A/N:

Happy New Year! I was going to wait on posting this one, but what better way to usher in the new year than with a new chapter?

Let's go!

"Alright everyone, lunch is ready!"

Serena looked up from her Pokedex to see Brock stand up from the pot of stew he was making. As a performer and coordinator, she'd been exposed to all manner of cuisine. She'd tasted food from Kalos, Hoenn, and Sinnoh, so her palate was fairly well rounded and she knew her tastes. Throughout it all, Serena had held the firm belief that some of the best food she'd ever had was what her old friend Clemont made during their journey through Kalos with Ash.

Smelling Brock's stew had her second-guessing that.

In the three days since they'd left Professor Krane's lab, affectionately called HQ by Bonnie, Serena had the immense pleasure of eating Brock's cooking and she could say without a doubt that she was not disappointed in the slightest. Ash wasn't kidding when he said Brock was one of the best cooks he'd ever traveled with. The best part of it was that this was being cooked by a doctor, so there was no doubt in her mind that the food was healthy too.

She glanced over at Ash, who was now effectively inhaling Brock's stew like a vacuum.

She gave a gentle smile as a thought occurred to her. Maybe she could have Brock teach her a thing or two about cooking. After all, like her mother always said, "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach."

"Once we finish here in Orre, I've gotta introduce you to Clemont!" Bonnie said after she slurped up a spoonful of the stew. "We'll have you two do a cook-off!"

"Yeah!" Ash cried out. "We could even invite Cilan and make it a three-way cook-off! That would be so tasty!"

"Cilan?" Serena asked, hearing a name she was pretty sure Ash had never mentioned in the past. "Is that another friend you traveled with?"

"Yep!" Ash answered. He stood up to grab a second helping of stew. "He traveled with Iris and I through Unova. He's a Pokemon Connoisseur, so he basically specializes in judging the bonds between trainers and their Pokemon."

"I think I've heard of those." Serena muttered, cupping her chin. "They're pretty popular in Unova, right?"

"Mm-hmm!" Ash hummed with a mouth full of stew. Once he swallowed, he continued. "I think you'd all like him. I'll have to introduce you all someday."

"It sounds like you've done a lot of traveling, Ash. How many regions have you traveled through?" Sora asked after finishing his own bowl of stew.

"Well…" Ash started, pausing as he held up fingers to count off the regions he'd been to. "I started in Kanto. After that, I went to Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, and finally Alola. I've never been to Galar, but I hear it's interesting!"

"Don't forget the Orange Islands, Ash." Brock reminded him. "I would have figured you'd at least remember that one, given you're the Champion there."

"Right!" Ash said mareepishly.

Serena shook her head. Leave it to Ash to forget something as noteworthy as being the Champion of a region.

"Wait, I thought you were the Champion of Alola?" Sora asked, looking rather confused.

"I am." Ash said with a nod. "I'm Champion of both regions."

"Wow!" Sora exclaimed. "That's awesome! Being Champion of two regions sounds really impressive."

"It is." Serena stated with a small amount of pride in her voice. "There's only one other Champion of two regions, so Ash is pretty strong and talented as a trainer. He's the best there is."

Serena saw Bonnie giving a trademark smirk in her peripheral, but decided to ignore her. She realized she probably slipped up a little bit there and was blatant in her praise, but it's not like Ash would have read too much into it, anyway.

"T-thanks, Serena." Ash stammered, rubbing the back of his neck bashfully. "I didn't think you thought so highly of me."

Serena looked over at Ash and immediately felt another blush coming on. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. This was so unlike him. Sure, he'd shown modesty when praised in the past, but this was something completely new. She never thought she'd see the day.

Sweet Arceus, Ash Ketchum was blushing.

"O-of course, Ash!" Serena spluttered as she tried and failed to keep her composure. "You've done a lot of impressive things, so obviously I - "

"OW!" Sora suddenly cried out.

