Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.
Pokémon: Sinnoh no Isekai
Chapter two: Full Party and a Gym battle
Dawn had reached Jubilife City, going north from there to reach Route 204 in order to find a wild Budew to catch. Upon arriving in Route 204, Dawn, having brought Chi-Chi out, began looking around for a Budew. Budew eventually evolves into Roserade, which Dawn remembered from her previous life was in the party she used in both the original Pearl and Shining Pearl for a lot of her major victories. As such, Dawn had a lot of investment in catching a Budew.
"Where is that Budew?" Dawn said to herself as she looked around. After a bit of searching, Dawn eventually found the very Pokémon that she was looking for. Or rather, the Budew came wandering up to her in something of a hurry that Dawn noted seemed to be in a bit of a panic. The wild Budew quickly hid behind Dawn's legs, prompting Dawn to turn to see what it was that had been chasing the Budew. To Dawn's and Chi-Chi's surprise, it was a wild Kirlia.
"A Kirlia?!" Dawn thought in a bit of a panic, "I remember from the games that they can be found on Route 204, but they were very rare and required the Pokéradar. How is a Kirlia here now?" Growling a bit in annoyance, Dawn said, "Chi-Chi, use Ember on Kirlia!"
Acting on command, Chi-Chi breathed shots of flames at the Kirlia, striking it and even managing to inflict a burn. Undeterred, Kirlia used Growl on Chi-Chi, lowering her attack a bit. After Kirlia was hurt by its burn, Dawn said, "Chi-Chi, use Scratch!" Chi-Chi ran forward and scratched at Kirlia, hurting it and making it hiss a bit in pain. Kirlia then hit Chi-Chi with Confusion, but it didn't do all that much damage and failed to inflict confusion on Chi-Chi, a relief to Dawn.
Kirlia was then hurt by its burn again, and fell to one knee as it panted in exhaustion. Seeing this and figuring having an evolved Pokémon this early on would be a considerable boon, Dawn took out an empty pokéball and threw it at the wild Kirlia while calling out, "Go pokéball!" The pokéball flew at the wild Kirlia, took it inside, fell to the ground, and began shaking. After a few tense moments, the pokéball made a ping sound, indicating capture.
"...Well I'll be damned," Dawn said as she went over to retrieve the pokéball that held her new Kirlia. Scanning it with her pokédex, Dawn saw that it was a male Kirlia with the jolly nature. The right gender for Gallade, and an optimal nature for a physical attacker in Dawn's opinion; that also would explain why Kirlia's Confusion didn't look like it did a whole lot of damage to Chi-Chi. As she looked at the info her pokédex was showing her, Dawn said, "I'm naming you Jack."
After putting away the pokéball that held the burned and winded Jack, Dawn turned to the Budew that hid behind her. "...I actually came here looking to capture one of you," Dawn said to the Budew, getting its attention, "So I hope you won't hold it against me when I have Chi-Chi help me-" Dawn was cut off when the Budew ran over to her and began nuzzling its face into her shins while cooing in an happy tone. This actually surprised Dawn, and Chi-Chi to a lesser extent.
"You... you actually want me to capture you?" Dawn remarked to the Budew, who jumped up and down as it made happy noises. Dawn then remembered from her previous life that, in the anime, Pokémon sometimes willing allowed humans to capture them without battle. Dawn was going to attribute the Budew wanting to join her, as well as the hard to explain appearance of a Kirlia here, on anime logic.
Either way, Dawn took out an empty pokéball and bumped it into the Budew, who was taken into the pokéball after it bumped out of Dawn's hand and landed gently on the ground. It shook for a few moments before it made a ping sound, indicating capture. Smiling, Dawn picked up the pokéball that held her new Budew and scanned it with her pokédex. The Budew was female and had a timid nature, similar to the Roserade that Dawn had raised in the video games in her previous life.
...Something else that was similar to Dawn here, and took her by surprise, was that Budew came knowing Giga Drain and Extrasensory. "I remember having to breed those moves onto my Roserade Akiza in the games," Dawn thought, "It was one of the biggest breeding pains in the ass for me." With all of the similarities from the games she played in her previous life, Dawn looked at the pokéball that held her Budew and said, "I'm naming you Akiza."
