"So, is Axew your starter?" Ash asked, as one of his Dragonite prepared dinner.
Iris shook her head. "No, he hatched recently. My starter is Excadrill, but… we're not getting on great at the moment."
"What's a starter?" Keldeo checked.
"Oh, a starter Pokémon is the first Pokémon someone has," Ash explained. "They can be a Pokémon that gets caught for them, or a Pokémon that they get passed on because someone who they know has a relative of that Pokémon, or just one they find and get on well with – but it's the first Pokémon that's registered as belonging to a human. Sometimes a trainer only ever has their starter Pokémon."
The Fighting-type nodded, considering that carefully. "So who's yours?"
"Pikachu," Ash replied. "But, Iris, you said you weren't getting on well with Excadrill?"
Keldeo bristled. "Not taking care of your Pokémon?" he asked. "That's a violation of-"
He stopped, and visibly considered. "Justice, I think. But justice is important!"
"I'm taking care of Excadrill just fine!" Iris protested. "It's not about that, it's… other things…"
"Is he willing to talk about it?" Ash asked.
Iris reached for one of the Pokéballs on her belt. "What about it, Excadrill?"
The Ground-type didn't seem impressed, which he expressed by not actually coming out of his Pokeball.
"Excadrill, I've got no idea what's making you upset with Iris," Ash said. "And I'm not going to try and tell you you shouldn't be. I think it'd be great if you two were getting on well, but that's because then you'd be happy with each other – and that means you'd be happy."
He shrugged. "It's fine if you don't want to talk, though. It'd be silly to immediately start by making you talk if you didn't want to."
"I guess that is a good point," Iris admitted.
She looked over at where there were delicious smells coming from a big saucepan. "I still can't get over how you have a Dragonite who's just… cooking for you."
"Actually, there's two who are chefs," Ash explained. "They're both chefs by royal appointment, to King Dragonite, and the appointment is that they take turns. I think today is a Laksa, that's a spicy noodle soup which is sort of halfway to being a broth, but there's also a separate version for anyone who doesn't like spicy food."
"I hope it's not too spicy," Keldeo said. "There's rules about that."
"So I don't think I actually found out, before," Zekrom began, once he'd finished some pudding. "What exactly is it you and your trainer do?"
"Usually we go on a tour around the region, stopping off to battle gyms," Pikachu told him. "That's firstly to train the Pokémon we pick up in a given area, secondly to keep our skills up, and thirdly so we can take part in the Pokémon League."
"I'm not sure, but I think the strangest thing about the current situation is the fact that I can understand the Pokémon who are talking to one another," Iris said, after some consideration. "I didn't even realize it at first, but… how?"
"Well, for Keldeo it's because he's speaking in a way that everyone can understand, which is very helpful of him," Lokoko said. "But for everyone else, it's because I'm helping them out by translating for you."
She bowed. "It's nice to meet you, by the way. My name is Lokoko, and were Ash not the trainer of any Legendary Pokémon I suspect I would be perhaps his second oldest Pokémon, but of course he has so many Legendary Pokémon that I'm not even in the top ten."
"How are you counting Aten?" Ash asked. "He was born thousands of years ago, yeah, but if you count him then you have to count the Spiritmob."
"Good point," Lokoko admitted. "And we don't want to have to get into the whole who's-the-youngest argument again from a different direction, though really Mew is the absolute winner there."
The Fire-type yawned, then smiled. "But what about you?" she asked. "What's your goal, Iris?"
"It… was to be a dragon master, a trainer who really understands all there is to know about Dragon type Pokémon," she said. "But – I don't even know if that's possible by comparison with Ash."
"Iris," Lokoko said, waiting until Iris was looking at her. "Listen – your goal is a really good one, okay? If what you want to be is an expert in Dragon type Pokémon, then Ash can help you with that, and he will. He's the sort of person who likes to help his friends out."
She flicked her ears. "But at the same time… it's probably best to think about the steps along the way, or what you want to do while you get there. Ash is aiming to be a Pokémon Master, but he'd be the first to admit he has no idea what that is or how to get there."
Iris frowned, then thought hard.
"So… maybe part of the reason why Excadrill is upset is that he doesn't see a place for himself if I do become a dragon master?" she said. "But that's – I'd never reject him like that! He's why I can focus on dragons, because he's really, really good at battling both Fairy and Ice types."
Lokoko reached up a paw and tapped Iris on the nose. "Then maybe you should make sure he knows that."
She tilted her head. "How was the boop, by the way? I've heard good things about them."
Ash set up a practice battle for Zekrom the next morning, bringing in Zapdos via Ibid to make sure the Dragon-type had a fellow-Electric type for his first challenge.
"Okay, so, I'm assuming you qualify as Ash's regional bird," Zapdos said.
Zekrom looked at himself. "I'm not a bird."
"Yeah, but so far Ash has picked up at least one bird Pokémon in each region, so unless and until an actual bird Pokémon shows up, you're it," Zapdos decided. "But the important thing is, they're all strong and I'm assuming you're strong as well."
"Of course I'm strong!" Zekrom said, sounding like he wasn't quite sure whether or not to be insulted. "I'm a Zekrom…"
"Oddly enough that kind of pedigree isn't really either sufficient or necessary for one of Ash's regional birds," Zapdos told him. "Seriously, you need to meet his Hoenn regional bird some time… not least because I'm kind of fascinated to see what happens when Teravolt meets Swellow's electrical immunity."
Zekrom considered that, then cracked his knuckles. "That sounds like it's going to be a fun meeting!"
"There you go," Zapdos said. "Now, first off, let's see how good your best Electric attack is. I'll rate it on a scale of normal to Pikachu, where Pikachu is at the top… then we can see how you measure up to a Zapdos level attack. That's a bit below Pikachu."
