As the heroes came across Voltstien, a hoard of Woobat's charged at them. Voltstien then commanded the others should just leave. Ash then demanded to know what they were up to. One of the goons revealed their intentions. Their goal was to create a path through the city so that wild Pokémon were not confined in an area run by people. Iris then mentioned that innocent people could get hurt. This did not concern Voltstien in the slightest.
"Humans have been trying to take over how other humans and Pokémon should be for a long time now. It is only right that Pokémon have the same rights to enter and leave as they please. If a human is foolish enough to stop such wonderful creatures from doing as they want, then that is their final wish." Voltstien defended.
"How can you say such things?! You're a human too! Who do you think you are to tell humans how to act anyway!?" Tracey yelled.
"He's right! Risking other people's lives like this is wrong." Ash agreed.
"Tell me something Voltstien; Why do you hate humans so much? There has to be some logical reason to this madness." Cilan tried to sympathize.
"I have traveled throughout the region and have seen many things. Some people treat Pokémon as mere tools to only benefit them. I do know that there are some people out there that treat them as if part as a family. However, if such a thing does exist, then there is no need for Gym Battles of anything like that at all in my eyes. Pokémon are creatures that should only be treated as equals. So therefore, trainers do not need to exist." Voltstien stated.
"That still does not make it right." Iris said.
"I figured that many so called trainers would not believe in our ideals. So you are in fact our enemy. Woobat: use your Air Cutter!"
The group dodged as best as they could. Ash figured the best way to handle with these attacks was to even the playing field. He sent out his Pidove to take on the Woobat's with his own Air Cutter. After several of minutes, Voltstien was getting annoyed that his opponent was interfering too much and sent out a Swoobat. Pidove tried its best to stand its own against Swoobat as best it could. However with Swoobat knowing an improved version of Air Cutter known as Air Slash, Pidove was starting to weaken down. Pidove was not ready to give up to the point it started to glow.
Ash was amazed that Pidove had evolved into a Tranquil. As well as a new move to commensurate its new achievement, Tranquil has just learned Aerial Ace. With its new found speed, Tranquil was able to out fly Swoobat to dodge all of the Air Slash's it could. Voltstien was semi-impressed at the bond the two have shared, but still refused to surrender. He had then called upon a Gigalith to come forward. Ash used his pokedex to see what kind of Pokémon it was. After the analysis had been completed, the said Pokémon had used Rock Slide to take on any opposing threat in its way. In the last second, the old man that Ash has seen before blocked the attack.
Ash then commented that he was not going crazy and that there was indeed an old man the entire time. Suddenly the old man separated himself into more copies to scare the Compressed Pokémon. Everyone was a taken back by this tactic, except for Voltstien. He knew what was going on and ordered for his ally to attack a specific target. As the Flash Cannon that had been instructed landed its mark, a black fox Pokémon had appeared. Cilan commented that it was a Zorua.
Ash questioned why a Pokémon would be living down here in the first place. Voltstien then added that Zorua was mistreated by its trainer and decide to be on his own. Ash then gave Zorua a concerning look, just to show how sorry he feels that it went through an awful experience. Voltstien then noticed something different about the Pokémon that sparked his interest.
"Well that is definitely interesting." Voltstien stated.
"What is it sir?" A grunt asked.
"This Pokémon has a distinct distrust for humans as do I. but it seems to think highly of this trainer here." Voltstien stated.
"Who, Ash?" Iris looked puzzled.
"Zorua's heart reads that this young man is one that thinks of Pokémon before his own well being. He does not act like most trainers Zorua has come across. Zorua has been through a lot, so for it to think highly of any human, let alone a trainer, must mean something." Voltstien stated.
"So does that mean you are not going to attack us?" Cilan wondered.
"Zor!"
"I see. Well if you insist that these humans not be disturbed by our causing, then we shall form a retreat for the time being. This will be our last time doing so. If any of you even try and impede on our plans, then I shall not hold back. Even if it the Pokémon who wishes for us to do so." Voltstien stated as him and his team walked into a cave that they have created to enter.
Everyone else exited the cavern/sewer area and headed back to the Pokémon Center. Zorua was checked up on from his previous scratch marks. Nurse Joy said that the Pokémon was going to be fine, and that all he needed was a good's night rest. Ash insisted that he stay with the Pokémon. He felt as if Zorua was alone for too long and could use a friend right now. Nurse Joy allowed the young trainer to stay with the Pokémon.
