It was the day after Ash's gym victory. Our heroes were walking on route 5 and were on their way to the next town for Ash's new Gym Challenge. Ash stared at the badge ring with his first gym badge in it.
"My first gym badge," Ash said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu squeaked.
"7 more to go," Ash said.
"Don't get too cocky Ash, those Gym Challenges are not going to be easy," Chloe pointed out.
And suddenly the ground beneath their feet disappeared and they fell into a pit.
"Ouch, that hurt," Ash said.
"Pika," Pikachu squeaked.
"Yamper," Yamper barked.
"Not again," Chloe said.
"I already know who's behind this," Roan said.
"Hahahaha!"
"Yep, exactly who I was thinking," Roan said.
"Prepare for trouble!" Jessie said.
"And make it double!" James said.
"To protect the world from devastation!" Jessie said.
"To unite all people within our nation!" James said.
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!" Jessie said.
"To extend our reach to the stars above!" James said.
"Jessie!" Jessie said.
"And James!" James said.
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!" Jessie said.
"Surrender now or prepare for a fight!" James said.
"Meowth! That's right!" Meowth said.
"Wobbuffet!" Cried Wobbuffet.
"Team Rocket," Ash, Roan and Chloe said.
"Hello, you twerps, glad you fell into our trap," Jessie said.
"Don't you have anything better to do than bother us all the time?" Chloe said.
"No," Jessie siad.
"At least not until we get Pikachu, James said.
"So just to make it easy for you, give us that Pikachu right now, Meowth said.
"I don't think so," Ash said.
"Then we're just gonna take it away from you the old-fashioned way," James said.
"Not gonna happen," Ash said. Pikachu.
Pikachu nodded his head and knew Ash wanted what he was going to do. "Pika," he squeaked.
Pikachu used the walls of the pit and jumped up and up.
"Ah look at that, you will come to us on your own," Meowth said.
"Come here Pikachu," Jessie said.
"Finally things are going easy for us for once, James said.
"Now Pikachu!" Ash commanded.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu cried.
Pikachu used Thunderbolt and electrified Team Rocket and the evil trio blasted off into the air.
"We should have seen this coming," James said.
"Yeah, it's never easy for us," Meowth said.
"Will that ever happen for us?" Jessie asked.
"Maybe someday," James said.
"But for now," Meowth said.
"We're blasting off again!" Team Rocket screamed.
"Wobbuffet," Wobbuffet cried.
Team Rocket shot further and further into the air until only a small light could be seen. Ash, Roan and Chloe climbed out of the pit.
"So we we out of the pit and Team Rocket is gone," Ash said.
"Thank goodness," Roan said.
"Hey, how about lunch?" Chloe suggested.
"Good idea," Ash said.
"Me, too. I'm starting to get hungry," Roan said.
"Well, let's get everything ready then," Chloe said.
Ash took the Pokéballs of Rookidee and Grookey out of his pocket. 'Rookidee and Grookey I choose you," he said.
"Rookidee," Rookidee chirped.
"Grookey, Grookey
"Okay Scorbunny and Toxel it's lunch time," Roan said as he summoned his Pokémon.
"Scor, Scorbunny," Scorbunny squeaked.
"Toxel," Toxel hissed.
"Everyone please help me get the lunch ready," Chloe said.
In the meantime, Team Rocket had landed somewhere further up in the woods.
"And again were defeated by the twerps," Meowth complained.
"Oh they'll pay for that," Jessie said.
"Ah Jess relax," James said.
"James, how can you say that?" Jessie asked.
Jessie and Meowth turned and saw that James was in a hot water spring.
"A hot spring?" Jessie asked.
"In the middle of the forest?" Meowth asked.
"Yeah," James said.
"But how did it get here?" Meowth asked.
"No idea and I don't care, this is great," James said.
"James come out, we have to think of something new to keep that twerp's Pikachu," Jessie said.
"Jessie you really need to learn to relax, come on in," James said.
Jessie joined James in the hot spring and felt instantly relaxed.
"This is indeed wonderful," Jessie said.
"I told you," James said.
"Is it really that good?" Meowth asked.
Meowth also joined Jessie and James in the hot spring.
"Wow," Meowth said.
"And again, told you so," James said.
"Normally I don't like water, but for this I'll make an exception," Meowth said.
"How about we leave the jerks alone and have a nice relaxing day," Jessie suggested.