Serena silently thanked Sora for the interruption before she could get too flustered, but then she looked over to see the boy rubbing the top of his head in pain. Everyone's Pokemon looked over at the boy with similar looks of confusion.

"What happened?" Bonnie asked, her grin disappearing as she looked over at the spiky-haired brunette.

Sora rubbed the top of his head. "I don't know. It felt like something hit the top of my head."

"Did anyone see what it was?" Brock asked as he looked around.

Serena looked around. Sure, they were surrounded by trees - they hadn't yet hit the desert portion of Orre, thankfully - but none of the trees seemed to be bearing fruit. Short of a stray branch, which somebody would have spotted, she wasn't sure what could have possibly hit Sora.

"Pi-pika!"

"Den!"

Serena glanced over at the two electric rodents, who were both pointing behind Sora. The other Pokemon nearby also followed their gazes and seemed to spot something. Charizard had a smirk on his face at whatever was behind Sora, whereas Pancham and Tyrunt looked ready for a fight. Blissey waddled over to check Sora's head while Toxicroak, on the other hand, was the epitome of apathy.

Behind Sora, standing defiantly and proudly, was a small blue Pokemon with fluffy white plumage on its head. It had impressively large talons (for its size) and a larger red feather on its crest.

"What's that Pokemon?" Bonnie asked. She then looked at Sora with excitement in her eyes. "Let's use our new Pokedexes! It'll tell us what it is!"

Sora followed her lead in retrieving his Pokedex. Once both trainers held their devices up to scan the Pokemon, a computerized voice started to read something off.

"Rufflet, the Eaglet Pokemon. They will challenge anything, even strong opponents, without fear. Their frequent fights help them become stronger."

"SO CUTE!" Bonnie squealed after the Pokedex had finished reading off its information. "I knew we'd find some interesting Pokemon here in Orre!"

"That's very unusual." Brock commented. "Wild Pokemon are supposed to be rare in Orre. I wonder what this little guy's doing all the way out here. He's native to Unova, after all."

"Did you hit me?" Sora asked the Rufflet. His tone wasn't accusatory, to his credit, but rather genuinely curious.

"Ruff!" The Eaglet Pokemon replied, nodding its head and staring right at Sora.

"Why?" Sora asked. "Did you want something?"

"Lett-ruf Rufflet!" It replied, looking pretty irritated. It spread its wings and gave another fearsome - though it came off as absolutely adorable to both Serena and Bonnie - war cry.

"I think he wants to battle you, Sora." Brock said.

"Ruf!" The Rufflet answered, nodding and giving a smirk.

"But I don't have a Pokemon to battle him with!" Sora replied, looking mildly panicked. "I don't want to hurt him!"

Something about this whole exchange sounded odd to Serena. Pokemon were incredibly tough and resilient creatures. They were strong enough to literally leave impact craters whenever they fought, so they were much stronger than your typical human. An injury that would otherwise cripple a human, a Pokemon could heal in a matter of days. If the Pokedex entry was to be believed, Rufflets sought out strong opponents to battle, so why had it picked on Sora when he had no Pokemon of his own? Surely Charizard, Pikachu, or even Delphox would have made a more tempting target. More to the point, why had Sora thought he'd hurt it if he fought it?

Something wasn't adding up here.

"Corphish-cor!" Ash's Corphish declared, walking up alongside Sora.

"Corphish?" Ash asked. "You want to battle for Sora?"

"Phish!" The Ruffian Pokemon answered with a determined nod.

"Are you sure, Corphish?" Sora asked.

"Cor!" The lobster-like Pokemon responded, nodding once more.

"Sora, scan Corphish with your Pokedex." Brock advised. "It'll tell you what moves it knows."

Sora brought out his Pokedex and scanned Corphish. Again, a computerized voice started to summarize, this time focused on Ash's Pokemon.

"This Corphish knows Crabhammer, Bubble Beam, Vise Grip, and Harden. Its ability is Shell Armor."

