Pokemon: Shuffled Journeys

by sithlorde1988

An AU write-up of the Pokemon anime in which nothing is how it was in canon. How different is the anime if it involves an Ash who starts his journey out in Galar, with Iris and Hop as travelling companions? Also, what order will he visit the regions in? And who will his starter be? To find out the answers to these questions (and more), read the story! Better summary in Chapter 1.

3. Enter Wedgehurst! Battle for Endorsment!

A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with the next chapter of Pokemon: Shuffled Journeys! I got more reviews for chapter 2 than I did chapter 1, which was nice. And a lot of you seem to be interested in this story being an AshxHarem story, so yeah I'll give that a few more chapters to be sorted out but in all likelihood this will be an AshxHarem story. That said, I have a new poll up on my profile page with prospective girls in the harem (which will in all likelihood be a 7 to 8 girl harem, with 5 of the members already decided. The top 3 girls from the poll list will likely be in the harem, or at least the top 2 will and depending on who takes 3rd, they might also get in. So vote on that poll if you want a say in who Ash gets in his harem. That said, I once again have to reply to a guest reviewer in this A/N since one review was from a guest. That review reads as thus:

Definitely wasn't expecting iris to be in this story great seeing her involved since she's not in to many stories with ash these days I suggest having a small hearm for ash mainly because it would be nice to see multiple girls with ash instead of just one so it give other girls a chance to shine with him and will ash get greninja and some of the other Pokemon he caught in the anime as well as other Pokemon he's never caught before that really help improve his chances of winning in the Pokemon league and other upcoming challenges and grow stronger as a team also have iris catch some dragon type Pokemon since it is her dream to become a dragon master

First of all Mario64 (the name of the guest reviewer), I planned from the beginning on Iris being in the story at the start since it tied in nicely to some plot points I had come up with for Ash's journey through Galar. As for your other questions, firstly I said this in chapter 1's A/N, but SOME things in this story will be like in the anime. Among those things will be some of Ash's Pokemon, one of which has already appeared in the story so far. And if you read last chapter, you saw his starter. As for Iris, I already have a start on that, since Exeggcute (or more accurately its evolution Exeggutor) has an Alolan variant that is part Dragon-type so yeah already have a good start on that. However, Iris' team won't ENTIRELY be Dragon-types. She'll have at least a couple non-Dragon types (possibly a psuedo-Dragon or two) in her team too. So her dragon training ambition is definitely one element of the anime that isn't being shuffled. As I said above in this A/N, I have a poll up with some of the girls I considered for the harem. Feel free to vote on that if you manage to actually get an account you can use to vote. So everyone reading this knows, you can vote for up to 3 girls from the ones listed in the poll, so don't be shy about multi-voting in the poll. That poll will remain up for roughly 2 weeks so plenty of votes can be had. Already there's a 1-1-1 tie for first after just one voter. For those curious, I'll list the girls from the poll here:

Anabel (from Battle Frontier)

Korrina

May

Marnie

Bianca (the one from Pokemon Heroes, or the girl that Latias could turn into in that movie)

Jasmine (the leader of Olivine City's gym from Gen 2)

Silvia (or the princess that everyone confused for Dawn during one arc in either DP Battle Dimension or DP Galactic Battles, forget which one)

I had a seperate reviewer ask about the possibility of Bea being on the poll, but after consideration I don't think she and Ash would really work that well together as a couple. But I'm not ruling her out either. And to the other half of Mario64's questions in their review, yes Ash will also catch Pokemon that he's never caught before. His starter is proof enough of that. Unless he caught a Rolycoly in Journeys (which as far as I know he hasn't), that's one Pokemon he has that he didn't have in the anime, and there'll be plenty more for him down the line. And as far as giving other girls a chance to shine with Ash, the five I've already locked in are mostly girls who aren't often shipped with Ash, though a couple are girls who I've seen shipped with him a fair bit. Since I laid out the girls in the poll, I'll just say here that of the five girls that are a lock, I mentioned all of them except two in the first chapter, and the others were mentioned in chapter 2 so all of them have at least been mentioned already in the story. I'll reveal who they are when we actually implement the harem in the story (as well as settle on if this will be one single large fic with all regions or if it'll be one fic for each of the regions Ash journeys through). That being said, let's get on with the chapter!

Chspter 3- Endorsed for Adventure!

(route 1- Ash, Gloria, Iris and Hop)

"So we just go down this route to reach the rest of Postwick, you said?" Ash asked Gloria, who he happened to be walking next to as they along with Hop and Iris were walking around route 1 to get to the other part of Postwick to be able to visit the Pokemon Research Lab at Sonia's suggestion. As they walked along the route, the group kept their eyes peeled for wild Pokemon worth catching. But they were mostly bog-standard common Pokemon like Rookidees and Wooloos, with the occasional Nickit or Skwovet for variety. However, near the end of the route, Gloria stopped in her tracks as she barely caught the sound of an excited yapping. Gloria turned towards the sound, blinking when she saw a famiiar cream-colored dog-like Pokemon with a yellow tail and a yellow scarf-like part of its neck and chest. Ash frowned at the Pokemon.

"Isn't that Sonia's Yamper?" Ash asked, prompting Iris and Gloria to giggle at his misconception while Hop facepalmed.

"No, Ash. That's a wild Yamper. Yamper aren't that rare of a Pokemon." Hop corrected Ash gently.

"Ohh, right. I dunno why I thought Yamper were rare." Ash said, shrugging. Gloria turned to face the Yamper, a Poke Ball in hand.

"Eevee, let's get us a Pokemon! GO!" Gloria said, throwing the Poke Ball and sending out Eevee, who tilted her head cutely in confusion before seeing Yamper and standing at attention, ready to battle. Gloria resisted the urge to squeal at how cute Eevee was, focusing on the task at hand.

