Before we start, I would like to apologise for taking so long to get this chapter finished, I've been really busy lately and haven't had much time to sit down and write. Chapters will be added sooner instead of having a huge gap in between the release of them, so don't worry there. Also, I've decided that certain events in the anime/games (i.e. certain routes, gym battles and captures) will be mentioned briefly, but not written in great detail as it could potentially make the story extremely long and it could soon get boring for you to read, and harder for me to write. Thank you for your patience, now let's get into the chapter!

Chapter 4

After what felt like two days of constant walking, Ash, Dawn and Pikachu were happy to see that they had finally made it to Striaton City, home to the Striaton City Gym, and where Ash's first Unova gym badge could be won. Dawn being Dawn wanted to check out the city more, so Ash decided he would meet her at the Pokémon Centre, to which Dawn agreed and raced off in the opposite direction.

"That Dawn, always fascinated by a pretty place, huh?" Ash said to Pikachu as they watched the blue-haired girl rushing down the streets, Pikachu responded with a small smile as they began to make their way to the Pokémon Centre.

Once Ash's Pokémon were fully healed, Ash decided he and Pikachu would try to find Dawn, only to be met by her when he turned a corner, causing Ash and Pikachu to jump in surprise.

"Hey guys! Did I scare you?" Dawn said after she watched Ash and Pikachu practically jump out of their own skins.

"Who us? Are you kidding? It'll take a lot more than that to scare us, Dawn. Give us some credit would ya?" Ash spoke out as he tried to catch his breath, with Pikachu panting too.

"Well that's good. For a moment there I thought you were both going to scream. Silly me." she teased Ash as she reached into a small bag "Hey, I've got a little present for you, Ash" she added as handed Ash a small package.

As Ash opened the small package, he found a small blue and yellow box, "Hey, a Town Map!" he said as he looked back at Dawn.

"I figured that since Brock is no longer with us, we would need to navigate ourselves around the region, and I thought you would have a better time using it than me, so there you go," Dawn told Ash as she smiled, waiting for his reaction to the gift she had given him.

"Thank you so much Dawn, this is perfect! You're the best!" he said as he gave her a warm smile, causing her blush with appreciation.

Ash asked Dawn if she would like to look at more of the city before they went to the gym, to which Dawn accepted. There were huge buildings and multiple shops, the latter making Dawn completely crazy and causing Ash to rush in and drag her out before she made any unnecessary purhases. A few hours went by and Ash was finally ready to challenge the first gym for his first Unova gym badge.

Approaching a large fancy building with a Poké Ball symbol on the front above the doorway, Ash and Dawn thought that it must be the place, but were quickly disappointed when they found themselves standing inside a restaurant. As Ash looked around, he came across a smartly dressed man who had finished taking the order of a couple at a table.

"Uh, excuse me" Ash asked the waiter, "I thought this was the Striaton Gym?"

"Oh it is, sir. The Striaton Gym is certainly where you are…" he said slowly as he started walking away.

"Weird guy…" Ash said, confused at the situation.

Just as Ash was about to go find Dawn, she made her way around the multiple tables around the restaurant, accompanied by a taller guy with green hair.

"Ash! This guy says he's the Striaton City Gym Leader…uh…well, one of them at least. He asked which starter you chose, so I just told him you have an Oshawott, but I don't get why that's so important" Dawn explained as Ash looked at the guy with a serious and determined look on his face.

"So you must be the one who's challenging the gym then? I'm Cilan, it would be my pleasure to battle you. Please follow me to the battle field, sir." Cilan said as he walked off to one of the walls at the back of the gym.

When Ash and Dawn had caught up to Cilan, they watched as the wall began to open up in front of him and an entirely new room become visible behind it. Heading onto the battle field, Ash got into position at his side as Cilan did the same on his, leaving Dawn to rush over to the sidelines and sit on a bench to watch the battle. The referee got into his position as well as many of the customers from the restaurant arrived to watch the battle after their meal.

"Attention everyone, the Striaton City gym battle will now get underway! To my left is Ash the challenger, and to my right, Cilan the leader of the Striaton City Gym!" the referee shouted as the crowd went wild from this. "You will each have the use of one Pokémon, and the battle will be over when either side's Pokémon is unable to continue. Are these rules understood?" he added, receiving a nod from both sides.

Both Cilan and Ash threw their Poké Balls into the battle field, releasing their Pokémon. As Ash released Oshawott, Cilan sent out a small green monkey Pokémon.

