Pokemon Legends: Sinnoh Saga
Chapter 48
Not Very Effective
"Chika! Whirlpool!" Dawn called out. Chika the lumineon fired a blast of water from her mouth which began to swirl around in the air, forming into a fairly short whirlpool. Chika then hopped up off the ground, diving into the whirlpool. By now she had a pretty good idea of what to do and angled her fins accordingly, resulting in the fish pokemon repeatedly bobbing up and down in the whirlpool.
"Good job! Now, move forward!" The whirling mass of water tilted forward slightly at Chika's direction, causing it to move straight ahead. "Back!" The whirlpool came to a stop and then leaned back, moving into reverse. "Right!" The whirlpool stopped again and this time leaned to the left, moving in that direction.
"That was left," Melany noted. "Other than that, though, she's doing pretty good. A bit more practice and she shouldn't run into any problems with it."
Dawn nodded. "That's good to know. I already know which gym leader I want to use her against."
"And it was only a one-potion job!" Melany said with a grin. Dawn nearly fell over and Chika dropped as her whirlpool suddenly dispersed.
Just what the heck is with her training methods! Dawn wondered, grimacing when she imagined what it must be like for Melany's own pokemon if she was so reliant on potions.
It was early morning the day after Dawn's initial attempts at training. Dawn and Melany were already getting started on the day's training, knowing they only had three days remaining until Dawn was to meet Cynthia. For that reason, they had to cram in as much training as they could before then. Dawn still had other issues to deal with before then, too, afterall.
"Anyway, which would you rather do next? Go look for this Marcus guy so your pokemon can learn a few new techniques or start training with what you have already?" Melany asked Dawn.
"I want to keep training for now," Dawn replied. "Rina's catching a pokemon to trade to me for the nosepass, right? I'll wait until she gets back before going after Marcus. Until then..." Dawn looked back toward Chika, who was now laying out on the grass awaiting further instructions. "I think I'd like to have Chika train against Auriga..."
"Auriga huh..." Melany mused, then shrugged. "Alright then, how about I take command of Auriga and you command Chika? That way they're both battling on an equal level."
Dawn turned and raised an eyebrow at Melany. "We're equals now?"
Melany grinned and said, "Sure, why not? You smashed up a legendary pokemon on your own. I think that makes you a legendary trainer in your own right, right?"
"W-w-w-WHAT!" Dawn shrieked at the revealation and tumbled back, landing on her ass. "Y-you're kidding right! I mean, sure, I'm pretty amazed I pulled that off too, and I've got Mesprit with me, but..."
"And you're getting ready to mop the floor with Sinnoh's finest," Melany said, pointing a finger at her. "If you ask me, you're plenty qualified to say you're at least close to the same level as me even if not already there. Heck me, Rina, and Ashley are all looking forward to seeing how your challenge goes and not one of us are expecting you to actually lose to any of the gym leaders."
Dawn didn't know what to say to that. Sure, she realized she had come far as a trainer, but she still didn't expect people like Melany and Ashley to be praising her! It was a bit embarassing to say the least. It was also one heck of a confidence boost.
"Umm... thanks..." Dawn eventually replied. She stood up and dusted herself off, then turned to Melany again and smiled. "Well! If that's the case, let's do this! Me against you! You with Auriga, me with Chika!" Dawn took a pokeball from her belt and tossed it to Melany. "Just don't think too deeply on it when you lose, since I have the advantage."
"Of course not," Melany replied with a knowing smirk. The two girls then got into position, facing each other at a distance. Chika hopped along the grass to position herself in front of Dawn and Melany released Auriga from its pokeball. The cranidos was confused at first, but Dawn explained to it that it would be taking orders from Melany for this battle.
"Before we begin, Dawn, I would just like to say something," Melany said. Dawn nodded, giving Melany her full attention. "Auriga's best attacks right now are Take Down and Headbutt, would you agree?"
