"We can change the way of our future."

"Try a brand new path..."

"If I change the world..."

"If I change the WORLD..."

Luffy awoke from his slumber and sat up in bed. As he groggily rubbed his eyes, he smiled upon hearing this song that was being played on the radio downstairs.

Man, this song is pretty catchy. Soothing too. Luffy thought.

He then narrowed his eyebrow while thinking to himself, But I can't help but feel like I recognize that voice from somewhere.

"Shinx Shinx. (Morning, Luffy.)" Shinx greeted Luffy as she happily jumped up on his lap. In response, he absentmindedly petted her on the head, confusing her.

"Say goodbye to everyone who stands against us."

"No one has the power to stop a change that comes through music."

"No, you can't stop magic."

"Close your eyes and you can see the future before you."

"Every note I sing is bringin' you closer to your purpose."

"Once you're there don't let go."

"You wanna play a real game, unfurl the chain."

"Melody strung out like we're walkin' on a tight rope."

"Don't wanna cry, don't wanna try, wanna forget."

"Just let me live inside a dreamland."

"I wanna be free!"

"And let a new era dawn."

Luffy had just been listening up until that point, and his eyes grew wide as he remembered a certain friend's promise to start a new era.

"So you really are here, heh, Uta?" he asked knowingly.

"I know that we can."

"Create a New World!"

"We can change the way of our future."

"Try a brand new path..."

"If I change the world..."

"If I change the world..."

"This boundless music brings transformation."

"Messages in song."

"Reach even further."

"This dream will come true."

"I believe in you."

Luffy smiled warmly as he looked down at a curious Shinx.

"Well, Shinx, I think today is gonna be an interesting one." he admitted. While Luffy was getting ready for the day, next door, Ash had also woken up rather peacefully without any of those horrible nightmares. And he was actually curious about that song too, as it sounded very unique. After Ash got himself dressed, he went to the kitchen to see if his favorite girl was there. And to his delight, Serena was indeed there baking with Fennekin and Chuchu.

"Morning, Rena!" Ash called out happily. Serena turned to him as she smiled brightly.

"Morning, Ash. You sound chipper." she responded observantly.

Ash chuckled before saying, "Well, I'm usually this way in the mornings when Pikachu isn't zapping me awake. Though, I guess seeing you makes me more chipper than usual." Serena blushed while Chuchu and Fennekin giggled.

"Well, I guess THAT hadn't reappeared recently. Which is good." she stated, clearly relieved. Ash nodded to confirm that. Soon, the entire group was eating breakfast.

"So...what's the plan for today?" Meyer inquired curiously. At that, Luffy perked up.

"For starters, I wanna meet the singer of that song you had playing earlier." he declared.

"Oh? You mean Uta?" Meyer questioned Luffy.

"Yep...Wait, you know Uta?" the captain asked back.

"Pretty much everybody in Lumiose City had heard of Uta lately. She's a great singer...and also apparently a pirate hiding from the Navy." Meyer explained.

"...Okay then, we have our goal for today." Ash concurred.

"So back-to-back days of screwing with the Navy? Coolio. Granted, me, Jessie, and James would've helped in our own way if I wasn't captured." Meowth replied with a smirk, which the boy and his veterans returned.

"...Oh right, you said you went against the evil teams behind the scenes." Usopp said knowingly. Meowth gave him a nod. After breakfast, while Zoro went to get his blades ready, Nami turned to Ash.

"Don't you have something else you wanna do while we're looking for Uta?" she whispered into his ear teasingly.

A small blush crossed Ash's face as he hissed back, "Not in front of Rena, Nami!" Bonnie giggled while Clemont groaned in annoyance. Though, Serena did look a little confused there. Once Zoro was all set and most of the Pokemon were back inside their Pokeballs, they said goodbye to Meyer and left to begin the search. Usopp had his goggles on, searching for trouble or Pokemon. Serena was walking next to Ash, knowing he wouldn't let anything happen to her should the Navy try anything. Everybody else was also alert.

"Hm...Where do we even start looking? She could be literally anywhere in the city." Luffy admitted.

"True, this could take all day if we don't know where to start." Zoro responded.

"...Then how about a detour to the lab? Professor Sycamore might know something." Serena suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement with the idea. While they headed over to the lab, Ash, Serena, Brock, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji each sent out Froakie, Fennekin, Chespin, Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbasaur, respectively. The Spiny Nut Pokemon, in particular, looked very nervous about going back there, as he wondered how the lab Pokemon would react since he did ditch them for Brock...and his cooking.

The Pokemon Doctor in training noticed that and patted his head before saying comfortingly, "Don't worry, Chespin. I'm sure they'll forgive you. Heck, what you did pales in comparison to what Meowth did." Meowth let out a groan even though he knew it was true. Chespin gave him a pat on the back to let him know it'll be fine, which made him smile a little bit. Soon, the group reached the lab.

"PROFESSOR!" Luffy called out once they entered. Suddenly, Garchomp flew over to him with a smile on her face.

"GARCHOMP! (LUFFY!)" she roared happily.

A huge grin crossed Luffy's face as he waved his arms around and shouted, "GARCHOMP! HEY!" Garchomp skidded to a halt before sizing up the captain.

"...Chomp garchomp. Gar. (...I see you've grown stronger already. Good.)" she stated. Garchomp then turned to a very nervous Meowth.

"...Garchomp Chomp. (...Hello again, Meowth.)" she said in more of a casual tone.

"...HUH?! Why are ya speaking to me casually after what I did?" Meowth yelped, totally lost alongside the others.

"Must be because she heard me talking to Meyer on the video phone just a few minutes ago." Sycamore admitted as he walked in.

"...So you know?" Luffy asked seriously.

"That the Navy is corrupted? Yes. They played us all! I was tempted to bring back my old assistant, but he's busy." Sycamore responded furiously.

"...Old assistant?" Zoro inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Alain. He's studying Mega Evolution." Sycamore answered. Needless to say, everyone else looked interested.

"...Cool. Anyway, that makes things easier to talk about. Do you know anything about Uta? We're looking for her." Luffy questioned Sycamore sternly.

He shook his head before saying, "No, I don't. Sorry." The group groaned. But then Ash had an idea.

"Does anybody have her wanted poster?" he asked.

"I do. Let me just grab it real quick." Sycamore replied. While he rushed back to his office, Ash proceeded to call out Noctowl.

"...OH! OF COURSE! We use Noctowl to search." Serena exclaimed, clearly impressed by his smarts.

"Heh. That's exactly what I was thinking." Luffy added knowingly. Sycamore returned with Uta's wanted poster. Once Noctowl had her face memorized, he nodded at Ash and took off to begin the search. Garchomp then turned to Luffy.

"Chomp. Garchomp chomp. (Let me come with you. I wanna test you.)" she admitted. While everybody was curious about what Garchomp meant by "test", they ultimately agreed to the idea. Ash also called out Charizard, which greatly surprised her and Sycamore.

"Okay, so Noctowl is currently looking for the girl in the wanted poster. Chances are, we're gonna have to protect her from J. Therefore, we might have to battle that Salamence. So I want you to fly me, Pikachu, and Froakie over to them if he finds them." the boy explained. Charizard grunted in understanding. While Ash told Sycamore about the J situation, Luffy faced Garchomp.

