The Johto Festival
"Well that was quite the quick trip," Dawn commented as the distance between Eterna City and Hearthome City was noticeably shorter than the time it took for them to travel from Oreburgh to Eterna!
"Yeah, I could technically try and win my third badge now but I think my Pokemon deserve a bit of a break." Zach commented. "And it'll give me some time to think up a proper strategy, Mimikyu's the only one that'll have an upper hand against Ghost types."
"So you Sinnoh trainers face a Ghost Gym Leader early on, eh? In Johto we've got Morty but as he's usually preoccupied with other matters he only accepts challengers with three badges, of course getting three badges is not exactly a piece of cake as you've got Whitney to deal with!" Lyra shuddered at the thought as she dreaded her eventual battle with the Miltank trainer.
"Well we technically have a choice as the Gym Leader here accepts challengers that have two badges but the Veilstone Gym also accepts challengers that have two badges. I might just wait and come back, I don't want to make Mimikyu feel like it's all up to her."
"Scor!" Scorbunny tapped her chest as a cocky smirk spread across her face.
"I'm sure you'd do fine in there Scorbunny but you had the last gym battle, I'd like for Rockruff and the others to have a shot so they don't feel left out!" Zach reached down and picked her up, holding her in his arms as he offered her a warm smile. "You'll always be my number one Fire type though!"
"Scor!" Scorbunny let out a pleased squeal as she nuzzled against her trainer.
"You and your Pokemon really care a great deal for one another, eh? That's quite admirable, I'm surprised a girl hasn't snatched you up yet!" Zach nearly dropped Scorbunny at Lyra's words, his face burned brightly as Scorbunny placed her paw against her mouth and snickered.
Dawn's eyes flickered between Zach and Lyra before she clenched her fists and grabbed onto Lyra's hand as she proceeded to hastily drag Lyra away from him!
"What do you think you're doing trying to flirt with him like that? You know that I love him!" Dawn hissed out with an agitated look.
"Pip Piplup!" Piplup waved his flipper angrily at Lyra.
"What can I say? He's cute." Lyra blushed as she cast a brief longing look in Zach's direction before looking back at Dawn. "Sorry I was merely trying to help you two get closer but I guess it came out a bit different than intended."
"You can say that again." Dawn narrowed her eyes. "Just don't do that again!"
Zach stared after them as they disappeared around a corner, he looked down at Scorbunny before looking around as he figured it best to wait for Dawn to finish whatever she was doing. Scorbunny's ear soon twitched as she heard a noise coming from a nearby alleyway.
"Scor!"
"Something down there Scorbunny?" Lucario turned his gaze towards the alleyway, his eyes glowing a bright blue color for a second before swiftly nodding his head as he let out a growl of confirmation.
"Car!"
"Well then let's go see what's going on!" Zach quickly raced into the alley with Lucario running alongside him, their eyes soon coming across the sight of some Team Galactic grunts beating and kicking at a Shinx who laid there wounded and whimpering as their boots hit against it's body.
"S-Shinx..."
"You thought you could steal some food from us?! We'll show you!"
"Hey space kooks!" The Galactic grunts jumped and turned around with furious expressions as they looked for whoever said that, their faces then quickly turned to fear when they saw who it was. "How is abusing a Pokemon part of a better world?"
"T-That's the kid that beat Commander Mars!"
"I wouldn't say beat more like I outsmarted her." Zach narrowed his eyes and began tapping his foot impatiently. "If you're gonna pick a fight then you should pick it with somebody that can fight back!" Scorbunny leaped from his arms and began charging an Electro Ball between her paws while Lucario charged up a sphere of aura as the two kept their eyes locked onto the Team Galactic grunts.
"Y-Yeah no thanks, if you beat her then we stand no chance against you!" The two grunts quickly turned and ran off.
Zach glared after them for a moment before looking to Lucario. "Make sure they don't try and come back, I'm gonna check up on Shinx." Lucario nodded and raced after them while Zach dropped to his knees and pulled out a Super Potion before tending to Shinx's injuries. "Try and keep calm, the pain should only last a few seconds."
Shinx flinched as he felt the spray touch his wound, the lion cub opened his eyes and offered Zach an appreciative look before bowing his head in appreciation as he got back on his feet.
