Chapter 4

The late morning sun shone brightly as Ash walked into Striaton city. After getting further into the town, Ash decided to get some supplies before getting information on the gym. Seeing as he no longer had traveling companions, he knew he would have to do all the cooking himself, something he hadn't really done before. Buying the necessary supplies, Ash then looked around for the gym. Upon getting directions to the place, he followed them and came to... a restaurant.

"Darn it, I thought I followed those directions right, now I'll never find the gym." grumbled Ash, causing Mienfoo to let out a giggle.

"Actually," remarked a voice behind the raven-haired boy, "you have the right place." Ash turned around, and behind him stood a man with mint green hair and intense green eyes, wearing a waiter's uniform. "The gym gains revenue by doubling as a restaurant." finished the man. Ash nodded, then entered the gym, the man following behind. Once inside, Ash saw that the place looked like any ordinary restaurant, no battlefield in sight. Soon, the man introduced himself as Cilan and that he would be Ash's waiter. Ash was about to ask for a battle with the gym leader, but was struck by a sudden thought. He had no idea what the gym leader specialized in, therefore, should he wish to take the badge in decisive victory, it would be prudent to scout the opposition before battling. So, Ash just decided to go with the flow of things. Cilan led him to an empty table, and took Ash's order. Ash spent the time it took to prepare the food waiting for a challenger and conversing with Mienfoo. Soon his food and drink came, and he was served his club sandwich and soda, along with a bowl of pokémon food for Mienfoo. Again, Ash waited for a challenger while he and Mienfoo ate, but it didn't seem like one would be showing. Soon, Cilan came back with the bill.

"Now then trainer, do you wish to challenge the gym. If you are victorious, you get an official league badge and the meal is free. Defeat leaves you with a bitter aftertaste and the bill." Ash was internally aggravated by this turn of events, having been unable to scout out his opposition. Deciding to just pay the bill, Ash did so and made to leave, when suddenly the doors to the gym opened, a young man walking through them, demanding a gym battle. Cilan went over to the boy, attempting to get him to dine first, but the trainer sought only battle. Soon, two other waiters came out of the kitchen, both looking related to Cilan despite differing hair and eye colours, and accepted the trainer's challenge. Ash was interested when Cilan and his brothers, Cress and Chili, declared themselves the gym leaders. Apparently, the challenger was to choose which opponent he would face, each opponent utilizing a different type. Chili used fire types, Cress used water, and Cilan commanded grass. Soon the back wall of the restaurant split open revealing the gym arena. The restaurant patrons began filing up a set of stairs to the balconies overlooking the arena. Deciding to watch as well, Ash followed the group, and observed as the battle began. The trainer, whose name was Adam, had chosen to fight Chili, and the battle was to be one on one with the usual conditions of a Pokémon gym. Chili sent out his Pokémon first, revealing it to be a Pansear, while Adam sent out a Patrat. Bringing out his pokedex, Ash pointed it towards the Pansear.

"Pansear; the High Temp Pokémon. Pansear roasts berries before eating them with the tuft on its head, which can reach temperatures of 600.F." beeped out the Pokedex, and Ash turned it to the Patrat.

"Patrat; the Scout Pokémon. Using their tails to communicate, they keep a constant lookout of their nest. They feel extremely insecure without a lookout." Nodding, Ash put his pokedex away and watched the fight begin. The fight itself was very basic: Pansear had some powerful moves at its disposal, but the Patrat had access to Dig, which the trainer used heavily. There was no real strategy on the challenger's part; just constant attacking, though the gym leader was just as bad. Finally, the challenger emerged victorious, his Patrat having a natural superiority with Dig over the opposition, both in type, and in execution. The trainer was then handed the Trio badge, who took it and left soon after, and the patrons returned to their seats. Ash then left the establishment to train, though he didn't think his Pokémon would need much with the performance he had seen today.

'Heck, with the way Chili battled I could just put Mienfoo in front of him and she'd win no problem. I'll have to figure out a way to make this more of a challenge. Maybe all three of them could be my opponent? That would help, but if they fight similarly, things will get boring fast. Anyways, it's time to train, I'll think of something while I'm training the crew.' With that thought, Ash headed off.

