Author's Note: Okay…it has been a while since I updated and I would like to thoroughly apologize for the delay in updates. I won't bother you all with the reasons and say that I'll try not to have this long a delay between chapters. That being said, I will not write anything before the month of May due to my upcoming exams and therefore, any update, be that for this fic or my Naruto fic will be in May.

Now, thank you for the appreciation that you have shown. I simply cannot comprehend that just four chapters into the story and I have already crossed 100 reviews, 500 followers and favorites. Like any author I wanted the story to be well-received and had gotten my hopes up after the 2nd chapter. But to go from there to this in just two more chapters is something I didn't think would happen. So, once again thank you all for your support and I hope that you will give me the same kind of support in the future.

Throughout the story I have received many reviews, many of them just a few short words while many were an in-depth analysis along with wishes. Quite a few of you did not like the way I started the entire thing as a sob story. However, no matter what anyone says, I like the way I started and it had been my vision to start a story like that ever since I read a couple of Sinnoh fics. One person, in particular, in his/her review pointed out that because I am an Indian I do not comprehend the fact that a person can apologize so much to someone and that a 13 year old does not know about sex.

To that person, I can only say that it is his/her ass backward thinking that you people of a particular country can only think a certain way. If that would have been true, I would say that you are a fat, arrogant person who mooches off his/her parents' money if you are an American or other such shit like that.

Yes, I belong to a country which is not so progressive in the matters of sex. So What? Does that affect the way I write? You must be an idiot if you think it does. I wrote Ash off as an idiot in the matter of sex because that is how I wanted him to be shown.

And have you read some Japanese mangas? Have you seen the way Monkey D. Luffy acts when Boa Hancock does nothing short of throwing herself on him to show that she likes him? Or the way Shion asks Naruto to father her children and he agrees like it is no big deal? And yes, while I know that the fic is neither One Piece nor Naruto, it shows that the main characters are so engrossed in their respective dreams that they do not pay attention to girls around them. Luffy more so than Naruto, who at least shows some level of attraction to the females and even that is near negligible unless it was Sakura related.

As for your rant about Ash apologizing to his mother, I showed that because I wanted to show the connection that Ash had with his mother. In India, we respect our elders. I don't know where you are from and how you treat your elders, but should I have been in Ash's place I would have done the same. You have to take it from Ash's perspective. Here is a mother who has single-handedly raised a child, as we shall never know who his father is. The son then goes on journeys across regions and barely calls his mother. Whenever he comes back to his town, he barely waits a couple of days before he is off to another adventure. And all the while, his mother is in the background supporting him, while she stays at home with just Mr. Mime for company. Now, put yourself in his shoes and ask yourself – "How many times would you apologize until she forgives him?"

Your answer – "Not a single fucking time." She will know what her son wants to say and will be happy that her son will pay attention to him. That is the love that I have grown up in and that is what I wanted to show.

If you have a problem with that, then go FUCK YOURSELF. No one has forced you to read the fic and no one will ever. That has been my stance on whatever fics I read and write. I won't read fics that I don't like. I may provide pointers where I think that the author can improve upon, but I won't spam bullshit as review. Neither would I use his country in a way to degrade him/her.

Note: This is the updated part of the author's note. Quite a few people have said that it was wrong of me to say the part about the Americans. I want to clarify that I am not targeting, nor shall I ever, target one particular country or it's people. What I was targeting was the preconceived notion that people belonging to a particular country can only behave in a certain manner and have certain ideas. What I wanted to say was that just because there is a preconceived notion that sex is a taboo in India, doesn't make it true. Just like the notion that Americans in general are considered the above-mentioned things, doesn't make it true. It is that notion that I am against, not the people and certainly not the people.

Another thing, people have asked me when Cynthia will be introduced into the fic. You all will have to be patient for that. Yes, I have stated that she will be paired with Ash. But the fact remains, I have tagged this fic to be an adventure, so any kind of romance will take a while. By the end of this chapter, you all will see that the Sinnoh saga has barely begun. So. bringing Cynthia in so soon will be way too early. I promise this though, she will appear way before she does in the anime. However, it won't be like those fics where she once lays her eyes on Ash and goes gaga over him.

Now, sorry for the long rant, but I had to vent that out. A PM to the person may have seemed more effective, but I wanted this message to be read by everyone. The moment I read that degrading review, I knew that I would respond to that.

Now, a big thanks to Omni-Creator Kami of Anime. While he is not my Beta, something that I am still searching for by the way, he has provided me with several ideas that I can implement in this story. When those particular events happen, I don't think that I can answer that myself. I only have a rough draft on how I want my fic to proceed, nothing is set in stone. I simply make it up as I move further.

As stated by the rules in this website, I still don't own Pokémon. All the revenue goes to Satoshi Tajiri.

On another matter, it sucks that Pokkén Tournament won't be available for other platforms. Was hoping that GameFreak would do so. Would have been a bigger hit. Well, what can you do?

Anyways, on with the story.

Chapter 5

A New Journey Begins

The world of Pokémon, a world filled with opportunities and aspirations. A world with legends and with people striving to be among these legends. Yes, there were people who used these Pokémon for their own nefarious means, but it was always eclipsed by the vast potential that mankind was capable of once they were partnered with these creatures.

It was to this world that twelve year old Dawn Berlitz had been invited to enter by Professor Rowan, the Sinnoh regional authority on almost anything and everything Pokémon. She had been jubilant when she had received the confirmation that she was among the handful of people who had passed the new standards required for getting a Pokémon.

Unlike most other Regional Professors, who simply sponsored new trainers based on their intuition, Professor Rowan conducted a comprehensive test that decided who were worthy of getting their hands on one of the rare starter Pokémon of Sinnoh.

So, naturally Dawn was ecstatic that she had passed the test and was capable of getting a Pokémon. She had already discussed with her mother, Joanna, how she wanted to become a Top Coordinator like her.

Only now, that seemed to look like a pipe dream as the young blue haired cowered in fear as she stood with her back to a tree, a small, blue penguin like Pokémon held closely in a hug, surrounded by a group of Ariados.

She thought back to the events that had let to that particular scene.

Earlier in the day she had been taken to the lab by none other than Professor Rowan herself when he had found her lost in the forests between Twinleaf Town and Sandgem Town. In the lab, the assistants had accidentally released the three starter Pokémon, who had seized the opportunity to run into the forest near the city. Dawn, being the good girl she was, had offered her help, something that the professor readily accepted seeing that his assistants were running around like headless chicken.

She had gone outside to search for the water type starter, Piplup. Remembering the small package that the Professor had sent her earlier she took out the cards containing the details on the Pokémon and gave a look over to the specific Pokémon.