"Don't worry about it, I'm just glad that we got here before it was too late." Zach gave Shinx's head a light pat before standing back up. "I've got to get back to my friends but make sure you try and stay out of trouble from now on, I'd recommend going back out of the city." Zach gave the Electric type a smile before turning around to head back towards Dawn and Lyra. Shinx stared after him and his Pokemon as they left before flashing a light smirk as a childish giggle emerged from the lion cub's mouth, the lion cub morphed into a small blue feline Pokemon that resembled the creature on Nando's harp.
A bright pink bubble formed around the feline as he flew up to the sky above before disappearing in a flash of blue light!
"Look, Apricorn Pokeballs!" Zach gasped out in amazement as he stared at a booth that was selling quite the peculiar array of Pokeballs, all of which had designs quite unlike the Pokeballs that one could buy in the Sinnoh region. "I've always wanted to buy some of these, I think it's silly how Johto doesn't export these they'd make bank off these things!"
Dawn let out a giggle of amusement as she watched Zach quickly grab a few of each Apricorn Pokeball, which went straight into his bag once he purchased them. He then turned to Dawn and offered a smile as he placed a pink ball into her hand. Dawn glanced down at it and blushed heavily upon seeing a light pink heart design on the upper half of the ball. She looked up at him with a questioning look as his own face had a bright color to it. "What is this?"
"I-It's a Love Ball, they're designed to catch Pokemon of the opposite gender to your Pokemon. I-I thought that the design suited you!"
Lyra flicked her eyes between the two of them as a smirk crossed her face. Although the ball was meant to catch Pokemon it appeared as if he'd just caught himself a girlfriend with it! Dawn let off a bright smile as she threw her arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug while leaning her head up against his. "If that's your way of asking me to be your girlfriend then I accept!"
Zach's eyes widened in surprise, casting a brief look at Lucario who quickly gestured with his paws. "Y-Yeah, that was my intention!" Zach gave off an embarrassed smirk, he hadn't realized that it could have been taken as a romantic gesture. He was merely being truthful but at least now he knew where he and Dawn stood, his heart raced excitedly as Dawn kissed his cheek before he returned the favor by kissing her cheek. The two then gazed lovingly into each other's eyes as their Pokemon all looked at each other as if to say 'it's about time'!
Lyra smiled at them for a moment before perking up as a voice came over the loud speaker.
"Last call for registrations! If you want to compete in the Johto Fest Tag Team Tournament then you'd better sign up now!"
"I-I've got to go, my grandfather is hosting the competition and wants me there in case anyone tries to steal the prize."
"Prize? What prize?" Zach's left hand remained around Dawn's right hand as her tilted his head. "You didn't tell us about a prize."
"Well you see Professor Elm, that's the Professor of the Johto region, decided to generously donate some Pokemon eggs for the winner of the competition to choose from."
"Hold up if the Professor donated the eggs then does that mean...?" Dawn questioned only for Lyra to silently reply with a playful smirk.
"Oh man, I've always wanted a Totodile!" Zach excitedly exclaimed before frowning. "Though I suppose it's too late to find a partner now."
"You've got me! I mean I'm not as good as you when it comes to battling but I'd happily be your partner if you'll have me!" Dawn pulled him around to face her as she gazed into his eyes with a loving smile.
"Y-You mean it? I-I'd have thought you wouldn't be interested in it," Which is why he hadn't thought to ask her, he didn't want to make her feel like she was obligated to fight alongside him.
"Of course! I know you'd love to win and a Chikorita or Cyndaquil would make an excellent partner for my Contest performances!"
Zach gave off a loving smile and looked as if he were about to kiss her but his brain quickly reminded him that they needed to get registered. "C-Come on, we'd better get registered then or we can kiss our future partners goodbye!" Dawn giggled lightly as she gave off a light nod before the two hurried off after Lyra.
"So this is the cute boy that you were telling us about, will we have any great grandkids in the near future?" An older lady with greyed hair cast off a teasing smirk as Lyra let out surprise eek and quickly waved her hands about as her face burned brightly.
"Grandma, I said no such thing!"
"Actually I'm entering the competition with my girlfriend." Zach moved his arm to showcase his hand interlocked with Dawn's. Dawn clenched her hand tightly around his as she hastily nodded in confirmation.
"Right! I'll try my best to not let you down!"