…...

Three sets of pops and flashes brought Ash's current Unova team out in front of the trainer. The group was currently occupying the Pokémon Center's backyard training field, which Ash was using to train his pokémon for their shot at the Striaton gym. Four pairs of eyes looked up at him from the ground, and Ash lightly chuckled at this, seeing as in the coming months, he might potentially be looking up at them.

"All right troops, for the next few days we'll be training up for our battle against the gym leaders over at the gym, so I need you guys to get into top shape for your battles. Now then the three pokémon I'll be using for this fight are Tepig, Oshawott, and Mienfoo." At this, Rufflet drooped in dejection. "Sorry Rufflet, but you're a little too young now, so you'll need more than three days of training to get you into fighting shape. I promise you though, you'll have your chance eventually. Now then, Oshawott, you-" Upon turning to address Oshawott, Ash saw he was no longer there. Getting Ash's attention, Mienfoo pointed over to the pond beside the battlefield, Oshawott swimming about within. "Oshawott, get back over here. We're discussing training." Ash called, but Oshawott ignored him completely, continuing to play about.

"I'll go get him, master." Said Meinfoo, and with that she walked over to the pond, her form disappearing within the cattails. Ash heard Mienfoo say something, and Oshawott replying, but when Mienfoo spoke again she sounded angered. Oshawott then replied, and next thing Ash heard was a resounding thump accompanying a shrill "Osha!" after that, Mienfoo walked out of the cattails, dragging Oshawott behind her by his tail, the otter Pokemon nursing a bump on his head. Depositing Oshawott in front of Ash, Mienfoo walked back to her spot with a huff.

"As I was saying, Oshawott, I'm going to teach you a trick I came up with in Sinnoh called Counter Shield. What you need to do is fire off a continuous Water Gun attack whilst spinning around on the ground, causing the attack to weave about. This makes you very hard to hit while also trapping the opponent in the attack. One of my older Pokemon will be helping you with this, okay? Make sure you listen to him." With that, Ash took his fifth pokeball off his belt and let out the Pokemon within.

"Bui bui." said Buizel as he materialized. Ash had swapped Pidgeot with Buizel for training assistance earlier.

"Good to see you too, Buizel. I need you to teach Oshawott our Counter Shield technique, seeing as he'll learn it a lot faster with a teaching aide. Make sure you keep an eye on him though, he's shown he likes to wander off." said Ash with a grin.

"Bui bui." Buizel acknowledged, saluting Ash. Said trainer then turned to Tepig.

"Okay Tepig, you're going to learn two moves, which won't be too difficult seeing as they go hand in hand. You're going to be learning Defense Curl and Rollout. Just like Oshawott, one of my older pokemon will be helping you learn these two moves, okay." At Tepig's nod, Ash brought out his sixth pokemon.

"Donphan." the pokemon greeted, earning a smile from Ash.

"Okay Tepig, this is Donphan. He'll be helping you learn Defense curl and Rollout. Just listen to what he says and you'll do fine, okay?" Tepig nodded, and Donphan took him farther down the field. Ash then turned to Mienfoo.

"Okay Mienfoo, you'll be learning a new move as well. Aura Sphere is good, but we'll need to teach you a more up close and personal fighting type move to take advantage of Meditate. To this end, I'll be teaching you Rock Smash." Mienfoo nodded and Ash brought her over to an area littered with boulders. "Okay, you need to channel energy into your fist and slam it into these rocks. It's kind of like Brick Break except instead of a powerful downward chop, it's a punch that requires less power. You know you've got the move mastered when you can do considerable damage to these boulders." Nodding, Mienfoo got to work, building the energy up then slamming her fist into a boulder. On her first try she could slam an indentation of her paw into the rock. Looking over the field, Ash saw Buizel showing Oshawott what Counter Shield looked like, and on the other side of the field, Donphan and Tepig were curling up into balls to learn Defense Curl. Soon the day had passed and the results showed. Oshawott had gotten the Counter Shield down, Tepig had learned Defense Curl, and Mienfoo was making wonderful progress with Rock Smash. The next two days were just as fruitful. Tepig had successfully gotten down Rollout. Mienfoo just finished learning Rock Smash, and Oshawott had spent the two days blocking and deflecting Buizel's attacks with his scalchop. Rufflet had been spending the three days trying to fly so he could begin learning Wing Attack. Ash grinned in anticipation, those gym leaders wouldn't know what hit them.