Piplup was a light-blue, penguin-like Pokémon with a dark blue head with a primarily white face and a short, yellow beak. The dark blue feathers on its head extend down its back and neck, causing it to appear to be wearing a cape. It had two white ovals on its chest and a small, light-blue marking resembling a crown above its beak. It had flipper-like arms and yellow feet with three toes each.

She had searched for a while before she had heard a loud cry of pain from the forest had caught her attention. Running ahead, she had burst into the clearing only to find the Pokémon she was searching for, injured and surrounded by a cluster of Ariados. Despite feeling squeamish at the spider-like Pokémon, she had run to the defense of the injured Piplup.

Despite being injured, Piplup had shown great resolve and, along with Dawn, had been able to escape the small group of Ariados. Although Dawn could say that Piplup did not appreciate the fact she had come to help him. The duo had, through God knows how, somehow made it to Lake Verity and she would swear that she had seen the lake ripple and a mysterious figure appear for a second before vanishing.

She had not gotten any time to dwell on it when the Ariados had once again attacked Piplup and her. Already injured, Piplup had still put up a brave fight and protected Dawn from a String Shot by using Bide.

And it was now that she realized the conundrum that she had gotten herself into. She sat there, crouched in front of a tree surrounded by the vicious looking Ariados, all the while as she held the Piplup close to her chest not wanting any harm to come to the small Pokémon. She had cried out for help a few moments ago, but seeing that it had further antagonized the spider Pokémon she did not want to do so again.

She cringed when she saw the remaining cluster open their mouths and release a spray of white webbing towards the duo. She closed her eyes as the webbings were about to reach her, her mind hoping beyond hope for any miracle to save her, only to open wide in sweet relief as a loud shout ahead of her.

"PIKACHU, THUNDERBOLT!"

Ash took a deep breath, enjoying the aroma that was produced by the nature around him. He always enjoyed this smell. He felt as though nature itself was giving him encouragement for his journey. The last few times he had started his journey to a new region, he had felt it but never to this extent. He felt as though he could be like this for the next several hours.

"Come on Ash," the familiar voice of Daisy Oak came from behind the recently turned 16 year old trainer, "You have been standing there for the past five minutes. People want to get down and are starting to get irritated."

Smiling sheepishly, Ash rubbed the back of his head as he turned around to find that indeed a queue full of people were directing their annoyed looks at him.

"Sorry everyone," he apologized with a short bow, the lesson of etiquette his mother had taught him fresh on his mind.

"Pikachu!"

"Aipom!"

The two Pokémon sitting on his shoulder copied their trainer and gave bows themselves. Not wasting another moment, Ash ran down the ramp and took the first step into the new region. The excitement was visible on his face as he saw various Pokémon fly overhead.

Taking another deep breath, he let the cool air into his lungs. He could feel how the climate was different from the various port cities he had travelled to. In most places, Hoenn specifically, the ports had warm climate that made a person want to simply jump into the water. Sandgem City port, if you could call the small rest stop even that, had a cool breeze flowing through it that coincided with the facts that he had read about the region having a cooler than normal weather across the year.

"This journey is going to be amazing, isn't it?" he asked suddenly as he turned his attention to the two Pokémon sitting on his shoulder.

"Pi Pikachu!"

"Aipom!"

Both the Pokémon cried out their names as they felt the excitement that their trainer was exuding. Meanwhile, Daisy had walked up to Ash at a more sedate pace and was now standing beside the young trainer.

"Someone's seems a little too excited," the Researcher commented as she saw how he was talking to his Pokémon.

"You don't know the half of it," Ash replied, diverting his attention to his companion. "Usually by this time, Team Rocket try to steal Pikachu using one method or another, each of them being as ridiculous as their previous attempt. And you know the funny thing?" he asked, gaining a 'carry on' look from Daisy.

"We fall for it," he shook his head as he chuckled. "I mean, we come across them almost every day and they use the same tricks, either using a getup or some sort of machine to steal our Pokéballs, and we fail to recognize them until they reveal themselves. We fight them and rescue our Pokémon and in the process send them sailing away. It seems almost surreal that they haven't tried to capture Pikachu yet." He kept on speaking as the duo made their way towards the exit of the port.

As they exited the port, Daisy turned towards Ash with a perplexed expression.

"Hey Ash?" she began, getting the trainer's attention. "If you come across Team Rocket so many times and defeat them, then why don't you simply hand them over to the police?"

"You know," Ash replied after staying silent for several moments. "We never thought of doing that. Moreover, every time they were defeated, I don't know how but every time they get blasted off. And then the entire thing starts off once again."

Daisy simply stood there for a few moments, stunned at the lackadaisical response from the black haired trainer before making her way back to his side, shaking her head.

Being quite familiar with each other due to the long stay at Pallet Town the duo made their way along Route 219 towards Sandgem Town in comfortable silence, Daisy enjoying the fact that she had gotten the opportunity to travel along someone when she would usually travel alone while Ash was excited about meeting new Pokémon.

After traveling for a while on Ash's shoulder, Aipom decided to travel through the trees, using her tail-leg to swing from one branch to another. Ash was happy that Aipom was enjoying herself. He had been surprised in the ship once he had opened his backpack to find Aipom hiding in it. He had wanted to admonish her, but seeing the cute face that she made he couldn't resist her. He had called from the ship's telephone and gotten Professor Oak to send her Pokéball to him. He would have called her back but seeing that she was enjoying her stay outside he decided against it.

He was broken out of his thoughts when he heard Aipom crash into something, or rather someone, and fall down to the ground. Without giving another thought he ran straight towards her falling body and leapt forward, catching her before she could touch the ground.

Pikachu and Daisy caught up to him as he got back up.

"You alright there Aipom?" Ash asked the Long Tail Pokémon.

"Aipom!" the Pokémon replied with a smile on her face before glaring at the branch from where she had fallen. The group followed her gaze and were therefore surprised to find a Pokémon sitting on the branch.

It was a bird with a gray colored body, the lower half of its wings as well as its head black. Its face looked like it was wearing a white mask, with black eyes with white pupils as well as a thin orange beak with the tip of it painted black. On its chest is a white spot. Its feet are orange and also has three tail feathers, two black and one white in the middle.

Seeing the Pokémon puff up its chest, as though proud of the fact that it had thrown Aipom off, Ash decided to scan it using his new Pokédex. Taking it out, he pointed it towards the Pokémon.

Starly, the Starling Pokémon. It is barely noticeable when alone. Because they are weak individually, they form groups. However, they bicker if the group grows too big. Although they are small, they flap their wings with great power.

Ash decided then and there that he would capture it. The fact that it was alone and was drawing attention to itself meant that it was strong in comparison to others in its flock who would most probably hide when confronting a human. Yes, yes he would capture it. The question came, who he would use to fight it. His decision was made automatically when he saw that Aipom was still glaring at the bird Pokémon.

"Aipom." He called her out, getting Aipom's attention. "Get ready, for we are going to capture the Starly."

