Author's Note:

Here it is, the start of the desert arc. Expect three chapters in this short collection between Castelia and Nimbasa with each of the main group having a focus. This one is Iris' and as you can probably guess from the title, she catches one of her cannon team members, but I've massively switched up which way they meet but it's not just her capture but interesting development with the Pokémon I'm most interested in within her team (at least thus far). As for who is caught this chapter, I was originally going to give her a Vibrava due to Trapinch being found in the desert in B2W2 & it having a more unique battle style option for her team. As this chapter will show, her new capture fights pretty similarly to Druddigon using raw, physical strength. Although I decided against it because this is a canon capture for her (just a little earlier) & Brock has his own Vibrava who was present in Hoenn & will be present in the battle frontier. While their personalities won't be the same, its rare I get to fully explore the characters of Pokémon who don't belong to Ash, Serena, or Drake & three stories with it in a row might seem a little much. Could that be why I had Pikachu ditch half way through Hoenn?... who knows. Not much else to say, don't forget to vote in the poll and with that, let's begin!

Chapter nineteen: A Rivalry to Gible On

She ran out ahead with the warm desert sand beneath her feet. The light chatter of Axew from her hair keeping her company as she took the sight from all around. Hills of golden dust spawned over miles. In the very far distance, you could see the shilluette of the bustling Nimbasa city and if she were to turn back the outline of Castelia would be far clearer. Although the city limits were the last place she wanted to be.

"Come on, guys!" She groaned. "You heard Nurse Joy! I gotta find it before anyone else does!"

"Do you even know what you're looking for?" Cilan asked.

"Of course, I do!" She shot back. "It's a Gible! The prevolved version of a Garchomp! One of the best dragons in the world!"

"Ew?" Her starter mumbled in disapproval.

"I said one of the best-" She whispered. "Your still got the top spot."

"And just how would you know about Gible or Garchomp?" Drake asked. "Sinnoh is closer to Kanto then Unova and I've never seen one."

"You see-"

She closed her eyes and an image of her time back in the village flashed in front of her eyes. Drayden was stood on one side of the battle field with his Haxorus in front of him. Axew sat nicely in her lap as both of them find them drawn to his opponent.

A twenty-something women with long blonde-hair which flowed down her back towards her feet. Black buns stuck out near the top of her head and her coat flung open like some sort of cape, but the true thing of interest was her own partner Pokémon facing off against Unova's strongest gym leader.

Her Garchomp was a massive bipedal, draconian shark with primarily dark blue skin. He had a red on his underbelly from the lower jaw to middle of the abdomen, including the undersides of his arms. A patch of gold came to a point below the red on his belly, and a golden star shape adorned the tip of his snout. His head had horn-like appendages that resembled a plane's engines.

Opening his mouth and letting out an earth-shaking roar, revealed razor-sharp teeth. The two feet had three white talon-claws, and each arm had a single large, white claw for a hand. Curved fins sprouted from his arms, creating wings. While a large back fin shot out of his back, like some aquatic Pokémon have, with a notch in it.

Pairs of small, white spikes protruded from the upper arms and legs, and he had gill-like slits on the sides of the neck. The eyes were intense, with black sclerae and golden irises-

"-As I looked into those powerful draconian eyes-" She found herself lost for words. "-I-I can't describe it. But that was the moment I knew I'd be a dragon master!"

"A single experience to light the burning fire of passion!" Cilan poetically said. "It would be wrong for us to not help you. What do you say, Drake?"

"We have to make a detour to the ruins anyway so sure; we can spend some time looking-" He shrugged. "But let's do it smartly."

"What do you have in mind?" She asked, seeing he already had a Pokéball in hand. In a flash, his pure ghost type materialised.

"Psychic and do a mind connection-" his physical voice instructed before being replaced by one in her head. "Now we have a few days before we reach the ruins, but Nurse Joy told us about a Gible in the desert who's been causing trouble. We-"

"Oh, her!" Yamask exclaimed

"You know Gible?!" She asked, jumping forward.

"Every Pokémon in the desert knows her-" Yamask replied, "if there's a battle happening, chances are she's involved. Always stealing from others."

"What could she steal?" Drake asked. "No offence, but Pokémon aren't materialistic like humans tend to be."

"The only thing worth anything out in the wilderness!" Yamask said, "the most important resource... food."

"Yo-you mean-" She stuttered.

