Old Friends, New Places

I would like to apologize for long to update, I keep on getting caught up in Pokemon X and Y plus life issues and other things. Anyways, here's chapter 7, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. However, I do own my character Chris, and that's pretty cool...

Ages:

Cilan- 19

Cress- 19

Chili- 19

Chapter 7: The Striaton Showdown in Nacrene!

"Well how about we split up to find some pecha berries." Brock told the two girls. "I'll go this way." He said as he pointed towards a clearing in the brush. "And you two go that way."

Iris nodded happily. However, Dawn just began walking in the direction that she was told to go. Iris hurried after her new "friend".

Brock looked at Pikachu who was sitting beside Ash.

"You stay here and watch Ash."

Brock then turned to face Ash who was laying on too of his sleeping bag to prevent him from getting too hot.

"I'll be right back Ash." He said as he began walking toward numerous bushes.

Dawn and Iris POV

Dawn kept glancing over at Iris who was jumping from tree to tree.

'That's kind of cool.' She thought. She did know that even if she didn't like the girl, she had to get along with her. So she decided to make conversation.

She walked below the trees that Iris was skipping across.

"Hey Iris." Iris looked down to see the bluenette.

"Hi." She replied with a smile as she got down from the trees to talk.

"Are there any boys that you like?" Iris pondered over the question for a few seconds.

"Back at the village of dragons there was this one boy I liked, but he was kind of mean."

"Two questions. One, What's the village of dragons? And two, are there any other boys who you like?"

"The village of dragons is my birthplace, it's a village where we take care of dragon Pokemon. You see I'm training to become a Dragon Master." She pumped her fist towards the sky as she said this. Dawn giggled but stopped herself right away, not wanting to show any weakness toward her newly found love rival.

"You still have to answer the other question." Dawn said anxiously.

"Well, I think I'll answer your question with another question." The dragon girl replied. "Are you Ash's girlfriend?" Dawn felt sweat starting to form.

"Uhhh.. uhh. Yeah!" I'm Ash's girlfriend."

"Oh. Well I'm happy for you." The dragon girl mumbled.

"Well. We aren't exactly a couple." The bluenette replied sadly. Iris turned her head to face Dawn, with a confused look on her face.

"Oh, so you're not?" Iris asked.

"Yeah, we're not a couple."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Iris said while secretly happy. Though, that was pretty strange.

"Well at least we both have a fighting chance." Iris said with a smile. Dawn turned her head and glared at the dragon girl. Iris saw this and looked toward some bushes. Dawn continued to look at Iris and noticed that her bra was still showing.

" You know, we should cover up your... uhhh you know." Dawn stuttered as she looked up and down from Iris's face to her "chest". Iris followed Dawn's eyes and quickly covered her chest.

"I'm so sorry, I totally forgot." She said quickly.

"I think I have something for you to wear..." Dawn said as she began digging through her backpack. She pulled out a sky blue shirt with a picture of a Piplup sitting on a bubble.

"Here you go." Dawn said as she handed it to the dragon girl. She quickly put it on. It took her a few seconds because of her large hair. It fit well, but it still sat right above her bellybutton.

"Thank you sooo much." Iris said cheerfully.

"No problem." She said with a fake smile. 'The less of you Ash sees, the better.' She thought.

"Let's search for those berries now." Dawn suggested. Iris head in response. They started digging through bushes.

Axew poked his head out of Iris's hair and looked around. Dawn saw this and squealed.

"Iris, there's something in your hair!" Iris began to feel through her hair.

"I don't feel anything." She continued to search through her hair, then Axew leapt out of her hair and onto the ground.

"There it is!" The bluenette squealed as she pointed to Axew.

"Oh, this is Axew. He's my best friend." Iris spoke proudly.

"Hello Axew." Dawn said with a smile.

"Ax ew ew!" It cried as it did a silly dance.

"Maybe we should look for those berries." She suggested.

"Okay." Dawn replied as she began searching through bushes.

Brock POV (Third person)

Brock made sure not to go too far away from Ash. He stayed within 20 feet of him just to make sure. He couldn't seem to find any berries, no matter where he looked, he couldn't find any!

He decided to go back to Ash since there were no berries to be found. After walking a short distance, he reached Ash's resting sight, where he found a familiar friend.

"Hey Brock." Said the ever charming Chris.