"Aipom!" the Pokémon cried in delight, wanting to get her revenge for making her fall down.

"Pikachu?" the small Mouse Pokémon asked from his shoulder.

"I am not using you bud cause we both know that it will be an overkill," Ash replied to the question, getting a nod from Pikachu. "Besides, Aipom is rearing to fight that Starly. Who am I to deny her?"

"Still," Daisy interjected, as the two people and one Pokémon took several steps back to allow space for the ensuing battle. "Don't you think this is too early in Sinnoh to capture a Pokémon?"

She had been informed by her grandfather about what Gary when he had started his journey in the Kanto. How he had caught basically any species of Pokémon he had come across, only for him to release them once he saw that he couldn't train all of them properly. And while she knew that Ash was compassionate enough that he would never neglect his Pokémon, she didn't want him to regret catching a Pokémon.

"Nope," Ash replied with a grin when he saw that the Starly had not left its position. Instead, it was looking at him, defiance etched into its face. Yup, he was going to capture it.

"Traveling so much, I have seen that most of the smaller bird Pokémon tend to be somewhat scared of confronting humans. The ones that I have caught have always been more defiant and you know how they come out to be. I sense the same kind of defiance from this one. So, I know that I am going to capture it."

Daisy did not get any time to reply as Starly suddenly took flight and flapped its wings, letting forth a huge gush of air that travelled towards Aipom. Recognizing the Whirlwind, Ash immediately countered knowing that the area covered by the attack would not allow for proper dodging.

"Aipom. Iron Tail into the ground." Ash responded evenly to the attack, his four months training finally coming to the forefront. This was one of the first things that he had rectified. He had seen various footages of past battles, including footage of past Elite Four members and Champions. He had seen how they stayed calm throughout the battle, not letting the others' actions affect their battle style.

"Aipom!" the Pokémon replied out loud, acknowledging her trainer. Not a second later, the hand at the end of her tail gained a metallic sheen. The hand then buried into the ground, right in time as the wind attack reached Aipom.

The Long Tail Pokémon brought its small paws forward to protect herself from the attack while the winds buffeted around her trying to blow her away, the Iron Tail being the only thing that kept her from being blown away.

Ash, Daisy and Pikachu had themselves shielded their faces from the dust and debris that was being pushed into their direction. All the while Ash was concentrating on the field, not letting the Flying Type out of his sight, no matter how much the dust prevented him to do so.

It was for this reason that he saw Starly streaking towards Aipom, a white beam of light following it along with a white sheen on its wings. Not wasting a second to applaud the Pokémon for combining two moves, he countered.

"Take it Aipom!" he ordered, his voice unwavering.

Aipom did not show any kind of affirmation as mere moments later the Wing Attack struck true and the Long Tail Pokémon gave a grunt as she was pushed back.

"Now, Revenge!" Ash countered immediately.

Starly did not have any time to think as Aipom struck it back, the Revenge even more powerful seeing that Aipom had been struck.

"Follow it up with Thunderbolt!" Ash decided to stay on the offensive and called out the super-effective move.

The reeling Starly did not get any more break before it was struck by a bolt of lightning that threw it back several feet. However, it still showed its tenacity as it stood back up, although barely before sparks surrounded its body.

Ash was visibly impressed by this bird. Aipom's Thunderbolt may not have been as powerful as Luxio's and it was nothing but a blip in comparison to Pikachu's, but for a Flying Type to get back up from it showed that he had taken the right decision to capture it. Seeing the spark that surrounded its body, Ash understood that it had been paralyzed and decided to capitulate on that.

"Finish it with Focus Punch."

The hand at the end of Aipom's tail glowed brightly as it ran towards Starly. Starly tried getting out of the way, but a sudden jolt of electricity ran through its body as paralysis took hold. It could only watch with trepidation as Aipom closed the distance between the two of them in a matter of seconds and struck with its tail, the glowing hand striking the Flying Type directly on its breast.

Starly gave a shrill cry before it was launched further ahead on the path. Ash ran ahead of the group and not missing a moment took out a ball and threw it at Starly, who by now was lying on the middle of the path with swirls in place of his eyes.

The ball, which had a pink colored upper half in place of the standard red, struck the downed Pokémon before sucking it in a red beam of light.

The entire clearing went silent as the ball twitched, Starly showing one last act of defiance before it eventually dinged, signifying a successful capture.

Ash was silent for a moment before he scooped Aipom up in a crushing hug.

"You were great Aipom!" he exclaimed, getting a bashful yet proud look from the Pokémon.

"Pi Pika Chu!" Pikachu congratulated Aipom.

"Well done Aipom!" Daisy too decided to congratulate the Pokémon who by now had a light blush on her face due to all the attention she was getting.

Ash gingerly placed her down before giving her a look over.

"You aren't injured, are you girl?" Ash asked, knowing that the Wing Attack must have hurt a bit.

"Aip Aipom!" Aipom shook her head in negative. While she knew that the attack had struck true, it wasn't as powerful as those of Ash's Pokémons. Even then Ash decided not to take any kind of risk and quickly took out a potion and sprayed it on the area where the attack had struck.

Aipom winced at the cold feeling from the medicine before numbness spread across her chest. She then took a nice breath once she felt the healing nature of the potion take effect.

Daisy crouched down and gave Aipom a final look over, searching for any other kind of injury as Ash made his way towards the motionless Pokéball sitting innocuously in the middle of the path. Picking it up, he brought the Ball close to his mouth before giving it a gentle kiss.

"Welcome to the family Starly," He spoke tenderly. As he made his way back to the group, he saw that Daisy had finally gotten back up from the inspection of Aipom was now waiting for him.

"Not going to heal it immediately?" Daisy asked as he got close enough to her.

"Not right now," he replied. "I want to let the Heal Ball do everything naturally for the first time. I want to introduce it to the rest of the team, but that can be done once we reach Professor Rowan's lab."

Daisy nodded, having already known about the new kind of balls that increased the natural rate at which Pokémon healed. She, along with Oak, were one of the few people that knew about the true identity of Ash and his mother and was therefore not surprised when Ash had told her that he would be bringing along the newly developed Balls with him.

"In the meantime…" Ash once again took out his Pokédex and pointed it at the Pokéball in his hand.

Starly, the Starling Pokémon. It is barely noticeable when alone. Because they are weak individually, they form groups. However, they bicker if the group grows too big. Although they are small, they flap their wings with great power. This Starly is Male and has the abilities Keen Eye and Reckless. Reckless is a Hidden ability. This Starly knows the moves Tackle, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Double Team, Whirlwind and Detect. Detect is an egg move and is currently locked.

"That is a good move set," Daisy commented, knowing that it indeed was good for a Pokémon in the wild, especially one like Starly.

"That it is," Ash nodded in support. "Detect is a good move and will unlock most probably once he evolves. I am more surprised that he has two abilities."