"Yamask feed on the energy that escapes bodies which are past tense-" he explained, "so we can share the calories but those who prefer the physical thing. First come first serve. Speaking off, I gotta say Castelia was delicious. Very filling, like an all you can eat buffet."

"Y-you killed-" Cilan stuttered.

"No!" Yamask exclaimed. "I don't go around killing whoever I like... do I look human?"

"Hey!" she groaned.

"No offence-" Yamask shrugged. "But I gotta say, maybe you're not as bad as I originally thought. Especially, food like that."

"Basically, go to a large enough situation and chances are you'll have someone pass on that you never even see," Drake explained, "Yamask just happens to feed off the energy so they could more or less sense as it happened. Never needing to intervene in with them."

"I do feel like we've moved off topic," Cilan said, a little jittery from Yamask's revolution.

"Right, I need to find Gible so how do we do that?" Iris asked.

"First, it might help if you know what it looks like-" Drake handed over his Pokédex with the species already loaded up. She took the device and pressed the play button on the audio-information:

Gible, the Land shark Pokémon. Gible attacks anything that moves, and it drags whatever it catches into the crevice that is its lair. Despite the big mouth, Gible's stomach is small. It nests in small, horizontal holes in cave walls. It pounces to catch prey that stray too close

"Thanks-" She smiled, handing the device back. "Why're you helping?"

"I figured you'd be more annoying if your hopelessly wondering in the desert looking for Gible-" He shrugged, switching the Pokédex for a Pokéball. "Which reminds me, since neither of you thought of preparing for a desert... go Piloswine!"

Her eyes widened as the large, brown-furred Pokémon materialised on the sandy floor in front of her. Feeling a cold chill travel down her spine, she nervously took a foot back as it let out a snort. Her teeth chattered together as she tried to think of something to say but words failed her right now.

"Ice fang but don't attack anyone-" Drake instructed, kneeling beside him. Pulling out a cloth and a pocket knife, he moved towards the tusks which extended out with ice. He carefully sliced off bits of ice into the cloth, before putting the knife away and tying it together. He held it out and Cilan took it before he pulled out another cloth to repeat the process. "-This should keep us cool and able to keep moving in the desert heat. Your welcome."

"I-I'm good-" she stuttered, refusing the ice package from his hand.

"Suit yourself." He shrugged. "What about you, Marowak?"

The ground type responded by spinning his bone over his head. Slamming it down, a cloud of sand threw up around him and settled over his skin.

"So, you brought Piloswine just for that?" Cilan asked, holding the ice cloth to his forehead.

"No-" He shook his head. "I could've brought Starmie to create our own rain clouds to protect from the sun. But the next gym is electric type so I wanna see if he's ready to carry a challenge like that or not. Two birds, one stone."

"I should've guessed that by this point-" Cilan mused.

"Can we stop this and get on with finding Gible now?" Iris asked.

"So much for not being as annoying-" Drake uttered under his breath before letting out a long sigh. "Yamask. Start leading us to your home. It'll take us a couple days at least to make it. We should find Gible on the way but if not, then we can cross that path once we've dropped Yamask off."

She watched as the ghost type set off into the depth of the desert. Following behind, she found the shilluette of the background being large mountains.

Running along the sandy fields, waves of heat made it difficult for her to focus. She saw a flock of Mandibuzz in the sky, circling around.

"Xew!" Her dragon pointed from her hair.

Looking down to where her starter was pointing, she saw a wide-jawed Sandile about to snap down on her foot. Jumping back, she just managed to move in time as Drake's ghost type floated over to her.

"Yeah, watch your step!" He instructed. "This is the wild and we're use to not dealing with humans. Some don't take kindly to your lot."

"Geez, thanks-" She muttered. "So, any clue where that Gible-"

Her words died in her mouth as a dark blue flame of dragon type energy shot into the sky. She took off in the direction before she could fully process the surroundings. It didn't take long before she stopped at the edge of another battle.

Gible stood over a battered and beaten Darumaka before locking eyes with her. Walking forward, she got a good look at the opponent, and it was pretty similar to the dex. First thing she noticed was the head fin which lacked the notch males had, meaning she was female. The Gible was a small, bipedal dragon-like Pokémon with a primarily greyish-blue scales. With a big mouth filled with sharp teeth, no neck, and arms that started at the outer edges of her jaw. Her stomach was relatively small compared to the mouth, red in colour which stretched from the abdomen to bottom of her jaw. With two horns that resembled jet or plane engines, each with a light blue stripe in the middle. She slammed her fists against her stomach in a challenging stance.