Dawn felt rather satisfied now; she now had five Pokémon, one of which is an evolved Pokémon. But she couldn't rest on her laurels here, as she made a beeline for the Pokémon Center in Jubilife City. Chi-Chi and especially Jack needed to be rested, and Dawn also wanted to get some more pokéballs; even though none of the pokéballs supplied to her by Rowan had failed to capture any Pokémon yet, Dawn was running low on her gifted supply. She still intended to capture a lot more Pokémon, and to do that she needed balls. ...Pokéballs.
Later that evening in Jubilife City, Dawn walked into the Pokémon Center, being told by the Nurse Joy that it'll take a bit to rest her Chimchar and Kirlia. In that time, Dawn got supplies for her quest including some more pokéballs and various medicinal items, and she even got a Pokétch. Walking into the Pokémon Center, Dawn was greeted by the Nurse Joy, telling her that her Pokémon were now fully healed.
Dawn nodded in thanks and got Chi-Chi and Jack from the Nurse Joy. Given the time of day, Dawn figured that she ought to rest at the Pokémon Center for the night. After asking a few questions, Dawn got the okay to rest, and even was able to feed her Pokémon. After they were done eating, Dawn recalled all of them, then turned in for the night, wondering just what laid ahead of her in her new life that she now found herself in.
...
The following day, Dawn and her Pokémon were having breakfast when she heard on the news some business concerning a fake Pokétch scheme run by Team Rocket, which was ultimately foiled by Ash, Brock, and a boy named Landis. "Oh yeah, that episode," Dawn thought after putting the dots together. Dawn decided to go have her Pokétch checked at the company, and the President, after checking, confirmed that Dawn had a real Pokétch. Relieved, Dawn thanked the President before she took off to head right to Oreburgh City.
After passing through Route 203 and Oreburgh Gate, Dawn reached Oreburgh City. Upon arriving, Dawn checked in at the Pokémon Center, and proceeded to make her way up to Route 207 for some training. She wanted to have all of her Pokémon at roughly the same level as one another, and additionally would like as many of them as possible to be evolved. This was especially important as she was going to be tackling Roark, the Oreburgh City gym leader.
As such, Dawn got to work, having all of her Pokémon spar and train with one another, as well as fight off whatever wild Pokémon came over that Dawn wasn't interested in. The wild Pokémon that Dawn had her own Pokémon fight off included Geodudes mostly, but there were also Machops and the occasional Kricketot. During this time, Dawn saw Chi-Chi, Cyrus, Luna, and Akiza all evolve into their respective next forms; Monferno, Staravia, Luxio, and Roselia.
"I remember doing a lot of grinding in the video games in my previous life to prep for taking on a gym," Dawn thought, "This is just par for the-" Dawn was cut off in the middle of her thinking when she heard some rustling in the bushes nearby where she and her Pokémon were resting. Looking over at the source of the noise, Dawn saw the shaking bush and was ready to call one of her Pokémon at a moment's notice to deal with the Geodude or Machop or Kricketot.
Instead, a Gligar flew out of the bushes and landed with a flump on the ground.
"A Gligar?" Dawn thought, "Those required the dual-slot method with Emerald in the original Diamond and Pearl." Not wanting to waste the opportunity, Dawn went over carefully to see how the Gligar was doing. Chi-Chi, who went with Dawn, was prepared to attack the Gligar, but to her surprise as well as Dawn's, the wild Gligar was out of it. "...It must have passed out from hunger by the looks of it," Dawn said aloud after looking at Gligar for a bit.
Acting on opportunity, Dawn took a pokéball out and used it on the passed out Gligar. After taking in the Gligar, the pokéball fell to the ground before it shook for a it. The pokéball soon made a ping sound that indicated capture. Pleased that she now had a full party, Dawn scanned the pokéball that held her new Gligar to check the rundown on it. It was a female with the jolly nature, and to the surprise of Dawn its ability was Immunity.
"Another example of a Pokémon with its hidden ability," Dawn thought, "Just like with Chi-Chi. Gligar's Immunity will become Poison Heal upon Gligar evolving into Gliscor. I remember in my previous life how I had a lot of fun in competitive with my Poison Heal Gliscor. It was also female, same as this Gligar I just caught." Looking down at the pokéball that held her new Gligar, Dawn said, "I'm going to be naming you Albedo."
...