"Well, yeah..." Dawn replied. "Aside from Ancientpower, the rest are situational. And Ancientpower is a spell, but Auriga is a warrior. An Ancientpower attack from him would be pretty weak."
"-I'm a cranidos,-" Auriga corrected her. Of course, Dawn didn't understand a word he was saying.
"Why do you bring that up, anyway?" Dawn asked her.
Melany smirked. "Because I just wanted to let you know that the only attack Auriga will even use... is Ancientpower."
Dawn cringed at that. Somehow, I just got a feeling like she just told me she's going to beat me with one arm tied behind her back, Dawn thought. She quickly brushed that thought aside, though. Melany was using Dawn's own pokemon, so there were no tricks she could pull on Dawn, and Dawn knew she had both a power and type advantage. Her confidence returning, Dawn quickly called out an attack.
"Chika, you know the drill now! Start with Whirlpool!" Chika nodded in response and then opened her small mouth. She started spewing out a steady stream of water which splashed against the ground, then rose up and began swirling to form a small whirlpool. Chika then jumped up into that whirlpool and positioned her fins so the motion of the water would move her up and down instead of spinning her around.
"Auriga, Ancientpower." Melany commanded while folding her arms. Auriga let out a roar and stomped its foot against the ground as it summoned an ancient power from within. The awakening of this power tore several large chunks of rock from the ground, which were then thrown at Chika with great force. The rocks pelted her, knocking her off balance. She tilted vertically and was then tossed out the side of her own whirlpool, which immediately collapsed.
"Tch... nice move..." Dawn muttered. "Well if that won't work, we'll try Surf instead!" she then called out. Chika quickly turned to face Auriga and summoned a wall of water from underneath her, rising up on it. The wave then sped toward Auriga with Chika riding on top of it.
"Auriga... Ancientpower." Melany calmly ordered Dawn's pokemon. Auriga let out another roar, calling upon that power within it again. That power awakened more quickly now that the technique had already been used once. Large rocks were torn up from the ground and launched at Chika, striking her with enough force to knock her off the wave she was riding. Without Chika, the water crashed too soon and just narrowly missed hitting Auriga.
"Oh, come on!" Dawn groaned. "There's no way that had attack was powerful enough to knock Chika off!"
"No point complaining about something that already happened," Melany replied. "It's not like you're out of options yet, right?"
"Of course not!" Dawn shot back. "Chika, we still have one more technique for getting around! Let's show her! Waterfall!" Chika gave an enthusiastic nod in agreement. She formed a veil of flowing water around her body and then slid across the field, riding on top of it to speed toward Auriga.
Can't counter that technique so easily, Melany thought. "Auriga, brace yourself, then fire back with Ancientpower!" Auriga had little time to brace himself against Chika's attack. Sliding across the field on a veil of water, Chika plowed into him, knocking him off his feet while the water ran across its rocky hide. Chika dispersed the water after sliding past him and came to a stop, while Auriga was knocked onto his side.
Though it was difficult for Auriga to do so, courtesy of its short arms, Auriga was able to flip back onto its feet and turned to face Chika. Auriga drew out his ancient power again, the release tearing several chunks of rock free from the ground. By this point in the battle, the once grassy field was potmarked with holes from Auriga's attacks. The rocks floating around Auriga were then launched at Chika. Chika winced in pain as the rocks bounced off her body, which was now covered in small scrapes and scratches that were leaving her fairly exhausted.
"Again with that technique... but she DID say that was the only one she would use," Dawn muttered. "I can kinda see why, too. It's not because she's holding back, Ancientpower is the only ranged attack Auriga knows. She's been using that to disrupt my own attacks." Dawn looked at the two pokemon and smirked. Both were looking exhausted now, and after just one attack in Auriga's case. No matter how she looked at it, she would win now in spite of Melany's strategy.
"Chika, one more attack should do it! Water Pulse!"