Daisy and Pikachu nodded in consent. They both knew that it was rare for a Pokémon to have more than one ability, especially if one of them was a Hidden one. Out of all of Ash's Pokémons only three of them had unlocked their Hidden abilities, four if they now counted Starly.

Shrinking the ball and placing it on his belt, Ash and Daisy once again started to make their way back towards Sandgem Town. Pikachu decided he wanted a break from Ash's shoulder, decided to jump on Daisy's giving free reign of Ash's shoulders to Aipom who decided not to miss out on the chance and took her place.

As they were on their way, Daisy came closer to Ash.

"You did notice that we are being followed, didn't you?" she whispered, genuinely feeling uncomfortable by the fact.

"Yes, yes I did." Ash replied in an equally low voice. "Aipom already informed me. The purple hair is not a good camouflage either."

"Do you know who it is?"

"Nope," he replied. "We could simply ask him to show himself or wait until he decides that he has done enough hiding."

"What if he is dangerous? Or is hiding so he can get the opportunity to steal our Pokémon?" she pressed on.

"Between the two of us, I doubt that he has any Pokémon that can take us all out," he assuaged her doubts with a gentle shrug. "If worse comes to shove, I can call Mewtwo for help."

Daisy visibly relaxed at that. She had not met any Pokémon that could take the Genetic Pokémon in a fair fight. Just the thought that the Pokémon was once under the control of Team Rocket gave her gooseflesh. She could only deliberate about the sinister things those people could have done had Mewtwo still been under their control.

She was brought out of her thoughts once she saw Pikachu perk up before the Mouse Pokémon jumped off her shoulder and ran in the direction opposite to their direction. Reflexively, Ash ran after his first Pokémon, knowing that his friend would not have done so without a proper reason.

Aipom, deciding that she was faster in the trees, jumped off his shoulder and started using her tail-arm to swing from one branch to another. Daisy followed the duo, running at a slightly slower pace as she was unaccustomed to running around so much.

She vaguely noticed, as they made their way through the forest, that they were now way off their previous path to Sandgem Town and was seriously hoping that whatever had caused Pikachu to act that way was important.

Her request was answered when she heard a shrill cry for help. Ash turned around for just a second before giving her as small nod. He did not wait any further before barreling further into the woods, leaving Daisy and Aipom behind, who now was keeping up with the young Pokémon Researcher.

Ash barreled into the woods, barely keeping up with Pikachu who was now running full sprint, dead set on saving the girl, if the shrill cry was evident. He saw the tree line ending ahead of him, most probably signifying a clearing and was most probably the place from where he had heard the shriek.

As Pikachu and he finally made it out of the trees, he came across a situation that he had faced far too many times. A group of Ariados were surrounding a girl who was clutching a blue, bird Pokémon close to her chest as she herself was crouched in front of a tree.

His attention was once again diverted to the Ariados once he saw them tittering before what he could see was them opening their mouths to most probably attack the girl and the injured Pokémon. He decided he was having none of that.

Seeing his friend ready for action, he shouted out loud,

"PIKACHU! THUNDERBOLT!"

"PIKA…CHU!" the small mouse Pokémon let forth a huge bellow, one that was quickly followed by a wide bolt of yellow electricity that belied the small Pokémon's stature. The bolt stuck the cluster of Ariados who did not even get the opportunity to turn around and face the shout that they had heard.

Ash could only sweatdrop once Pikachu let go of the attack not five seconds later. He had been intending to scare them away by the light jolt of electricity. He had already informed Pikachu to tone down his attacks while fighting wild Pokémon or else capturing good ones would be way too easy and he would not get a chance to gauge their aptitude.

However, it seemed that he would have to be more careful while having Pikachu fight wild Pokémon if the current result was any kind of indication of what the outcome of the battle would be.

The small cluster had definitely fainted, if the swirls in place of their usual purple-black eyes were any indication. They had multiple scorch marks on their bodies courtesy of the attack. Ash felt bad, his inherent feelings towards Pokémon making him feel bad for the Pokémon. However, this feeling was curbed when he remembered that they had were going to attack a person, a girl nonetheless.

Speaking of the girl, he turned his attention to said person only to find her gazing at him, the intensity of the gaze making him slightly self-conscious. As he made his way towards her, carefully side-stepping the downed Ariados, he gave her a look ever.

He could see that she was at least a couple of years younger than him, maybe more. She was dressed in an outfit that resembled a mini dress, consisting of a black V-neck top with a white undershirt with a short pink skirt and a red scarf. On her head, she wears a white beanie with a pink Pokéball print on it. She also wears gold hair clips that hold up her hair in front. On her feet, she wears pink knee-high boots with black over-knee socks underneath.

"You alright?" he asked softly, once he was close enough.

The girl merely nodded in affirmation, still in a state of astonishment. He was about to go further when Daisy entered the clearing, followed quickly by Aipom.

"Did you find her-?" she came to an abrupt halt as she saw her companion crouched in front of a girl, who in turn was cradling another Pokémon in her lap. She sighed in relief when she saw the downed Ariados before her gaze turned towards a sheepish Pikachu who was rubbing the back of his neck. Aipom ran up to her trainer and jumped to take her customary place on his shoulder.

"Didn't you say that you were going to take it easy on the wild Pokémon?" she asked teasingly as she made way towards the trainer and the girl, Pikachu jumping on her shoulder as she reached close to him.

"I was," Ash defended himself before looking away in embarrassment, "I just didn't think that they would faint from just one of Pikachu's Thunderbolts. I was merely trying to scare them away."

"Ash, just because you are accustomed to Pikachu's attacks doesn't mean that anyone else can do so," she decided to tease him further, her inherent playfulness coming further.

Grumbling to himself, Ash turned back towards the girl, who was still sitting with her back to the tree, and presented his hands to her, "You know you haven't answered my question. And would you like me to heal your Pokémon?"

Dawn, who finally seemed to have gotten over the shock that someone had saved her, gingerly took the offered hand and got up, all the while cradling the injured Piplup in her other hand.

"Piplup is not my Pokémon," she spoke softly, her attention entirely focused on the injured Pokémon she was holding. "But could you please heal him?"

Not waiting for clarification about the Piplup not being her Pokémon, Ash opened his backpack and took out a Hyper Potion from the medicine section and sprayed it on the visible injuries first, the Pokémon hissing in discomfort before the meds started having their effect and he visibly relaxed. He followed it up by spraying the rest of the body until the entire thing was depleted, before storing the case in the trash section.

Dawn sighed in relief one she saw that the injuries were already vanishing, the potion helping complementing the Pokémon's inherent healing prowess. She then turned her attention to the two people who were now giving her speculative looks.

"Anyways, my name I Ash Ketchum," Ash decided to introduce himself. "And these are my Pokémon, Pikachu," he pointed towards the small Mouse Pokémon who was sitting on Daisy's shoulder.