"Good idea," James said.
"I do need some relaxation," Meowth said.
"Wobbuffet," Wobbuffet cried.
A few moments later and Ash, Roan, Chloe and their Pokémon had finished lunch.
"That was another great lunch you made, Chloe," Ash said.
"Pika, pika," Pikachu squeaked as he agreed with his trainer.
"Thank you guys," Chloe asked. "Whose turn is it for the dishes today?"
"It's your turn," Ash replied.
"Oh yeah?" Chloe asked.
"Yeah, I did it the time before this and Roan before that," Ash replied.
"All right then, I'll go find a stream then, come Yamper," Chloe said.
"Yamper," Yamper barked.
Chloe grabbed the dirty dishes and went with Yamper to find a stream. After a while she had found one and began cleaning the dishes. Chloe was almost done when she and Yamper heard the sound of crying.
"Do you hear that Yamper?" Chloe asked.
Yamper nodded his head. "Yamp," he barked.
"It sounds like crying," Chloe said.
"Yamper," Yamper barked.
"Let's go see where it's coming from," Chloe said
And while Chloe and Yamper were investigating where the crying was coming from, Ash and Roan were resting comfortably in camp. A boy walked in with his Farfetch'd.
"Who's Pikachu is that?" the boy asked.
"He is mine," Ash said.
"He look very promising," the boy said.
"What do you mean by that?" Ash asked.
"He looks strong, Are you interested in a battle? Your Pikachu against my Farfetch'd," the boy said.
"I've never seen a Farfetch'd like that before," Ash said, grabbing his Rotom-Phone from his pocket and opened up his Pokédex app.
Farfetch'd, the Wild Duck Pokémon. A Fighting type. Farfetch'd always carries a leek that is twice as long and heavy as its own body and never lets go. This is the Galarian Form of Farfetch'd.
"So are you interested in a battle?" the boy asked again.
"Totally," Ash said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu squeaked.
"Do you want to fight that Farfetch'd, Pikachu?" Ash asked.
Pikachu nodded his head. "Pika," Pikachu squeaked.
"Okay then," Ash said.
"What's your name anyway?" Roan asked.
"I'm Vincent," Vincent said.
"Nice too meet you you, my name is Ash," Ash said.
"I'm Roan and I'll be the refere," Roan said. "Who is going to make the first move?"
"You can make the first move Vincent," Ash said.
"Okay, I'll," Vincent said.
"The battle between Ash's Pikachu and Vincent's Farfecth'd is about to begin, first Pokémon to go down loses," Roan said. "Is everyone ready?"
"Ready," Ash said.
"Bring it," Vincent said.
"Let the battle begin," Roan said.
"Farfetch'd use FURY CUTTER," Vincent commanded.
"Farfetch'd," Farfetch'd quacked.
"Pikachu dodge the attack and then use QUICK ATTACK," Ash commanded.
Pikachu managed to dodge Farfetch'd's attack and used his Quick Attack on Farfetch'd,
"Farfetch'd use BRUTAL SWING," Vincent commanded.
"Pikachu use IRON TAIL and block the attack," Ash commanded.
"Pika," Pikachu squeaked.
Pikachu used his Iron Tail to block Farfetch'd's attack. Ash and Vincent continued with the Pokéman fight. Chloe and Yamper were still looking for where the howl was coming from.
"I think we're getting close Yamper, the crying is getting clearer," Chloe said.
"Yamper," Yamper barked.
The crying sounded closer and closer, and at one point Chloe and Yamper saw a Sobble sitting by the water's edge and that that Sobble was the one crying.
"It's a Sobble," Chloe said.
"Yamper," Yamper barked.
"Let's see if the Pokédex can tell us more about it," Chloe said, as she crabbed her Rotom-Phone from her pocket.
Sobble, the Water Lizard Pokémon. A Water type. When Sobble touches watery substances, its body takes on the color of its surroundings. Because it's timid, it produces large amounts of sweat and tears that cause it to become invisible. It is said that when Sobble cries, its tears have the same effect as chopping one hundred onions.
Chloe put away her Rotom-Phone and then looked at Yamper and saw that he has tears in his eyes and she herself felt tears in her own.
"Let's see if Sobble needs our help," Chloe said.
Yamper nodded his head. "Yamp," he barked.
Chloe and Yamper carefully walked toward the Sobble.
"Sobble are you all right?" Chloe asked.
