Chapter 1
Dawn's POV
The sun's shining so bright today, making it the perfect day to go to another region. It has already been two months since the Grand Festival ended and like I promised my Pokémon, nothing will stop me from becoming a Top Coordinator. Now, I'm planning to go the Hoenn region to compete in the Grand Festival there. But for now…
"Zoey, I'm right here!" I shouted as soon as I noticed my redheaded friend.
"Dawn, I'm so sorry I'm late." Zoey apologized as she approached me.
"No need to worry, we still have fifteen minutes before the boat leaves." I said, reassuring my friend.
"You ready to go to Hoenn?" Zoey asked as we sit on a nearby bench.
"You bet I am. It's been two months since my last contest and I'm so excited to go to Hoenn to compete there, but most importantly, I want to catch some new Pokémon to add to my powerhouse." I said gleefully
"Just don't get too confident of yourself and give everything you've got in those contest." The redhead said seriously.
"Don't worry Zoey." I said giving her a small, reassuring smile.
"And that's when I worry the most." Zoey sighs as she shook her head.
After some minutes of chatting, the captain announced that the ship will be leaving soon and all passengers should board the ship. We immediately got up from the bench and started walking to the ship. The ride from Sinnoh to Hoenn would take at least a day or two, so we decided to rent a room.
"So Dawn, what do you want to do for now?" my redhead friend inquired.
"Well let's see... I was thinking if we can have a battle. It's been a long time since we battled so I'm really looking forward to it plus I heard there's an area in the boat where trainers can battle." I replied with a smile but before Zoey could answer, my stomach made an embarrassing noise which made us both laugh.
"Looks like someone forgot to eat her lunch." my redheaded friend said as she was laughing so hard.
"Hey cut it out, can you blame me for being so excited about going to another region?" I said defensively while raising my hands.
"I'm only kidding you silly girl, anyways I would gladly accept your challenge but before we start, we should go to the cafeteria before your stomach makes any more noises which will embarrass us" Zoey said while still laughing.
"You wouldn't let me forget about it would you?" I said sounding annoyed.
"Nope" was the given answer as we head to the cafeteria to get lunch.
After we arrived at the cafeteria, I ran to the Buffet Station and started picking out some of my favorite dishes. Once I was done, I walked to our table and started eating. After lunch, we made our way to the battlefield. Truthfully, I'm a bit nervous since the last time I faced Zoey was in the finals of the Sinnoh Grand Festival and I lost.
"Dawn, don't get so nervous, this is only a practice battle" Zoey said with a reassuring smile.
"Are you a mind reader or something?" I asked with a chuckle.
"Nope, it's just evident on your face. Anyways let's do a one on one practice match. Glameow, curtain!" Zoey said with excitement on her face as she released the cat Pokémon.
"Okay, let's win this, Piplup, spotlight!" I exclaimed as I released my starter.
"Glameow, use Thunderbolt" Zoey ordered then Glameow discharged a huge wave of lightning, striking towards my piplup.
"Piplup, use Bide while spinning" Piplup then started to radiate a luminous light, and began storing up energy.
"Piplup, release it the moment you can close the distance between you and Glameow!" the penguin Pokémon who was spinning, rushed to close the gap between the two Pokémon.
"Glameow, jump when Piplup is about to release its Bide attack, then use Iron Tail to cut through it!" Glameow then jumped gracefully as its tail glowed and prepared to attack.
Piplup released the energy storing in its body but the cat Pokémon was ready to counter it. Both attacks clashed, but the Iron Tail was able to cut through the Bide attack with ease, hitting Piplup with such force which made the penguin stumble back to my feet.
"Oh no Piplup, are you ok?" I cried out to my starter as it struggled to get up.
"Piplup!" the penguin Pokémon said as it stood up from the ground ready to continue the battle.
"Ok, now use Peck!" I said as my starter jumped into the air while spinning as its beak began to glow ready to attack the cat Pokémon.
Glameow tried to dodge but Piplup's attack was fast enough, that even Glameow's incredible reflexes couldn't keep up with it. Piplup was able to hit the cat Pokémon sending it a few feet back. Glameow struggled to get up after taking a big impact from the new move Piplup learned.
"What was that move?" I asked.
"I think Piplup learned how to use Drill Peck." Zoey explained.
"Piplup, that's so cool!" I said praising my starter.
"Less talking, more fighting, Glameow use Shadow Claw on the field!" now on its feet, Glameow's paw becomes surrounded by a black aura, the said aura then takes the form of a huge claw which the cat Pokémon used to strike the field with such force sending numerous debris towards the penguin Pokémon.