…...

"Ah, hello again trainer. Here for lunch again?" Cilan asked as he saw Ash enter the restaurant.

"Not today Cilan. This time, I'd like that gym battle." answered Ash with a grin.

"Yes, I can taste your eagerness for battle. Come this way then." Soon, Ash and the three leaders were on the battlefield.

"All right Ash, who shall you face? The fire specialist Chili, the water specialist Cress, or me, the grass specialist Cilan?" He asked.

"Hmm, how about... all three." Ash answered, much to the trio's shock and confusion.

"Uh, can we do that?" Cress asked Cilan, who shrugged.

"Well I don't think there's any rule against it." Said Chili. "What do you guys think, you up for it?" After a brief ponder, the other two agreed. "All right Ash, challenge accepted, but let's make this more interesting. You've got to beat all three of us or it's game over for you. Sound good?" At this Ash smirked.

"I was hoping you'd say that." he replied

"Now then I'll be your first opponent." said Chili. Once the two combatants were in position, Cilan stepped into the referee's box.

"This shall be three consecutive one on one battles between the challenger Ash Ketchum and the Striaton gym leaders with no time limit. In addition, if Ash is defeated once, he loses the gym challenge. Trainers, release your pokemon."

"Pansear, let's go!" cried Chili as he threw a pokeball into the field, unleashing his Pansear."

"Tepig, I choose you." responded Ash, sending out his own fire type, much to the audience's confusion. Then the battle was on.

"Tepig, use Tackle." commanded Ash, and Tepig charged his opponent and scored a direct hit, sending the opponent flying. However, Pansear recovered almost immediately, and Chili ordered his counter attack.

"Pansear, Fire Punch!" Left paw alight, Pansear rushed at Tepig, but Ash was ready.

"Tepig, use Defense Curl." Tepig immediately rolled into a ball, heightening his defenses, just as Tepig struck with Fire Punch, Due to the defense boost and type resistance, Tepig took little damage.

"Tepig, Rollout!" At point blank, there was no chance for Pansear to dodge, and it was quickly barreled into by Tepig, the move being super effective against the fire type. Quickly, Tepig turned for another pass, and rolled as fast as he could at the opponent.

"Pansear, use Dig!" Immediately, Pansear, tunneled underground, and Tepig tripped up on the hole, causing him to fall out of his Rollout attack and look about for his opponent.

"Tepig, quick, Defense Curl!" Once again, Tepig rolled into a ball, and Pansear burst out of the ground beneath him, sending the fire pig flying, though he received much less damage from the super effective attack.

"Keep going, Pansear!" With a nod, Pansear was back underground.

"Run and swerve to avoid it Tepig!" Tepig dashed across the field in an erratic line, keeping slightly ahead of Pansear's Dig attacks, however, Pansear soon emerged ahead of Tepig, but that was exactly what Ash was waiting for. "Rollout, now!" Kicking forward for added acceleration, Tepig rolled into a ball and careened towards Pansear, and collided with the High Temp Pokemon, kicking up a dust cloud. As soon as it settled, Tepig was seen standing over a run over Pansear, swirls in its eyes signifying it had fainted.

"Pansear is unable to battle. The victor of round one is Ash Ketchum." said Cilan. Recalling his Pansear, Chili then traded places with Cress. Ash then recalled Tepig.

"Round two is Ash Ketchum vs Cress. Battle begin."

"Mienfoo, you're up." with a nod, Mienfoo leaped off Ash's shoulder and onto the battlefield.

"Panpour, let's go." called Cress, and a Pokemon very similar looking to Pansear appeared. Ash brought out his Pokedex and aimed it at the new Pokemon.

"Panpour; the Spray Pokemon. The water stored in Panpour's head tuft is full of nutrients. It waters berry plants with this water to make them grow large." Beeped the Pokedex. Nodding, Ash pocketed his Pokedex.