Ash had then spent the night sleeping in a chair next to the Pokémon sleeping. Ash was dreaming about spending time with his Pokémon. Ash was enjoying his dream so much that he even talked through his comatose for Zorua to hear it. Zorua was even more impressed that this trainer only sought out for having fun with new found friends and not thinking about battles all the time. When Ash had awoken, he looked over to greet Zorua. However, what ash found was a pokéball in Zorua's spot instead.
The others had joined soon after. They wondered what was going on, and Ash guessed the answer. Ash believed that Zorua had decided that he was his new trainer now. Ash tried to open the pokéball but it did not seem to work correctly. Cilan and Tracey asked how many Pokémon Ash current had. Ash then proceeded to count out loud. He concluded that Pikachu, Gible, Oshawott, Tepig, Tranquil, and Cubchoo were his Pokémon on hand so Zorua's pokéball could not be activated until a transfer was completed. Ash contacted Professor Juniper to make a transfer request.
"Hey Ash. I see that you have caught a new Pokémon and wish to make a team swap." The professor greeted.
"Yeah. I just caught a Zorua, sorta, and need to make a swap." Sash hesitated.
"I see, and which Pokémon will you be sending me then?" Professor Juniper asked.
"I'm not too sure to be honest."
"What about Tepig?" Iris thought.
"Oshawott is more familiar with the lab than anyone else." Tracey stated.
"Gible could also use some rest at the laboratory." Cilan added.
"This is so hard." Ash contemplated, until he heard a chirping noise. "Tranquil! You'll go to the Professor's place?" Ash asked as Tranquil gave a solute with her left wing.
"Have you decided?" The professor asked.
"I have. I will be sending Tranquil." Ash answered.
The Transfer was made and Zorua was sent out immediately. Ash introduced all of the Pokémon to the newcomer in front of them. Zorua just huffed and walked away from all of the Pokémon greeting her. Cilan noted that maybe because of her troubled past that she would not be open to all of the others right now. Ash guessed that could be true and walked over to his new friend. All Zorua did from there was lay down in a corner. They had all gathered their things and were about to head out. As they were leaving, the gang noticed a sign that was asking for help in a movie production somewhere in the dessert.
They all looked at each other and thought it was going to be fun experience for them, so they decided to check out what was going on. Shortly after they entered the desert, a small child had appeared. He introduced himself as Luke and dreamed of being a film director. He asked if the group could help him out with his short film that he wants to publish. They all agreed to help out and wanted to know what the script looked like.
Luke handed them all a copy and started to set the area for the first scene. Luke wrote a script about a group of people wanting to go to the beach but wounded up in the desert instead and come across an ancient ruin. The boys got dressed in swimsuits to start their character, but iris did not feel comfortable being exposed in front of a camera. Zorua then stepped in and assumed the image of Iris in a bikini. Everyone was impressed with how similar it looked to Iris. Now all Iris had to do was read the lines while Zorua would move her mouth to the lines.
They started filming until a gust from the sandstorm blew them towards a relic castle structure. They all looked at each other to see if this was a part of the movie, but Luke looked just as confused as everyone else. They all decided to explore the structure and wonder what was inside. Upon entering, they all noticed a weakened Pokémon lying on the ground. With a closer inspection, three of them remembered this Pokémon. It was the Sandile that wore sunglasses from earlier on their journey.
"You guys have seen this Pokémon before?" Cilan asked in shock.
"Yeah. In the beginning, we encountered a bunch of them and this was their leader. I wonder how it got all the way here." Ash asked.
"Well we can't just leave it here." Tracey stated.
"Right. I'll carry it out." Ash picked up Sandile and noticed the entrance had vanished. "Uh guys, wasn't there a door here before?!" Ash worried.
"How are we supposed to get out now?!" Iris panicked.
"Yelling is not going to get us anywhere. I say we just keep moving forward and see where this takes us." Cilan started as the others followed along.
They had all come across a room filled with coffins. Iris was scared along with her Axew. The others just wanted to get out of the room as soon as they could. Iris and Axew noticed something move in the corner of their eye and decided to investigate. They were then attacked from behind and both of them let out an ear piercing scream. The scream was loud enough that the guys ran back to try and find Iris. To which there was no sign of them anywhere. Until they fell out of a coffin wrapped in paper. Suddenly a Pokémon emerged from the coffin, Cofagrigus.
Ash pulled out the pokedex to identify the new creature. After listening to what the pokedex said, they all ran away from the Pokémon before they were trapped from it. When they entered the next room, everyone wondered what they had to do to get out of the ruins. Cilan suggested that Sandile may know something. Ash took Sandile off of his back and asked where they were supposed to go. Sandile, still being weak, pointed towards the center of the room where a pedestal was at.
