On the way to Aspertia City, Cilan asked me about myself as an Arceus. "So that explains why you can communicate with your Pokemon."

"Yeah, I also can hear the inner voices as well." I say. "Now that I tell you about myself, I want to ask about Team Plasma which happened two years ago."

"I wasn't in the front lines like other gym leaders or Iris, but I know for sure that Team Plasma tries to separate Pokemon from humans. Their king, N, has also defeated Alder, but it is thanks to Hilbert and Hilda that Team Plasma has stopped. That reminds me, you told us that you've once seen Zekrom before, right?"

"Actually..." I say while taking out the Pokeball. "I have Zekrom with me."

"No way!" Iris says. "You have Zekrom? I guess being an Arceus really gives you the advantage to capture even Legendary Pokemon."

"Yeah... we try to capture all Pokemon." I say. "Zekrom used to team up with Hilbert to stop N and his Reshiram, right? So I assume you know about the Legend of the Heroes story?"

Golly asks, "What is that? Sorry to ask about that because I died at 4 years old and revived as a 13-year-old child."

"So you're basically a kid." Iris says. Then we explain the story of the Reshiram and Zekrom. I say, "And in the end, Reshiram teams up with N while Zekrom teams up with Hilbert. Then they both have a fight in N's Castle in Vetress City where the Pokemon league is held, and in the end, Hilbert is the one who emerges victorious."

Cilan frowns, "But Team Plasma still escapes. With the true leader Ghetsis nowhere to be found, there's also the Shadow Triad...who beat us badly..."

Then we decide to battle at the battlefield until Team Rocket shows up once more, and this time they are back to their normal ways. "You guys again!"

"Not again..." Iris says.

Then they try to escape with Pikachu and Absol in their cages, and that James also captures a new Pokemon Amoonguss. It stops Snivy from using Vine Whip to grab the cage.

"They have captured an Amoonguss?" Eve asks.

Then as Jessie has Woobat fire Air Slash, I rush forward and block the attack. "Ash!" Everyone yells in shock, but I say, "I'm fine. Are you two alright?"

"We're fine." Snivy and Axew say together as I have Pidove use an Air Cutter, breaking the cage. And then I yell, "Snivy, use Leaf Storm! Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"

Amoonguss tries to use Poison Powder, hitting both Pikachu and Absol, but Pidove and Snivy use their attacks to send them flying again.

"Pikachu, Absol..." I frown as they're poisoned, but I notice the water and I have an idea. "My friends, I need your assistance."

Then two Alomomola jump out of the water, much to everyone's surprise, and they both use Refresh to heal the Pokemon. Cilan asks, "Ash, you can do that?"

"It's not impossible for Pokemon like us." I say while turning to the Alomomola, "Thank you both for helping us."

After they're done, Iris is starting to get suspicious. "You know, I start to wonder back then when he summoned Alomomola... it looks like that Team Plasma's King..."

Golly says, "It must be your imagination, I don't think Brother will force Pokemon to be separated from humans."

Iris nods, but still has suspicions, and then we hear from the announcement that we're about to arrive at Aspertia City.

When we arrive at Aspertia City, we find Nate and Rosa there. "It is nice to see you two again." I say.

"Yeah, welcome to our hometown Aspertia City." Nate says. "Unfortunately our parents have left, but I'm sure they'll be happy to see you."

"So how many badges do you have now?" Rosa asks.

"I don't have any badges with me right now." I say, "But I got two ribbons."

"I see, Hilda is also doing the Contests as well." Nate says. "I assume you already met them."

"We do." Then we find a trainer and he says, "Nate, Rosa, are they friends of yours?"

Nate says, "Guys, this is Hugh. He's our neighbor. Hugh, this is Ash, and he's the Champion of four regions."

"Champion of four regions, that's awesome." Hugh says.

Rosa says, "Hugh, you're here because of it, right? I got it from Professor Juniper." Then Hugh gives Rosa the Rotom Phone and she installs the Pokedex app. Hugh says, "Thanks a lot, Rosa. Now I have the Pokedex, I can learn more about Pokemon and become stronger."