"Think you can fly me, Squirtle, and Shinx over to J too?" he inquired determinedly.

Garchomp nodded while replying, "Gar garchomp. (Easily doable.)"

"...I seriously need to get used to Luffy being smarter than normal." Nami uttered as she sighed exasperatedly. The other Straw Hats agreed with her there. Serena looked directly toward Ash.

"Ash, can I come with you?" she queried in a stern tone. Ash was really hesitant this time, especially after what almost happened with the Magnezone.

Serena noticed that and said, "I'll follow your orders. I can't stay still knowing you're fighting her." Knowing that he can't win against her stubborn side, Ash took a deep breath.

"Fine. BUT no matter what happens, you have to follow what I tell you, Rena. Capisce?!" he responded seriously.

"I understand." Serena concurred with a nod.

"...Then Zoro, could you protect both girls while we handle J?" Luffy asked.

"Understood, Captain." came Zoro's instant response as he tied his bandanna around his head.

Noctowl was flying around the city when he noticed a particular Pokemon jumping around from building to building, looking quite serious. He was a Pokemon resembling a chimpanzee. His fur was primarily a shade of orange, although his face, outer ears, underbelly, hands, and feet were light yellow. His ears were large in comparison to his head, and had red insides. He also had red markings around his eyes, as well as two pointed teeth in his upper jaw, a swirl-like symbol on his chest, and five fingers on his hands with three toes on his feet. He had a swirly crest of hair on top of his head. His rear had a small, round, red patch that was obscured by flames.

...O...kay, what's a Chimchar doing in Kalos? Noctowl thought with narrowed eyes. Chimchar suddenly stopped at the edge of a building...and jumped down with one of his fists becoming surrounded by a red-orange aura. He punched an unsuspecting target on top of his head, driving him face-first to the ground. That one was a quadrupedal, draconic Pokemon with a long, tapering tail. He was primarily blue with a gray lower jaw and thickly scaled underside. There were red markings on his throat, the underside of his tail, and stripes on the inner surface of his legs. Additionally, there were red raised ridges above his eyes. Three flat fins protruded from either side of his head. He had two pairs of pointed teeth, one in the upper jaw and one in the lower. Each of his short legs had three claws. Large, red wings also protruded from his back.

Chimchar landed in front of a hooded person while shouting, "Chimchar! (Stand back!)"

...Yep, I recognize that Salamence...and his trainer from the Sinnoh team's tales. Noctowl brooded before quickly flying back.

Ash, Pikachu, Charizard, Froakie, Serena, Chuchu, Fennekin, Luffy, Squirtle, Shinx, Garchomp, Zoro, and Charmander were all waiting outside the lab when they saw the Owl Pokemon heading over to them.

"Noctowl! You find her?" the boy asked.

"Noctowl. (I think so.)" Noctowl answered. He proceeded to tell them about the Chimchar that was protecting the hooded person from Salamence, which piqued everyone's curiosities, especially Ash and Luffy's.

"A Chimchar in Kalos?" the boy wondered out loud.

"We can think about that later. Let's get going, Ash!" Luffy responded as he and Zoro got on Garchomp with their Pokemon on their shoulders. Ash nodded before hopping onto Charizard and pulling Serena up behind him.

"Hold on tight, Rena!" he exclaimed while both the Pikachus and the Kalos starters hopped on their respective trainers' shoulders.

"Right!" Serena replied as she wrapped her arms around Ash's waist. Despite the situation they were in, they couldn't help but blush a little bit.

"Okay, let's take off, Garchomp!" Luffy hollered determinedly.

"Us too, Charizard! Noctowl, lead the way!" Ash added. Charizard and Garchomp both let out mighty roars as they took off, with Noctowl leading the way.

"...And there they go." Nami uttered while watching them fly away inside the lab.

"Let's get the lab ready in case J tries to come here." Meowth stated seriously. Everybody gave him a nod.

Soon, Ash's group arrived at the place where Noctowl had seen Chimchar and Salamence, and what they saw made their eyes widen in horror. It was like a literal warzone, with buildings getting utterly destroyed, vehicles getting flipped over, and roads cracking all over.

Serena placed her hand over her mouth as she uttered fearfully, "How could someone do something this cruel?!"

"That's J for ya." Ash spat out furiously. Luffy, Zoro, and the Pokemon were angry too...although Fennekin was shivering in fear.

"...Salamence, just end that pathetic Chimchar so she can be petrified." a woman's cold voice said calmly. Luffy instantly turned his head and found Salamence about to end things with a Hyper Beam. The woman that was riding him had her cannon on her left arm aimed at the helpless girl who was holding three knocked-out Pokemon, with Chimchar just barely standing in front of her. This slim woman had greyish-blue hair and wore goggles, a long purple collared jacket with two pockets and without her left sleeve, a red outfit underneath, and red heels.

https://youtu.be/daFi4MScfl8

"GARCHOMP, FLY IN AND USE DRAGON PULSE!" Luffy yelled out. As Garchomp flew in while forming a ball of multicolored energy in her mouth, Zoro had to skillfully move his head to avoid accidentally getting knocked aside by Luffy stretching his arm back.

"GUM GUM...PISTOL!" the captain exclaimed as he threw his fist forward. At the same time, Garchomp fired a multicolored dragon-shaped beam of energy from the ball at Salamence. As the fist hit J's face so hard that she got flung back a few feet, the Dragon Pulse nailed Salamence squarely in the back, knocking him down. Once Garchomp landed in front of the red and white-haired, purple-eyed, nineteen-year-old girl, her eyes widened once she saw the straw hat on Luffy's head.

"Shanks...no, wait, Luffy?!" she gasped in total surprise. Luffy turned to the girl with a warm smile.

"It's been a long time, huh, Uta?" he asked, clearly happy to see his old friend again. After Uta quickly returned her three Pokemon inside their Pokeballs and put them away, she rushed in and hugged Luffy.

"I've missed you so much, Luffy." she admitted with tears in her eyes. Luffy smiled as he returned the hug.

"I missed you too." he replied. Squirtle looked glad for his trainer while both Chimchar and Shinx became quite curious. Charizard landed in front of Salamence, who was slowly getting up from the Dragon Pulse. Ash and Serena quickly got off, with her hiding behind his back.

"...Not trying to rush you when you just found Uta, Luffy, but J is getting back up." he warned Luffy. True to Ash's words, J had just gotten back up and was now glaring at him. Her goggles were cracked on the ground, which revealed a deadly look in her blue eyes.

"Ketchum. I should have known." J spat out.

"Nice to see you again, J." Ash uttered sarcastically, with Pikachu sparking his cheeks viciously.

"You should've stayed in Kanto, brat." J responded in a cold tone. At that, Ash and Pikachu scoffed.

"Oh yeah? Well, you should've stayed at Lake Valor." he retorted. J scowled before smirking deviously.

"Are you sure you want a go at me, Ketchum? After all, I know your weakness now." she declared. Ash and his Pokemon narrowed their eyes suspiciously.