"Piplup, spin while jumping then use Bubble Beam!" said penguin Pokémon spins while jumping in mid-air then fires multiple bubbles causing the bubbles to surround piplup destroying the debris while the penguin Pokémon takes no damage.
"What was that?" Zoey asked sounding surprised.
"It's a counter shield. Ash originally made this strategy when he was battling against Fantina's Pokémon in the Hearthome gym. Then I thought using this in contests would be useful to defend my Pokémon from attacks like that." I explained proudly to my friend but then I realized Glameow was nowhere to be seen.
"Well I'll have to agree with you, the counter shield is useful in contest but you should work more with your concentration. Glameow use Thunderbolt!" Zoey said with a smirk.
I didn't even have the chance to give an order since Glameow suddenly appeared behind Piplup and discharged a bolt of lightning which struck her starter with so much force that it hit and destroyed a part of the field causing a smoke to appear.
"Well I think that's the en-"
"Hydro Pump"
Before Glameow could even react, my starter released a powerful stream of water from its beak hitting the cat Pokémon and making it crash to a nearby wall.
"But how could Piplup still be able to move after Glameow's Thunderbolt? Not to mention, how can it attack with this thick smoke?" Zoey said in a state of shock.
After the smoke cleared, Zoey saw Piplup's body being surrounded by a light blue aura.
"Could it be Torrent?" Zoey said still surprised on how the penguin Pokémon can still stand and fight.
"That's Torrent alright, now Piplup let's finish this fight with all we've got. Use Hydro Pump max power!" I ordered my starter its last move.
"Don't count us out yet just because Torrent has been activated. Glameow use Thunderbolt at max power!" Zoey also ordered her cat Pokémon its last move.
Both attacks tried to cancel out each other, causing a huge explosion which made both Pokémon stumble backwards. Zoey and I waited for the smoke to disappear to see who the winner is. But as the smoked cleared, we saw both our Pokémon are down for the count and are unable to continue to battle.
"Dawn thanks for the great battle, you improved a lot since the Grand Festival." Zoey said as she returned Glameow in its Poké Ball.
"Thanks for the compliment Zoey, I'm glad my Pokémon and I were able to improve ourselves in 2 months. I should thank my friends and Pokémon because they were my inspiration." I said with a grin as I put Piplup back into his Poké Ball to rest.
"Well you know what they say right? Friends are the people who make you laugh a little louder, smile a little brighter and live a little better. Now, let's stop talking about inspirational quotes and start to explore this ship and heal our Pokémon in the process." Zoey said while smiling sweetly.
"Agreed" and with that, we left the field, got our Pokémon healed, and started to tour around the whole ship. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and feeling the fresh air at the top deck. We also talked about our plans when we get to the Hoenn Region, apparently after we arrive at Littleroot Town, Zoey is going to Fallarbor Town to compete in the contest that will be held there in a month while I go to Professor Birch's laboratory to get some few insights so I could survive the Hoenn Region.
Zoey also told me that there will be a contest which will be held in Petalburg City in three weeks, so I decided to go there first and compete in the contest plus Petalburg City is May's hometown so I'll pay her a visit once I get there. After hours of talking, we decided to have our dinner and then go to sleep. After all, we need all the energy we can get because tomorrow, we will be arriving at the Hoenn region to start our new journey.
-The Next Day-
"Dawn, wake up already!" the redhead said as she took the blanket from my grasps.
"Five more minutes!" I pleaded my friend as I tried to go back to the dream world.
"Piplup, use Bubble Beam!" Zoey said as my starter opened its beak and released a stream of bubbles aiming at my head and face.
"Okay, okay, I'm up!" I said while getting off the bed before my starter could even think about using Whirlpool on me.
"Anyways, what's with the rush?" I asked curiously because these two wouldn't wake me up unless it's really important.
"Well, after I woke up, I decided to get us some breakfast but when I was halfway to the cafeteria, the captain of this ship was asking the presence of a girl named Dawn through the speakers." Zoey said.
"Apparently a guy named O wants to talk to you." Zoey said as she continued to explain the situation.
"It must be because of Ambipom. Anyways, let's get going" I said as we head out while I was still wondering why O would make a sudden call.
"Are you Dawn?" the captain of the boat asked me when we arrived.
"Yes sir" I answered politely.
"Very well, please wait for a few seconds so that I can transfer the call." the captain said while transferring the call to the PC.
"Hey Dawn, it's been a long time, how are you?" O asked as soon as the transferring was complete.
"I'm fine, I'm going to the Hoenn region to compete in the contests there. So, how's Ambipom doing?" I asked then suddenly, the said Pokémon appeared and flashed a big smile when it saw me.
