I forgot to check on this story after ficwad's alert system died again...glad I was going through my favorites!
Alex's loss immediately makes him a more tolerable character. Before that I just plain couldn't stand him, but now at least he's realized that he's human. The revelation about Chris' inconsistent moods was interesting as well, though it might be tough to keep that going for the entire story.
I was a bit intrigued by Alex's description of his ideal team, and I have to wonder exactly what he means. By dragon-like pokemon, is he including all of the would-be lizards, like Feraligatr and Sceptile? What about other pokemon that just have the general body structure, like a Nidoqueen? Also, what pokemon are you making available in your story? Are you including Diamond and Pearl? What about Ruby and Sapphire?
One thing that I've been struggling with on my own pokemon story (something that you did pretty well, I thought) was how to handle off-screen scenes without being too repetitive or taking away from the story at all. It really is tough to write about six new pokemon trainers all on a similar journey without it all blending together, I'm finding. Can't wait to see your take on three gym battles in rapid succession, because that might help me figure out what on Earth I'll do.
Looking forward to more.