As the egg hatched, everyone was excited to see what would appear before their eyes. Ash's pokedex revealed the Pokémon was none other than a Cubchoo. Iris got scared and jumped back several feet shivering. When Tracey asked what was wrong, Iris informed the group that she cannot stand ice types. Tracey looked confused at this statement. Iris then added that dragon types hate ice types too. Tracey countered her argument that dragon types then hate other dragon types too.

Iris just huffed being that the others just did not understand. Ash heaved no mind and welcomed the Pokémon to the world. Cubchoo just looked bewildered not seeing others of its own kind around. Cilan chimed in that Cubchoo's travel in packs and wants to know where its pack is. Nurse Joy then evaluated the creature to see if it is healthy. The results were that Cubchoo was fine, and the Pokémon took a liking to Nurse Joy.

"It seems that Cubchoo really likes it when others give it attention!" Cilan noted.

"Well of course it would. It is still a baby after all." Iris explained.

"Just like Axew right?" Tracey snorted.

"Hey! At least Axew is cute and adorable. Cubchoo looks like it has a cold and would get others sick." Iris retaliated.

"Actually the mucus you see there is to see how healthy a Cubchoo is. And by the looks of it, Cubchoo is really healthy." Cilan stated, as Cubchoo ran over to hug Cilan for the compliment.

"Well if you ask me, Cubchoo is just going to be in the way. Sure it looks healthy now; but what if something bad happens? Who would be there then? I'd say leave he guy behind where Nurse Joy could take care of it." Iris suggested, and made Cubchoo upset to run off.

Everyone chased after the runaway Pokémon. Cubchoo lost the people pursuing it and just wandered into the street. People were busy with their everyday lives that they did not notice the wandering Pokémon at all. Ash recommended that they split up in hopes of covering more ground. They all went in separate directions in hopes of finding the Pokémon.

Cubchoo just walked around aimlessly. No one was paying it any attention and started to feel saddened. It then spotted a young boy who seemed lost. The boy was in tears and Cubchoo wanted to help. The boy did not know where to go and was too scared to move. Cubchoo approached the boy and tried to help. Cubchoo held out its paw and the boy grabbed it with a smile.

The two of them became fast friends. The boy's mother ran over to rescue her son. She thought the Pokémon was trying to harm him. Cubchoo frantically tried to deny the claim, along with the boy. She took a deep breath and just walked away from the Pokémon. Cubchoo started to follow, until the mother warned the Pokémon to stay away. The boy asked if it could stay with them, to which Cubchoo looked pleased. Until the mother said no and ran away as fast as she could.

Cubchoo was sad that it was alone again, and started to walk away unhappy. The more the Pokémon saw people the more it felt ignored. From there, it just wondered across the city with no sense of direction. It then spotted a familiar face, Cilan. Cubchoo remembered all the nice things it said before and ran with glee. When Cilan turned and saw the Pokémon, a rushed crowd prevented the two from getting to each other and the two vanished from the other.

Cubchoo then saw Tracey. Tracey never said anything nice before. However the same was true about the opposite side as well. Cubchoo walked over to see the trainer happy that they found each other. Cubchoo sat on Tracey's shoulder for the walk back. The problem was that a flock of Tranquil's had arrived and Tracey took the opportunity to sketch the flock. This only upset Cubchoo for it had not received any attention like that from the trainer and Cubchoo walked away.

The gang met back at the center with bad news. Cilan mentioned how a large crowd prevented the two from reuniting and Tracey admitted that he got distracted and did not pay attention to Cubchoo. Iris and Ash have yet to encounter the Pokémon and were scared if they could never find it again. Iris started to walk in a random direction when she fell into the sewer line. Iris and Axew landed on what seemed to be a large rock. The large rock turned out to be an enraged Boldore.

Ash walked in random directions as well. He stumbled upon a familiar face. It was the old man who helped him out in the sewers back when the Venipede's attacked. Ash walked over to thank the man, but the man just pointed in a direction for Ash to go in. so Ash ran in that direction without noticing the man had vanished.

