Triple Leaders, Ash vs the Elemental Triplets
"Granbull, gran gran!" The bulldog snarled out while protectively standing before a group of Snubbull.
"Eevoi!" Eevee shivered as she gazed up at the Granbull, sweating out of fear as Hilda hastily returned Eevee to her ball.
"Never mind then!" Hilda quickly bowed at the Granbull. "I had no idea they were yours." She got excited upon seeing the dogs and wanted one for herself but Granbull quickly appeared to protect her babies.
"Smart choice, you don't want to get in between a Granbull and her pups. They're not a Pokémon you want to mess with." Brock noted while Ash was looking all around for Pokémon he hadn't seen. Unfortunately it appeared to be a lot of Pidove and Patrat as nothing stuck out at first but then a cute pink Pokémon came into view. It had large bright blue eyes and had a mixture of tan fur on it's mid and lower half of the body.
"Is that a Unovan Chansey?" Ash questioned while retrieving his Pokedex.
"Audino the Hearing Pokémon, this Pokémon has a kind heart. By touching with its feelers, Audino can gauge other creatures' feelings and physical conditions."
Brock perked up upon hearing the Pokedex speak out, he turned his attention towards Audino before looking towards Ash. "Hey Ash, you mind if I have this one? It sounds like the perfect Pokémon for me."
"Sure thing, Brock!" Truth be told Ash wasn't that interested anyway and it was about time Brock got to catch something.
"Marshtomp the Mud Fish Pokémon and evolution of the Hoenn starter Mudkip. The surface of Marshtomp's body is enveloped by a thin, sticky film that enables it to live on land. This Pokémon plays in mud on beaches when the ocean tide is low." Hilda's Pokedex read out as she scanned the Hoenn starter.
"Mud Shot!" Brock shouted out.
"Marshtomp, tomp!" Marshtomp cried out as several balls of mud hurled out of his throat, pelting Audino.
"Audino!" Audino let out a squeal as her fur got dirty. The Pokémon quickly began cleaning herself off and showed no desire to fight back as she valued cleanliness above all else.
"Huh..." Brock sweated while holding up an empty Pokeball, the older male threw back his arm before hurling the ball at Audino. The Pokeball opened up as it flew through the air, a beam of bright red light shot out and absorbed Audino into the ball which began shaking in the air before chiming out to signal the capture complete.
"Way to go Brock!" Ash shouted out.
"Pika pi!"
"Nice one!" Hilda cheered on her friend before resuming her search for another Pokémon. Ash similarly looked around before spotting a Dunsparce, the Dunsparce turned directly towards him and uttered out a noise as it seemed to recognize him.
"You again!" Ash grabbed hold of a Pokeball. "You're not getting away this time, Oshawott I choose you!"
"Oshawott!" Oshawott enthusiastically cried out as he burst from the ball.
"Use Water Gun!"
"Osha!" Oshawott blasted Dunsparce back with a blast of water, Dunsparce quickly shook it off and retaliated by flailing about.
"Osha!" Oshawott cried out as Dunsparce knocked him over.
"Oshawott use-"
"Ooooh, what a cutie!" Hilda gushed rather loudly causing Ash to briefly glance in her direction. The newbie trainer was gazing towards a familiar pink Pokémon.
"Jigglypuff? Not bad. I-" Ash turned back to Dunsparce who was still there before quickly turning back towards Jigglypuff. "Wait a second!" He exclaimed upon noticing a microphone in her hand. "That can't be, can it?!"
"Jiggly." Jigglypuff began tapping her microphone.
"It's Jigglypuff!" Brock exclaimed.
"I can see that." Hilda sweated. "I know what that is."
"No no, it's Jigglypuff! We've crossed paths with her before, she loves to put on a show for us and make us fall asleep!" Ash exclaimed. "We got to go!" But it was too late as Jigglypuff began singing.
"Parce!" Dunsparce hastily got away just in the nick of time while Ash and the others felt their eyes drooping shut.
"I see... what you... mean..." Hilda groaned while falling to the floor, Ash and the others fell shortly after her as they fell fast asleep.