"Sobble?" Sobble clicked.
Sobble turned toward Chloe and Yamper, he got startled and made himself invisible.
"Where did he go?" Chloe asked.
"Yamper," Yamper barked.
Even though Sobble had become invisible, he was still crying and tears began to roll down Chloe and Yamper's cheeks again.
"You don't have to be afraid of me Sobble, I want to help you," Chloe said.
"Yamp, Yamper," Yamper barked.
Chloe looked around her, she saw a tree with berries in it, she walked up to the tree and picked a berry from it, she dropped to her knees and held the berry out in front of her. Suddenly the berry was snatched from her hand and she saw it being eaten and the Sobble became visible again.
"There you are," Chloe said.
"Sobb, Sobble," Sobble clicked.
"Why were you crying Sobble?" Chloe asked.
"Sobble, Sobble," Sobble clicked.
Yamper pressed his nose against Sobble. "Yamper," he barked.
"Did you lose your trainer?" Chloe asked.
Sobble nodded his head. "Sobble," he clicked.
"Don't worry, I'm going to help you find your trainer," Chloe said.
"Sobble?" Sobble clicked.
"It's no problem, I'll bring you to our camp, then you'll get some good food, does that sound like a good plan?" Chloe asked.
"Sobb, Sobble," Sobble clikced.
"Then let's go," Chloe said.
"Yamp, Yamper," Yamper barked.
Yamper offered that Sobble could come along on his back, Sobble accepted and climbed on Yamper's back and together they walked with Chloe back to where she had left the dirty dishes and then the three of them walked toward camp.
Back at camp, Ash and Vincent were still doing their Pokémon battle, Pikachu and Farfetch'd were both starting to get tired, so the trainers decided to stop the fight and make it a tie.
"That was a good fight, you have a strong Pikachu," Vincent said.
"Thank you, your Farfetch'd is also very strong," Ash said.
"We train hard," Vincent said.
"Well, so do we," Ash said.
"Do you want to enter the Galar League?" Vincent asked.
"Yes," Ash said reaching into this pocket taking out his badge ring and showing it to Vincent. "And I've already won a Gym Badge."
Vincent took his Badge Ring out of his bag and showed it to Ash. "Me too," he said.
"We are now on our way to Hulbury for my next Gym Challenge," Ash said.
"I'm on my way there now too, just here to train with my Pokémon," Vincent said.
"Maybe someday we'll be opponents in the League," Ash said.
"Perhaps we will be," Vincent said.
"Hey guys," Chloe said as she arrived.
"Hey Chloe," Roan said.
Chloe walked into camp with Yamper and Sobble. Sobble saw Vincent standing there, he got a smile on his face, he jumped off Yamper's back and ran up to Vincent and hugged his leg.
Vincent looked up at Soobble. "Sobble?" He asked.
"Sobb, Sobble," Sobble clicked.
Vincent pulled his leg away from Sobble, this caused Sobble to lose his balance and fall down to the ground.
"What are you doing here?" Vincent asked.
"Sobble?" Sobble clicked.
"Is that your Sobble?" Chloe asked.
"Unfortunately, he is," Vincent said.
"What do you mean by that?" Cloe asked.
"As I say, that unforunately this Sobble is mine," Vincent said.
"Why is it so unforuntate that Sobble is yours?" Chloe asked.
"Because he is nothing more than a weakling," Vincent said.
"Sobble?" Sobble clicked.
"Don't act surprised, you know it yourself," Vincent said.
"Sobble," Sobble clicked.
"Hey, that's no way to talk to your Pokémon," Chloe said.
"Why not? This Sobble isn't worth anything," Vincent said.
Sobble got sad and ran away with tears in his eyes.
"What's your problem?" Chloe asked.
"I don't have a problem, I'm just saying how it is," Vincent said.
"You're just nothing but a jerk," Chloe said, she turned around and ran in the diraction that Sobble ran to. "Sobble."
"Yamper," barked as he ran after Chloe.
"Why is she even meddeling with all this?" Vincent asked.
"Because of Sobble," Roan said.
"He is your Pokémon why are you so mean to him?" Ash asekd.
"What business is it of yours?" Vincent asked.
"When someone is mean to their Pokémon, I can't stand it," Ash said.
"Me too, Pokémon are our friends, Roan said.