"Alright, here goes then." Sora said, standing up and taking position behind Corphish. "Ready Corphish? Rufflet?"

Both Pokemon gave out a battle cry and narrowed their eyes at each other. Corphish clacked its claws menacingly, while Rufflet flexed its talons, scratching rivets in the grass below. Serena looked to Sora, whose face was a mixture of excitement and nervousness. This was his first official battle, after all, so she understood that he would be anxious. She certainly remembered her first battle with her then-Fennekin. It was both exciting and terrifying.

"Corphish, try a Bubble Beam!" Sora shouted, his voice surprisingly confident.

Corphish opened its pincer and fired out a stream of bubbles which rocketed towards the Eaglet Pokemon. Rufflet immediately took off into the air, dodging the beam entirely. He hovered in the air and almost seemed to taunt Corphish, who did not take too kindly to that.

"Phish-cor!" The Ruffian Pokemon shouted upward.

"Be careful here, Sora." Brock cautioned. "Corphish is a strong Pokemon, but it doesn't have much in the way of fast ranged attacks."

"Right." Sora said, glancing back at Brock and giving a nod. He looked down at his Pokedex and seemed to be quickly scanning over the information presented. "Got it. Corphish, use Harden."

As Corphish's exoskeleton shimmered with the activation of the skill, Ash smirked and looked towards Brock. "Looks like Sora has a head for battling."

"Agreed." Brock said with a smirk of his own.

"Why's that?" Bonnie asked.

"Rufflet's too far away for Bubblebeam to work effectively since he'll just dodge anyway." Ash explained. "Using Harden raises Corphish's defense so that when the two do eventually clash, Corphish has the advantage."

"Ooh, that's smart!" Serena said, looking over towards Sora and Corphish. "You're doing great, Sora!"

"Thanks, Serena!" Sora replied, giving her a thumbs up. He looked back towards Corphish. "He's probably going to come in soon, get ready."

"Cor!" It replied, clacking its pincers.

"Lett!" Their opponent cried out, dropping out of its hovering position and diving straight at Corphish. Its beak began to glow white as it streaked down towards its target.

"That's a Peck, Sora!" Ash called out to the new trainer. "It's a relatively weak move but it's fast!"

"Got it!" Sora replied before turning back to Corphish. "Let's go for a Crabhammer!"

"Phish!" Corphish roared out as it charged forward, its two pincers glowing white as well.

The two Pokemon clashed, Rufflet striking first with a Peck, which seemed to glance off of Corphish's hardened exoskeleton. Almost immediately afterward, Corphish brought its Crabhammer down, striking the Rufflet squarely in the back. Following up on that momentum, the Ruffian Pokemon swung upward with its other claw, smacking his opponent in the face and sending the Flying type hurtling away. It crashed unceremoniously into the grass ahead.

"Nice!" Sora exclaimed, clearly getting amped up with the battle. He seemed to be grasping at empty air with his right hand, but Serena wrote it off as battle nerves. "Great job, Corphish!"

"Corphish-cor!" The Water type replied happily, clacking its pincers once more.

Serena watched as the Rufflet slowly stood up, a determined scowl crossing its face. Its talons then seemed to shimmer just like Corphish's exoskeleton had as it kicked away at the ground. Once more, it let out a war cry as it narrowed its eyes at Corphish again.

"Ooh, that's Hone Claws." Brock warned. "Its attack just raised, Sora. It'll now be able to punch through Corphish's defense."

"We can take it." Sora said, nodding towards Corphish. "Vise Grip!"

Corphish scuttled forward, both claws opened menacingly. Rufflet's eyes widened as it, too, charged forward, this time with its wings glowing. Serena recognized this as a Wing Attack. Just before the two were going to clash again, Rufflet hopped to the side, completely avoiding the Vise Grip as Corphish's pincer clamped shut. The Eaglet Pokemon then slammed its glowing wing into Corphish's flank, sending it rolling away to the side.