"Alright Axew!" She declared, pointing to the target. "Let's do this!"

Her starter ran forward as bug type energy surrounded her. Crashing into the other dragon, the two went flying and she ended up straddling the blue scaled part ground type. Raising her claws, she slashed them down in a series of strikes while Gible tried recovered from the first impression.

Axew's claw came down in her continued onslaught, but Gible snapped her jaw shut. Shaking her head around, it threw the green dragon off.

Rolling onto her stomach, Gible quickly buried under ground. While Iris' tusk Pokémon climbed back onto her feet.

"Gible's underground!" She shouted. "Get ready to use Dragon Claw for when she comes back."

Flexing both claws out to the side, they burnt with dark blue dragon energy. Narrowing her eyes, she looked for the cracks forming in the ground.

To both of their surprise, Gible jumped up from the ground a fair distance away. A dark blue fire-breath exhaled and engulfed her starter.

Knocking Axew back, she ended up rolling onto her stomach. Massive rock pillars burst up from the ground and Gible began jumping from one to the next.

"Get up!" She cried but it was too late.

Diving down onto her first Pokémon, the jaw snapped around her mid-section. Lifting her up off the ground, fire burned through her fangs.

Crying out in pain, Axew failed in an attempted to escape. Her claws extended and she caught the eye of the ground dragon type. Using the momentary release, she climbed out and crawled away, kicking some sand behind her in an attempted to blind her opponent.

Angered by the counter, Gible stomped her feet in the ground and seismic shocked blasted out. Bringing Axew to a halt on her hands and knees.

Continuing her tantrum, she dived and tackled the tusk Pokémon. Snapping her jaw around her once more. Standing up and lifting her up.

With a deep breath, she unleashed another dragon breath straight up. Roasting Axew with the direct hit.

"Axew can't win at this point!" Drake's voice echoed. "Recall her! Either send in Druddigon or Marowak will give us chance to escape!"

Feeling tears burn her eyes, she snatched two devices, one in each hand. A red light dragged Axew back to safety as her other dragon materialised.

Druddigon let out a loud roar and flexed both arms to the side. Running forward, his claws covered in dragon type energy. With a large swipe, he knocked the ground dragon type away. Continuing in his rampage, he went in for a second swipe.

Burying underground, the land shark escaped his new opponent. Moments later she jumped up behind him with fire burning her fangs.

Swiping his tail to the side, it knocked the ground dragon type to the floor. Reaching out, he lifted her up over his head as she struggled.

Taking a deep breath, she let out another dragon breath over his body. Grunting from the pain, he just tightened his grip on her body.

A white glow engulfed her body, and her shape began to change. Unable to hold onto her, Druddigon dropped her and took some steps back.

As the glowing stopped their opponent was now about Druddigon's height with a darker blue coloured scales covering her body. Her under-tail were light blue, with a red chest covering up to the bottom of her jaw. Two appendages that resembled jets or plane engines extended out the side of the skull, each had a blue stripe. Four fins: one on each arm; one on the back and a final one on the tail. She had a spike on the hind limbs, and sharp claws on her feet and wrists.

Before she could continue, Drake's Pokédex appeared in front of her face. The newly evolved Pokémon on the screen:

Gabite, the Cave Pokémon. The evolved form of Gible. In rare cases, it moults and sheds its scales. Medicine containing its scales as an ingredient will make a weary body feel invigorated. Be wary though, very territorial, and dangerous species which have been known to attack humans

The newly evolved Pokémon entered a run, with far quicker speed then her previous evolution stage. Extending both hands out to the side, her claws glew white and extended out. With a jump from the ground, she gained some height like a flying type taking off. Soaring for a few seconds, she dived down.

Druddigon crossed his claws over his face, ready to block the airborne assault. Unfortunately, for him, it wasn't as simple.

Gabite's claw hit his and she threw her weight, so she fell down his back. Slicing the second claw over his back, her pure dragon type cried out in pain.

Using the opening, she landed and ran around the front of her cave Pokémon. Slashing her claw over his legs as a claw came down where she once stood.

Stopping at his opposite side, the dragon ground type let out another dragon breath. The increased power sent the Druddigon flying back.