"Ambi…Ambipom!" it said gleefully.
"She's doing very well and at some points exceeded my expectations." O said sounding a bit surprised in Ambipom's performance.
"That's Ambipom for you." I said feeling very proud to my Pokémon.
"Anyways, I called you because I wanted to tell you that her training with me is done and I asked her if she wanted to continue entering contests with you and said yes." O explained as Ambipom started to jump around sounding very excited to enter contests again.
"Hey Dawn, can you wait for a few seconds so that I can transfer Ambipom to you." O said as he returned Ambipom in its Poké Ball and started the transfer.
"O, thank you for taking care of Ambipom for me." I said, showing my gratitude.
"It's really nothing to thank for. By the way, while training, Ambipom learned some new moves that will be probably be useful in contests. Okay, I think my students are here so I need to go. Good luck in your contests Dawn." O said as the call ended.
After I placed Ambipom's Poké Ball in my bag, Zoey and I decided to grab our breakfast and went straight to the cafeteria. Halfway to our destination, Zoey said that she forgot something in our room. I went on ahead after Zoey said that she'll just meet me at the cafeteria.
While walking, I took Ambipom's Poké Ball l out of the bag and started thinking that I should use her in my first contest in the Hoenn region. After spacing out for a few seconds, I didn't notice that there was a person walking in front of me, we then bumped into each other causing us to lose our balance and fall.
"Watch where you're going idiot!" the person snapped, obviously very annoyed.
I noticed that the person I bumped into is none other than the jerk who only cared about power and not his Pokémon. I quickly got back to my feet and was about to say something but he cut me off.
"Oh, it's just the pathetic trainer ash travelled with." Paul said with a disgust look on his face.
"Well I'm sorry for caring about my Pokémon and the last time I checked I wasn't the asshole who got beaten by a trainer he considered as pathetic and weak." I said sarcastically.
"Don't get me wrong, he did earn my respect but with his training methods, I doubt he can even win a single league." He said while rolling his eyes.
"Says the guy who has been training his Pokémon like there's no tomorrow but still hasn't won a single league. Now tell me, is your method of training better than Ash's?" I asked the purple head whose expression suddenly changed.
"Whatever. I really don't care of what you believe in, after all you're just making your Pokémon look attractive. I don't know how you can even consider yourself a trainer." Paul said which really offended me.
"Do you always look down on every trainer who loves their Pokémon? Besides, you have no right to say that to me because you yourself don't even care about your own Pokémon." I said as a vein popped out of my head.
"Don't get so frustrated. I was just stating facts." he said while shrugging.
"Did anyone tell you that you're a heartless jerk?" I shot back gaining a deadly glare from him.
"Did anyone tell you that you're an annoying and noisy bitch?" Paul said sounding very pissed.
"Let's just have a battle." I suggested
"Fine by me. After all, I want to teach you a thing or two about being a trainer." Paul said as we started to head to the field where Zoey and I battled yesterday.
"Dawn! Where are you going? The cafeteria is right over there?" the redhead said curiously as she saw me walking to the other direction but then she noticed a certain purple head with me.
"Oh nothing, I'm just going to make this jerk realize his mistakes." I said with determination.
"Like that's going to happen. Anyways, here's a tip, don't rely on your luck too much." Paul said as he continued to walk to the field.
"Zoey, can you be the referee?" I asked my friend.
"Sure. After all, this should be an interesting match." The redhead said with a smirk as she hasten her pace and caught up to Paul and said something that made him look at her with widened eyes. I wonder what those two are talking about.
"You must be out of your mind; I refuse to agree to that." Paul said still shocked at what Zoey said to him.
"What, are you afraid of losing to a girl?" Zoey said provoking the purple head.
"Fine, like that will ever happen." Paul said as we arrived at the field and positioned ourselves for the battle.
"Let's do a three on three battle." I asked the purple head jerk.
"Fine by me." Paul said agreeing.
"Okay, this is a battle between Dawn and Paul, each trainer will use three Pokémon. The match will end if all three Pokémon of either side are unable to battle. Begin." Zoey explained the rules.
"Weavile, stand by for battle." Paul said as he released the sharp claw Pokémon.
"If that's the case then, Quilava, spotlight!" I said as I released the volcano Pokémon.
"Weavile vs. Quilava, Begin!" Zoey said as we started the match.
"So you're using a Pokémon with a type-advantage, it still doesn't affect the outcome of this match though. Weavile, use Ice Shard." Paul said as Weavile raised its hands and starts forming glowing light blue blocks of ice in between them, and then throws it straight at Quilava.