"Are you alright, Corphish?!" Sora asked with concern.

"Phish… cor!" The Water type groaned out before standing up once more.

"Rufflet!" The Flying type called out, rushing forward again.

"Wait for it…" Sora murmured, just low enough for Corphish and the others to hear it, but not Rufflet. A few moments later, just when it looked like Rufflet was going to collide with another Wing Attack, Sora gave his command. "Bubblebeam!"

"Phish!" The Ruffian Pokemon cried out, quickly sending forth a deluge of bubbles.

Already caught in its forward momentum and far too close to dodge, Rufflet had no choice but to take the attack head-on, which proved to be too much for it. As each bubble struck its face, the glow on its wings began to subside. Rufflet tried to stand its ground and push forward, but ultimately its energy gave out and it was sent back again, skidding along the ground.

"You should try catching it, Sora!" Bonnie shouted out, fishing out a spare Pokeball from her pack and tossing it to the brunette.

"Go for it!" Ash cried out in agreement.

Sora looked down at the Pokeball in his hand, then over at the exhausted Rufflet. "Okay! Here goes!"

Sora lobbed the capture device forward, nailing the Flying type on its beak. The Pokeball opened, enveloping the Eaglet Pokemon in a red light. It then sucked its target inside and the Pokeball landed on the grass below with a soft thud. The ball shook once.

Then twice.

After the last shake, it let out a soft *click*. Rufflet was caught.

"Did I catch him?" Sora asked, peering at the inert Pokeball sitting on the grass. Corphish, meanwhile, waddled over to Ash, looking rather pleased with itself. Ash gave him a berry, a word of thanks, and a few appreciative pats on the head.

"Yep!" Bonnie said, her smile beaming with excitement. "You caught a Rufflet!"

"Here." Brock said, walking up and handing Sora a Sitrus berry. "He's still hurt from your battle. You should let him out and heal him with this."

Sora nodded, taking the berry and walking over to where the Pokeball sat. He picked up the Pokeball and tossed it in the air, revealing a scratched up Rufflet, who spread its wings and gave out a battle cry once he was revealed.

Sora knelt down and offered the Sitrus berry to the injured Eaglet Pokemon. "Hey there Rufflet. That was a hard battle you fought. I think you're pretty awesome. Do you wanna be friends?"

Rufflet eyed Sora with suspicion for a moment before hesitantly taking a bite out of the Sitrus berry. Once he did, his expression softened considerably, clearly enjoying the berry for all it was worth. Within seconds, the new Pokemon had scarfed down the entirety of the Sitrus berry and hopped up onto Sora's shoulder. It gave a quick nod of its head, making eye contact with Sora as it did so.

"Great!" Sora exclaimed, beaming from ear to ear. "Let me introduce you to everyone."

Sora and Rufflet came back to the group and a flurry of introductions were made. With so many Pokemon out of their balls, plus their trainers, the process took longer than usual. Most of the Pokemon present were friendly and amiable, though there were a few notable exceptions. Charizard, clearly a prideful Pokemon, simply smirked at the tiny Eaglet Pokemon condescendingly, but not in a hostile manner. It seemed Charizard was impressed with its attitude, but was rather unimpressed with its physical stature. Delphox was a little more hesitant to make physical contact with the dirtied bird, opting instead to give a nod in greeting instead of a handshake. Toxicroak's only acknowledgement that Rufflet existed was an apathetic look and a swelling of its cheeks.

Rufflet, for his part, was friendly and cheerful, but the inner fire in his eyes spoke volumes of how much he wanted to battle each Pokemon present at least once during their adventure. Serena was still surprised that the little Flying type had challenged Sora instead of Ash, given his adamant nature.

Serena smiled at the sight of Sora's first Pokemon making friends with the others, or most of them anyway. She could already tell this was going to be a staple of Sora's team, just like Pikachu was for Ash and Delphox was for herself.