Cubchoo found the entrance to the sewer's and saw Boldore about to attack Iris and Axew. Cubchoo ran in to block the attack as best as he could. Boldore was still angered and went for Rock Blast. Cubchoo used Powder Snow to weaken the attack. The move still landed its mark and Cubchoo took a lot of damage. Not wanting to give up and protect the others, Cubchoo used another Powder Snow. This time Boldore used Rock Smash and pounded the icy cub Pokémon. Iris and Axew watched in horror as Boldore did not let up any time soon.

Ash had appeared and saw what was happening. Pikachu went in for an Iron Tail to send the Pokémon back. Axew noticed how Cubchoo never gave up the battle and went in with its own attack. Axew drew energy and launched Dragon Rage towards Boldore. Everyone was impressed with the move, even Axew. Boldore got up and went for another attack. Axew just went for a newly learned move instead.

Axew's body glowed a purplish color, it was the move known as Dragon Dance. Now Axew was faster and stronger than before. Ash pointed out that the only move it would affect would be Scratch. They did not know what they could do. Ash looked at his pokedex and saw that Cubchoo had another move they could use. Ash asked Cubchoo to use Yawn. The move landed and Boldore was starting to feel drowsy. Axew used its new speed to wear out the Pokémon and make it fall asleep faster. Once Boldore was asleep, Axew carried the Pokémon a far distance so the others could escape.

Once they had arrived back to the surface, they were greeted by Tracey and Cilan. They went back to the Pokémon Center to heal everyone up. Cubchoo seemed thrilled to see Nurse Joy again. It was unfortunate that she did not give a similar compliment. Ash went over and thanked it for the help it did and said that it is a brave battler. Cubchoo hugged Ash and wanted to travel along with him. Ash then proceeded to catch the Pokémon officially and the two of them were now on the same team. All that was left for the moment was for Ash to challenge the Castelia City Gym.

The gang arrived in front of the gym. Ash was greeted by Burg from who they met before. Burg stated that their upcoming battle would be a three versus three match. An additional rule was in place as well. Only Ash would be allowed to substitute in between battles, and the winner would be decided when one side no longer has any available Pokémon. Burg sent out his Pokémon first as per Gym Leader protocol. His choice was a Dwebble as Ash went with his Tepig.

"Hey Burg! Mind if I have a Pokémon standby and watch?!" Ash yelled out.

"I don't see why not. What makes you want to do this?" Burg remarked.

"You see; I just caught a new Pokémon that was just hatched. And I want it to see what battles are like."

"You mean the same egg that you had when you arrived? I am dying to see what became of such a thing. By all means, send it out!" Burg was excited.

"Alright then. Come on out: Cubchoo!" Ash summoned.

"Awe! It is so cute. And by looking at the runny nose it has, I'd say it is quite a strong fella too!" Burg complimented, as Cubchoo ran over to give a hug.

"Yeah, Cubchoo likes to hug when praised, sorry about that." Ash shrugged.

"No worries. Shall we continue?" Burg suggested.

Ash went straight for the offensive. Tepig had gone for Ember while Dwebble dodged with immense speed. Burg explained that Dwebble's shell is made from a very light material and thus is more agile than the average of its species. Ash knew he had to try and match the speed of the Pokémon and went for Flame Charge instead. Tepig learned the new move as the two of them were training a couple of days ago and thought this would give them an advantage.

As Tepig used the move, his speed also increased. Now he was just as fast, if not faster than his opponent. Tepig was able to dodge the oncoming Rock Slide's that headed his way. As well as land several Ember attacks. In just a short amount of time, Tepig was declared the winner. Cubchoo watched in excitement as his new family member had won the battle.

Burg sent out his next Pokémon, Whirlipede. Ash was stunned as he did not know Burg had a Pokémon similar to what they encountered before. He did not let this distract him for too long, as he went for another Flame Charge. However, Whirlipede was commanded to use Protect at the last second. Followed by a direct Poison Tail that landed its added effect. Tepig started coughing as if it was sick. Ash knew that Tepig would not do well when poisoned so Ash had called it a defeat. In his place, Gible was sent out.

Burg was astounded that Ash had another non native Pokémon on his team. Burg has mentioned that he does research on foreign Pokémon in certain predicaments like this. However, Burg also mentioned that he has yet to complete the Gible line of research and was fascinated to learn firsthand what the Pokémon was capable of. Gible started off with his signature Dig as Burg just waited to see what was going to happen.

