When we head back to the lab, Dawn and Tox are happy to see their father again. Lillie and I also get packages from my Mom as we find some new clothes. I have a black and yellow shirt this time while Lillie is wearing a pink dress.

"Wow, they look so great." Lillie says. Then we also call Mom for the gratitude of the new clothes.

"Oh my, such a young man and young woman you have there. I was about to give you these clothes but you just flew out of the house with a rush." My Mom says.

"Sorry about that, Mom." I say. "But everything is going to be great in the Sinnoh Region and I can tell how psyched up I am."

"That reminds me, have you called Professor Oak that you've arrived?" I realize that I haven't done that so I decide to end the call and call Professor Oak.

After meeting Professor Oak, we talk a little before giving the phone call to Professor Rowan.

Professor Berlitz asks, "So Ash, are you trying to challenge the Sinnoh League?"

"Yes. I am also going to challenge the contests as well." I say. "After all, I am going to get my fourth Ribbon Cup."

"Just great... I just hope that you hold back a little because this will be my first year of the Contests..." Dawn says.

"So I guess you're entering this one as well." I say as Dawn nods.

Gladion turns to Lillie, "What about you? Lillie? Do you have any plans?"

"I am going to challenge the Pokemon League just like Ash." Lillie says. "Doing gyms is kinda fun, and I've already beaten the Kanto League last year."

"That's great for you, Lillie." I say.

It is then Lucas comes in and says, "Dad! We- woah? Ash, is that you?"

"Lucas! It is nice to see you again." I say.

"You've come to Sinnoh, that's awesome." Lucas says while we share a hug. Lucas also notices Tox and says, "Oh, and you're back so soon, Tox?"

"Yeah, I decided to have a journey with Ash and some friends." Tox says.

"Nice. By the way, Dad! There is an emergency. Look!" Lucas shows the egg, and Professor Berlitz says, "Oh my, the egg is about to hatch..."

As we all gather around the egg, we find that the egg hatches into a Piplup. "A Piplup! Just like mine!" Dawn says.

Piplup and Pikachu try to greet the small Piplup, but the Piplup is just confused before using Bubble Beam. "Sorry that they scared you." We grab our Pokemon back so Professor Berlitz can give it a check up.

Once the checkup is done, Professor Berlitz asks, "Since you're here, why don't you take the Piplup with you?"

"Are you sure we can take it?" Lillie says.

"Of course, we heard that you've already completed the Pokedex from Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn. I have to guess that you also want to finish the Sinnoh one."

"Yeah." I say as we take the Piplup with us.

Piplup: The Penguin Pokemon: Water Type. It lives along shores in northern countries. A skilled swimmer, it dives for over 10 minutes to hunt.

Now that we're done, I ask, "So where is the closest gym from Sandgem Town?"

Daniel says, "That will be in Oreburgh City, and to get there, we'll also have to go through Jubilife City."

Dawn says, "Can I also come? There is actually a contest holding in Julilife City, and I want to enter it."

"That's great. When it comes to traveling, the more the merrier I say." I say. "That also reminds me, what kind of Pokemon do you have with you?"

Tox shows that he has a Roserade, Gladion has an Umbreon and a Riolu, and Daniel has a Girafarig. Tox asks, "What about you?"

When we head outside, I show them all kinds of Pokemon, and they are in awe at most of them. Dawn says, "Wow... look at all the Pokemon you have there..."

"I agree... it seems that your Pokemon has covered all 18 types for sure." Tox says.

After recalling them back, I say, "I think it is time that we get going." But then, we notice the same boy from before is leaning at the tree.

"Who are you?" Professor Rowan asks.

"The name's Paul. And from the look of things, you must be Professor Rowan." Paul says. "I'm waiting for him."

"For me?" I ask.

"Now you got your Pikachu back, want a battle?" Paul asks.

"Sure. I'm ready to take on the challenge." I say.

As we all head to the backyard, we have a three-on-three battle with no substitutions, and the one with the two wins is the winner. I decided to start with Starly.

"Seriously? You do have those strong Pokemon with you and you could've picked a better one than a Starly." Paul says. "Starly, stand by for battle!"

"I'll show you that there is no such thing as a weak Pokemon." I say.

"Alright, then I'll let you go first." Paul says.

I have Starly use Quick Attack first, but the opponent manages to dodge it. Paul's Starly uses Aerial Ace. Mine tries to counter with a Wing Attack, but Paul's Starly uses Double Team followed by another Aerial Ace, and as a result, my Starly is knocked out.

"Starly, return now." I say.

"I think I figured out your battle style. You cover up your wear attack by pushing, and you combine it with your lame strategy like yours, I can't help but feel sorry for any Pokemon that is stuck with a lousy trainer like you. That's all you got?"