"Hey if we lose, we lose. I won't hold it against you!" Dawn offered him a warm smile upon hearing his words, resting her head up against his for a moment while Lyra turned to look away.
"Alright so the way this works is that you use a single Pokemon in each round, you're both free to switch out your Pokemon between rounds but to prevent the tournament lasting well into the night the battles will consist of a singular two on two match up in each round. You understand?" Lyra's grandfather explained with a questioning look.
"So basically Zach and I can only use Piplup and Rockruff for the first round if we choose them?" Dawn asked as she glanced towards Zach.
"Correct!"
"That suits me just fine, Rockruff and Dratini need the experience!" Zach grinned.
"Scor..." Scorbunny hung her head.
"Don't worry Scorbunny, I'll need you in the Veilstone Gym!" Scorbunny quickly cheered up at his words before nodding her head in acceptance as she watched her trainer and his girlfriend register for the competition.
"Good luck you two, I hope you win." Lyra offered the two a smile.
"Thanks Lyra, we'll definitely try and do our best!" Dawn grinned.
The first round went relatively easy with them going up against a Chimchar and a Turtwig. Buneary easily dispatched Turtwig with the help of her Ice Beam attack while Rockruff made quick work of Chimchar with Rock Throw! In round two however they'd come across some familiar faces as standing across from them were Nando and Cheryl!
"Nando, Cheryl?! What are you doing here?" Dawn was quite surprised to see them as neither appeared to be the battling type.
"After Zach fended off Zarude, I was inspired to compete in the Sinnoh League on top of competing in Pokemon Contests!" Nando explained as he played a light tune on his Mew harp. "This tournament will help get me some much needed experience!"
"And I figured it wouldn't hurt to get Chansey some battling experience, that way if something goes wrong again we won't need to be damsels in distress!" Cheryl spoke up.
"Chansey!"
"Well it's sure good to see you two again, looking forward to battling the two of you!" Zach grinned as he reached for a Pokeball. "Mimikyu let's make things spooky!"
"Kyu!" Mimikyu hissed as she emerged from her ball.
"Piplup, spotlight!"
"Piplup!" Piplup leaped onto the field with a light smirk spread across his face as he looked towards his opponents.
"Kricketune, let's put on a fabulous show!"
"Kricke!" A Kricketune emerged from Nando's ball and stood at Chansey's side.
"Double Team!"
"Kyu!" Mimikyu quickly split herself into multiple copies that circled around the field and even though they were mere copies, they still gave just as creepy or cute a vibe as the original did!
"Whirpool!"
"Piplup!" Piplup raised his arms into the air as a giant cyclone of water began forming out his beak, the penguin raised his head into the air as the cyclone grew larger before eventually throwing out his arms, sending the cyclone flying in the direction of his opponents!
"Kricketune dodge!" Unfortunately Kricketune and Chansey found themselves trapped within the cyclone as they were hoisted up and thrown about within!
A light smirk crossed Zach's cheeks as he threw out his arm. "Thunderbolt!"
"Mimikyu!" Mimikyu's body sparked shortly before she fired off a blast of electricity! The electrical blast made contact with the cyclone and zapped the Pokemon within causing them to cry out in pain before they were flung out of the cyclone! Their scorched bodies hit the floor in a defeated slump as Nando and Cheryl stood there in disbelief before slowly clapping their hands as they returned their Pokemon to their Pokeballs.
"Wow..." Lyra breathed out with a look full of amazement.
"Way to go Mimikyu, a Pikachu couldn't have done better!" Mimikyu uttered out a pleased hiss from his words.
"You taught Mimikyu Thunderbolt?" Dawn asked.
"Of course, I still don't plan on replacing Morpeko but it'd be silly if Scorbunny and Lucario were the only ones with effective moves against Water types. I've got to prepare to take on Crasher Wake!" Zach explained as he gave Mimikyu a proud look before returning her to her Pokeball.
"Makes sense," Dawn was certainly not going to push her boyfriend into capturing another Electric type but she felt as if it were only a matter of time before he did capture another one.
"And here's the final round folks, it all comes down to this! Zach and Dawn facing off against Amelia and Conway!" Lyra shouted as the small crowd let out a cheer.