"Hello Chris." Brock replied. He saw that Chris had a bloody bandage wrapped around his left hand.

"Are you okay?" Brock asked with concern. Chris just shrugged.

"Just fell out of a tree." He looked around the slightly wooded area and saw Ash. "What happened to him?"

"He's been poisoned. We're trying to find some pecha berries.

"I don't think I saw any by the pond." He stood silent for a few seconds and then looked at Brock.

"Have you seen a pretty girl, a little shorter than me, purple hair? Did I mention pretty?" Brock chuckled at the boy.

"You mean Iris?"

"Ah. So you do know her."

"She's helping us find some pecha berries right now."

"I'll help too, that's as long as Ash will battle me afterward."

"I'm sure he'd love to battle you."

"Cool." He said before walking off to start searching for berries.

Brock just sat there, hoping that the girls or Chris would show up with some berries. After waiting for five minutes, Brock heard a rustle in the bushes.

"Axew!" A voice came from the bush.

"Slow down, Axew!" A familiar girl yelled.

"Wait up Iris, I'm not trying to get lost out here!" Another familiar girl yelled seconds later. Dawn and Iris emerged from the bushes with Axew in the lead.

"Any luck?" Brock asked hopefully. Dawn and Iris nodded quickly.

"Right here!" The two cheered simultaneously as they held up three pecha berries. Brock grabbed them quickly. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a cup. He placed the three berries into the cup. He pulled out a wooden spoon and began mashing the berries. He looked around frantically.

"I need some water." He informed the girls. As if on cue, Chris showed up behind Brock.

"I couldn't find any berries, but I found some water." He said as he showed them a carton of water.

"Chris, you are awesome!" Dawn cheered out. Brock walked over to Chris and grabbed the water. He poured a bit of water into the cup and stirred it. He walked over to Ash and shook him but he wouldn't wake up.

"Pika..." Pikachu said with disappointment.

"Can I try?" Iris asked. Brock nodded and handed her the cup. She walked over to Ash and sat down beside him.

"Wake up, Ash." She spoke softly, but he didn't move. "Come on Ash, wake up." He still didn't move a bit. Iris began to grow frustrated.

"Ash quit being such a little kid and get up!" She screamed causing him to sit right up and cover his ears from the piercing sound.

"I'm up. I'm up." He said quickly. He clutched his right side and rested his head back on the ground.

"Pi ka chu!" Pikachu cried out in happiness.

"Now Ash, this will be really sweet, but you have to drink it all." She said softly. He grabbed the cup and drank the whole thing in one gulp. He felt the berries take effect immediately.

"You feel any better Ash?" Dawn asked sincerely.

"Actually, it's feeling better already." He answered with gritted teeth. He stood up and stretched, ignoring the pain in his side which was unbearable.

"So Ash. How many badges are you up to?" Chris asked curiously.

"Uh, badges... I don't have any." Ash replied with a laugh. Chris sweatdropped.

"None at all?" He asked, surprised. Ash shook his head. "I guess I'm not gonna get that battle then." Chris mumbled.

"I kind of forgot about the gyms." Ash laughed a bit more.

"You mean you didn't fight the Striaton City gym? You were already there." Chris informed him with bewilderment.

"Well then we're going back to Striaton City!" Ash yelled and Brock sweatdropped and sighed. Pikachu leapt up onto Ash's left shoulder.

Ash stood up and began walking with Brock and Dawn following. Ash stopped, turned around, and walked past Dawn and Brock. He stopped in front of Chris and Iris.

"Would you two like to come with us?" Ash asked politely to Chris, but secretly he was hoping Iris would come.

"No thanks, I have to get out of this forest. I'll be seeing you guys around." Chris said as he began walking on a path that went deeper into the forest. He stopped and turned around. "And next time, I'm gonna get that battle." He turned around and continued walking into the forest.

"I'd like to come." Iris said happily. Ash began cheering on the inside.

"Cool, I think you'll like hanging out with me-us!" He said as he tried to play it cool. He turned around so that he didn't have to face her.

Brock pulled out his map and began studying it. They walked in numerous directions but couldn't seem to find their way out.

"I can help." Iris said as she began climbing a tall tree. She stood on a branch, grabbed the trunk and leaned outward. She began looking around.