With all of the excitement out of the way, the group spent the rest of the evening either obsessing over their newest friend or making idle conversation. They decided to tuck in for the evening earlier than usual, knowing that they would be crossing a large expanse of desert in the morning. Then they would find themselves in Pyrite Town. There, they might find clues surrounding Sora's friends and maybe - just maybe - they'd be able to rescue a Shadow Pokemon or two.

This was already shaping up to be a very different adventure.

Different, as it turned out, was the perfect word for it.

The five trainers, plus Pikachu, Dedenne, and Rufflet (who Sora liked to keep outside of his ball most of the time) slowly drove into what was easily the strangest town Serena had ever been to. Granted, she was not nearly as well-traveled as someone like Ash, for example, but a quick glance at her crush's flabbergasted face was enough to convince her that the sentiment was valid nonetheless.

Pyrite Town itself seemed to be carved into a moderately narrow canyon. Most of the buildings seemed to be made of what looked like scrap metal slapped together haphazardly. Each building was made of multiple colors due to the different metals used in construction. In a way, it gave Pyrite Town a rustic, forlorn aesthetic that carried its own charm to it. The furthest end of the canyon was capped off with a very large glass dome, which seemed to serve as a landmark for navigation, but Serene suspected it had some sort of significance to the town itself. A quick look at the PDA function of her new Pokedex told her that the dome was, in fact, a colosseum.

Well, she knew what Ash was going to be up to while they were here.

Serena continued to look through the information presented about Pyrite Town, known as the town of earth, wind, and money. Apparently Pyrite Town, as well as an underground twin city nearby called the Under, was a mining town when it was first established. Once the mineral veins ran out, the mining population converted everything into residences and businesses. Now it was the second largest settlement in Orre, only smaller than Phenac City, and was renowned for its tough and resilient citizens, most of which were either stubborn and old-fashioned or shady and criminal.

It was definitely not the kind of place a Kalos Princess would find herself in, but here she was.

"Wow!" Ash exclaimed as he scanned over the rough-looking town. "I've never seen a town like this."

"Yeah, it's definitely… something." Bonnie muttered, nervously looking around. "Where should we go to find some Shadow Pokemon?"

"We also need to ask about Sora's friends, Bonnie." Serena reminded the young blonde.

As Brock slowly drove the jeep through town, a few of the residents, notably those hanging around alleys and other (literally) shady places seemed to be staring at the group intently. Serena felt a shiver go up her spine at the notion of being observed so intensely. She was used to being the center of attention given her fame as a performer and coordinator, but this was something else.

"There should be a hotel coming up on your left here, Brock." Serena said, quickly dismissing those creepy notions. "It's called the Pyrite Super Grand Hotel. Sounds upscale."

They eventually found the hotel in question, and after some time managed to safely park their jeep in an indoor garage and rent a room for the night. With so much time remaining for the rest of the day, the five sat in the hotel lobby - which Serena noted was considerably better maintained than the rest of the town looked - to deliberate their next moves.

"So we have two missions here: rescue Shadow Pokemon and ask about Sora's friends." Ash said as they sat around a table.

"Well one of those is definitely safer than the other." Brock said, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. "I doubt the people of Pyrite are going to take kindly to us just snagging Pokemon out of the blue in broad daylight."

"But Professor Krane said we were authorized, that we had the right permits or something, right?" Bonnie asked, clearly unsure why there was hesitation.

"That may be true, but these people don't know that." Brock retorted. "And Sora's the only one here who can actually see Shadow Pokemon, so to everyone else it's going to look like we're going around and stealing regular Pokemon."

"He's got a point. We have to be careful." Ash said, cupping his chin. Serena had to do a double take. Was Ash actually thinking things through? In her travels with him, he never thought things through. He always acted on impulse and emotion. Apparently the idea of stealing other peoples' Pokemon was enough to give him pause.