"Pikachu," said Pokémon replied with a wave of his hand and a smile on his face.

"And Aipom," Ash continued while pointing towards Aipom who was now wearing one of the old caps that he used to own. Aipom, being her boisterous self, happily waved her arms, all three of them, at the girl.

The girl replied by awkwardly waving her hand in reply.

"And I am Daisy Oak," Daisy was the last to introduce herself as she went forward and shook the girl's hand.

"Hi, I am Dawn Berlitz," Dawn finally introduced herself to the group that included the person who had saved her from the Ariados. Speaking of which, she turned her attention towards the small cluster who were still lying there on the ground. "What is going to happen to them?"

"Don't worry about them," Ash waved her off as he reached the group and started spraying Potions on them to help their healing process. Not enough for them to revive them instantly, but enough that they would heal quicker than normal. "The potions will heal them quick enough and they will be back on their way."

"Now," he turned back towards Dawn, "could you please tell us what you were doing alone in the woods? And why you said that the Piplup doesn't belong to you?"

Dawn immediately explained to him and Daisy how she had gotten herself in the situation, even telling them how she was a new trainer and wanted to be a successful Coordinator like her mother, Johanna.

Ash and Daisy listened to Dawn with rapt attention, the young trainer making eye contact several times with his starter as how similar the entire incident was to their own beginning.

Satisfied with the answers they received, the group started making their way back towards Sandgem Town. Luckily for them, Ash's Xtransceiver was able to find out the closest path for them, causing their journey to be relatively shorter. Ash and Pikachu were the most relieved with this, knowing how the trainer was abysmal with paper maps.

They eventually made their way to Professor Rowan's Lab. Daisy was especially excited, given the fact that she had already met the Professor back when he was working with her grandfather.

Ash was rather awed by the modern looking modern looking and large lab that was behind the boundary. They entered the gate and made their way down the cobbled path to the lab entrance.

They were quickly ushered in by one of the aides of the Professor, who was delighted to see that Piplup was safe, albeit a bit ruffled. He was about to take the small Pokémon to get him thoroughly healed when Ash took the opportunity to ask for them to heal his Starly as well. Without any hesitation the aide took Starly as well. Something which Ash was extremely gracious about.

Finally, they went into the room where Professor Rowan was present. The first thought that crossed Ash's mind when he saw the Professor was 'intimidating'.

He had known the Professors of all the regions he had travelled, and most of them looked rather jovial if not downright amusing. Dressed in a rather formal attire of black pants, white shirt with a blue overcoat and a tie, he seemed quite normal man. It was his face and the mien that gave the intimidating factor. His white hair and the rather elaborate moustache gave off a very stern aura.

That particular thought went out the window once the Professor looked towards them, his eyes shining with recognition once he saw Daisy and Dawn. Daisy went up to the Professor and shook his hand.

"Professor, it's nice to see you again." From the tone of her voice Ash could see that they both knew each other quite well.

"You too Daisy," the Professor replied in a caring voice that was a contrast of his demeanor. "I am surprised to see you here. Samuel did not inform me that you too were coming."

"He wanted my visit to be a surprise." Daisy replied in a slight mischievous voice.

"I'll tell him it was a good surprise." He then turned his attention towards Dawn, who seemed surprised with the small banter between the two people. "Ah Dawn, it is nice to see you back safe. Did you have any trouble finding Piplup?"

"Just a little Professor," she replied with a small wince. Seeing the Professor's raised eyebrow at that comment, the young trainer recounted the entire incident at the forest. The Professor seemed quite surprised that the young girl had been able to command Piplup by herself and proud that his Pokémon had been able to hold off a group of Ariados by himself.

His eyebrows went straight into his hairline once Ash's part in the rescue was brought, more specifically the part where one Thunderbolt from the small Mouse Pokémon not just defeated but outright fainted the group of Ariados. His opinion of the trainer grew even further when Dawn informed him how the young man, whom he knew was Ash, had healed not only Piplup but also the group of Ariados.

After the short retelling, Rowan turned towards Ash.

"I would like to thank you, young man," he clapped Ash on his shoulder, who smiled bashfully in return. "You don't know how relieved I am that you not only protected Piplup but Dawn as well. Should anything have happened to her, I would have only blamed myself."

"No need to thank me Professor," Ash replied to the praise with a timorous scratching of his cheek. "I did what any other person would have done."

"On the contrary," Rowan pressed, "I know that many would have taken this as an opportunity to capture the Ariados instead of healing them."

"I did not want to capture them because they did not interest me," Ash shrugged nonchalantly. "As for healing them, I did not want to leave them at that state. They were in that state because of my Pokémon. Healing them was the least I could do."

"It is good to see that there are trainers like you out there Ash." Rowan commented, genuinely happy with the trainer. "It seems that whatever I have heard from Samuel about you is indeed true."

"Professor Oak talked about me?" he asked, surprised about that little tidbit. While he knew that the Professor had put word out about his Tauros, he did not know that he talked about him.

"Yeah, he told me how you were going to come to Sinnoh and asked me to see if you needed anything." Rowan replied, skipping over the fact about how his long term friend was practically gushing over the trainer's capability.

"Anyways, can I help you in any manner?" Rowan asked the trainer.

"No, thanks Professor," Ash replied, "your aide is already looking after the Starly that I caught. I only need to get myself registered for the Sinnoh League and that I know can be done from the Pokémon Center."

"Good, good," Rowan nodded, "it is nice to see trainers that already have an idea about what they need to do. Now," he turned towards Dawn, who jumped as the attention was back on her, "the last time you came here was to get a Pokémon, didn't you?" Getting a vigorous nod as reply, he continued, "Then let us get to it."

Not waiting for a reply, the Professor left the room and entered the lounge area, quickly followed by the group. Reaching a desk containing three different Pokéballs, Rowan turned around.

"In the morning you saw the three different starter Pokémon that I had," he declared to the blue haired girl, who nodded in reply. "So, have you made a decision as to who you would like as your first Pokémon?"

Rowan knew that it was nothing but a formality, as he was quite sure about who the new trainer would pick as her starter. Adventures like the one Dawn had created bonds that were nigh impossible to break. So, yes. He could easily say he knew who the girl was going to pick.

"I would like Piplup as my starter," Dawn spoke as firmly as she could, not wanting to show how excited she was about finally getting her first Pokémon.

"Alright then," Rowan nodded in affirmation before picking up the ball placed in the middle and gave it to Dawn. He then went to the computer placed behind him which after a few moments of typing ejected a pink, rectangular shaped device.

"This is the Pokédex," he handed the device to Dawn who held the device with utmost care. "Its primary function is to provide you with the data for whichever Pokémon you scan. For Pokémon that you own, it will show you some extra information that you won't get from either a wild Pokémon or from another trainer's Pokémon. Aside from that, this is also a proof of your identity as a trainer. So, keep it safe as it will allow you to register into the Pokémon League and the Grand Festival."