"I think I see Nacrene City." Iris said as she pointed toward the east.

"Okay follow me." Brock said as he studied the map and began walking in the direction in which Iris pointed to.

They walked through the forest and reached the exit in ten minutes. It was around 3 o'clock in the afternoon, so the day was still young. They walked a short distance before reaching Nacrene City.

"We should stop in the Pokemon Center." Brock suggested. They entered the Pokemon Center and saw a huge crowd of people with cameras and microphones.

"What brings you to Nacrene City?" A tall lady with long brown hair asked through a microphone before pointing it toward the center if the crowd.

"Well we sorta just came to visit." A teenage boy could be heard.

"Well folks, there you have it. The Striaton City gym leaders are here in Nacrene city to visit." The lady said with a huge smile to a camera.

"And cut." The cameraman said.

The crowd began shrinking and three young men could be seen.

One had pale green hair that stood up in the front and bright green eyes. Another had navy blue hair that fell down to his eyes that were about the same shade of blue as his eyes. The last one had fire red hair that stood up every where, his eyes were pure red. They all were wearing waiters' outfits with green, blue an red bow-ties respectively.

Ash heard the words 'gym leaders' which caused him to rush over to the three boys.

"Hello I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, and this is my partner, Pikachu." Ash said with a large smile. The one with green hair stepped toward Ash first.

"What a pleasure to meet you, my name is Cilan. These are my brothers, Chili and Cress." He said as he pointed to the red-haired boy and the blue-haired boy respectively.

"Which one of you are the gym leader?" Ash asked eagerly.

"Well, we all are." Chili replied.

"You see, we let you decide who you want to fight out of us three." Cress informed Ash with a smile.

"Well that doesn't sound fair. I would rather fight all three of you." Ash said confidently.

"Well how about a match right now?" Cilan suggested.

"There's a battlefield on the other side of the city." Nurse Joy said from behind the counter. Ash darted his head toward the pink haired lady.

"That's awesome, let's go right now." Ash cheered.

"Now Ash, are you sure you're up for this," Brock asked, "you did just start healing from that poison."

"I'll be fine." Ash said anxiously.

"Well, if you say so." Brock replied.

Ash, Iris, Dawn, Brock, Cilan, Chili, and Cress walked out the door and toward the battlefield. They arrived there within ten minutes and Ash took his place on the field. Brock, Dawn and Iris sat on the sidelines while the Striation City triplets took their place on the other side of the field.

"Which of us will take you on first, Ash?" Cilan asked from across the field. Ash placed his hand on his chin and thought.

"I'll take Cress." The raven haired trainer announced.

"Fine by me." Cress stated calmly as he stepped up to the other side of the field. Brock took referee position.

"The challenger, Ash Ketchum will use three Pokemon whereas each Gym leader will use one Pokemon each. Therefore only the challenger can make substitutions." Brock called out from the referee position. Ash grabbed for a pokeball and launched it into the air.

"Pidove, I choose you." The ball burst open to reveal his newly caught Pokemon. Cress smirked and launched a pokeball into the air.

"Go, Panpour." Cress called out. The burst revealed a short blue monkey with a tan stomach. It had a fountain like tuft on its head which was also blue. It had a long blue tail and ears as well. It stood in a fighting position and got ready to battle. Ash pulled out his Pokedex and pointed it at the small, blue monkey.

"Panpour, the Spray Pokemon. The water stored inside the tuft on its head is full of nutrients. It waters plants with it using its tail. "

"Alright, you can have the first move!" Chess stated. Ash grinned and got ready for his first Unova gym battle.

" Alright, Pidove. Use gust!" Ash commanded confidently. The tiny pigeon Pokemon began flapping its wings frantically, throwing Panpour back onto the ground.

"Panpour, use water gun." Cress commanded with equal confidence.

Panpour stood up quickly and fired a blast of water from its mouth. The water traveled at high speed and slammed into the tiny pigeon.

"Pidove, catch yourself and use aerial ace." Ash called out quickly.

Pidove caught its balance and fired its body at Panpour. Its wing slammed into the spray Pokemon. It cringed slightly but regained its footing.

"Panpour, use bite."

"Pidove, use peck." Both trainers commanded. Both Pokemon charged at each other at full speed. Pidove swooped slightly lower than Panpour and slammed its beak into Panpour's mouth. The spray Pokemon quickly clamped down on the tiny pigeon.