"Eevee, use Tackle on Yamper to weaken it!" Gloria said as Eevee ran forward, ramming into Yamper at a decent speed, knocking the dog back, prompting it to glare at Eevee before coming up to her and charging electricity on its' cheeks, leaning in to rub faces with Eevee, prompting her to blink before cringing in pain as static waves went along her body signifying that she was paralyzed.

"Oh no, that was Nuzzle! Eevee, try to shake off that paralysis then use Tackle again!" Gloria said after getting over her wide-eyed shock at Yamper paralyzing Eevee. Eevee rammed into Yamper again, causing it to fly into a rock nearby, being stunned by the impact and dazed as it started struggling towards Eevee, looking damaged. Gloria smiled.

"Perfect, now's my chance! Go, Poke Ball!" Gloria said, tossing an empty Poke Ball towards Yamper, who could do little more than blink before the Poke Ball made contact with its' face, sucking it inside in a flash of red light, then the Poke Ball hit the ground and started rocking back and forth. As it did so, Gloria crossed her fingers, hoping her first capture attempt would be successful. Behind her, Ash and the others watched the battle intensely, all three hoping Gloria would succeed. After a few tense moments an audible *ping* could be heard as the Poke Ball stopped wobbling, the blinking red light going out as the Poke Ball lay still. Gloria smiled as she walked over and picked up the Poke Ball. She then walked over to Eevee, gently lifting her up into her arms and holding up the Poke Ball at Eevee's eye level so she could also see it.

"Do you see this, Eevee? We did it! We caught our first Pokemon!" Gloria said, smiling as she gently petted Eevee, before returning her to her Poke Ball until they got to the Pokemon Center in the other part of Postwick to get Eevee healed. Hop, Ash and Iris approached Gloria.

"Well done on your first capture, Gloria! I didn't think you'd be the first of us to catch a Pokemon." Hop said, congratulating Gloria on her capture.

"Hop, be nice. It's not like we were all gonna catch one at the same time. And what did you expect, that Ash would be the first one of us to capture a Pokemon?" Iris chided Hop, her arms crossed as she glared at her cousin. Ash nodded in agreement with Iris, then frowned.

"HEY! I agree with your point about it not being like we'd all get our first captures simultaneously, but did you have to take a dig at me right afterwards?" Ash said, pouting slightly at what he perceived to be a shot at him. Gloria giggled at Ash's pouting, patting him comfortingly on the shoulder.

"Silly Ash, she wasn't insulting you. If anything she was insulting Hop for being naive. If we're being realistic though, I think if any of us had bet on who'd get the first capture, we'd have probably put money on Iris being first if anyone." Gloria said to Ash, ignoring the look of surprise on Iris' face at her statement.

"Why me specifically, Gloria?" Iris asked, confused at Gloria seemingly calling her out.

"Of us all, you've got the most experience with Pokemon, unless you didn't meet or train any Pokemon while you were away in Unova." Gloria explained, playfully sticking her tongue out at Iris in a joking manner. Iris rolled her eyes at Gloria's antics.

"You'd think that, but no. We didn't have any Pokemon for the most part in the Village of Dragons. Even there, the age limit of 13 and up for aspiring Pokemon Trainers is enforced. And for good reason, considering what happened to the last 10-year olds that went out on a journey." Iris said, referring to a brother and sister duo from Unova who went on a journey about a year before she and Ash had to go to Galar, and how the duo got in over their heads when they were overpowered and eliminated by Team Plasma, the local criminal team of Unova. Ash looked at Iris, seeing the upset look in her eyes as she spoke of her former home.

"I heard about that. That was horrible. And again Iris, I agree that the age limit is a good thing. So can we keep going?" Ash said, gently patting Iris on the shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting manner, not seeing the look of either embarrassment or mortification on Iris' face at his actions.

"Yeah, let's keep going. I see the rest of Postwick over there!" Hop spoke up, pointing ahead of the group where a bunch of building were visible in the distance. The group then started dashing off towards the buildings. After a bit of running, the four found themselves in what appeared to be another part of Postwick. Around them, the group could see many people walking about, and various buildings ranging from houses to train stations (where they went, Ash and Iris could only guess being still relatively inexperienced with Galar despite having lived there the last few years) to even a boutique, to the surprise and intrigue of Gloria and Iris. Hop rolled his eyes at the girls' interest in the boutique, while Ash looked around, his attention eventually settling on a nearby shop where he could just see what looked like various berries on sale. Ash got Hop's attention.

"Hop, about how much do you think we have saved up?" Ash asked Hop, who shrugged.

"I dunno honestly, maybe a few hundred Poke between us? Why?" Hop asked. Ash pointed towards the nearby shop.

"That looks to be a berry shop, and given how inexpensive it seems to be, maybe they have berries that can serve as effective healing items in a pinch until we can afford good healing supplies." Ash suggested, making Hop ponder the idea before smirking.

"Good idea, Ash. Unfortunately, we wouldn't have enough probably for more than a couple dozen of each berry IF they're cheap and IF the girls don't end up blowing our savings at the boutique." Hop replied, eliciting a much-too-delayed groan of realization from Ash. Gloria and Iris ignored the boys as they made their way towards the boutique. Both girls were hoping to get some new wardrobe options just to have some variety as well as changes of clothes for in a pinch, but both came back out fairly quickly looking disappointed, as they had realized that they'd have used up just about all of their shared Poke just for a blouse or two.

Gloria and Iris decided to return at a later point when they could afford the prices, making it a point to go find Ash and Hop, finding the boys near a berry shop, surprisingly. Even more surprisingly, the boys had managed to secure several decent-sized portions of various Berries for surprisingly cheap prices (the shop had Cheri, Chesto, Oran and Pecha berries for sale). Gloria walked up to Ash.

"What're you and Hop up to?" Gloria asked Ash, who turned to Gloria.