Dawn nodded fervently, already pocketing the handheld device. The Professor then handed her one last thing.

"This is a set of standard Pokéballs used to capture a Pokémon." He handed her six standard red Pokéballs which she again placed into her bag.

"Now, the only thing that I can give you is advice. I know many people say that going on a journey is fun. And while it is true, it is fun only if you are responsible. You are allowed to travel the world with the expectation that you will take care of the Pokémon that you capture. You must learn from today's experience that not everything is fun out there. If you want to achieve something you must strive to hard to achieve it. That doesn't mean that you must not enjoy your journey as you go towards your destination, for no matter what one says half the fun in a journey is from the journey itself. As long as you trust your Pokémon and believe in yourself you can achieve great heights."

At the end of the monologue, there was pin-drop silence as the group contemplated what the Professor had said.

"You took that for grandpa's poem didn't you?" Daisy decided to break the silence by pointing out the small bit of information.

"Figured that out, didn't you?" Rowan slumped, generating much sniggering from the people and Pokémon present.

"Grandpa gave me almost the exact same speech when I got my first Pokémon," Daisy replied with a grin.

"I've been using it for a while," Rowan added with a shrug, "it acts as a good speech for beginner trainers. I may not be that good at coming up with speeches like Samuel, but that doesn't mean that I cannot use them to motivate people."

Everyone nodded at that, knowing how new trainers went through a myriad of emotions once they gained their first Pokémon. Meanwhile, one of the aides handed Ash the Heal Ball that contained Starly informing him that the Pokémon had been healed completely.

Thanking the aide, Ash turned towards Rowan.

"Professor, do you have a place where I can bring Starly out? I wanted to welcome him to my team and talk to him once."

"Sure Ash," Rowan nodded. "Why don't you use the front area? It is quite open and will provide Starly with an open area." He diverted his attention towards Dawn, "Why don't you do the same thing Dawn? While I know that Piplup and you have already met, it will be good for the both of you to formally introduce yourselves to each other."

"All right Professor," Dawn replied in an affirmative and quickly followed Ash who was already making his way outside, Pikachu having retaken his place at his right shoulder, while Aipom was on his left. Daisy and Rowan followed behind, Rowan intrigued by the trainer who was so highly spoken by someone like Samuel Oak.

Making their way out to the front area, nobody noticed as Pikachu's ears twitched and he mumbled something into trainer. Reaching their destination, Ash threw the Ball into the air.

"Come on out, Starly!"

The Starling Pokémon materialized, immediately taking into the air. After a few flaps of his wings, he landed in front of his new trainer. Ash crouched down to look straight into his eyes.

"You know Starly," he began, "when I first saw you, I knew that you were going to be my Pokémon. The way you held yourself, the way you stood there unafraid of a trainer, the way you looked at Aipom as though challenging her, I knew that you were going to be a good Pokémon."

Meanwhile, behind him the entire group was listening with rapt attention to the small speech that the 16 year old trainer was giving.

"I see not just Samuel has a way with words," Rowan was the one to comment, visibly impressed with the way Ash was welcoming the new Pokémon. Very few trainers he knew would talk like that to their Pokémon.

"You haven't seen the half of it," Daisy commented, her attention fixed on her friend, not wanting to miss one of those moments. "I have observed him for the past few months and there is one thing that I have seen him do. He speaks to his Pokémon with so much conviction that his Pokémon get motivated to do their best. You can say that he energizes them to do their best and that gains him their loyalty and love to an extent that I don't think many can emulate."

Dawn simply stood there, taking in the words from the trainer.

Back with Ash, he continued, not noticing the effect that he was having on the people, "I know that you are already good, but I promise you that with my help and the help of my other Pokémon, I can help you become great. Not just a trainer-Pokémon pair but as a pair of friends. So, what do you say? Would you like to be my friend?"

"Starly!" the Pokémon did not wait another moment and jumped on to his new trainer's head, the only place that he could find had space for him.

"If that is your answer, then welcome to the family Starly," Ash welcomed his newest Pokémon into the fold with a wide smile on his face.

"Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu emulated his trainer with gusto.

"Aipom!" An enthusiasm which even Aipom was demonstrating.

Ash turned around to find the attention of the group focused on him. He smiled bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "Ah sorry about that. I guess I got a little carried away."

"On the contrary Ash," Rowan refuted. "It was good to see such conviction from such a young trainer. And your speech was a delight to hear."

"It was nothing Professor," Ash continued, still embarrassed by his short-sightedness. "I just spoke what came to me from my heart."

"And that is what made your address a delight." It didn't look like Rowan was ready to back out yet. "Because a good address is not one which you memorize and repeat, but one that you speak from your heart." He looked at Starly, who was now sitting on Ash's head and was having a conversation with Pikachu and Aipom. "And the result of that is visible. Though I have seen Starly getting close to their trainer, I have rarely seen one that becomes so close in such a quick time."

"I just try to make my Pokémon as comfortable as possible," Ash continued albeit weakly, having already been through this kind of conversation with people back in his town.

"Regardless, it is a nice trait that not many trainers exhibit," he stated and without giving Ash another chance to speak further decided to change the topic of discussion. "It looks like Dawn is going to let Piplup out."

Seeing that the small discussion was over, Ash and Rowan went over to Dawn who was holding Piplup's Pokéball in her hand. They had just reached her when Dawn threw the Pokéball.

"Go, Piplup!" she called out her starter with excitement that had replaced the nervousness that was there a few moments ago.

The Pokémon materialized in front of everyone and stood there, looking at everyone with confused expressions on his face. Taking a couple of deep breaths, assuring herself that she could do this, Dawn approached the Pokémon.

Piplup visibly perked up once he saw the girl he knew approach him. Already having an inkling about the situation, the proud Pokémon waited till the girl closed in on him and crouched down to his level.

"Piplup," she began, "I know that we did not have the best of starts. And I know that I may not have looked that much to you when you first saw me. But after what we have been through, I feel that we can make a great team. So, would you like to join me on my journey?"

"Piplup!" the Pokémon nodded with a sharp cry, bringing his arm front. Dawn, getting what the Pokémon wanted, clasped the small arm in a handshake.

"All right Piplup," Dawn exclaimed, happy that the Pokémon was ready to work with her. Getting back up, she took out her new Pokédex and pointed it towards Piplup, wanting to know about her Pokémon.

Piplup, the Penguin Pokémon. It doesn't like to be taken care of. It's difficult to bond with since it won't listen to its Trainer. This Pokémon is Male and has the ability Torrent. This Piplup knows the moves Pound, Growl, Bide, Peck and Bubble.