"Well well I see that you two are dating now," Amelia scowled as she noticed them holding hands as they approached the battlefield. "It's not too late you know, I'll gladly date you if you ditch that slut and date a trainer worthy of your attention!"
"There's only one slut around here and I'm looking at her," Zach retorted with a heavy glare. Dawn cast him a fond look and quickly kissed his cheek while Amelia twitched her eye.
"Y-You did not just say that about me!" She squealed out while angrily stomping her feet.
"How dare you say that about Amelia, she's the most beautiful girl in existence!" Conway glared.
"Hey she asked for it, nobody talks that way about Dawn!" Zach growled out.
"We'll see how well you defend her once we show you how much of a loser she truly is!" Amelia hissed out. "Dragonair let's go!"
Her purple Dragonair emerged with a melodic cry.
"Slowking let's prove Amelia's point!"
"Slowking."
Dawn gritted her teeth at the sight of both Pokemon as she knew this would be quite the challenge for her. She then felt Zach's hand touch hers once more and she instantly felt relaxed at his words. "Don't let them get to you, if we don't win I'll still love you. I enjoyed getting to battle alongside you and there's no point in battling if you don't have fun!"
Dawn smiled at him before flicking her eyes back onto the field as she reached for a ball. "Buneary spotlight!"
"Buneary!" Buneary twirled in place as she emerged from her Pokeball.
"Rockruff let's rock!"
"Ruff!" Rockruff barked as she emerged from her Pokeball.
"Sand Attack!" Rockruff quickly turned her back to her opponents and began kicking up sand and dirt, causing them to cough and flinch as it got in their eyes.
"Slowking use Psychic!"
"King!" Slowking's eyes glowed bright blue, a similar glow surrounded Rockruff as she was lifted into the air with a faint yelp!
"Buneary strike Slowking with Thunder Punch!"
"Buneary!" Buneary raced towards Slowking and threw a quick electrically charged punch at the Pokemon's stomach! Slowking grunted out from the pain and dropped Rockruff before he could do anything to her.
"Huh, so Zach helped Dawn teach Buneary Thunder Punch..." Lyra noted.
"Thunder Fang!" Rockruff's fangs sparked as she leaped through the air before sinking her teeth into Slowking's arms!
"King!" Slowking grunted as he attempted to shake her off.
"Water Pulse!" Slowking fired off a pulse of water from his mouth, sending Rockruff flying back across the field while Amelia did a little twirl before throwing out her own arm.
"Dragonair be a dear and use Aqua Tail on the pup!" Amelia cast a sinister smirk. "He'll regret rejecting me twice!"
Dragonair's tail became engulfed in an aquatic veil of water as she swung it at Rockruff!
"Thunder Punch her tail!"
"Bite her tail with Thunder Punch!"
Buneary threw an electric punch at Dragonair's tail causing the serpentine Pokemon to cry out in pain and slow her movements. Buneary quickly leaped back to make room for Rockruff as the rock puppy sprang into the air and sank her teeth into the Dragon type, sending another electrical surge flowing through her body before Dragonair dropped in a defeated slump.
"Nooo! Conway finish this now!" Amelia angrily stomped her feet as she cast a venomous look towards the rivaling trainers.
"On it my dear, Slowking use Surf!"
Slowking raised up his arms as he summoned a wave of water!
"Rockruff dig a trench in front of you and Buneary!" Rockruff quickly began digging through the ground, creating a large trench between the rivaling sides before leaping on out of the trench. Rockruff then looked back as the water went crashing into the trench, filling it up while only giving Rockruff and Buneary a light splash as Amelia twitched her eye.
"No fair no fair, you can't do that!" She angrily howled out.
"Clever..." Conway narrowed his eyes.
"Rockruff let's finish this with Thunder Fang!"
"Buneary use Thunder Punch!" Rockruff sank her electrified teeth into Slowking before leaping away as Buneary came charging in with another electrified punch! Slowking let out a painful cry as electricity surged through his body before collapsing face first into the dirt as he'd lay in defeat!
"Nooo!" Amelia howled out.