"My weakness?" he asked warily. J didn't say anything until she noticed a certain Pokemon creeping up behind Serena. This one was a red arachnoid Pokemon that resembled a spider. He had purple eyes, a pair of white mandibles, and a white horn on his forehead. Around his abdomen were two black stripes and there were two black spots and a yellow spinneret on his rear. The spots and spinneret together formed a pattern similar to a face. He had four yellow legs with purple bands each, on his back were yellow structures similar to his legs with a single purple stripe each. His feet were laced with tiny hooks. However, before J could speak, Ash suddenly growled angrily.

"So THIS is what you mean by my weakness, J? PIKACHU, USE THUNDERBOLT ON THE ARIADOS BEHIND SERENA!" he exclaimed.

"Huh?!" everyone yelped in surprise. Pikachu instantly turned around and saw the stunned Ariados. The Mouse Pokemon then leaped up into the air with his cheeks sparking.

"PIKA- CHUUUUUU!" he hollered as he shot out a yellow bolt. It zapped Ariados so hard that it instantly knocked him out cold.

"WHAT?!" J gasped, totally shocked.

"Rena, go to Luffy and Zoro." Ash stated seriously.

"...Right." Serena uttered, a bit shaken up alongside Fennekin and Chuchu. As she ran toward the rest of the group, Uta was looking at Ash curiously.

Does he have what Shanks has? And why does he look like Luffy? she thought. Once Ash made sure Serena was safe, he turned back to the surprised J.

"It's been two years since I last saw you in Sinnoh, J. I've only gotten stronger since then. Now Charizard, you ready to take down Salamence?!" he shouted. Charizard let out a mighty roar.

"Okay, then Dragon Pulse!" Ash ordered his Pokemon.

"You use Dragon Pulse too, Salamence!" J retaliated. Salamence opened his mouth as a purple-black ball appeared in front of it. He then shot a black beam with purple sparks of energy surrounding it directly at the multicolored dragon-shaped beam being fired from Charizard's mouth. The two attacks collided, causing a massive explosion that had Serena and Luffy holding on to their hats.

"...Yep, this is gonna be intense." Zoro uttered as all the Pokemon out except for the Pikachus and Noctowl were wide-eyed.

"So...what's the history between those two?" Uta wondered out loud.

"It's a long story." Luffy, Zoro, and Serena responded at the same time.

How did Ketchum notice where Ariados was?!...UNLESS he has that... J brooded.

She groaned before thinking to herself, Terrific. Now I know how he always found me in Sinnoh when he interfered in my jobs.

"...Uta, stay with Zoro and Serena for a bit." Luffy stated seriously.

"Huh?! Wait, you're not thinking..." Uta trailed off uncertainly. Luffy simply grinned before turning serious while the dust was settling.

"Garchomp, Dragon Claw! Let's go!" he exclaimed as he ran over to Ash. Garchomp flew toward the surprised Salamence with a light green aura forming around each of her claws and turning into a claw-like shape. Before J could even react, the Mach Pokemon slashed him on the head, making him crash face-first on the ground. Needless to say, Ash and Charizard looked stunned, as did everybody else except for Zoro. Uta and Chimchar, in particular, looked very impressed.

"Sorry to intrude, Ash, but J made things personal for me by going after Uta. Plus, if I'm getting a Garchomp, I need some practice." Luffy explained. Ash nodded in understanding.

"...That's not even Luffy's Pokemon, and he's already commanding her like she actually is..." Uta uttered, clearly astonished alongside Chimchar. Serena heard her and let out a nervous chuckle. J groaned in annoyance.

2-on-1. Not good odds, especially since Ketchum is working with Straw Hat. How did he even survive Akainu's Great Eruption, let alone come to this dimension?! she brooded. While Salamence was struggling to stand, Ash got an idea.

"Luffy, how far can you stretch?" he asked quietly.

"Far enough to punch J in the face again if Salamence wasn't in the way." Luffy responded, also in a quiet tone. Ash smirked before explaining his idea to the captain...to which he gave a nod.

A smirk crossed Zoro's face as he said, "Well, they have a plan."

"Why am I nervous about this?" Serena muttered to Uta.

J scowled while shouting, "I don't know what it is you're planning, but Salamence, Hyper Beam!"

"...And there's why." Uta murmured back, with the Pokemon around them growling anxiously. Luffy just smiled a little bit.

"I was hoping for that, J. Intercept that with your own Hyper Beam, Garchomp!" he exclaimed. Garchomp opened her mouth and fired a dark purple beam of energy with a dark black energy around it directly at the orange beam that had been shot from Salamence's mouth. They collided and exploded with such force that it almost sent Serena and Uta tumbling down to the ground. They were able to recover quickly, though.

"...Now Charizard, move Salamence out of the way with Flamethrower!" Ash hollered. Using the dust as a cover, Charizard flew over from the left and released a red-orange stream of fire from his mouth. It hit Salamence squarely on the side, knocking him aside a few feet. He crashed on the ground...while getting set on fire. J groaned in annoyance at the bad luck before aiming her cannon...at Serena and Uta.

"Move, and I'll-" She couldn't finish the threatening sentence before Luffy's stretched-out hand grabbed a hold of it and crushed it into pieces.

"WHAT?!" J yelped in total shock. Luffy retracted his arm back and flashed his signature smile.

"Sorry, J, as long as I'm here, you will never strip Uta of her freedom. EVER!" he declared loudly.

Serena smiled mischievously before whispering into Uta's ear, "Sounds like Luffy loves you, Uta." The red and white-haired girl blushed crimson. Zoro let out a chuckle.

"Taking a page from the others' book, I see?" he stated knowingly. Serena gave off a mareepish laugh. While Charizard and Garchomp roared triumphantly, with the Flame Pokemon shooting a Flamethrower up in the air, Ash and Pikachu sneered at J.

"You lose, J. And as long as I'm here, you will not kill off all Pikachus and Pikachu trainers. ESPECIALLY not her." he called out, with his starter sparking his cheeks. That comment made Uta smirk teasingly.

"Sounds like Ash loves you too, Serena." she whispered back to Serena. Needless to say, her face was a blushing mess as Chuchu and Fennekin giggled. J growled, knowing she was beaten. After returning Salamence and Ariados back to their Pokeballs, she turned to Ash and Luffy.

"Fine, you win this time, Ketchum, Straw Hat. However, next time, I won't hold back. Enjoy what little time you have together because I'll make your lives a living hell." she responded before hopping into a certain vehicle that had just driven by. As it took off, one of her henchmen turned to J.

"Sorry to report this when you have just failed your mission, Mistress, but last night, Clemont took back Prism Tower." he reported uneasily. At that, J let out an annoyed groan.

"Of course, Ketchum helped him with that. I suspected as much since the live stream was going haywire when Clembot started spiraling out of control. And knowing him, he definitely called Cynthia and Brandon too." she spat out. A smirk then crossed J's face.

"But that's fine. Let them come. We have more than one secret weapon for them." she added coldly.

Back with the group, they were flying back to the lab after Ash had recalled Noctowl. Chimchar was resting in Uta's lap while looking curiously at Luffy.

"...So you've officially become a pirate like you always said you would?" she asked, immediately intrigued.

"Yep. Heck, I even have my own bounty poster now." Luffy responded as he showed Uta his thirty million berry bounty poster.

"...You seriously carry that with you?" Serena uttered before placing her hand over her face alongside Fennekin and Chuchu.

"Yep." Luffy concurred with a nod.