"That is a good move set for a starter, Dawn," Ash suddenly called out from behind her making her jump up a bit in surprise.

"Damn it Ash," she huffed after getting her breathing back in control. Meanwhile, Piplup puffed up his chest at the comment from the other person. "Don't sneak up to me like that." Getting an apologetic shrug, she continued, "And why do you say that?"

"Generally whenever you receive a new Pokémon, he/she knows at two, at most three, moves. Your Piplup not only knows five, but two of them are Water and Flying Type. And that will help you in catching wild Pokémon much more easily."

"Oh!" was the only reply at that, genuinely surprised at this. Quickly getting rid of the surprise, she decided to do something that she wanted to do ever since she had decided to become a Coordinator.

"Ash, I would like to challenge you to a Pokémon battle."

Everyone present, bar Piplup, was looking at her with a shocked countenance.

"Alright," Ash shrugged after a few minutes of shocked silence.

"Just like that?" Dawn was befuddled when Ash replied to her in positive. She had known that Ash was a much more experienced trainer, with the way he treated his Pokémon and the ease with which his Pikachu had defeated the Ariados, and had thought that he would try to decline her, most probably by saying that he was probably too experienced for her or give her reasons like that.

"Yup," Ash answered. "I never turn down a challenge for battle. Moreover, it will give me a chance to battle with Starly while you will get one with Piplup in a more controlled manner." He turned towards Rowan, "Professor, do you mind if we use this area as a makeshift battlefield?"

"Sure," Rowan waved him off, having gotten used to this. Smiling in a manner that Ash found eerily similar to that of Professor Oak, the regional professor continued, "The front lawn is made for this specific purpose. You all won't believe how many times new trainers have asked me this question."

Ash gave the area a once over and realized that yes, the area looked to be tailor-made for Pokémon battles.

With an excited thanks, Dawn scampered towards the farther end of the field, while Ash made way towards the closer end, only to be stopped short by Daisy.

"Ash," the trainer stopped short to look at his companion, who was looking at him as though she was waiting for something. She sighed while muttering about battle-crazed idiots before she went close to the trainer.

"As the officiator, it is my duty to ask you to carry at most six Pokémon during any battle, official or unofficial," she spoke lowly, getting an embarrassed smile from Ash who rubbed the back of his neck. Not thinking much about it, he unclipped four Pokéballs and gave them to the young Researcher, who then went to stand on the sidelines as she took the role of the official of the battle.

Meanwhile, Rowan was surprised with the fact that Ash had submitted Pokéballs to Daisy. A moment later he realized the reason for this particular action, and this further raised his interest in the trainer. He knew about the rules regarding increasing the carrying capacity for trainers. What made him curious was the fact that Oak had allowed the kid to do so.

Having known the Kanto Professor for a long time, he knew that the person was not easily impressed. So for such a young trainer to be allowed this. He shook his head at the thought. He knew that he would have to keep a look out for this one.

Back at the field, both competitors stood facing each other, Dawn with a nervous excitement evident on her face while Ash stood on his side, his excitement hidden by his composed persona.

"The following battle is between Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town and Dawn Berlitz of Twinleaf Town." Daisy's firm voice rang through the field. "Both the sides will be using one Pokémon each. The winner of the match shall be decided when one trainer's Pokémon is unable to continue. Are the terms clear?"

"Absolutely," Dawn replied with a shout while Ash gave a subtle nod.

"Then…Begin!"

"Piplup, Battle Dance!" Dawn shouted exuberantly.

"Go, Starly!" Ash called out in a calm manner.

The two Pokémon materialized, with Piplup crossing his arms under his chest in a haughty fashion while Starly took into the air, before finally coming to a stop before Ash.

"Piplup, start with Bubble!" Dawn called out loud, having decided not to give any chance to the more experienced trainer. Piplup followed his trainer's order to the letter and let forth a several bubbles which travelled to the Flying Pokémon at a decent pace.

"Send it back towards Piplup with Whirlwind Starly," Ash countered immediately. The Starling Pokémon flapped his wings several times, the force of the winds produced from the action being strong enough to send the bubbles back towards their originator.

"Dodge Piplup!" Dawn commanded in a panicked voice, having been surprised by the way her own attack was now being used against her. "Use Peck to burst those you can't dodge."

Piplup leapt across the field, his beak elongating a bit with a glow. He dodged the bubbles that he could, while those he couldn't dodge were burst using the Peck attack.

"Quick Attack, Starly!"

Piplup had barely escaped from the small minefield of bubbles when Starly reached him in a streak of light and crashed straight into his chest. Piplup gave a yelp as the attack threw him back several feet. Pushed back by the force of the attack, he nevertheless got back up, ready for more.

Dawn, who had panicked when the attack struck, was brought back when she saw Piplup get back up without the attack having much effect on it. Sure, Piplup looked like someone who had been struck hard, but she could still see that her Pokémon was ready for more.

"Double Team!" Ash commanded and Starly responded not a second later as close to two dozen copies of the Pokémon surrounded Piplup. The Penguin Pokémon flustered, unable to distinguish between the real and the images, the panic that was imitated by Dawn as she thought of ways to counter the attack.

Ash was happy the way the small battle had gone so far. He liked the way Starly was responding to his calls and the quickness he showed in using his attacks. He was especially happy with the number of copies that Starly had created, showing the near mastery of the technique.

He saw the way Dawn and Piplup reacted the way to Double Team and knew that the attack had worked. While experienced trainers knew ways to counteract the move, new trainers would generally get panicked when coming across it. He himself had been stumped quite a few times with this attack and he knew that Dawn would be all the more confused, given that it was her first official battle.

"Wing Attack and increase your speed with Quick Attack," he continued in on the assault.

The wings on all the Starly glowed white as they flew towards the still panicked Piplup, a white beam of light trailing behind each one of them.

"Surround yourself with Bubble Piplup," Dawn shouted in alarm.

Piplup did not waste any time and formed several bubbles before spinning on his spot, the barrage of bubbles now surrounding the Water-Type.

Ash was surprised with the sudden call of Bubble. He had not expected a new trainer to find a way to counter that attack. Still, he knew that Starly would overcome it.

"Form groups of six and attack from each side," he countered.

The copies of Starly, showing their usual quickness, formed into four groups and dashed towards the wall created by bubble.

Dawn stood there befuddled as the four groups attacked the wall from the different directions, the images dissipating as they got closer to Piplup. She was confused as to what Ash was trying to do, when she heard bubbles pop as one particular group closed in on Piplup. She cursed as she understood what the trainer had done.

She had recognized the group in which the real Starly was present, but the way the group was tightly packed did not allow her to find out who the real Starly was. The group was reduced to just three Starly by the time they had reached Piplup, however, she knew that one of them would strike him/

"Piplup, Bide!" she shouted in desperation.