"Alright we did it!" Zach cried out as he pulled Dawn into a hug. "You were amazing out there, I-" He went silent as Dawn placed her lips against his own, he stood in shock for a brief moment before placing his arms around her body as he joined in on the kiss, deepening it as their lips pressed against one another. Their eyes closed as they enjoyed a moment of passion. Lucario and Piplup noticed Rockruff and Buneary's bodies becoming engulfed in a bright blue light causing them to glance at one another as they wondered rather or not they should say something. Buneary's height drastically increased as she now stood at Lucario's level, her ears increased in length while the fluff that stood at the end of her ear also increased in length. The fluff that covered her lower half had vanished and now only covered her legs and feet along with the majority of her paws!
Meanwhile Rockruff's fur started to change to a bright orange, matching the setting sun while her tail began shedding into a white color that matched the long fluff that erupted from and covered her neck area. Her blue eyes were now a shade of green while her legs were now covered in white fur. The newly evolved Lycanroc threw back her head and let out a loud howl as the crowd gasped in amazement at the sight of the newly evolved Rock wolf!
Her howl caused Zach and Dawn to break their kiss as they turned to check on their Pokemon, excited looks quickly crossed their faces upon the sight of Lopunny and Lycanroc!
"You evolved!"
"Lo!" Lopunny sprang towards Dawn before pulling her into a tight hug while Lycanroc raced across the field before pinning Zach to the ground as she began rapidly licking his face.
"Roc, Lycanroc!"
"I didn't know Lycanroc could look like you!" Zach laughed while petting her neck as the wolf continued to lick his face. "But I guess that makes sense, dusk is the middle of night and day so you couldn't become Midnight or Midday."
"Roc!" Lycanroc barked excitedly while her tag rapidly moved back and forth!
"Yeah you've definitely proved yourself to be quite the strong Pokemon, I'm honored to have you as part of my team!"
"Roc!"
"Alright you two, you ready for your prize now?" Lyra asked as her eyes flickered between the two.
"Of course, we can't wait to meet our future partners!" Dawn exclaimed.
"Definitely I've been wanting a Water type for so long, hopefully my curse has ended!"
Lyra smiled at the two before waving her hand as she led the way to a table where three eggs sat upon it. One was pale green and had small green dots that circled around the middle of the egg, it was obviously a Chikorita egg as they'd seen Lyra's long enough to recognize the species. The one in the center had a blue coloring with a cream colored triangular patch on the lower half while on the back were red scale-like markings. Finally the one at the other end was blue on the upper half while the lower half had a cream color to it. A flame pattern was present on the backside of the egg making it a bit obvious what was inside it.
Zach picked up Totodile's egg without a moment of hesitation as he knew Dawn wouldn't want it on account of Piplup. Dawn however kept her gaze locked on the eggs for a moment as she pondered over her decision before eventually reaching out to hold the Cyndaquil egg within her arms as a large smile crossed her face. "I'll take Cyndaquil!"
"Excellent choices, those Pokemon definitely suit the two of you!" Lyra exclaimed. "There's also one more prize however," Lyra reached into her pocket before retrieving two tickets. "These will get you to and from the Johto region completely cost free! And I was wondering if you'd like to go with me for awhile, the road's gonna look a bit lonely after traveling with the two of you and I could use some moral support when it comes to defeating Whitney!"
Zach glanced towards Dawn as he figured to leave the decision up to her. He didn't mind having a bit of a break and it'd be cool having the opportunity to capture some Johto Pokemon for his team but he wasn't going without her and he knew she wouldn't let him go alone so he figured it best to give her a choice rather than make her feel obligated to go.
"Johto's where the Wallace Cup is being held, Goldenrod City... sure! I'd love to compete in the Wallace Cup!" Dawn excitedly exclaimed before quickly turning to face Zach. "Er... if you're okay with it?"
"Of course, I can use the time to try and catch myself a Scyther!"
Lyra smiled before waving her hand. "Great then you won't mind helping us clean up? We're heading back to Johto tomorrow and you can tag along!"
Alright so Zach and Dawn are now together, I thought it'd be fun to have them hook up in an unusual but cute fashion. Him gifting her a Love Ball, a ball some Pokemon fans also propose with.
I constantly shifted between the idea of Midnight and Dusk before eventually settling on Dusk. Midnight's my favorite but Dusk felt more suitable for the story.
The Johto arc is starting up, what adventures and Pokemon await them in the Johto region? It won't be a long arc just a few chapters entailing stuff hinted at in earlier chapters and this one.
Let me know what you all think and if there is anything that you'd like to see! :)