"Quilava, use Flamethrower to destroy it!" I said as the volcano Pokémon fires up the flames on its head and back as it released a spiraling red-orange stream of fire from its mouth towards Weavile.
The two attacks collided but the Flamethrower was able to cut through the Ice Shard with ease causing Weavile to cry out in pain as it made contact with the fire attack.
"Damn it, if ice moves won't work then use Swords Dance!" the said Pokémon's claws then glows purple and grows longer as it raised its attack power.
"Great, now use Metal Claw!" Paul said as his Pokémon's claws turned white and started to rush to my Quilava with great speed.
"Now that's fast, Quilava duck at the last second and then use Eruption!" I said as my Pokémon ready itself to attack.
"Like that's gonna happen, Weavile, use Ice Beam!" the said Pokémon then puts its hands together and a light blue ball forms in between its hands. Weavile then fires light blue beams from the ball at Quilava, before I knew it, Quilava froze.
"I told you, don't rely on your luck too much. Weavile, go!" Paul said with an arrogant smirk on his face as Weavile used its Metal Claw attack, breaking the ice but damaged Quilava greatly because of Swords Dance.
"Quilava, get up, I know you can do it!" I said encouraging my Pokémon as it struggled to get up.
"Futile words, Weavile, finish it with Metal Claw!" Paul said as his Pokémon's claws started to glow light again and rushed to Quilava to deliver the finishing blow.
"Quilava, use Smokescreen!" I said as soon as Quilava got up from its feet.
"Now you're buying yourself time? Weavile don't put your guard down and as soon as the smoke disappears, finish it with Metal Claw!" Paul said determined to win the first round.
"Quilava, use Flame Wheel!" I said with a confident smile.
"Like that will hi-" Paul was cut off because of Weavile's sudden cry of pain.
"Nonsense, how the hell are these hitting?" Paul asked as Weavile is continuously hit by Flame Wheel.
"Think about it. Why the hell would I use Smokescreen in contests if my Pokémon can't even see?" I explained with a smirk on my face.
"I see, so you trained your Pokémon to be able to sense their opponent even though they can't see them. Well, I have to give you some credit for that. But remember, the battle's not done yet." Paul said as the Smokescreen disappeared. Weavile was nowhere to be seen until it appeared behind Quilava and used Metal Claw.
"Lava!" I heard my Pokémon yelped in pain.
"Oh no, Quilava, are you alright?" I asked my Pokémon with concern.
"Qui…lava!" my Pokémon screamed as the fire on its head and back began to larger.
"Wow, so that's Blaze. Now fire attacks are even more powerful!" I said still in awe as Quilava's ability activated.
"Weavile, use Swords Dance. Keep your guard up and as soon as it launches an attack, dodge it and then use Metal Claw in full power." Paul said as Weavile's claws glow purple and grew longer. It started to run towards Quilava to finish it off.
"Quilava, use Flamethrower on the ground in front of you then use Flame Wheel in max power." I said as Quilava shot a powerful Flamethrower on the ground in front creating a huge cloud of smoke in front of Weavile causing it lose sight of its surroundings.
"Weavile snap out of it! Sense where it's coming from then use Metal Claw!" Paul said calmly. After a few seconds, Weavile seemed to know where Quilava is and then its claws began to glow white and started to rush towards Quilava.
The two attacks collided with such force that it created a huge explosion. After a few moments the smoke cleared and…
"Both Pokémon are unable to battle!" Zoey announced when both of our Pokémon are lying on the ground unconscious.
"Quilava, you did a great job now take a long rest." I said as I recalled my Pokémon and Paul did the same. After a few seconds, I took out a Poké Ball and scanned it with my Pokedex to see the new moves it can use.
"Ok, for my next Pokémon, Ambipom, spotlight!" I said as I released the long tailed Pokémon.
"Honchkrow, stand by for battle!" Paul said as he released the big boss Pokémon.
"Ambipom vs. Honchkrow, Begin!" Zoey said sounding very excited.
"Honchkrow, start this up with Aerial Ace." Paul said as Honchkrow's body becomes surrounded by white streaks as it flies down towards Ambipom with great speed and power.
"Ambipom, dodge at the last second then use Iron Tail!" I said as Ambipom waited patiently for the right moment to counter.
"Fly up and then use Night Slash." Paul said as Honchkrow flew up, dodging the iron tail and then starting to rush towards Ambipom again as both of its wings turned purple.
Honchkrow was able to hit Ambipom but it seemed at little stronger than a normal Night Slash.
"Why is that attack so much stronger than usual?" I asked curiously as Ambipom stood up and can continue the battle but took some major damage.