"Getting us some berries. From what I recall of Professor Oak's lectures back in Kanto, berries can be used as healing items for Pokemon so if we can stock up on healing supplies for cheap, why shouldn't we? Worst case it just barely tides over until we can start affording the better healing stuff. Best case we can use it as a cheap way to keep our Pokemon healed." Ash explained to Gloria who had a thoughtful look on her face as she considered what Ash had said.

"That's one way to do it. But you do know that Pokemon Centers heal Pokemon for free, don't you?" Gloria said to Ash, prompting him to blink in surprise as he thought about what Gloria said.

"Oh that's right, Professor Oak mentioned those too. How did I forget about those?" Ash said, facepalming himself for being forgetful. Gloria giggled at Ash facepalming.

"Silly Ash. Well at least the Berries are cheap, right?" Gloria said, gently patting Ash on the shoulder to try and cheer him up a bit. Ash nodded.

"Yeah. If I recall the prices the guy quoted us, the lot we got cost around I believe 800-900 Poke all together, give or take a few Poke." Ash said, trying to add the total up as he spoke, but just going with an estimate as he felt it was faster and less of a headache. Gloria nodded.

"That's not too bad. Considering we were given a combined total of around 12,000 Poke by our parents to get through this first leg of our journey, that shouldn't put that much of a dent in our savings. Luckily, Iris and I opted not to hit the boutique after we saw how expensive some of the prices were. I mean come on, they wanted 6000 poke for a blouse! And their dresses were at least one and a half times that. Talk about robbery." Gloria said, crossing her arms and pouting at how expensive the boutique had been. Ash smiled, looking at Gloria.

"The important thing is you didn't spend anything. After all, we can always come back later when we have more money so you and Iris can get more clothes. After all, I can understand that you and Iris were probably worried about us having extra changes of clothes for emergencies or just for variety's sake, but that isn't strictly a necessity so to speak. So don't feel bad if you two can't afford anything from the boutique just yet. I think we'll be able to afford stuff from there soon enough." Ash said, smiling at Gloria as he gently gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Gloria looked away to hide the color in her cheeks as Ash put his hand on hers before looking at him and nodding.

"You're right of course. Why, or possibly how, is it you always seem to be the voice of reason out of the two of us for the most part?" Gloria asked Ash, who shrugged.

"Heck if I know. I figure it just naturally seems to be that way." Ash said.

"True. Besides, imagine if Hop was our voice of reason. We'd probably be screwed in that instance since he'd be trying to make us all into legends or some such." Iris joked as she spoke up for the first time in a bit, having previously just chosen to listen to the conversation between Ash and Gloria. Iris found herself secretly impressed with how calm and understanding Ash could be, and if she was honest with herself possibly even a tad jealous of what could be closeness between Ash and Gloria. Hop turned back towards Ash after finally finishing his conversation with the salesman he'd been talking to. He then realized Gloria and Iris had returned, looking at them with a smirk.

"Oh, there you two are. How much of our savings did you two run through in that boutique?" Hop asked jokingly, blinking in confusion and surprise as Gloria and Iris both glared at him then turned away looking a bit sad at his question. Hop looked at Ash.

"Something I said?" Hop asked. Ash chuckled.

"Nah, they're probably just mad that the boutiques were too expensive to really afford anything just now. Your joke, if indeed that was meant as a joke before, was likely just poorly timed." Ash said shrugging as he looked at the girls.

"Hey, cheer up. At least we have each other, right? Plus we have our Pokemon. As I said to Gloria, we can come back later and go clothes shopping. So don't be so sad you two." Ash said to Iris and Gloria, in an attempt to cheer the two up. To his credit, it at least partially worked in so far as Gloria smiling at Ash's words. Iris merely nodded to Ash's statement but glared at Hop again before turning away from him.

"Anyways, shouldn't we be trying to find the Pokemon Lab that's here according to your brother?" Ash said, mostly aiming his question at Hop.

"Oh right, Lee did mention that Sonia was running a lab in this place. And according to that Berry seller, this isn't part of Postwick as I'd first thought. Apparently this is in fact a town called Wedgehurst, which surprises me as I was sure this place and Postwick were one linked town. Oh well, live and learn I guess." Hop said shrugging. The group decided to split up and look for the lab, Gloria and Ash walking together in one direction and Iris reluctantly walking in another direction with Hop. Surely between the two groups, one of them could find the lab, right? Right?

(meanwhile, back in Kanto with Gary, Leaf, Blue and Professor Oak)

"So gramps, did you manage to get more Pokemon for Leaf and I?" Gary asked Professor Oak, an impatient look on his face as he and Leaf were in the Pokemon Lab with their grandfather waiting for their first Pokemon.

"Just be patient, Gary. They'll be here soon enough. At least Leaf doesn't constantly complain." Professor Oak said to Gary, who shrugged then smirked.

"Yeah, but then again she's probably too busy missing Ashy-boy. Honestly, I'd swear she almost moons over his picture at times she misses him so much." Gary said, smirking at Leaf teasingly. Leaf rolled her eyes at Gary.

"Grow up, Gare-bear. You're just jealous because Ash might've actually accomplished something before you did. Or am I wrong about you also missing him?" Leaf said mischiveously, a smirk on her face as Gary glared at her.

"Very funny, Leaf. And for the record, he might've beaten me when it comes to girls, MIGHT'VE being the key word there, but there's no chance he'll beat me when it comes to Pokemon. Besides, I'm sure I could pick up a whole army of girls if I really wanted to. I just choose not to. Who needs such a large distraction on a journey? Not me, that's for sure. Though I think you wouldn't mind having a large group to travel with, especially if Ash was among that group." Gary said with a smirk, expecting the smack that came his way from Leaf, allowing him to sidestep it.

"Ha, gotta be faster than that Leaf! And honestly, I think you could've done better than Ash Ketchum as your first crush, but that's just my opinion." Gary said, sticking his tongue out playfully at Leaf. Leaf turned away to hide the color that dusted her cheeks at Gary's remark about Ash, as she refused to acknowledge that statement one way or the other. She then glared at Gary.