Tracey walked over to it and noticed a green orb was there. As he went to grab it, a sudden whirlwind blew Tracey away. It was a Pokémon known as Sigilyph. Iris then stated how these species are well known for guarding temple treasures. At that moment, they all knew that they were in sacred grounds. Ash tried to reason with it to no avail. Sigilyph then used its psychic powers to manipulate the area. Everyone was now moving slow, except Sigilyph and Sandile: most likely due to its Dark type.
Sandile then mustered all of its energy to use Stone Edge on Sigilyph. After the move had made contact, the room returned back to normal. Ash asked Pikachu to use Thunderbolt to weaken the Pokémon enough to communicate with it. As Pikachu landed the super effective attack, Sigilyph had regained consciousness and knew that they were not the enemy. So Sigilyph let them through out of the ruins. As they all walked out, everyone felt refreshed; as if some by magical force, they have all been healed.
Luke watched the recording of his camera and did not realize that the camera was filming the entire time. Cilan then stated that he could just use that footage for his film. Luke thought about it and thought that Sigilyph would like it better if there was no evidence of the ruins to be shown. Luke said that he wants his films to be shot by him and not by some Pokémon that wants to keep its treasure a secret. Everyone appreciated his input and carried on with what they were shooting.
They all watched what they recorded and complimented on Luke's editing skills. Luke however was not too thrilled about his action scenes. He figured that the narrative was great, but for his goal to become an amazing film maker, he would need to work on the action scenes. Luke pulled out a brochure on an upcoming tournament held in Nimbasa Town. Ash asked what kind of tournament and Cilan stepped in with his expertise.
In the Unova region, the Battle Club's hold special events for trainers to work on their skills. Each event has a special reward for the winner, while others get a participation badge along with a picture taken to commensurate that they participated. Ash was really eager to join along with the others from the group. Luke then added that he was going to go there to watch how battles are done and take notes to work on his action scenes. Since they were all going to the same place, they headed over there together.
They were now at the exiting gate when they were approached by a man in a business suit. The man introduced himself as the owner of the Join Avenue. When the group asked what Join Avenue was, the man was ecstatic to explain. Join Avenue was a piece of property the man had purchased in hopes of travelers to walk by and purchase a few products or rest at some shops. The gang was happy to explore the area, until the man explained that they only just bought the property and have yet to renovate the land. The man then asked if the trainers would help out until the renovation team came by, and they accepted since they did not have anywhere to be in a hurry.
Only five shops where somewhat ready to be operational. It was a café, a market, a flower shop, a video store, and a dojo. Cilan commented that the type of shops were very different to one another. The man added that he wanted a variety of shopping areas so that there was something for everyone who walked in. the gang took a second to decide who should be responsible for each area. Ash chose the dojo, while Cilan took over the café. Luke watched over the video store, while Tracey decided to take care of the market so Iris could do the flower shop like she wanted.
"Thank you again kids! I really appreciate what you are doing for me." The man said gracefully.
"Not a problem. This could actual be fun." Ash said with eager in his tone.
"I am sure that these shops will be amazing." Iris stated.
"Yeah. And who knows, we might even find that we enjoy these types of things." Tracey added.
"That's a good point, but I already know that I will enjoy this." Luke stated.
"Well, enough talking. We got work to do." Cilan stated.
"Right!" Everyone agreed.
Cilan went over to his café to work on some of the décor. Working at his restaurant as a gym leader gave him the experience he needed for the shop. Cilan started to sift through what products he needed and noticed some things were missing. Cilan noted that a menu was needed so that new customers knew what there was to offer. As well as how Cafés were known for fresh baked bagels. The owner took Cilan's advice and ordered bagels and an oven for the café.
Tracey was sifting through the products in his mart. It did have the basic necessities like milk and eggs. However, it was missing products for ongoing travelers like potions. Tracey looked at the store layout and informed the owner that if he wants travelers to buy their products that they need to be accommodating to their needs. The owner then called a few other marts to see what they sell for trainers and ordered what they needed.
Iris was watering the flowers so they stayed in healthy condition. She also took the time to organize them by size and color so customers knew what they were looking for. The owner took noticed and complimented Iris on her skills and knowledge. Iris then commented that she has had practice in her village for tending to flowers. The owner then headed over to the video store to check up on Luke.