"Mienfoo, Rock Smash!" Nodding, Mienfoo charged forward, one paw glowing orange.

"Panpour, use Double Team!" Immediately, five more Panpour surrounded the first.

"Mienfoo, abandon Rock Smash and use Aura Sphere!" Dissipating the orange glow around her paw, Mienfoo charged up an Aura Sphere and fired it at the cluster of Pokemon in front of her. Immediately the ball swerved right, and slammed into the real Panpour, dissipating the fake ones. "Double Team won't help you Cress. Aura Sphere will never miss." Ash declared.

"Wasn't expecting it to know Aura Sphere. Okay Panpour, attack at range with Water Gun!" With a cry, Panpour fired a beam of water straight at Mienfoo, who easily evaded. "Keep up the pressure, Panpour!" Cress called out, prompting more Water Guns.

"Mienfoo, keep avoiding while closing the gap, then use Rock Smash!" Nodding, Mienfoo ducked and weaved around the blasts of water whilst dashing for Panpour, quickly shrinking the distance between the two combatants.

"Quick Panpour, slip it up with Mud Sport!" Panpour's fists glowed brown, and it slammed them into the ground, the area in front of it becoming slick with mud. Had Ash not been serious, that would have worked, but this time such a trick would not bring defeat in the slightest.

"Mienfoo, pitch your weight forward and skid across the mud!" Doing as she was told, the mud became an asset to Mienfoo rather than a hindrance, and before her opponent could react, she slammed a glowing orange paw right into the spray Pokémon's face. The force of impact was enough to throw Panpour through the air and slam into the wall behind it, where it twitched and sputtered, unable to continue.

"Panpour is unable to battle. Ash Ketchum is the victor of round two." Stated Cilan, who then swapped places with his brother after his Panpour had been recalled.

"Alright then, round three is Ash Ketchum vs Cilan. Battle begin!"

"Pansage, it's battle time." called Cilan, and another pokemon like the first two appeared, though Ash could tell it was a grass type. Grasping the third pokeball on his belt, Ash flung it out into the battlefield.

"Oshawott, I choose you." Ash called out, and his Oshawott burst from his ball with a determined "Osha!". That determination, however, quickly evaporated when he saw his opponent. The next thing Ash knew, Oshawott as cowering from behind his leg. With the help of Mienfoo, Ash managed to get Oshawott back onto the field, and motivate it to fight. Cilan allowed him the first move, which Ash took with relish.

"Oshawott, use Tackle." commanded Ash, and Oshawott charged forward.

"Pansage, dodge." Was Cilan's calm reply, and in response, the grass monkey Pokemon casually sidestepped the clumsy charge. Before Oshawott could recover, he took a Bullet Seed attack to the rump, sending him to the ground, nursing his red bottom.

"It appears you haven't ripened your affinity with your Oshawott, Ash." Said Cilan, Ash's hackles beginning to bristle at the tone used.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Here, I'll show you. Pansage, get up close." Cilan ordered, and Pansage leaped right up to Oshawott, the confidence of the act demoralizing Oshawott further. "Now use bite." Ash could only face palm as Oshawott ran about with Pansage on his, until he collided with one of the rocks strewn about the field.

'Oh for crying out loud, I had no idea Oshawott was this bad. I'm going to have to put in some real work with him if I'm going to use him in future battles.' Ash thought to himself, then picked the battle back up. "Okay Oshawott, Water Gun, now." Collecting himself, Oshawott then fired streams of water at Pansage, who easily dodged them all, and making a show of it. After only five shots, the sea otter Pokemon was already gasping for breath. Chalking up endurance training with the laundry list of tasks involving the water type, Ash spurred Oshawott to continue. Finally, Pansage slipped up, and Oshawott successfully scored a hit on the grass monkey Pokemon.

"Hmm, it looks like the ingredient's flavour is being revealed." Cilan mused, then smirked. "But such simplicity will not win this fight. Pansage, begin charging." Immediately, Pansage's head leaves began collecting solar energy at a rapid rate. Ash immediately recognized the Solar beam attack, but had no time to warn Oshawott before it was fired. Then an idea struck.

