rebutted, saying that Tepig or Pidove would have been a better choice. Ash remarked with how he lets his Pokémon decide if they want to fight and that their strategy has never let them down.

"While I admire your determination Ash, going based on what a Pokémon wants is not always to best plan of attack. Type advantages are always the best form of planning in my book." Cilan commented.

"And working with my Pokémon is how we grow stronger together. You can always turn the tables of a battle despite typing. Just like Pikachu and Panpour. In your book, I should have won, but Panpour was able to out move Pikachu and won instead. I believe me and Oshawott can do the same." Ash ranted.

"As you wish. The final match up will be Pansage and Oshawott." Cilan stated.

The battle seemed to be more in favor of Cilan. His Pansage used a verity of grass type attacks. From Vine Whip and Bullet Seed, to using Solar Beam. Oshawott was giving his all. Unfortunately, Oshawott lost the use of his scalchop and could not use it to block attacks anymore. Or even use his Razor Shell attack for that matter.

Cilan started a speech on how he was right. The battle field had been completely destroyed from all the usages of Did. Piles of dirt covered the field, so getting the scalchop back was nearly impossible. When Cilan ended his monolog, Ash stated that he never gives up and told Oshawott to aim at the ground with water gun. Oshawott was confused, but trusted his trainer and did what was asked. Oshawott was then seen flying in the air.

Cilan went for a Bullet Seed attack to finish the battle quickly. With Oshawott aiming downwards, his Water Gun had more force than Bullet Seed. Oshawott landed near his scalchop and went for the finishing Razor Shell. The attack left a critical impression and Pansage fell to the floor, leaving it unable to battle.

Ash had received his first victory in the Unova region. Tracey gave ash a pleasing thumbs up, while Iris was not as impressed. She figured that what he was doing was a waste since he only needed to defeat one gym leader. Ash brushed it off and was happy that his Pokémon won the battle. The gang headed over to the Pokémon Center to heal, and when they were leaving: Cilan greeted them at the entrance. He was asking Ash if he had some spare time and wanted to ask several questions about their match. Ash agreed to the interview, wanting to know why Cilan was so interested..

Ash and Cilan were now sitting at a table in the Pokémon Center. Cilan took out his notepad and rambled off several questions before Ash could answer any of them. Cilan was curious how Ash could have used Oshawott the way he did. It really was an underwhelming victory Cilan never thought possible. Cilan wanted to know where Ash came up with such an unpredictable strategy. Ash then pondered on why Cilan was really interested in how he won. Cilan then stated that he was a Pokémon Connoisseur.

Ash was perturbed of the term. Iris just simply laughed that the so called skilled trainer did not even know what the profession was. Cilan explained that his kind of profession is not known outside the Unova region, so it would make sense that Ash has never heard of such a line of work. Nurse Joy then came out with all of their Pokémon after being healed up. As the main three were leaving, Cilan asked if he could tag along for a little bit more.

Ash did not mind the company, while Tracey seemed a little on edge of the whole idea. Tracey knew he was not like Iris, but still thought that he would act just a little bit like her. Which he would not have found enjoyable in the slightest. Tracey held in his thoughts and mustered through the idea of another companion. At they were leaving, a scream was heard from a distance. The gang now headed over to a place known as the Dream Yard.

Several days ago, Team Rocket was given instructions on retrieving Dream Mist from a Pokémon known as Musharna. They asked for the use of their own Pokémon in the quest, but the boss denied the idea. To remain hidden, they need to use the local Pokémon. Later in that day, James encountered a new Pokémon. It was known as Yamask, a ghost type Pokémon. They learned that Musharna was a psychic type, and thought the new Pokémon would be of great assistance.

Team Rocket then went onward to the Dream Yard and tried to find a Musharna in the abandoned warehouse area. The Pokémon they were looking for had then appeared in front of them. Now with their newly acquired Pokémon, they used its move set to their advantage. With Mean Look and Will-O-Wisp, Musharna was not only able to flee the battle: but also was running an extremely high fever. It cried out for help, thus the group of heroes had arrived.

"What are those people doing to that Pokémon?" Cilan asked in horror.

"They are Team Rocket, they're a group of bad guys who try and steal other peoples Pokémon." Tracey explained.

"They're the worst!" Iris shouted.

"Go Gible and use Dragon Pulse on Team Rocket!" Ash screamed.

A battle had soon erupted and the heroes were sure they were going to win. Musharna cried out again in pain. This time a psychic aura spread throughout the area. James ordered Yamask to use Disable, but with the area intensified: Disable became more powerful and made Gible unable to use any of its moves ever again. It appeared as if Gible knew no attacks what so ever. Gible tried to use any of his other attacks, but none were successful. He eventually Struggled to the point where he thrashed about.

While Gible tossed himself around in frustration, he actually broke free Musharna from her cage and she teleported out of there. Team Rocket had decided to call off the mission seeing that there was no point in continuing the battle. The gang headed back to the Pokémon Center, trying to see if Gible is ok. Nurse Joy explained that since Disable was increased in power, there was no way to reverse the effect. Ash and Gible looked horrified, while the others just had basic expressions of feeling upset.

Ash assembled all the courage he could gather and put on a brave face before talking to Gible. Ash convinced his dragon friend that they just have to work together to relearn their moves. Ash even had the idea that they could learn even better moves together. Gible saw his trainer trying to cheer him up and shared the same gratitude. Cilan was then seen talking to his two brothers about leaving the gym for a period of time.

His brothers understood his motives and wished him the best on his journeys. The gang was now heading towards Nacrene City for Ash's next gym badge. Tracey interjected and said he wanted to see the museum first before Sash had his gym battle. Ash had no objections to the claim. The four of them were now heading out of the city. Until they were stopped by a mysterious group of people dressed in a peculiar way.