Spreading his back wings to control his decent, he entered a head on run. His claws burned in dragon type energy as he thudded with each leap.

"This isn't going to work-" Drake's voice echoed from behind. "Gabite is far stronger then she was as a Gible. Druddigon is stronger but it's that speed-"

As if to finish his thought, Gabite met Druddigon by sliding under the dragon in one of his leaps. Jumping up from behind, she grabbed onto the cave Pokémon's tail. The unknown momentum threw her fully evolved dragon off. Thrusting her feet down, she sent seismic shocks straight into the dragon.

Druddigon crashed down into the floor, with a cloud of sand thrown up. Spinning in her dive, she crashed down into the cloud, followed by a cry of pain.

The sand settled revealing Druddigon on his claws and knees, panting heavily. It soon turned into seething from her fully evolved dragon.

"Iron head! Iron tail!" She shouted. "We need to go on the defensive if we're to win!"

A loud angered roar came from her fully evolved dragon as he stood up. Lifting one foot up, he stomped it down on the ground.

In a blur, her red headed dragon sunk into the collapsing field. Her heart stopped as he disappeared from her sight.

"Marowak!" Drake's voice commanded.

The pure ground ran forward and leapt in front of her. Spinning his bone overhead, he slammed it down with a massive thud. A single powerful seismic shock wave echoed out and knocked her to the ground. Squeezing her eyes shut to prevent sand getting inside them, it took a second for her to look.

Both dragons burst out of the ground, landing a few feet apart. Druddigon flat on his stomach as Gabite stood back up.

With a deep breath, she launched out another dragon breath. Spinning his bone from of his body, it acted as a shield, deflecting the blast.

Kicking the floor, his eyes clouded over. A pile of sand erupted under the dragon ground type. Pulling his bone back, he tossed it over the makeshift field.

Striking the cave Pokémon on the head, it blew her out of the sand tomb. While the bone deflected back, landing back in Marowak's hand.

Gabite landed on her back and struggled to climb back to a sitting position. The pure ground type shouted something out and Gabite scurried underground.

"Wh-what happened?" she asked.

"In every battle, each competitor has some sort of advantage-" Drake walked up. "Gabite is used to having terrain control, but Marowak proved that he has that here. She had also fought numerous battles in a row and would've started to tire out. He told her to get lost and she didn't need telling twice."

"B-but-"

"There's a difference between having an advantage on a field and being unable to battle on one... Skrelp is the latter-" Drake continued. "Both of your other Pokémon lost... now you can either moan or sort them out and try again. I know which I'd do in this situation."

"Druddigon's taken a lot of critical hits-" Cilan mused, drawing her attention. He was kneeled beside her dragon with a medical kit outside. "The wounds are pretty superficial but almost suffocating from the sand didn't help. He'll need some supervision whilst being treated."

"You better show Iris what she needs to do then-" Drake insisted, causing her to look at him. "He is your Pokémon... and this will be a good opportunity."

"Opportunity for what?" she asked.

"Druddigon lost because he doesn't trust your judgement-" he explained, "at least he likes you so it won't be nearly as tough as it could be."

"Sounds like you've got experience with this sort of thing-" Cilan said, encouraging a response.

"Not me," Drake replied, "my brother... he had issues with his Sandslash. I've seen it play out first hand and it's never easy but if you overcome it."

"Oh really-" She rolled her eyes. "What? Did he lose a battle?"

"Got claws to the stomach," he replied, "twice. Drew blood and left some nasty looking scars."

"Ouch-" Cilan winced.

"I've seen worst scars." He quickly continued. "But we're getting off topic. Druddigon needs treating so show her what she needs to do and get to it."

Not willing to argue, she moved and kneeled beside Cilan and her pure dragon type. He explained to her the treatments needed, mainly spraying his wounds with disinfectant and the bandage pads being wrapped over them. Along with keeping him properly hydrated under the hot desert sun. Once she was certain she had it all to memory, he stood up and left them be with the equipment... staring at the dragon, she flashed back to the last battle Druddigon lost.

It was the day she received Axew from the village elder along with a few other children of the village. It was known Axew were the first Pokémon of all those starting in the town. Even if she met Druddigon long before, she wasn't allowed to officially catch him. They'd mostly just hang out together.