"Okay, now use peck on the ground!" Ash ordered with a confident smirk. Pidove glared its eyes and flew up high.

"Panpour, use water gun." Cress commanded with worry. The spray Pokemon released from Pidove and began falling from fifty feet in the air. A blast of water propelled from Panpour's mouth.

"Now dodge it, Pidove and use aerial ace!"

The tiny pigeon glided right past the water gun and began soaring down at it. The water gun was causing Panpour to fall with even more force. Within seconds, the blue monkey slammed into the ground. Before the spray Pokemon could even react, it was slammed five feet into the earth by Pidove. Smoke covered the battlefield, no one was able to see the outcome. After a few seconds, the smoke cleared revealing a tiny pigeon and spray Pokemon both unconscious.

"Great job, Pidove." Ash said as he grabbed for a pokeball and withdrew Pidove.

"You did good as well, Panpour." Chess told his Pokemon with a smile as he returned it to its pokeball.

"Way to go, Ash!" Iris cheered.

"Yeah, great job!" Dawn cheered as well. Cress walked over to Ash and stuck out his hand. Ash shook the blue haired man's hand with a grin.

"That was an excellent match." Cress said happily.

"Yeah it was- Ugh!" Ash cried out in pain. Everyone began rushing toward the raven haired teen. Ash fell down with his right hand over his side.

"Ash, what's wrong?" Cress asked.

"M'fine." He mumbled as he stood up and began walking toward his side of the field.

"I asked what was wrong, not if you're okay." Cress said plainly. Brock stopped Ash.

"Is it your side?" He asked. Ash just shook his head. Iris and Dawn showed up with Chili and Cilan close behind.

"Ash are you okay?" Iris asked sincerely. Ash nodded his head.

"I'm fine, can we get back to the battle please?" Ash begged.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" Dawn asked. Ash nodded his head.

"I'll be fine." He said as he returned to his side of the battlefield.

"Be safe!" Iris cheered.

"You've got this!" Dawn chanted.

Everyone returned to their original spot and the battle was going to continue.

"Okay, who are you going to face next?" Brock asked from his referee position.

"How about... Chili!" Ash called out. Chili took his position and got ready to battle.

"The score is, Ash-1 and Striaton City Leaders-1." Brock announced. "Ash needs to defeat one more opponent to earn his badge. Let the battle between Chili and the challenger, Ash, commence!"

Chili reached for his pokeball and threw it into the air.

"Come on out, Pansear!" Out came a Pokemon, similar to Panpour, but it was red, opposed to blue and had a flame-like tuft that resembled its trainer's hair style.

"Wow." Ash said with a grin as he reached for his pokedex.

"Pansear, the High Temp Pokemon. When it is angered, the temperature of its head tuft reaches 600° F. It uses its tuft to roast berries." The pokedex spoke.

"Woah, so cool." Ash said cheerfully. He began to watch the Pokemon, which was punching at the air for practice. Suddenly, a voice pierced his ears.

"Quit being such a kid and choose a Pokemon!" The voice belonged to Iris, who was obviously anxious to watch the battle.

"Okay, I choose Gible!" Ash said as he threw a pokeball into the landed perfectly on the ground and prepared for battle.

"Okay. Gible use dragon pulse!" The raven haired trainer commanded. Gible fired a large, blue, energy ball at Pansear.

"Quick, dodge it!" Chili yelled. Pansear dropped low on the ground as the dragon pulse shot right over its head.

"Pansear, use flame charge!"

"What the heck is flame charge?!" Ash yelled in confusion.

Pansear began stomping its feet and launched its body at Gible.

"Dodge it by using dig!"

"Fire a fire blast into the hole."

Right as Gible dug into the ground, it was thrown out by the fire blast.

"Gible, get up and use rock smash!" Ash yelled quickly.

"Pansear use fire punch!" The fiery headed gym leader yelled.

Both Pokemon charged at each other at full power. The Pokemon collided and caused a large explosion. Fire shot around the field followed by smoke.

Everyone stared intently at the field, trying tell which Pokemon had the advantage. Smoke covered the field for about thirty seconds before it fled the area.

"Okay, Pansear. Use fire blast!" Chili shouted. Pansear let loose a large star-shaped fire at the land shark Pokemon.