"Congratulations, Luffy! Though, mine is higher." Uta responded while holding up her two hundred million berry bounty poster. Luffy had a good laugh out of that.

"Pretty sure you had Shanks to thank for that." he retorted sassily. As Uta giggled, Serena, Fennekin, and Chuchu let out a groan.

"Come on, Rena, they are both pirates." Ash stated reassuringly, with Pikachu and Froakie nodding.

"I know, but it's so weird seeing them flank their bounty posters like that." Serena replied. Soon, Uta became serious.

"Luffy, can I join your crew?" she asked.

"Of course. I wouldn't want it any other way." came Luffy's instant response.

"Well, we now have our musician." Zoro stated.

"Yeah. Now we do need a doctor." Luffy replied. Zoro and Uta agreed with that statement there.

"...Hey Luffy, have you heard of the Battle Chateau?" she inquired. Luffy gave her a nod to confirm that he had. Before either one could speak up, somebody else did it.

"Actually, Uta, Luffy wanted you as his partner for that." Serena said in a teasing tone. Uta blushed at the sound of that.

"...You know, Rena, Nami and Bonnie are seriously rubbing off on you." Ash lamented with his hand over his face.

That time, it was Serena whose face turned red as she uttered, "Oh Arceus..." While everyone in the know chuckled nervously, Uta smirked a little bit.

"I'm gonna assume you asked Serena out. To be your partner, I mean." she told Ash teasingly. A blush crossed his and Serena's faces.

"DANG IT!" she screeched out in annoyance. Uta giggled before turning serious and looking at Luffy.

"If you'll have me as your partner, then that would be great. I do need a lot of training in case J comes after me again. That Salamence is no joke." she admitted. Everybody else had to nod in agreement.

"Yeah, I've had to face J a lot in the past. I tell you, she was one of, if not THE most ruthless trainer I've ever faced. Heck, I originally brought Charizard back for her. And Charizard is one of my best Pokemon out there, so...yeah." Ash concurred, with Pikachu nodding. Once he explained his and J's history to Uta, she and Chimchar immediately understood what he meant by that.

"Yikes. Shows how tough she is." she uttered as a shiver went up her spine. Ash nodded. Soon, they reached the lab. Luffy jumped off Garchomp's back and was about to get Uta too when he felt something climbing up his leg.

"Huh?" he gasped in surprise. Luffy looked down to see Chimchar on his leg eyeing his Pokeballs.

"Chimchar?" he wondered out loud as everybody else, especially Squirtle and Shinx, became curious. To their great surprise, Chimchar tapped on the button of an empty Pokeball to enlarge it. As he pressed it again, it opened. Once Chimchar got turned into red energy and sucked inside, the Pokeball closed.

It shook once...

Twice...

Three times...

DING!

Those who saw that had their jaws drop on the ground.

"...O...kay then, I guess I caught a Chimchar? I mean, hey, I sure as heck ain't complaining, but what?" Luffy uttered, totally taken aback alongside Squirtle and Shinx. Ash took a moment to recompose himself before smirking with Pikachu and Charizard.

"Well, now I have even more of a reason to call in Infernape." he stated knowingly. Uta looked at Luffy curiously.

"Long story." he admitted.

"...Why do I feel like something is gonna happen any second now?" Serena muttered to Ash. As if to answer her question, Bonnie suddenly burst out of the lab.

"...Yep, I think you called it." Ash murmured back. Bonnie immediately ran over to a surprised Uta, got down on one knee, and held her hand out to her.

"Uta! You're a keeper! Please take care of my friend Luffy!" she exclaimed with stars in her eyes.

"...Excuse me, WHAT?!" Uta shrieked as an atomic blush formed on her face.

"BONNIE!" Luffy screeched out, feeling flustered himself. Everybody else roared in laughter...although Brock and Sanji looked very annoyed while Clemont had his hand over his face. Seeing the embarrassed looks on Luffy and Uta's faces made Bonnie giggle.

"Think about it, will you?" she asked before she stuck her tongue out and winked. Needless to say, Luffy and Uta were blushing messes. Once everyone settled down, Nami noticed the musician's disheveled hair and clothes and walked up to Serena.

"We should probably do something about her appearance before we leave." the navigator whispered into her ear. Serena nodded in agreement while turning to Uta.

"So...Uta, would you like a makeover? I mean, you seriously don't think you can impress Luffy like this, do you?" she inquired teasingly.

Uta blushed as she yelped indignantly, "HEY!...Though, I do need a makeover, I can't deny that. Let's make a quick stop to the Pokemon Center first." The two girls agreed with that idea, and they, along with Fennekin, Chuchu, Psyduck, and Meowth, went on their way...though, not before Nami gave Ash a knowing smile that made his face a little red.

"...Hey Brock, come with me. I could use some advice on what tablet to get. Plus, I'm getting something for Rena too." he stated. At that, Brock smirked a little bit.

"Gotcha. Let's get your future wife a gift." he concurred. Needless to say, Ash's face turned redder than a Tamato berry.

"BROCK!" he shouted in an embarrassed tone. Pikachu, Charizard, Froakie, Bonnie, and Dedenne couldn't help but giggle. After the Flame Pokemon got sent back to his Pokeball and the other two and Chespin hopped on their respective trainers' shoulders, Ash and Brock left the lab to go shopping. Soon, Garchomp turned to Luffy.

"Gar Garchomp. Chomp garchomp. (Hey Luffy. Come with me.)" she said kindly. The curiosity got the better of Luffy and his Pokemon as they followed Garchomp to the backyard. Usopp also looked a little confused.

Sycamore smiled before saying, "I think Garchomp is gonna give Luffy a gift." Clemont's eyes widened in total shock.

"Wait, you don't mean..." He trailed off.

"Yep, one of her eggs. MARVELOUS!" Sycamore confirmed excitedly.

"...So essentially Luffy is getting his own Gible." Zoro stated knowingly.

"Exactly." Clemont responded.

"...Isn't there a limit to how many Pokemon you can carry?" Usopp wondered out loud.

"Yep, there is. You can catch as many Pokemon as you want, but you can only carry six at a time. Any new capture after the sixth one will be sent over to me. You would have to call me at a Pokemon Center to switch your team members around." Sycamore explained. Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji nodded in understanding.

Back with Luffy, Garchomp was cradling a white egg with dark blue polka dots all over it in her arms.

"Thank you for the gift, Garchomp. I promise I'll take good care of it...and make it as strong as its mother!" he declared confidently. Garchomp smiled and nodded before handing the egg over to Luffy.

"...Then it's a good thing we just bought one of these." Sophie's voice called out from behind him. Luffy turned to see her walking over to him carrying a cylindrical glass container with a yellow lid, a pillow-like blanket at the bottom, and a Pokeball on the handle.

"What's that?" he asked curiously.

"This is an egg case. It acts as an incubator and protects the egg from harm." Sophie answered as she opened up the egg case. Luffy gave her an understanding nod. Once the egg was secured inside the case, he thanked Sophie before gently picking it up and going back to his friends, who took notice of it.

"So that's how eggs are taken care of by traveling trainers." Zoro observed. Sycamore hummed to confirm that.

"Good to know for the future. Anyway, Luffy, Moss Head said you caught something?" Sanji inquired. Luffy actually laughed a little bit.