Introducing the two dragons was a little nerve wracking since Druddigon were known as very territorial. It seemed to go fine but then Drayden made his presence known. Arguably, the most famous child of the village and his partner Haxorus stood behind him as he delivered a speech to them.

While she remembered feeling excited and energised by his words, she couldn't repeat any of them now. Once finished, the red-headed dragon approached and challenged the two of them to a battle.

It didn't go well-

"Don't worry, Druddigon-" She whispered, spraying water into his mouth from a bottle. "You'll be better in no time."

A low grumble from him was the only reply she received as she pulled out a damp cloth. Reaching out, she slowly rubbed it over the rough scaley skin off the cave Pokémon. After a couple minutes of care, she lifted her hands to see sore palms from his rough scaly skin.

Shaking her head, she returned to trying to cool him off with the damp cloth. She barely had time to react as two slabs of earth raised up around them, creating a tent which blocked out the sun. Marowak stood behind, having created the shelter.

"Thanks-" She smiled.

"Maro." He nodded, walking back to his group. She noticed Drake had his team out for some training along with Cilan's.

Letting out a sigh, she turned back to her dragon. Images from their battle replayed in her head. Drake's advice echoing over the top.

"You know, Druddigon, you're really strong," she said, "when it comes to physical strength, you beat Gabite every day of the week."

"Our problem is... there's more to battling than just strength. Gabite was faster and more adapt to the desert for batting. I know that you like to be independent, I do too but there's no shame in us helping each other out."

"We're a team and we're stronger if we work together. You don't have eyes in the back of your head."

Biting on her inner cheek, she waited for some sort of reply from her fully evolved dragon. None came, however.

"Right-" she sighed, feeling tears threatening to escape her eyes. Reaching out to the cloth on his back.

Continuing to keep his skin moist, she absentmindedly gazed over to Drake and his team. Piloswine and Pignite were working on power charges, trying to physical overpower the other. While Blitzle ran along the earth-manipulation creations curtsy of Marowak, working on her speed and footing. Shelmet was paired up with Cilan's Trubbish, with the poison type trying to teach him toxic spikes and her two human friends were battling Yamask against Pansage.

"How could she ever command the respect of Pokémon like Drake does?" she thought to herself. "He uses his smarts to make his worth to them invaluable."

She isn't smart like that, and her Pokémon know it. Squeezing her eyes shut, she clutched the cloth hard in her hands. Is that what it takes to be a great trainer? Is she doomed to fail in her endeavours due to not being an academic? Maybe she should just give up and return to the village.

Iris found herself stood on a battlefield with Druddigon in front of her. He was flat out on his stomach as their opponent let out a triumphant roar. Opposite her was none-other then Drayden and his Haxorus. Both stood with a stern look in their eye, and arms crossed.

Running forward, she kneeled next to the dragon but the world around them disappeared. In a pure darkness, she could only see Druddigon as he stood opposite her. Looking into his eyes, she could see his burning passion as low deep breaths entered and exhaled through his nose. Around them different images of memories began to play, the day they met and the day they lost to Drayden being the most prominent. Although soon it became filled with images of her with Axew, the bigger dragon stood off in the back ground.

"Dru-Druddigon?" she asked. Staring into his eyes, the memories continued to play out in the background.

With a rush, she found herself back in the desert, peeking out from the earth-tent Marowak created. Looking to the sky, it was a light-blue and orange colour showing the sun being slow to raise for the morning. Stood just a few feet away was Druddigon, who was staring back at her. Feeling his eyes staring into her soul, she swallowed hard but couldn't tear her own away. Collapsing her sweaty palms together, she walked over to him.

"ddigon." He growled.

"Th-that dream? Memory-" she muttered. "Did you experience it too?"

A small nod came from the fierce fighter. His eyes glistened slightly, but she wouldn't have noticed from a further distance away.

"Axew... you-" She tried to find the right words. "She never replaced you; ya know. She might've been my starter but... you was always my first Pokémon."

His eyes squeezed shut as tears finally broke loose down his rugged cheeks.

"I-I'm sorry-" she stuttered, her own tears escaping down her cheek. "Axew never replaced you. I never thought of it like that."

A low grumble came from the cave Pokémon. Her head hung at the sound.

"I'm so sorry, Druddigon-" she uttered. "If I knew how you felt then-"

Her words died as he embraced her in a hug. Ever since they met, he's been very protective and caring. She took that for granted and when Axew came into their group, she unknowingly pushed him further out. Taking his over protectiveness as a way of acting out.

