As we continue on the road, we find a trainer who wants to battle me. "The name's Stephan! My journey has just begun, but I'll battle anybody. So wanna have a battle?"

I say, "Sure, I accept your challenge, Stefan!"

"The name's Stephan, but whatever..." Then he uses a Blitzle to battle. I'm prepared to send out Krokorok but Dewott pops out again.

"You want to battle?" I ask with confusion. "I know you have your two Scalchops..."

Stephan asks, "You're going to use a Water-type even though you're aware that I'm using an Electric-type? Are you selling me short? I guess I have to mop the floor with you!"

Then we have the battle and it is thanks to his Scalchop that Dewott manages to deflect the attacks. However, the problem is that Dewott can't aim his Aqua Jet normally.

"Good power but zero control..." Iris says.

"I think someone didn't follow the recipe." Cilan says.

"Go figure..." Stephan mutters.

And after more moves, Dewott's Scalchops are sent flying off into the distance. "Dewott! Where are you going?" I ask.

"Looks like it is a forfeit for me." Stephan says.

"Time out, I'm going to get Dewott back!" I say.

We're searching for Dewott, we find him depressed by the missing Scalchops. When I ask Alice about Stephan's situation, she says that we can have a rematch the next day. We try to make substitutes, but none of them works.

It is then Eve suggests that we try enhancing Dewott's offense instead of defense, and also increase the speed as well. The concern for me is that we don't have the time to accomplish the task in one day.

The next day, we're battling Stephan again, this time Dewott manages to learn a new move Water Pledge, which finally defeats Blitzle.

Stephan says, "That was a great battle, Ash."

"Thanks, Stepan. It's great."

"I keep trying to tell you my name's Stephan! But I guess whatever still applies. You two are strong, but I'm going to become even stronger." Stephan says. "When I do, we'll battle once more."

And it's thanks to Axew and Absol that Dewott's Scalchops are back, but Dewott is already tired.

After we're done, we also encounter one of my Pokemon when I was N: A Darumaka. He reveals that his friend Darmanitan has already captured by another trainer, it is quite sad to know, but I'm happy to have him back on my team.

Darumaka: The Zen Charm Pokemon: Fire Type. When its internal fire is burning, it cannot calm down and it runs around. When the fire diminishes, it falls asleep.

We also decide to explore the area and capture some new Pokemon, I also capture a Trubbish and a Minccino in the area.

Trubbish: The Trash Bag Pokemon: Poison Type. The combination of garbage bags and industrial waste caused the chemical reaction that created this Pokémon.

Minccino: The Chinchilla Pokemon: Normal Type. They greet one another by rubbing each other with their tails, which are always kept well-groomed and clean.

We also meet up with a maid who can imitate the cry of one of our party members. After we identify the Pokemon, she gives us each a Poke Toy as a reward.

As we take a break, Axew tries to warn us that my egg is about to hatch. I say, "Wow... it is going to hatch!"

"I can't wait to see what kind of Pokemon it is..." Alice says.

Since Axew hasn't watched a Pokemon Egg hatched before, and he accidentally trips and sends the Egg rolling down the hill.

"Oh no! The Egg!" I yell as we chase after the Egg. "Pikachu! Quick Attack!"

Before it crashes into a sharp rock at the bottom of the hill, Pikachu manages to grab the Egg in time.

"Great job, Pikachu." Alice says.

"Is the egg fine?" Eve asks.

"It's fine." I say as Pikachu puts the egg down.

"I'm sorry, Ash." Iris says.

"Don't worry about it. The Egg is safe." I say.

Then the Egg begins to glow again and finally hatches into Scraggy. "A Scraggy! Another one of the Dark Type Pokemon!" Eve gasps.

As we try to introduce ourselves, Scraggy is trying to use Leer on Pikachu, before trying to use Headbutt on Pikachu, which Pikachu dodges.

"Scraggy? Why do you do that?" I ask. "Do you want to battle?"

"A Battle?" Scraggy is confused at the term, but still uses Leer on Pikachu.