As Gible started to rise from the ground, Whirlipede had gone for Steamroller. Gible was about to go for Dragon Rage, but was somehow unable to even move after the attack. Whirlipede then went for another Poison Tail and landed on its target. Gible was still ready for combat and had made a successful Dragon rage land. The two of them were tiring the other one out. Whirlipede was going for a final Steamroller, while Gible aimed for a finishing Dragon Rage. The two moves collided, although neither side was able to continue the battle.

Burg sent out his final Pokémon that was also his ace. Leavanny did not seem to be the pushover type for this battle. Ash thought about who he should send in next. Pidove would be a smart choice for type advantage, but Leavanny looked too strong for Pidove to handle right now. That only left Oshawott and Pikachu. Pikachu stepped forward and was ready for battle.

Tracey expected as much from his friend. Cilan even complimented that this would not have been an Ash style battle without Pikachu. Iris was still certain that Pidove would have a better chance. Burg mentioned that he would have preferred Pikachu anyway being from a distant region. The two of them started off with a barrage of attacks.

Pikachu was blocking as many Razor Leaf's as he could. Burg noticed that Pikachu was using speed to his advantage. So burg ordered a String Shot to tie Pikachu's tail to his body. Pikachu could barely move after that. Leavanny then went for Leaf Storm to damage Pikachu while it was ensnared. Ash then had come up with a plan that could possibly work.

Burg ordered a Leaf Blade due to Leavanny's special offense being lowered. Ash took this chance and had Pikachu spin in the dodging spiral they have used back in Sinnoh. This maneuver cut through the webs that trapped Pikachu and now the electric mouse was now free a bout. Both sides only had so much left in them. Burg went for Leaf Blade as Ash went for a Volt Tackle. A pile of dust came from the collision and no one knew what the result was yet. As the dust cleared up, Pikachu was seen barely standing. Leavanny was standing straight up to everyone's surprise. Until they saw Leavanny had the infamous eyes of defeat, making Ash the victor.

Burg congratulated Ash on his marvelous victory by handing him the Insect Badge. Ash gracefully accepted and thanked his team for all of their hard work. Burg noticed that Tracey had a sketch pad and wondered if he was going into the local art museum in the city. Tracey said he was interested in what they had in their exhibit but wondered why Burg was suddenly interested too. Burg then stated that the museum is holding a special contest for travelers.

The museum would gather as many artists that wanted to participate to have their work put on display. The artists would be challenged to draw what they were shown to the best of their abilities. Tracey was now psyched for going to the museum as soon as possible. Burg also mentioned that he would be taking part in the competition too, just to see what other artists were like.

The gang was now at the Pokémon Center to check up on their respective teams. Cilan was curious as to why Tracey decided to become a Pokémon Watcher in the first place. Cilan never heard of such profession and wanted to know why he would want to become one. Tracey responded that he wants to see all kinds of Pokémon that were out there in the world. He even added that he was not as serious as training as Ash, or even Iris for that matter. Although the concept of meeting all kinds of Pokémon always alluded him and that is why he became a Pokémon Watcher.

"I guess you can say that we have similar goals then Cilan." Tracey added.

"By whatever do you mean?" Cilan perturbed.

"It is sort of like why you decided to become a Pokémon Connoisseur. I mean, you look at other trainers Pokémon instead of focusing your own right? We still care for ours, but there is just something else that we want to do that drives us there." Tracey mentioned.

"Well, when you put it like that; I guess I can understand where you are coming from." Cilan realized.

"I don't know. Still seems weird to me." Iris interrupted.

"I never expect anyone to get it, but if I went by how others saw me, then I wouldn't be as confident in my goals as I am now." Tracey admitted.

"You go Tracey!" Ash cheered.

"So, are we heading to the museum yet guys?" Tracey asked in a hurry.

"Don't worry, we're coming." Cilan reassured.

They have arrived at the museum. When they walked in, they were greeted by friendly members of the staff. They had the opportunity to tour the museum as the registration has not been open yet. Upon looking at the paintings, Iris noticed one about Pinwheel Forest. It depicted one about a fire that had occurred and all of the Pokémon were fleeing scared. What caught her attention was an outline of what she saw when they had gone through the same thing.