"Gible, use dragon pulse!" Ash commanded. Gible fired a blast of energy at the fire blast. The attacks collided again, causing smoke to cover the field again.

'We can't keep going back and forth like this. I need to think of a way to beat him.' Ash thought.

"While the smoke is up, charge up a solarbeam!" The fiery-headed trainer commanded. Pansear began charging but it was having difficulties due to the smoke covering the sun.

'Oh no. I need to think of something now.' Ash thought quickly. 'I've got it!'

"Gible, use rock smash on the ground to make a wall of rocks and earth." The raven haired trainer yelled confidently.

Gible did as said and began building a wall. Pansear was still charging up its solarbeam.

"What's Ash doing?" Dawn asked curiously from the sidelines.

"Pip pip. Pip lup lup." Piplup said while nodding its head.

Back at the battle, Gible finished its wall and roared in confidence. Pansear finally finished charging and was ready to fire. The smoke finally cleared showing the battle-ready combatants .

"Pansear, use solarbeam!"

"Gible, draco meteor at the wall you made!"

The beam of energy shot at Gible. The meteors separated and each fired rocks and earth at Pansear. Some of the rocks suppressed the solarbeam while the others slammed into Pansear.

Pansear stood up and cried in rage as its body began glowing red. "Looks like Pansear's blaze is kicking in." Chili said with a smirk.

"Oh no!" Ash said in fear. "How much more can you take, Gible?"

"Giiiiiiiibllllle!" It roared with pride.

"Okay, Gible. Use rock smash!" Ash yelled confidently.

"Flame charge!" Chili commanded

Pansear fired at Gible incredibly fast. It slammed into the land shark, throwing it into Ash in the process.

"Ash!" Everyone yelled.

Ash stood up and grabbed his side. Gible slammed into Ash's bruise, he was obvious in a large amount of pain.

"I'm fine, how about you, Gible?" Ash asked while covering any signs of pain. Gible stood up,.nodded, and returned to the battlefield.

Pansear collapsed to the ground in pain.

"What's wrong?" Chili asked with concern.

"It's Gible's rough skin ability, it looks like it's hurting Pansear more now that its power has been increased due to blaze." Brock said knowledgeably.

"Well, Gible. Use draco meteor!".Ash commanded.

Gible gained a black and purple aura and flew at Pansear. It slammed into Chili, throwing him to the ground.

"You okay?" Ash asked.

Chili nodded in acknowledgment..He looked over to see Pansear fainted. He picked it up and began walking over to his brothers.

"Pansear is unable to battle!" Brock announced. "Which means Ash wins the battle!"

"Yay!" Dawn cheered.

"Way to go!" Iris yelled.

Ash walked over to the girls as Brock walked over to them as well. They stood around and congratulated him.

"What was that last move that Gible used?" Iris asked.

"Dragon rush." Brock answered.

"It was sooo cool!" Iris yelled childishly. Which made Ash laugh. She punched him in the arm. Ash went to grab her arm just as the Striaton triplets walked over.

"Here you go, it's the trio badge." Cilan said as he handed Ash the badge.

It was gold, it was shaped like two symmetric arrowheads. It had three gems running up it vertically. Being red, green, and blue.

"Although I did not have the opportunity to fact you in battle, I can see you are a great trainer." Cilan said kindly. "I sincerely hope we will have the opportunity to battle one day."

"Definitely" Ash said as they shook hands.

The triplets headed off toward the middle of the city.

"Well, we should check into the Pokemon center. It's getting late."

"Last one there's a rotten Exeggcute!" Iris cheered.

"Oh it's on!" Ash yelled enthusiastically.

The two ran toward the Pokemon center. Dawn and Brock continued walking at a normal pace.

"Brock, do you think Ash likes me?" Dawn asked nervously.

"Well, I couldn't tell you. He's one hard person to read."

"I know." She replied with a straight face.

"Well, ask him." Brock he walked into the Pokemon center. She stopped at the door and pondered over what Brock said.

"Ask him." Dawn repeated quietly.

"You coming?" Brock asked as he popped his head out the door.

"I'm coming." She said as she entered the building.

"Ask him..."

Well, was it worth the wait? I hope so. My phone crashed so I had to restart the entire chapter. But it's finished! I'll update sooner next time. I promise. :)