After letting Albedo rest, Dawn saw her wake up and immediately jump onto the dish of food that she had set out for her. Revitalized by a fully belly, Albedo looked up at Dawn who said, "I hope that you're ready for a bit of a work out, Albedo. I want to try to get you to the same level of training as the rest of the crew here." The named Gligar looked at 'the crew' as Dawn had called them, seeing a Monferno, Staravia, Roselia, Luxio, and Kirlia.
She knew that Dawn had caught her, but Albedo wasn't going to knock it. Also, she knew full well that she wouldn't have to worry for food now that a trainer owned her. Albedo gave a nod and a cry of agreement, ready for whatever training that Dawn was going to run her and the rest of 'the crew' here through. Thusly, Dawn got to enjoy having a full party of Pokémon, working to get Albedo caught up to the rest of the crew until she figured that she'd have to head on over to the Pokémon Center to rest all of them.
...
That evening at the Oreburgh City Pokémon Center, Dawn was eating something as her Pokémon were being rested. While she ate, Dawn thought about how she'd tackle Roark's gym. "I'm totally going to have to use Akiza," Dawn muttered to herself as she saw something on the wall mounted TV, "Chi-Chi as well since she knows Mach Punch. As for my third Pokémon... hmm..." She assumed that she'd be given a limit on how many Pokémon she could use in the gym battle against Roark, as that's how gym battles worked in the anime in Dawn's previous life.
Since Roark had three Pokémon, Dawn figured that she'd be limited to three Pokémon as well. That being said, she was thinking about which three to use. She already decided on Chi-Chi and Akiza, and figured that the third Pokémon would be on a case by case basis, depending on how things looked for Dawn in the battle against Roark. She figured that, at a minimum, she wouldn't be using Cyrus in the battle, as Roark uses rock Pokémon and Cyrus is weak to that. Dawn figured that she'd have to wait and see how things went.
The following morning, Dawn made her way over to the Oreburgh City gym, ready to take on Roark. When Dawn got there, she saw to her surprise that Ash and Brock were there, seeing an older man walk out of the gym with a boy Dawn recognized as Paul. Dawn never really liked Paul from the anime, and was glad to see him take some lumps. Dawn got within earshot to hear Paul explain to Ash that the gym leader isn't even at the gym at the moment.
After Ash told the older man he was from Kanto, the older man explained that rock type Pokémon were used at the Oreburgh City gym. After that bit, Paul turned to take off, but he didn't get very far until he came to a stop upon seeing Dawn. "And who are you?" Paul demanded more than asked.
"...The name's Dawn," she replied a bit dryly, "And you are?"
"Annoyed that the gym leader's not even at the gym," Paul replied rudely before continuing on his way. After Paul took off, Dawn was met up by Ash and Brock.
"Aww, don't let him get to you," Ash said, "I bet he'll come around eventually." Dawn shrugged and proceeded to go with Ash and Brock.
...
Inside of the gym, Dawn and Ash were both given badge cases to hold their badges in. When Ash asked where the gym leader was at, the older man explained that Roark is at the local coal mine. Ash and Brock decided to go to the mine, and Dawn asked if she could tag along. Smiling, Ash said that he had no problem with it if Brock was okay with it as well. Brock agreed, and together the three of them made their way to the Oreburgh Mines.
At the Oreburgh Mines, Dawn followed the boys inside. Walking through, Dawn spotted some miners she could tell full well were actually Team Rocket in disguise. Ash and Brock, however, failed to recognize them. Ash even walked up to them and asked, "Hey, could you tell me where Roark is at? I want to challenge him to earn my first badge in Sinnoh."
As Team Rocket panicked, Dawn thought about busting their disguises but ultimately decided against doing that. At least for now. "...It's obvious that they don't know," Dawn stated, "We ought to try asking someone else." Dawn was able to get Ash and Brock to leave, which relieved Team Rocket. However, they felt worried when Dawn turned to look back at them and mouth 'I know you guys are Team Rocket', not that Ash or Brock saw it.
As the group moved away from the disguised Team Rocket, they were held up when they saw two men push a cart that had a huge lump of rock in it. A voice called out for the men to wait, and soon Dawn and the boys saw Roark come over. After he rubbed the stone with a small smile, the cart was taken off, and Roark turned to look at Dawn and the boys. "Oh, you're new faces here," Roark said, "What can I do you for?"