"Hugh wants to go on a journey because he wants to search for something very important." Nate says.

"That's cool, how about a battle?" I ask.

"That's fine for me." Then we decide to battle to see how good Hugh is. Hugh is using a Snivy and just before I can send out any Pokemon, Oshawott pops out of the Pokeball.

"Oshawott, you want to battle?" Oshawott nods, and I sigh, "Sure, you can battle."

Then we have a short battle, with Oshawott managing to get through the disadvantage of Grass Types and finishing Snivy with Fury Cutter, a new move that he learns to counter Grass Types.

"I lost... This is different than battling with Nate or Rosa. Cool. I'm heading off first! Get stronger!" Hugh says while leaving.

Rosa says, "Looks like Hugh is also doing his best to defeat your Oshawott."

"Yeah. Now that I'm done, I think we're ready to take on the Aspertia City Gym." I say.

Nate says, "Sorry to say this, but Aspertia City is actually closed for now. I mean, the gym leader is not in town at the moment."

I frown and say, "Just great... when can I actually get my first badge..."

"But don't worry, I also heard that the former Champion Alder is actually in Floccesy Town, I'm just trying to learn some tips from them." Rosa says.

"That's cool. Maybe we should go there first." I say.

When we arrive at Floccesy Town, we find Alder standing on the cliff, "You there, Trainers!"

We look up and he says, "My name is Alder! I'm a Trainer with a keen interest in the world. One of my goals is to tell people about how wonderful it is to walk toward the future together with Pokémon."

He jumps down and says, "Iris, it sure is nice to see you again."

"It has been a while, Alder." Iris says. "The Champion work really is not that easy."

"I'm sure you get used to it, and you guys are?" Alder asks us, and after we introduce ourselves, he notices our Pokemon and laughs, "Your Pikachu and Absol are fine-looking Pokémon! As expected from a four-region Champion."

Then we follow him into Floccesy Town, and he asks, "Oh, that's right! Are your Pokémon well? Your Pokémon are always doing their best for you, the Trainer, so you must always be kind to them! My house is just a little farther away! Stop by the Pokémon Center first if you'd like!"

"Thank you, but we can actually continue on without any problem." I say.

As we go there, we find a battleground and he asks, "So Rosa is the one that needs training, right?"

"Yes, Alder. I want to become strong so I can win the League like Ash." Rosa says.

Nate says, "Rosa doesn't have a badge yet because she wants to get close to Tepig first."

"I see. That's good to know." Alice says.

"That reminds me, you're friends with a boy with the Snivy, right?" Alder asks.

"You mean Hugh?" Golly asks.

"It just so happens, he was training his Pokémon on Route 20... Well, if that's the case, maybe while I'm training Rosa here, how about you find him? Just follow this road. It goes to Route 20!"

We nod since we really don't have anything to do, and I already beat Alder once as well. When we head to Route 20, we also notice Sunkern living in the area as well. "There sure has been a lot more variety of Pokemon compared to two years ago." Cilan says.

"Yeah, this is actually my first time seeing a Sunkern..." Iris says.

"We know that some of the people find Pikachu and Absol rare here, but is it really that surprising?" Alice asks.

"I'm also curious why there start to appear more Pokemon with variety..." I add.

And when we get to Floccesy Ranch, we can also see Psyduck, Riolu, Azurill, and Mareep in the area as well. "Surrounded by nature and beauty, this is the Floccesy Ranch!"

"Yeah..." I say, but I find a Pokemon that I'm looking for, it is a Lillipup. We decide to play with him for a short while before it joins our team.

Lillipup: The Puppy Pokemon: Normal Type. It faces strong opponents with great courage. But, when at a disadvantage in a fight, this intelligent Pokémon flees.

And now that we're done, we find Hugh who is battling Reisa. Hugh says, "Not bad... You're thinking about how to bring out your Pokémon's strength, and that sure is a way to strength the Pokemon."

"You're not bad as well." Reisa says, and then they notice us as Reisa yells, "Ash! Guys!"

"It's nice to see you again, Reisa." I say, "How did you Contests go?"

"I got my second ribbon." Reisa smiles. "Although I was having a hard time since Hilda is also there in the Floccesy Contest."