Iris asked what the creature was to a staff member. They told her the folklore of the forest spirit. There have been no known human sightings of the creature to date. It was said that it looks after those who are in intense danger, and has a heart of passion for Pokémon. Iris mentioned that she has seen the Pokémon from before. When the others questioned her, she said it was sort of like a vision when they went to lead the other Pokémon out of the fire. Iris glanced back at the painting and mumbled an appreciation to the creature for its guidance.

It was time for the registration to start and Tracey was itching for his chance to sign up. He was going to sketch his best work for Unova to see. a stranger had cut Tracey in line and bumped his shoulder, on purpose. Tracey then snapped out of his daze and confronted the guy to tell him he was in the wrong. The stranger introduced himself as Kyle Kent, the best painter in all of Unova. Kyle then mocked Tracey saying that Travelers should only stay in their own region and to leave these types of things to professionals, like him.

Burg stepped in and said that this was open to all travelers, so Tracey has every right to be there just as much as the next person. Kyle just sighed and kept on moving. Kyle just thought that the traveler would have been better off if they have not arrived. Tracey thanked Burg for stepping in and Burg said it was not a problem and wished his luck.

The museum curator had entered and thanked everyone for participating. He explained the rules of the event: each artist would select a Pokémon they have as a model of some sort for the first round. If an artist did not have a Pokémon, the museum had rental Pokémon they could use instead. From there, each artist would have to sketch all of the Pokémon that did not belong to them and have their work evaluated. Only the top four would remain to advance to the final round.

Burg selected his Dwebble for its graceful tone it displayed. Tracey went with Smeargle to show others a non native Pokémon. Kyle decided to go with his Daramaka for the competition. Now it was time for the Pokémon to strike a pose for others to draw. Smeargle and Dwebble both had an exhilarated expression across their face. Others took noticed and tried their best to capture that happy emotion they saw. Daramaka just stood there with a blank expression, while Kyle grinned thinking that he would easily win with no one feeling any type of way about his Pokémon.

The judges have completed their evaluations on all of the work presented. The top four that would be moving on to the finals were Kyle, Burg, Tracey, and a little girl name Ryu. The judges admired how Burg captured the essence of all the Pokémon, while Tracey caught the emotion's the Pokémon expressed. Kyle was displeased that others have moved on with him. Either way it was time for the finals to begin. They would be split into two groups; the first being Tracey and Burg, and then Ryu and Kyle. They were tasked with sketching the other's Pokémon while the Pokémon move about.

The first pair up was Ryu and Kyle. Ryu had the rental Pokémon Lillipup and Kyle had his Daramaka with him. Lillipup just ran in a circle for this part. However, Daramaka seemed more active than before. Tracey acknowledged this and questioned it immediately. Kyle responded that his Pokémon must have been too tired before and now has the energy to perform. The judges allowed it for now, but were still hesitant on the decision. Ryu tried her best but could not keep up with the movements of the Pokémon, thus Kyle was the winner.

Now it was Tracey and Burg who were about to compete against each other. Tracey saw how Dwebble moved and sketched based on predictions. While Burg was still in awe after seeing a different color variant of the Painter Pokémon. Burg got distracted to the point that he eventually drew other ailments to the art work. The judges criticized on how Burg was unprofessional towards his work, thus Tracey advanced against Kyle.

This was going to be easy for the two of them. All they had to do was draw their Pokémon however they pleased. The only difference was that the crowd decided which painting was the best. Kyle drew his Daramaka as if it was battling, while Tracey decided that he would sketch Smeargle as it was painting to show off his skills as an artist. The two had finished and the winner was decided, the crowd adored Kyle's work slightly more than Tracey's. After the event, the curator approached Tracey and informed him that he had plenty of potential in his work and told him of the Unova Art Program.

The program consisted of traveling artists who compete against each other to see who the better artist is. If an artist wins the competition, they get their work put into the facility. If they manage to get three places with their work of art in these facilities, they can compete in an official tournament. The winner of the tournament gets an official trophy to represent them as the Best Unova Artist Around. Tracey was interested and the others were all for Tracey going for his dreams. The group needed to get some shopping done so they headed off the mall to stock up on supplies.

The mall was having an event. A professional Connoisseur was evaluating trainers on their compatibility with their Pokémon. The gang thought that this was too much an opportunity to pass and decided to check it out. Ash and Tracey were excited to meet another connoisseur other than Cilan. To who always found it refreshing to hear a colleague's input on the matter. Ash somehow got separated from the group and got dragged by a mysterious person.