"Oshawott, block it." Getting the idea, Oshawott braced himself in front of a rock, and used his scalchop to halt and redirect the Solar beam upwards through the glass roof. That had thrown all three gym leaders for a loop.

"Well that's certainly new. I've seen many Oshawotts, but none of them are like that one." Cilan remarked.

"And we're just getting started." Ash replied.

"well in that case, Pansage, Bullet Seed!"

"Block with your scalchop!" Pansage began firing a barrage of Bullet seeds, but none got past Oshawott's scalchop defense.

'Oshawott needs to close the distance.' Ash thought to himself. "Oshawott, use Razor Shell." With a battle cry, Oshawott charged forward, scalchop glowing with azure energy, but then he made a mistake and jumped.

"Pansage, Bullet Seed again!" Pansage immediately began firing upon the now airborne Oshawott, who frantically tried dodging the projectiles, losing his scalchop in the process. Upon landing, he made to retrieve it, but more bullets peppered him and kept the sea otter from reaching his weapon. Finally, one seed careened into his head, dazing him badly.

"Well, this battle looks about ready to finish, so now it's tasting time!" Cilan cried out. This declaration was met with squeals from cheerleaders, whom Ash had not realized were there until their cheers had broken his concentration on the battle.

'Tasting time?' Ash thought to himself, 'What the heck is tasting time?'

"To begin, you and your Oshawott are nowhere near the level of flavour I had been expecting." Ash's hands clenched into fists at this. Despite the food themed wording, Ash knew this guy was judging him and Oshawott, and as Cilan continued his criticisms, Ash's anger mounted even further.

"Shut. Up." Ash spoke, interrupting Cilan, who adopted a look of confusion at the trainer. Eyes blazing with a cold flame, Ash decided enough was enough. "Oshawott, use Water Gun to speed up your Tackle attack." The command was given with a quiet, even tone, but Oshawott could sense the same palpable anger from it that had been directed at Trip a few days ago. Springing into action, Oshawott fired a jet of water at a downward angle to propel himself at Pansage. The grass monkey dodged, but due to the speed, had to jump upwards to do so.

"I hope you don't mind heavy seasoning, Cilan, because here's something I picked up in Sinnoh! Oshawott, Counter Shield!" hollered Ash.

"Counter what!?" was the reply from all three gym leaders.

Dropping to the ground, Oshawott spun about whilst firing a continuous Water Gun attack which broke up into several different streams, locking the airborne Pansage in a cage of water, and relentlessly banged him into them. Cilan tried getting Pansage to attack his way out, but nothing worked.

"Oshawott, get your scalchop." Quickly, Oshawott aborted the attack, and snagged his scalchop just as Pansage hit the ground hard. "Now Razor Shell!" Igniting the curved azure blade, Oshawott charged at Pansage, who was still getting up from the previous attack and could mount no defense. Just as Pansage realized the attack was coming, Oshawott struck, dealing critical damage and knocking the grass monkey out.

"Next time, I wouldn't go making judgments on inter-regional league challengers making things fair if I were you." Ash snarled at Cilan, causing all three brothers to flinch at the venom in his voice.

"Uh, Pansage is unable to battle. Due to winning all battles consecutively, Ash Ketchum is the victor." Though overjoyed that his team had pulled through for the win, Ash was still simmering from Cilan's criticisms. Thus, he accepted the badge with a curt, but polite, thank you, and quickly left the gym for the Pokemon Center.

…...

"If I may, could I ask you some questions?" Someone asked, taking a seat opposite to Ash's. Ash himself was kicking back in the Center whilst his Pokemon were getting healed and freshened up. His relaxation was interrupted however, when Ash saw it was Cilan, and a bit of his previous ire returned.

"And you want?" Ash asked coolly.

"Well, as a Pokemon Connoisseur, our battle today gave me some insights that I would like to ask you about." While Ash didn't know anything about Pokemon connoisseurs, he wouldn't turn someone down if they were just looking for some tips or advice.