"I came here looking for the leader of the Pokémon gym here in Oreburgh City," Dawn spoke up, "I was looking to challenge him to try to earn my first badge."
Holding up a hand, Ash said, "Yeah, I'm here to look for Roark as well.'
Chuckling a bit in embarrassment, Roark said, "Well you found him. I mean me. I'm Roark, the leader of the Oreburgh City gym. Sorry I wasn't at the gym, I just got carried away with the work down here. That cart carried what I believe is some fossilized remains of a Pokémon, and it got me so excited I just forgot about the time." Looking to Dawn and the boys, Roark said, "Let's head on back to the gym, and figure out from there what to do." Everyone agreed, and thusly they all left the mine to go to the gym.
Over at the Oreburgh City gym, Roark was explaining to the older man from earlier, who apparently is the gym referee, about what he found down at the mines. As Roark was talking, Paul walked into the gym. Spotting Roark, Paul went right over to him. "So you're Roark, I take it?" Paul said, "I'm here to challenge you for this gym's badge."
"Hang on," Dawn thought, "I remember from the anime that Paul more or less had a spot reserved ahead of time to challenge Roark. Is that not the case here?"
Dawn's suspicions ended up being confirmed when Roark explained to Paul, "Sorry, but the girl behind me is first in line, and the boy with the hat behind me is after her. But after they both have their first goes at me, I can take your first try at me."
Paul gave a very mild scowl, annoyed that he had to wait it out a bit. "...You mean first and only. I aim to win."
Roark smiled a bit at Paul's confident attitude. "I like that confidence of yours." To Dawn, Roark said, "You can follow me out into the arena here in the gym. As for the others, they can feel free to watch our battle."
"Yeah, I want to cheer Dawn on," Ash said, with Pikachu on his shoulder giving off a happy cry.
Shrugging, Paul remarked, "It'll be an entertaining show. And informative." Dawn could tell that Paul was going to use watching her battle with Roark, and probably watching Ash's future battle with Roark as well, as info scouting to learn what Roark was going to be packing. Dawn wasn't exactly all that comfortable with Paul's attitude right now, but she decided to put up with it for the time being. After all, she had her first gym battle to fight in.
"This battle will be between Roark, the leader of the Oreburgh City gym, and the challenger, Dawn Berlitz from Twinleaf Town," the referee announced, "Each trainer may use only three Pokémon each. The battle is over when all of one trainer's Pokémon have been rendered unable to battle. Also, only the challenger can switch Pokémon out at any time. Now then, let this official Oreburgh City gym battle... BEGIN!"
"Geodude, I choose you!" Roark called out as he sent in his first Pokémon, a Geodude.
Dawn, remembering nostalgic memories from her previous life, smiled in mild amusement as she sent out her first Pokémon. "Alright, Akiza!" Dawn called out as her Roselia came out into battle, "Let's get goin'!"
Paul gave off an annoyed and exasperated sounding sigh. "You have got to be kidding me." Hearing Paul, Ash and Brock both turned to look at him. "That girl is seriously one of those people who thinks that giving nicknames to their Pokémon is a good idea?" Scowling, Paul shook his head as he went on, "It's a stupid waste of time if you ask me."
"Hey, lay off of Dawn," Ash scolded, "There's nothing wrong with other trainers preferring to give nicknames to their Pokémon. It's all a matter of preference."
Paul merely shook his head, showing signs he wasn't exactly about to change his stance on the practice of nicknaming Pokémon. Down in the arena, the battle kicked off when Roark called out, "Geodude, use Rollout!"
"Akiza, use Giga Drain!" Dawn ordered. As Geodude rolled towards her, Akiza aimed her rose hands at her opponent as red energy beams came out and hit into Geodude, looking like they were pulling something from it after they made contact. As Geodude was damaged by the Giga Drain, Paul gave a bit more attention to the battle, his interest piqued by Dawn's Roselia knowing Giga Drain. Within short order, Geodude fell back and laid there with knocked out swirls in its eyes.
Seeing this, the referee announced, "Geodude is unable to battle! The winner is Roselia!"