"Who's that Pokémon?" Ash asked himself as he took out his Pokédex to look up the new Pokémon.

Pansage, the Grass Monkey Pokémon. Pansage offers leaves on its head to Pokémon that have low energy. The leaves relieve stress.

"So Pansage is a Grass-type Pokémon, huh?" Ash said, "That's not good for Oshawott, who's a Water-type. We're going to have to be really careful here."

"And now! Battle begin!" the referee shouted.

The battle began, leading Ash and Cilan to quickly command attacks to their Pokémon. Both trying hard to get the upper hand on their opponent. Attack after attack was sent towards the Pokémon, but neither side was giving in any time soon; both Pokémon were exhausted, but refused to give up.

"We're going to need to wrap this up quick, Oshawott'll be done for Pansage manages to land another Grass-type attack." Ash thought to himself.

As Cilan finished pulling at his bow tie, he snapped his fingers and ordered Pansage to charge up Solar Beam, obviously wanting to finish the battle right here and now. Ash, knowing that Oshawott wouldn't be able to take Solar Beam well at this point, he ordered Oshawott to charge in and use Razor Shell, knowing that Solar Beam would take a while to charge.

"Keep running Oshawott! You can do it!" Ash shouted as he encouraged the Sea Otter Pokémon.

"I admire your battling spirit, but it's time for a sweet ending. Fire the Solar Beam now Pansage!" Cilan called out.

Oshawott continued running as the beam of bright light headed straight for him, making him nervous, but Ash reassured him and ordered him to keep going and hold out the scalchop in front of him as a defence. Doing as Ash said, Oshawott was successful and deflected the move, gaining enough speed to charge straight towards Pansage and strike with a powerful Razor Shell, finishing off Pansage.

"Oshawott has defeated Pansage, so Ash the challenger is the winner!" the referee shouted, announcing Ash as the winner.

Oshawott ran over to Ash, jumping up and down from excitement of the victory as Dawn ran over to Ash and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Congratulations Ash! I'm so happy for you!" she said as she smiled at him, receiving a warm smile back as Ash put his hand on her shoulder.

"Thanks Dawn!" Ash replied.

Cilan approached them as he held something in his fist. As he held his hand up, he opened his fist, revealing a gym badge on his palm, to which Ash took it with honour.

"Thanks a lot, Cilan! The battle was amazing!" Ash said as he showed Dawn, Pikachu and Oshawott the gym badge.

"I would really like to ask you some questions about how you battle, Ash. I'm sure listening to you would help me grow as a gym leader, and most importantly, a trainer." Cilan explained, to which Ash was more than happy to answer any questions he might have had.

Cilan, Ash and Dawn made their way to the Pokémon Centre so that Ash and Cilan could get their Pokémon healed, and also have their talk. Cilan asked Ash multiple questions about how he battled the way he did and how he managed to win even though he could be at a type disadvantage, to which Ash explained, much to Cilan's enjoyment.

"Wow!" Cilan said in amazement, "It all makes so much sense now, going on a journey certainly does allow one to improve one's self as a trainer. I envy those who are able to travel to new places and discover new things with their Pokémon as they grow stronger together." Cilan said, almost sounding a bit sad.

"You've never been on a journey before, have you Cilan?" Dawn asked sympathetically as Cilan shook his head.

Ash looked at Dawn and nodded while smiling, knowing what she was about to ask even before she said it.

"Cilan, you're more than welcome to join us on our journey, we've only just got started so there's bound to be plenty more places to see. That sound good?" she asked him.

Cilan could hardly contain his excitement, which completely shocked Dawn and scared Ash for the second time today. After Ash and Cilan received their fully healed Pokémon, Ash and Dawn arranged to stay at the Pokémon Centre tonight as Cilan said that he would meet them in the morning before they left, to which Ash and Dawn agreed as they waved to Cilan who left for the night.

I wanted to keep Cilan from the anime in the story as I sort of liked his character and thought he could have some additional Pokémon to his team that could reflect his personality too. I don't think he'll have a legendary though as I have something planned there.

Also, I've addressed this at the beginning of this chapter, but I want to know your thoughts on the fact that I've decided to focus less on certain events so that the story doesn't become too long or span over 100+ chapters as you would most likely get bored with that, but still, please let me know so I know your views on it and I can make the reading experience for you more enjoyable.

Chapter 5 is coming your way soon! Stay tuned!