"Don't be so sure your attack will be the last!" Melany called back. "Auriga, we'll be the ones finishing this! Ancientpower!"
The two pokemon went on the attack, with Chika making the first move. She opened her mouth and fired three pulsating rings of water at Auriga. By the time the rings had reached him, Auriga had finished summoning its ancient power again. Rocks were torn from the ground by this release of power and hurled toward Chika. The water that hit Auriga knocked him off his feet and Chika slumped forward after the rocks hit her in the head.
"So... a draw then..." Dawn mumbled. Then, to her utter disbelief, Auriga started to get back on his feet. "WHAT! No way! There's no way Auriga could have endured THAT!"
"Oh, but there is," Melany said with a knowing smirk. "Seems you're forgetting something about Ancientpower. Sometimes, when a pokemon uses it, some of that awakened power manages to remain to give them an increase to all their abilities. I was counting on that from the start to win this match."
Dawn sighed in frustration. "So I've really lost to my own pokemon... and with a type advantage..."
"Well, don't you think you learn more from your mistakes than your successes?" Melany said to her.
"I guess you're right," Dawn replied. She knew Roark had at least a cranidos, so it was good to know she couldn't count on Roark sticking to charging recklessly. She realized now that someone on Roark's level would definitely have ranged attacks available and would use them if a direct assault was too risky. Even for a pokemon whose best tactic involved smashing headfirst into its opponent.
After their battle, Dawn and Melany cleaned up the area a bit, replacing the dirt and rocks that had been torn up by Auriga's attacks. Though the spots were still bare, there weren't any holes for anyone to trip in at least. By the time they were done, Dawn spotted a shadowy figure flying through the air. As the figure drew closer, Dawn realized who it was.
"Rina's back," Dawn pointed out to Melany. Melany looked toward the pokemon that was flying toward them and nodded. The two of them waited while Rina flew in on Knight and landed nearby.
"I didn't think you two would still be here," Rina said as she approached them. "How's the training going?"
"Umm..." Dawn looked to Melany for an assessment.
"She's learning," Melany began. "She has a better idea of what to expect from the gym leaders, and she's able to use her lumineon, Chika, out of water now. So, making progress at least."
"I see..." Rina replied, then flashed Dawn a nervous smile. "I hope she wasn't too hard on your pokemon..."
"Used up one potion," Dawn replied. Rina cringed.
"What? I thought that was pretty good, to only need one," Melany said defensively. This time both girls cringed. "Anyway! You're back pretty soon, found a pokemon already?"
"Yep!" Rina took a pokeball from her belt. "Brought it with me so Dawn could see it first and then decide for herself whether or not she wanted it." Rina then held out the pokeball, releasing the drifblim she had caught. A ghost-type pokemon with a body shaped like a hot air balloon materialized and then looked around in confusion.
"-Where... AM I?-"
"That's an odd pokemon..." Melany said as she studied it. "Looks like it'd be a ghost-type and... flying maybe? Probably has a fair bit of endurance, at least, which is good because I can't imagine it being able to take hits very well..."
"-Huh?-" Drifblim turned to Melany in confusion. "-Am I being judged or something?-"
"That's a drifblim, I've heard of those," Dawn said. The drifblim turned to her now as she spoke. "They kinda 'pop' when they feint and their pre-evolved forms are believed to abduct children..."
The drifblim grinned at that. Or at least, as much as something could grin with only eyes for facial expresions. "-Oh, heh, yeah... good times...-" it said.
I guess some species of pokemon really are dangerous, Rina thought. A shiver ran down her spine as she recalled her own experience with a ghost pokemon. Maybe more common for some species...
"It would be interesting to have a ghost-type pokemon, though, since I already have Auriga for a rock-type," Dawn said, then nodded. "Okay, you want to do the trade now, then, and get it over with?"
"Sure," Rina replied, nodding in agreement.