"I'll answer what I can." Ash replied, and was soon bombarded by rapid fire questions he could barely keep track of. "Okay, stop. If you want your answers then you'll stop throwing your questions all over the place." Embarrassed by his enthusiasm, Cilan acquiesced, and asked his questions with much less speed then before. Ash answered some, but refused to answer any pertaining to his training and techniques. Ash also asked Cilan about some things, particularly regarding Pokemon Connoisseurs. The conversation was soon ended when the Center's chime sounded and Ash was called to retrieve his Pokemon. Heading to the front desk, he was greeted by nurse Joy and her Audino assistant. Before he could scan the new Pokemon with his Pokedex, a jubilant cry of "Foo!" was his sole warning before Mienfoo leaped into his arms.

"Happy to see me, Mienfoo?" he asked the shiny Pokemon, who nodded in answer.

"Ah, such a wonderful bond you two have." remarked Cilan as he saw the interaction. Suddenly, a girl Ash recognized as Iris ran past him to nurse Joy, her Axew in her arms and covered in a strange pink light. Ash looked on in curiosity, having never seen such an affliction before, and neither had nurse Joy if the frantic conversation was anything to go by. Just then, a woman dressed in a lab coat ran in and told her Pokemon, Munna, to help Axew. Munna did so by literally consuming the odd light. This time Ash did grab his pokedex. Pointing it at Munna, he activated it and waited for the response.

"Munna, the Dream Eater Pokemon. By eating the dreams of people and pokemon, Munna can project those dreams through the smoke it expels." Sure enough, as soon as Munna finished eating the light, Axew woke up and Munna released a thick puff of pink smoke out of its forehead, revealing Axew's dream to be of it going through its evolutions. The scientist introduced herself as doctor Fennel, and ushered the group outside. Upon exiting the Pokemon Center, Ash saw that the whole city was canopied by a pink, hazy smoke.

"Wow." He said as he gazed around the area, pink particles of light floating down like a light snowfall.

"This is what put Axew to sleep." Said Iris worriedly, Axew immediately retreating into her hair for shelter. Suddenly, a police vehicle pulled up in front of the group with a screech, and out from it came an officer Jenny.

"You there, young man." She said to Ash. "Return your Mienfoo to its pokeball immediately. Whatever this is, it's putting all exposed pokemon to sleep."

"I would officer," replied Ash, "but Mienfoo hates going into her pokeball." In response, Fennel removed Ash's cap from his head and placed it over Mienfoo.

"There, that should provide her with some protection until we sort out this mess. The root of this problem should be at the dreamyard." Nodding, Jenny offered the group a ride to the site, and Fennel explained the history of the occurrence as they traveled. As they neared the site, there was a deafening bang, and the car swerved out of control. Fortunately, Jenny managed to stop the vehicle before it could swerve off the road and crash. Upon inspecting the problem, the group discovered that the right front tire had been blown out, the cause being a small strip of spikes on the dirt road.

"Who would place these spikes here?" asked officer Jenny.

"Someone who obviously doesn't want people getting to the dreamyard. Let's hurry, I've got a bad feeling about this." answered Ash, and with that, he ran down the path, the rest of the group following suit. Upon reaching the dreamyard, the group discovered a trio of people in trench coats and fedoras around a strange machine.

"That machine is amplifying the energy lingering here." exclaimed Fennel. With that the trio removed their disguises, and Ash groaned in exasperation.
"Just when I think I'm rid of you three, you go and prove me wrong." he said, for there, plain as day, were the all too familiar Team Rocket members Jessie, James, and Meowth. As the three criminals recited their new motto, Ash analyzed the machine causing the problem. It didn't look like any of the other contraptions Team Rocket had built over the years, and it also lacked any sort of containment equipment for stealing Pokemon, namely Pikachu. Something was going on, and it wasn't good. His thoughts were immediately broken, when the machine began firing at him and the group. Fed up, Ash disregarded the machine for the time being, it didn't matter if it was different, he'd just smash it like the rest.

"That's it. Mienfoo, smash that machine." Ash commanded. Leaping off his shoulder, Mienfoo charged at the device, fist glowing orange in preparation for a Rock Smash attack, only to get blown back by a Gust attack. Ash glanced about for the attacker and noticed a furry spherical bat pokémon hovering close by Jessie, who laughed at Mienfoo's failed attack. Ash growled at this new predicament. With Jesse having an unknown flying type, Mienfoo was not going to fare well. What he needed was a distraction to keep Team Rocket's eyes from him. Thankfully, one such distraction immediately presented itself. A strange cry echoed through the air, and the dream energy fluctuated and created a dome around the group.