"Yep. And it's a Fire type. Your favorite." he responded teasingly.

While Bulbasaur chuckled nervously, Sanji groaned and puffed out a smoke before uttering, "Fan-freaking-tastic..." Usopp and Eevee had a good laugh out of that while Luffy, Squirtle, and Shinx giggled. The captain then turned to Sycamore.

"Hey Professor, you wouldn't happen to know what a Chimchar is doing in Kalos, would you?" he questioned him curiously. Sycamore and Clemont's jaws dropped on the floor.

"A CHIMCHAR?!" they both yelped in surprise. The curiosity got the better of Bonnie as she faced Clemont.

"So I'm assuming it's very rare to see a Chimchar in Kalos, Big Brother?" she asked.

"Yes, Bonnie. Yes, it is. It's already very rare seeing a wild starter. Now just imagine a wild starter coming from a region that's not even Kalos. Chimchar is typically a Sinnoh starter, so it is kind of baffling how Luffy just managed to find one here, of all places." Clemont answered, still stumped. Bonnie stroked her chin thoughtfully.

"Then maybe it's no coincidence that Luffy found Chimchar after all. I mean, just look at how many starters Ash had found throughout his journeys. They both have the same luck in that department. Heck, both of them even have a rare colored Pokemon, for Arceus's sake! Couple that with how eerily similar they both are, and it's not hard to see why one would think they're related." she responded.

"...Hm, you make a good point." Zoro concurred.

"Why did it have to be a Fire type starter, though?" Sanji moaned. Bonnie rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Get over it, jealous boy." she retorted sassily. Dedenne, Usopp, Eevee, Luffy, Squirtle, Shinx, Charmander, and especially Zoro roared in laughter. Knowing that he can't retort with Clemont being a Gym Leader, Sanji wisely kept his mouth shut.

"...In any case, no, I haven't the slightest clue for what a Chimchar could be doing here. HOWEVER, Professor Rowan from Sinnoh might know something." Sycamore admitted.

"...Then could I give him a call? If Chimchar did come from that lab, Professor Rowan will wanna know he's okay." Luffy stated.

"Certainly. Right this way." Sycamore responded while gesturing for the captain to follow him. After Luffy called out Chimchar and told him the plan, they went over to the video phone with the Chimp Pokemon on his trainer's shoulder. Sycamore grabbed the receiver and passed it to Luffy. As he punched in the number for Professor Rowan's lab, the captain placed it over his ear like how he had seen Ash do it. He waited until the screen revealed a picture of a certain girl. She had dark blue hair that was held together by two golden hairclips on the front and eyes of the same color and was wearing a white beanie with a pink Pokeball logo on it, a black minidress, a pink skirt, and pink knee-length boots. And the girl held a light blue, penguin-like Pokemon in her arm. He had a dark blue head with a primarily white face and a short, yellow beak. The dark blue feathers on his head extended down his back and around his neck, which caused him to appear to be wearing a cape. There were two white ovals on his chest and a small, light blue marking resembled a crown above his beak. He had flipper-like arms and yellow feet with three toes each.

"Hello, this is Professor Rowan's lab...wait...ASH?!" the girl yelped, totally surprised.

"PIPLUP?! (ASH?!)" Piplup gasped in the same tone as his trainer. The girl and Piplup rubbed their eyes and blinked to get a closer look.

"...No. Sorry, we mistook you for someone else. Though, I could have sworn I saw a splitting image of an old friend." she admitted, sounding apologetic. Piplup nodded to confirm that he was thinking the same thing. Luffy actually chuckled a little bit.

"Say, are you Dawn, by any chance? Ash had mentioned that you would be on your way to Kalos soon." he inquired. Needless to say, the girl and Piplup's curiosities were piqued.

"As a matter of fact, yes, I am Dawn. You know Ash?" she asked back.

"Yep. In fact, we're traveling together. But Ash isn't here right now. He's getting his future wife a gift. I'm Luffy, by the way." Luffy answered. Dawn and Piplup raised an eye at that.

"Oh? Brock didn't mention a trainer that looked like Ash. So...Ash is committed to this girl, huh? Is she there?" she questioned Luffy.

He shook his head before replying, "Not at the moment, no." Dawn pouted in disappointment.

She then shrugged while saying, "It's fine, Luffy. Like you said, we are on our way to Kalos. So we'll catch up with you soon."

"...Then you better bring your A game. After all, we just had a run-in with J." Luffy responded seriously. He proceeded to tell Dawn and Piplup about the incident, which made them tense up.

"...Yep, that sounds exactly like the J we remembered. She and Team Galactic were no joke back then, so we definitely plan to. I just stopped by the lab to get my Pokemon checked up by Professor Rowan first." she concurred. At the sound of his name, a certain man walked over to show himself. He had fair skin, blue eyes, spiky white hair with sideburns, and a moustache and wore a gray jacket over a white shirt paired with a light blue vest, a gray tie, dark teal pants, and gray shoes.

"Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear this conversation. So it's true then? J is alive?" Rowan queried sternly. Luffy and Dawn both nodded to confirm that.

"Then Cynthia was right to head over to Kalos after all. Tell me, young man, are you one of the new trainers who predicted that Team Galactic could possibly be back?" Rowan added.

"Yep. And the other new trainer you're thinking of is probably Zoro." Luffy admitted.

"Then it's good that you alerted us as soon as you did. Dawn, your team is all set." Rowan stated as he held five of Dawn's Pokeballs out to her. Once she accepted them with thanks, he became curious and turned to the Chimchar on Luffy's shoulder.

"By the way, what's a Chimchar from my lab doing all the way out in Kalos?" he wondered out loud.

"Actually, Professor, we were hoping you would tell us. We found him fighting J. And then he chose me to be his trainer." Luffy replied.

"...Oh boy.../...Piplup... (...Oh boy...)" Dawn and Piplup uttered at the same time.

"Hmmm...nope, sorry, nothing comes to mind. But since he chose you, I trust you can take care of him." Rowan said.

"Yeah, there's no need to worry. Especially since you're traveling with Ash." Dawn piped in, with Piplup nodding.

"...Well, even if we hadn't met Ash, I think we would have been fine regardless. After all, I've taken down pirates with a seventeen million berry bounty and a twenty million berry bounty." Luffy responded. Dawn, Piplup, and Rowan's jaws dropped on the floor.

"HOW MUCH?!" they yelped in shock. Even Chimchar was looking impressed.

Dawn just shook her head as she murmured to Piplup, "Never a dull moment with Ash, I swear." He had to agree with her there.

"...Well then, I'll leave you to it. Also, that's a nice egg you got there, Luffy." Rowan stated. Luffy nodded thankfully before the professor left the room.

"...So...when can I meet the future Mrs. Ketchum?" Dawn asked curiously.

"Definitely sometime down the line. She is busy right now." Luffy answered.

Suddenly, Bonnie popped up out of nowhere and smirked teasingly before saying, "Yeah, busy giving his future wife a makeover." That comment made Luffy blush crimson.

"BONNIE!" he exclaimed, clearly embarrassed. While Clemont let out an annoyed groan, Dawn and Piplup could see Sanji sulking in a corner.

"...I'm gonna assume he's the Brock of your group?" she inquired while chuckling alongside her starter.