"Jiggly!" Jigglypuff puffed her cheeks out in annoyance upon catching them all asleep, she quickly pulled out her marker and angrily marked their faces before bouncing off to find somebody that wouldn't fall asleep on her.
Hilda woke up and started laughing out upon seeing the markings on Brock, Ash, Pikachu, Oshawott and Eevee's faces. Eevee and Oshawott awoke and joined in but that quickly stopped as soon as Hilda and Oshawott noticed that she marked them too.
"Why that little-She'll pay for this!" Fire burned in Hilda's eyes.
"Oshawott!" Oshawoot vowed.
Ash and the gang arrived in Striaton City, a week had passed since they left Accumula Town and Ash had faced off against several trainers in the meantime. Getting plenty of experience for Oshawott, Snivy, Farfetch'd and Tepig. He hadn't seen Team Rocket since they left Nuvema but he had this lingering feeling they'd show up again when he least suspected it, he just prayed they wouldn't interrupt his gym battle.
Striaton City was significantly larger than Accumula and Nuvema, there was still a singular Pokémon Center though as the city wasn't quite big enough to warrant supporting two different centers. They passed several apartment complexes on their way through the city along with what appeared to be a research lab of some sort and a large park could be seen in the distance, but straight ahead and directly next to the Pokémon Center was the Striaton Gym though Ash was surprised to see that the front of it was fashioned after a diner as several people could be seen eating at the outside seating.
"Hold up, are we even in the right place?" Ash questioned while displaying visible confusion. "This looks more like a diner than a Gym."
"I think we're in the right place. I recall Zach mentioning that one of the Gyms doubled as a diner." Hilda spoke. "I'm guessing it's this one."
"Oh my gosh, it's them!" A group of girls squealed out as three triplets walked out of the kitchen. They all wore waiter attire but had different hair and eye colors. The green eyed one had his hair short and trimmed, the blue eyed triplet had his long hair draped over his right eye like a wave of water while the red eyed triplet had his red hair spiked up like a fiery flame.
"I wish girls looked at me like that." Brock groaned out as the women squealed while begging the three for autographs. The red head smirked and signed stuff while winking at them as the blue haired triplet rolled his eyes and scoffed. The green haired triplet didn't pay much mind as he uncovered the dish.
"And here's your victory dish, Trip! A freshly grilled hamburger served with a side of fries and ketchup-" Pikachu drooled as he eyed Trip's ketchup bottle. "As for dessert, macaroons! I'm a desert connoisseur so I visited Kalos to get the recipe from an expert."
Trip nodded at the triplets before digging into his meal while Ash made his approach.
"Excuse me, which of you are the Gym Leader?" He questioned.
"I am!" All three triplets simultaneously exclaimed.
"Is that even legal?" Hilda asked.
"Yeah, my friend Misty has three sisters that shared the Gym leader title before handing the title over to her." Ash explained.
"Sisters?! Are they hot?!" The red head eagerly asked before the blue haired triplet slapped the back of his head.
"Yes, they are." Brock smirked.
"Nice." The red head smirked. "Ow!" He cried out as his brother slapped him again while Croagunk poison jabbed Brock.
"Croaaaa..." Croagunk laughed as he began dragging Brock away.
Though that still left some questions unanswered. "So uh... how does this work? They tried pawning the badge off on me."
"Okay so," The green haired triplet started up. "Here at the Striaton Gym you can battle either me, Cilan or my brothers."
"I'm Chili!" The red head exclaimed while flashing a smirk at Hilda. "And you are...?"
Hilda sweated and hid behind Brock as she wasn't exactly sure how to reject somebody. There weren't exactly a whole lot of boys in the village, just her brother, Cheren and Trip. Cheren only had eyes for Bianca while Trip, she honestly wasn't sure but she certainly wasn't attracted to him as he was always rude to her brother and Cheren.
"Sorry but I don't think she's interested." Brock sweated.
Chili shrugged. "Oh well, I got loads of options!" He exclaimed with quite the optimistic attitude while Brock faceplanted with a groan.
"Must be nice..."
"Anyways," Cilan cleared his throat. "You'll challenge whichever of us you want to a one on one Pokémon battle, if you win then you get the Trio badge and a victory dinner!"