"Maybe we can have a battle. Absol, I'll need your help."

Absol nods as I decide to check out Scraggy's moves. It can learn Leer and Headbutt... nothing else.

"That's it?" Iris asks.

"Isn't your Axew only learn Scratch and Leer when it hatched, and then learn Dragon Rage after gaining some levels?" Golly asks.

"I guess you're right." Iris says.

Scraggy tries to use Leer and Headbutt on Absol, but it doesn't seem to do anything. Alice says, "Well, a Level 1 Pokemon doesn't seem to be doing well against Absol, who is probably Level 70..."

"Yeah, Absol, use Snarl!" I say, then I say, "Maybe lower your voice a little?"

Absol uses the attack, and Scraggy is now falling to the ground. I say, "Sine Scraggy's a Fighting and Dark Type, I think a Dark move should have double weakness towards it... but..."

Scraggy gets back up and he's still ready for battle. Then we decide to let our friends meet Scraggy. First is Archen, but Scraggy goes for his aggressive moves again and shocks him. Dewott is next, and unlike Archen, he's getting so angry that Pikachu and Darumaka have to pull him away.

When Dewott uses Water Gun, we are surprised to find that Scraggy uses its pants to block it. "So that's how Scraggy defends..." Alice says.

Then he tries to Headbutt Darumaka, which makes him dizzy. "Scraggy is attacking everything in sight..."

"But overusing his head doesn't seem to be good..." Eve says.

Then Scraggy tries to attack Whirlipede, but it just rolls away, causing Scraggy to hit the rock instead. He shakes off the dizziness and approach again, to which Whirlipede responds by using its Iron Defense to hold Scraggy until he trips and falls on his face.

"Scraggy, are you enough for now?" I ask, but Scraggy Headbutts me, and I have to change into a Ghost Type quickly.

Now it's evening, and we try to invite Scraggy to join us for dinner, but Scraggy refuses.

"I don't know what Scraggy is thinking..." Iris says.

"I think he's shocked and upset that he's beaten by Ash's other Pokemon." Cilan says.

"Is that true?" I ask Scraggy, who just looks in the sky.

By nightfall, Scraggy comes out from hiding, and we're excited that he finally is eating his Pokémon food. We want to get it into a Pokeball, but it hides behind the rock and shakes his head.

"Maybe Scraggy wants to stay out because it's just hatched." Eve says.

As we're about to sleep, we hear Axew saying that Scraggy is gone, much to our horror. We try to look for Scraggy, and we actually find Scraggy's footprints which leads to a distant tree.

When we arrive at the tree, we find Scraggy, but a wild Galvantula soon follows.

"A Galvantula! This is bad!" Cilan says.

"Scraggy!" We try to rush after Scraggy. Scraggy is paralyzed with fear at first, but tries a Headbutt attack. Everyone is shocked that Scraggy would make such a reckless move, but Galvantula hits him with an Electro Ball attack. Galvantula launches an Electroweb attack and follows up with a Pin Missile attack, both of which hit for massive damage and send Scraggy flying backward.

"Scraggy, no..." I yell. "Absol! Psycho Cut!"

Absol then slashes through the Electro Ball and hits Galvantula, driving it back into hiding in the tree.

"Scraggy, are you alright?" I ask.

"Scraggy took a direct hit from Galvantula after all." Golly says.

Scraggy attempts to stand up and walk, but it is far too weak, and it is paralyzed. I decide to help treat him with Alice sending Audino to help out. And Iris also tries to find some herbs to help out as well.

Once the medicine is made, we try to feed Scraggy, though it does not taste very good. "You need a good night's rest. Sleep well, okay?" Scraggy nods as he falls asleep.

However, the next day, Scraggy wakes up and he wants revenge for the Galvantula. This time, a whole colony of Galvantula is awakened. I have the four Pokemon out and we're going to help Scraggy, and while we're battling our Whirlipede also evolves into a Scolipede.