"At least Brock got some skills. Which is something I can't say for Twirly Brows." Zoro replied.

"...Shut up, Moss Head." Sanji uttered.

"Make me, 0-2 Cook." Zoro shot back. Dawn and Piplup both blinked with sweat falling down the back of their heads.

"Um...Is this..." She trailed off uncertainly.

"Normal? Yes. Yes, it is." Usopp concurred with a nod.

Dawn and Piplup both gulped before she said nervously, "...I pray for your sanity. Anyway, gotta go catch the next plane to Kalos."

"Okay! See you soon!" came Luffy's instant response. Dawn and Piplup gave him a nod. Once they hung up, the duo went to say goodbye to Rowan and was soon heading to the airport. Along the way, Dawn pulled out her tablet and brought up her group chat.

Traveling Companions...and Oak Tree

------------------------------------------------------

Misty: Did I ever mention how much I hate plane rides? I've always been more of a boat person.

Dawn: Well, allow me to take your mind off the fact that you're on a plane, Ms. Water type. I just met four of the new trainers Ash was traveling with.

May: Oh?

Max: Oh?

Gary: Oh?

Misty: Did you happen to meet my lookalike?! Or even HER?!

Dawn: Nope. Those two weren't there. However, Misty, you're not the only one with a lookalike. Ash has one as well.

Misty: SERIOUSLY?!

May: SERIOUSLY?!

Max: SERIOUSLY?!

Gary: SERIOUSLY?!

Dawn: Yep. And he has a girlfriend. Just like Ash.

May: ...What have we gotten ourselves into here?

Gary: No idea.

Dawn: Also, Ash's lookalike is strong.

Max: How tough are we talking here?

Dawn: He's taken down pirates with a 17,000,000 berry bounty and a 20,000,000 berry bounty.

Misty: HOW MUCH?!

Max: HOW MUCH?!

Gary: HOW MUCH?!

May: I repeat my previous comment. Yeesh, where's Brock when you need him?!

Gary: Oh boy, this is insane.

May: No kidding.

Max: No kidding.

Dawn: And to top it off, Ash's lookalike even has a Chimchar!

Gary: Oh? Actually, speaking of the Sinnoh Fire type starter, Ash's Sinnoh team is making sure Infernape doesn't go overboard with his training. Gramps informed me.

Dawn: Well, this is Paul we're talking about here.

Gary: True.

May: True.

Max: True.

Misty: True.

Dawn: As for Brock...actually, while not exactly a lookalike, that group has someone who acts like him.

Misty: Terrific.

May: Terrific.

Max: Terrific.

Gary: Terrific.

May: So...was Brock there?

Dawn: Nope. He and Ash were away too.

Max: Hm...maybe the reason why Brock isn't answering is because he's helping Ash pick a ring.

Misty: A RING?! Grr, he better not!

May: See what you did, Max?!

Max: Oi, can I just tease someone without getting someone else annoyed?!

Gary: Yeah, like, relax, Misty!

Misty: NO!

May: ...Anyway, anything else, Dawn?

Dawn: Well, Ash forced J to retreat with his lookalike's help.

Gary: Dang!

May: Dang!

Max: Dang!

Dawn: Yeah. According to his lookalike, Ash used Charizard against J's Salamence and basically one shotted Ariados with Pikachu.

Misty: Yikes.

May: Yikes.

Max: Yikes.

Gary: Yikes. Ashy Boy really isn't messing around here. Though, considering who he's with, it's not hard to see why he's going all out with a powerhouse like Charizard right from the start. He usually never brings back his old Pokemon this early, though. Like, has that even happened since he brought the original trio with him to Johto?! (Aipom doesn't really count.)

Dawn: Not to my knowledge, no. I don't think Aipom even counts, to be honest. I mean, did he really use her after he caught her?

May: No, he didn't. They had a few misadventures, but in a real official battle, nothing.

Max: Considering that he was facing Brandon at the time, throwing an untrained Aipom into the mix was a big fat nope.

Misty: Good point. So besides Aipom, Tracey and I can confirm that Phanpy was the earliest one Ash brought back from his old teams after he started going fresh at the end of the Johto journey. And that was only during the Battle Frontier, which, in fairness, was probably a smart move considering that he evolved into Donphan and helped him win the Luck Symbol.

May: I totally agree there.

Max: Yep.

Dawn: Ditto.

Gary: Anyway, Misty, I hear you're traveling with Tracey now. Let us hope you come to your senses soon and start dating him. After all, if I know Ashy Boy well, once he has his mind set, there is absolutely no going back for him. I would imagine that applies to her too.

Misty: STAY OUT OF MY LOVE LIFE, OAK TREE! UGH!

-Misty has left the chat-

Dawn: I guess that's a no.

Max: UGH!

Gary: Welp, I tried.

May: Yeah. Anyway, speaking of love, Gary, any news on your friend Lillie?

-Oak Tree has left the chat-

Dawn: DANG IT!

May: DANG IT!

Max: Oh sure, Ash and Misty's love lives we can discuss, but when his comes up, he runs for the hills.

May: Hm...maybe we can convince the Alola Pokemon School to take a trip to Kalos. I heard about how Mega Evolution was first discovered there from Steven.

Dawn: That could work for a school trip. Plus, we meet the girl. A win-win situation for everybody involved.

Max: Normally I'd say butt out, but I am just as curious as you guys.

Dawn: Good. And actually, Max, I neglected to mention this earlier, but there's a little girl in the group that I think you'll enjoy talking to.

May: ...Oh.

-Max has left the chat-

Dawn: ...I get the feeling that I said something I shouldn't have.

May: No, no, it's not your fault. It's just...Max is still sensitive with love after the heartbreak in Hoenn.

Dawn: What happened?

May: There was this family of four trainers out in the desert on the way to Fallarbor Town. (Or five, but the eldest son wasn't there until the end and more into breeding anyway.) Max had developed a crush on a little girl named Vivi. So we battled the four trainers. Max and Vivi were the third battle. Since Max didn't have a Pokemon at the time, he opted to borrow Ash's Corphish against her Marill. He wanted to go easy on Vivi. But Corphish had other ideas and ended up battering Marill with his pincers to win soundly. Needless to say, Vivi was not impressed and broke Max's heart by saying she hated him. He hadn't recovered from that.

Dawn: Oof. Talk about rough. Sorry I made you relive that.

May: Like I said, it's not your fault. Anyway, have a good flight, Dawn.

Dawn: Thanks, May. TTYL.

------------------------------------------------------

In Sootopolis City of the Hoenn region, May just sighed bitterly as she logged out of the chat room.

Poor Max. Who knows, maybe meeting this little girl will actually do him some good. He needs someone to open up to that's not me. she brooded. With that in mind, May started to wonder about how to contact the school.

Hm...Maybe Professor Oak can help with that. she thought. May went to the Phone app on her tablet, typed in the number for Professor Oak's lab, and pressed the Call button. She waited a few seconds until his face popped up on the screen.

"Oh? Well, this is a pleasant surprise, May. What can I do for you?" Oak inquired curiously.

May took a deep breath and smiled before saying, "Hey Professor. So you don't happen to know anything about the Pokemon School in Alola, do you?"