I ignore the insults that he gives me and send out my next Pokemon, which is Aipom. Paul goes for Chimchar this time. Aipom launches a Swift attack, but Chimchar counters with Ember, and the two attacks explode on contact. Aipom prepares to use Focus Punch, but Chimchar uses Flame Wheel, stopping the attack.

"That Focus Punch missed!" Dawn says.

"Yes, Focus Punch will fail if the user is hit before using the move." Professor Berlitz explains.

Aipom uses Double Team, but an Ember destroys all the clones, and the real Aipom is slashed by Chimchar's claws. I order another Focus Punch, as Paul prepares to intercept it, but Aipom jumps into the air, dodging the Flame Wheel. Aipom smashes down into Chimchar with Focus Punch, knocking the fire monkey out.

"Okay, Chimchar, return." After returning Chimchar, he says, "You're still as useless as you can be."

"It looks like it's one on one." I say.

I go with Pikachu, while Paul goes for Elekid. Paul asks, "Is Pikachu the one who uses Volt Tackle?"

"Yeah, so what?" I ask.

"So nothing." He says, which makes me angry.

I start things off by ordering Pikachu to use Dig, which catches Paul off guard, and then Pikachu hits Elekid successfully. Paul asks Elekid to use Tackle, while I have Pikachu use Grass Knot to make it triple. Then it uses Thunder Shock, which is dodged by another Dig, and then Pikachu finishes Elekid off using Iron Tail.

"Alright, Elekid, return." Paul says before releasing Starly, much to our surprise.

"What did you do that for?" Tox asks.

"There's a million Starly that is stronger than this one. As soon as I catch a stronger one, I'll just grab it." Paul says, which makes me angry once more. Paul then thanks the Professors for using the field before leaving.

"Well, that did end well..." Lucas says.

"Yeah..." I sigh.

After bidding farewell to the Professors, we are now back at Route 202. Dawn is still trying to catch her first wild Pokémon, but she fails in the end. Then we come across a trainer named Nando and he has a Budew. Dawn requests a Contest battle with Nando, but Budew's Grass-type moves are too tough for Piplup.

We learn from Nando that he wants to decide whether to dedicate himself to Pokémon Contests or Gym battles, so I decide to battle him and his Budew evolves into a Roselia during the match. Even though I'm using Pikachu, I win in the end and Nando decides to do both Gym Battles and Contests like me.

We give chase as Team Rocket makes a balloon getaway with Pikachu and Togetic locked in a cage. I have Yanma attack the rope holding Pikachu's cage. James sends out Carnivine, but it latches onto him as usual.

"Can you focus on the twerp?" Jessie kicks the Carnivine, and the force pushes the balloon down, causing Yanma to accidentally pop the balloon with its wings.

"Pikachu!" "Togetic!" When finally catch up to them, and there is no sign of Team Rocket. "Everything okay?" I ask.

But there is a Turtwig who steps in front of my two Pokemon, and he seems to stop us from getting close to them.

"I want to capture it." Dawn says as she sends out Piplup. "Use Peck!"

Piplup charges at the Turtwig, but it fires off the Razor Leaf. Piplup ducks low to the ground and dodges behind a rock, and the attack hits a nearby bush, injuring a wild Oddish who stumbles out and uses Sleep Powder near Pikachu.

"Oh no! Pikachu! Look out!" I manage to grab Pikachu, but I also get hit as I fall asleep. When I wake up, I feel like I was drinking something. "Where am I... Pikachu? Where is Pikachu?"

"It looks like my herb tea sure did his job." I look at the old lady with confusion, and she says, "Forgive me. My name is Clara."

Then my companions tell me that we're at her house, and Clara tells us that Turtwig is a good Pokemon and Pikachu is fine.

"I don't get it... you know that Turtwig?" Gladion asks.

"Yes, Turtwig and I are old friends. Turtwig's quite a little helper, you see. He always comes to the aid of people and Pokemon and that has been doing it for some time."

"So that means is that your Pokemon?" Daniel asks.

"No, dear. I'm busy working in my herb garden without the time to become a trainer. The truth is, Turtwig just showed up here out of nowhere, the poor Pokemon looks exhausted, so I put some dinner and make sure that he got a lot of sleep. And he's been here ever since." Clara says.

"He sounds like a nice Pokemon, but I still don't understand why he attacks us..." I say with a frown.

"Well, if I were to guess, Turtwig was trying to save Pikachu." Clara says.

"I think Turtwig thinks we're doing Pikachu harm. What we have to do now is to tell him the truth." Lillie says.

Clara shows us where Turtwig and Pikachu are, before Pikachu can do a thing, Turtwig tackles me to the ground.

"Stop, Turtwig. He is my friend and trainer." Pikachu says as Turtwig quickly changes tone, ashamed of itself.