Scolipede: The Megapede Pokemon: Bug and Poison Type. Evolve from Whirlipede at LV:30. With quick movements, it chases down its foes, attacking relentlessly with its horns until it prevails.

"Scraggy, are you okay?" I ask, to which it responds in the affirmative.

"You guys did a great job, and nice to see you evolve, Scolipede." I say. "You know you shouldn't messing with the tree."

"Are you trying to do revenge?" Alice asks. "I just glad you're alright."

Scraggy stares at the Pokemon who helps him, and he starts to acknowledge them.

Back at camp, everyone is eating breakfast together, when Axew tries to bring his food over and eat with Scraggy. Though Scraggy turns his back on Axew, and they start glaring at each other.

"Cut it out, you two!" Eve says.

"That's it. I just realized that Scraggy might be the perfect training partner for Axew!"

"That might be great." I say.

Iris encourages Axew to do his best, and we encourage Scraggy not to lose. Though in the end, Axew uses Dragon Rage and Scraggy uses Headbutt at the same time, causing an explosion that knocks out both Pokemon.

"Looks like a draw for now." Golly says.

Then Scraggy decides to go into the Pokeball, so we capture it.

Scraggy: The Shedding Pokemon: Dark and Fighting Type. Its skin has a rubbery elasticity, so it can reduce damage by defensively pulling its skin up to its neck.

Then we also decide to help Golly capture some Pokemon, Eve is the one who helps a lot as they capture a Scraggy and a Krokorok together, but they are ambushed by a Scolipede and they have to run, but it is thanks to Golly's quick thinking that she also captures the Pokemon in the end. Not to mention she also captures a Trubbish in the way as well.

Thanks to Whimsicott, we also find a lone Cottonee and we realize that it's the time of the year when large groups of Cottonee visit the nearby Rainbow Valley to pair up and ride away on the Diamond Breeze. It turns out that this Cottonee wandered away from its group to pursue a prospective partner, but was rebuffed.

Whismicott really wants to help him out, so we decide to teach Cottonee the art of battling so he can gain some much-needed confidence. After some intense training, Cottonee is ready for courting once more. But the Pokémon's plan is soon delayed because Team Rocket has been planning to take advantage of this gathering to swipe all the Cottonee at once... they did this once with Butterfree... what makes them think they can get away with this time? With the aid of Pikachu's Thunderbolt and Whimsicott's Hurricane, all the Cottonee break free, overwhelming Jessie, James, and Meowth in the process, sending them flying once more.

With newfound confidence, Cottonee again approaches the object of its affection—who is already being wooed by several others. The battle training really pays off, as Cottonee manages to fend off its rivals, and the Cottonee couple floats off on the Diamond Breeze to live happily ever after.

Here is a new chapter, and in this chapter, you can see that Scraggy has finally arrived, and we have a new rival Stephan as well. I hope you like it and the next chapter will be meeting Trip once more.

Ash and Alice's Pokemon:

Charizard x2 (In training), Butterfree x2 (One Pink), Pikachu, Lapras, Meganium, Espeon, Steelix (Crystal), Mantine, Sceptile, Gardevoir (Shiny), Milotic, Absol, Infernape, Lucario, Abomasnow, Magnezone, Victini, Servine, Pignite, Dewott, Watchog, Herdier, Liepard, Musharna, Tranquill, Zebstrika, Swoobat, Audino, Timburr, Tympole, Swadloon, Scolipede, Whimsicott, Lilligant, Krokorok, Darumaka, Scraggy, Tirtouga, Archen, Trubbish, Minccino, Zekrom, Egg

Golly's Pokemon:

Gastly, Liepard, Scolipede, Krokorok, Scraggy, Yamask, Trubbish

Eve's Pokemon:

Houndoom, Mightyena, Liepard, Krokorok, Scraggy

Iris' Pokemon:

Lapras, Aggron, Excadrill, Archeops, Emolga, Axew, Druddigon, Hydreigon

Cilan's Pokemon:

Pansage, Maractus, Dwebble, Ferrothorn