A red glow surrounded Piplup, not a second too soon as the remaining Starly reached the Pokémon. The first two images went straight through Piplup without causing any kind of damage. The last one though, struck with his glowing wings, the momentum of the Quick Attack causing Piplup who let forth a huge squeal, after which he was thrown into the air and crashed near Dawn as he let .

"PIPLUP!" she shouted, scared for her first Pokémon. She wanted to run forward and forfeit the match, knowing that her Pokémon was injured. But the dust cloud that had formed from his crashing did not show if he had fainted or not and she did not want to forfeit, knowing that it would be a blow to Piplup's pride if she did so and then it would be near impossible for her to get the Pokémon to listen to her.

Her fear did go unfound when the dust cloud dissipated, as she could see Piplup standing there, his body glowing red from the Bide attack that he had prepared. His body sported several injuries and he was breathing quite heavily, the previous attack having taken a lot from him. But the proud Pokémon was still ready to give it his all.

Ash was surprised when he saw the dust cloud dissipate. He had not expected to see Piplup standing after the attack. Any other starter would have been defeated by then but Piplup was still standing and that increased the respect for the small Pokémon.

"Starly, once again Wing Attack and power it up with Quick Attack!" he commanded, not wanting the Pokémon to gather enough energy to unleash Bide. He knew that at full power, it might even defeat Starly.

Starly once again streaked through the field towards Piplup, his wings glowing as it left behind a glowing trail.

"Piplup, intercept Starly with Bide!" Dawn called out loud, hoping that her Pokémon had stored enough energy to make the final attack count.

Piplup ran towards the incoming Starly, still glowing red as it kept on storing more and more energy.

Dawn stood there nervously as the distance between the two Pokémon decreased, hoping against hope that Piplup emerge victorious from the battle. On the opposite end, Ash stood there calmly although there was an undercurrent of anxiety in him as well. He thought of any other way that he could counter Bide, but came up short mostly due to the fact that at his current level Starly did not have that many options, leaving him only with a direct confrontation.

"PIPLUP!"

"STARLY!"

The moment of opportunity was gone as the two Pokémon clashed into each other, the red Piplup colliding with Starly, who had his wings fully extended. The collision was immediately followed by a small outburst of energy as Bide took effect. The outburst was followed by a huge gust of wind that travelled to both the sides, kicking up dust and not allowing anyone to see the result of the strikes.

Dawn had to hold on to her dress in order to prevent it from getting ridden up by the wind, while Ash on the other hand was not so ruffled by this.

As the winds died down, both of their attention was once again redirected towards the center as the dust cloud slowly dissipated, both the trainers wanting to know the result of the clash.

They did not have to wait long as Starly flew out of the cloud and up into the air. He soon changed his trajectory and flew back towards Ash, who by now had an ecstatic grin on his face. Ash could see that the Pokémon was barely able to keep in flight and had several injuries on his body showing that the Bide had struck true.

The reason for said grin was explained when the dust settled down not a few seconds later, showing Piplup laying on his back with swirls in place of his eyes.

"Piplup has fainted and can no longer continue," Daisy announced from the sidelines. "The winner of this match is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town."

No sooner was the announcement done, did the two trainers ran towards their Pokémon. Ash caught Starly right before the Flying Type could fall to the ground, the final wisp of energy leaving his body.

"You did great, Starly." Ash said, ecstatic with his Pokémon.

"Star Starly!" the Pokémon let out blearily, although Ash was sure that if the Pokémon could smile, he would have.

"Rest nicely Starly, you definitely earned it." Ash smiled and took out Starly's Pokéball and tapped the Pokémon lightly, the ball sucking Starly in a red beam of light.

Placing the ball on his magnetic belt, the trainer walked towards Dawn, who was cradling Piplup in her lap.

"You did great, you know," Ash commented when he saw how downtrodden she was.

Sending Piplup back into his Pokéball, Dawn stood up. Ash saw, rather felt, how depressed she was at her defeat.

"But you defeated me so easily," she said, her good mood having taken a huge dive.

"That's not true," Ash encouraged her. "Had I given Piplup enough time to gather more energy for Bide, I doubt Starly would have been able to endure it."

"And it doesn't matter that Starly is his new Pokémon," Daisy interjected, truly feeling bad for the girl. "Ash has been battling with Pokémon for a long time, so he has way more experience in handling himself and his Pokémon in battles. The match was set as soon as you asked for a battle. The only way for Ash to lose would have been to make a mistake or get too cocky, something I know that he will not do."

"But how much experience could he have? He doesn't look that much older than me," Dawn asked, befuddled by the fact that how far the gap was between the two of them.

"Look at it this way," Daisy stated, before her companion could get a word, "Just four months ago, this idiot went on and won the Battle Frontier and is in fact the first trainer to do so. He was in fact offered to become a Frontier Brain himself, but declined it because he wants to become a Pokémon Master. And I can tell you, some of the Brains are just a level short of the Elite Four."

Dawn's eyes widened at the fact. Even a level short of the Elite Four was a huge deal in and by itself and to have defeated even one trainer at that level was an accomplishment for someone as young as Ash. And the way she had framed the sentence, it meant that he had defeated more than one trainer of that level. She was about to comment on that, when another voice came from behind them.

"You defeated Brandon?"

Dawn turned around abruptly at the voice, only to swivel back when Ash responded, his voice way too jovial.

"So, you finally decided to come forward?"

Dawn was thoroughly confused with the small back and forth, a confusion that was deepened when she heard Daisy mutter 'Finally' with a sigh.

"Huh?' A confusion that was shared by the person opposite to them.

I know.

Many of you might hate me for the cliffhanger. But what can I say? I love cliffhangers. Don't worry, there won't be many.

Anyhow, I know many of you can easily tell who the person is going to be. So, the next chapter is going to be the first serious battle for the fic. In fact, I have already finished writing the chapter and was going to upload it simultaneously. But re-reading it made several mistakes clear to me that were not visible while writing, so it will take a while to re-edit it. And as I have already stated, no writing before May. So, you will have to wait for it.

Now, one final thing. I know many of you have asked for Ash to simply decimate Paul and show him his place. In short, many of you want Paul to be bashed.

That, unfortunately, is not going to happen. Though I may be into some bashing fics occasionally, the fact remains that I will never bash a character. I will show them the way they are portrayed but I will never purposefully just concentrate on their negatives. As far as the battle between Ash and Paul goes, you all will have to wait for the next chapter and see how the battle goes. I will try to stay true to Paul's character and show him as the competent trainer that he is. It was said in the anime that Paul had competed in the Indigo League, the Johto Silver Conference and the Hoenn League, so I will try to portray him as one who has been in the above contests and not act like a newbie that many of you want. I hope that it doesn't deter you all from reading the story any further.

As any other writer, I hope you all like this chapter.

And in the words of the creator of ,

REVIEW!

Ja Ne!