"Yes, I do. In fact, I wonder if that egg Gary gave to Samson hatched yet." Oak responded, mumbling the last sentence to himself. May heard that and became curious.

"Egg?" she questioned Oak.

"Nothing you need to worry about. Now...why the question?" he asked back.

"Right. So...Alola doesn't have a Pokemon League yet, right?" May queried. Oak nodded to confirm that.

"Then that means Gary is the only one in the classroom who's taken on a proper League. If Alola were to do one at some point, he would probably win it all if he'd been keeping up his training. Now that doesn't seem fair to the class. So if they want, they should at least experience a League." May added.

Oak raised an eyebrow before saying, "True. Go on..."

"So Ash is doing the Kalos League, as is his girlfriend, my brother, Paul, and those pirates Ash is traveling with. That would give them a show." May stated. Oak stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"...You just wanna meet the girl Gary is interested in, right?" he asked knowingly.

May let out a groan while uttering, "Busted..." Oak had a good laugh out of that.

"...I do understand your concern, though. I'll talk to my cousin. After all, he does owe me for that egg." he replied with a humorous smile.

May actually giggled as she said, "Thanks, Professor." Oak nodded and turned serious.

"I meant to ask Tracey this yesterday, but does Ash know?" he inquired.

"Yeah, he does." May admitted, feeling nervous. Oak winced at that one.

"Yikes. I'd hate to be wherever those two meet." he uttered. May couldn't help but shiver from the mere thought.

"Same here, Professor. Same here." she responded.

Meanwhile, back in Lumiose City, Psyduck, Meowth, Fennekin, Chuchu, and the girls were heading back to the lab. Uta's hair had been arranged into two long ponytails with two circular braids at both the ends and the top of her head. Her left eye was shrouded by her white hair. On Uta's left arm was a tattoo of Luffy's straw hat that he drew when it was still Shanks's. And she now wore a set of golden cone-shaped headphones with light blue bands over her ears, a black short-sleeved shirt, gray pants, and black slip-on shoes.

"WHAT?! Luffy beat a Fishman?!" Uta yelped in surprise. Nami, who had been telling her about Luffy's journey before the Straw Hats landed in the new dimension, actually sniggered.

"Yeah, you should've heard him when he was destroying Arlong Park. He was PISSED. Though, I bet not as pissed as when he punched J." she responded, whispering the last sentence to Uta. Her face went red, which made Serena and most of the Pokemon snigger, although Psyduck just looked confused. Once Uta recovered, she frowned a little bit.

"I wonder how Jimbei feels about Luffy beating Arlong." she mused. Needless to say, Nami, Serena, and the Pokemon's curiosities were piqued.

"Jimbei?" they wondered out loud.

"Mm-hm. Jimbei and Arlong used to be on the same crew together, but I guess something happened that made them split. Plus, last I heard, Jimbei is not only a Warlord, but also allied with Whitebeard, who is one of the Four Emperors. Basically, Jimbei is a far stronger Fishman than Arlong ever was." Uta explained. Nami turned pale upon hearing that. Serena put her hand on her friend's back.

"Now I know how you feel about Arlong. But don't judge Jimbei just because he is a Fishman. You never know until you meet the guy." she replied comfortingly. Uta and the Pokemon nodded in agreement. Nami took a deep breath to recompose herself.

A small smile formed on her face as she said, "You're right. Thanks, everyone."

"No problem. Let's change the subject to something more lighthearted, though." Serena suggested. Uta smirked and turned to her.

"Oh, I got something lighthearted, all right. So Serena, how long have you and Ash been dating?" she asked teasingly. Serena blushed crimson.

"UTA!" she screeched out, clearly embarrassed. Nami, Meowth, Fennekin, and Chuchu shared a good laugh, causing Serena to pout.

"That's not what I meant." she groaned, very annoyed now. Nami and the Pokemon let out a chuckle.

"It's good we have another girl in the crew. Brings us up to three." Uta stated.

"...Except I haven't joined. Ash hadn't either." Serena admitted as sweat fell down the back of her, Fennekin, and Chuchu's heads.

While Uta did a double take, Nami whispered into the honey-blonde girl's ear, "Oh yeah? How much do you wanna bet you both join before the end of this journey?"

"...Knowing Ash, no bet." she murmured back nervously.

"But the way Luffy and Ash worked together to stop J, I could have sworn you two were already on the crew! Their teamwork was what I would expect from a captain and his first mate. No offense to Zoro." Uta admitted, surprised.

"Hm...you make a good point. And don't worry, Zoro's not the type to get offended that easily." Nami responded.

"There's also the fact that the twerp and Luffy look eerily similar." Meowth added in a curious tone.

"True, there's that too." Uta concurred with a nod.

Serena looked down at Meowth and let out an annoyed huff before saying, "I seriously wish you would stop calling Ash a twerp, Meowth." Fennekin and especially Chuchu couldn't help but agree with her there.

"...Sorry, force of habit. Me, Jess, and Jimmy have been doing it for years, after all." Meowth replied with a bit of an apologetic look on his face.

Serena, Fennekin, and Chuchu groaned while she uttered, "Oh joy..." Nami and Uta both chuckled nervously as they reached the lab.

Once they went inside, the musician called out in a humorous tone, "Uta reporting for duty, Captain!" Luffy, who had gotten Chimchar back after Sycamore healed him up, turned to her and smiled before walking over.

"Hey Uta...wow, you're looking exactly how I remembered you. Cute. And I see you tattooed my drawing on your arm." he stated upon seeing the tattoo. Uta blushed beet red and thanked Luffy for the compliments, which made Sanji slump down into depression.

"...Get over yourself, idiot love cook." Zoro said in a half-amused, half-annoyed tone. Uta raised her eyebrows.

"This a common thing?" she asked curiously.

"Oh yeah. Welcome to the Straw Hats, Uta." Nami and Usopp replied at the same time.

"Good to know." Uta concurred with a chuckle. Serena looked around and became confused...and a bit disappointed. However, before she could speak up, someone else beat her to it.

"Don't worry, Serena, your future husband went out shopping. He'll be back soon." Bonnie stated knowingly. Serena blushed crimson while Fennekin, Chuchu, Nami, Meowth, and Uta sniggered.

"BONNIE! Great, I'm surrounded by shippers..." she screeched out, mumbling the last sentence to herself.

Elsewhere, Ash had just finished his shopping and was now on the way back to the lab alongside Pikachu and Froakie. Brock, who had spent the last few minutes scrolling through the chaos that was the chat room with Chespin still on his shoulder, turned to the boy.

"Well, looks like Dawn met the Straw Hats." he confirmed. Needless to say, Ash, Pikachu, and Froakie's curiosities were piqued.

"Oh? How'd that go?" he asked.

"Pretty well, I would say. They are all shocked at you having a lookalike as well." Brock responded. At that, Ash, Pikachu, and Froakie chuckled.

"Also, Oak Tree has a girlfriend." Brock added. Ash and Pikachu both jumped back in shock.

"WHAT?!/PIKA?! (WHAT?!)" they both gasped.

"Yep. And he's tight-lipped about it." Brock replied. That made Ash and Pikachu narrow their eyes suspiciously.

"Gary, tight-lipped about a girl? Like, we're talking about the same Gary that rode a car full of cheerleaders, right?" he inquired. Brock had to laugh a little bit.