"How about from now on... I'll keep you in the group," she said, "and you start listening to me too. We just want to help and support each other."

With bated breath, she looked up and locked eyes with her dragon. She could see the clogs turning behind his eyes as he contemplated the offer. It felt like forever but he eventual responded with a single solitary nod and a wide grin broke out over her face as she embraced him in a hug.

"uddigon." Her fully evolved dragon pulled back and sniffed the light desert breeze.

Watching carefully, it took nearly a minute until he gestured for her to follow. The two off them took off running across the sandy plains. She could easily keep up with the dragon but never over took him. Scanning the area ahead, it wasn't too long until she noticed Gabite sleeping on the top of a rock.

"You ready for a rematch?" she asked.

As if to answer, he let out a loud roar which scared off a flock of nearby Mandibuzz and Vullaby. Gabite groggily sat up and stared down to them.

Shaking her head, the morning drowsiness was replaced with a more battle hungry grin.

Jumping off the rock, she dived straight into the ground. Druddigon ran forward, creating some distance between them for the makeshift field.

"Bulldoze!" She hollered. "The use your armor moves like iron head, tail, steel wing and metal claw!"

With a shimmer of metal, his whole body hardened. Raising his foot, he stomped it down and some seismic shocks echoed out from his feet.

Gabite was thrown up from the ground a little bit away. Her two claws extended to the side and flared with dragon type energy.

Running forward, she lashed out but this time the claws deflected off. A momentary pause left her open and Druddigon reached out and grabbed smaller dragon. Waving her back and forth, he stomped forward. Making the most of his opening, he pushed into an onslaught of slashing attacks.

Skidding on the sandy field, Gabite landed on her stomach. Lifting her head, she shot out a breath of dragon energy direct onto her cave Pokémon.

By the time she could see past the dragon breath, their opponent had disappeared. Widening her eyes, she scanned the makeshift field.

"Tail to your right!" She hollered, as a blue blur shot from that direction.

Her pure dragon type swiped his tail in the direction. Forcing their opponent to slow down, Gabite grabbed hold and swung under the appendage.

Using the momentum to end up on his back, she let out a series of slashes. Druddigon cried out as he tried and failed to throw her off.

Iris' eyes widened as she tried to think of a way for her dragon to get the upper hand. Her mind raced through the battles she saw since meeting Drake.

"Rock tomb all around you!" She shouted. "Then outrage!"

Stomping his foot down onto the floor, massive rock pillars burst up trapping both dragons inside. A massive thud followed. Then another... and another. On the forth one, cracks began to form, and the fifth one had Gabite come flying out landing on flat on her back. Her dragon burst out making the hole bigger.

Pulling out a Pokéball, he tossed it out and it struck Gabite. Her own dragon stalked out of the crumbling rock pillars. An ear-burst roar echoed out.

The device wobbled back and forth before dinging but she couldn't focus on it right now. Stepping forward, Druddigon's were diluted as the energy radiated.

"It's over, Druddigon-" she whispered, stepping closer. "We won and we got Gabite. It's time for a breather."

He let out another vicious roar as he stalked forward. With a deep breath, she ignored her instincts telling her to run as she moved in front of him.

"Remember the promise we made-" She pleaded. "We're a team. Please... say something."

His heavy breathing gave a glimmer of hope he was fighting the outrageous-draconic instinct. His shaking claw weakly raised and pointed to her belt.

Her eyes widened in understanding and wasted no time in taking off his Pokéball. Recalling the dragon type, she sighed and relaxed. She knew outrage was a dangerous move even for the most disciplined dragon. They remove all senses other than pure instinct. The idea he could hold it off was very impressive.

Walking forward, she kneeled down and picked up the device containing her newest capture. A rush of excitement flooded her veins.

"We did it!" She cheered, doing a small leap. Using the boost, she took off back towards the group.

As she ran across the sandy plains, her mind trailed down to the device in her hand. Gabite, like many dragons, has proven to be isolated, fierce, and stubborn... kind of like Druddigon but whereas they had a couple years to get to know each other. How is she meant to open up the newest capture?

Slowing down by the time she reached her group, she noticed Cilan already dishing up breakfast as Drake finished laying out the food for the Pokémon. With a quick morning greeting, she quickly let out her fully evolved dragon and used some supplies to help his recovery. Once he was set, she did the same with her newest capture, who ended up being flat out on her back as she treated her.