"Was that Musharna's cry?" Fennel asked, the pokémon's name getting mutters from Team Rocket. Fennel and Iris wasted no time calling out for the Pokemon, and soon, Musharna appeared above the group out of a distortion within the energy dome. Team Rocket immediately went on the attack, and captured Musharna within an energy cage, but with their attention now on the Drowsing Pokemon, Ash was free to act.

Alright Mienfoo, Rock Smash one more time." Once more Mienfoo charged forward, paw alight with energy., Meowth tried stopping the assault with laser fire from the machine, but Fennel ordered Munna to use Psychic, crushing the machine and rendering the lasers inoperable. Her path clear, Mienfoo sped forwards before she could be stopped again, and smashed the machine to pieces, normalizing the residual dream energy in the process. Before Ash could order an aura sphere to send the trio flying, Jessie's pokemon used Gust to kick up a large dust cloud. When the dust cleared, the crooks had vanished, and a quick headcount affirmed that no pokemon had been taken during the confusion. Looking back at Fennel, Ash saw that Musharna had come down to reunite with the woman.

Oh, Musharna. I'm so sorry I never felt your presence for such a long time." she said to the pokémon in apology, and thanked the group profusely for helping her with the crisis and reuniting her with Musharna.

"Well in any case, we shouldn't be lingering here." said Officer Jenny, her tone of voice catching Ash's attention.

"Why's that, officer?" he asked, hoping to get more information.

"Recently, a rather violent Pokémon has made its home here in the dream yard, and I'm worried that all this commotion has drawn its attention and ire."

"Well, if that dream mist stuff was originating here, and it was putting any Pokémon it touched to sleep, then I don't think we have a problem." Iris deduced, which was answered by a Dark Pulse attack detonating close to the group. When the dust cleared, Ash immediately scanned for the attacker, and found it standing on a metal outcropping. The Pokemon stood on four legs, with blue skin and black fur. Said fur encompassed its entire back and head, leaving only the muzzle exposed. The pokemon strangely had no visible eyes and sported a long horn on the top of its head. Ash took out his pokedex, and aimed it at the Pokemon.

"Deino, the Irate Pokémon. Lacking sight, it's unaware of its surroundings, so it bumps into things and attacks anything that moves." the device beeped out.

"Oh my goodness, a Deino!" Iris gushed. "We just have to catch it. Quick Axew, Scratch attack." With a cry, Axew leaped out of Iris' hair and charged at the Deino, claws bared, leaping onto debris to get to his opponent's level. In response, Deino opened its mouth and fired a teal orb of energy that was all too familiar to Ash. The sudden Dragon Pulse connected, and Axew was flung into Iris' arms, out cold.

"Oh no, Axew." cried Iris in concern.

"What's a Deino doing so far south?" asked Cilan.

"I don't know, but several people have been injured by it, and quite a few have tried and failed to catch it." Answered officer Jenny. As all this was going on, Ash looked up more information on Deino, and immediately noticed its typing. Being a dark type would mean that Mienfoo had the advantage, but that Deino looked to be quite out of her league. Heck, it could probably mop the floor with any of his newer Pokemon. If he wanted to stop this thing, he'd have to use someone with more experience.

"Mienfoo, come back." he said, and the Martial Arts Pokemon immediately returned to his shoulder. Grabbing a pokeball off his belt, Ash expanded it and threw it into the battlefield.

"Gible, I choose you!" he yelled, and in a flash of light, Ash's sole dragon type was out and ready. While Ash would have preferred his Glalie, Gible would hopefully provide the edge he needed to bring the other dragon down. He did have to be mindful that Deino would be hitting Gible just as hard.

"Alright Gible, use Dragon Pulse." Coalescing teal energy into a ball, Gible fired the attack right at Deino, who retaliated with his own Dragon Pulse. The two attacks met halfway and cancelled out with an explosion.