Roark was a bit surprised that his Geodude went down in one hit like that, but he wouldn't let it deter him. "Geodude, return!" After recalling his first Pokémon to go down, Roark sent out his second Pokémon, saying, "Onix, I choose youl" The giant rock snake Pokémon towered over Akiza, who did take a step back.
"Akiza, relax," Dawn said. Turning back to look at her trainer, Akiza saw Dawn give her a reassuring, confident smile. "You got this." The named Roselia smiled as she turned back to look at Onix.
"Now that's how a trainer should act," Roark comment in an amused and mildly proud tone, "Giving their Pokémon confidence like that. I can see how your Roselia was able to defeat Geodude so easily now. But my Onix is another story!" Pointing forward, Roark said, "Onix, use Screech!"
"Akiza, use Extrasensory!" Dawn called out. Akiza's eyes glowed as Onix prepared to open its mouth, but Onix's head was enveloped in a psychic energy that damaged it and made it stop short in attacking its much smaller opponent. When the glowing around Onix's head faded, Onix was still shaking as it grumbled in pain and some fright.
Roark seemed a bit troubled by his Onix's condition. "That Extrasensory must have made Onix flinch. No wonder he isn't attacking."
Seeing the opening, Dawn said, "Quick, Akiza! Use Giga Drain!" Once again, Akiza cast beams of red energy at Onix, with the beams looking like they were pulling something from Onix. When the attack was done, Onix fell over backwards and laid on the ground, swirls in his eyes.
Making the necessary call, the referee said, "Onix is unable to battle! The winner is Roselia!"
As Roark recalled his fainted Onix, Ash and Brock were cheering for Dawn's success thus far in the gym battle. "Alright, Dawn's on a roll!" Ash cheered.
"She is really impressive, I have to say," Brock remarked in a tone of agreement.
As for Paul, his attention was further piqued by Dawn. "...Silly habit of nicknaming her Pokémon aside," Paul muttered to himself, "She has shown some skill as a trainer. That Roselia of her's also knows Extrasensory." Looking right at Dawn, Paul remarked to himself, "She'll be one to keep an eye out for, I reckon."
Down in the arena, Roark looked a bit concerned. Regardless, he tossed up the pokéball that held his last Pokémon. "Cranidos, I choose you!"
"Akiza that's enough, fall back!" Dawn said as she suddenly recalled her Roselia to the surprise of those watching. Tossing up another pokéball, Dawn called out, "Alright, Chi-Chi! Let's get goin'!" Everyone saw it as Dawn's Monferno came out into the battle to face Roark's Cranidos. "Chi-Chi, use Mach Punch!" Dawn ordered.
"Cranidos, use Focus Energy!" Roark called out. Chi-Chi rushed in incredibly quickly and socked Cranidos right in the face with a devastating punch along the right side of his head. As the named Monferno jumped back, Cranidos focused its power to up its critical hit ratio. After Cranidos was finished, Roark nearly exclaimed, "Cranidos, use Headbutt!"
"Chi-Chi, use Mach Punch again!" Dawn called out. Acting far quicker than her opponent could act, Chi-Chi rushed in and punched Cranidos along the left side of his head this time. Cranidos struggled to stand his ground, but he was inevitably thrown back and hit the ground before skidding a bit. When he had finally come to a stop, Cranidos had passed out, with the little swirls that were in his eyes making it clear he had been defeated.
Raising up a hand, the referee announced, "Cranidos is unable to battle! The winner is Monferno!" Gesturing to Dawn, the referee declared, "Victory of this battle goes to the challenger, Dawn Berlitz!"
Dawn, just realizing that she had just won, let out a sigh that showed she was more relieved than excited and happy that she had just won against her first challenge to a Pokémon gym. She had won many times against the various gym leaders in her previous life playing the video games, but now it was real life for her, which made a whole world of difference. Even so, she had won, so she raised her right fist into the air as she let out a simple cheer of, "Woo!"
Roark, after recalling his defeated Cranidos, sighed a bit dejectedly, but was able to pull himself together before anyone noticed. "...That was an excellent battle, Dawn," Roark said, "And as you had won fair and square, you've earned the Coal Badge." Roark walked over to Dawn and handed to her a Coal Badge, which she accepted gracefully. Turning to look at Ash, Roark called out, "I'll need to take my pokémon over to the Center for treatment, but I'll let you know when you can have your battle with me as soon as I can."
Nodding once in understanding, Ash called back, "Got it!"