"Oh shut up Gary. At least when he was still in Kanto, Ash always made time to hang out with us. And he didn't tease me most of the time. Why I agreed to stick with you for this journey I'll never understand. And besides, even if I did have feelings for Ash, which I don't, who's to say he won't have already found another girl in Galar or wherever he went all those years ago?" Leaf said, crossing her arms as she huffed, feeling annoyed at Gary.

"I never said I don't miss him, Leaf. I'm just saying if he was still here, we'd probably be competing to see who was better at this point, or something like that. And I'm sure you wouldn't be trying to root for one of us over the other. Besides, I hope he's doing well in Galar." Gary said. Before Leaf could reply, one of Professor Oak's aides showed up with two Pokeballs on a tray.

"Sorry they're late, Professor. Here's the two starters you asked for. Why you think Gary and Leaf can handle these particular Pokemon no one knows. But I guess it's not my place to question you, sir." The aide said as he set the tray down on the table by Professor Oak, who shrugged at his aide.

"Honestly, I think you don't give Gary and Leaf enough credit. Granted, Gary has a pretty big arrogant streak at times, but when he puts his mind to it, he's perfectly capable of whatever he decides to do. And even if he wasn't, Leaf's usually the voice of reason out of the two. So between them I think they can handle these two." Professor Oak said before turning back to Leaf and Gary.

"If you two are done teasing each other, your starters are here." Professor Oak said to Leaf and Gary, who turned their attention to him. When he was satisfied Gary and Leaf were paying attention, Professor Oak threw the two Poke Balls to the ground, causing them to open and reveal the Pokemon inside of them.

The two Pokemon were very similar looking, except where one of the two was purple with a noticable horn sticking from its' forehead, the other was a light blue with a much smaller horn. Gary and Leaf stared at the two Pokemon before looking at Professor Oak questioningly.

"These aren't the usual Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle?" Gary said in surprise.

"No, they aren't. They're called Nidoran (M), and Nidoran (F)! Both are Poison-type Pokemon that may not seem like much but can be very powerful if trained up with love and care! So Leaf, why don't you come up and have first pick?" Professor Oak said, before Gary stepped in front of Leaf.

"Seriously? I was here first, Gramps! I should get first pick!" Gary said, not caring if he was being rude or not. Oak sighed, facepalming as he looked at Gary.

"But, I...*sigh* Oh all right, you can have first pick Gary. I hope that's not a problem, Leaf?" Professor Oak said, looking at Leaf apologetically after appeasing Gary.

"No worries Professor, I don't mind going second. I'm just happy I get a Pokemon." Leaf said. Gary walked up to the two, eventually looking at the purple pokemon with the large horn.

"Hey there little one, you seem strong. My name is Gary. Would you like to be my first Pokemon?" Gary asked the Pokemon. The Pokemon looked at Gary before warily sniffing him, eventually smiling slightly and nodding as he (Gary guessed the purple Pokemon was the male of the two) eventually gave Gary's outstretched hand a tentative nuzzle, being careful not to stab his horn into Gary's palm. Gary smiled and looked at Professor Oak.

"I choose the purple Pokemon." Gary said. Professor Oak nodded.

"Very well, Gary. Here's Nidoran (M)'s Poke Ball and your Pokedex." Professor Oak said, handing the aforementioned items to Gary. Leaf then looked at the remaining Pokemon, now named Nidoran (F).

Nidoran (F) looked warily at Leaf, clearly apprehensive of her before Leaf gently approached her ((since odds are the F in Nidoran (F) stood for Female)) and gave her a gentle pet on the head. This simple gesture ended up causing her to gradually relax into Leaf's touch, gently nuzzling into her palm, enjoying Leaf's touch. Leaf smiled at her.

"Looks like you and I will get along just fine, little one. I'm Leaf and I'll be your trainer." Leaf said, smiling at Nidoran (F) who blinked before appearing to smile back.

"I'm glad to see that you two already get along well with your Pokemon. Here's your Pokedex, some Poke Balls and the Poke Ball for Nidoran (F)." Professor Oak said to Leaf, handing her the aforementioned items. Leaf nodded accepting the items.

"Thanks so much, Professor." Leaf said, returning Nidoran (F) to her Poke Ball. She then walked back to Gary who had just returned Nidoran (M) to his Poke Ball.

"Well, shall we get going, Gare-bear?" Leaf said, enjoying the annoyance in Gary's expression after the teasing he did to her earlier.

"Yeah, I suppose so. Smell ya later, Gramps!" Gary said as he and Leaf left the lab, ignoring Leaf's unamused glare at him at his choice of farewells. The two then began their journey, hopeful that they were headed for success, but only time would tell if they would succeed...

(Back in Galar, with Ash and Gloria)

"I wonder if that building might be the Pokemon Lab?" Gloria asked Ash, pointing to a tall building they'd not immediately noticed before when looking around town, prompting Ash to shrug.

"It's worth a look if nothing else since we've checked pretty much everywhere else on this side of Wedgehurst. If it's not here, then it's somewhere along the side that Hop and Iris went to investigate, assuming they can get along long enough to explore it that is." Ash said jokingly, smiling at the wry grin on Gloria's face at his joke.

"That's true. But I think they'll put their banter aside for something like this, I hope. But at least they're not with us so we don't have to listen to any of their antics." Gloria said, smiling at Ash as the two approached the tall building, Ash eventually knocking on the door, hoping someone was there. Eventually the door opened, only instead of an aide answering the door, it was Leon, much to the shock of Gloria and Ash.

"Leon? How'd you get here before us? And why are you here?" Ash asked, being the first of the two to find his voice. Leon smirked at Ash.

"That's easy. While you four were navigating the route, I had my Pokemon fly me here. That can be a very handy skill to have in a pinch." Leon said to Ash. Gloria frowned as she looked at Leon.