It meant he was more mature than she first thought.

"So where do we start?" Sora asked as he looked from face to face.

There was at least a solid minute of silence as all five trainers seemed to be deep in thought, trying desperately to figure out a way to accomplish their goals in this town without arousing too much suspicion or trouble.

"Sounds like you kids should go see Chief Sherles." A voice whispered from behind Serena. She visibly jumped in her seat and whipped around, as did everyone else.

It was a man - probably in his 30's - with vibrant pink hair, wearing a brown biker jacket. He had his feet kicked up on the table he was sitting at, so Serena could see the pair of blue chaps he had on over his brown pants. That, combined with his brown boots led Serena to believe he was some sort of rough-rider or biker.

Upon seeing the shocked stares he was receiving, the man chuckled and gave them a sly smile. "You all should be a little more careful about talking shop in a lobby like this. The wrong kind of people might catch wind before you get to do anything. You can relax, though. I'm not one of them. Name's Willie."

Sora was the first to recover from his initial shock. "Well it's nice to meet you, Willie! Thanks for the heads up."

Everyone's attention shifted over to Sora as they stared at him with disbelieving looks on their faces. Even his own Rufflet was looking at him like he was crazy. How could he be so friendly and trusting with a complete stranger like that?

"... What?" Sora asked innocently. "Willie seems like a nice guy. If he was one of those bad people I don't think he would have said anything to us at all."

Serena paused. There was a bit of logic to that. If Willie was someone they needed to watch out for, he likely would have kept his presence unknown.

"Bah, don't mention it, kid." Willie said with a wave of his hand. "He's right, though. If I meant you kids harm, I wouldn't have revealed myself like this."

The tension at the table noticeably decreased. Once again, everyone focused their attention on the pinkette. They'd hear him out, at least.

"For the record, I'm in favor of what y'all are doing." Willie began before he gestured to the Snag Machine affixed to Ash's arm. "I once met a guy with one of those. He helped clean this town up some years ago by clearin' out the Shadow Pokemon."

Serena's eyebrows shot up. Had this guy met Wes?

"The chief knew him, too. I'd say go talk to Sherles and explain the situation." Willie said, gesturing out the window.

"Why are you helping us?" Brock asked, his eyes still showing suspicion at the pinkette's behavior. "What's in it for you?"

"Same reason I helped out the other guy." Willie said with a shrug of his shoulders and a smirk on his lips. "I like fighting strong trainers, and you folks look strong. That Pikachu looks like a veteran and I'd love to try my hand in a battle against him. Not now, though."

Ash's eyebrow rose. Serena had a feeling she knew what he was thinking. Both of them were clearly curious as to why the man would broach the subject but not demand a battle right this second.

"I usually spend my free time over at Outskirt Stand, to the northeast of here." Willie continued. "I'm just here on business, but come swing by sometime. You can repay me with a good battle or two."

"Sounds like a plan!" Ash said with a fist pump. His eyes blazed with that inner fire, that trademark determination Serena knew all too well.

Willie let out a guffaw. "Hah! That's more like it. I'll look forward to it."

With that, Willie stood up from his seat and sauntered outside, casually throwing a peace sign over his shoulder as he walked out the door. Serena turned back to the table, making eye contact with Ash.

"Well, I guess we're going to go see the police chief then." He said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Can't say I've heard or seen either of them. Sorry, son."

Serena's gaze shifted from the police chief to Sora as she worriedly looked at him. Yet another dead end. She couldn't even begin to imagine what he must be going through right now. Having no home to call your own - or at least not remembering it - and knowing that the only two people you remember from your previous life are nowhere to be found. Her heart went out to him; she knew all too well what it felt like to be separated from the ones you loved.

Being separated from Ash was basically an old pastime for her.

Yet, strangely enough, Sora didn't seem too bothered by it. Whether it was his boundless optimism that seemed to mirror Ash's or something else entirely, she didn't know. She would have been crushed by finding yet another dead end, but he wasn't. Sure, he looked sad, but not nearly as much as he should have.