"Well if ranged attacks won't work, we'll get closer. Gible, use Dig." Gible did as told, and dove into the ground, but when he made to attack from below, Deino easily avoided the attack, and retaliated with Dark Pulse, blowing Gible back. Remembering what the pokedex said on how Deinos needed to touch things to properly sense them, Ash figured the Dieno could feel the vibrations in the ground from Dig more easily than other pokemon. All in all, he had to think of something, fast. Suddenly, a battle plan came to mind.

"Gible, use Dig to close the gap enough so Deino can't react to your Dragon Pulses." Ash commanded. Nodding, Gible dove back into the ground and implemented the hit and run strategy. At first it didn't help much; Deino could still react swiftly enough to avoid the Dragon Pulse attacks, but once a ring of holes had been made, things changed quickly for the Irate Pokemon. Now that Gible no longer needed to dig to move underground, the vibrations he caused were greatly muted, causing Deino to be unable to predict where the Landshark Pokemon would appear next. Dragon Pulse after Dragon Pulse struck the opposing dragon without fail, until Deino finally had enough, and fired a continuous Dark Pulse and swept it wildly about the battlefield. Just as Gible leaped out of a hole, he was dealt a glancing hit by the dark type attack, making the dragon groan in pain. Reacting to the sound, Deino brought the Dark Pulse to the origin of the noise, slamming Gible out of his hole ring and sending him crashing into a wall. Deino immediately charged after Gible, head lowered and horn bared in preparation for a Headbutt attack. Ash remained silent, waiting despite the rest of the group telling him to pull Gible back, and when Deino was close enough, he acted.

"Gible, use Rock Smash." Gible's eyes immediately snapped open, and he lashed out with a glowing fist, nailing Deino just to the right of its horn, sending the Irate Pokemon careening back from the blow. Ash immediately saw the Deino was dazed from Gible's last attack, and thus decided to end the fight.

"Alright Gible, one more attack and we have this. Use Draco Meteor!" he commanded, holding an empty pokeball at the ready. He was going to catch this pokemon, he'd be a fool not to. Deino had proven to be a resilient and cunning powerhouse that was both dark and dragon type, two types his roster was extremely lacking in. Gible immediately charged the attack, and fired a large orb of raw dragon energy into the sky. At the apex of its ascension, the ball shattered into smaller orbs that converged onto Deino, who had come to its senses too late, and was struck full force by the attack, obscuring the battlefield in a dust cloud. When the battlefield was clear once more, Gible was panting in exhaustion, and Deino was down for the count. Ignoring the cries of shock and amazement from the rest of the group, Ash reared back, and pitched the empty pokeball in his hand at the downed dragon, which struck true and sucked the pokemon into its confines. The ball wiggled furiously, the central button flashing an angry red as the pokemon within fought the capture. However, the ball eventually stilled, and the ping of a successful capture echoed through the yard. Letting loose the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, Ash strode over to the battlefield and retrieved his new capture, letting the praises of the group wash over him.

"Magnificent, fantastic, a strategy of simplicity, but with a daring garnish."

"He took that Deino down with just one Pokemon. Who is that kid?"

"Aww, I wanted to catch that Deino." Ignoring the rest of the chatter, Ash picked up the ball containing his new Deino, then gave Gible an affectionate rub on the head, eliciting a growl of joy from the dragon.

"Gible, you were amazing out there. I couldn't be more proud of you." Ash said to the pokemon, then brought out Gible's own pokeball. "Here you go, buddy. Take a good rest, you earned it." And with that, he returned Gible to his own ball. Clipping the ball back to his belt, Ash then glanced at the ball now containing Deino, the button glowing a continuous red to show the ball being locked until he made a switch. With all crises dealt with, officer Jenny radioed in for transportation back to Striaton, and within half an hour Ash was heading back to town with a serious issue raging in his mind, one that only Professor Oak could answer.

….

A/N: And that's a wrap people. I finally got the time and inspiration to be working on this fic again, and I hope this chapter turned out well. So, Ash has a Deino now. What do you all think he's going to catch next, hmm? Well, what do you all think? Like it/Love it/Hate it? R&R please.

Oh, I almost forgot.

(Ahem)

"IT'S ALIIIIVE!

(I always wanted to say that.)