"I wouldn't bring that up when we meet her. Knowing May and Dawn, they are definitely gonna make that happen." he admitted. Ash and Pikachu giggled.

"You're right. If this girl were to learn about that, who knows what would happen." he concurred with his starter nodding. Ash then glanced down at the plastic bag in his right hand.

"Anyway, I think we're good with this outfit for Rena. At least, I hope so. Yeesh, those outfits sure are expensive!" he added.

"...Ash Ketchum has completely and utterly caught this sickness called love, and it's gotten to the point where he's even willing to go shopping for a girl! What has this world come to?!" Brock cried as fake tears fell down his cheeks alongside Pikachu.

A deadpanned expression formed on Ash's face as he said, "Knock it off, Brock. You too, Pikachu. Else I'll call Dawn and arrange some Facetime between you and Buneary. Think about how Chuchu would react." Pikachu shivered at the mere thought of a love triangle and rapidly shook his head.

"...You know, I am immune to such threats!" Brock declared confidently. A devious smirk crossed Ash's face, which threw his confidence out the window immediately.

"Oh yeah? Well, what if I call Professor Ivy?" he shot back. Brock froze and slumped down into depression...on top of a house. Chespin was patting him on the back in an attempt to calm him down. A confused Froakie turned to Pikachu, who just shrugged.

"HEY, GET DOWN FROM MY HOUSE!" a random man called out with sweat falling down the back of his head. Knowing that he had won, Ash just snickered and continued on, with Brock catching up once he recovered.

As they went into the lab, the man uttered, "That wasn't cool, Ash."

"What wasn't cool?" an angelic voice called out. Ash turned and smiled as he saw Serena walking over with Fennekin and Chuchu.

"Oh, it's just an inside joke between us." he responded nonchalantly. Chuchu understood what Ash meant by that and sniggered, piquing Serena and Fennekin's curiosities. Brock looked like he wanted to protest, but he knew his friend would pull that trick again. So he wisely kept his mouth shut, befuddling those not in the know.

"I'll tell you later when Brock isn't around." Ash whispered to Serena. She nodded in understanding before noticing the plastic bags in both hands.

"So...what'd you get?" she inquired curiously.

"A tablet for myself...and something for you, Rena." Ash replied as he held the bag in his right hand up to Serena.

She smiled while she said, "Aw...You didn't have to do that."

"I know, but I wanted to." Ash replied kindly. Serena couldn't help but blush a little bit.

That was so considerate of you, Ash. she thought before graciously accepting the bag. Serena then looked inside and let out a surprised yelp as she gazed upon Ash.

"Geez, HOW RICH ARE YOU?! THESE LOOK EXPENSIVE!" she screeched out in total surprise. Ash and the Pikachus chuckled.

He rubbed the back of his neck while replying, "Well, when you've competed in five Leagues, you end up with more money than you know what to do with it." Serena just gawked at Ash before smiling brightly, thanking him, and neatly putting her gift away. While Brock was getting distracted by Uta's new appearance, which earned him a Poison Jab from Croagunk and, more surprisingly, a stretched-out smack in the back of the head from Luffy, Ash took the opportunity to lead Serena away from the group. Once he told her, Fennekin, and Froakie about the Professor Ivy situation, they were all giggling.

"Okay, that was funny." Serena admitted.

"Yep. Though, back then, we were all wondering what the heck happened there. Even now, we still don't know." Ash responded.

"You never asked her?" Serena inquired curiously.

"Nope, we never did. But let's not worry about that now. Don't we have something more important to deal with?" Ash asked back knowingly. Serena and Fennekin tilted their heads in confusion, although Chuchu, Pikachu, and Froakie seemed to know what he was talking about.

"Like?" she questioned Ash.

"Well, we have the Battle Chateau coming up soon, right? We should start discussing double battle strategies for the future." he replied. Serena and Fennekin both blushed at the idea of battling alongside their crushes but nonetheless nodded in understanding.

"Hey lovebirds! I know you're making out over there, but I'm about to introduce my Pokemon to everybody!" Uta called out teasingly. Ash, Serena, and the Pokemon's faces went even redder than ever before.

"U-U-UTA! WE WERE NOT! WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT PROFESSOR IVY!" she hollered loudly. Serena then realized her mistake too late and placed her hand over her mouth.

"...Whoopsie daisy." she uttered in a very embarrassed tone. Ash and their Pokemon just shook their heads exasperatedly as they, along with everybody else, turned to see Brock slumped down in depression...under a table. Once again, Chespin was patting him on the back in an attempt to calm him down.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" each Straw Hat exclaimed, with Shinx, Eevee, and Psyduck looking perplexed.

"...O...kay?" Bonnie muttered, very flabbergasted now. Dedenne also had the same look on his face.

"That's...unusual..." Clemont trailed off, also confused. Meowth put his paw over his face.

"He still hadn't gotten over that?!" he mumbled under his breath.

"Over what?" Nami inquired. Ash explained the mission to pick up the GS Ball since it couldn't be teleported like a normal Pokeball. He then talked about how, when he was about to start the Orange League challenge, Brock decided to stay behind with Professor Ivy.

"After I won the entire thing, me, Pikachu, Misty, Togepi, and Tracey arrived at my house. To our shock, Brock was there. When we asked him why he wasn't with her, he responded EXACTLY like that." Ash finished. Luffy and Zoro both raised an eyebrow in interest.

"So...how tough was this League? You did mention that race being hard, after all." the swordsman asked.

"Oh boy, if you thought that was hard, just wait until you hear about what I had to go through at the very end. Drake, the Head Leader of the entire League, was undefeated going into our full battle. That being a six-on-six battle, by the way." Ash started.

"And the twerp was up 5-2, which included a draw, when that Leader sent out his ace, Dragonite." Meowth continued.

"Which you guys tried to steal." Ash added snidely.

"...To be fair, after Charizard and Squirtle had weakened Dragonite, we thought it would be easy. Boy, were we wrong." Meowth admitted with a nervous chuckle. By that point, Serena was gushing over Ash's accomplishment in her mind...which obviously didn't go unnoticed.

"Chill out, girl! I know you want him, but hold off!" Uta exclaimed teasingly.

Serena's face turned crimson as she yelped, "UTA!" Everybody except for Ash, who looked every bit as embarrassed as her, Brock, who hadn't recovered yet, and an annoyed Sanji and Clemont had a good laugh out of that. Once they calmed down and the Pokemon Doctor in training was able to get back on his feet, Uta turned to Luffy.

"You all should send out your Pokemon too. Especially yours, Luffy. Since we are partners for the Battle Chateau, there is no time like the present for our Pokemon to start getting acquainted with each other." she stated. Everyone else hummed in agreement.

"Then we should move out first. After all, one of Brock's Pokemon would probably destroy the lab just by sheer size alone. I know a good spot we can go to." Luffy suggested. While Brock let out a chuckle, Uta raised an eyebrow.

"Is it really that big?" she asked.

"Yep, it is." Nami concurred with a nod. Once Ash, Serena, and Brock recalled their Kalos starters, and after saying goodbye to Sycamore, Garchomp, Sophie, and Cosette, Luffy led the group to his ideal spot...which turned out to be out of the city and into the forest area of Route 5.