"-Wait! I'm being traded al-" The drifblim was suddenly cut off as a red beam struck it, de-materializing it and pulling it back into the pokeball in Rina's hand. The three girls then started heading into Jubilife, Dawn leading the way and Rina and Melany walking side by side behind her.
"I'm surprised you actually caught a pokemon just to trade it away so quickly," Melany said to Rina as they walked. "Did it agree to go along with that?"
"I battled it and caught it, so it's not going to have any attachment to me and I didn't have to try to find one that would go along with something like this," Rina replied. "It was pretty easy to do, too, 'cause Pippi just kinda jumped straight into battle with it."
"I see..." Melany replied. She was silent for a moment before then asking, "So did it try to abduct you?" Rina fell completely silent at that.
The girls headed straight to the pokemon center in Jubilife, where Dawn and Rina made the trade in the upstairs trade room. Putting their pokeballs through the machines changed the identification tags on the balls, thus registering the recently captured drifblim to Dawn and the nosepass to Rina. Both still displayed their original trainer's id if one were to check, but officially they were registered to their new trainers now.
Of course, after making the trade there wasn't much left to do in Jubilife as Dawn wanted to try teaching her pokemon new techniques first. That meant finding Marcus, a task easily solved thanks to the website, a quick look told her he was in Eterna City again. It also meant going home to pick up all the shards she had gathered. She needed them for payment, afterall.
Thus, after the girls departed from Jubilife, the next stop was Twinleaf. Though Twinleaf was a relatively short distance away, they flew rather than walking as they still had a lot of ground to cover after. After landing in front of the house, Dawn dismounted from Captain Falcon and released Jax from his pokeball to follow her inside.
"Hi Mom I'm here to get my stuff!" Dawn called out as she walked through the main hall toward the stairs. She didn't even check to see if her mother was home, or where she was. In fact, her mother didn't even notice Dawn's arrival as she was in the back tending to a small berry garden with her kangaskhan, Jumpy.
Jax followed Dawn up the stairs and into her room, where he grabbed the makeshift box of shards in his four arms. Dawn then headed back down the stairs, Jax following behind her again. "Okay I got my stuff now bye Mom!" Dawn called out again, heading straight out the front door with her pokemon and shards. Joanne was still oblivious to her daughter's arrival and would later be wondering why there were muddy footprints all over the house.
Back outside, Melany and Rina were still waiting for her. Rina was waiting with Knight and Melany with a somewhat crablike, steel-type pokemon known as metagross. Looking at it, Dawn didn't think the pokemon would be able to fly at all. However, Melany had assured her that it would be able to carry both Melany and the box of shards on its back with no problems. Dawn thus directed Jax to set the box down on the pokemon's back.
"Wow, you really DO have a lot of shards!" Melany said when she looked into the box.
"Probably more than I need, but there's enough for the techniques I want to teach my pokemon at least," Dawn said to her, grinning slightly. "I spent a lot of time underground digging these up. It's pretty neat down there. Burried treasure in every wall, secret bases, and dwarves!"
"Dwarves?" Melany and Rina both asked in confusion.
"Yeah, you know, dwarves. Stout, somewhat chubby-looking race of people living underground. Though I always figured they'd be shorter and have beards..."
"Dawn... there's no such thing as dwarves..." Melany said to her.
"You know what she's talking about?" Rina asked her in disbelief.
"They're a fantasy race in some of the computer games I play. Usually known for drinking a lot and-"
"Wait a minute!" Dawn interrupted Melany, raising an eyebrow at her. "They make games for COMPUTERS now!"
Melany blinked. "Err... yeah..." she said. "There's been computer games for ages now. Heck, I've been playing them since before I even gave a thought to training pokemon."
"Didn't you start late?" Rina pointed out. Melany waved a hand, dismissing her comment. Rina shrugged and turned to Dawn. "Anyway, shouldn't we get going before this guy goes on the move again? We don't know how long he'll be in Eterna City for."