"So that's where you went off too this morning-" Cilan noted, passing her a fresh plate of fruit covered pancakes. "Congratulations."

"Thanks-" She smiled. Opting to sit next to Druddigon as they both ate their breakfast. "It wasn't easy... but we did it because we worked together."

"Well, the challenge only just begun-" Drake commented.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"You had the benefit of Druddigon actually liking you before so getting his respect was easier-" He shrugged, taking a mouthful of food. "Gabite, on the other hand... dragons are known to be stubborn and if yesterday is anything to go by... like I said, the challenge only just begun."

While she wanted to retort to his argument, the words died in her mouth. Staring aimlessly at the newest Pokémon, she knew he was right.

"Mask! Yamask!"

"Yes, we're still heading to the ruins to return you home-" he nodded to his ghost type.

"Why are you doing that?" Cilan asked. "No offence Drake but you don't seem like a bleeding heart."

"I made Yamask a promise back in the Nacrene museum-" he said. "And he's been hurt enough by people. I think it's time some of us keep our word... a foreign concept for someone from the states, I'm sure."

She couldn't help but sink slightly in her makeshift seat at the explanation. He may come off as cold and calculating but under the arrogant-intelligence and sarcasm, he is actually very protective and caring.

"Gwa!" She jumped as her newest team member jumped towards her. In her fright, she dropped her plate and Gabite instantly devoured her food.

"Told you so-" Drake mused. "Just be thankful that it's not a Snorlax."

"What is a Snorlax?" Cilan asked.

"A very powerful normal type, you remember my Charizard?" he asked, which the green-haired teen nodded. "My Snorlax is my only Pokémon to take him on one-on-one and win. By far the hardest Pokémon I've trained."

Iris thought back to the large monstrous Pokémon from the dream yard. While he didn't seem as fierce as some of the dragons she met in the village, its large size alone would make tough work for any of opponent to get around.

He sighed as he stood in the natural garden of Castelia. Hundreds of people and Pokémon were around him, but he couldn't bring himself to interact. Slumping down on the bench, the boy he met in Accumula stuck in his head, along with that Pokémon off his.

"How? How could a Pokémon prefer humanity enslavement over freedom?" he thought to himself. "That Pokémon... with the skull mask-"

A soft fluffy Cottonee hopped over. The corners of his mouth twitched into a smile as she leapt into his lap, transforming back into Zorua. Rolling onto her back, she stared up at him with her large eyes with a thousand questions being asked. He tried to answer the first but a buzz from his phone killed any words he might've had.

Pulling the device out, he saw the news bulletin with a headline on it, 'Plasma's president gives speech following attack after trainer rights attack!'

Hitting the story, it brought up an article about the attack, but his main attention went to the video. The thumbnail was the image of his father with a busted lip and black eye.

"The rift forming in the state is deep. Mending it will not be an easy task. However, I like to believe that we'll be successful in the end. A world where both people and Pokémon are treated with respect!"

Unable to watch it further, he paused the video. Frozen in place, only the soft head of the dark type nudging his hand snapped him back to reality.

"Huh?" He flinched before moving on to scratch her. "I'm sorry Zorua... it's just... how can people not see what we're after is for the best? Allow both people and Pokémon to thrive on their own. No longer will one side be holding the other back."

"Zor?"

"I am concerned about father." He admitted. "You saw his face. They could've killed him."

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and shimmered his emotions down. He knew his father and the sages protected him from the worst of humanity but they're right. If he is to fulfil his destiny and lead this revolution, then experiencing the true horrors of this world was needed.

Whether forcing Pokémon to fight or showcasing the fights for others entertainment. Keeping them trapped in the prisons on their belt or using their amazing abilities to their own ends. This city was built on the backs of Pokémon, destroying the natural environment in the process.

"Zorua!" the dark type barked.

"You're right-" he stood up, putting his phone back into his pocket. "We need to get moving to get moving. Rood said that the event being held in Nimbasa is only a week away. I hope that we can meet father there and check in on him."

"Zor-ua," she barked.

Thanks for reading... Please Favourite, Follow and Review. Also, feel free to ask any questions through PM, I will answer them all, although don't expect too big of spoilers. Don't forget to vote in the polls. I really appreciate the support. Thank you and see ya next time...