Iris let out a yawn and rubbed her eyes. She felt the familiar presence of her partner Pokémon Axew and scratched his head. "Morning, Axew."
The Tusk Pokémon sleepily muttered before waking up. "Xew…"
The future Dragon Master stretched before turning to see Ash's bed was empty. She had only known Ash for a while but he didn't seem like an early riser. Even Pikachu was gone but that made sense because of their bond.
"Axew, do you know where Ash went?" Iris asked her partner. Axew shook his head, answering no.
Iris noticed Cilan was somewhat stirring but didn't pay attention to that. Soon, she had a gut feeling where Ash went.
Nimbasa City's Gym.
Iris, Axew, and Cilan all arrived there after getting a proper breakfast at the PokéCenter.
"Where is that, kid?" Iris groaned, "It's not like Ash to be up before us."
"Perhaps he was too excited for his match." Cilan proclaimed.
"Maybe…" Iris muttered, "But unless he is in the middle of his match, why would he rush head into Elesa's gym. She practically defeated Bianca with Zebstrika."
"I concur. Ash must have a valuable strategy." Cilan stated, "Palpitoad is his only Ground-type, so that must have been his go to choice. Then there is Tepig, Snivy, and Roggenrola to help with. Not to mention Pikachu if Ash plans on it. Oshawott won't be the best for this Gym."
The two traveling companions entered the gym but they were surprised to see Ash not on the field.
"Wait, Ash isn't here?" Iris said, her tone conveying her surprise.
"That's… odd, even for Ash." Cilan admitted.
Elesa walked out to the field and noticed them. "Oh, hi! You're Iris and Cilan right?"
"That's us." Iris confirmed, "Hey, did you see Ash by any chance?"
The model/gym leader put a finger to her chin, "Not recently, no. Why do you ask?"
"We haven't seen him at all this morning. Which is odd. Knowing him, he would be too excited to challenge another Gym Leader." Iris explained.
"Well, if he does come around, I'll be sure to tell him about you." Elesa said.
"This is most unusual for him." Cilan mused as they left the gym.
"Where could that kid be?" Iris muttered.
"Axew?" The Tusk Pokémon chattered also confused.
"Did you hear about those foreign Pokémon at the Battle Club?"
"Yeah! They were really unexpected. Especially that lizard. What was it called again?"
"I think Sceptilmander?"
Cilan and Iris overheard them and were confused.
"Another foreign Pokémon?" Cilan inquired, "That's odd."
Iris thought about the name for a while before she realized, "Wait! A Sceptile?!"
"You know what Pokémon they were talking about?" Cilan quizzed before Iris began jumping up and down excitedly.
"Of course! Sceptile is a Dragon-type Pokémon from Hoenn!" Iris squealed, though she was incorrect about the typing. "Let's go right away!" The future Dragon master exclaimed and dragged the connoisseur in a hurry to the local Battle Club.
Unknown to them, a pair of eyes gleamed at the pair from a bush. The owner's eyes snuck away to head to that exact location too.
Iris entered the Battle Club with her eyes darting around to find the Hoenn Pokémon. "Where is it? Where is it?"
"Iris, can you please slow down?" Cilan asked, feeling the wind out of his lungs.
"Ok, Sceptile! One more time!"
Iris' eyes finally landed on the Forest Pokémon whose claws were now outlined in a scaly pattern. With a few swipes of Dragon Claw, Sceptile was satisfied.
Iris was in awe for a brief moment then in shock at Sceptile's owner. "No way!"
"Alright, Snivy, I know you can't learn Dragon Claw but I want you to give you a mentor. Sceptile will be great for that, got it?" Ash explained to the Grass starter of Unova.
"Sni." The serpentine nodded as the lizard began to fire a round of Bullet Seed.
"Ash?!" Iris and Cilan shouted in shock, the latter had arrived on the scene.
Ash finally noticed his friends and waved at them, "Iris! Cilan! Hey!" His two Unovan traveling companions were dumbstruck at the sight before them.
Kingler and Palpitoad fired a dual Hydro Pump, drenching targets with ease. Once they finished, Palpitoad croaked proudly before Kingler gave a few pointers. The crab fired a series of Mud Shot projectiles then had the limbless amphibian practice himself.