"Is this the lab you told Hop about? And why wouldn't you give Hop directions here so we didn't have to split up?" Gloria asked Leon, looking confused. Leon laughed at Gloria.

"Silly Gloria, that would've ruined the fun. Besides, you can't be given ALL the answers. That would ruin the fun of exploring the region and speaking to people to learn things." Leon said, gently patting Gloria on the head, ignoring the huff she made at his response and the confused (and possibly annoyed) glance Ash had given him when he patted Gloria on the head. Before much more could be said, Sonia entered the lab, followed closely by Hop and Iris, the former of the two glaring at Leon.

"Thanks for not giving me directions, Lee. Iris and I were lucky that Sonia was passing by and agreed to guide us here or we'd probably be lost on the other side of Wedgehurst right now." Hop said, ignoring the huff that Iris gave at his suggestion that they'd be lost. Sonia then rolled her eyes before playfully glaring at Leon.

"Leon, you goof, you forgot about something when sending these four off. A couple of somethings, at that." Sonia said, crossing her arms, one of her fingers resting gently on her cheek as she got a contemplative look on her face when looking at the four new trainers.

"I know I forgot to give them directions, but what else did I forget?" Leon said, blinking at Sonia's statement.

"Oh I dunno, how about maybe the fact these four need endorsements to be able to take on the Gym Challenge! Did you think of that? Also, you sent them off before their parents could give them these!" Sonia said, pulling four envelopes out of her coat, handing each of the four younger trainers one. Ash opened his, his eyes widening as he saw the amount of money in the envelope.

"Did our parents really give us this much money?" Ash asked, turning a wide-eyed gaze on Sonia, who nodded.

"That's a year's worth of allowance for each of you, according to your parents. Though both your mothers did mention that you weren't to spend TOO much of that money clothes shopping. Not sure why they felt the need to specify that, but I guess it is what it is?" Sonia said, addressing Gloria and Iris with the second half of her response. Ash laughed, looking at Gloria.

"See? What'd I tell you? Now you can do a bit of clothes shopping after all." Ash told Gloria, smiling at her. Hop, however, was looking at Leon inquisitively.

"Is what Sonia said about endorsements true, Lee?" Hop asked Leon who nodded.

"It is indeed true. However, I didn't mention that then on purpose. I was planning to tell you all once you got here. Originally, the plan was to wait until you four got to Professor Magnolia's house to meet her but Sonia felt that was too long of a wait apparently." Leon told Hop, barely feeling the smack Sonia gave him on the arm. Iris and Gloria watched the byplay between Sonia and Leon with interest. Gloria blinked as she registered what Ash had said to her before looking towards him with a smile.

"Yeah, you were right, again. Are you always right?" Gloria asked Ash jokingly. Ash sighed as he looked at Gloria.

"If I was always right, Red wouldn't have been captured since he'd have waited until I was old enough so we could journey together." Ash said sadly, thinking about his past. Gloria noticed the change in Ash's expression, carefully walking up to him and wrapping her arms around him as she gave him a hug to try and cheer him up. Needless to say, it worked, though it left Ash slightly embarrassed afterwards. Iris smirked at the antics of Ash and Gloria. Sonia noticed this.

"Is it me, or are those two closer than what one would think?" Sonia said to Iris, who happened to be the closest one to her other than Leon. Iris shrugged.

"Heck if I know. Those two have been like this since Ash moved here. They say they're like brother and sister, but I'm inclined to disagree. Though I think for now they don't seem to see each other as much more than friends regardless." Iris said contemplatively, not seeing the knowing smirk on Sonia's face as she watched Iris speak.

"And I'm sure you're not pleased that they're just friends?" Sonia said knowingly, chuckling at the embarrassed look on Iris' face.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about! Why would I be jealous of them?" Iris said, crossing her arms.

"You never know, maybe there could be something more there in time?" Sonia suggested, noticing the thoughtful look on Iris' face at this statement.

"Perhaps, but as Ash himself said, we're still a tad too young for that even if we are all 13 now." Iris said, shrugging. Before Sonia could reply, Leon got everyone's attention.

"After thinking things over, I've decided the best way to decide the endorsement issue is for all of you to show me in battle how much you deserve to be endorsed!" Leon said, laughing slightly at the four wide-eyed looks aimed at him.

"What, like all of us against you?" Hop asked, confused. Leon actually laughed out loud at Hop's question.

"No, not that at all. Besides, that wouldn't be fair to you since even then you wouldn't likely win simply due to your collective inexperience as Trainers. What I meant was you guys would pair off and battle each other. How about, say, Ash VS Gloria and Hop VS Iris?" Leon replied, both expecting and ignoring the surprised expressions on all four new trainers' faces. Though after a bit, Hop and Iris smirked at each other, eager to battle it out. Gloria looked at Ash, clearly reluctant to battle him, but knowing it was probably the only way to show she had what it took to get endorsed by Leon. Eventually all four trainers nodded, accepting Leon's suggested battle pairings. Leon clapped his hands together eagerly.

"Great! We can have the battles out on Route 1 since there's plenty of open space there to have two seperate battlefields. Sonia can be referee for one of the battles and I'll referee the other, assuming Sonia doesn't mind of course." Leon said, turning to Sonia as he finished speaking, an inquiring glance on his face. Sonia shrugged.

"Eh, why not? Could be fun." Sonia said, agreeing to Leon's request to referee.

"Excellent. How about you be ref for Ash VS Gloria while I referee Hop VS Iris? I admit I want to see my little bro's battling skills for myself. Make sure he's good enough to follow in my footsteps and whatnot." Leon said, to which Sonia nodded. Hop gaped at Leon's statement, not expecting Leon to be so interested in his battling skills. The two groups headed out towards Route 1 to start their battles.