"I should probably take my pokémon over to the Center as well," Dawn said, "They had battled as well, after all."
"That's a good idea," Roark said, "We can head over together." Dawn nodded in agreement and proceeded to follow Roark out of the Oreburgh City gym, with one out of eight Sinnoh gym badges under her belt now. Dawn needed to earn the other seven if she wanted to compete in the Pokémon League, and she knew that she'd need more diversity in her menagerie of Pokémon if she wanted to stand a chance in the big times.
But never let it be said that she wasn't up for the challenge.
Later at the Pokémon Center, as Roark leaned back on a seat he was sitting on, he let out a resigned sigh as Dawn, followed by Chi-Chi who along with Akiza had already been treated, came over while carrying some cans of iced coffee. "According to the Nurse Joy here," Dawn said, "The only treatment that Chi-Chi and Akiza needed were an Ether and an Elixer respectively."
Roark nodded in understanding. "I was told that my Pokémon will be ready for my battle against that Ash boy by six this evening. I already told Ash to meet me at my gym between six-fifteen to six-thirty." As Dawn handed him one of the iced coffee cans, Roark looked up to her from where he sat. "...Do you think that I'm competent as a gym leader, Dawn?"
Surprised by the question from the gym leader, Dawn replied, "What do you mean?"
Roark turned his head to look straight up at the ceiling in the Center. "...Heh, I mean, look at me. I get so caught up in having found a potential fossil while mining that I lost track of time and forgot my duties as a gym leader, with two challengers having to come and find me. Then I lose to one of said challengers without even being able to do even a lick of damage." Turning his attention back to Dawn, Roark quickly added, "It's nothing against you, Dawn. You fought and won fair."
"Aww geez, I unintentionally wrecked his self esteem," Dawn thought worriedly. She never had to worry about this in her previous life as the gym leaders and other characters were were just NPCs, but now it's real life, and the gym leaders were real people. To Roark, Dawn said, "You shouldn't beat yourself up, Roark. It's easy for people to get lost in work like you were in the mines earlier, and as for me winning, I did a lot of training to prepare for my battle with you. I mean, you were the first gym leader I had ever battled against, so I was bit nervous."
Roark seemed to perk up a bit. "...Well you didn't show you were nervous. I'm surprised that no one noticed that I was losing heart over the course of our battle."
Dawn was about to speak up, but she was cut off when a female worker from the mines came running over. "Roark, bad news!" the female worker said urgently.
The gym leader of Oreburgh City immediately came to attention, went right into leader mode. "What happened? What's going on?"
"A senior worker found a Skull Fossil and an Armor Fossil down in the mine," the female lab worker explained, "But soon these two goons calling themselves members of Team Rocket came in and tried to steal the fossils! The other workers there are trying to keep them occupied, but those Team Rocket bozos are making it tough!"
Roark growled in annoyance. "You've got to be kidding me. The last thing we need is for thieves to make off with valuable Pokémon fossils like that!" Looking back to the counter in the Center, Roark relented a bit as he added, "But all of my pokémon are still being treated..."
"I can help," Dawn offered, getting the attention of Roark and the female worker.
Surprised but not going to turn the offered help down, Roark said, "Alright, let's get going!" With some of his confidence restored due to taking the leader role in a crisis, Roark led both Dawn and the female worker over to the Oreburgh Mine to confront Team Rocket and hopefully bring an end to their scheme, whatever it may be.
END, CHAPTER TWO
Author's notes;
This story continues to adapt parts of the anime, while also showing elements of the games. Kirlia and Gligar really can be obtained on the routes they were shown with the right methods, also it's generally a good idea to try to evolve at least some of your Pokémon before taking on your first gym in a play through, especially if you're going through Sinnoh and you picked Chimchar as your starter. Doing a bit of grinding and being careful can do wonders.
Due to how the anime also has influence here, events from there will be referenced. However, due to the nature of how this is an isekai type story, some events will play out differently, like how Dawn skipped most of the events of the Pokétch episode, and how Dawn got to battle Roark first instead of Paul, also Ash will get to go before Paul. There will also be some different captures for a lot of characters here, as well as how some still get the same Pokémon but do so differently here.
Anyway, the next chapter will see Dawn help out at the Oreburgh Mine, because Team Rocket.