Ash and Roan decided to go after Chloe, they looked at Vincent with angry looks, but he didn't seem to care much what they thought of him. And the two boys went looking for her and Sobble.
Sobble was back by the water and was crying again. Chloe and Yamper also got back to the water and walked over to Sobble and sat down next to him.
"Sobble," Chloe said.
"Sobb," Sobble clicked.
"Hey Sobble, it's okay, don't listen to him," Chloe said.
"Sobble, Sobble," Sobble clicked.
"Sobble, you're not weak, I'm sure you're very strong," Chloe said.
"Sobble," Sobble clicked.
"Yeah, I believe in that you're strong," Chloe said.
"Yamper, Yamper," Yamper barked.
"And Yamper believes in you, too," Chloe said.
"Sobble?" Sobble clicked.
"You must I believe in yourself," Chloe said.
"Sobble," Sobble clicked.
"Sobble, you're not a weakling," Chloe said.
"Yamper," Yamper barked.
"Every Pokémon needs their own time to find their strenght," Chloe said.
"Sobble," Sobble clicked.
"Yes, my Yamper has always been super lazy, preferred to lie around and eat all day, the only times it would run was when he sees a Flying Pokémon," Chloe said.
"Yamper," Yamper barked feeling a bit offended.
"Sorry, Yamper, I didn't mean to, But I already know that Yamper is much stronger than before and it's because of this journey," Chloe said.
Yamper jumped on Chloe with a smile and licked her cheek happily.
"I love you too Yamper," Chloe said.
"Yamper," Yamper barked.
"So what do you say, Sobble, let's go train together and prove that trainer of yours wrong," Chloe said.
"Sobble," Sobble clicked.
"All right then, let's see what attacks you should already know according to the Pokédex," Chloe said.
Chloe searched for her Pokédex for information on Sobble's moves.
"Okay, according to my Pokédex you should have the attacks POUND and WATER GUN," Chloe said. "Can you do those attacks?"
Sobble nodded his head. "Sobble," he clicked.
"Good," Chloe said. "Can you do any other attacks?"
"Sobble," Sobble clicked.
Sobble looked focused at the water and used his Bubble attack.
"That's good work, Sobble," Chloe said.
"Sobble," Sobble clicked.
"Chloe," Ash said.
"There you are," Roan said.
Ash and Roan walked up to Chloe. Sobble was startled by Ash and Roan's voices and made himself invisible.
"It's okay, Sobble, these are my friends you don't have to be afraid of them," Chloe said.
Sobble reappeared. "Sobb," Sobble clicked.
"Hey Sobble are you all right?" Roan asked.
"Sobble," Sobble clicked.
"I'm going to help Sobble and together we're going to prove his trainer wrong," Chloe said.
"And we will help," Roan said.
"Yes, Vincent will take back his words," Ash said.
"So that's his name," Chloe said.
"Come on, let's get to work," Ash said.
Ash, Roan and especially Chloe helped train Sobble. After training for a while they decided to take a break. Roan gave everyone a piece of chocolate, Chloe broke off a piece of her chocolate and gave it to Sobble.
"Here you go, Sobble," Chloe said.
"Sobble?" Sobble clicked.
"Take it, it's nice," Chloe said.
Sobble accepted the chocolate and began to eat it and he also liked it very much.
"Glad you like it," Chloe said.
"Sobble, Sobble clicked.
"And don't worry about Vincent, he'll be super proud, just wait and see," Chloe said.
"Sobble," Sobble clicked.
"Vincent reminds me of someone," Ash said.
"Who does he remind you of, Ash? Roan asked.
"Paul, he was my biggest rival I had when traveling through Sinnoh, Paul's way of training I just couldn't understand because our styles were so different. We had the same goal, but we followed different paths to get there," Ash said.
"I mean, every training style is different, but you should always respect your Pokémon, they have feelings," Chloe said.
"Indeed, they are our friends," Roan said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu squeaked.
"Yamper," Yamper barked.
"What happened between you and Paul?" Chloe asked.
"We fought each other in the Sinnoh League and I won, and it was more than to advance in the League, I wanted to prove to Paul that my style of training was good and not worthless," Ash said. "But we also learned from each other and that's something I never expected."
"Are you ready again Sobble?" Chloe asked.
"Sobble," Sobble clicked as he nodded his head.
"All right," Chloe said.
"Sobble," Sobble clicked.
"Sobble, use your BUBBLE," Chloe said.