Unbeknownst to them, a trio of figures, one female and two males, had been observing the proceedings, looking intrigued when they saw Ash and Gloria go one way with Sonia, while Hop and Iris went the other way with Leon. After a brief huddle, the males followed Hop's group while the female followed Ash's group. Once out on route 1, Sonia turned to Ash and Gloria.

"So, any questions before your battle starts?" Sonia asked Ash and Gloria. Gloria thought about it then nodded.

"Is there specific terms we have to follow with this battle? And will the fact I have one Pokemon more than Ash does be an issue?" Gloria asked. Sonia thought about it then shook her head.

"No, it should be fine. We'll just make this a one-on-one battle and you get to choose one of your two Pokemon to battle Ash with. As for your other question, no it's just a simple battle. First to make the opposing Pokemon faint wins. Any other questions?" Sonia asked. Both Ash and Gloria shook their heads no.

"Very well. This battle between Ash Ketchum and Gloria McCartney *1* will now begin. Each trainer will get the use of just one Pokemon. The first trainer to make their opponent's Pokemon faint will be the winner. And as a reminder, both of you are battling for the right to be endorsed for the Gym Challenge by the Champion of the Galar region, so give it everything you got. Trainers, send out your Pokemon!" Sonia said. Ash and Gloria nodded, pulling out their Poke Balls. They threw their Pokemon out simultaneously.

"ROLYCOLY, I CHOOSE YOU!/YAMPER, LET'S GO!" Ash and Gloria said simultaneously as Rolycoly and Yamper appeared on the field in front of their trainers, staring each other down. Sonia looked at the trainers and their pokemon, before raising up her arm.

"Let the battle begin!" Sonia said, signalling for the battle between Ash and Gloria to start. Neither trainer wasted any time getting started.

"Yamper, use Nuzzle on Rolycoly!" Gloria called out, as Yamper ran forward, her cheeks (Gloria found out when she scanned Yamper after catching it that Yamper was a girl) sparkling like they had when she first used Nuzzle on Eevee. Ash frowned, but didn't react otherwise.

"Rolycoly, dodge that then use Smokescreen followed up by Rapid Spin!" Ash called out as Rolycoly fired off a smoke burst from his (Rolycoly was a male according to Ash's Pokedex, since Rolycoly had a higher chance of being male than being female) mouth, effectively obscuring him from Yamper's view, after which he started spinning around quickly, slamming into Yamper a few times as he spun around, leaving Yamper to stumble a bit as she was rocked by the unexpected Rapid Spin, but quickly recovered as she rammed her face forward to try and hit the dodging Rolycoly with her Nuzzle. A brief grunt of pain as well as just-barely visible sparks rising up off of Rolycoly were the only indication that Nuzzle had hit its' mark, paralyzing Rolycoly, much to Ash's chagrin when he noticed his paralyzed Pokemon as the smokescreen subsided. Ash knew this wasn't gonna be an easy fight, but he'd be darned if he went down without a fight.

(meanwhile on the other side of Route 1, with Leon, Hop and Iris)

"So Hop, you ready to show your big bro what you can do in your first battle? Or do you think Iris might prove to be too much for you to handle?" Leon asked Hop as the two brothers plus Iris made their way down Route 1 to start up Iris and Hop's battle. Hop rolled his eyes.

"If that was supposed to be a joke, I'm not laughing Lee. And yes I'm ready. Am I worrried about Iris having type advantage? Yes. Do I think that'll stop me from doing my best to try and win anyways? Absolutely not! This is just going to be the first page of my legend!" Hop said, crossing his arms with a smirk as he answered Leon. Iris rolled her eyes at Hop.

"Of your legend? I didn't know there was a legend about you. Leon maybe since he IS an undefeated Champion and all, but you? Only if it was the legend of Hop the egotist and his ego that was so big it has its' own orbit." Iris said, smirking as she chuckled at her own joke, even as Hop frowned at Iris.

"My ego isn't THAT big! And besides, I don't see a legend about a girl who couldn't cut it as a dragon trainer. Oh wait that's right, it wasn't you that couldn't cut it. It was your village that couldn't cut it. Granted, it was Team Plasma's fault to be fair, but if your Village of Dragons was half of what it was made out to be, it wouldn't have been taken so quickly. And I think you know it, Iris." Hop replied arrogantly, punching his fist into his open palm in excitement, ready to battle for his endorsement for the Gym Challenge.

Iris' eye twitched slightly at Hop's cheap shot at her former home, glaring at her cousin for his lack of tact and sensitivity.

"How dare you? That's a low blow, and you know it Hop! And just because my village was caught unawares by those cowards that call themselves Team Plasma doesn't mean that it wasn't all it was made out to be! They just got unlucky. As for your remark about me not making it as a Dragon trainer, that's unfair since I didn't even get the chance to start out on that path thanks to Team Plasma! But little do you know I don't need a Dragon type to beat you, you overconfident pillock! Exeggcute and I can get the job done just fine! So how about putting your money where your mouth is Hop? Ready to take me on for that endorsement?" Iris said.

Even as Iris spoke, she was only just keeping her anger under control since she didn't think Leon would approve of her slugging Hop right then, even if he did deserve it. Hop smirked as he looked at Iris, an eager grin on his face as he faced his cousin.

"I thought you'd never ask, Iris. Not only am I ready, but I'm going to prove that type advantage isn't everything!" Hop said, glaring at Iris as he pulled out Oshawott's Poke Ball, punching it into his open palm with a grin. Leon took this as his cue to get into officiating position, which he quickly did, making sure both Iris and Hop could see him.

"Are both trainers ready to battle?" Leon asked Hop and Iris, who nodded.

"Very well. This one on one battle between Iris and Hop will now begin. Each side will get the use of just one Pokemon. The first side to make the other unable to continue will be the winner. Trainers, send out your Pokemon!" Leon said, as Hop and Iris glared at each other before eagerly throwing their Poke Balls.