Luke was having a difficult time organizing the movies. He was frustrated that he wanted to straighten them up alphabetically, but also by genre. However the store had over one thousand different titles that it made it almost impossible. The owner then commented that that is how films get done. Adding that it may have its own excitement making one, but trying to sell them is a different process all together. Luke than wondered if anyone would by his films if stores sold such a variety. So Luke thought of an idea so that his films do not get lost in between other films. All of his work would be titled like Luke Filmier Presents. That way people would know how to search for his movies.
Ash was setting up the dojo. He had his work cut out for him here. Ash had to set his shop up from scratch. He started to set up punching bags for people to use and noticed Oshawott came out of his pokéball again. Only to notice that the sea otter was trying to punch the bag. This gave Ash an idea to make a cross dojo for people and Pokémon alike. Ash was now more motivated to complete the dojo. It now had a treadmill to enhance speed, a lift bar for upper body, and a bunch of leg work out machines too. The owner was impressed with how Ash made it accessible for Pokémon as well. Sandile was feeling tired and went for a stroll around the plaza.
When Sandile stepped back out towards the desert, a Mandibuzz noticed the Pokémon and swooped down and took the Pokémon. Ash then noticed that the Pokémon was missing and looked around for the little one. They all figured that Sandile wanted to go back to its heard and left. The renovation team then drove up with interior decorations and other things for the venue. The owner than mentioned for all of the gangs hard work, he would name the shop they took care of after them. The group was thrilled about the gesture and came up with the names themselves.
Cilan named his shop the Cilan Sage Café. While Iris went with the Axew Bloom Boutique. Tracey decided that his Mart should be called the Sketchit Mart, and Ash named his the Advanced Gym for Trainers. Luke named his store Filmier Studio, and the owner decided that any film Luke will make will be in that store for the future. Luke was more determined to start working on more films. Now the gang was ready to head over to Nimbasa Town for the Battle Club Tournament.
Somewhere deep in the desert, Sandile could be seen in a nest. The Mandibuzz that had abducted him stared at the desert croc. Sandile fired of a super effective Stone Edge and started to flee the scene. Mandibuzz soared into the air and went for an aerial strike. Sandile dodged at the last moment and used Stone Edge again. This time leaving the vulture unable to continue. Now Sandile started to head back to where it was going to go.
The gang had finally arrived at Nimbasa Town. They were so eager to register that they did not know that registration would be taken place the following day. So they decided to head over to the Pokémon Center for the time being. The group had sat by the café section with their fresh made Moomoo Milk.
"So you guys; you know that you can register up to two Pokémon in this tournament right?" Luke started.
"Two huh? It's going to be hard to decide which to choose." Ash stated.
"Easy for you to say. The rest of us only have two!" Iris complained.
"Hey Iris, there will be other trainers too. So Ash doesn't have the upper hand as you think." Tracey interjected.
"Plus, we know how Ash trains his Pokémon, so if anyone has a disadvantage it's him." Cilan added.
"I guess you have a point." Iris calmed down.
"Well look who it is? Iris the Dragon Loser Master." A familiar voice said.
"Georgia!?" Iris stated.
Iris and Georgia stared at each other for a few seconds and started bickering on the topic of Iris wanting to be a Dragon Master. Georgia then mentioned that she was entering the tournament just to train her Pokémon up stronger. Iris claimed that she will beat her, the first chance she gets to take her down. Just then a banshee scream was heard from someone with a French accent.
"Sacre bleu! What do you think you're doing here?!" Burgundy entered.
"Burgundy?" Ash asked.
"The one and only. So tell me young trainior, have you finally taken my advice about a full party swap?" Burgundy interrupted.
"Now now; we don't need to go through that again. So what brings you here?" Cilan asked.
"I came to win the tournament and prove to everyone that I am worthy of an A class connoisseur rank."
"Well I wish you the best." Cilan cheered.
"Wait, don't tell me you're entering too?!"
Just then Trip had entered the Pokémon Center. Ash was stunned to see his first Unova rival. After Ash approached Trip, Ash asked if he was entering the tournament too. Trip scuffed and stated that it was obvious he would be entering that even a novice could tell. Ash hissed at the remark, but still wished the best of luck to the green haired trainer. Stefan had then arrived ridding his newly evolved Zebstrika.
Ash pulled out his pokedex to identify the new Pokémon. Tracey took the time to sketch it out as best as he could. Stefan then took notice that everyone there must be part of the tournament and wished them the best of luck. Ash noted that this tournament will be so much fun. All they had to do was wait and see how else would be taken part.