Brock gazed towards Trip's dinner. "Speaking of which, you must tell me the recipe for those macaroons. They look delicious!"
"Oh a fellow chef?" Cilan's eyes lit up. "If your friend wins then I'd be honored to share it with you, from one chef connoisseur to the other!"
"Well I wouldn't exactly call myself a connoisseur..." Brock nervously chucked while rubbing his neck.
"What are you talking about Brock? Your cooking is the best!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pika!"
"Yeah, I've never tasted anything like it!" Hilda exclaimed.
"Yeah well, Cilan's cooking tastes a million times better than his!" Chili aggressively shouted out in defense of his brother.
"Relax Chili, they're welcome to their opinion." Cress calmly stated.
"I'd certainly love to taste and judge for myself." Cilan smiled before turning to Ash. "Alright so which of us would you like to face off against?"
Ash thought for a moment as his gaze flickered between the three brothers. "I think... I'd like... to fight all three of you!" Ash suddenly exclaimed causing Trip to spit out his drink.
Cilan, Chili and Cress looked at one another before shrugging.
"Why not?" Cress asked.
"There's no rule against that." Chili added.
"We gracefully accept," Cilan bowed. "In which case, you'll be allowed the use of three Pokémon total while my brothers and I use one each. Follow me." Cilan beckoned with his hand as he lead Ash to a portion of the restaurant that was empty, reserving a large space for a battlefield so that their customers could watch them fight challengers. "I'll serve as referee while you two fight it out, then Cress can take over while I fight him. That sound good?"
"Assuming Ash even gets that far." Chili smirked.
"Chili, don't belittle our opponents." Cress stated.
"I'm not belittling him, I'm just saying that I'm awesome!" Cress rolled his eyes.
"Well if you insist then I guess that means you're going first." Cress gave his brother a gentle push.
"Thanks bro," Chili grabbed hold of a ball and tossed it up into the ball. "Pansear!"
"Pan!" A small red and tan monkey with hair that greatly resembled Chili's burst from the ball.
"Pansear the High Temp Pokémon, very intelligent, it roasts berries before eating them. It likes to help people."
"Alright Oshawott, I choose you!"
"Osha!" Oshawott cried out as he burst from the ball.
"Lick!" Chili shouted out.
"Pan!" Pansear licked Oshawott, causing static to show along his body as Paralysis took effect.
"Use Water Gun!" Ash shouted out.
"Oshawottt!" Oshawott cried out while hosing Pansear down with a blast of water.
"Fury Swipes!" Chili shouted out.
"Pansear!" Pansear screeched as he rapidly scratched and clawed at Oshawott.
"Oshawott!" Oshawott cried out as scratch marks appeared all over his face.
"Use Water Gun again!"
"Osha-" Oshawott grunted as paralysis kept him locked in place.
"Fury Swipes!" Chili shouted out.
"Pan!" Pansear lunged forward and rapidly clawed at Oshawott.
"Osha...wott..." Oshawott groaned as he collapsed onto his side, swirls formed within his eyes as he laid in defeat.
"Oshawott is unable to continue battling!" Cilan shouted out.
"Hell yeah, I told you that we'd win!" Chili exclaimed.
"More like luck, he would have won if he wasn't paralyzed." Cress stated.
"Oshawott return, you did great out there and deserve a long rest. Alright Tepig, I choose you!"
"Tepig!" Flares erupted from his snout as he burst from the ball.
"Tackle!" Ash shouted out.
"Tepig!" Tepig cried out as he smashed into his opponent head on.
"Pan!" Pansear cried out as he fell over, swirls formed in his eyes shortly after as he laid in defeat.
"Pansear is unable to continue!" Cilan exclaimed while Cress smirked lightly.
"I-I just softened him up for you two." Chili sweated, blushing from embarrassment as he recalled Pansear.
"Uh huh," Cress chuckled while tossing forth a ball of his own. "Panpour!"
A blue and tan monkey that greatly resembled Pansear burst out, however it's hairstyle resembled a water geyser instead of a flame.
"Panpour the Spray Pokémon, the water stored inside the tuft on its head is full of nutrients. It waters plants with it using its tail."