"Are you sure that's safe?" Keldeo asked, looking up as an electrical explosion made his mane stand on end.
"Zapdos is pretty good at knowing her limits, and the limits of the Pokémon she's training with too," Ash answered. "And this is the kind of training that's best done further away from towns, because otherwise it might do a bit of damage to the towns."
"Oh, that's… Unova Local Town Ordinance 244 b, right?" Keldeo said.
"Unova Local Town Ordinance 244 b," Arc Phone relayed. "Memorial benches may not be placed to block access to the park. I do not believe this is relevant."
"What?" Keldeo asked. "No, not that one."
"You may have meant Unova Local Town Ordinance 244 c, which specifies that Pokémon trainers whose Pokémon damage local property outside designated training areas are liable for a fine," Arc Phone suggested.
"Right," Keldeo agreed. "Glad we got that sorted out."
"Arc, how far is it to Striaton?" Ash checked.
"Among other things, Striaton Town is on the far side of Accumula Town," Arc told him. "Based on your previous travel history, it is two days or one wormhole to Accumula Town."
"Attention," Zygarde said, getting their attention because they'd asked for it. "There is a Pokémon following us who we have encountered before. I believe it is an Oshawott."
"Oh, the one from Professor Juniper's lab?" Ash asked.
"You met Professor Juniper too?" Iris said.
Lokoko gave her a concerned look. "I think your astonishment scale might be broken, because even without it being Ash we're talking about that's not actually surprising. A lot of people meet regional professors before going on their journey."
Iris huffed. "At this point I'm just being astonished by everything, because it saves time!"
While they'd been talking, Ash had turned around and found the Oshawott.
"Hey, there," he said. "Did you let Professor Juniper know you were coming this way?"
Oshawott blinked. "How?"
"...now I've confused myself," Pikachu said. "Because, firstly, valid question. Secondly, then I realized you could leave a note. Thirdly, I'm not sure how many Pokémon are literate. Fourthly, I have no idea whether a Professor would be expected to have a Porygon or not who could translate."
"What about if we call her to let her know where you are?" Ash suggested. "You can tell us why you're out here first, or later, but either way she probably wants to know you're safe."
Professor Juniper was pleased to hear that Oshawott was safe, admitting that she hadn't yet reached the point of sending out an alert but that was because he'd only been missing overnight and she didn't keep the lab Pokémon quite that tightly controlled.
"I'm glad that you found him, though," she said. "Really I am, only… do you know what he was out there for?"
"Yeah, I was going to get to that," Ash agreed, glancing down at Oshawott. "Unless he says no."
Oshawott looked a bit nervous, but nodded a go-ahead.
"He said that he was interested in seeing what the wider world is like," Ash relayed. "But he's worried that he might have a trainer who he can't get on with, and that if he goes with a normal beginning trainer he doesn't have a chance to ask their Pokémon. But he can with me, so… he's asked if he can come with me."
"And what did you say, Ash?" Juniper asked him.
"I thought I should check with you first," Ash replied. "But if Oshawott wants to join my team, I'd be glad to have him – he'd be my second Unovan Pokémon!"
Professor Juniper looked like she was considering very carefully whether she wanted to ask the next question.
"What Pokémon did you already catch?" she said.
"Me!" Zekrom announced, jumping up to hover behind Ash so that Arc's camera could pick him up. "He's the ideal Hero of Ideals, I only waited this long because it's appropriate to do it when the Hero arrives in Unova, and then I sort of had to find him again after you went through a wormhole and vanished."
Professor Juniper raised her hand.
"Is it the Zekrom or the shiny Keldeo?" she said.
"It's Zekrom," Ash replied. "Keldeo's just tagging along. Like Zygarde and Marshadow!"
"Some people don't meet or even see as many Legendary Pokémon in their entire lives as you have accompanying you on a sight seeing tour," Professor Juniper said.
"Really?" Ash asked. "I guess some people wouldn't, but that's always true of just about anything, isn't it? There are some people who never drink coffee. Mostly from Galar, according to Zacian."
"I'm not awake enough for this conversation," Professor Juniper said. "I'm going to assume you have a way to pick up Oshawott's Pokéball? Or would you rather I released him and you caught him yourself?"
"It's up to Oshawott," Ash declared.
"I don't mind, whatever's convenient," Oshawott said, looking excited and nervous all at once.
"I'll get it!" Purrloin volunteered, and teleported away. She appeared in the background of the view of Juniper's lab, crouched down, and wiggled her tail as she stared at one of the Pokéballs.
"Yes, it's that one," Professor Juniper said, then did a double-take. "Wait, that's not the normal shiny colours for a Purrloin."
Purrloin snagged the Pokéball, vanished, and appeared on Ash's free shoulder.
"Ta-dah!" she said, dropping the Pokéball into his hand.
"Thanks, both of you!" Ash said. "Okay, Oshawott, do you have any ideas about what you'd like to learn?"
Oshawott shook his head.
"Sorry," he said, a bit nervously.
"That's fine, don't worry," Ash told him. "So, you have a Scalchop… I guess the first step is going to be working on using it? Noctowl knows a pretty good style that combines offensive and defensive fighting."
"Isn't Noctowl a Flying type Pokémon?" Keldeo asked. "Why would a Noctowl know that?"
"So he can pretend to be Zacian, but also be a bit more versatile," Ash replied. "They can both fly, but I'll work with you to make sure Noctowl remembers not to assume you can fly yet."
"I am absolutely loving the fact you said yet," Zekrom declared.
AN:
Zekrom is an honorary bird right now.