"Same here, I win against her in Nacrene City." I say.

Just then, two people are rushing and Alice asks, "Is something wrong?"

"I thought it was lively around here! You were having a Pokemon battle, huh?" The male says, "Isn't it nice to be young!"

"Who are you?" Hugh asks.

"Who am I? I'm the owner of this ranch! And this is my wife!" The owner says.

"After a Pokemon battle, you should heal your Pokemon's HP, right? Heer, I'll give you these!"

Then they give us Potions, Reisa says, "It sure is nice to have Potions when we're far away from the Pokemon Center."

"I agree, but you two were in a hurry, what's going on?" I ask.

"By the way, you didn't happen to see a Herdier around here, did you?" The owner asks, "I can't figure out where it went. Our two Herdier are always together and this is the first time one has wandered off, so I'm a little worried..."

Hugh suddenly yells, "You're a little worried? Are you KIDDING me?! Your Pokémon might be lost forever! Whatever! I'll look! Guys! Help out!"

Then he rushes off, and Reisa asks, "Why is he so mad?"

"I don't know..." Golly says.

"I think it's probably just playing somewhere in the ranch." The owner sighs.

As we search, we find a broken fence and Hugh asks, "Did Herdier... wander somewhere back here? Let's have a look!"

We search around the area and Hugh says, "Oh! Here! I'll share something good with you!"

Then he decides to give us some Paralyze Heal, Golly says, "Thanks."

"If your Pokémon is paralyzed, use one of these on it!" Hugh says, "Still, Pokémon don't just wander off on their own. In a worst-case scenario, it might be involved in some trouble!"

"I agree... there is something suspicious around here..." Reisa says. "You don't think it's Team Rocket's doing, right? Considering they still follow you?"

"If they're doing it again, just need to send them flying until 1000th time has come, which is very close." I say.

As we continue to search, we hear a cry for help. I say, "That's Herdier's sound!"

We follow the sound and we find a man in a Black uniform that covers their mouth, but what shocks us is the emblem on the uniform. Hugh is now trying to get the owners, while we deal with the grunt.

"Tch... You little pest! I'm a member of a group that strikes fear into the hearts of those who stand before it: Team Plasma! Ever heard of it?"

"So what if we do?" I ask. Iris says, "This is Team Plasma? The uniforms are different now..."

"We're the righteous group that tried to conquer Unova two years back in order to liberate Pokemon! However... Fools will never understand us... Still... First I got lost chasing Herdier... and now some nosy kids caught me! All of this is your fault!"

Our fault?" Then he tries to throw something to catch our attention before making a gateway. We find that it is just a TM for Frustration. Reisa says, "So that's Team Plasma? The one who almost took over Unova?"

"Yeah... so this is what Gina means..." I mutter.

The Herdier is safe and the owner rushes to us, "Herdier! What made you come all the way back here? Well, at any rate, thanks a lot."

"You're awfully calm about this! Your Pokémon might have been gone for good! Take better care of it!" Then Hugh leaves, while the owner mutters, "Hmm... I wonder if something happened to him... It's like he's afraid of losing Pokemon..."

"We're wondering about that as well." Eve says.

"Come on, Herdier! Everyone's waiting! Let's go home!" Once we head back to the barn, the owner says, "Thanks! It's all thanks to you and your Pokemon! You're really great! Hey, is that it? Did Alder train you?"

"Actually no, we're from the other regions and we're already experienced trainers." Alice says. Then we bid farewell to them and leave the ranch.

Here is a new chapter, and we're finally starting the Black 2 White 2 Arc, I hope you like it and we're finally getting the first gym battle in the next chapter.

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, Snivy, Tepig, Oshawott, Patrat, Lillipup, Purrloin, Musharna, Pidove, Blitzle, Woobat, Timburr, Tympole, Sewaddle, Tirtouga, Archen, Zekrom, Egg

Golly's Pokemon:

Gastly, Yamask

Eve's Pokemon:

Houndoom, Mightyena

Iris' Pokemon:

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

Cilan's Pokemon:

Pansage, Maractus, Dwebble, Ferrothorn