"Return," Ash returned Tepig for the time being, he was already one down so he needed to play it safe. "Snivy, I choose you!"
"Snivy!" Snivy flashed a smirk towards her opponent as she burst from the ball.
"Vine Whip!"
"Sni!" Vines formed from her sides and began whipping her opponent.
"Pan!" Panpour cried out while covering his head.
"Scratch!"
"Counter with Attract!" Ash shouted out.
"Snivy..." Snivy gave Panpour an alluring and seductive look but despite being male, it didn't have an effect.
Cress smirked lightly. "Bite!"
"Pan!" Panpour sank his teeth into Snivy.
"Tackle!"
"Sni!" Snivy tackled the ground, slamming Panpour's body against it.
"Scratch!" Cress ordered.
"Counter with Vine Whip!" Ash shouted out.
Vines protruded from Snivy's body as she whipped her opponent as he zeroed in on her. Panpour uttered out a grunt before falling to his side as swirls formed in his eyes. "Panpour..."
"Panpour is unable to continue battling!" Cilan declared while raising his arm. "We're down to our final Pokémon but we're not giving up! Pansage, your assistance!"
"Pansage, pan!" A green variant of the monkey burst onto the field, having a bush atop his head much like the other two had fire and water elements.
"Pansage the Grass Monkey Pokémon, it's good at finding berries and gathers them from all over. It's kind enough to share them with friends."
"Snivy return, Tepig I choose you!" Ash shouted out while sending the fiery pig back onto the field.
"Tepig, pig!" Tepig cried as flames erupted from his snout.
"Leer." Cilan shouted while snapping his fingers.
"Pan!" Pansage cried out, leering at Tepig.
"Tail Whip!" Ash shouted out.
"Pig!" Tepig turned his back to Pansage and began shaking his tail at him.
"Fury Swipes!" Cilan ordered while pointing towards Tepig.
"Pansage!" Pansage leaped towards Tepig before unleashing a clawed fury upon him.
"Tepig!" Tepig cried out as the claws raked his face.
"Ember!"
"Tepig!" Tepig cried out as fiery pellets erupted from his mouth.
Pansage grunted out and dropped to a knee but still had some fight left in him.
"Scratch!" Cilan ordered out.
"Pan!" Pansage slashed at his opponent.
"Dodge and use Ember!" Ash shouted out.
"Tepig!" Tepig cried out though instead of firing flames, his body erupted in flames as he charged at his opponent. Pansage's eyes widened shortly before he uttered out a pained screech as fire raked across his body.
"Pansage..." Pansage fell onto his back, swirls formed within his eyes as he laid in defeat.
"Pansage is unable to continue battling, the challenger Ash Ketchum wins!" Cress shouted out. Trip quietly left without a word while the other spectators cheered.
"He's cute, think he's single?" One of the girls giggled out.
"I dunno, looks like he's with that brunette."
Cilan stepped forward and offered Ash a smile upon returning Pansage to his ball, reaching into his pocket to retrieve the badge which he soon held out to him. It was shaped like a lightning bolt and had three different sections colored red, blue and green. "This is the Trio Badge, take it and wear it with honor. Not many trainers can say they've beat all three of us!"
Ash took the badge and flashed a grin towards Pikachu as he held the badge above his head. "Alright, we just got the Trio Badge!"
"Pi Pikachu!"
"This is delicious!" Brock exclaimed while Hilda, Ash, Pikachu and Eevee hungrily scarfed down the meal that the three brothers cooked up for them.
"Why thank you, that means a lot coming from a fellow connoisseur." Cilan bowed.
"I noticed you say that a lot, what's up with that?" Hilda couldn't help but ask.
"Why I love being a connoisseur! I thrive to try out new things and become a connoisseur at the subject! I'm also a fishing, train, weather, and detective connoisseur but that's not my main goal in life. I aspire to become a Pokémon connoisseur!"
"A Pokémon connoisseur?" Ash asked. "I've never heard of such a thing."
"We use our knowledge and experience to asset the bonds between a Pokémon and their trainer, and provide advice on how to strengthen that bond. For instance I could tell the second I saw you that Pikachu and you share an unbreakable bond. I've only seen that sort of connection twice before, with a Bouffalant and Lucario." Cilan explained.