"I guess Turtwig is a little too sorry, don't you think?" Dawn asks.

"Don't worry about it. I'm really grateful for you to save Pikachu and Togetic." I say, and Togetic also agrees with me.

Nearby, an injured Linoone appears. We take it back to Clara, where Tox treats it with herbs. Then Lillie also cooks lunch for everyone. Linoone quickly finishes its food, and Turtwig gives Linoone its food portion.

"You know what, you're nice after all. But don't let him go to your head, or mine." Turtwig lowers his head once more, and I say, "It was just a little joke. You need to eat, too."

When I give him another serving, Turtwig is so ecstatic that it quickly latches onto my head. Clara says, "Turtwig is such a scamp, when Turtwig bites you, it's a sign that Turtwig really likes you."

"So did Turtwig do that to you too?" Dawn asks.

"Of course." Clara says. When Turtwig jumps to her, she manages to get Turtwig latched onto a stick instead of her head. Suddenly, Turtwig and Pikachu are captured in a glass capsule and pulled back to Team Rocket's submarine.

"Turtwig! Pikachu!" Much to our annoyance, Team Rocket shows up once more.

They try to get away, but I jump into the water and try to catch them. They notice I'm chasing after them and they try to speed up, but I also use Agility to make myself faster.

"I got you!" I manage to grab the capsule and so is Dawn's Piplup. But they try to go underwater, I say, "Pikachu! Iron Tail and then Thunderbolt!"

Then the capsule is broken and the Thunderbolt breaks the capsule and also electrifies everyone around. When we get out of the water, we are lucky to land near Lillie and the others.

"It's so good to see you're okay." Clara says.

"You were great, Piplup." Dawn says.

Turtwig is somewhat exhausted, though he uses Synthesis to heal up. But much to our dismay, Team Rocket also finds us as they try to send out Seviper and Carnivine to attack. But with Turtwig and Pikachu working together, they are sent flying once more.

When we prepare to leave Clara's place, Turtwig suddenly stop us. Clara says, "Turtwig wants to go along with you. You shouldn't be surprised that Turtwig likes you."

"You bet, of course, you can come along." I say, but Turtwig wants to battle first before being captured. So Pikachu is the one giving the battle, and once Pikachu defeats Turtwig, I throw the Pokeball and capture the Pokemon.

Turtwig: The Tiny Leaf Pokemon: Grass Type. It undertakes photosynthesis with its body, making oxygen. The leaf on its head wilts if it is thirsty.

We also meet Paul once more and this time I'm using Turtwig against Chimchar, but Turtwig is not listening to me and is accidentally kidnapped by Team Rocket during their latest attempt to grab Pikachu.

We send them flying again, but this time Paul, Lillie, and I are knocked off a cliff in the process, so we decide to team up with Paul to get out of the woods, but he doesn't seem to be interested.

We soon find that we're actually in a forest full of Stantlers, and we get lost in the illusions created by their antlers. On the bright side, Turtwig and we have a chance to spend some time together reconciling our differences. Eventually, we find our friends again, along with the inevitable swarm of Beedrill. If that wasn't enough, we are then chased out of the forest by a grouchy Ursaring. Of all people, it's Paul who comes to the rescue and catches Ursaring in the process.

Lillie wants to command Turtwig to battle Paul this time, but even with the new and improved teamwork, even that just isn't enough to beat Paul and his Chimchar. Chimchar dances happily and Paul scolds it for doing so before recalling it.

After he leaves, I notice Lillie's angry face and he says, "Don't worry, Lillie. We will beat him next time."

"I hope so..." Lillie says with a frown. Gladion asks, "He didn't hurt you in the forest, right? If so I am going to punch him."

"No, Brother. He didn't do anything to me." Lillie sighs. Tox says, "Seems like you have been overprotective." The others laugh as Gladion pouts a little.

Here is a new chapter, and Ash has two new Starter Pokemon with him right now and I hope you like this chapter. The next chapter will be more Pokemon capturing.

Ash + Lillie's Pokemon:

Charizard x2 (In training), Butterfree x2 (One Pink), Pikachu, Magneton, Lickitung, Rhydon, Tangela, Electabuzz, Magmar, Lapras, Meganium, Togetic, Aipom, Yanma, Espeon, Murkrow, Misdreavus, Gligar, Steelix (Crystal), Sneasel, Piloswine, Mantine, Porygon2, Sceptile, Kirlia, Gardevoir (Shiny), Nosepass, Roselia, Milotic, Dusclops, Absol, Turtwig, Piplup, Starly

Dawn's Pokemon:

Piplup

Tox's Pokemon:

Roserade

Gladion's Pokemon:

Umbreon, Riolu

Daniel's Pokemon:

Girafarig