"OSHAWOTT, LET'S WRITE THE FIRST PAGE OF OUR LEGEND!/EXEGGCUTE, TIME TO FIGHT!" Hop and Iris called out simultaneously, releasing their starters to face each other. Oshawott and Exeggcute stared each other down before looking at their trainers, awaiting instructions.

"Exeggcute, use Reflect to buff yourself, then follow up with Absorb!" Iris said as Exeggcute nodded, her six eggs (Iris' Exeggcute was a girl according to the Pokedex) coming together to throw a glowing barrier up in front of her, before she charged at Oshawott, a glowing green trail of energy shooting from her frontmost egg, heading towards Oshawott.

"Oshawott, dodge that then use Tackle!" Hop said but his command was a tad too slow as the Absorb connected, draining a good amount of Oshawott's health away, prompting him (Hop's Oshawott was a male according to the results of the Pokedex scan he did on Oshawott) to recoil slightly before ramming itself at Exeggcute, prompting both him and Hop to blink in surprise as he bounced harmlessly away, the attack seemingly doing little damage. Iris smirked.

"Quick, use Hypnosis before Oshawott can get out of range then use another Absorb!" Iris called out, as Exeggcute glared at Oshawott, her eyes giving off an almost hypnotic glow as Oshawott was forced to look into them, putting him to sleep as another Absorb took off another chunk of his health. Hop gritted his teeth, but kept his cool.

"Oshawott, you have to get up and try a Tail Whip while you have health left!" Hop said, hoping his words reached Oshawott, but the command fell on deaf ears as Oshawott was too deeply asleep to hear a word Hop said. After a bit of pondering, Hop sighed, reluctantly reaching for Oshawott's Poke Ball.

"Enough. As much as I hate doing this, I concede the battle. I'd rather not see Oshawott get knocked out when he was beaten fairly. You win this battle, Iris." Hop said, reluctantly returning Oshawott with a sigh, as Leon raised his arm.

"Oshawott is unable to continue! Exeggcute is the winner, meaning the victory in the battle belongs to Iris!" Leon said, prompting Iris to cheer, hugging her Exeggcute happily before returning her. She then walked over to Hop who was looking disappointed, but knew he only had himself to blame for his defeat. She smiled, gently giving Hop a pat on the shoulder.

"Cheer up, cousin. You did quite well even with type disadvantage. Granted, we're both just starting out so you haven't really had a chance to fully fine-tune Oshawott's moveset yet. So this was a foregone conclusion from the start. But who's to say you won't beat me the next time? Besides, isn't that what Leon's always saying to us? That we need strong rivals to constantly push us to be our best? I don't know about you, but I think you'd be a worthy rival, Hop. And I forgive you for your comments before. I know you were just trying to fire me up so we'd give our best, or at least I hope that's what your intention was when you badmouthed my former home?" Iris said, gently giving Hop a one-armed hug before looking at him with a bit of a questioning look as she finished her statement. Hop looked up at Iris.

"Yeah, I was out of line there. I'm sorry, Iris. And I would be honored to be your rival, even if we are cousins. Who better than family to push me to my limits?" Hop said, getting to his feet, a small smile on his face.

"And yeah, I was just trying to get a rise out of you so you'd give your all in the battle. I think you'd have done anyways, but you might've been reluctant still as we're family." Hop said to Iris, extending out a hand to her.

"Rivals?" Hop asked Iris, smiling at her. Iris smiled back, taking the outstretched hand and shaking it.

"Rivals." Iris agreed with a nod, as the two cousins turned rivals turned to Leon.

"Impressive, both of you. I honestly expected it to end in a draw. But clearly I underestimated how strategically smart Iris can be. I think if you and I aren't careful Hop, she could surpass us both eventually. So I'd make sure you're at your best whenever you two battle. After all, can't have Iris be the only one who could be a threat to my status as Champion." Leon said to Hop and Iris, who nodded.

"And as for endorsements, techincally Iris would get it but both of you handled the battle so well I'm giving both of you endorsements." Leon said, shocking Hop and Iris.

"BOTH OF US?" Hop and Iris asked in unison, blinking at their unintended synchronicity before looking at Leon.

"Yep. I think you're both ready for the Gym Challenge. Mind you don't end up disappointing me, you two." Leon said to Hop and Iris, who nodded, both hugging Leon before the trio went to go check on the other battle...

(meanwhile, back with Ash and Gloria)

"Yamper, keep pressing that Nuzzle! That seems to be the only thing that really damages that Rolycoly!" Gloria called out to Yamper, who yipped before doing as her trainer instructed, but Ash wasn't going down so easily.

"Keep pressing that Rapid Spin, Rolycoly! And try to slip in a Tackle or two if you can!" Ash called, as Rolycoly and Yamper exchanged attacks with an intense ferocity that surprised both their trainers. After a few back-and forth volleys, Yamper and Rolycoly skidded backwards from one another, both looking pretty banged-up. Ash looked at Gloria.

"Settle this with one last attack?" Ash asked Gloria with an inquiring expression. Gloria nodded.

"YAMPER/ROLYCOLY, USE NUZZLE/TACKLE ONE MORE TIME!" Gloria and Ash called out at the same time, as their Pokemon charged into one another once more, before both of them struggled to their feet, before both collapsing again, swirls in both Pokemon's eye/eyes, to the shock of everyone present.

"Well, wasn't expecting this. Both Rolycoly and Yamper are unable to continue, so this match ends in a draw!" Sonia announced, raising her arm up to signal the end of the battle. Ash and Gloria smiled, walking to their starters.

"Rolycoly, you did great buddy. Have a good rest." Ash said, returning his starter.

"Yamper, you were amazing. Return for now and we'll get you healed later." Gloria said, petting Yamper once before returning her. Gloria turned to Ash.

"Well, I don't think either of us planned on that ending in a draw, eh Ash? But that just means we're evenly matched. Luckily for you it was a one-on-one or I'd have won due to still having a usable Pokemon." Gloria said smiling as she smirked at Ash.