Oshawott swung his scalchop in an attempt to hit his sparring opponent. It shined a faint red as the otter continued to strike with unrefined movement. Buizel effortlessly blocked or dodged the attempts. Despite how much the weasel wanted a… more mature and competent opponent, he was willingly to give the Unova Water-type starter a chance.
Pikachu was in the air, coming down paw first. Practicing Brick Break, Pikachu slammed the paw into a target himself. It hit true, allowing him to jump back. Practicing another attempt, his paw was covered in a bright orange aura and delivered a true Brick Break.
Iris, Axew and Cilan were gobsmacked at the sight of the three foreign Pokémon. Iris was the first to speak up, "Ash, where have you been?!"
"Training." Ash simply replied.
"You didn't just run off to the gym?" Cilan inquired, "That's not like you."
Ash shook his head, "No, but I couldn't just be running through each Unova gym with eagerness. Not to mention, jumping at every battle there is."
"What about just using Palpitoad?" Iris questioned, "And maybe Snivy since Grass resists Electric-type moves."
"I can't just rely on Palpitoad and Snivy," Ash said before explaining, "All I know is Elesa has a Zebstrika and that singular Pokémon beat all of Bianca's Pokémon with ease. It's a 3-on-3. I brought my Sceptile, Kingler, and Buizel to help my current Unova team out. And Pikachu is also going to learn some new moves."
Iris and Cilan were surprised once again with Ash's thinking. But then Iris asked, "How come you never mentioned you had a Dragon-type before?"
Ash looked confused, "What do you mean? I don't have my Gible-"
"YOU HAVE A GIBLE TOO?!" Iris practically screamed.
"Iris! Gible is my only Dragon-type I have!" Ash defended himself.
"What? No way! You have a Sceptile!"
Ash then realized, "Oh… Sceptile is a pure Grass-type."
"What?!" Iris said in shock, "But I thought I read that Sceptile is a Grass/Dragon-type!"
Ash pulled out his Pokédex to clarify.
[Sceptile, the Forest Pokémon and the final evolved form of Treecko. A Grass-type. The leaves that grow on its arms can slice down thick trees. It is without peer in jungle combat.]
Iris went slack jawed, processing the information with Axew patting her on the back, while Cilan butted in. "It's quite amazing you have all these three Pokémon with you. I smell a spicy aroma that goes back for years!"
Ash got the gist of what Cilan said and elaborated, "Yeah, I've traveled through Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh. I've caught Pokémon and made friends with them along the way."
Iris, now out of her stupor, was surprised at the information. She had viewed Ash as a little kid but with the three other foreign Pokémon, she was actually impressed. "So, you are a seasoned trainer then? Why do you act like a little kid then?"
Ash shrugged, "I always act like this when I visit a new region. It gets me excited and I can't help it if I act like a kid when I see a new Pokémon I've never encountered."
Iris and Cilan nodded in agreement. Foreign Pokémon make quite an impression in this region. "So you have just been training here then. Will you battle Elesa later today?" Cilan inquired.
"No," Ash said, "I plan to do more training for today then challenge Elesa tomorrow."
Iris and Cilan couldn't help but be impressed by the decision. "Well, since we are here for another day, I can check out the Subway Bosses Stamp Rally!" Cilan declared.
"The what?" Iris and Ash said before Cilan began to explain, "A stamp contest to battle the Subway Bosses Ingo and Emmet! It's only offered in Nimbasa City. As a subway connoisseur, I plan to complete today and battle them!"
"Guess I'll come with you," Iris said, "As much as exciting it is to see a Sceptile, hearing about how it's not a Dragon-type really stung."
Ash nodded at his friend's plans and decided to meet them at the Pokémon Center in the evening. With that said, Ash resumed his training for the Nimbasa City gym.
It had been about three hours of training for Ash and his Pokémon. And they were making exceptional progress.
Snivy had taken to Sceptile almost instantaneously, finding the Forest Pokémon as a mentor. She wanted to be as agile and strong as Sceptile. Snivy whipped a fierce Leaf Storm that she had better control over and power.
Palpitoad and Kingler had grown from their training. Palpitoad managed to learn Scald and Hyper Voice whereas Kingler obtained Hammer Arm and Metal Claw. Ash also felt he was growing closer to the two as he hardly used Kingler beforehand outside of a tournament.