"Sobble," Sobble cried.
Sobble's Bubble turned into a Bubble Beam and this was a surprise to Chloe and her friends, as well as to Sobble.
"Sobble?" Sobble clicked.
"That's great Sobble, you learned BUBBLE BEAM," Chloe said.
"Sobble," Sobble clicked.
"See, I told you, that you got it in you," Chloe said.
"Sobb, Sobble," Sobble clicked.
"Wanna continue?" Chloe asked.
"Sobble," Sobble clicked.
"Chloe is good with Sobble," Roan said.
"Yeah, she really cares about him," Ash said.
"He also seems a lot less scared than before," Roan said.
"Let's hope Vincent can appreciate Sobble's hard work," Ash said.
"I hope so too, especially for Sobble," Roan said.
After some more training, the three friends went to go look for Vincent and found him not far from their camp.
"Vincent," Chloe said.
"Oh, it's you again," Vincent said.
"Sobble has been training very hard," Chloe said.
"I doubt that," Vincent said.
"Let's show him what you've learned, Sobble," Chloe said.
"Sobble," Sobble clicked.
Sobble used his newley learned Bubble Beam attack and when he finished, he looked proudly at Vincent, but he didn't seem very impressed.
"Was that it?" Vincent asked.
"Sobble learned a new move, aren't you a little proud of him?" Chloe asked.
"Not really," Vincent asked
"Why the you so mean to Sobble, he's your partner, you've started this journey with him," Chloe said.
"Yes, you chose Sobble as your partner," Roan said.
"That was only because I had no choice," Vincent said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ash asked.
"The day I started my journey, the two trainers before had already taken Scorbunny and Grookey, only this Sobble was left, I just wanted to start my journey, that's only reason I chose this Sobble," Vincent said.
"But it's up to you to make Sobble stronger, you must do it together," Ash said.
"I soon learned that there are much stronger Pokémon than Sobble and I caught them too, just look at my Farfetch'd," Vincent said.
"Farfetch'd," Farfetch'd quacked.
"This is a strong Pokémon, Sobble is nothing more than a scared crybaby," Vincent said. "I mean even says in its Pokédex entry that it is timid, what good is a Pokémon like that?""
"Sobble," Sobble clicked in a very sad tone.
Sobble's sadness did nothing to Vincent, he grabbed Sobble's Pokéball from his pocket, he threw it down on the ground and stomped on the Pokéball and it broke into pieces, this shocked everyone.
"Sobble?" Sobble clicked.
"I should have done that a long time ago," Vincent said.
"You're incredibly heartless," Chloe said.
"I don't have to listen to you and I don't care about it," Vincent said. "Come, Farfetch'd we're out of here."
Farfetch'd walked away with Vincent. Sobble walked toward his broken Pokéball and held a piece in his hand.
"Sobble," Sobble clicked.
Chloe walked up to Sobble and knelt beside him. "Are you okay Sobble?" She asked.
"Sobble," Sobble clicked.
"He doesn't deserve you Sobble, you are a great Pokémon and also very strong, I've seen that," Chloe said. "So how about you come with me?"
"Sobble?" Sobble clicked.
"Yes, I would feel very honored if you will be my Pokémon, I know we will be a great team," Chloe said.
"Sobb, Sobble," Sobble clicked.
"What do you say Sobble?" Chloe asked.
Sobble said nothing, he jumped on Chloe's shoulder and with a smile he placed a kiss on her cheek.
"I'll take that as a yes?" Chloe asked.
"Sobble," Sobble clicked as he nodded his head.
"That's great to hear," Chloe said.
Chloe opened her bag and took out a Pokéball.
"Are you ready for it Sobble?" Chloe asked.
"Sobble," Sobble clicked.
"Okay then, go Pokéball!" Chloe said.
Chloe tossed the empty Pokéball to Sobble and it went in. The Pokéball landed on the ground and Chloe watched the Pokéball tensely as it shook three times, after the third time the ball stopped shaking and the light dimmed. Chloe walked over to the Pokéball and held it up.
"This is great, because I just caught a Sobble!" Chloe cheered.
"Yamp, Yamper!" Yamper cheered
"Well done Chloe," Ash said.
"We're happy for you," Roan said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu squeaked.
It looked like Sobble wasn't getting a happy ending, but luckily Chloe was there for him and has now caught her first Pokémon. And now there is another new member in the family.