Why?

"Well thank you anyway, Chief Sherles." Sora said with a light bow.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help." The older gentleman replied. Chief Sherles had to have been in his 50's or 60's, given his blanched white hair. Being police chief was undoubtedly troublesome work, but the white in his hair was clearly from age, not stress. He did certainly look the part, though. From his blue trench coat to the well-groomed handlebar mustache, he looked every bit the person of authority. He sat forward in his chair as his gaze shifted over to Ash.

More specifically, his arm.

"Am I to understand that you're the ones Krane assigned to deal with our… problem?" Sherles hesitantly asked.

"We're here to help however we can, sir." Ash said with a serious nod. Pikachu, currently perched on his shoulder as was usual, mimicked his action.

"Well, the good professor certainly spoke highly of you." Sherles said with a slight smirk. "He phoned a few days ago to let me know that you were making your way around. If you're willing, I'd like to test out your abilities for myself."

Ash's eyebrow raised. "How do you mean, sir?"

Sherles leaned back in his chair and looked thoughtful. "There's a trainer - we think he's associated with Team Snagem, actually - that's been frequenting the Duel Square for the past week or so, challenging trainers left and right and absolutely destroying them."

"Duel Square?" Serena asked, unfamiliar with the name.

"Right. I should probably explain." The chief replied as he stood up and made his way to the window. He pulled open the blinds partially before he continued. "In the center of town there's a platform left over from when this place used to be a mining village. It used to be the meeting place for the miners way back when, for town meetings and such. Now it's a makeshift battlefield for trainers wanting to prove their worth."

Ash merely nodded, prompting Sherles to continue.

"See, trainers here make their own bets on what they win." He continued. "Sometimes it's items, most of the time it's money, but nothing's necessarily off the table. Goes by the name of Nover; he's been the undisputed champ of the Duel Square for the past week, robbing everyone of their money and items through battles."

"Can't people just decline the battle?" Brock asked.

Sherles shook his head. "Not there. It's an unwritten rule of Pyrite that if you step foot in the Duel Square, you're agreeing to fight no matter what. Both battlers get to set the stakes of the battle."

"So what do you want us to do?" Ash asked.

"Simple." Sherles said, his lips forming a knowing smirk. "Challenge him. He's got an ego the size of a Wailord, so he'll jump at the chance to battle a tourist like you. A good thrashing from a Champion like yourself oughta put him in his place. Demand his Shadow Pokemon as the prize if you win."

Serena glanced down at Bonnie, who had a mischievous smile on her face. The young blonde was obviously in favor of this underhanded tactic.

She was already regretting bringing the impressionable young trainer along.

"When you win, you'll rescue a Shadow Pokemon and rid the town of a nuisance at the same time." Sherles concluded. "I'll stay nearby in case there's trouble."

Ash turned to his friends. "What do you guys think? Should I do it?"

"I say go for it." Bonnie said with a shrug, obviously trying to downplay her own excitement.

"We'll be there to back you up if things get messy." Sora said, pumping his fist.

"You can do it." Serena said, smiling at him.

Any doubt Ash had in his mind seemed to fade away just then as he turned back to Chief Sherles. Serena could tell just by the look on his face.

"Alright, we're in."

A/N:

Sora gets his first Pokemon! Some of you were close on your suggestions/guesses regarding his starter. I wanted to pay homage to the fact that his name means "Sky" so what better way than for his starter to be a Flying type? The idea of his starter being a Litleo did also cross my mind, but I wanted his starter to be unorthodox in that it didn't lead to a Fire/Grass/Water typing once evolved.

Next chapter, we get to see our first Shadow Pokemon capture! The Shadow Pokemon in this story will not necessarily line up with what's seen in Colosseum or XD; I've gotta switch it up somehow, right?

Anyway, til next time!