Oshawott had honed his scalchop-play far better than before. The otter had also learned Fury Cutter as a simple counter against Grass-types now. Buizel had a look of satisfaction with his pupil, but the otter still lacked humility.
And Pikachu had successfully learned Brick Break, Signal Beam, and Grass Knot. The latter with the help of Sceptile. The Mouse Pokémon was a fast learner and now glad to have more coverage.
During a break, Ash fed his Pokémon and allowed them to rest. Ash managed to get a bite to eat himself for the time being. He began to take note of the improvements and was proud of the idea.
Though things were put on a stop when a Krokorok kicked the doors open and let out a grunt, "Krok!"
Ash and his Pokémon looked at the crocodilian in confusion. The Desert Croc Pokémon looked all around then his eyes landed on Ash and snapped.
"What's a Krokorok doing here?" Ash inquired. The crocodilian snapped his jaws and brought out a pair of shades.
"Hey! You're the same Krokorok from before!" Ash noted and remembered the last two encounters against the Ground/Dark-type.
"Krok!" The Desert Croc Pokémon snapped and eyed Pikachu by sliding his sunglasses down. Pikachu responded in kind with a ready look on his own.
"Wait, have you been following me?" Ash questioned once again and Krokorok nodded as he kept his eyes on Pikachu. The Pallet Town native looked back and forth between his starter and the Ground/Dark-type then remembered the last time with the trio of mischievous Duckletts. "Oh, you want a battle with Pikachu, right?"
Krokorok nodded and pointed to a vacant battlefield.
"Alright, Krokorok! If it's a battle you want, me and Pikachu will give it to you!" Ash declared.
Once situated on the training field, the Desert Croc Pokémon flashed his shades before getting ready. Pikachu was across the battlefield, emitting faint traces of electricity from his cheeks.
"Quick Attack!" Pikachu ran with a white trail behind him and rammed into Krokorok. However, at close range, Krokorok landed a Bite on Pikachu's tail and tossed him away. Pikachu was sent flying and landed safely onto the ground.
"Again!" Ash shouted.
Pikachu ran towards the Desert Croc Pokémon, using his speed. Krokorok summoned two sets of rocks around himself and launched them. Pikachu avoided them and was about to make contact with Krokorok until the ground caught him in his tracks.
Having used Sand Tomb, Krokorok cracked a smirk underneath his shades and unleashed another array of Stone Edge, pelting Pikachu hard.
Ash grit his teeth, realizing that Quick Attack and Iron Tail were the only two moves that could deal proper damage. But then he was quick to remember their new counters against Ground-types now.
Sand Tomb constricted once more and Krokorok began to charge at with Bite.
"Pikachu, time for your new moves!" Ash exclaimed, "Grass Knot!"
Pikachu, stuck in the sand, flashed his eyes' green. Two blades of grass appeared and formed a knot that caught Krokorok off-guard. The crocodilian hit the ground in pain but managed to get up.
"Bet you weren't expecting that!" Ash cheered and capitalized, "And that's not all, Pikachu free yourself and use Quick Attack!"
"Pika!" The mouse cried out and burst from his trap. Sprinting, Pikachu created a white trail behind him and nailed Krokorok in the chest.
"Now Brick Break!" Ash shouted, adding to the momentum.
Pikachu flipped into the air before descending and delivering a brown colored paw directly onto the head of the Ground/Dark-type, dealing massive damage. Pikachu jumped off as Krokorok stumbled back and forth until getting himself together.
The Desert Croc Pokémon was impressed with the mouse's new moves. But still refused to give in as the crocodile threw several rocks in the form of Stone Edge.
"Use Iron Tail to bat them away!" Pikachu brought his tail around in a metallic coat, swinging it and hit all the rocks away. Krokorok's eyes flashed with multicolor as sand was about to wrap around Pikachu again.
"Signal Beam!" Ash called for. Pikachu squeaked, jumping away before Sand Tomb could entrap him and fired a pink energy beam that blasted into Krokorok.
The Desert Croc Pokémon hit the ground, grunting in pain as he raised up.
"Alright, let's finish this, Pikachu!" Ash declared, "Quick Attack again!"
Pikachu ran towards Krokorok with a white trail behind him. Krokorok responded with two rings of stones circling before launching them. Pikachu avoided the Stone Edge with ease, keeping on his feet.