"Greetings young traveler. I am Burgundy, a Pokémon Connoisseur. Would you like me to evaluate your Pokémon?" The girl asked.

"Uh hi, I'm Ash. And I would love for you to evaluate my Pokémon. This here is my best bubby Pikachu." Ash stumbled.

"Ooh. A Pikachu is quite rare from here I would love to see how the two of you are compatible." Burgundy examined.

"Actually, I don't need you to tell me and Pikachu are a perfect match." Ash started as Burgundy gave a look of disgust. "I was hoping you could help me with this Pokémon." Ash sent out Cubchoo.

"I see then. Let me take a closer look." Burgundy then went to lick the ice type Pokémon, who fired off an Icy Wind in fear.

"Ah, sorry about that!" Ash panicked.

"Inconceivable! I have never met a more disrespectful Pokémon in my life." Burgundy responded.

Ash then went to explain that it was still recently hatched and Burgundy still said that the Pokémon was poorly raised. Ash then offered to have his other Pokémon examined. Burgundy shrugged and accepted the offer. Oshawott was sent out, and when it was also insulted he shot a Water Gun to her face. Tepig did the same thing with Ember when told he would not have been suitable for battle. Pidove just used Peck when the professional tried to lick the Pokémon. Burgundy gave up and said that all of his Pokémon were all poorly trained and that Ash should just start over.

Amongst the commotion, the gang had found Ash and wondered where he had gone off to. He replied that he was getting an evaluation done. But when his friends stated that the line for the evaluation was in a different direction, he looked over at Burgundy with sheer annoyance. Cilan recognized the girl as a gym challenger from a while back. Burgundy then shared the same expression, but with more annoyance towards the green haired man. When asked what was the matter, that was when Burgundy really stated her opinion.

Burgundy expressed how bad Cilan treated her after she lost to him back then. She was determined to prove him wrong about the awful things he has said. When Cilan interjected that he would never use such harsh words, Burgundy then stated that she only paraphrased it slightly. But it was still hurtful either way. She then proceeded to show him that she became a Connoisseur instead. When Cilan noted that she was only a Class C, the others looked at him with bewilderment.

Cilan then explained how each of the classes worked in the profession. A Class C could only mean that the person could only observe evaluations and not give any. When Ash heard this, he only glared at the girl and then mentioned that he knew she was wrong about his Pokémon. When Burgundy stated that any person would agree that he has trained his Pokémon poorly, Cilan stated that she was wrong and only gave positive feedback. The two had a heated argument and Burgundy challenged him to a battle, to which Cilan accepted.

The battle was going to be a two-on-two battle. Since Burgundy wanted to prove a point, she added a wager to the battle. If Burgundy won, then Ash would have to release all of his Pokémon. Ash tried to intervene but Cilan had agreed to the terms before Ash could say a word. Burgundy sent out her Dewott while Cilan chose Pansage. Cilan complemented on how her Pokémon looked stronger than before. The battle was only short lived as it turned out to be a double knockout. Burgundy then sent out her Maractus while Cilan went with Snivy.

The two of them exchanged a few moves. Maractus with his Pin Missiles and Snivy countering with her Leaf Storm. Cilan then went for his signature attack, Attract. The Pokémon was now infatuated and would not attack for any reason. Snivy kept landing all of her Leaf Blades and the opponent went down. Ash was relieved that he did not have to release any of his Pokémon, but still scolded Cilan to make such a wager. Cilan did apologize for agreeing to the terms, but was happy now that was over.

Burgundy then left swearing that she would only get better from here on out. Cilan wished her the best of luck. To which she just scuffed away. After the gang had gathered the things they needed, Ash felt some kind of disturbance. He looked around to see the old man whom he had encountered before. When Ash started talking to the man, the others looked around to see what Ash was seeing. The man did not speak but only pointed in a specific direction. Ash then took off with the others following.

They all asked what Ash saw and he said that the old man had told him to come in this direction. The others then told him that there was no one there. Ash then stopped in his tracts and pondered if everything was just an allusion. The man has never even said a word, even just minute ago too. As Ash was pondering, a loud sound was heard from underground. The gang followed the noise and found an old acquaintance with several of his goons, Voltstein.