"You're not wrong, Gloria. Still, you did amazingly to force a draw even with a type disadvantage. I look forward to our future battles in case they're all this intense and amazing." Ash said, extending a hand towards Gloria with a smile. Gloria smiled, shaking Ash's hand before surprising him by pulling him into a hug.

"I agree, Ash. I think we'll only get stronger as time goes on. So let's keep pushing each other to be our best. What do you say? Shall we be friendly rivals?" Gloria said to Ash, who shrugged before nodding.

"Sounds good to me, Gloria. But don't expect me to go down without a fight." Ash replied, looking confidently at Gloria. Just then, the other three caught up to them.

"So, how'd the battle go?" Leon asked Sonia as he walked up to her, Hop and Iris walking over to Ash and Gloria.

"Surprisingly, it ended in a draw between them." Sonia replied, surprising Leon as he had thought that would happen with Iris and Hop, not Ash and Gloria.

"That's surprising. And here I thought Iris and Hop would be the ones to end in a draw. Yet it didn't go that way. Instead, Iris easily outplayed and beat Hop. But I gave them both endorsements." Leon said, surprising Sonia who looked at Leon.

"Should we do the same with Ash and Gloria since they tied? Or should we let them battle again after healing their teams to break the tie?" Sonia asked Leon, who smiled at Sonia.

"Nah, we can give them both endorsements. The truth is, I planned on giving them all endorsements the whole time. I just wanted to make sure they were worthy of them first, and one battle being a draw and the other a one-sided smackdown is about as worthy as you can get I'd say." Leon replied, crossing his arms as he looked at the four new trainers, Sonia nodding as she looked at Leon.

"That's fair. Oh wait, weren't you supposed to be giving Hop that other Pokemon you caught for him?" Sonia said to Leon as she remembered a big detail that Leon had mentioned to her previously. Leon facepalmed.

"You're right. I forgot about our mom's other gift for Hop. I'll give it to him shortly." Leon replied to Sonia before turning to Hop, Ash, Iris and Gloria.

"You four have done well. Granted, one of your battles ended in a draw, and the other ended in probably the most one-sided manner possible. But all of you displayed tremendous skill, maturity and talent in your battles. So as such I deem all of you worthy to participate in the Galar Region's Gym Challenge." Leon said, expecting the confused expressions that showed up on Ash and iris' faces.

"Gym challenge?" Ash and Iris asked in unison, before blinking at each other and looking away, embarrassed that they said the same thing at the same time, not hearing the amused chuckles from Sonia and Gloria and the smirk on the faces of Hop and Leon at their antics.

"Yes, Gym Challenge. Basically there's eight Gyms that you'll challenge as you travel around the Galar region, and only those who get all eight Gym Badges will be able to enter into the Champion's Cup, a series of battles to determine which trainer wins the right to challenge me to a battle for the title of Galar Region's Champion. Of course I rarely lose so it'd take a pretty incredible trainer to defeat me." Leon explained to Ash and Iris, the former of which frowned.

"While I do believe you're a talented trainer, I don't know that you wouldn't have had a hard time against my older brother Red. But I don't think we'll be seeing who wins that fight anytime soon." Ash said, shrugging. However, Gloria could see the upset look on his face when he brought Red up. She knew she'd have to comfort him later. Before she could try to do so, however, Leon looked towards Hop.

"Hop, Sonia reminded me that our mother had one more gift to give you that I forgot to give you before now." Leon said to Hop, whose turn it was to be confused.

"Another gift?" Hop asked, frowning.

"Indeed. She and I caught you this Pokemon." Leon said, handing Hop a Poke Ball, which he threw up, watching as the Pokemon inside materialized in a burst of blue light, gaping as he recognized the round fluffy Pokemon that emerged.

"Lee, is that-?" Hop asked, before Leon cut him off.

"Yes, that's the Wooloo you used to play with when you were younger. We found it trying to headbutt through the gate blocking off access to the Slumbering Weald in Postwick." Leon said, prompting Ash and Iris to once more adopt a confused expression on their faces. Hop nodded to Leon though.

"Wow. Thanks, Lee. I'll take good care of him." Hop said, recalling that this particular Wooloo, as Leon had referred to the Pokemon he'd given Hop, was a male. Before anyone could say or do anything further, a mechanical hand shot out of nowhere as Hop returned Wooloo, grabbing Wooloo's Pokeball out of Hop's hands, retracting away out of sight as Hop could only blink, having been surprised by his Wooloo's sudden nabbing...

end of chapter

A/N: *gasp* I know, right? It's a cliffhanger! Who saw one of those coming so soon? And if you think that was a big cliffhanger, wait until you see the one next chapter! Next time we find out what happened to Hop's Wooloo, have a first run-in with the Galar region's baddies (and it's not the team most would expect it to be). Also, Ash is reunited unexpectedly with a familiar face from his past. Who, or what, could it be? And will our heroes ever make it to their first gym? Keep reading to find out!

That said, I wasn't initially intending to have the Hop VS Iris fight play out the way it did, but then I realized it could be an interesting device for character development to have Hop be humbled by way of a shocking defeat handed to him by Iris. Apologies if anyone dislikes how I handled that but it was necessary for plot purposes. As I said in the opening A/N, there's a poll up on my profile page to determine which girls will be in Ash's harem in addition to the five girls who will for sure be in the harem once it happens. That said, should I do all the regions in this one story, or should I make one story for each region? Feel free to leave reviews with your opinions as well as vote on the poll. And by all means spread the word to others. As a reminder, you can vote for up to 3 girls on the poll, and the top 2 (possibly 3 depending on which girl gets 3rd) girls will be added to the harem in later regions. So what do you think so far? Feel free to PM me or leave a review with your feedback and I'll see you soon enough with chapter 4! Until next update, sithlorde1988 out!