"Brick Break!" Pikachu jumped into the air again and descended with a brown colored paw. Krokorok had his jaws agape, readying a Bite but the mouse delivered the attack on his snout once again. This move resulted in the Desert Croc Pokémon to faint with swirly eyes.
"Alright, Pikachu! Way to go!" Ash cheered and ran onto the field. "You were amazing out there!" Ash leaned down and scratched behind Pikachu's ears.
"Chu!" Pikachu agreed. Learning those new moves and using them in battle really helped the fight shift into their favor.
Krokorok managed to recover and walked over. He looked down at Pikachu whom looked right back. The Krokorok gave a nod of respect with a thumbs up, which the mouse responded in kind. The crocodilian finally felt content at having a proper battle with the Electric-type.
"Hey, what do you plan to do now?" Ash asked the crocodilian.
This led Krokorok to ponder what he should do now. He had been trailing Pikachu for the longest now. And frankly, he didn't take it into consideration after he settled the rivalry properly. Returning back to his old stomping grounds wasn't the best considering he evolved. Who knows how his old pack mates would react.
Seeing no response and a mild pondering look on his face, Ash offered, "Why not join us?"
Krokorok was astonished by the offer but then he thought about it. While he had been impressed with Ash in the past -even to the point of helping him twice- he never considered joining the trainer. But after seeing how well Pikachu did, Krokorok agreed that this was the best course of action. "Krok!"
Ash pulled out a spare Pokéball and presented it, "Well then, welcome to the team, Krokorok!" The Desert Croc Pokémon tapped the Pokéball and was captured after it rocked three times followed by a click.
"So you think Krokorok has been following us since the first time we met just to battle Pikachu?" Iris recalled as Ash explained what happened. The group had returned back to PokéCenter for the night.
Iris and Cilan had gone to the Subway Bosses Stamp Rally. Cilan was eager and almost got everyone except an Axew, due to someone being lost and they helped them out. Being good samaritans, Ingo and Emmet offered to battle which Cilan and Iris accepted. It was a double battle and the Subway Bosses owned an Eelektross and Chandelure, two Pokémon Ash hasn't heard of. Iris and Cilan chose Excadrill and Pansage but lost due to the Subway Bosses' double battle combinations.
Ash nodded, "Yep. I think he's been following us for a while."
"All for a rematch with Pikachu? Talk about determination." Iris mused.
"And you caught it as well. Now you have two Ground-types for your match against Elesa now." Cilan commented.
Ash thought about it but then said, "I don't think I'll use Krokorok right away. He's still new to the team. But I do have a line-up for my match tomorrow."
Iris and Cilan didn't press any more questions about his gym battle but it did shift over to wondering about other Pokémon he had. "Sorry, I don't want to spoil anything. But I'm sure you'll get to meet them while we journey."
"Wait, you are saying you will be rotating your Pokémon more?" Iris inquired.
"I don't usually do this but to be honest… It happened when I lost to Bianca's dad. When he mentioned Pallet Town, I thought about getting serious with this journey. I mean, rotating my Pokémon is something a previous rival of mine did during his journey and it helped him greatly. Besides, I have some Pokémon I should bond with. Not just my new teammates."
Iris and Cilan were stunned to hear this. "Wow… That's quite a lot. I thought you usually keep a team of six to make sure everyone gets training." Cilan questioned.
"Don't worry. Even at Professor Oak's lab, they will be training," Ash said with a smile. He had told Bulbasaur to get everyone into shape while at the lab, allowing them to train on their own.
With that said, they went to sleep for the night and Ash awaited his chance to battle Elesa.
A/N: At last, a new chapter for the Unova rewrite.
Iris thought Sceptile was a Dragon-type, considering how Mega Sceptile is part Dragon but it is pure Grass-type. I presume the Village of Dragons would have textbooks probably regarding potential Mega Evolutions for Dragon-types.
Cilan got to battle the Subway Bosses but still lost the Stamp Rally much like the canon. Iris battled alongside him in this version since she was with him.
Ash caught Krokorok earlier than his canon capture as Krokorok technically has been following Ash. He was shown following him in Nimbasa City once, so I decided why not catch him early. However, he will not battle Elesa as mentioned.
Read and review. No flames please.