"Lucario?" Hilda asked.
"That was about seven years ago." Cilan shrugged. "That Bouffalant though? That is Alder's."
"The champion..." Ash clenched his fists.
"Right now I'm an A class Connoisseur but I'd love to become S rank. Unfortunately, I don't get enough experience in this city to help advance my rank at a decent pace. If only I could travel around the region and see all different kinds of trainers with my own eyes." Cilan mused while turning his gaze long fully towards the door.
"You could come with us," Ash offered. "I mean if you want, there's always room for one more!"
"Sounds good to me." Brock smiled. Cilan and his brothers were Brock's age, usually people that joined the group were Ash's age or younger in Max's case.
"I'm okay with it too." Hilda nodded.
"I'd love to but... I can't just leave my brothers." Cilan frowned while looking towards his brothers with a guilty expression.
"Go for it bro!" Chili smiled while giving a thumbs up.
Cress nodded. "We can run this place just fine without you, you get out there and chase your dreams."
"And if you ever want to come back, we're here for you!" Chili grinned.
Cilan got teary eyed as he pulled his brothers in for a hug. "Thanks you two, I love you so much!"
"We love you too, bro!"
"Awww..." The fangirls gushed at the heartwarming sight.
"Would any of you girls like my number? I'm single and available, I'm also a doctor and fairly decent Pokémon battler!" Brock exclaimed while holding out a Poryphone.
"No thanks, sir."
"Sir?!" Brock faceplanted against the floor while Croagunk laughed.
"Where's the next gym anyways?" Ash asked Cilan.
"Nacrene City which is about a week or two journey west." Cilan thumbed towards the western part of the city. "I'd advise putting in some more training before you head there though, I won't spoil it but apparently a lot of trainers struggle against the Gym Leader. Just a friendly warning."
"Well then it looks like I'll have to get to training! Hold up, don't you want to try battling Cilan's brothers?" Ash turned to Hilda who swiftly shook her head.
"Battling competitively doesn't feel like it'll suit me."
"That's fine, I'm sure you'll find something." Brock stated upon recovery. "You could always become a Coordinator-"
"We don't have Contests here." Cilan stated. "They're apparently working on that though."
"Or a Breeder, which is what I used to be." Brock informed.
Hilda looked thoughtful for a moment but before she could say anything the diner doors suddenly burst open, revealing a rather distraught Professor Juniper.
"Ash... I need your help, the Dreamyard... Team Rocket... ugh." Juniper passed out on the spot from exhaustion causing Brock and Cilan to leap forward to catch her before carefully placing her down at a nearby chair.
"She must have run all the way here, it's a good mile or two away." Cilan noted. "Not many can run that far without exhausting themselves. Fortunately for us, I'm an fitness connoisseur!"
"Of course you are." Hilda sweated.
"There's no time to waste if Team Rocket's up to trouble, lead the way Cilan!" Ash shouted out.
"Right... so whose Team Rocket?" Cilan asked as the four raced off towards the eastern exit.
"It's a long story." Ash sighed out.
"Who are those clowns?" Chase asked as they looked down at the Dreamyard from a distance.
"I don't know." Brooke shrugged. "Brick?"
Brick remained silent as usual but motioned with his hands as if to say 'don't ask me'.
"That's Team Rocket. Our lord warned me that they might show themselves." The knight spoke while pointing towards the Dreamyard. "We must stop them from stealing the Dream Energy, it's crucial to our plans. Our lord doesn't accept failure so get it no matter..."
"The cost? Done deal, I've done worse." Chase muttered, his gaze briefly flickered between the knight and Brick.
Brooke knew that's what he implied but noticed he didn't finish the sentence. "Don't you worry, we'll handle this." She ran her finger beneath the knight's helmet in a flirtatious manner. Brick slammed his hand against his fist as he stated that he was ready. The three marched down towards the Dreamyard while the knight watched from a distance before taking note of four other figures racing for the Dreamyard. The sword sparked with electricity as he gripped it, watching the group run into the Dreamyard before slowly heading that way himself.