"Ah... right!" Dawn quickly nodded in agreement. "So, uh, Melany, you sure you'll be fine with your pokemon carrying my shards?"
"Of course!" Melany replied. "Just watch. Metagross?" Metagross let out a metallic groan, letting Melany know that it understood. A humming noise filled the air and then Metagross began to slowly float up. As it lifted off the ground, it spread its legs out straight. Dawn was amazed to see such a large, heavy pokemon hovering so easily.
"It'll be slow going..." Melany said to her. "But we'll make it."
"We'll just have to go slow then so you can keep up," Rina said.
Dawn nodded in agreement with Rina. If it meant her precious shards would get to Eterna City quickly and without losing any, she wouldn't mind moving a bit slow. Captain Falcon, overhearing them, grimaced a bit though. She'd prefer a fast flight. Knight, on the other hand, was just getting a bit grumpy over all the flying he was doing for Rina lately. Still, he offered no complaints as Rina hopped on his back again.
Once both Dawn and Rina were mounted on their pokemon, Melany and Metagross floated up higher. Then they turned and started to fly in the direction of Eterna City. Slowly at first, but gradually picking up speed. Once Melany and Metagross were well on their way, Dawn and Rina took off after them on their own pokemon. Catching up with Melany was no problem for them, and they kept pace with her for the duration of the flight.
It took well over an hour for the girls to reach Eterna City. Though flying there was much faster than travelling on foot, Melany's Metagross was slow flying even when it wasn't carrying precious cargo. The even slower fly speed than usual that it maintained for the whole trip made things take much longer.
Even when they arrived in Eterna City, they weren't done yet. Though a quick check at the computer in the local pokemon center confirmed Marcus was still there, they still had to find him. Melany and Rina waited with their pokemon near the western edge of the city while Dawn tracked down Marcus. Though it would have been faster with Melany and Rina's help, neither of them knew who they were looking for.
Nearly two hours after departing from Twinleaf, the girls finally met up with Marcus. Needless to say, Rina and Melany were surprised to find they DID recognize the boy walking toward them with Dawn.
"Melany... that guy with Dawn... didn't we run into him before?"
"Yeah. He called you flat." Rina cringed. She could remember that now. A complete stranger at the time, Marcus gave her one look and told her she was too flat.
And it seemed like Marcus might have recognized the two girls as well. He suddenly stopped when he saw them and stared at the two while stroking his chin. He even took off his sunglasses to get a better look. Then he shook his head and turned to Dawn. "Sorry, but even if they were stacked I don't work that way," he said to her, then turned to leave. Melany and Rina were stunned, and Dawn quickly turned and grabbed him by the back of his shirt.
"I already told you I've got the shards!" she said to him. "Geez! Why would you even think something like that!"
Marcus stopped and threw up his hands. "Alright, alright, I get it already!" he said, then followed Dawn as she pulled him by the shirt toward the box of shards.
"Is this guy really a move tutor?" Rina asked Melany, whispering.
"You know what they say, never judge a book by its cover," Melany whispered back.
Marcus took one look inside the box that was on Metagross's back and grinned. "Alright! Looks like you've got the goods afterall," he said. "Got a list of techniques you want taught to your pokemon, then?" Dawn nodded and took out a small slip of paper with writing on both sides, then handed it to Marcus. Marcus took one quick look over the paper. Then he took another look in the box.
"Hmm... everything adds up." Marcus grinned and slid his glasses back on his face, then turned to Dawn. "Alright! Looks like you've got yourself a move tutor!"
Author's Notes: Sorry about the lateness with this one, keep getting distracted lately.
Two more chapters left before Dawn begins her gym leader challenge. Next chapter will focus on more actual training, as well as Dawn's pokemon learning new moves courtesy of Marcus.
When the actual challenge begins I'm hoping to mix in a fair bit of character development with the actual battles. Small side events/stories to go along with them, basically.