"That's because Honchkrow's ability is Super Luck which increases the chance of landing a critical hit on an enemy." Paul explained to me.
"Well that ability is going to be a pain, but no need to worry, all we have to do is to dodge them and attack at the same time. Ambipom, use Swift." I said hoping my plan will work as the hands at the end of Ambipom's tails glow yellow as it swings them, making multiple golden stars shoot out of them hitting Honchkrow causing it to drop into the ground.
"I see. So your Ambipom's Ability is Technician, causing weak moves such as Swift to deal more damage than normal." Paul said as Honchkrow recovered rather quickly than I expected.
"Honchkrow, use Sky Attack!" Paul said as the said Pokémon started to charge up as its body becomes surrounded by a white aura.
"Counter it with Focus Punch." I said as Ambipom's hands at the end of its tails glow light blue as it readied itself to launch a counter attack.
After charging their attacks, both Pokémon rushed at each other and slammed their attacks, hoping to overpower the other causing a small explosion and knocking both Pokémon a few feet from each other.
"Now use Dark Pulse." Paul ordered as Honchkrow's beak began to fire a beam of black and purple circles at Ambipom.
"Ambipom dodge it and use Swift." I said as Ambipom dodged the Dark Pulse and fired a barrage of golden stars at Honchkrow but unlike last time, the attack didn't make any contact with The Big Boss Pokémon.
"Is that all you've got? That won't work the second time. Honchkrow, use Aerial Ace again." Paul said as Honchkrow began to rush towards Ambipom.
"Ambipom, dodge it and then use Iron Tail." I said but Honchkrow was just too fast for Ambipom to dodge.
Before Ambipom fell into the ground, it used its hands at the end of each tail like a spring and then jumped into the air above Honchkrow. Ambipom's hands at the end of its two tails became steel as it punches Honchkrow forcing it to crash into the ground and destroying a part of the field causing smoke to appear.
As the smoke disappeared, I saw Honchkrow breathing heavily but can still continue the fight.
"Damn, just how many attacks do we have to land just to make Honchkrow faint?" I thought fraustrated as I saw that Ambipom is also breathing heavily after that last exchange of attacks. I saw Paul having the same expression on his face as we both know that this fight won't any last longer.
"Honchkrow, use Haze." Paul said as Honchrow flaps its wings and releases a thick black smoke preventing Ambipom to see anything.
"Now use Aerial Ace." Paul said as Honchkrow began to charge at Ambipom. I was panicking because if that move hit Ambipom then it's over but then an idea popped into my head.
"Ambipom, spin while using Swift." the said Pokémon then jumped and released a barrage of golden stars around itself thus making a counter-shield hitting Honchkrow while taking no damage.
"Damn that counter-shield. Hochkrow stand up and use Sky Attack with all the power you've got the second that shield disappears." Paul said as Honchkrow charged up its attack and rushed at Ambipom the moment the counter-shield faded.
"Ambipom, be careful and try to sense where Honchkrow will attack, when you do use Fire Punch." I said while raising one of my fingers as Ambipom turned around and gave a small nod, understanding what I meant.
After a few seconds of waiting, Ambipom sensed Honchkrow's location is. One of Ambipom's hands at the end of its tails started to ignite with flames, ready to counter. Both attacks hit as Honchkrow is starting to overpower Ambipom because of using only one tail.
"Using only one tail? You must be out of your mind, unless…oh shit." Paul said as he started to understand what I was up to.
"Honchkrow, fly up now!" Paul ordered but knew it was too late.
"Ambipom, use Thunder Punch in max power." I said as Ambipom's other tail began to be surrounded by electricity as it punches Honchkrow at its back forcing it again to crash into the ground while creating a big explosion causing a thick smoke.
When the smoke cleared up, I saw Honchkrow lying on the ground unconscious.
"Honchkrow is unable to battle, the winner is Ambipom!" Zoey announced as Ambipom started to jump non-stop showing how happy it was that it won.
"Ambipom, we won, we won!" I said happily.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, the battle isn't over you know." Paul said seriously.
"I wasn't. I was just happy that I beat two of your Pokémon, though those two rounds were pretty rough and who knows I might just win this. " I said proudly.
"Don't get so confident of yourself, I might use Torterra or even Electivire. I doubt you even have a Pokémon strong enough to fight those two." Paul said smirking which sent a shiver down my spine because I know he's right.
"Cat got your tongue?" Paul said that really pissed me off.
"Grrrrrrr…just let out your last Pokémon so that I can beat you already!" I said annoyed.
"We'll see about that." Paul said still wearing that annoying smirk on his face as he took out a PokéBall and threw it into the air.